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CNN Live At Daybreak
U.S., France Sit Down Together; Devastating Earthquake in Iran
Aired February 22, 2005 - 05:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, the U.S. and France sit down together. They share dinner along with a big helping of diplomacy.
Plus, a Yankee slugger gets ready to batter up. But will Jason Giambi face cheers or jeers?
And why is this gorilla at the center of a legal battle? The answer might make you go ape.
It is Tuesday, February 22.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
We kick off our coverage this morning with President Bush in Europe. His goal, rebuilding ties strained over the Iraq war and trying to get more nations to help out in post-war Iraq, and taking the load off of the United States.
Let's go straight to Brussels and CNN's European political editor, Robin Oakley -- hello, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, President Bush is currently at NATO headquarters, where his first meeting was with Viktor Yushchenko, the newly elected president of Ukraine. Mr. Yushchenko is being given a warm welcome by the NATO leaders. He's the only non-alliance leader at their meeting and they've already promised him a trust fund to get rid of Ukraine's past accumulation of arms and weapons.
Earlier, the president had breakfast with his ally, Tony Blair of Britain, and when they came out afterward they were both optimistic about the future of the transatlantic relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're looking forward to the NATO meeting today. NATO is a vital relationship for the United States and for Europe, and I'm looking forward to meeting with the E.U., as well. And I said in my speech yesterday a strong Europe is very important for the United States, and I really meant that. And the prime minister is one of the strong leaders in Europe and I really enjoy my relationship with him.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think what it sets out is a very clear way forward for us now, whatever the differences in the international community have been over the past couple of years. I think we have a really solid basis now for going forward in a unified way. And if we take that opportunity, it will be greatly for the benefit of the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: The two closest allies on the war in Iraq will be expecting good news from today's NATO meeting. It's expected that all 26 members will sign up for help of one kind or another training the Iraqi security forces and police. Some will do that training inside Iraq, some will do it outside the country, others will contribute to a fund to supply the means for others to do the training -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Robin Oakley live in Brussels this morning.
Thank you.
Also in the news this morning, ruined homes, ruined lives, scenes of destruction in central Iran this morning. A very strong earthquake has struck the region. At least 190 are dead, more than 1,000 injured. We're going to get you a live report from Iran in just a few minutes.
North Korea has a change of heart, sort of. Pyongyang says it's ready to resume nuclear talks with some conditions. The leader, Kim Jong Il, says the U.S. must first show trustworthy sincerity. The U.S. State Department says Washington is ready to resume talks, but without those conditions.
A life or death ruling could come today in the legal battle over a severely brain damaged Florida woman. Terry Schiavo's husband wants to remove her feeding tube, but her parents are trying to block him. An appeals court could issue instruction in the case this afternoon.
In California, it's back to court for Michael Jackson. Jury selection resumes today in his child molestation trial. The process was delayed last week when the singer was hospitalized with the flu.
To the forecast center now -- good morning, Chad Myers.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol Costello.
Are we on a formal basis now this morning?
COSTELLO: Yes. I'll call you Mr. Myers the next time.
MYERS: Not even the kids in my neighborhood call me that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Imagine a wall of mud moving toward your house. What do you do? One woman was faced with this very real scenario and could not escape in time. Her amazing story of survival now from Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Northbound 605 to the city.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Los Angeles County Fire Urban Search and Rescue team gets a call that a mud slide into a home has trapped at least one victim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're about less than 10 out.
ROWLANDS: They arrive to find mud and debris from floor to ceiling inside a condominium.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, bring a chainsaw.
ROWLANDS: A woman is trapped against a bathroom wall.
CAPT. DON ROY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: We had a whole mountain of mud from the hill that had come through the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, can you pull that?
ROWLANDS: Using saws, crowbars and sledgehammers, firefighters cut through a dining room wall to get to the bathroom.
ROY: This is what they call a fluid. It's not a static. But what I mean by fluid, it's constantly moving and if we had actually water flowing underneath that mud pile, which is a big concern for us, because once you get the mud flowing down and it's static, now we've got water actually filtering underneath it into the house, into the spot where she was at, was the path of that mud. And that is bad.
ROWLANDS: A human chain is used to move debris. Eventually, they get to the woman. She is in pain, but able to talk.
LEO IBARA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: The concern is with what's called a crushed syndrome. When we have this pressure built up against our body parts, over a period of time, lactic acid begins to build up in our system. And then once that pressure is released, all that acid goes to the major organs in our body.
So the concern is, is that even though she's talking to us now, once we alleviate that pressure, she could what we would call bottom out. Then she would go into full arrest.
ROWLANDS: The victim tells firefighters she can't feel the lower half of her body. Eventually, they're able to get her onto a stretcher --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can move her if she's strapped. We can go.
ROWLANDS: ... and into an ambulance. The victim is then taken by chopper to a local hospital. (on camera): According to firefighters, the woman was taken to USC Medical Center. There is real concern tonight about this hillside and other hillsides around this region, as the rain continues to pelt southern California.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Hacienda Heights, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: From mountainous mud slides to freeway flooding, take a look at this. It appears to be a tractor trailer floating on a river. But this is no river, folks. It's the 101 freeway near Hollywood. It was closed late Monday because of flooding. Hip deep water stranded some drivers. And traffic, as you might expect, was backed up for miles and miles.
In other news across America this morning, friends, family and followers gathered at the Audubon Ballroom in New York to remember Malcolm X. He was assassinated in that same room 40 years ago Monday. The ballroom will be turned into a memorial and education center featuring writings and speeches from the civil rights leader.
A MediVac helicopter crashes in Arkansas after responding to a car crash. The patient on board was killed in the crash. The pilot and two medical personnel were injured. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
In Duxbury, Massachusetts, a church and a cross -- but it's no outdoor religious service. An investigation is underway into a cross burning at a Catholic Church. It's being treated as a hate crime. The church's front door was burned slightly. Another smaller cross was found in the front yard of a nearby home.
And, oh, to be home in Vermont today. About 200 Vermont National Guard members are home. They arrived Monday after 11 months in Iraq. Members of the 86th Field Artillery Regiment arrived during a snowstorm, but who cares? That did not deter family and friends from showing up for a great big welcome home. Three soldiers from the battalion were killed in action in Iraq.
We're following a developing story overseas this morning. Frantic rescue efforts underway and the casualties are climbing after a devastating earthquake in Iran.
Joining us now from Tehran is journalist Paul Hughes.
Hello, Paul.
PAUL HUGHES, REUTERS: Hello, Carol.
COSTELLO: Tell us what the scene is now. You're nowhere near the earthquake site.
Am I correct?
HUGHES: No, that's right. I'm in Tehran, which is a good few hundred miles northeast of the quake. So we didn't feel it here. But it certainly left a lot of destruction down in the area around Kerman, particularly in some mountainous villages there.
COSTELLO: Of course, we all remember what happened in Bam when, what, tens of thousands of people were killed.
Is this earthquake of the same magnitude?
HUGHES: It's of a similar magnitude. It's 6.4, where the Bam earthquake, which, as you say, killed 31,000 people in December 2003. That was a 6.7. The difference here seems to be that the magnitude was at a greater depth so there was less damage at the surface. The major urban centers seem to have been little affected, only slight structural damage. But the smaller villages in the outlying areas where the buildings were maybe less stable, many of those villages have been substantially hit. And that's where the main casualties have occurred.
COSTELLO: Is help coming their way?
HUGHES: Yes. There's -- there are relief efforts. There have been military planes leaving from Tehran and also from the nearby urban centers. And they have been getting to the areas. They've been hampered somewhat by bad weather. It's been raining. It's quite cloudy and cold down there, and that prevented them from getting to the areas by helicopter, which would have been the preferred means of getting to them.
So they've had to go overland. So it's taken them a bit longer than they would have liked, but they have now reached, I think, most of the affected areas.
COSTELLO: Journalist Paul Hughes, joining us live this morning from Tehran, Iran.
Thank you.
It's called "A Company of Soldiers" and it is a powerful war documentary airing tonight on the PBS show "Frontline." It brings you face-to-face with the life and death mission of U.S. troops in Iraq. "Frontline" journalists were embedded with American troops leading the assault on Falluja and they captured raw, very raw images from the battle.
Most of you will only get a sanitized version. PBS says it cannot ensure stations against FCC fines stemming from bad language. So the public broadcaster is distributing two versions, one clean, so to speak, and one raw.
And that brings us to our DAYBREAK E-Mail Question of the Day. Is war coverage edited too much for American audiences? What do you think? Send us your e-mails, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
We're going to be talking baseball, and it's not so much about pitching, hitting and fielding, but it's about Jason Giambi. He steps up to the plate and faces the music. We'll tell you what the embattled Yankees slugger has to say.
Plus, it's turning into a really hairy case. Find out why some people are getting irate over this primate.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, February 22.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush continues to look for help for a democratic Iraq today. He's got a jam packed schedule in Brussels, attending back to back summits with NATO and the European Union. He'll also meet one- on-one with several European leaders.
Despite promises not to significantly boost troop strength in Iraq, Australia's prime minister says he will send as many as 470 more troops to Iraq. They'll protect Japanese engineers and replace Dutch troops who are leaving in March.
In money news, more than 200 doctors are being investigated for using a fake form of botox. The bogus botox says "not for human use" right on the label. "USA Today" is reporting patients in Oregon, Florida and Nevada are known to have received injections of this unapproved toxin.
In culture, the breakup of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston has led to some restructuring at Madam Tussaud's. It cost about $19,000 to separate the wax couple from their loving embrace. Now they'll be repositioned with their backs to each other. Oh, that's kind of sad, isn't it?
In sports, Adam Scott walked away with the winner's check from the rain short Nissan Open. But it isn't an official victory since the weather forced the tournament to be shortened to 36 holes. That's the first time that has happened in nine years and, of course, as we often do, let's blame the weatherman.
MYERS: Well, blame me, exactly, Carol. They've had almost 35 inches of rain now just in the past two months, so that makes for a soft green and a really tough way to play. It's been raining all weekend out there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines.
We want to talk about Jason Giambi now.
MYERS: Did he report?
COSTELLO: Uh-huh.
MYERS: Yes?
COSTELLO: It's going to be a very tough spring for him.
MYERS: It could be. I wonder how the fans, how the spring fans are going to take that.
COSTELLO: Well, it's funny you should ask, because we do have a story coming up.
MYERS: Good.
COSTELLO: I guess you could call this baseball's steroid spring. As players arrive in training camp, they're pretty much all answering the drug question, all of them.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: It was Jason Giambi's turn as he arrived at Yankees camp.
Let's get more now from Scott Clark of CNN affiliate WABC.
He's in Tampa, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SCOTT CLARK, WABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Giambi walked in this morning ready to face the music again, from the media and what he knows will follow from the fans in ballparks across the nation.
JASON GIAMBI, YANKEES FIRST BASEMAN: You know, I've been booed before and I know it's going to be more extreme. There's no doubt about it. But, you know, you've just go to go through it.
CLARK: This year, random steroid testing will be included as baseball policy.
GIAMBI: I think it's great. I think we're going in the right direction, you know, with the new policy. And, you know, baseball has always overcome everything. So I have no doubts that, you know, this game will turn around.
JOE TORRE, YANKEES MANAGER: We have a lot of work to do. We have to get the trust back from the people, that, you know, we don't want, when somebody hits a home run, to have a guy scratch his head and wonder if, you know, if he did that or did he get help from, you know, from what he's putting in his body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jason.
GIAMBI: You're welcome, guy.
CLARK: Despite all the steroids controversy, fans lined up to get Giambi's autograph today. And Giambi obliged them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I support him. I think he was honest, unlike some players. I think he was honest to the grand jury. So I support him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think he shouldn't have used steroids, but I think he's a great player so I do support him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He made a mistake. We all make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. He's a great ball player.
GIAMBI: It's humbling. It's something you don't take for granted. And for them to act like that toward me is pretty incredible.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Scott Clark of CNN affiliate WABC, who's with the Yankees in Tampa.
You know, I was just reading some of the sports editorials through the papers this morning and ooh, they're rough on Jason Giambi. Apparently he called Jose Canseco delusional.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But, of course, Jason Giambi has lied about his own steroid use for a long time publicly. And, of course, that he testifies before the grand jury that he did, indeed, use steroids.
MYERS: Right. And we know that there are some books out there to be sold and all that kind of stuff. I would like to talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about this. How long will the steroids -- let's say these guys, some guy took steroids for 10 years and was really bulked up. How long would it take for his body to get back into the real shape that it would have been in had he not been taking those steroids in the first place?
COSTELLO: Well, you can see Jason Giambi looks nothing like he did before. Remember those pictures where he was just like so muscular he looked like a big time wrestler?
MYERS: Oh, yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: And now he does not. He looks like kind of a normal guy. Of course, everyone is waiting to hear what Barry Bonds...
MYERS: That's not implying anything.
COSTELLO: No. Everyone's waiting to hear, I was going to say, what Barry Bonds has to say when he gets to Giants camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is scheduled to arrive today.
Coming up next on DAYBREAK, we'll tell you about an unlikely group that wants the government's seal of approval. And later on, a famous gorilla in San Francisco at the center of a civil lawsuit. Think he'll be taking the stand? He can do sign language. He might. Jeanne Moos will have details for you.
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers."
Something you don't see every day, residents are watching a seal -- there he is -- very closely. He's in one Connecticut coastal town. Experts believe the harbor seal came ashore in Westbrook to rest for a while. But concerned residents think he's stranded so now they're just waiting to see what the seal does next.
Rescuers rushed to help a tangle gray whale about a half a mile off the Oregon coast. The whale's tail was wrapped in ropes, buoys and crab traps. It took rescuers about six hours to untangle the mess, but they still aren't sure if they got it all.
Some marijuana farmers in California want their product to be labeled "organic" and they have asked the FDA for a ruling on the case. Two growers became concerned after people got sick on medical marijuana that was treated with pesticides. California is one of 11 states that allows medical marijuana use.
Well, we're not sure if it was organic or not, but smoking pot was the main topic on the late night talk shows, Chad.
MYERS: You had to go for that transition, Carol, didn't you?
COSTELLO: Well, you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) took it.
MYERS: So David was after the pres again, I suppose, huh?
COSTELLO: After the pres because of those audiotapes released by his friend. And he's probably not a friend any longer.
MYERS: He says he is.
COSTELLO: He says he is?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He says he is. But does President Bush say he is?
MYERS: We haven't heard that side.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Let's check out what Jay Leno had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC) JAY LENO, HOST: Now, this, of course, is Presidents Day. This is the day we honor our presidents by secretly taping them. This is what we do. Have you heard about these Bush tapes? Oh, this is unbelievable. It seems a friend, a friend -- what a friend this guy is -- of the Bush family, a guy named Doug Wead -- I think he's Linda Tripp's first husband if I'm not mistaken. And he has a book coming out. Surprise, surprise. He secretly taped a number of conversations and he had -- with Bush, when Bush was thinking of running for president in '98. He taped the conversations secretly.
And on the tape, Bush admits as a young man he smoked marijuana but he quit, you know, when it started to interfere with his drinking. That's when he stopped. But, you know...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: The guy's name is Wead?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: It's spelled W-E-A-D, though.
MYERS: Oh, OK. It's a little ironic.
COSTELLO: That's right.
Let's hear what Dave Letterman had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: President Bush, by the way, is in Europe, ladies and gentlemen. He'll be going to Brussels. He's going to Germany and then he's going to Amsterdam to get some primo weed.
Can you imagine that, a friend of George W. Bush secretly taped Bush? That's crazy. And I know what you're all thinking. You're all thinking well how the hell did somebody trick George Bush?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That was a low blow.
MYERS: I know.
COSTELLO: That was really a low blow.
MYERS: I thought he was going to go, actually, to how can somebody tape the president, you know? Because I mean, you know, the Nixon tapes and the gaps and all that.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it does bring to mind the question, every time I talk with you, do I have to pat you down to see if you're tape recording our conversations? MYERS: Well, I have a mike on all the time. I'm wired for sound all the time, Carol.
COSTELLO: You are.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The U.S. is going after Syria, but with diplomacy, not force. We'll talk about why it's different this time around.
And don't forget our E-mail Question of the Day. Is war coverage edited too much for Americans? Do we sanitize it for you too much? Log in and send us your thoughts, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
We're back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFTON LEAF, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Bank of America is one of the great American success stories. It's really the number one consumer banking franchise. They've got something like almost 6,000 branches across the country. It's done some very aggressive things. It went and bought Fleet Bank to get the corner of the United States that it didn't have, the great Northeast.
One of the things that they do better than anybody is consolidate these mergers. Anybody can pay more than market price for a stock and get it, but the key in making sure that the fit works in finding those cost savings, in integrating all of the I.T. and the branches and everything else, nobody does it better than Bank of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired February 22, 2005 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, the U.S. and France sit down together. They share dinner along with a big helping of diplomacy.
Plus, a Yankee slugger gets ready to batter up. But will Jason Giambi face cheers or jeers?
And why is this gorilla at the center of a legal battle? The answer might make you go ape.
It is Tuesday, February 22.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
We kick off our coverage this morning with President Bush in Europe. His goal, rebuilding ties strained over the Iraq war and trying to get more nations to help out in post-war Iraq, and taking the load off of the United States.
Let's go straight to Brussels and CNN's European political editor, Robin Oakley -- hello, Robin.
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, President Bush is currently at NATO headquarters, where his first meeting was with Viktor Yushchenko, the newly elected president of Ukraine. Mr. Yushchenko is being given a warm welcome by the NATO leaders. He's the only non-alliance leader at their meeting and they've already promised him a trust fund to get rid of Ukraine's past accumulation of arms and weapons.
Earlier, the president had breakfast with his ally, Tony Blair of Britain, and when they came out afterward they were both optimistic about the future of the transatlantic relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're looking forward to the NATO meeting today. NATO is a vital relationship for the United States and for Europe, and I'm looking forward to meeting with the E.U., as well. And I said in my speech yesterday a strong Europe is very important for the United States, and I really meant that. And the prime minister is one of the strong leaders in Europe and I really enjoy my relationship with him.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Well, I think what it sets out is a very clear way forward for us now, whatever the differences in the international community have been over the past couple of years. I think we have a really solid basis now for going forward in a unified way. And if we take that opportunity, it will be greatly for the benefit of the international community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: The two closest allies on the war in Iraq will be expecting good news from today's NATO meeting. It's expected that all 26 members will sign up for help of one kind or another training the Iraqi security forces and police. Some will do that training inside Iraq, some will do it outside the country, others will contribute to a fund to supply the means for others to do the training -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Robin Oakley live in Brussels this morning.
Thank you.
Also in the news this morning, ruined homes, ruined lives, scenes of destruction in central Iran this morning. A very strong earthquake has struck the region. At least 190 are dead, more than 1,000 injured. We're going to get you a live report from Iran in just a few minutes.
North Korea has a change of heart, sort of. Pyongyang says it's ready to resume nuclear talks with some conditions. The leader, Kim Jong Il, says the U.S. must first show trustworthy sincerity. The U.S. State Department says Washington is ready to resume talks, but without those conditions.
A life or death ruling could come today in the legal battle over a severely brain damaged Florida woman. Terry Schiavo's husband wants to remove her feeding tube, but her parents are trying to block him. An appeals court could issue instruction in the case this afternoon.
In California, it's back to court for Michael Jackson. Jury selection resumes today in his child molestation trial. The process was delayed last week when the singer was hospitalized with the flu.
To the forecast center now -- good morning, Chad Myers.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol Costello.
Are we on a formal basis now this morning?
COSTELLO: Yes. I'll call you Mr. Myers the next time.
MYERS: Not even the kids in my neighborhood call me that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Imagine a wall of mud moving toward your house. What do you do? One woman was faced with this very real scenario and could not escape in time. Her amazing story of survival now from Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Northbound 605 to the city.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Los Angeles County Fire Urban Search and Rescue team gets a call that a mud slide into a home has trapped at least one victim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're about less than 10 out.
ROWLANDS: They arrive to find mud and debris from floor to ceiling inside a condominium.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, bring a chainsaw.
ROWLANDS: A woman is trapped against a bathroom wall.
CAPT. DON ROY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: We had a whole mountain of mud from the hill that had come through the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don, can you pull that?
ROWLANDS: Using saws, crowbars and sledgehammers, firefighters cut through a dining room wall to get to the bathroom.
ROY: This is what they call a fluid. It's not a static. But what I mean by fluid, it's constantly moving and if we had actually water flowing underneath that mud pile, which is a big concern for us, because once you get the mud flowing down and it's static, now we've got water actually filtering underneath it into the house, into the spot where she was at, was the path of that mud. And that is bad.
ROWLANDS: A human chain is used to move debris. Eventually, they get to the woman. She is in pain, but able to talk.
LEO IBARA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: The concern is with what's called a crushed syndrome. When we have this pressure built up against our body parts, over a period of time, lactic acid begins to build up in our system. And then once that pressure is released, all that acid goes to the major organs in our body.
So the concern is, is that even though she's talking to us now, once we alleviate that pressure, she could what we would call bottom out. Then she would go into full arrest.
ROWLANDS: The victim tells firefighters she can't feel the lower half of her body. Eventually, they're able to get her onto a stretcher --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can move her if she's strapped. We can go.
ROWLANDS: ... and into an ambulance. The victim is then taken by chopper to a local hospital. (on camera): According to firefighters, the woman was taken to USC Medical Center. There is real concern tonight about this hillside and other hillsides around this region, as the rain continues to pelt southern California.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Hacienda Heights, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: From mountainous mud slides to freeway flooding, take a look at this. It appears to be a tractor trailer floating on a river. But this is no river, folks. It's the 101 freeway near Hollywood. It was closed late Monday because of flooding. Hip deep water stranded some drivers. And traffic, as you might expect, was backed up for miles and miles.
In other news across America this morning, friends, family and followers gathered at the Audubon Ballroom in New York to remember Malcolm X. He was assassinated in that same room 40 years ago Monday. The ballroom will be turned into a memorial and education center featuring writings and speeches from the civil rights leader.
A MediVac helicopter crashes in Arkansas after responding to a car crash. The patient on board was killed in the crash. The pilot and two medical personnel were injured. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
In Duxbury, Massachusetts, a church and a cross -- but it's no outdoor religious service. An investigation is underway into a cross burning at a Catholic Church. It's being treated as a hate crime. The church's front door was burned slightly. Another smaller cross was found in the front yard of a nearby home.
And, oh, to be home in Vermont today. About 200 Vermont National Guard members are home. They arrived Monday after 11 months in Iraq. Members of the 86th Field Artillery Regiment arrived during a snowstorm, but who cares? That did not deter family and friends from showing up for a great big welcome home. Three soldiers from the battalion were killed in action in Iraq.
We're following a developing story overseas this morning. Frantic rescue efforts underway and the casualties are climbing after a devastating earthquake in Iran.
Joining us now from Tehran is journalist Paul Hughes.
Hello, Paul.
PAUL HUGHES, REUTERS: Hello, Carol.
COSTELLO: Tell us what the scene is now. You're nowhere near the earthquake site.
Am I correct?
HUGHES: No, that's right. I'm in Tehran, which is a good few hundred miles northeast of the quake. So we didn't feel it here. But it certainly left a lot of destruction down in the area around Kerman, particularly in some mountainous villages there.
COSTELLO: Of course, we all remember what happened in Bam when, what, tens of thousands of people were killed.
Is this earthquake of the same magnitude?
HUGHES: It's of a similar magnitude. It's 6.4, where the Bam earthquake, which, as you say, killed 31,000 people in December 2003. That was a 6.7. The difference here seems to be that the magnitude was at a greater depth so there was less damage at the surface. The major urban centers seem to have been little affected, only slight structural damage. But the smaller villages in the outlying areas where the buildings were maybe less stable, many of those villages have been substantially hit. And that's where the main casualties have occurred.
COSTELLO: Is help coming their way?
HUGHES: Yes. There's -- there are relief efforts. There have been military planes leaving from Tehran and also from the nearby urban centers. And they have been getting to the areas. They've been hampered somewhat by bad weather. It's been raining. It's quite cloudy and cold down there, and that prevented them from getting to the areas by helicopter, which would have been the preferred means of getting to them.
So they've had to go overland. So it's taken them a bit longer than they would have liked, but they have now reached, I think, most of the affected areas.
COSTELLO: Journalist Paul Hughes, joining us live this morning from Tehran, Iran.
Thank you.
It's called "A Company of Soldiers" and it is a powerful war documentary airing tonight on the PBS show "Frontline." It brings you face-to-face with the life and death mission of U.S. troops in Iraq. "Frontline" journalists were embedded with American troops leading the assault on Falluja and they captured raw, very raw images from the battle.
Most of you will only get a sanitized version. PBS says it cannot ensure stations against FCC fines stemming from bad language. So the public broadcaster is distributing two versions, one clean, so to speak, and one raw.
And that brings us to our DAYBREAK E-Mail Question of the Day. Is war coverage edited too much for American audiences? What do you think? Send us your e-mails, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
We're going to be talking baseball, and it's not so much about pitching, hitting and fielding, but it's about Jason Giambi. He steps up to the plate and faces the music. We'll tell you what the embattled Yankees slugger has to say.
Plus, it's turning into a really hairy case. Find out why some people are getting irate over this primate.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, February 22.
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(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush continues to look for help for a democratic Iraq today. He's got a jam packed schedule in Brussels, attending back to back summits with NATO and the European Union. He'll also meet one- on-one with several European leaders.
Despite promises not to significantly boost troop strength in Iraq, Australia's prime minister says he will send as many as 470 more troops to Iraq. They'll protect Japanese engineers and replace Dutch troops who are leaving in March.
In money news, more than 200 doctors are being investigated for using a fake form of botox. The bogus botox says "not for human use" right on the label. "USA Today" is reporting patients in Oregon, Florida and Nevada are known to have received injections of this unapproved toxin.
In culture, the breakup of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston has led to some restructuring at Madam Tussaud's. It cost about $19,000 to separate the wax couple from their loving embrace. Now they'll be repositioned with their backs to each other. Oh, that's kind of sad, isn't it?
In sports, Adam Scott walked away with the winner's check from the rain short Nissan Open. But it isn't an official victory since the weather forced the tournament to be shortened to 36 holes. That's the first time that has happened in nine years and, of course, as we often do, let's blame the weatherman.
MYERS: Well, blame me, exactly, Carol. They've had almost 35 inches of rain now just in the past two months, so that makes for a soft green and a really tough way to play. It's been raining all weekend out there.
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COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines.
We want to talk about Jason Giambi now.
MYERS: Did he report?
COSTELLO: Uh-huh.
MYERS: Yes?
COSTELLO: It's going to be a very tough spring for him.
MYERS: It could be. I wonder how the fans, how the spring fans are going to take that.
COSTELLO: Well, it's funny you should ask, because we do have a story coming up.
MYERS: Good.
COSTELLO: I guess you could call this baseball's steroid spring. As players arrive in training camp, they're pretty much all answering the drug question, all of them.
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: It was Jason Giambi's turn as he arrived at Yankees camp.
Let's get more now from Scott Clark of CNN affiliate WABC.
He's in Tampa, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SCOTT CLARK, WABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Giambi walked in this morning ready to face the music again, from the media and what he knows will follow from the fans in ballparks across the nation.
JASON GIAMBI, YANKEES FIRST BASEMAN: You know, I've been booed before and I know it's going to be more extreme. There's no doubt about it. But, you know, you've just go to go through it.
CLARK: This year, random steroid testing will be included as baseball policy.
GIAMBI: I think it's great. I think we're going in the right direction, you know, with the new policy. And, you know, baseball has always overcome everything. So I have no doubts that, you know, this game will turn around.
JOE TORRE, YANKEES MANAGER: We have a lot of work to do. We have to get the trust back from the people, that, you know, we don't want, when somebody hits a home run, to have a guy scratch his head and wonder if, you know, if he did that or did he get help from, you know, from what he's putting in his body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jason.
GIAMBI: You're welcome, guy.
CLARK: Despite all the steroids controversy, fans lined up to get Giambi's autograph today. And Giambi obliged them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I support him. I think he was honest, unlike some players. I think he was honest to the grand jury. So I support him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think he shouldn't have used steroids, but I think he's a great player so I do support him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He made a mistake. We all make mistakes. Nobody's perfect. He's a great ball player.
GIAMBI: It's humbling. It's something you don't take for granted. And for them to act like that toward me is pretty incredible.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Scott Clark of CNN affiliate WABC, who's with the Yankees in Tampa.
You know, I was just reading some of the sports editorials through the papers this morning and ooh, they're rough on Jason Giambi. Apparently he called Jose Canseco delusional.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But, of course, Jason Giambi has lied about his own steroid use for a long time publicly. And, of course, that he testifies before the grand jury that he did, indeed, use steroids.
MYERS: Right. And we know that there are some books out there to be sold and all that kind of stuff. I would like to talk to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about this. How long will the steroids -- let's say these guys, some guy took steroids for 10 years and was really bulked up. How long would it take for his body to get back into the real shape that it would have been in had he not been taking those steroids in the first place?
COSTELLO: Well, you can see Jason Giambi looks nothing like he did before. Remember those pictures where he was just like so muscular he looked like a big time wrestler?
MYERS: Oh, yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: And now he does not. He looks like kind of a normal guy. Of course, everyone is waiting to hear what Barry Bonds...
MYERS: That's not implying anything.
COSTELLO: No. Everyone's waiting to hear, I was going to say, what Barry Bonds has to say when he gets to Giants camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is scheduled to arrive today.
Coming up next on DAYBREAK, we'll tell you about an unlikely group that wants the government's seal of approval. And later on, a famous gorilla in San Francisco at the center of a civil lawsuit. Think he'll be taking the stand? He can do sign language. He might. Jeanne Moos will have details for you.
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.
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COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Openers."
Something you don't see every day, residents are watching a seal -- there he is -- very closely. He's in one Connecticut coastal town. Experts believe the harbor seal came ashore in Westbrook to rest for a while. But concerned residents think he's stranded so now they're just waiting to see what the seal does next.
Rescuers rushed to help a tangle gray whale about a half a mile off the Oregon coast. The whale's tail was wrapped in ropes, buoys and crab traps. It took rescuers about six hours to untangle the mess, but they still aren't sure if they got it all.
Some marijuana farmers in California want their product to be labeled "organic" and they have asked the FDA for a ruling on the case. Two growers became concerned after people got sick on medical marijuana that was treated with pesticides. California is one of 11 states that allows medical marijuana use.
Well, we're not sure if it was organic or not, but smoking pot was the main topic on the late night talk shows, Chad.
MYERS: You had to go for that transition, Carol, didn't you?
COSTELLO: Well, you know. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) took it.
MYERS: So David was after the pres again, I suppose, huh?
COSTELLO: After the pres because of those audiotapes released by his friend. And he's probably not a friend any longer.
MYERS: He says he is.
COSTELLO: He says he is?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He says he is. But does President Bush say he is?
MYERS: We haven't heard that side.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Let's check out what Jay Leno had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC) JAY LENO, HOST: Now, this, of course, is Presidents Day. This is the day we honor our presidents by secretly taping them. This is what we do. Have you heard about these Bush tapes? Oh, this is unbelievable. It seems a friend, a friend -- what a friend this guy is -- of the Bush family, a guy named Doug Wead -- I think he's Linda Tripp's first husband if I'm not mistaken. And he has a book coming out. Surprise, surprise. He secretly taped a number of conversations and he had -- with Bush, when Bush was thinking of running for president in '98. He taped the conversations secretly.
And on the tape, Bush admits as a young man he smoked marijuana but he quit, you know, when it started to interfere with his drinking. That's when he stopped. But, you know...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: The guy's name is Wead?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: It's spelled W-E-A-D, though.
MYERS: Oh, OK. It's a little ironic.
COSTELLO: That's right.
Let's hear what Dave Letterman had to say about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, COURTESY CBS/WORLDWIDE PANTS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: President Bush, by the way, is in Europe, ladies and gentlemen. He'll be going to Brussels. He's going to Germany and then he's going to Amsterdam to get some primo weed.
Can you imagine that, a friend of George W. Bush secretly taped Bush? That's crazy. And I know what you're all thinking. You're all thinking well how the hell did somebody trick George Bush?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That was a low blow.
MYERS: I know.
COSTELLO: That was really a low blow.
MYERS: I thought he was going to go, actually, to how can somebody tape the president, you know? Because I mean, you know, the Nixon tapes and the gaps and all that.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it does bring to mind the question, every time I talk with you, do I have to pat you down to see if you're tape recording our conversations? MYERS: Well, I have a mike on all the time. I'm wired for sound all the time, Carol.
COSTELLO: You are.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The U.S. is going after Syria, but with diplomacy, not force. We'll talk about why it's different this time around.
And don't forget our E-mail Question of the Day. Is war coverage edited too much for Americans? Do we sanitize it for you too much? Log in and send us your thoughts, daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
We're back in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFTON LEAF, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Bank of America is one of the great American success stories. It's really the number one consumer banking franchise. They've got something like almost 6,000 branches across the country. It's done some very aggressive things. It went and bought Fleet Bank to get the corner of the United States that it didn't have, the great Northeast.
One of the things that they do better than anybody is consolidate these mergers. Anybody can pay more than market price for a stock and get it, but the key in making sure that the fit works in finding those cost savings, in integrating all of the I.T. and the branches and everything else, nobody does it better than Bank of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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