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American Morning
Indonesia Reeling from Quake; Terri "Near Death"
Aired March 29, 2005 - 08:00 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The search for survivors after a second major quake in Indonesia in only three months. Massive power -- why no massive wave this time?
Conflicting reports about Terri Schiavo's condition as family members respond to comments that she is near death.
And the American epidemic of sleepless nights. More than sheer exhaustion, serious health risks to consider on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everyone.
8:00 here in New York.
Good to have you along with us today.
Soledad has got some vacation this week, well deserved. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And she went somewhere cold.
HEMMER: Well, you know...
COSTELLO: I don't understand that.
HEMMER: That's where the family was going, so...
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, family obligations.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: And she insisted on going with them. I'm coming, too.
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello.
Good morning, everyone.
We're going to try to answer questions about the Indonesian earthquake, on many minds this morning. Why didn't it trigger a tsunami like the one in December? And why did two huge quakes come so close together? A scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey will explain it to us.
HEMMER: Also, that tax crunch is coming and your filing your return online could be the way to avoid a lot of hassles. Gerri Willis looks at the up side, the down side and whether or not you should be worried about identity theft. So we'll get to that with Gerri.
COSTELLO: Now it's time to hear from big Jack.
CAFFERTY: Isn't Indonesia the most populous Muslim nation in the world?
HEMMER: That's correct.
CAFFERTY: I believe it is.
HEMMER: Yes, it's 13,000 islands.
CAFFERTY: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," the nation's college campuses are crawling with liberals. It's true. We have a study that proves it. Your computer don't got no sense of grammar. And another bomb is being dropped on Japan. This one stars Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines at the top of the hour.
Here's Kelly Wallace back with us. Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Bill.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Here are some of the stories now in the news.
There is speculation this hour about another person possibly linked to the Minnesota school shootings. A student at Red Lake High School has been taken into custody. According to local media reports, he is the teenaged son of the tribal chairman. Investigators had previously said the suspected shooter, Jeff Weise, acted alone.
Political wrangling on this day in Iraq. The transitional national assembly ending a session without a speaker. The start of the meeting was delayed by a last-minute debate over who should be group president. Shia, Kurdish and Sunni representatives are still trying to agree on a candidate. A vote is not experienced for several days.
To the Michael Jackson case now -- a setback to the defense in that trial. A judge ruling that past allegations of child molestation against the pop star can be presented as testimony during the current trial. The decision could potentially add weeks to the proceedings. We'll get much more legal perspective on this, just ahead.
And trouble sleeping? Well, you are not alone. A new poll shows most American adults aren't getting enough ZZZs. The National Sleep Foundation is revealing its findings this morning. It is one of the activities kicking off National Sleep Awareness Week. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have much more on this just ahead.
The study is very interesting. I think it's something like 75 percent of us get about 6.9 hours of sleep, which is a lot to me.
COSTELLO: Me, too.
WALLACE: When you're supposed to get up to nine hours a night.
COSTELLO: I get...
HEMMER: Do you think we need Sanjay for this, or can we...
COSTELLO: Can we all just talk?
WALLACE: We need more sleep.
COSTELLO: Duh.
WALLACE: Duh. Exactly.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.
WALLACE: No disagreement there.
HEMMER: All right.
Parts of Southeast Asia again topping our news this hour, still reeling from an 8.7 earthquake. Indonesian officials say the death toll now reaching 330, expected to continue to rise throughout the day today. The quake's epicenter on Monday was off the northwestern coast of Sumatra.
Brian Williams was in Medan, Indonesia when that quake struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: Well, initially, basically the house that I was in just started shaking around. I grabbed my 1- year-old boy and my wife and we went outside. And for the next five minutes, it was like we were like lurching. Certainly on land, the whole ground was moving. It was quite a scary feeling.
HEMMER: What was going on outside, Brian?
Did you notice your neighbors or other people in that town come outside, as well?
WILLIAMS: Yes, sure. Everyone was outside. Everyone, you know, everyone knew exactly what was going on. But, yes, I was telling people to steer clear of buildings, you know? We were looking out for overhead wires, making sure none of them came down. And we just rode it out. It was pretty hard to stand up. It was very hard to stand during this ordeal.
HEMMER: How long did this last, Brian?
WILLIAMS: Approximately five minutes.
HEMMER: Was there much panic outside during this?
WILLIAMS: No, not really -- just apart from children crying and screaming. But, yes, everyone was pretty calm, really, because we all knew what to do.
HEMMER: How much concern was there knowing what happened back at the end of December, that the same thing may happen again?
WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, great concern, you know? Like especially when you don't know where the epicenter was. So, there's a lot of concrete buildings here in Medan. Yes, we were very concerned, you know? We were quite glad it was over in five minutes.
HEMMER: I understand you own some property that's near the center of -- or the epicenter, essentially, from yesterday.
Do you have any update about what's happening there?
WILLIAMS: Yes, sure. Yes, we own a resort in Timaru Island. And I've been in contact with friends of mine that are at our place. And they, yes, basically, in Timaru, the town itself, it's -- 80 percent of the buildings have collapsed. There's a report of four dead. But the airport, the runway is fine, but the main terminal for ferries is damaged. So that's, you know, pretty hard to deal with, with boats coming with aid.
So there are -- there's aid on the way there now. There are boats on the way, taking supplies. We're trying to get that organized from this end.
HEMMER: How long before you'll be able to visit that part of Indonesia?
WILLIAMS: I'll be flying in there tomorrow morning bright and early.
HEMMER: Yes.
Brian, good luck to you and your family, your wife and baby, and thank you for your time there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Brian Williams from earlier today.
Only 12 great earthquakes have been recorded in seismic history. This is considered the second great quake to strike the area in only three month's time.
Pat Leahy of the U.S. Geological Survey is with me now from down in D.C. Good morning to you. Can you explain at this point why no tsunami rippled through Asia yesterday?
PAT LEAHY, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, first of all, good morning.
Yes, I think it's important to realize that an 8.7 is a smaller earthquake than a 9, simply because -- and the power it generates is less, too. The magnitude scale is -- moves by a factor of 10. So for an 8,a 9 is 10 times greater than a magnitude 8. So even though an 8.7 sounds quite similar, certainly the amount of energy that was released is less.
HEMMER: Would it make sense to you, then, that it would be one third less power than what we had in late December? Is that about right?
LEAHY: That would be correct, about one third less.
HEMMER: Would it also be possible that the plates beneath the sea are moving in a different direction?
LEAHY: That's right. The December 26 quake, the rupture, which was about 300 miles long associated with that quake, the rupture moved to the northwest. It's a little like opening -- tearing a piece of cloth. But it moved in that direction. The quake yesterday, the rupture moved to the southeast. So it ruptured in the opposite direction. It was a different segment of the same fault. But because of that direction and other variables, for example, the depth of water where the earthquake occurred, the materials, all of those factors really came to play in terms of whether it would create a tsunami or not.
HEMMER: So you're saying that the energy was pushed away from land and out toward the sea? Is that a fair reading of what you described to me?
LEAHY: Well, yes, certainly. And the displacement of the fault may not have been as great. So you did not move as much water to create an enormous wave.
HEMMER: Did we get lucky yesterday, Pat?
LEAHY: I believe we were lucky. Certainly the setting, the so- called subduction zone earthquakes, where the Earth's tectonic plates are grinding against one another and actually move -- one is sliding under the other -- is the typical place where one would get great earthquakes and ones that would create tsunamis.
HEMMER: Do you -- I'm sorry.
Keep going. I didn't mean to interrupt you.
LEAHY: Yes, let me just mention that the last major earthquake in this area, in this particular plate on the Sunda Trench, was in 1861. And that did create a tsunami. So, again, I think we're quite fortunate.
HEMMER: Do you have any reason to believe right now that another quake is soon to come? LEAHY: From a hazard point of view, certainly when there is an earthquake, as we've seen with the December 26 event, the stress field changes. It's a little like a jigsaw puzzle where you twist one piece and you may be relieving stress in some parts, but you're increasing stress in others. So certainly that happened in December 26. Whether that probably is the situation right now, but when the quake will occur, or the next quake, it's hard to say.
HEMMER: Excellent explanation.
Appreciate the expertise, too.
Pat Leahy from Washington, thanks.
LEAHY: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Carol.
COSTELLO: About 1:00 p.m. today, it will be 12 days since Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. George Felos, the attorney for Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, says: "She is near death. Death is near," he says.
Terri's brother disagrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: Her condition is being mischaracterized today and my sister's condition has been mischaracterized for the last, well, over a decade now. She is very much alive. She just needed help. She needs help. She needs rehabilitation. She needs therapy. And this notion that she's brain- dead, a vegetable, that she's in this PVS condition, is absolutely misleading and false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Schindler also says he and his family are "praying for a miracle."
Michael Schiavo's lawyer says his client has requested an autopsy when Terri dies to show the extent of her brain damage and to silence criticism he has an ulterior motive.
The Schindler family will be joined today by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at Terri's Florida hospice, where they will hold a vigil along with their supporters. And we do expect to hear from them in the next hour.
Right now, though, let's head to Atlanta.
Chad has some pictures of flooding. It was raining really hard here last night.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Almost three inches at Central Park, Carol, there in New York City. (WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: More in a moment here on the stunning new numbers about how many Americans are not getting enough sleep. The health consequences go far beyond being too tired at work. And we'll page the good doctor, Sanjay, on that.
COSTELLO: I think I'm afraid to hear the results of this one.
Also, you may owe money on your taxes, but wait until you hear what you don't have to pay for this year. Our species series, "Many Happy Returns," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Tax day is never exactly pleasant. But Uncle Sam is making it a little bit less taxing. It's easier than ever now to file your taxes online.
In the second part of our tax series, "Many Happy Returns," CNN's Gerri Willis has some important advice for e-filers.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
Good to see you.
Let me tell you, if you're thinking about e-filing this year, absolutely do it. You know why? It's free.
Listen up.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIS (voice-over): For the first time ever this year, Jennifer Weldon, age 23, is doing her taxes without her father's help.
JENNIFER WELDON, FIRST-TIME E-FILER: It's my first time away in a big city and I decided I'm trying to be independent so I should try to do this on my own.
WILLIS: Weldon is one of 67 million Americans that are expected to file their taxes this year over the Internet. And for the first time this year, all taxpayers can now file free electronically at www.irs.gov.
Simple instructions and links to online tax services like Turbo Tax and H&R Block are posted on the Web site.
The IRS hopes that by offering free and easy e-filing, more people who have refunds due to them will file their forms. Each year, more than $2 billion worth of refunds sit uncollected at the IRS. After three years, Uncle Sam keeps them.
And hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons sees paying taxes online as a smart and simple way for young people to get their refund. RUSSELL SIMMONS, CEO, RUSH COMMUNICATIONS: People get, do their taxes on the table. They don't have a bank account. They don't have a relationship with the government. And they think that it's a difficult process to get their money.
WILLIS: He's teamed up with a leading financial service company to create a Web site that targets the 18 to 24-year-old taxpayer. There's a small fee for using Rockyourrefund.com, but he says there are discounts and other incentives that appeal to that age group.
E-filing has even more going for it than simplicity. It's also more accurate and more secure.
ELLEN MURPHY, IRS AREA DIRECTOR: At this time of the year, the thieves know that checks are in the mailboxes and, in fact, I heard someone say that the rural mailboxes where the little arm goes up to let the postman know that there's mail to be picked up are referred to as "rob me boxes."
WILLIS: What's more, if you're the sort of person who worries whether or not your return has made it into the hands of the IRS, they say you'll get an acknowledgement within a day or two of e-filing.
Still, e-filing newcomers will have to have the usual paperwork ready.
WELDON: I don't have my 1040 from last year, so I'm going to have to call my dad. So I'm a little bummed, but, you know, you know it's that transitional phase.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: It is scary your first time, isn't it?
WILLIS: Oh my goodness, yes. No wonder she's calling daddy.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Is there any down side, though, to filing online?
WILLIS: Well, I can't really see a down side to filing online. It's more efficient. It takes less time. You get -- if you're getting money back, you get it in half the time, really big advantages there. And it's just easier in so many ways.
COSTELLO: So those free services you mentioned, are they as good as something like, say, Turbo Tax, where you have to buy the program?
WILLIS: Well, the free services are great, but if you're a Turbo Tax user or one of the other big systems that have been out there for a number of years, you get a lot more bells and whistles, services, you might get some e-mail that's reminding you that the tax software is coming out, that kind of thing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to ask the audit question, because for some reason, I'm always afraid of being audited, although I never have been.
But if you file online, are you more likely to be audited?
WILLIS: I've got to tell you, just the opposite may be true. Here's why. The IRS wants you to file electronically. Do you know why? They have to have people at the IRS inputting your data if you send it to them on paper. So it takes them a lot more time, a lot more resources to work through. But they really prefer that you do it electronically because it goes right into their systems right away.
COSTELLO: So if the IRS person is irritated at you because you've made them work, that's never a good thing.
WILLIS: Probably not.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Bill.
Oh -- tomorrow we'll continue our series, "Many Happy Returns," with a look at those all important tax deductions. And, oh, sorry I forgot that, Gerri, because those are the most important thing.
Back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol.
Thanks.
In a moment here, a devastating day for Michael Jackson. How did he react to Monday's ruling on prior allegations of abuse? A courtroom insider joins us. She'll tell us what she saw yesterday. That's still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right, back to Jack.
A serious topic, too, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, 30,000 registered sex offenders and predators in Florida -- 1,800 of them gone. The "Miami Herald" did some reporting on this. The authorities don't know where they are, 1,800 of these people.
Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford, kidnapped, raped, murdered by one of these missing sex offenders, John Couey. He confessed. This is a guy with a criminal record that spans 30 years. He's been arrested 26 times and he told police, "Yes, I did it." Here's the -- and they didn't know where he was.
Here's the question. What should be done to keep track of sex offenders? Kyle in Kentucky: "The sex offender registry, in my opinion, is a gross violation of the Constitution of the United States. Sex offenders have paid their debt to society upon release from prison."
Kyle, I don't know how to break this to you, but most of the people that are writing to me don't agree with you at all.
Susan in Virginia writes: "As a victim of childhood sexual abuse, I'm biased. I believe anyone who violates children should die. That way they won't hurt anybody else."
Scott writes this: "I think the parole officers ought to be held accountable also. If they're not keeping tabs on their paroled convicts, then they need to be fired, maybe even held accountable for their paroled convicts' actions. Then maybe they'll start earning their wages."
And Reg writes from Ontario: "Millions of illegal immigrants, poof, gone. Thousands of sex offenders, poof, gone. One little blond lady teaching us how to properly fold a towel. We know exactly where she is."
That would be Martha Stewart.
HEMMER: Ankle bracelet and all.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: You know, thinking about Megan's Law, clearly it's designed to help children and protect them. It's also designed to give parents information so that they know when people like John Couey are hanging out on their block. But if Couey doesn't register and the people can't track him down, you're not going to get the information to locate the guy.
CAFFERTY: That's correct.
HEMMER: It's not like these people that are walking around with GPS.
CAFFERTY: Well, what is this guy doing on the street? A 30-year criminal career, 26 arrests, and he's walking around free? I mean what kind of a system allows that?
COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about something good, because there's a rescue operation going on right now.
Chad showed us those pictures of this car trapped in high waters in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. That's between D.C. and Annapolis. You see they have approached the car now. They approached it on that little dinghy you're seeing there. Somebody had a broom a little earlier, but we're not quite clear about what they were doing with that. But they're talking to the person inside of that car. And hopefully soon that person will be taken out of the car.
You know, you hear so many times, do not drive your car in high water, because if you look at the car, the water is probably just up over the tires.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COSTELLO: But that's plenty high enough to get trapped in the water.
HEMMER: Exactly right.
COSTELLO: That's funny, when they took a wide shot of this road from the helicopter...
HEMMER: Oh, did you see it? He is in the middle of nowhere. And when I say he, I don't know if it's a man or a woman but...
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, it seemed like it.
HEMMER: ... when this camera pulls out, you will see that there are trees lining this road on the right side and on the left side. Not quite sure where they are outside of D.C., but they're in the middle of nowhere and going nowhere fast today.
COSTELLO: Well, it was funny because I was saying oh my goodness, that doesn't even look like a road.
HEMMER: Right.
COSTELLO: But if you saw the wider shot, as you move down the road, you can see the actual pavement. This is in Crofton, Maryland and that's in Anne Arundel County.
HEMMER: Some suggest if you get six inches of standing water, that's enough water to float an SUV. I haven't seen it done like that before, but this guy has got plenty of trouble.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Oh, they're getting out of the car now. Can you tell if it's a man or a woman? They're behind a tree there. Getting into the dinghy. And we're happy to say they seem OK.
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: So, the rescue is complete. Good work to the rescue workers out there in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Just how bad is America's sleep problem? Surprising new numbers are out this morning and the consequences range from heart problems to your love life. "Paging Dr. Gupta." We need you.
Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment here, how big is the setback for Michael Jackson? A judge saying that past abuse allegations will be allowed in his current trial. A courtroom insider on Jackson's reaction, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Did I hear Chad say 65 and sunny tomorrow?
COSTELLO: You did. It sounds so nice.
HEMMER: I'm telling you. That park is going to look a lot different this time tomorrow.
Welcome back, everybody.
Soledad has the week off. She's got some vacation.
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello sitting in for her today.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 29, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The search for survivors after a second major quake in Indonesia in only three months. Massive power -- why no massive wave this time?
Conflicting reports about Terri Schiavo's condition as family members respond to comments that she is near death.
And the American epidemic of sleepless nights. More than sheer exhaustion, serious health risks to consider on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning, everyone.
8:00 here in New York.
Good to have you along with us today.
Soledad has got some vacation this week, well deserved. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And she went somewhere cold.
HEMMER: Well, you know...
COSTELLO: I don't understand that.
HEMMER: That's where the family was going, so...
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, family obligations.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: And she insisted on going with them. I'm coming, too.
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello.
Good morning, everyone.
We're going to try to answer questions about the Indonesian earthquake, on many minds this morning. Why didn't it trigger a tsunami like the one in December? And why did two huge quakes come so close together? A scientist from the U.S. Geological Survey will explain it to us.
HEMMER: Also, that tax crunch is coming and your filing your return online could be the way to avoid a lot of hassles. Gerri Willis looks at the up side, the down side and whether or not you should be worried about identity theft. So we'll get to that with Gerri.
COSTELLO: Now it's time to hear from big Jack.
CAFFERTY: Isn't Indonesia the most populous Muslim nation in the world?
HEMMER: That's correct.
CAFFERTY: I believe it is.
HEMMER: Yes, it's 13,000 islands.
CAFFERTY: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," the nation's college campuses are crawling with liberals. It's true. We have a study that proves it. Your computer don't got no sense of grammar. And another bomb is being dropped on Japan. This one stars Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines at the top of the hour.
Here's Kelly Wallace back with us. Good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Bill.
Good morning, again, everyone.
Here are some of the stories now in the news.
There is speculation this hour about another person possibly linked to the Minnesota school shootings. A student at Red Lake High School has been taken into custody. According to local media reports, he is the teenaged son of the tribal chairman. Investigators had previously said the suspected shooter, Jeff Weise, acted alone.
Political wrangling on this day in Iraq. The transitional national assembly ending a session without a speaker. The start of the meeting was delayed by a last-minute debate over who should be group president. Shia, Kurdish and Sunni representatives are still trying to agree on a candidate. A vote is not experienced for several days.
To the Michael Jackson case now -- a setback to the defense in that trial. A judge ruling that past allegations of child molestation against the pop star can be presented as testimony during the current trial. The decision could potentially add weeks to the proceedings. We'll get much more legal perspective on this, just ahead.
And trouble sleeping? Well, you are not alone. A new poll shows most American adults aren't getting enough ZZZs. The National Sleep Foundation is revealing its findings this morning. It is one of the activities kicking off National Sleep Awareness Week. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have much more on this just ahead.
The study is very interesting. I think it's something like 75 percent of us get about 6.9 hours of sleep, which is a lot to me.
COSTELLO: Me, too.
WALLACE: When you're supposed to get up to nine hours a night.
COSTELLO: I get...
HEMMER: Do you think we need Sanjay for this, or can we...
COSTELLO: Can we all just talk?
WALLACE: We need more sleep.
COSTELLO: Duh.
WALLACE: Duh. Exactly.
HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.
WALLACE: No disagreement there.
HEMMER: All right.
Parts of Southeast Asia again topping our news this hour, still reeling from an 8.7 earthquake. Indonesian officials say the death toll now reaching 330, expected to continue to rise throughout the day today. The quake's epicenter on Monday was off the northwestern coast of Sumatra.
Brian Williams was in Medan, Indonesia when that quake struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIAN WILLIAMS, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: Well, initially, basically the house that I was in just started shaking around. I grabbed my 1- year-old boy and my wife and we went outside. And for the next five minutes, it was like we were like lurching. Certainly on land, the whole ground was moving. It was quite a scary feeling.
HEMMER: What was going on outside, Brian?
Did you notice your neighbors or other people in that town come outside, as well?
WILLIAMS: Yes, sure. Everyone was outside. Everyone, you know, everyone knew exactly what was going on. But, yes, I was telling people to steer clear of buildings, you know? We were looking out for overhead wires, making sure none of them came down. And we just rode it out. It was pretty hard to stand up. It was very hard to stand during this ordeal.
HEMMER: How long did this last, Brian?
WILLIAMS: Approximately five minutes.
HEMMER: Was there much panic outside during this?
WILLIAMS: No, not really -- just apart from children crying and screaming. But, yes, everyone was pretty calm, really, because we all knew what to do.
HEMMER: How much concern was there knowing what happened back at the end of December, that the same thing may happen again?
WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, great concern, you know? Like especially when you don't know where the epicenter was. So, there's a lot of concrete buildings here in Medan. Yes, we were very concerned, you know? We were quite glad it was over in five minutes.
HEMMER: I understand you own some property that's near the center of -- or the epicenter, essentially, from yesterday.
Do you have any update about what's happening there?
WILLIAMS: Yes, sure. Yes, we own a resort in Timaru Island. And I've been in contact with friends of mine that are at our place. And they, yes, basically, in Timaru, the town itself, it's -- 80 percent of the buildings have collapsed. There's a report of four dead. But the airport, the runway is fine, but the main terminal for ferries is damaged. So that's, you know, pretty hard to deal with, with boats coming with aid.
So there are -- there's aid on the way there now. There are boats on the way, taking supplies. We're trying to get that organized from this end.
HEMMER: How long before you'll be able to visit that part of Indonesia?
WILLIAMS: I'll be flying in there tomorrow morning bright and early.
HEMMER: Yes.
Brian, good luck to you and your family, your wife and baby, and thank you for your time there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Brian Williams from earlier today.
Only 12 great earthquakes have been recorded in seismic history. This is considered the second great quake to strike the area in only three month's time.
Pat Leahy of the U.S. Geological Survey is with me now from down in D.C. Good morning to you. Can you explain at this point why no tsunami rippled through Asia yesterday?
PAT LEAHY, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, first of all, good morning.
Yes, I think it's important to realize that an 8.7 is a smaller earthquake than a 9, simply because -- and the power it generates is less, too. The magnitude scale is -- moves by a factor of 10. So for an 8,a 9 is 10 times greater than a magnitude 8. So even though an 8.7 sounds quite similar, certainly the amount of energy that was released is less.
HEMMER: Would it make sense to you, then, that it would be one third less power than what we had in late December? Is that about right?
LEAHY: That would be correct, about one third less.
HEMMER: Would it also be possible that the plates beneath the sea are moving in a different direction?
LEAHY: That's right. The December 26 quake, the rupture, which was about 300 miles long associated with that quake, the rupture moved to the northwest. It's a little like opening -- tearing a piece of cloth. But it moved in that direction. The quake yesterday, the rupture moved to the southeast. So it ruptured in the opposite direction. It was a different segment of the same fault. But because of that direction and other variables, for example, the depth of water where the earthquake occurred, the materials, all of those factors really came to play in terms of whether it would create a tsunami or not.
HEMMER: So you're saying that the energy was pushed away from land and out toward the sea? Is that a fair reading of what you described to me?
LEAHY: Well, yes, certainly. And the displacement of the fault may not have been as great. So you did not move as much water to create an enormous wave.
HEMMER: Did we get lucky yesterday, Pat?
LEAHY: I believe we were lucky. Certainly the setting, the so- called subduction zone earthquakes, where the Earth's tectonic plates are grinding against one another and actually move -- one is sliding under the other -- is the typical place where one would get great earthquakes and ones that would create tsunamis.
HEMMER: Do you -- I'm sorry.
Keep going. I didn't mean to interrupt you.
LEAHY: Yes, let me just mention that the last major earthquake in this area, in this particular plate on the Sunda Trench, was in 1861. And that did create a tsunami. So, again, I think we're quite fortunate.
HEMMER: Do you have any reason to believe right now that another quake is soon to come? LEAHY: From a hazard point of view, certainly when there is an earthquake, as we've seen with the December 26 event, the stress field changes. It's a little like a jigsaw puzzle where you twist one piece and you may be relieving stress in some parts, but you're increasing stress in others. So certainly that happened in December 26. Whether that probably is the situation right now, but when the quake will occur, or the next quake, it's hard to say.
HEMMER: Excellent explanation.
Appreciate the expertise, too.
Pat Leahy from Washington, thanks.
LEAHY: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Carol.
COSTELLO: About 1:00 p.m. today, it will be 12 days since Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. George Felos, the attorney for Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, says: "She is near death. Death is near," he says.
Terri's brother disagrees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: Her condition is being mischaracterized today and my sister's condition has been mischaracterized for the last, well, over a decade now. She is very much alive. She just needed help. She needs help. She needs rehabilitation. She needs therapy. And this notion that she's brain- dead, a vegetable, that she's in this PVS condition, is absolutely misleading and false.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Schindler also says he and his family are "praying for a miracle."
Michael Schiavo's lawyer says his client has requested an autopsy when Terri dies to show the extent of her brain damage and to silence criticism he has an ulterior motive.
The Schindler family will be joined today by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at Terri's Florida hospice, where they will hold a vigil along with their supporters. And we do expect to hear from them in the next hour.
Right now, though, let's head to Atlanta.
Chad has some pictures of flooding. It was raining really hard here last night.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Almost three inches at Central Park, Carol, there in New York City. (WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: More in a moment here on the stunning new numbers about how many Americans are not getting enough sleep. The health consequences go far beyond being too tired at work. And we'll page the good doctor, Sanjay, on that.
COSTELLO: I think I'm afraid to hear the results of this one.
Also, you may owe money on your taxes, but wait until you hear what you don't have to pay for this year. Our species series, "Many Happy Returns," next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Tax day is never exactly pleasant. But Uncle Sam is making it a little bit less taxing. It's easier than ever now to file your taxes online.
In the second part of our tax series, "Many Happy Returns," CNN's Gerri Willis has some important advice for e-filers.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
Good to see you.
Let me tell you, if you're thinking about e-filing this year, absolutely do it. You know why? It's free.
Listen up.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIS (voice-over): For the first time ever this year, Jennifer Weldon, age 23, is doing her taxes without her father's help.
JENNIFER WELDON, FIRST-TIME E-FILER: It's my first time away in a big city and I decided I'm trying to be independent so I should try to do this on my own.
WILLIS: Weldon is one of 67 million Americans that are expected to file their taxes this year over the Internet. And for the first time this year, all taxpayers can now file free electronically at www.irs.gov.
Simple instructions and links to online tax services like Turbo Tax and H&R Block are posted on the Web site.
The IRS hopes that by offering free and easy e-filing, more people who have refunds due to them will file their forms. Each year, more than $2 billion worth of refunds sit uncollected at the IRS. After three years, Uncle Sam keeps them.
And hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons sees paying taxes online as a smart and simple way for young people to get their refund. RUSSELL SIMMONS, CEO, RUSH COMMUNICATIONS: People get, do their taxes on the table. They don't have a bank account. They don't have a relationship with the government. And they think that it's a difficult process to get their money.
WILLIS: He's teamed up with a leading financial service company to create a Web site that targets the 18 to 24-year-old taxpayer. There's a small fee for using Rockyourrefund.com, but he says there are discounts and other incentives that appeal to that age group.
E-filing has even more going for it than simplicity. It's also more accurate and more secure.
ELLEN MURPHY, IRS AREA DIRECTOR: At this time of the year, the thieves know that checks are in the mailboxes and, in fact, I heard someone say that the rural mailboxes where the little arm goes up to let the postman know that there's mail to be picked up are referred to as "rob me boxes."
WILLIS: What's more, if you're the sort of person who worries whether or not your return has made it into the hands of the IRS, they say you'll get an acknowledgement within a day or two of e-filing.
Still, e-filing newcomers will have to have the usual paperwork ready.
WELDON: I don't have my 1040 from last year, so I'm going to have to call my dad. So I'm a little bummed, but, you know, you know it's that transitional phase.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: It is scary your first time, isn't it?
WILLIS: Oh my goodness, yes. No wonder she's calling daddy.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Is there any down side, though, to filing online?
WILLIS: Well, I can't really see a down side to filing online. It's more efficient. It takes less time. You get -- if you're getting money back, you get it in half the time, really big advantages there. And it's just easier in so many ways.
COSTELLO: So those free services you mentioned, are they as good as something like, say, Turbo Tax, where you have to buy the program?
WILLIS: Well, the free services are great, but if you're a Turbo Tax user or one of the other big systems that have been out there for a number of years, you get a lot more bells and whistles, services, you might get some e-mail that's reminding you that the tax software is coming out, that kind of thing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to ask the audit question, because for some reason, I'm always afraid of being audited, although I never have been.
But if you file online, are you more likely to be audited?
WILLIS: I've got to tell you, just the opposite may be true. Here's why. The IRS wants you to file electronically. Do you know why? They have to have people at the IRS inputting your data if you send it to them on paper. So it takes them a lot more time, a lot more resources to work through. But they really prefer that you do it electronically because it goes right into their systems right away.
COSTELLO: So if the IRS person is irritated at you because you've made them work, that's never a good thing.
WILLIS: Probably not.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Bill.
Oh -- tomorrow we'll continue our series, "Many Happy Returns," with a look at those all important tax deductions. And, oh, sorry I forgot that, Gerri, because those are the most important thing.
Back to you, Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Carol.
Thanks.
In a moment here, a devastating day for Michael Jackson. How did he react to Monday's ruling on prior allegations of abuse? A courtroom insider joins us. She'll tell us what she saw yesterday. That's still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right, back to Jack.
A serious topic, too, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Yes, 30,000 registered sex offenders and predators in Florida -- 1,800 of them gone. The "Miami Herald" did some reporting on this. The authorities don't know where they are, 1,800 of these people.
Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford, kidnapped, raped, murdered by one of these missing sex offenders, John Couey. He confessed. This is a guy with a criminal record that spans 30 years. He's been arrested 26 times and he told police, "Yes, I did it." Here's the -- and they didn't know where he was.
Here's the question. What should be done to keep track of sex offenders? Kyle in Kentucky: "The sex offender registry, in my opinion, is a gross violation of the Constitution of the United States. Sex offenders have paid their debt to society upon release from prison."
Kyle, I don't know how to break this to you, but most of the people that are writing to me don't agree with you at all.
Susan in Virginia writes: "As a victim of childhood sexual abuse, I'm biased. I believe anyone who violates children should die. That way they won't hurt anybody else."
Scott writes this: "I think the parole officers ought to be held accountable also. If they're not keeping tabs on their paroled convicts, then they need to be fired, maybe even held accountable for their paroled convicts' actions. Then maybe they'll start earning their wages."
And Reg writes from Ontario: "Millions of illegal immigrants, poof, gone. Thousands of sex offenders, poof, gone. One little blond lady teaching us how to properly fold a towel. We know exactly where she is."
That would be Martha Stewart.
HEMMER: Ankle bracelet and all.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: You know, thinking about Megan's Law, clearly it's designed to help children and protect them. It's also designed to give parents information so that they know when people like John Couey are hanging out on their block. But if Couey doesn't register and the people can't track him down, you're not going to get the information to locate the guy.
CAFFERTY: That's correct.
HEMMER: It's not like these people that are walking around with GPS.
CAFFERTY: Well, what is this guy doing on the street? A 30-year criminal career, 26 arrests, and he's walking around free? I mean what kind of a system allows that?
COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about something good, because there's a rescue operation going on right now.
Chad showed us those pictures of this car trapped in high waters in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. That's between D.C. and Annapolis. You see they have approached the car now. They approached it on that little dinghy you're seeing there. Somebody had a broom a little earlier, but we're not quite clear about what they were doing with that. But they're talking to the person inside of that car. And hopefully soon that person will be taken out of the car.
You know, you hear so many times, do not drive your car in high water, because if you look at the car, the water is probably just up over the tires.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
COSTELLO: But that's plenty high enough to get trapped in the water.
HEMMER: Exactly right.
COSTELLO: That's funny, when they took a wide shot of this road from the helicopter...
HEMMER: Oh, did you see it? He is in the middle of nowhere. And when I say he, I don't know if it's a man or a woman but...
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, it seemed like it.
HEMMER: ... when this camera pulls out, you will see that there are trees lining this road on the right side and on the left side. Not quite sure where they are outside of D.C., but they're in the middle of nowhere and going nowhere fast today.
COSTELLO: Well, it was funny because I was saying oh my goodness, that doesn't even look like a road.
HEMMER: Right.
COSTELLO: But if you saw the wider shot, as you move down the road, you can see the actual pavement. This is in Crofton, Maryland and that's in Anne Arundel County.
HEMMER: Some suggest if you get six inches of standing water, that's enough water to float an SUV. I haven't seen it done like that before, but this guy has got plenty of trouble.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Oh, they're getting out of the car now. Can you tell if it's a man or a woman? They're behind a tree there. Getting into the dinghy. And we're happy to say they seem OK.
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: So, the rescue is complete. Good work to the rescue workers out there in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
Just how bad is America's sleep problem? Surprising new numbers are out this morning and the consequences range from heart problems to your love life. "Paging Dr. Gupta." We need you.
Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment here, how big is the setback for Michael Jackson? A judge saying that past abuse allegations will be allowed in his current trial. A courtroom insider on Jackson's reaction, next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Did I hear Chad say 65 and sunny tomorrow?
COSTELLO: You did. It sounds so nice.
HEMMER: I'm telling you. That park is going to look a lot different this time tomorrow.
Welcome back, everybody.
Soledad has the week off. She's got some vacation.
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello sitting in for her today.
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