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CNN Live At Daybreak

Aid Begins Arriving After Earthquake; Fury Following Police Beating in New Orleans Caught on Tape

Aired October 11, 2005 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, October 11.
Aid begins arriving, but is it already too late for those at the epicenter of a devastating earthquake. In the midst of the rubble and wreckage, a new problem -- severe weather. Freezing cold and rain coming down right now. We're going to have a live report for you.

And fury followed after a police beating in New Orleans caught on tape.

All this on DAYBREAK.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: We are following breaking news this morning and it's coming out of Baghdad.

At least 20 people are dead in a suicide car bombing that police say targeted an Iraqi Army convoy.

We want to get the latest.

Let's head live to Baghdad and Aneesh Raman -- tell us more, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning.

Dozens dead after two attacks rocked the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and the northwestern town of Tal Afar, just within the past hour.

As you mentioned, large plumes of smoke seen out of the western Baghdad neighborhood of Amiriyah. There, a suicide car bomb detonated along a convoy of Iraqi Army vehicles. At least 20 people are now confirmed dead. These, of course, initial casualty numbers.

That area is a predominantly Sunni neighborhood, an insurgent stronghold, an area that just weeks ago we saw a very brazen attack by the insurgents there, who brought a variety of weapons and in a stand- off of some hours were firing upon Iraqi police checkpoints.

Another attack just before that, Carol, taking place in the northwestern town of Tal Afar, just near the city of Mosul. A car bomb there now at a marketplace has wounded at least 20 people, we have confirmed. There are reports, though, that the death toll there is now upwards at 30. These, of course, initial numbers from a remote area. Those will easily rise in the hours ahead.

Tal Afar, Carol, familiar to our viewers. A U.S. Marine operation took place there at the beginning of the month to root out the insurgency. Then, on September 28th, shortly after that operation was complete, Iraq's first, as far as we know, female suicide bomber, detonated at a marketplace in Tal Afar, killing a number of people. And now a car bomb.

This is of deliberate timing. We are just days away, Carol, from that October 15th constitutional referendum. President Bush, as well as Iraqi officials, had warned that we would see a spike in violence as we head toward that date.

Meanwhile, they are setting up immense security at the some 6,000 election centers that will be put out throughout the country on that critical day of Saturday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman reporting live from Baghdad this morning.

We're also following a developing story in the aftermath of the South Asian earthquake. Severe weather in Pakistan now hampering rescuers, forcing them to cancel all relief flights out of Islamabad.

Our CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Satinder Bindra was traveling with U.S. forces earlier. They went to a remote town in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Satinder is now back in Islamabad. And, of course, he's grounded, along with the U.S. Marine -- Satinder, tell us about the conditions there this morning.

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, since we spoke last, the weather, at least in Islamabad, has sort of cleared up, but just a tad. It's not raining anymore, but still very dark, very dreary. And I can only imagine that the weather conditions in the mountains, of course, the remote areas of Pakistan, the worst affected areas in this earthquake, must be a lot worse.

This morning, Carol, things got off to a good start, actually. Eight U.S. helicopters that had arrived here in Pakistan from Afghanistan started a massive relief operation they were carrying out from Islamabad to Muzaffrabad in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, tents and mainly food. This food would then be redistributed from Muzaffrabad to an estimated two-and-a-half million homeless people.

Carol, I must add that conditions for many survivors here in the northern parts of Pakistan extremely grave. Many of them have been complaining now for the past 24 to 36 hours that they've got very little food, in fact, such little food that some people have taken to rioting. There has been some looting, as well. And the law and order condition not exactly quite what the authorities would like.

So, of course, many people who are looking forward to the arrival of the American helicopters would now be disappointed. The latest on the ground here is because of the bad weather conditions, all the American helicopters n the others, as well, who were taking part in Pakistan's largest ever relief operation have been grounded.

COSTELLO: Satinder, I promised you a weather forecast.

And Chad has the conditions now in Pakistan -- Chad, what are they experiencing there and for how long will they experience it?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, it was one thunderstorm over that area. Literally nothing really in the mountains. We've been looking at some random satellites that are out there. It's very difficult to get information on satellites over there, as well, even from the India Sat that's on the very, very left side of the screen.

But we have been seeing just a couple of little pop up thunderstorms, not unlike what we see in the Plains. Obviously, it did get dark. Satinder talked about a little bit of light hail. And as that storm moved on by, they got a ground stop at the airport there, because you don't want to be trying to land planes in wind shear. And now things are getting much better across that area.

COSTELLO: Well, that is good news. And, of course, these are file pictures, pictures we took earlier. The weather there too severe to really get any live pictures out of Pakistan at this moment.

Thank you, Satinder.

Thank you, Chad.

As the death toll rises in the Pakistani quake, the search for survivors continues at an apartment block in Islamabad that's now in ruins.

CNN's Andrew Stevens talked to some of those survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They scrabbled, sometimes with their bare hands, to find survivors. This rescue at the collapsed 10-story apartment block in Islamabad going into its fourth day. And while they dug into the ruins, other survivors watched.

Savak Buki and his family lived right across the street. He saw it happen.

SAVAK BUKI, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: I can see the people, they were like running in their own apartments to the doors when it was going down. And I saw them literally crying. They were just opening the door and the building goes down.

STEVENS: He described the early rescue attempts. Some men from Saudi Arabia breaking into the collapsed building; a Western mother and her two children rescued.

Buki has friends who he thanks may still be under the rubble. But for the moment, he's focusing on his own survival.

He and his family have been evacuated to a cluster of tents at a nearby park. They're living on handouts. BUKI: The peoples are like helping us out from like our neighbors, like the people who are nearby there like have been coming and they're asking us if you need anything, like money or stuff, or food or anything.

STEVENS: Buki's family have nowhere to go. But his mother says they're the lucky ones. She praises god that at least her family survived. She says she feels safe, for the moment.

Rescuers think there may be as many as 50 people still trapped under the rubble. As dusk falls, the searchers call for silence to listen for signs of life. They're not giving up hope yet.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

COSTELLO: American helicopters are in the air. They're helping out with relief operations in Guatemala. Parts of that country literally washed away following hurricane Stan. Heavy rains caused massive mud slides that have already accounted for at least 500 deaths. The toll expected to rise. Some of the more devastated parts of the country are just now getting relief supplies.

Well, we've all seen the pictures -- a violent beating caught on camera in New Orleans. This morning, there is new fallout in the wake of what some say is nothing short of police brutality at its worst. That's coming your way next.

Also, the skies are looking even bluer for JetBlue these days. That's in our "Business Buzz."

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": Bonds are basically IOUs. When you invest in a bond, you are lending money to the issuer. The issuer may be the federal government if you're buying a government bond, or it may be a corporation if you're buying a corporate bond.

And what you get in return for lending that money is the promise of steady interest payments, usually twice a year, and also the promise that you'll get your principal back when the bond comes due, and that could be anywhere from a year or, in the case of long-term bonds, 30 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:10 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

An infectious disease expert says stockpiling vaccines and anti- viral drugs will do little to counter a possible bird flu pandemic. Michael Osterholm says government should prepare to cope with the disease, because it could spread too quickly in humans for medicine to be of much help.

In money news, Lincoln National will soon be one of the largest U.S. life issuers. The company has agreed to buy similar rival, Jefferson Pilot, for about $7.5 billion in cash and stock.

In pop culture, Martha Stewart's new book hits the newsstands today. It's called "The Martha Rules." In it, the domestic diva serves up tips for would be entrepreneurs who want to build their own empires. She'll be on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and she will be taking your phone calls.

In sports, the Angels are heading to Chicago for the American League championship series. They defeated the Yankees 5-3 in yesterday's decisive game five -- Chad.

MYERS: And good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: There is fallout this morning from an alleged police beating in New Orleans. The suspect, Robert Davis, says he was not drunk and did not deserve to be battered by police. This is the incident in question. New Orleans police officers caught on tape beating Davis. They say he was drunk and violent. But the New Orleans police chief told us the officers went over the top. They have now been charged with battery.

Chief Warren Riley says he hopes their actions won't paint a picture of the whole police force.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACTING SUPT. WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Those handful of officers that we have who have been involved in incidents that have embarrassed this police department or caused us any problems, we want to weed them out. But we also want to say that the vast majority of NOPD officers are hardworking, true professionals, men and women who are out here risking their lives on a daily basis to make New Orleans a safe place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Are they just under too much stress, though? And who is the suspect in this case, Robert Davis?

From New Orleans this morning, WWL Radio News Director David Cohen.

Good morning, David.

DAVID COHEN, WWL RADIO NEWS DIRECTOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: First of all, what do we know about Robert Davis?

COHEN: He's a retired schoolteacher. He's in his mid-60s and he says he is a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in decades. He denies claims that he was drinking. He says he was just trying to get some clarification from police on what time the curfew started, saying he had heard various reports from different police officers. He said he was just asking them when do I have to be off the street when things turned ugly.

COSTELLO: I guess he asked a police officer on horseback what time the curfew as and the police officer allegedly responded with expletives.

COHEN: Yes. Apparently the officer was upset that he was getting too close to the horse. And then when the horse seemed uncomfortable, that's when the police on foot stepped in. And as the video has shown, we've seen where the two officers who then grab Davis, punch him repeatedly in the back of the head. They throw him to the ground. It becomes a rather bloody scene and one that, honestly, the police department is very embarrassed by.

They're not making any excuses for these officers, but also pointing out that we have 1,400 plus New Orleans police officers who have been working 12 hour shifts or longer nonstop for the last six weeks, following hurricane Katrina.

They were in floodwaters trying to rescue people. They were defending the city against an armed stand-off with thugs who thought they could take over in the wake of Katrina. It's been very stressful. And while they make no excuses and say that the behavior of these officers was clearly unacceptable, the police are pointing out this put the spotlight on the fact that we have a very stressed out police force who for six weeks hasn't been able to see their families. They're staying on a cruise ship, to police officers per room. Their families can't come on board. They haven't been able to go to their homes. Eighty percent of the officers' homes have been destroyed by hurricane Katrina.

So it's really put a spotlight on. And yesterday at a meeting with New York Mayor Ray Nagin and other officials, it was made very clear that there must be an accelerated effort to get these police officer time off, a week off where they can see their families for the first time, where they...

COSTELLO: Yes...

COHEN: Yes?

COSTELLO: But beyond that, David, why are they still living on a cruise ship? Shouldn't there be accommodations made for them? I mean why can't they be put up in the hotels, the hotel rooms that aren't being used by people coming to visit New Orleans? COHEN: Most of the hotel rooms in New Orleans are being used by FEMA. They've set them off in blocks and they've been set aside for FEMA employees, for the contracted workers who are coming in from out of state and out of the country to clean New Orleans and try to get the city back on its feet.

That's been a big point of contention. The local officials are very upset with FEMA because they have not put up temporary housing for locals.

Jesse Jackson today is bringing in busloads of New Orleaneans who have been in shelters. He wanted to bring in 600 people to start filling these jobs of cleaning up the city. But the mayor told him, hey, you can't bring 600 people to New Orleans right now because FEMA hasn't given us any transitional housing for them. He said the most you can bring in is a couple of hundred.

So Jesse Jackson says he has been able to find enough hotel rooms to put up 200 evacuees who are returning to the city today. He is arriving with those busloads of New Orleaneans this afternoon.

COSTELLO: OK. The other man arriving in New Orleans -- actually, he's already there -- President Bush will be there.

Will we be hearing anything from Mayor Nagin about these problems?

COHEN: The president met at Bellchase Naval Air Station with the mayor and with officials from Blackmans Parish, 70 percent of which was destroyed. And one of the big issues last night in their conversation was temporary housing. Where are we going to put all of these people and when can they comeback to greater New Orleans?

It was also a topic over dinner when the president sat down with the commission designed to come up with a master plan for rebuilding New Orleans.

It is on top of mind and Mayor Nagin, over and over again, he says every time he sees the president, he tells him. He says five times he's told him now we need housing. We need to be able to bring our people home and give them someplace to live because most of the homes in this city have been destroyed.

COSTELLO: David Cohen from WWL.

He's the news director there.

Thank you, David, for joining us this morning.

We appreciate it.

We're also going to hear more from Robert Davis and his attorney on AMERICAN MORNING. The pair will sit down with CNN's Soledad O'Brien to discuss the incident and the aftermath. That will come your way at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. More deadly violence this morning in Baghdad. Is the insurgency intensifying? Just ahead here on DAYBREAK, we'll check in with our military analyst. General Shepherd has returned from Iraq. He'll be on DAYBREAK, coming up.

But, after the break, getting ready for fighting words. Who are better shoppers, men or women? A new study has the cold, hard facts, ladies.

But first, good morning, Boston.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time for a little "Business Buzz" now.

Continental Airlines makes an $84 million contribution to its main pension fund. That brings the total for the year to a fully funded $304 million. Continental wants more time to make required pension contributions, something bankrupt airlines are also seeking. But the final outcome of the legislation on the issue still up in the air.

JetBlue Airlines stretching its wings. The New York-based carrier plans to add 52 week day departures between November and April. The first part of that expansion plan is shuttle service between JFK and Boston. JetBlue's growth comes as bigger airlines scale back on domestic flights.

Workers affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita still trying to get back on their feet.

J.J. Ramberg joins us now with a look at what some companies are doing to help their employees -- good morning.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

This is some nice news. There are so many people out there, you know, who are displaced, who are homeless, who are worried about their jobs, and there are a lot of companies right now who are continuing to pay these workers who are displaced and out of work.

Now, according to a new survey, nearly half of those companies will keep staffers on their payroll indefinitely...

COSTELLO: Wow!

RAMBERG: ... even though the companies aren't legally required to pay employees if they can't work.

Now, about a third of those companies say that they're eventually going to discontinue the paychecks, which you would expect. But it's nice that they're paying them right now.

And now the people who don't have the resources to keep up the generosity, the small companies, are also doing something. They're setting up cut off dates right now to stop paying out of work employees. But they're paying them now and they're giving them some advanced warning.

And it's not just money, either. Almost every company is providing temporary housing and food for employees who are back at work in the hurricane area.

Now, just to give you some examples, Dupont brought in mobile homes for workers in Mississippi. About half have moved workers to different cities. And one employer has set up its entire own city, called Valero, and it's housing and feeding about 1,700 employees at its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.

Now, according to the "Wall Street Journal" this morning, Valero has set up air conditioned tents for more than 1,000 workers; 20 portable showers; 100 portable toilets; and two mobile kitchens.

Some companies are even going the extra mile to get their employees back to work.

COSTELLO: Wow!

RAMBERG: Which is what they need, right? There is no place for these people to eat or sleep. So it's very generous and it's very selfish, as well, for these companies.

COSTELLO: Well, I think that's the secret for New Orleans -- tap into private business and get the trailers there so people can move into the trailers and work, including the police force.

RAMBERG: Yes, exactly. Right, as we've been hearing all morning.

COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: Exactly.

COSTELLO: But the problem is, is the bigger companies are able to provide that, but the similar companies cannot, and if they do, they'll quickly go belly up.

RAMBERG: Right.

COSTELLO: Yes.

RAMBERG: And small companies provide so much work for people, too. It really runs the economy.

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

J.J. Ramberg, thank you.

You're not going to believe this one. Oh, maybe you are. Men are genetically programmed to be better shoppers than women. Oh, come on. That's what researchers are saying, in "Prima" magazine, anyway. By better they mean men get in, find what they need and get out -- no browsing or wandering around looking for bargains. You've never met my husband. The scientists say it's all part of men's hunter/gathering instincts that developed millions of years ago. So it's the cave man in you coming out -- Chad.

MYERS: But that is not really a shopper.

COSTELLO: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

MYERS: That's a buyer. That means men are better buyers. I'll tell you, I can do my Christmas shopping in about 45 minutes in one store.

COSTELLO: Yes, but what do you get people?

MYERS: All kinds of stuff.

COSTELLO: Something they really, really want?

MYERS: Well, anything you can get at Wal-Mart.

COSTELLO: See, I know Sally probably takes her time, looks for that special gift.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: It just means women are more thoughtful.

MYERS: Right. And have more time on their hands.

COSTELLO: I don't think so.

You're going to be in big trouble for that comment, boy.

Thank you, Chad, at least I think.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Coming up in our next half hour, more from the quake zone in southern Asia.

And a bad situation getting worse in New Hampshire this morning. Rain and flooding there has caused some serious damage. We'll have the latest next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you.

Thank you for waking up with us this morning.

Chad will be along in a minute with your forecast.

Also coming up this half hour, tracking terror. Our military expert, General Don Shepherd, just back from Iraq. He'll join us to talk about the insurgency. As we've been reporting, more suicide attacks this morning.

And digging out -- we'll have a live report from Pakistan on the aftermath of a major earthquake.

But first, now in the news, more violence in Iraq this morning. Within the last hour, a car bomb blast in western Baghdad left at least 20 people dead. An Iraqi Army convoy was the target of the attack.

And north of Baghdad, there are more reports of deaths. A bombing in a market in Tal Afar has killed as many as 30 people.

Back in the United States, police in Titusville, Florida say they've uncovered a hurricane scam. They've arrested several people who allegedly posed as Katrina victims. Police say the suspects took thousands of dollars meant for real storm victims.

It's the last thing people in the Northeast want to hear. More rain could be on the way. Flooding from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire blamed for 10 deaths now. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. Perhaps the worst in New Hampshire -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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