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CNN Live Today

Tornadoes In Tennessee; Tornadoes In Kentucky; Bush's Trip To Asia; Airline Cargo Dangers; Winterizing Your Car Tips

Aired November 16, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I was just posing the question. Also proceeds -- some proceeds of his book go to Katrina victims. Therefore ...
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Who's your buddy? Who's your friend?

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Let's press on.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's, in fact, get right to Fredricka Whitfield. We're out of time on AMERICAN MORNING but Fred's going to take you through the next couple hours on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Good morning.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We'll do. Good morning to both of you. Have a great day.

Well, digging through the damage in the Midwest this morning. Homes ripped apart. Trees and power lines snapped. Two people dead. Communities across five states, the victims of devastating weather. Live, extensive coverage.

Plus breaking news ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

First, a look at our top stories.

President Bush is in South Korea this morning. He'll meet with that country's president and then attend a trade summit. He travels on to China this weekend and has already irked leaders there by urging them to emulate the democracy in Taiwan. China considered the island a renegade province. We'll have more on his trip to Asia in a few minutes.

So-called peace mom Cindy Sheehan is demanding a trial to fight the charge of protesting outside the White House without a permit. This morning she's appearing in court for the September arrest. Sheehan launched an anti-war crusade after her son, Casey, was killed while serving in Iraq. She vows to return to Crawford, Texas, and spend Thanksgiving protesting near the president's ranch.

The woman accused of being the cell phone bandit has been ordered to be held without bond. Nineteen-year-old Candice Rose Martinez was arraigned this morning. The FBI says she's confessed to the four robberies and her boyfriend admits to being the getaway driver. Was the accused robber talking to him on the cell phone during the holdups? Still no answer on that.

The CIA reportedly believes that Cuban President Fidel Castro is facing serious health problems and that U.S. policymakers better prepare for potential trouble. "The Miami Herald" is report that the CIA recently concluded that Mr. Castro has Parkinson's disease. The paper says CIA analysts warn that if his health rapidly deteriorates before transferring power, Cuba could be thrown into chaos.

Good morning. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta, in for Daryn Kagan.

Residents are cleaning up today after 35 tornadoes ripped across five states in the Midwest and south. One death was blamed on the storm in Kentucky. More than 20 people were injured in that state. Dozens of homes have been damaged. Power lines and trees are down. National Guard troops have been helping with search and rescue operations and clearing out the debris.

In Indiana, a teenaged motorist's death is being linked to the stormy weather. State officials say at least nine homes there were destroyed, but the damage was far less severe than last week. A tornado tore through an Evansville mobile home park killing 23 people.

Officials in Henry County, Tennessee, say two tornadoes touched down there. At least 13 people were injured. Twenty-one houses have been destroyed and hundreds of residents in the rural area have no power. The county emergency management office took a direct hit from a tornado, but officials were able to move operations to another building.

For a closer look at the damage in Tennessee, let's check in with our Rick Sanchez. He joins us now from Clarksville.

Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell, Fred, this is an area that's really been affected by this thing and it's really affected people's lives. This is a home behind me that you're looking at. There were people living here last night until this tornado came through. They've been coming back through this morning, David Dover (ph), the home owner, trying to recover what he possibly can. But, as you can see, it's hard to find anything in this mess. They're doing the best they can as they get through it.

You know what's interesting is, as you see this, it's on the bottom side of a hill. There are so many different cars and homes that were literally moved by the tornado. And if you happen to be on the downside of a hill, well then what happens is, like in the case here, the mobile home literally starts rolling down the hill and ends up, well, in a pile of debris like that one.

In fact, let me show you, Fred, where this home actually start. Here's the foundation of the mobile home where I am right now. It ends up about another 30, 40 feet down there.

Now what's interesting about this is that the only person in the home at the time the tornado came through was a 12-year-old girl. She was in there and somehow she got herself inside the bathtub and was able to survive this situation which, as you look at it, you think, how in the world was she able to do it. But she was able to survive. She's said to be doing OK. Did not need to be hospitalized. In fact, she was treated here.

I'll show you now something that becomes a problem afterward for people after the tornado comes through. And that's this situation. You know, after hurricanes and such, you get live wires that are down. They've gone down and you can see right there that little blinking light. That means that there's another live wire here.

We've seen these all over down Highway 13 as you get up in this area. And we expect that we'll be seeing more of it. Some of the crews are coming out here now, they're talking to the people, they're trying to get people out of shelters. Just trying to assess the damage and find out just how bad its been. But obviously in this area, parts of Kentucky as well, it's been hit bad.

Fred, back over to you,

WHITFIELD: And, Rick, the story you just told of the 12-year- old, her survival is amazing. She really was very smart because she did one of the best things to do, when they tell a lot of folks in tornado alley-type areas, to go into a bathroom and to hide or crouch down into a bathtub. That ends up being one of the safest place. Had she been prepped beforehand about keeping herself safe in severe weather like this?

SANCHEZ: That's exactly right. When you get into a bathtub it -- as you can see, this thing started to roll. Well, as it rolls, she's in the bathtub rolling with it but she's covered at least on three sides by it and it was able to keep the debris from hitting her. I think she's shaken up somewhat, but hopefully we'll be able to get her story as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lucky girl and very smart. Rick Sanchez, thanks so much, from Clarksville, Tennessee.

Well, some of the worst tornado damage is in the are around Madisonville, Kentucky. Paula Milligan lives in Madisonville. She joins us now on the telephone to tell us about the damage to her street and something about your survivor story, which was quite different.

You were not home at the time, but you were out running errands, Paula? Tell me what happened when you heard that this tornado was about to hit your area?

PAULA MILLIGAN, HOME DESTROYED BY TORNADO: Well, I was taking care of some business at the local newspaper office and they asked everyone to go in the camera room, which is an interior room.

WHITFIELD: Did you know that severe weather was on the way?

MILLIGAN: I knew -- I left the house about 3:00 and I think it hit about 3:33. And I did know that there was severe weather in the area, but I had to take care of some business with the messenger. And I left knowing that there was a possibility of a storm. And on the way I was listening to the radio and they indicated also that there was a tornado that had touched down at Dawson Springs, which is southwest of Madisonville.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so at that point are you thinking, hey, that's very close to my neighborhood? --

MILLIGAN: Yes. I said a little prayer on the way to take care of my business.

WHITFIELD: How is my house doing?

MILLIGAN: When I learned that the tornadoes had touched down near Erlington, we're on the south side of Madisonville near Erlington, I then made an effort to get home, which the ...

WHITFIELD: And now, Paula, as you mentioned home, we're actually looking at a still photograph of your home. Come to find out it did endure some extensive damage. Tell me about it. Once you got there, what did you see? What did you take note of?

MILLIGAN: Well, I had to park where -- we live on Country Club Lane, and it's a tree-lined, scenic lane. And needless to say, the trees littered the road and we weren't able to come down. And I had to park at the Country Club, which is, oh, maybe three tenths of a mile down the street, and I had to come -- you know, run to the house, basically. And I could see my neighbor's homes were just totally devastated. And, of course, mine was, too.

WHITFIELD: And were you seeing people who had been in their homes coming outside?

MILLIGAN: Yes. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Now I understand you actually ran to try to get some help by using your golf cart that was in your home?

MILLIGAN: I beg your pardon?

WHITFIELD: I understand you actually went into your home to get a golf cart to try and help some of the folks that you had seen?

MILLIGAN: Well, actually, we got the golf cart. One of my neighbors came down and we were going to her house and, ironically, we moved the golf cart into her house and when we came back, the whole chimney had fallen through the garage and landed in the garage right where the golf cart had been.

WHITFIELD: Whoa, that was a close call.

MILLIGAN: It really was.

WHITFIELD: And then once you were able to get to other people that you know, give me an idea of what it was like. MILLIGAN: Well, we saw -- as I was coming down Country Club Lane, I could see some of every one of my neighbors. So I knew that they were all OK. And there were ambulances trying to get through, four wheelers everywhere. You know, everybody was trying to help. It was amazing. The city of Madisonville responded in an amazing manner. They -- within two hours they had the street cleared. They had the security overnight was just unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Wow. A remarkable story indeed. Paula Milligan joining us from Madisonville, Kentucky. Glad that you are safe and glad that so many of your neighbors fared well as well because those images are quite telling of the kind of widespread destruction right there in your area. Thanks so much.

Let's check in now with Bonnie Schneider who's in the Weather Center to give us an idea, are they out of the woods in terms of severe weather or is there anything else happening in that area?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Still more severe weather coverage straight ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY. And check out this special report on tornadoes at our Web site. It includes a look at some of the deadliest twisters ever. You can also find the weather for your city at cnn.com/weather.

Airline passengers in the U.S. are regularly screened before they board commercial flights. But what about the cargo stored beneath them? Up next on CNN LIVE TODAY, the results of a new government report, what's been done to make you safer and what's keeping you in danger?

And this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immediately as they pulled the bag off my head, I saw the lions fighting in front of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Allegation of torture and the use of wild animals. Did U.S. soldiers in Iraq threaten to literally feed detainees to the lions? We go in-depth on this story and hear from the alleged victims when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Bush has arrived in South Korea. This is the second leg of the president's eight day, four nation visit to Asia. He arrived in the South Korean city of Busan, where he will join other Asian leaders for a regional economic summit. During a visit to Japan, he responded to a congressional vote on the war in Iraq. CNN's Dana Bash has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Nearly 7,000 miles from home in Kyoto, Japan, President Bush disputed the idea that an overwhelming U.S. Senate vote was a repudiation of his Iraq policy from within his own party.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's to be expected. That's what the Congress expects. They expect us to keep him abreast of a plan that is going to work.

BASH: The Republican measure demands the Bush administration regularly explain the plan for success in Iraq. Mr. Bush focused in what he called a positive step, the defeat of a democratic amendment for a specific timetable of withdrawing U.S. troops.

BUSH: The only reason we won't succeed is if we lose our nerve and the terrorists are able to drive us out of Iraq by killing innocent lives.

BASH: The president offered his latest defense of the increasingly unpopular war standing next to the Japanese prime minister, his closest ally in Asia, who was noncommittal about whether Japan's small contingent of non-combat troops in Iraq would stay there.

Though the two men did not resolve ongoing disputes over Japan's ban on U.S. beef and the controversial American military presence here, the president was clearly at ease with his host who took the Bushs on a tour of one of Kyoto's most famous and spectacular ancient temples. Later, the president held up Japan and China's arch rival, Taiwan, as model for democracy in Asia as he urged China to grant more rights to its 1.3 billion citizens.

BUSH: By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society.

BASH: Mr. Bush is under intense pressure from home to take China to task, not just on human rights, but on trade and currency practices that experts say cost thousands of U.S. jobs each year.

BUSH: China needs to provide a level playing field for American businesses seeking access to China's market.

BASH: But ahead of meetings later this week in Beijing, the president's remarks amounted to gentle prodding rather than a list of demands, a sign the White House does not want to overly antagonize the Chinese whom they need on crucial issues like the North Korean nuclear talks.

Dana Bash, CNN, Kyoto, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A new turn in the CIA leak investigation. "Washington Post" Editor Bob Woodward says he knew about Valerie Plame a month before her name was made public. Woodward told Special Council Patrick Fitzgerald he was told about Plame by a senior Bush administration official. "The Post" refused to identify the official but said it was not Lewis "Scooter" Libby. He's already been indicted in the case. Woodward testified before the grand jury for two hours on Monday.

The next time you're flying, consider this. Just how safe is the cargo that is carried on the plane. The answer may surprise or even shock you. CNN's Jeanne Meserve has been investigating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Airline passengers and their luggage go through painstaking, sometime intrusive security screening. But most of the cargo underneath their feet does not, potentially leaving the door open for a terrorist attack.

REP. ED MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Americans are really playing cargo roulette every time they get on a passenger plane.

MESERVE: In a new critical report, the government accountability office says, "the Transportation Security Administration has not identified air cargo vulnerabilities, nor has it compiled data on air cargo security breaches that could reveal security weaknesses." Because inspecting all of the 293 billion pounds of cargo shipped by air in the U.S. every year could paralyze the economic system, the TSA is developing a method to target high risk cargo.

But the GAO says the agency's "database contains information on only about one third of the 1.5 million known shippers" and "has not taken need steps to identify shippers who may pose a security threat." The GAO also says "because certain cargo is exempt from random inspections because of its nature and size, the system could be open to attack."

One analyst says the report and the threat should be put in context.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: It's good to keep pressure on them, but we shouldn't focus on this single vulnerability in isolation from all the others and we shouldn't expect the department to obsess and take care only of this threat while there's so many others they have to deal with.

MESERVE: The Department of Homeland Security says the threat that terrorists will exploit vulnerabilities in the air cargo system is real and a high priority. And while the department claims to have made progress, it is not enough to silence the critics or eliminate the threat.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The TSA says it's doing its best but recognizes the need to do more. A spokeswoman says more staff has been hired and new technologies are being tests to inspect air cargo.

And be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well, it's getting cold outside just about everywhere and you need to think about more than just getting yourself personally ready for winter, such as turtlenecks, sweaters, et cetera. Coming up, Gerri Willis is here with her "Top Five Tips."

Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS: I'll tell you how to winterize your car and why you need kitty litter. It's all coming up next in "Five Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Want to show you some pictures just now coming in there on Capitol Hill. Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito arriving on The Hill to meet with a number of senators today as he gets closer to the confirmation process. His first meeting of today was with -- is going to be with Maine's Senator Olympia Snowe. Those new pictures coming in.

As the cold weather approaches, you winterize your home and your wardrobe, right? So why not your car? In today's "Top Five Tips," CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis tells us how to prepare our vehicles as many areas now face their first freeze already, Gerri.

WILLIS: I know. I know. It had to happen, right?

WHITFIELD: No kidding.

WILLIS: We couldn't have a warm winter forever. It's time to winterize your car and start by checking out the fluids. If you didn't change your antifreeze last year, it's time to do it now. The right mix is half antifreeze half water. This is going to keeps you good to 40 below zero. So that's pretty darn good. Make sure you take care of this right away because, you know, when this freezing stuff starts, you don't know when you might be affected.

There's also an antifreeze tester you might want to check it. Just have it around just in case. It only costs $5 to get it at a hardware store and it could keep out of trouble.

WHITFIELD: So don't just check your fluids, but you have to do more than just kick the tires as well. Tires are very important.

WILLIS: Tires are important. And if you live in the northeast, you may be looking for snow tires. Make sure when you go to the store to ask about these snow tires. Ask about the out of door charge. That's the charge that will include balancing, mounting. All of this adds up. And if you ask just for the charge for the tires, you won't really know what it costs. One great place to go on the web, tirerack.com. You can compare prices, really get an idea of the price tag that you're looking for.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And speak of doors, how do you keep your doors and your keyholes from freezing? I hate it when that happens.

WILLIS: Yes, that's bad, isn't it? Well there's really an easy and a cheap solution, thank goodness, and we found it on the web from some folks who do this all the time. They put petroleum jelly on the interior of the door where the door meets the body of the car. Guess what? That's going to keep your door from stick.

If it's your lock that sticks, and this happens all the time too, you can always heat up your key just a little bit with a match and then put it right into the lock just very gently turn it and that should solve your problem without a lot of money.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all clever and very easy things. All right. And, of course, you can't go anywhere without a battery working.

WILLIS: Yes, the battery's really important, obviously. And the big deal here is that they don't really tell you they're about to give out, right? They work for about three years and then, bam, they're out of service. You want to make sure that your battery works well. You can also get yet another tester for about $3 at a local hardware store to check it out. But make sure you do check it because there's nothing like having to shuttle the kids around the neighborhood and all of a sudden your car isn't working. The test kit, a battery hydrometer. That's what you're looking for. WHITFIELD: All right. And even if you don't have a cat, this winter you need to think about kitty litter.

WILLIS: Yes. I think this is a great idea. You know, you want to have that emergency kit in your car, and you know what that includes. You know, that's just the basic stuff like a flashlight, jumper cables, that kind of thing. You're seeing a list right here. Ice scraper. Shovel. That's the usual stuff. But you might also want the kitty litter. In case you get stuck on a slippery slope somewhere, you can put that down and it will help you get out of your fix. And if you want to use kitty litter just to weigh your car down so that it has traction, you're going to have to use a lot of it, about 70 pounds.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. Well, scratch that one then.

All right, Gerri Willis, thanks so much.

WILLIS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for the ideas on being able to stay on the road this winter.

Bird flu, it's spreading. Human cases of the deadly virus reported now in yet another country. That story straight ahead.

And new allegations of abuse in Iraq. But what is the truth? Ahead, a claim that U.S. soldiers used wild animals to help gather information. An in depth report when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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