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American Morning

Drawbridge Accident in New Jersey; Tsunami: One Year Later; Spying at Home

Aired December 26, 2005 - 9:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
A developing story in New Jersey. Two police officers drive straight off a raised drawbridge in dense fog. Both are dead. We'll have a live report.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad today.

Remembering a day of ultimate terror, the Asian tsunami. Memorials today across the disaster zone. We'll take you live to one of the worst hit regions.

O'BRIEN: And Christmas is over. Or is it, really? Now the shopping spree can really begin. Big sales, gift cards and cash on hand make for a crazy day already on this AMERICAN MORNING.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you and happy holidays. I hope you had a great Christmas.

O'BRIEN: Yes. We do, too. We hope you don't spend too much time shopping today. Enjoy the -- well, yes, it might be enjoyment for some of you.

COSTELLO: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Enjoy it if you're out there.

We have a developing story we're following for you this morning out of New Jersey. Two police officers are dead. Their emergency services truck went off a drawbridge in thick fog last night. One officer was found in the Hackensack River, the other is still missing.

Chris Huntington live now in Jersey City, just west of New York City -- Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, a tragic, tragic story here. Two officers from the Jersey City Police Department, 40- year-old officer Sean Carson, a 16-year veteran of the force, and Robert Nguyen, a six-year veteran of the Jersey City Police Department, were responding to a call to help manage traffic over the drawbridge.

Now, I don't know if you can see behind me here, but it is the type of drawbridge that has a center span that raises up. The safety barricade that would ordinarily be in place on that drawbridge had been damaged, we're told by Jersey City police in an accident on December 23.

There was call to raise the drawbridge last night from a tugboat that needed to pass underneath. The drawbridge operator called the local police department and said, "I need help managing traffic." That was put in place.

These two officers were responding actually to bring additional flares and cones to the officers that were managing that traffic checkpoint. They in fact drove over the drawbridge westbound, delivered the flares, the cones, and when they turned around to come back east, the drawbridge had been raised. And they plunged into the Hackensack River.

Keep in mind, dense, dense fog. It's after dark. The water in the Hackensack River, we're told, is around 41 degrees. You know, just virtually unsurvivable for any period of time.

Officer Carson was recovered by diving teams fairly quickly, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The Jersey City police chief, just holding a press conference moments ago, described the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF ROBERT TROY, JERSEY CITY, N.J. POLICE: These heroes, they went over the bridge and they delivered the flares. And when they got done delivering the flares, the other officers were setting the flares up.

Another incident did occur there not related to what they were doing, was distracted. A lot of the officers at the scene. These two officers got back in their truck and headed east, not knowing that the bridge was opened for an oncoming tug.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: So there you have it, Miles, these two officers responding to a need to manage traffic over a drawbridge that had a barricade that was broken, plunging into the Hackensack River. One officer recovered known to be dead. The other officer, Robert Nguyen, not recovered yet, presumed to be dead.

They are holding out the scantiest of hope, but the fact it's been more than 12 hours and surviving in that kind of water for that period of time is virtually impossible -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Chris Huntington, in Jersey City. Thank you very much -- Carol.

COSTELLO: One year ago today the tsunami struck Southeast Asia, killing more than 200,000 and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

Atika Shubert is in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, one of the hardest-hit areas.

Hello, Atika. ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

It's been a very solemn day here today with prayers throughout the region. Behind me is Aceh's great mosque where you might hear some of the evening prayers in progress.

The day actually began here in Aceh with an 8:15 a.m. moment of silence and then the sounding of silence for a new tsunami warning system. That, of course, the exact moment that waves, tsunami waves crashed into Aceh, killing more than 160,000 people here in this area alone.

In Thailand, there were also memorials. Thousands of people turned out at the beaches of Phuket and Khao Lak. Those, of course, being popular tourist destinations. Of the more than 5,00 people killed in Thailand, about half are believed to have been tourists visiting for the holidays.

And in Sri Lanka, there were also memorials. That country was second hardest hit with 31,000 killed there. There is a particular ceremony at the devastated town of Galle, where a passenger train was directly hit by the tsunami, killing all 1,000 people aboard -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Atika, we know there are still hundreds of thousands still missing. I mean -- actually, thousands still missing, I should say. That's more accurate. What's being done? I mean, is the search completely over?

SHUBERT: Well, for those in Thailand, those victims, there is an extensive DNA process that's going on now. But for here in Aceh, where there were so many victims that could not be identified and so many that were washed out to sea, what the government decided to do here one year later is to proclaim that all those who were missing from the tsunami disaster are now proclaimed dead.

And it's a particularly sad day for those families, and that's why you've seen such an outpouring of grief and mourning in the mosques across Aceh today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Atika Shubert live in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Domestic spying now. President Bush's orders to spy on Americans without a warrant may have led to an espionage program much more extensive than we first thought.

Our Elaine Quijano is at the White House this morning.

Elaine, tell us about the new information.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

A source familiar with the program confirms to CNN that the National Security Agency collects, traces and analyzes large amounts of information with the help of American telephone and Internet companies. Now, this was a story that was first reported by "The New York Times" on Saturday. It's called data mining, gathering and sorting through vast quantities of phone and Internet traffic, looking for patterns that might point to terror suspects or plots.

Meantime, the debate over the program continues. Former secretary of state Colin Powell says he sees nothing wrong with the president authorizing the domestic monitoring and he believes it should remain in place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN POWELL, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, of course it should continue. Now, what -- I think, however, the president, he'll have to determine what he wishes to say to the Congress about it, or what they wish to do with respect to the court that's established for this purpose. And I'll let them work that out, but you have to do this in order to protect ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, President Bush insists the program only targets the international communications of Americans in the U.S. who are suspected of having terrorist ties. Nevertheless, some members of Congress are very concerned about this. In fact, the Republican chairman on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, is expecting to hold hearings on this issue early next year -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House. Thank you very much -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Headlines this morning.

Emergency crews in western Russia are at the site of what's being called a gas poisoning. Some sort of gas was sprayed in four stores in St. Petersburg. A reported 78 people became sick; some are in serious condition.

Officials say suspicious boxes with wires were found in two of the stores. A full investigation now under way.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is set to undergo a procedure on his heart. Doctors will try to repair a small hole. It was discovered after his stroke last week. The procedure could come within the next couple of weeks.

This holiday one California town hosted a different kind of gift exchange. In Compton, police were exchanging gift cards for guns. Each anonymous donor was given a $100 gift card to Circuit City or a grocery store. One man turned in an illegal homemade pistol to buy Christmas dinner. Another woman was hoping to buy toys for her children.

Some 400 guns were collected.

And say good-bye to "Monday Night Football." Actually, it's not a complete good-bye. Tonight, ABC will air its last "Monday Night Football" game after 35 years. Some are calling it the end of an era.

Not to worry, though. Football on Monday will live on. It's just moving to ESPN next season.

Let's head to Atlanta now to check in with Bonnie Schneider.

Good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

The day after Christmas kicks off the second holiday shopping season. Discounts bring out the crowds, stores make money, people get bargains. And the scene at Target this morning in Aventura, Florida, was kind of crazy.

John Zarrella is there.

Good morning.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kind of crazy is right, Carol. I know if I wasn't working I don't think I'd be up for this, but the place is packed here at the Target which in Aventura, which is in north Miami, and you could see the store opening this morning, 7:00 a.m.

About 60 people raced in the door. I had a chance to talk with some of them, and I said, "Are you here to make returns?" And they said, "Absolutely not, we're here for the bargains, not the returns."

And many of them said that this, in fact, was their second stop. They had already made a stop at a JCPenney at a mall which opened at 6:00 a.m. this morning. And many of the folks we talked to said that this was their third or fourth stop that they were going make today and they had more stops to go.

It's a big day. This is considered about the 10th busiest shopping day of the year, in the top 10. And here at the Target store, while a lot of retailers are saying that they're not sure how the year played out, the Target stores here in the Miami area actually experienced a 35 percent increase in Christmas shopping.

And again, it's not returns so much anymore today. It's people coming in here for the big bargains, the 50 to 60 percent off. And everything is empty on the shelves already in many places, and not just the 50 to 60 percent off, but gift cards. Target says 25 percent of the merchandise of their holiday shopping sales are from gift cards.

And you know what's going out the door? The best, Carol, today. And in fact, this is some of the stuff that we may be purchasing ourselves.

This day out here working is going to cost me a lot of money.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

ZARRELLA: The animated -- the animated woodland deer is going really, really well here today, as are the four tube light candy canes. Wait a minute. The purple stocking, that's really big.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

ZARRELLA: Yes. And this is my favorite, the train. You've seen these outside. So a lot of outside ornaments are going well.

Now, some things you just simply cannot return, gifts that you get from family, like this "Godfather" belt that I received from my teenage son as...

O'BRIEN: You did not. You did not.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

ZARRELLA: ... as a Christmas gift. Yes, I did. Yes, I did.

O'BRIEN: Wait a minute. Is he watching right now, John?

ZARRELLA: So I can't return that.

COSTELLO: Why...

O'BRIEN: Is he watching?

ZARRELLA: He might be, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man.

COSTELLO: Put that on right now. You put that belt on.

O'BRIEN: Put it on and wear it proudly, dude.

You are "The Godfather," my friend. Yes, indeed.

COSTELLO: John Zarrella. Thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: He's going to make an offer his son can't refuse there.

All right. Coming up, more on that first anniversary of that Asian tsunami. We'll talk to an Alabama man who became a hero when the tsunami hit. He risked his own life to save a little boy. How has life changed for him since that disaster?

COSTELLO: And later, the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. A look at why some U.S. troops feel their country's forgotten about them.

That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: My next guest was vacationing in Thailand when the tsunami struck one year ago. But Glenn Watson is not only a survivor, he is a tsunami hero as well. Glenn Watson, a city councilman in Huntsville, Alabama, joins us live now.

Good morning, sir.

GLENN WATSON, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Can you believe it's already been a year?

No, I really can't. It seems like it was just a couple of months ago that that happened to me.

COSTELLO: I would imagine that the images are still so vivid in your mind. And I want to replay some of what you said to us last year.

You were in a stairwell in a hotel when you saw a woman and child, and then that huge wave of water came by. You tried to get to the woman and could not, but you did save the boy.

Let's listen to what you said to us last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: I looked down and I saw a woman and her child just bobbing down through the water and coming my way. And I reached out and was able to grab the boy and pull him in close enough to where we weren't going in different directions with the water, and I was able to hold on to him. And -- but I couldn't get us out of the water. I didn't have the strength to do that.

And we were both under water for maybe eight, nine seconds, or a long time it seemed like. When you're not breathing, it's a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You did manage to save the little boy, but not the mom. Tell us how you're feeling about that now.

WATSON: I can still remember that, and I can remember one other incident over there, but not knowing was the big thing. We looked -- Mel (ph) and I looked -- the fellow that owned the condo complex -- we looked for her body, and we never did find it. And it's something that I will never forget. It was a traumatic experience to almost die, and just glad god gave me the strength to hold on.

COSTELLO: Do little details come back to you slowly over time?

WATSON: Well, I've spoken to people from California to North Carolina on this story of the tsunami. And I think that was helpful in getting over the trauma of the situation. But you can't ever forget something like that. That was a horrible experience.

COSTELLO: Do you know what happened to the little boy? WATSON: Never did. It was like after a tornado or after any devastation like that, people are going in several different directions. Everybody's looking for somebody and trying to find their family. It was a horrendous experience.

They were taking people to the hospital in pickup trucks, and it was -- it was just one of those things. Of course, naturally I looked.

I went back in April with Mrs. America, Sandy Olangi (ph) -- a former Mrs. America. And we delivered $60,000 through the Rotary Association in Huntsville to the Rotary over there. And it was very helpful to the people to give them the ability to rebuild their lives. And they're beautiful people. They love Americans.

COSTELLO: Yes, I was just going to ask you, why did you decide to go back? I mean, it must have been painful for you.

WATSON: I had to go back. It was like getting back on a horse after you've fallen off the horse.

I definitely did. It was very good for me to go back there and see that they have recovered so well, that the people in Thailand are great people and the foreigners that are over there, that live over there, my friends that I play golf with, they were recovering and rebuilding. And it was just a good feeling to see that they were recovering.

COSTELLO: You know, when terrible disasters happen like this, and so much tragedy, we always try to search for meaning, especially at this time of year. Is there anything that we can take away from that? Any lesson we've learned?

WATSON: Well, I think I've become a better Christian. And I think that I understand how unimportant a lot of things are and how important being a good person and living a good life is important, because you only have one life. And god gave me mine back, and I'm going try to use it.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for joining us this morning, sir, and sharing your story and your feelings. We appreciate it.

WATSON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Councilman Glenn Watson -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in the program, an elementary school with a new approach to education: reading, writing, arithmetic and yoga? Your morning "House Call" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Almost one in three American kids is overweight. We told you a lot about that problem, but what to do about it? Well, a Chicago elementary school is trying yoga.

Elizabeth Cohen has more in this morning's "House Call."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On a cold Chicago morning, Alejandro Gutierrez runs to catch the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Good morning, Alejandro.

COHEN: And this is the bus. No fuel, just feet.

There are no regular buses to this school. The principal banned them. She also banned Pop-Tarts, pastries and sugar cereals for breakfast, which many children eat here at school. And that's just the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm breathing in.

COHEN: Welcome to Namaste Charter School...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Espanol.

COHEN: ... where every morning starts with yoga and meditation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, boys and girls, if you brought any extra energy with you today, let it go.

COHEN: Later in the day there's an hour of phys ed and then recess, too.

ALLISON SLADE, NAMASTE PRINCIPAL & FOUNDER: And what we've really seen is that kids who are healthy and active do perform better in the classroom.

COHEN: Allison Slade, the principal, says she's getting results. She started this charter school last year in a largely Hispanic neighborhood with low test scores and high obesity rates. Now many overweight kids here are slimming down. And in a city where most kids fall short of the state's literacy goals, 80 percent of Namaste's students are now doing better than the city average.

SLADE: What did you make, Josh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An apple.

SLADE: An apple. You like red apples?

COHEN: Slade started the school because she was horrified by what she saw as a teacher in other public schools.

SLADE: I used to see my kid comes to school and they ate fiery- hot Cheetos for breakfast and lunch.

COHEN: Here, no chips, no fries at lunch. Instead, a mini salad bar and fresh fruit, which the kids actually eat. The school also serves foods like pizza and chocolate milk. Just not that often. (on camera): And this school you don't have a lot of ice cream, you don't have a lot of cakes, you don't have a lot of cookies, you don't have a lot of fried foods.

Do you miss them?

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: No.

COHEN (voice over): And in a neighborhood with a lot of violence, yoga permeates every aspect of this school, from the name, which is a greeting...

(on camera): What does Namaste mean?

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: The light in me is the light in you.

COHEN (voice over): ... to story time...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bark, George!

COHEN: ... to learning what to do when you get mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do this. I squeeze it hard.

COHEN (on camera): Squeeze really hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For 10 minutes, and then do this.

COHEN: Then do this. Now, what does this help you do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Calm down.

COHEN (voice over): It all sounds pretty earthy-crunchy, and some parents were initially skeptical, including Ricky (ph) and Jesse's (ph) mom. But then she saw how the school changed her kids.

SABRINA BASQUEZ, MOTHER OF NAMASTE STUDENTS: They surprised me, because you don't -- I don't expect a 7-year-old to say no to Doritos or no to cookies.

COHEN: Right now, so many parents want yoga, meditation and healthy food for their kids, the school has two applicants for every space.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, this a peaceful school, and not some, like, kind of junky school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Namaste. Namaste. Good job. Bye-bye.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's relax, shall we? No, no, no. That's the angry thing.

Are you angry with me?

COSTELLO: At this point, yes, I am, very angry. Squeeze, and then you go, I feel better.

O'BRIEN: All right. It works for me. I would kind of miss the Pop-Tart, though.

COSTELLO: What a great idea, though.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't you?

COSTELLO: I would miss the Pop-Tart, but what a great idea, healthy food and kids actually exercise. Because at many schools they're canceling gym class to save money, and maybe that's not such a good idea.

O'BRIEN: Yes. You know, so what -- if they can -- walking distance, why not walk?

COSTELLO: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: So, anyway, that's good. They're in better shape when they come home to play video games now.

All right.

COSTELLO: Oh, jeez.

O'BRIEN: Coming up, need a vacation from holiday stress? You can do this. That's pretty cheap. Or, you can -- there are more expensive yet cheap ways to do it. Our money-saving guru, Clark Howard, will join with some tips in just a bit.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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