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CNN Live Today
Training for Terror; Tsunami: Rebuilding
Aired December 27, 2005 - 10:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, ANCHOR: To our CNN Security Watch now, a terror drill in Boston gets poor marks in several critical categories. Homeland Security conducted the exercise at Logan Airport last June. A report analyzing the drill shows a lot of problems. Tight airport security kept ambulances waiting. State and local responders had a hard time talking to each other, ditto for their computer systems. Generally the report found there was little sense of who's in charge.
Boston officials say some problems addressed by the report have already been corrected. The two planes that hit the World Trade Center on September 11th did originate from Logan Airport.
Police in the U.S. are getting a crash course on terror from Israeli security experts.
Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena had exclusive access to a week-long training session in Jerusalem. You're going to see her report only here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Armed with intelligence about a would-be suicide bomber, undercover Israeli border police successfully take him into custody and deal with the violent aftermath. This is just a demonstration for U.S. law enforcement partners. But it's a reality Israeli police confront all the time.
SHERIFF JEFF WILEY, ASCENSION PARISH, LOUISIANA: Just seems like everything is -- every waking moment is contemplating what is the next worst-case scenario and how can we prepare for it?
ARENA: Jeff Wiley is a sheriff in southeast Louisiana in Israel with others like him to learn firsthand from Israelis who respond to suicide bombing attacks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not saying that it's easy to come and to see (inaudible) dead, but when it's young people, young girls, it's something that stays with you for a long, long time.
ARENA: In 2001, a suicide bomber attacked patrons at this nightclub in Tel Aviv and killed 21 people. The group learns the bomb was filled with nails and ball bearings to make it as deadly as possible. They also get some practical advice on how to stop an attacker.
MAJOR GENERAL DAVID TSUR, TEL AVIV DISTRICT POLICE CHIEF: Isolating him from the public and to try to prevent him from taking an action to blow up himself. If you see any suspicious move or something, there's nothing to do besides shooting and neutralizing him.
ARENA: The general says if you're close enough, grab the bomber's arms to prevent detonation. And don't push him down on his stomach where the detonator is likely to be placed. Solid information Wiley can share back home.
WILEY: They readily admit that they learn from their mistakes, and therefore we can learn without having to make those same mistakes.
ARENA: Since 2000, officials say more than 1,000 Israelis have been killed by suicide bombers. But in the last two years, the violence has dropped dramatically. Tourists and young people in particular are once again crowding cafes and nightclubs.
Israeli officials credit many things, first among them, the fence along Israel's border. The barrier separating Israelis from Palestinians remains extremely controversial. But Israeli security officials say the numbers speak for themselves. The amount of suicide bombings and sniper attacks, they say, has fallen more than 90 percent since this wall was erected.
The Israelis talk about security in circles. The fence is the outermost ring. Cameras along it help Israelis gather intelligence, though officials won't get into details.
BRIG. GEN. SHAIKE HOROWITZ, ISRAELI BORDER CROSSINGS ADMINISTRATION: It's enough information to secure your place.
ARENA: Once inside the country, another ring of security, armed guards at any nightclub or restaurant you go to. And there are other proactive measures. These police officers are randomly checking hotel records for suspicious individuals or activity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check it with the computer, and I can tell that only last week we got a name that there was an order to arrest him.
ARENA: The end result is a safer Israel, but officials admit the tactics are not foolproof. Just this month, a suicide bomber killed five people outside a mall in Netanya.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And forget bomb-sniffing dogs, a new tool against terror could lie with the wasps' ultra sense of smell. University of Georgia scientists are training non-stinging wasps to do their part to keep people safer. There's some complicated science here, but basically the wasp can be trained to sniff out odors found in explosives and monitor toxins in subways. The research was originally reported in "USA Today." Scientists say the wasp could be ready in five to 10 years. CNN Security Watch keeps you up to date on your safety. Stay tuned day and night to get the most reliable news about your security.
(NEWSBREAK)
KAGAN: Many of Thailand's beaches are booming with tourists again a year after the tsunami.
CNN's Aneesh Raman covered the disaster last year. He goes back now to the resort of Phuket for an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first wave hit Phuket around 9:00 a.m. Within minutes reports alerted the world, within hours we arrived.
(on camera): We got to Phuket on the first flight in. Most of the island was still without electricity and here at the airport this area was filled with hundreds of stranded people.
(voice-over): The first survivor we met was 26-year-old Julia Lebeau from Belgium.
JULIA LABEAU, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: The building was collapsing, so I had to jump to another building and the second wave came in and the third wave came in and people injured. I saw dead bodies floating. And so then at a moment we decided with a couple of people to just to run for it.
RAMAN: She had narrowly escaped death, but many, we soon discovered, were not as lucky. Tens, then hundreds, then thousands, the number of dead kept rising.
There was the wall of the missing, some of the faces, to this day, still unaccounted for. Debris was everything, above ground and below the water.
Now, it is almost all gone. A year later there are few signs of what happened here. More of what is happening now. Wissut Kasayatanand, managed the Kamala Beach Hotel, where some of the most dramatic video was shot. In the days after the tsunami he sounded optimistic.
WISSUT KASAYATANAND, MANAGER, KAMALA BEACH HOTEL MANAGER: We should be able to prevail.
RAMAN: A year later his spirit seems vindicated as the tourists return. The hotel once littered with endless debris is back.
(on camera): What is it for you to see this? To see people coming back and the hotel back up and running?
KASAYATANAND: I'm so happy and really happy for all our staff, all the people on the beach and everything, that the lives can move on and get going again. RAMAN: But not everywhere. The worse hit part of Thailand, was the coastal area of Punghan (ph). We got there by road three days after the tsunami hit, to find an area just starting to dig out.
(on camera): A year later the area where we stood in Punghan, is now being rebuilt, most of the debris has been cleared.
(voice-over): But some of it, this ship, still rests miles inland serving as a reminder of that traumatic morning. And the wounds here linger, as well; especially among the children of the tsunami. At this school in Punghan, everyone was affected. This 14- year-old, Punupau Numsong (ph), saw his whole family, parents and brother, killed.
"I will never forget what I have lost," he says. "I keep telling myself, no one in my family should have died in the tsunami."
The pain in southern Thailand remains very real. Survivors struggling to start over; some waiting even now for permanent shelter. But the clearest legacy of the tsunami here is not one of tragedy, but one of resilience and determination of people throughout this area overcoming the greatest of odds and living again.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Phuket, Thailand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Still to come, OK, you iPoders, you put in your little ear buds and then just go? American is becoming an iPod nation. But are we slipping into a musical state of oblivion? We'll look at the safety concerns about that.
First, some ways to make 2006 a winner. Let's check in with Veronica De La Cruz at the dot-com desk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): CNNmoney.com has 33 moves that will help you find success in 2006. Be thankful for that roof over your head. Lock in a fixed-rate mortgage if yours is now adjustable. And find ways to try and lower your heating bill. Put your money to work in the stock market. Blue chip growth stocks are a bargain right now and may go higher. Here's a list of seven stocks that may help you see more green. Make it a point to ease up on debt. Punch in the numbers to help with you debt planning and reduction. And find out how long it will take to you build your nest egg with this online calculator. Log on to CNNmoney.com/succeed for ways to have a prosperous 2006.
For the dot-com desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: A lot of you getting those new iPods and high-tech gadgets for the holidays. They're out there to keep commuters entertained, but before you zone out, you want to listen in to this warning from our Boston bureau chief, Dan Lothian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): The crushing crowds and deafening noise of Boston's busy rail commute a potential thief's paradise. Their targets? Passengers lost in their iPods.
LT. DET. MARK GILLESPIE, MASS. BAY TRANSIT POLICE: When you have them on, you've signed off mentally as to paying attention to anything other than you're doing than walking and listening to your music.
LOTHIAN: This passenger seems completely oblivious to a transit order wearing a bright-colored vest warning passengers to be on the lookout.
GILLESPIE: Sir? Sir?
Some of the people we have to actually take a couple extra steps after and actually physically touch them to hand out these flyers to get their attention.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Being zoned out has cost some commuters dearly. Investigators have seen a rise in robberies around the transit system. Cash, credit cards and other valuables snatched from the pockets and purses of commuters who are either listening to music or deep in a cell phone conversation.
GILLESPIE: If you have an iPod or you talk on a cell phone you should read this.
LOTHIAN (voice over): Fearing these crimes could escalate, especially during the busy holiday season, Boston Transit Police and other law enforcement agencies have launched a safety campaign, handing out flyers with tips like staying alert or removing earphones when entering or leaving a subway station at night.
GILLESPIE: But if people don't take these measures of safety, that they could potentially become victims.
LOTHIAN: Undercover officers will also be working the crowds at some stations. Elvis Hernandez loves his music but won't let the volume drown his sense of awareness.
ELVIS HERNANDEZ, TRANSIT RIDER: But I do pay attention. I do be careful of my surroundings, especially in the holiday season. It gets a little crazy around here.
LOTHIAN: This commuter stays safe by dropping the stereo.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I usually keep one off, so I don't really -- I can still hear what's going on around me.
LOTHIAN: An effort to keep commuters tuned in to their surroundings and not just their iPod. Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: We are going to check in on weather and business coming up. And what's your favorite film, favorite movie of all-time? Does it make the list of classics? We're going to take a look at the newest editions to a list of greats. That looks like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: I promised I would not sing. Holding back for you, America. The cult film, "The Rocky Horror Picture," show has been chosen as a classic to be preserved for generations to come. It's one of 25 movies picked by the Library of Congress this year for the National Film Registry.
The 1982 teen comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" was among the films making the list. The others include the holiday classic "Miracle on 34th Street," "Hoop Dreams," about two inner-city kids vying for basketball scholarships, was chosen as well. The oldest film selected was a documentary of footage from the 1906...
The oldest film collected was a documentary of footage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The most recent was "Toy Story," the first full-length computer animated feature.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Well, just in case you're interested, the ball is in place, ready to go. It's high atop Times Square. Workers installing new panels of Waterford crystal on the ball this morning. All tolled, 500 shimmering pieces of colorless quartz to complement 650 lights. They'll combine for a dazzling one-minute show to herald in 2006. Amazing, 2006. This year's new Waterford pieces represent the theme of fellowship.
By the way, our Anderson Cooper will be leading our New Year's Eve coverage from Times Square on Saturday evening. Coverage from New York will begin at 11:00 Eastern.
You probably will not need to adjust your watch, but on New Year's Eve, international timekeepers will be adding an extra second to the official world clock.
Chad Myers has a quick look at how this whole leap second thing works.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At exactly 11:59:59 Universal Time on New Year's Eve, the world will hold its breath an extra second before ringing in the new year. This will be the first time a leap second has been added to the clock since 1998. International Coordinated Universal Time must be adjusted again to actually match the rising and setting of the sun. The clock gets out of synch because the Earth is rotating slower than it used to, and solar days are just a fraction of a second longer than 24 hours.
Universal Time is kept by extremely precise atomic clocks, which measure time using the frequency of atoms. When this precise clock time gets ahead of the time measured by the solar day, by international agreement, a leap second is added.
Leap seconds have reportedly caused a few technological bugs in the past. That's why some people favor abandoning the sun's time all together and it's allowing the atomic clock to march on. But for this year, at least, the atomic clock will have to stop for one second one more time and wait for the Earth to catch up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And there you go. An extra second to 2005.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. Jim Clancy and Rosemary Church will be with you after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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