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American Morning

Passenger Ship Sinks in Red Sea

Aired February 03, 2006 - 08:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning. Welcome everybody, lots to get to this morning, lots of breaking news happening overseas and also here as well.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Yes, let's get right to it. Kelly Wallace is in the news room today. Carol Costello has the day off. Hello Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you Miles and Soledad. Rescuers now plucking some survivors from the Red Sea after a passenger ship sank and here is a picture of the ship. It left Saudi Arabia and was headed for Egypt but never made it. We're now hearing from the Associated Press that about 30 survivors have been found. Most of the passengers are believed to be Muslims returning from the hajj in Saudi Arabia. It is still very early in the investigation, but it's believed high seas may have contributed to the incident.

A firestorm of protests today over the publication and now reprints of religious cartoons. In Baghdad, hundreds of demonstrators poured out into the streets denouncing the pictures of the prophet Muhammad originally printed in a Danish newspaper. And in Indonesia, angry mobs stormed the Danish embassy in Jakarta, waving banners and throwing eggs and tomatoes.

Back here in the United States, a possible trial date could be set today for a high profile case in Washington. Lewis Scooter Libby arriving in court just a short time ago. You'll recall he's the former chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney. He's facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges stemming from the CIA leak investigation.

It could take many -- it could make many people more than hot and bothered today. What we're talking about, a new computer virus that goes by several names, including Kama Sutra. It's set to strike worldwide destroying everything from financial statements to family pictures. It gains access by the oldest trick in the book, pornographic e-mail attachments that promise things like a kiss or a hot movie. If you get something that looks suspicious, best advice, don't open it up.

And as you know, the Super Bowl is just two days away. Many wagers on the game. If you're wavering, you might want to turn to Rasha. Her peanuts are on Seattle. Rasha chose a Seahawks emblem three out of three times but Pittsburgh fans, don't fret too much. Rasha's record is one for two. She picked the winner in 2003, missed in 2004 and sat out in 2005 to focus on her painting. S. O'BRIEN: What? That's not a record! You can't have an elephant -- hold an elephant up as some example and then say she's got a terrible record.

WALLACE: 50/50 and I was going to say, Pittsburgh fans are going to say bah hum bug! They're not focusing on Rasha.

M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE)

WALLACE: I have a better record than that and I don't even watch the game! What is your guess Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to go with Pittsburgh. I think Pittsburgh is going to take it away. But who knows.

WALLACE: Did you guess right last year?

S. O'BRIEN: I do pretty well, yes. I have to say, my record is not bad.

WALLACE: I look at the color of the uniforms and then I pick.

M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE)

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks Kelly.

M. O'BRIEN: Lets' talk about La Nina now. La Nina is back. The press release came out yesterday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is something that scientists constantly watch. Let me explain first of all what we are talking about, La Nina. To understand La Nina, we need to understand a little bit about El Nino, the boy (INAUDIBLE) the sibling if you will.

Let's take a look at what is going on right now in the Pacific. You see those blue blobs there? That is abnormally cold surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and that is the absolute hallmark, that kind of tongue of blue there of El - excuse me, La Nina. And you can see here -- just so you know, that's Central America there and that's a little bit of South America there.

Let's move on to the next graph and we'll give you a sense of what has happened in previous years. This is one of the big El Nino /La Nina combinations. This is classic El Nino. Notice that warm water there that extends over toward the coast of South America and that causes all kinds of weather changes and weather pattern changes with it. What happens over time as the pendulum swings back and forth and you can look in the lower part of your screen. I don't know if you can see. This is May '98, June '98. As you get closer, eventually what you see is the warm water goes away and up from the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean comes the cold water and there comes that blue tongue of colder surface temperature and it, in and of itself, causes tremendous changes in the weather patterns.

Let's got to the next graphic and we'll explain. El Nino by the way is called El Nino because it appeared during the Christmas time, El Nino, little boy. The Christ child is the reference there. So we're going to talk, bear with me now. There's a basic circulation of air on the surface called the walker circulation which goes in this way in a normal year and below the surface, it is just the opposite. OK? The water goes in that direction below the surface.

So the question is, what's this interdependent link there? If this sort of slackens off, this current isn't as strong as it would normally be, what is normally warm water here moves over here. If it becomes absolutely much stronger, the currents are stronger, you end up with just the opposite situation. Colder water here, warmer water there and that is what we call la Nina. I probably have fully confused you now. So let's get to the expert quickly. Jim Laver is director of NOAA's climate prediction center. Jim, I'm not an expert, but I hopefully have explained it well. Why don't you tell us, first of all, what are the potential implications for our weather here in America?

JIM LAVER, DIR., NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CTR: Good morning, Miles. You did do a great job explaining La Nina and El Nino and the potential impacts for the winter are more favorable chances for precipitation in the northwest U.S. and in the Ohio and Tennessee Valley and unfortunately, more favorable conditions for drought in the south and southwest, especially Texas, where we've had that. It doesn't mean we wouldn't get a little rain in those places or periods of dryness where the rain will be, but those are favorable conditions. There are also a lot of international impacts.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. I want to show one more graphic here, let's -- if we can get this one that came off the NOAA Web site here and if we can play, Brian, make that animate, what it will show here if you hit the play button, it will show basically what happens as the warm water moves its way toward the western portion during the La Nina sequence. These two are interrelated. There you see, once again, that little tongue of cold that causes this. These are cycles which go over periods of time in the two to seven-year range. When was the last time we saw a significant La Nina?

LAVER: A significant -- we actually had three La Nina years after the '97-'98 El Nino. The first two years after that, '98, '99, '99- 2000 were significant la Ninas and then the year after that, it was on the weak side. We haven't had anything since that year so it's been about four years or so.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Using past data, NOAA has come up with a weather map of the continental United States. I want to show that now as well and tell you -- ask you how this jibes with reality. This is the way it should affect these pink areas here should be generally warmer and drier. And these areas here in the northeast and elsewhere, the blue area should be colder. White means just as is. My question is in the northeast, what we've been seeing this year is a warmer winter. How do you explain that? How does that jibe in learning about La Nina?

LAVER: Well, La Nina means we get quite a bit of variability. That variability could come in batches of weeks or it could come in batches of months. If you remember, December was quite cold. Everybody thought we were in for a cold winter and it started out that way. And then January was one of the warmest Januaries on record nationwide. Now we're due for a cold spell which we call a sub- seasonal variability. Cold spell coming in on a shorter time scale in mid February here and then it will go away so we're done with those monthly long persistent periods. But we expect that kind of stuff, that kind of variability in even a neutral year but la Nina tends to make it a little bit more.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Final question here, this is an important one. Generally speaking, La Nina years are worse for hurricanes in the Atlantic region. Is that something you're worried about?

LAVER: It certainly is. It's a little early to tell whether this La Nina is going to last through the summer. We'll know more in about April or May before the hurricane season starts and our first hurricane outlook is towards the end of May. We do an update in August. That's when things are really settled in. If we should have La Nina continuing and it continues fairly strong, it creates a favorable condition where there's less wind sheer in the vertical and that, unfortunately could contribute to another active hurricane season. Just a bit early right now.

M. O'BRIEN: Wind shear at the vertical, that means high level winds that actually tear apart those storms, right?

LAVER: That's right. And in El Nino, you tend to have more of that. In La Nina, you tend to have less and there could be exceptions in any given year.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's hope for the exception OK. Jim Laver, who is director of NOAA's climate prediction center, we thank you for being with us and thank you for endorsing my layperson's explanation. It's as good as I get here for a history major. What are you going to do?

Chad Myers, let's bring you into the picture here. What are your thoughts on this? Are you concerned about the hurricane season?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I am. I concur. From that movie, whatever you're supposed to concur. Typically, when you get the jet stream that kind of travels a little bit farther to the north in the summertime, you don't get that shear that will break apart, that one storm that could be a tropical storm. Well, if you don't have the shear, it will be a tropical storm, then it may grow into something else. Not saying it'll be worse than last year. There's no indication that that is possible. What we're saying is that it will be a bigger than normal year. Obviously, last year was as well.

Rain showers Albany, Philadelphia, down to DC, all the way down here to Florida. The tail of the storm is in Tampa, part of some severe weather that could be popping up for you. Look at Tampa. Look at this. This is Orlando, I-4. Look at, some of these big storms and the ones that have the little hook like this, you get very concerned as they separate themselves from the line for rotation. And that is why there's a tornado watch box for central Florida all the way from north of Orlando, south Lake Okeechobee and from the east coast all the way to the west coast, watch out if you see a big storm headed your way. Stay inside. It'll be gone in 15 or 20 minutes. Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you.

Over the past few months, we've talked to so many who lost loved ones in hurricane Katrina. The statistics really are sort of mind boggling, more than 1200 dead, many more listed as missing. Behind the numbers though, a story that is bound to become more common, those victims who may never be identified.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICKEY SPANIARD, PASCAGOOLA, MISSISSIPPI: It's just so sad. I mean, there's somebody that knows these people, is probably looking for these people and they will never find them.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Pascagoula, Mississippi, they came to bury two strangers whose lives and identities were taken by hurricane Katrina. The anonymous victims, a man thought to be in his 60s whose body was found in a marsh and a woman about 5'3", 150 pounds, found between the slabs of two houses. They were laid to rest side-by-side. Several dozen people attended the simple service to pay their last respects.

PAT HOWELL, OCEAN SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI: I came because I was afraid no one else would.

BETTY NASH, PASCAGOOLA, MISSISSIPPI: These two people have family somewhere that don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: The bodies turned up in Ocean Springs, a coastal city near Pascagoula, about a week after hurricane Katrina hit, then went unclaimed in the months that followed. After DNA, dental records and fingerprints all failed to produce results, authorities decided to let the two rest in peace.

WILLIE SMITH, FUNERAL DIRECTOR: I think because of Katrina and the circumstances, I think this was a closure for all of us.

S. O'BRIEN: More than a hundred Katrina victims are still unidentified, most from New Orleans. So while this may have been the first funeral of its kind, it likely will not be the last.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Louisiana, which, by far had the highest death toll, suspended its search for Katrina victims in October. The state's medical examiner says he still would like to have the search continue.

Ahead this morning, Andy is minding your business. What are you looking at?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, good morning. The January jobs report is just out and how about the lowest unemployment rates since July of 2001? We'll give you the details straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: New numbers to crunch this morning. Business news with Andy Serwer. Good morning.

SERWER: Good morning. Just crossing the tape at 8:30 Eastern, the jobs report for the month of January and here are the numbers, 193,000 jobs added. That's a little bit less than expected. We were looking for 250,000. But the unemployment rate falls from 4.9 percent to 4.7 percent. That's the best since July of 2001. Also December and November numbers revised up pretty significantly. So overall this is good news. I should caution you, though that January is a difficult month when it comes to these jobs reports, kind of difficult to estimate because so many people are laid off in the construction business and also in retail and then they adjust for that. It gets a little complicated. Bear with me here. So the adjusted number 193,000. that's the number we're going to be using. Basically, all in all, it's a good report and futures are up a bit on the news.

Now I want to talk about the markets. Yesterday, stocks traded down big time. You can see here the Dow down over a hundred points, Nasdaq and the S&P following suit; trading begin at 9:30 Eastern of course.

And one more story to tell you about this morning, jobs-related. Northwest Airline, Airlines excuse me, in bankruptcy and they're looking to replace hundreds of flight attendants, 30 percent of their flight attendant work force with non-Americans, foreigners. Why is that? Well, they can pay them less.

S. O'BRIEN: Cheaper?

SERWER: Cheaper, nonunion.

M. O'BRIEN: Lou Dobbs, calling Lou Dobbs.

SERWER: Here would be the quote of the day perhaps from a spokesperson from Northwest Airlines who says outsourcing would be a misnomer here.

S. O'BRIEN: What would one call it?

SERWER: I guess it's not because the jobs aren't technically overseas and these jobs by the way are on international flights, so they would not be domestic. But, of course, you'd be landing here, so flight attendants not happy about that.

S. O'BRIEN: There have been other airlines too that have reported similar problems. Anecdotally, I've had friends say --

SERWER: They're being replaced?

M. O'BRIEN: And this is maintenance, too?

SERWER: My understanding, just flight attendants.

M. O'BRIEN: Just flight attendants.

S. O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you.

SERWER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Remember the story we showed you yesterday about people who have made 30-second movies on their cell phones? It was a contest that was held by Ithaca College in New York. Here a look at the winning entry.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow.

S. O'BRIEN: It's such cute one, although the quality of his video is so much superior than anything I've seen on a cell phone.

M. O'BRIEN: I wonder about that one.

S. O'BRIEN: Also, you notice the camera didn't jiggle at all, like he has it on some kind of a tripod for his cell phone.

M. O'BRIEN: That is cheating!

S. O'BRIEN: Anyway, Miles and I had the same challenge. We each were going to go home, make a little movie. I couldn't figure out how to get the technology. I couldn't get it to work at all. (INAUDIBLE) It didn't work. Miles' movie is brilliant, a tour de force.

M. O'BRIEN: I played producer. I said, kids, make me a movie and it's all about hurricanes and reporting. Let's watch.

SERWER: That's a good little punch line.

S. O'BRIEN: Enough O'Briens on this show already.

M. O'BRIEN: I did do the voice-over, but the kids did the...

S. O'BRIEN: So cute.

SERWER: I'm sure Steven Spielberg...

S. O'BRIEN: It was a fun thing to try to do. I have to say, it was such a fun thing to try to do. Miles was helping me last night, trying to figure out how to do it.

SERWER: You're still working at it?

M. O'BRIEN: ... technological hurdle (INAUDIBLE)

S. O'BRIEN: We couldn't figure it out.

M. O'BRIEN: So anyway, you can watch the one successful cell phone movie that was accomplished yesterday at our Web site, cnn.com/am and it's Mura (ph) and Conroy (ph) O'Brien production, just as I say, produced and did voice-over. Coming up, -- doing the movie now? Coming up...

S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) Andy.

M. O'BRIEN: A lot of 20 and 30 something's are buried in mountains of bills but do they really have it any tougher than mom and dad? We'll take a look. And later -- you're driving me nuts now! Forget about the actual game. We want to know about the Super Bowl commercials! Of course, we do. Commercials are a big part of this whole thing. And why do they do these things? Because we do segments like this, that's why. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It sounds like a fate worse than death, being trapped inside a body that won't move even though your mind is perfectly fine. That is what people with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease live with. What if there was a way to control your surroundings, even your body, just by thinking about it? Welcome to the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I first was diagnosed, I thought I would start keeping a journal. I like to blog because I'm able to write my feelings down and I'd like for people to see that life can be still lived with a disease such as mine.

M. O'BRIEN: Rose Marie was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease about two years ago. Rapidly she is losing the ability to move or even speak. But there's nothing wrong with her mind. What if she had the ability to write her blog to control her computer simply by thinking about it?

This man believes the future is now. Dr. Lee Hockberg of Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the nation's top neurologists. His focus, a mind boggling clinical study called brain gate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The goal of the brain gate neural interface system is to determine whether someone with paralysis is able to use their own thought or their own intention to move to at first to control a computer curser on a screen.

M. O'BRIEN: It all begins with this tiny chip attached to the part of the brain that controls movement, it detects electrical activity and sends those signals to an external device, a process which then interprets those brain waves and feeds them into a computer, literally turning thoughts into action. Twenty-six year old Matthew Nagle (ph) was the first patient to participate in the brain gate clinical trial. Paralyzed from the neck down, watch what he accomplished purely through the power of his mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next, turn on my television.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was able to use that computer cursor to change the challenge on the television set.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to channel up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To open and close simulated e-mail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says you're doing a great job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was also successful in opening and closing a prosthetic hand just by thinking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open. Close. (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm very hopeful that these technologies will be able to help people with paralysis in the future to control their environment more directly and I hope one day to be able to move again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The great majority of people live three to five years after diagnosis. Some people live 10 years. There are some that live 20 years, which I plan on being one of those people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Now, patients with severe paralysis are being tested in phase one of the brain gate trials, but phase two due to get underway soon, will involve patients with Lou Gehrig's disease to see if they can use their minds to maneuver objects and brain gate is fascinating to watch. It's very exciting.

S. O'BRIEN: It's fascinating.

M. O'BRIEN: Really tap into your - the electrical stuff that's going on.

S. O'BRIEN: It's amazing. Ahead this morning, we're going to take a look at today's top stories. Mother nature deals New Orleans another destructive blow, tornadoes. How much more can that city take? Plus the security of this year's Super Bowl event tighter than usual. We're going to tell you why Detroit makes an inviting target for terrorists. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien. A passenger ship mysteriously sinks in the Red Sea. Rescue and recovery efforts are now underway with the more than 1400 people on board. We're live at this developing story.

And controversial cartoons incense (ph) the Muslim world, sparking protest all around the globe. (INAUDIBLE) that story as well.

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