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American Morning

Series of Storms Form South to Northeast; Contractors Missing in Iraq; Foley Investigation

Aired November 17, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nature's fury. Lives lost, homes shattered as a tornado slams into North Carolina.
And the wild weather travels north. Floods and mudslides in upstate New York. Hundreds rescued. So what's next?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Americans ambushed. The search is on for four contractors who are feared kidnapped in Iraq. We're learning new details about at least one of the men.

M. O'BRIEN: Power in place. Democrat John Murtha passed over for the House majority leader job. Could that hurt the new speaker, Nancy Pelosi?

S. O'BRIEN: And the brand-new PlayStation 3 video game system sparking fights, even this melee.

We'll tell you about this story, much more, straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. It is November 17th, a Friday.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

Thanks for being with us.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Thanks for joining us.

We begin with the very latest on these violent and deadly storms. Here's what's new.

They're cleaning up today, assessing the damage as well, after that powerful tornado that happened in Riegelwood, North Carolina. At least eight people are dead, four children are in critical condition.

Pounding rains and wind and floods in Maryland to tell you about, too. Dozens of people there were rescued from their stranded cars, and other people were able to get out just by wading across roads that were under, in some cases, four feet of water.

Plus, a state of emergency around Binghamton, New York. Two hundred people rescued there from flooding and mudslides. Many roads, in fact, just washed out. And they're banning all unnecessary travel.

A series of storms affecting people from the South to the Northeast. Let's get to two reports this morning.

Rick Sanchez in Riegelwood, North Carolina, for us. And Rob Marciano, who's in Hawthorne, New York.

Rick, let's begin with you. Good morning.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

There was a 15-minute window, as it were, for people to find out or be advised that there was an impending tornado that could be a killer. We don't know how many people actually got word, but we do know this: there is no siren in this town. There is no system for notification, which means the people who were at that time, remember, 6:30 in the morning, still dark here, some could still have been sleeping, could possibly not even have gotten up. And the only way that they could have known, say authorities, is if they had their radio or their television on at that particular time.

Keep in mind, this is a devastating storm. You can see for yourself as you look at some of these pictures that we're sharing with you.

We talked to some authorities here, and they say it just -- "disintegrated" was the word they used, that mobile home community, where as many as eight people have perished as a result. When we asked officials where they actually found the deceased, the bodies of the people who had died, they say it was 200 yards away.

Further asked the sheriff when I had a conversation with him yesterday, you know, does that mean that the tornado itself actually picked these people up and dropped them there and moved them? And he said, "That's exactly right," as difficult as it may be for those of us to comprehend who have never experienced something as ferocious as this.

So that's the situation here. Today officials are just trying to make sure that they keep everything together and deal with the people who have been affected by this.

Soledad, back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Rick. And what can they do for the people that have been affected? What kind of things are in place for them?

SANCHEZ: Well, two things. First, obviously deal with them. Take care of their needs, take care of them emotionally. And that's why they have set up a shelter here and the people are being taken care of there, they're being fed, they're being talked to. It's very difficult for a lot of the folks in this community.

And the second thing is they're trying to make sure that they don't go back in to the area, because, you know, a lot of folks get curious, they want to go back. But they say it's just -- it's just too dangerous. Too many power lines still down, too many parts of people's homes still strewn about. So they're asking people if they possibly could to stay away -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Quite a mess there. Rick Sanchez for us this morning.

Thank you, Rick.

That stormed marched right up the coast, bringing rain and high winds and flooding, and some mudslides, too, into the Northeast.

CNN's Rob Marciano is in Hawthorne, New York, this morning.

That's just North of New York City. They had a -- I was actually there when that tornado hit where you are.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A pretty scary thing happened in the last summer. It only happens every two or three years around the New York metropolitan area, but it's a case in point. It can happen.

More than just tornadoes. This particular storm that rolled across the South the last two days, as it moved north it brought some southern moisture with it.

It tapped the Gulf of Mexico, it tapped the Atlantic Ocean, and it had warm air, which can carry more moisture. And there were flooding issues in parts of the mid-Atlantic, specifically Virginia, in and around Richmond, Virginia, which is a city that's prone to flooding with the James River cutting right through that low-lying area.

We got reports of people that were trapped on the highway. Also in Chesterfield, Virginia, folks were rescued by boats. In the eastern part of that state, around the Hampton Roads area, some of the I-95 ramps were shut down because of flooding there.

Up the road a piece, up the Appalachians and in through central New York, upstate from here in Binghamton, Broome County under a state of emergency after flooding rains there brought down mudslides. And parts of I-88 eastbound are still closed this morning. Over 200 people had to be rescued either from their homes or from their cars due to the mudslides, and the flooding there.

Good news this morning is that the rain has stopped here. It has stopped for the most part in upstate New York. So waters will be receding, and the storm itself is -- will continue to move off towards the north and east. Cooler, calmer weather behind it.

But here in Hawthorne, there are still reminders of what happened just a few months ago. These trees still splintered and strewn about here just east of the Hudson River in parts of Westchester County. Rare events, but it just only takes one to come through your neighborhood to do some damage.

And they certainly experienced that down in North Carolina, experienced it also in Alabama. And really, the first sign of tornadoes a few days ago in Louisiana, where a man lost his life just north of New Orleans.

Good news -- good to hear or see that this storm, finally, after pounding the U.S. for almost a week, is over.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely terrifying, isn't it?

Rob Marciano for us. He's in Hawthorne, New York.

Thank you, Rob.

Of course, it's a tough time for the folks who now have to try to rebuild their lives. A little bit later this morning we're going to talk to a storm survivor. She was saved, along with her three kids, because of a fluke of luck.

We'll bring you her story straight ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: In Iraq this morning, here's the latest for you.

Five contractors, four Americans and an Austrian, missing, believed kidnapped after their convoy was ambushed. And more Marines, up to 2,200, deploying to bolster the force in Iraq's Anbar Province.

And this morning the hunt is on for those missing contractors. And again, more questions about the murky line between the real authorities and masquerading insurgents.

Arwa Damon live from Baghdad with more.

Hello, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

And one of those contractors has been identified as Minnesotan Paul Ruben (ph). He was kidnapped, along with three other American contractors and one Austrian contractor, in southern Iraq.

What we do know is that their convoy was traveling from Kuwait, where their company is headquartered, to Al Tallil Airbase in southern Iraq. They were ambushed just outside in the vicinity of Basra.

According to a military source, they drove up to a fake checkpoint where a local militia group was masquerading as Iraqi police. The five were kidnapped, along with a number of their drivers. The drivers, all of South Asian origin, were later released.

There is right now a massive military operation under way trying to rescue these victims. And as you did just mention, this is a common method of operation for the insurgency here.

We have seen a number of attacks. If you remember on Tuesday, there was a mass kidnapping at Iraq's Ministry of Higher Education. Again, in that case, gunmen masquerading as Iraqi police.

This does underscore a number of problems that are facing the Iraqi police force right now. Are these militia groups part of the police force, or are they rogue elements, a militia that is just masquerading as Iraqi police -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

Thank you very much.

President Bush making history this morning in Vietnam, drawing on history to make his case for the fight in Iraq. President Bush is in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference. He's telling reporters in Hanoi, when it comes to Iraq, there's a lesson to be learned from Vietnam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We tend to want there to be instant success in the world, and the task in Iraq is going to take a while. But I would -- I would make it beyond just Iraq. I think the great struggle we're going to have is between radicals and extremists, versus people who want to live in peace. And that Iraq is a part of the struggle.

And it's just going to take a long period of time to -- for the ideology that is hopeful, and that is an ideology of freedom to overcome an ideology of hate. Yet the world is -- that we live in today is one where they want things to happen immediately, and it's hard work in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Bush is only the second U.S. president to visit Vietnam since the war ended 30 years ago -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A power struggle in the House this morning as Republican members vote for new leaders. The front-runner for minority leader is John Boehner of Ohio. He says Republicans need to get back to their core principles.

Boehner is closely challenged by Mike Pence of Indiana. He wants the party to be more aggressive as a minority voice in the next Congress.

In Florida, disgraced congressman Mark Foley is out of rehab, and the e-mails to congressional pages that got him in trouble in the first place are now the focus of a criminal investigation.

Let's get right to CNN's Susan Candiotti. She's in Davie, Florida, this morning.

Good morning to you, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

We don't know exactly what triggered this change in upgrade in the investigation from a preliminary inquiry to a criminal investigation, but I do know this: They've kept it well under wraps, because this change in designation actually happened, I'm told, in recent weeks, despite regular phone calls from the news media to find out if any changes happened.

The focus in Florida by investigators here is on e-mails, I am told by authorities. Any e-mails, any communications, any meetings that Mr. Foley may have had with minors, including former pages.

S. O'BRIEN: Susan, let me ask you a question. Are we going to find out more details about what's made this a criminal investigation now? Or do you think the police, as they have been over the last month, plus, going to kind of keep it close to the vest?

CANDIOTTI: They've been keeping things well under wraps. But as part of any type of criminal investigation, we do know that they'll be interviewing witnesses, suspects, issues subpoenas, search warrants, and possibly be seizing computers as part of this investigation.

S. O'BRIEN: Susan Candiotti is in Davie, Florida, for us this morning.

Thank you, Susan -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: And this just in from Connecticut. More violence linked to the pursuit of the new Sony PlayStation. One person shot in Putnam waiting in line to buy a PlayStation there.

Police say two suspects approached the line outside a Wal-Mart a short time ago, demanded cash. One person refused, and that led to the shooting.

No word on that person's condition. The suspect got away. Suspects.

The high-end PlayStation console sells for $600 -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A victory and a defeat, too, for Nancy Pelosi. The history-making new speaker of the House is already facing a test of her leadership. We've got a political roundup with CNN's John King straight ahead.

And then more on the chaos over PlayStation 3. The literal fights and, in some cases, criminal activity over the hottest system.

AMERICAN MORNING is right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Chad Myers has had a busy week in the weather center. We're not going to let him off easy today.

Chad, what's going on?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, it's not too bad today, actually. I can take a breather.

Good morning, everybody.

(WEATHER REPORT) S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you very much.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: It was busy, too, in Washington, D.C., this week. Democrats, Republicans no longer fighting each other, but they were fighting among themselves. And the soon-to-be speaker of the House facing her first leadership challenge, too.

Chief National Correspondent John King watching all that's happening in Washington for us.

Good morning to you, John.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it.

First and foremost, tell me why you think that Steny Hoyer walked away with -- the vote really wasn't even close, the behind the -- you know, behind-doors vote. Why do you think he ends up in the number two position behind Nancy Pelosi?

KING: 149-86, Soledad. I think the technical term for that is blowout.

Why? Because members were quite concerned about what Nancy Pelosi was doing. Remember when she sat next to President Bush in the Oval Office? She said she wanted to be the speaker not only of all the Democrats, but of the entire House. And yet, in her first big test, she asked members of her caucus to support her candidate, not the candidate in line for the position who had done nothing wrong, according to even those who didn't vote for him.

He had raised money, he can count the votes, he's considered more centrist than her. So many Democrats questioning whether she in her very first leadership test decided to put her own personal judgment, her own personal best interests ahead of the best interests of the entire group.

So they're not happy about that. And you saw that reflected in the lopsided vote.

You also have more conservative members of the caucus saying, "Why? Right out of the box I'm not going to support a leader that when I go back home everyone says is perhaps too liberal."

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, then what's the fallout for her? Her people, as you well know, are pitching this as, she's very loyal to Murtha. You know, and that's a good thing. Not a bad thing. So how do you think she's affected by this first test that, if it is really is that way, it didn't go so well?

KING: Congressman Allen Boyd, in an interview with Dana Bash yesterday, said now she has to put the genie back in the bottle. And I think that's exactly right. She needs to prove when they actually take power in January that she has learned a lesson from this, that she will reach out and ask people what they think before she decides to do this.

Many people were surprised. She put out a letter Sunday night, then she made phone calls supporting Congressman Murtha. Some say she was even threatening committee assignments if they didn't back her up.

There are people who say that was bad political judgment to begin with, and also bad communication, that she did not reach out quietly and privately before she went so public. She lost her first big test. Now she has to recover. It's a big challenge.

S. O'BRIEN: It may be a while, too, before we see all of the fallout from that.

Let's turn and talk about Republicans now. There's the Boehner- Pence vote today. Boehner's got the position. If Pence wins, what's the -- what's the -- what's the significance? What does that mean?

KING: If Pence wins, it shows you that House Republicans, a majority of House Republicans, have decided to start over. They need to completely start over. That they need to move aside their old leadership, go with fresh blood.

Mr. Pence is someone who says, look, we came to Washington 12 years ago, the Republicans did, saying we would shrink the size of government, balance the budget, reform government, get the lobbyists out of the Washington business, and we became everything we campaigned against. If the House Republican agree with him today and make him the majority leader, it is a clear sign they want a total break. Not just let's recover, let's start saying the right things, but they want a total break from what happened to them over the past few years.

S. O'BRIEN: And then in our presidential watch, which you know is a phrase we're going to be saying a lot between now and 2008, but if you look at that...

KING: Probably too much.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, exactly. You've got Giuliani now, officially, you know, taking the first steps, McCain officially taking his first steps, Tommy Thompson taking his first steps, Duncan Hunter as well. And it's kind of a weird year, because the president is not running for re-election, the vice president is not going to be running for president.

It's sort of a strange time. Isn't it? Open field?

KING: We have had nothing like this. The closest comparison in recent history is 1988, when you had seven Democrats running, six or seven Republicans running. But even then you had a sitting vice president. George H. W. Bush was running in that campaign.

It is wide open. You will have at least a half-dozen candidates, probably more on each side, at least a dozen candidates testing the water over the next several months. It is a fascinating thing.

Senator McCain out of the box early because he thinks he's the overwhelming front-runner on the Republican side. He's essentially trying to lock up the support of his party early on and freeze everybody else out. Make them think, "I can't raise that much money. There's not enough chief supporters to go around."

But it is remarkable. We always say these campaigns start earlier and earlier and earlier. This one started well before the midterm elections, Soledad, and it is already under way at a pretty high speed. And we've got a long way to go. It's November still.

S. O'BRIEN: Just two years to go, huh?

John King for us.

KING: Not too long before Iowa and New Hampshire. Only a little more than a year for them.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it's hard to believe.

John King for us this morning.

Thanks, John, as always -- Miles.

KING: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Everybody wants it. Some are fighting over it. But is the new PlayStation 3 worth the mega hype? Some of the finest gamers I know -- well, actually my son and three of his pals, pit PlayStation against Nintendo's Wii.

That's coming up.

And pacing yourself and budgeting. Kind of a tough segue there when we're talking about a $600 gaming machine. But anyway, how to budget your cash for the holiday season, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: It's getting ugly out there. Sony only released 400,000 of those much-hyped PlayStation 3s this holiday season. Clearly, demand is far outstripping supply.

But does it live up to the advance billing?

The other day I gathered together a group of leading experts in this field for a sneak peek of the PS3 and its main rival, the Nintendo Wii.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice over): Past the long line of PlayStation fanatics deep in the basement of the Sony store, we took our panel of experts to a place aptly called the Dream Room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So cool!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you add in the TV, this is, like, the coolest thing ever.

M. O'BRIEN: Meet the Game Boys: Robert, Dylan (ph), Harrison, and the one on my dole, Murrah (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Let's play.

M. O'BRIEN: PlayStation 3 on a humongous HDTV was a near religious experience for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yeah. That's what I'm talking about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that. Like, you can see him -- it looks like he's really looking at it. Like he paused television.

M. O'BRIEN: The graphics are astounding. You would think it would be enough to give Sony's competitors a cold sweat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sweat is, like, pouring down his forehead.

M. O'BRIEN: But maybe not. We went back to our place, where Nintendo had shipped us a Wii to take for a spin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woo!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in love with the console. It's beautiful.

M. O'BRIEN: The Wii is cheaper, fewer bells and whistles, and definitely inferior graphics. So I figured the Game Boys would not be impressed. I was wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can move the controller, Dylan (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Serious?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes! See?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.

M. O'BRIEN: The cool thing about the Wii are the controllers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

M. O'BRIEN: The players' movements match the action on the screen.

It was a hit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is like nothing that's ever happened, ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Totally.

M. O'BRIEN: What did you say, Dylan (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, no one ever has done this before. No one's ever done anything like this before.

M. O'BRIEN: Bottom line, the Game Boys see advantages to both systems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: PlayStation 3 is kind of almost -- it has amazing graphics and it's really for gamers. This is kind of, you know, like anybody can kind of, like, pick it up and play it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And do the -- you know, the Wii.

M. O'BRIEN: But if they had to pick one right now, which would it be?

(on camera): And what do you say, Robert, to your pals?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel alone, and you're not gamers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Robert is a purist.

All right. So now let's take a look at eBay, shall we? The PlayStation 3 -- Nintendo Wii doesn't go on -- on sale until Sunday. So we'll see about that. That's a $250 box.

The high-end PlayStation is about $00. Retail, if you can get it, if you're willing to go through the stampedes and the shootings to get it...

S. O'BRIEN: One shooting.

M. O'BRIEN: One shooting -- but take a look at these bids. All right?

There are 35 bids already for the one at the top of eBay there for $2,425 already. There's a $3,000 -- there's one at $3,050. A couple of those. One at $2,375.

These are all the 60-gigabyte, the high-end PlayStations.

So, the question, these -- this whole thing is kind of a -- it seems like it's fake scarcity. And, you know, I don't know.

What do you think, Andrew Ross Sorkin? You know, "The Times" -- he's here -- he's going to be talking about this, anyway.

Are they just -- couldn't make more than 400,000 of these boxes?

ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, "NEW YORK TIMES": Well, I actually think that Sony has actually had a tough time making these boxes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SORKIN: So there is a feeling that maybe this is helping on the marketing effort. Right? Four hundred thousand of these devices, everybody's...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SORKIN: ... killing themselves to get one. But at the same time, Sony has had to push and delay -- push back and delay the release of this device, you know, throughout the year. And for Sony, this is a huge, huge opportunity. And it comes on the heels of a lot of problems at Sony.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SORKIN: You know, they've had problems with the batteries on the laptops, and a number of other things. So, the idea, at least in my mind, that they're only putting 400,000 out, if they could get 600,000, a million out...

M. O'BRIEN: You think they would.

SORKIN: ... I think they would.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SORKIN: And, in fact, you know, they are trying to get as many here as they can. They normally ship them on a boat, but they are flying these things in at astronomical cost to them just to -- just to hit the release date. So -- I don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: You're not a conspiracy theorist like Miles?

SORKIN: I'm less of a conspiracy theorist. They need this to work.

You know, the other part of this, these are high-def systems. They're trying to release this Blu-ray system, which is a standard for new DVDs.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we saw a demo of that. It's spectacular.

SORKIN: It's spectacular, but it's very important to them to get this out there. And it's coming at the same time, by the way, that Nintendo obviously is out with the Wii at a much smaller -- lower price point, $250.

So, you know...

M. O'BRIEN: I think it's an apple and an orange between the two boxes. I think it's a different market that they're going after. These are real high-end gamers versus more of the casual-type gamers.

SORKIN: Well, that's the thing. You can look at the pricing. I mean, the $500, $600 price point for the PlayStation. That's really going up against the Xbox, which actually is lower now at $300. But the Wii is a $250 device.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

SORKIN: So -- also wanted to mention, though, for those gamers who don't want to spend $60, $75 on a new game for the PlayStation, that Burger King is out with a -- their own games. So you can buy them for $4 at Burger King. A little flacking (ph) for Burger King this morning.

There's one here called Big Bumping (ph).

M. O'BRIEN: For the Xbox, for the 360?

SORKIN: This one is for the Xbox.

M. O'BRIEN: OK.

SORKIN: This one is for the Xbox. But I believe they're coming out with PlayStation soon. So you can...

S. O'BRIEN: It's for little kids?

SORKIN: It's for little kids, but it's the king. The king is the character.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, for Burger King.

SORKIN: For Burger King.

S. O'BRIEN: I get it.

SORKIN: So that's...

M. O'BRIEN: That plastic face.

SORKIN: The plastic face. A little spooky, if you will.

M. O'BRIEN: I think so. Yes.

SORKIN: But kind of fun.

S. O'BRIEN: "Attention, fans of electricity." That's what it says. Fans of electricity.

I'm in.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm pro-electricity, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Andrew.

SORKIN: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Andrew, thanks so much. See you again soon.

SORKIN: I appreciate it.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's take a quick look at what they're working on for the weekend. Here's T.J. and Betty from "CNN SATURDAY MORNING".

Hey, guys. Good morning.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Man, you guys...

S. O'BRIEN: Fan of electricity?

NGUYEN: Yes. Well, with the games around here...

HOLMES: Yes. All you guys do is play up there. It's outstanding.

NGUYEN: We want that job.

HOLMES: Not that this is your type of problem, Soledad, but to a lot of folks, put the fork down and walk away from that buffet table, please.

NGUYEN: Just leave, yes. Because you may not know it, but your mind could be making you fat. And we're doing to tell you how to avoid mindless eating during the holiday season.

HOLMES: Plus, something else here. Letting go of God? Got a comical spin here on a very serious life change for comedian and actor Julia Sweeney. You probably recognize her. We're going to talk to her on Sunday in our "Faces of Faith" segment.

NGUYEN: Also, let the games begin. As you guys just mentioned, the Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii, well they hit stores this weekend and we are playing them both live right here in our NEWSROOM.

HOLMES And of course we'll have all the day's top stories, in depth coverage and any breaking news of course. That's starting at 7:00 eastern right here on CNN Saturday and Sunday morning. I am one of those casual gamers, as they say.

NGUYEN: The causal gamer.

S. O'BRIEN: Although, big bumping, the Burger King game for $4 dollars. I can give you my copy.

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: Although I have to say Soledad, we're not doing things right here because Nintendo didn't ship us a Wii to try out. HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: What's with that?

S. O'BRIEN: I think that was a cold, hard dis to Miles. Thank you. See you.

Ahead this morning we've got a story of a woman who lost, literally, everything, but she is very grateful this morning. We'll tell you how she was able to survive along with her three children that deadly tornado, that devastated not only her home but her community too. AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Americans ambushed in Iraq. The search is underway right now for four U.S. contractors feared kidnapped.

M. O'BRIEN: Under siege. Floods, mudslides, even a tornado terrorize parts of the country and turn deadly. Is there a threat today?

S. O'BRIEN: And the healing power of laughter. Dr. Sanjay Gupta goes to the beach for a unique exercise class, bringing about bliss in many lives. We'll tell you that story straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It is Friday, November 17th, I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning.

In southern Iraq more now on the search for four American security contractors, one Austrian feared kidnapped. It happened in Nasiriyah where Iraqi troops have taken control of security, but there's reason to believe the contractors were stopped at checkpoint manned by insurgents masquerading as the authorities. AMERICAN MORNING's Ali Velshi is here to give us some perspective. The big picture, you know we call them contractors. In another era, we would call them mercenaries.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, they are paid armed forces. There are different kind of contractors in Iraq right now. But one of the largest groups might be security contractors, private security contractors, many of whom you spoke to a guest earlier are very highly trained soldiers. By one estimate last year, there might be 50,000. 48,000 civilian security employees and 181 different companies operating in Iraq.

What they're doing is a lot of the jobs that the military might have done, but they are doing now. They are guarding convoys, they're guarding bases, they are guarding embassies and things like that. The costs of these groups are very high. In some cases up to one-third of the cost of a given project, reconstruction project, but the average cost according to the Government Accounting Office, the GAO, is 16 percent to 22 percent of the entire effort in Iraq is going towards security forces. And they are very big. You were talking to the gentleman this morning who worked with Crescent, the company ...

M. O'BRIEN: Colonel Shumcker (ph), yes.

VELSHI: And these, Blackwater, which one of the biggest firms there, has said that it is in a position to now provide a brigade- sized force for low intensity conflicts. It's different than guarding an airport.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It's like a whole separate force.

VELSHI: It's a whole separate force. A lot of armed people out there. It's dangerous work. They are getting paid very well, in many cases they are being billed out at $1,500 a day. These soldiers can earn well over $100,000 a year, which means it's very enticing for them in some cases to leave military forces.

M. O'BRIEN: But, at great risk.

VELSHI: Absolutely.

M. O'BRIEN: As we learned today. All right, Ali Velshi, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk a little bit about Ground Zero, what's happening in America today. In New York, the next step in the construction of the Freedom Tower. Within the hour, they're going to start pouring the concrete for the tower's core at former World Trade Center site. The Freedom Tower is expected to be completed in five years.

In Dallas, modern day segregation comes to an end. The judge has ruled that the principal of an elementary school has to stop separating Latino and white students in classrooms and in the school's hallways. The ruling also says the school can't place students solely on the basis of their ethnic backgrounds.

A truck slammed in to a home in Wichita, Kansas -- stooped just inches away from where a man was sleeping. Take a look at picture this morning. The crash left the gaping hole in this house. It also sadly killed two of his puppies. People in the truck, an eyewitness said, ran out of the truck into another car then took off. Homeowner says it seemed like they were drunk.

In California, if you didn't get your Federal tax refund, do not blame the Post Office. The IRS says the checks didn't get to more than 4,000 L.A. County residents because of incorrect mailing addresses. So if you're missing a refund you want to call the IRS and make sure they got your address right.

And the power of laughter -- just how far can it go to making you genuinely happy? Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take a look when AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK

M. O'BRIEN: Time now for "Watching your Money." Seems like it was only Labor Day a little while ago and here we are talking about Christmas shopping and spending upwards of $600 bucks on a Playstation 3 or whatever. So, there's a lot of pressure to spend money. Gerri Willis, our personal finance editor, host of "OPEN HOUSE," multi talented in many ways and she's tight with a nickel, too, which is good. So, she's going to tell us how we're going to stay out of trouble with the holiday shopping season upon us.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you Miles. Hi Soledad. Well, it's the season to hit the malls, as you're saying. Consumers expected to spend $800 each buying presents for friends and family this year. Now, you may be wondering how to prevent a spending hangover? Well, for starters you need a plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAUL VAZQUEZ, LIVING WITH BAD CREDIT.COM: People get in to trouble because they don't budget how much money they're going to spend, number one. And that's something you have to do. You have to write down and you have to discipline yourself to say I'm only going to spend this much money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: And, of course, it's not just about what you spend on gifts. People will spend about $50 bucks on decorations alone. Don't forget about the party expenses and holiday shows you plan on attending. Now, when you hit the stores you may be tempted to take advantage of sales and discounts to splurge on yourself. People typically do. But instead of spending that extra cash, make a wish list, and give it to your spouse or another family member. At least you'll get what you want this year.

And don't forget to take advantage of the web. Online retailers this year are concentrated on early shipping deals and holiday promotions and there are great websites to check out. To beat the Black Friday frenzy get the sale previews at bfads.net or blackFriday.gotadeal.com. That's a great website You can also check out fatwallet.com for online coupons. And finally if you just want to do some price comparisons, check out these two shopping bots. Shopzilla.com and pricegrabber.com There's actually alot of help on the web out there. If you want to shop, you can start on the web and really narrow down where you're going go.

M. O'BRIEN: What and miss the stampedes at the store? You got to be kidding me!

WILLIS: Not my scene, you know.

M. O'BRIEN: It's not my thing either. Are people getting better about this? We talk about it every year.

WILLIS: Well, you know we interview a ton of people out on the street and actually checked out the numbers out there, about what average Americans are doing. And the good news is, more people are planning to use debit cards instead of credit cards. Which means that money's going out the door right now and they're not going to have that debt hangover.

M. O'BRIEN; It'll be interesting to see how that affects spending. We'll be watching those numbers. All right, "OPEN HOUSE" coming up (INAUDIBLE). What's you got?

WILLIS: "OPEN HOUSE" Saturday morning, 9:30 a.m. eastern. Tune it because we've got alot of great things. We've got an illegal immigration debate and the effect on housing in Escondido (ph) California. Very interesting story there where the town is trying to prevent illegal immigrants from renting apartments there. Very interesting story. We're going to take you Las Vegas where they're cracking down on water. Very interesting story about the water police there. They really limit your consumption and they send out cops to give you tickets and fines if you don't do what you're supposed to.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. The luxuries, like water, in Las Vegas. All right. Gerri Willis our personal finance editor. Thanks for dropping by.

WILLIS: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" is a couple minutes away and Tony Harris is at the CNN center with a look at what's ahead this morning. Good morning, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Friday to you Soledad. We've got these stories in the NEWSROOM rundown this morning. A living room view of a killer. North Carolina tornado, life left in splinters by nature. We're live at the scene.

President Bush in Vietnam. The symbolism, the parallels Vietnam, he says, offering hard lessons about the war in Iraq.

Roman wedding. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes sparking a camera- snapping frenzy in the Italian capital. Their weekend nuptials, the talk the town, and the NEWSROOM, we're live from Rome. Heidi Collins is with me in the NEWSROOM at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Tony Harris for us this morning. Thanks Tony. We'll see you in a little bit.

In Riegelwood, North Carolina today, still too dangerous for people to go home. A powerful tornado killed eight people, wiped out a mile-long section of homes there. A small town west of Wilmington is where Riegelwood is. We're going to update you on the situation there straight ahead this morning. Stay with us. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: As you well know all this week Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been exploring the connection between happiness and your health. The final part that special series takes a look today at the power of laughter. Sanjay joins us from the CNN center in Atlanta. Sanjay, I just feel like you're going to crack jokes for this entire segment. Go ahead. I'm ready. Bring it on.

Dr. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's the real question. If I can make you laugh without you actually being happy in the first place, do you still reap some of the health benefits of happiness. That was a real question we tried to answer. We found this place called the Laughter Club. Here's what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok, big breath in.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: Every morning on Laguna Beach, California, you'll find a group gathered on the sand laughing.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: There are no jokes. No punch lines. They're laughing for no reason at all. Before you write this off as just another off the wall California fad you should know laughter yoga was the brainchild of Indian doctor Madan Kataria. He was doing research for an article called "laughter, the best medicine" when he got the idea.

DR. MADAN KATARIA, LAUGHTER CLUB CREATOR: I was a very serious physician back in India. I never laughed too much because I don't have a great sense of humor. It just came from -- suddenly, 4:00 in the morning, I decided why not start a laughter club.

GUPTA: What began with five people in a Mumbai (ph) park in 1995 has spread to more than 5,000 laughter clubs in 50 countries.

KATARIA: You don't need any sense of humor to laugh. You don't need to be happy in order to laugh. In fact, when you laugh, you develop your sense of humor. You develop a joy within yourself.

GUPTA: More than that, Kataria says the breathing and laughing of laughter yoga will improve your health. Even if you have to fake the laughter.

It's a claim backed up by Lee Burk at Loma Linda University. Burk has found laughter decreases stress hormones, improves our immune system, and boosts endorphins. those are the brain chemicals associated with the a runner's high. Doctor Kataria, who began the laughter club movement says people who laugh are like the Dali Lama living in the moment.

KATARIA: Joyfulness makes you feel good immediately, at least now. And that's what children do. And I want all, everybody in this world, to live like a child. Now. Just now.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (on-camera): Now, if you're like most people, just watching all those people laugh probably makes you laugh as well. And while laughter may not be the best medicine, what we found as we've been investigating this for several months, it can be a very good medicine in terms of improving your immune function and releasing a lot of those critical endorphins as well, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: So, then, there's a real science behind it?

GUPTA: There is a real science behind it. The one study that surprised me the most, was actually looking at heart patients. Patients who have had a heart attack as part of the rehab program they were asked to watch funny television comedies or funny plays, and things like that. What they found was that the rate of having a second heart attack was 8 percent compared to around 40 percent for people who just underwent the standard cardiac rehab.

Something changes in your body when you're happy, when you're optimistic and when you're laughing, and people who are recovering, it can have a pretty significant impact.

S. O'BRIEN; When they say you might die laughing, does that mean there's some kind of downside? You know, they say that all the time -- die of laughter. I almost died of laughing?

GUPTA: We didn't find that -- I think that's just an adage for the most part. What we found instead was that when you laugh, you release a lot of those endorphins, those hormones that actually change your blood vessels, open them up, allow more blood flow to the important organs in your body, including your heart. So, dying of laughter I think is more of an adage, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks goodness for that. The whole thing that you are going to have this weekend is called "Happiness and your Health: The Surprising Connection." What's the biggest surprise in the surprising connection, Sanjay?

GUPTA: You know, the biggest surprise for me, Soledad was that I think we're pretty much born with a happiness set point. Everyone has a certain level of happiness you do, Miles does, I do. And if you win the Lottery tomorrow you're obviously going to go up for a few days, a few months, maybe even more.

But for the most part, most people are going to come back down to that happiness set point. If you have some terrible news, you're going to go down for a few days, but eventually come back up to that happiness set point. This has been borne out from all sorts of studies. The most surprising ones of studies of twins who were separated at birth brought up in wildly different circumstances still around the same level disposition despite that. There's a real genetic component to this. S. O'BRIEN: I believe that. But I think if I won the lottery, seriously, I'd be very, very happy for a very long time. Forever, pretty much. Sanjay, thanks.

M. O'BRIEN; Hey Sanjay, is that tie by coincidence or are you -- just a little bit of support?

GUPTA: Let me tell you Miles, since you've brought it up, what's really going to make me happy ...

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us about what's going to make you happy. Amazing blue.

GUPTA: Amazing blue, I believe it -- 24-10. Tomorrow, you watch it. I'll be happy on Sunday.

M. O'BRIEN: 24-10 Michigan he says. All right. Well, I've always heard a Buckeye's a useless nut.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: If they lose, his set point eventually goes back up.

M. O'BRIEN: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you Sanjay.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up at the top of the hour, House Republicans choosing their leaders for the new Congress. We follow the vote this morning. And new developments we've been telling you about in the case of former Congressman Mark Foley. More ahead.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: That's all from here on this AMERICAN MORNING. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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