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CNN Live Sunday
Palestinian Elections Under Way; Snow Storm Hits California
Aired January 09, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 11:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 p.m. in Ramallah and 11:00 p.m. in Banda Aceh. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, history on the west bank with polls closing in one hour. Who will win the Palestinian election and what will it mean for Middle East peace prospects?
Political violence now threatens the relief effort in the region hardest hit by the tsunamis two weeks ago. We'll have the latest.
And there's Rob Marciano in a very snowy California. He'll have a live update for us coming up.
But first, a check of the top stories. A series of underground explosions has people on edge in Indianapolis, Indiana. A blast near the state house yesterday injured three people in a book store and a theater was evacuated after an underground transformer blew up. It is believed the explosions were caused by a combination of heavy rains, freezing temperatures and short circuits in underground utility lines. The city's public safety director says streets should be safe for today's NFL playoff game.
It's being called a promising day for the people of Sudan. Just hours ago the Sudanese government and the main rebel group signed a comprehensive peace accord after three years of negotiations. The African nation has been wracked by more than two decades of civil war.
An American sailor has died after yesterday's nuclear submarine accident in the western Pacific. Nearly two dozen other sailors were wounded when the "U.S.S. San Francisco" ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam. The Navy says there was no damage to the sub's nuclear reactor.
We begin with a milestone for the Arab world. Just a few hours from now the polls close in the election to pick a successor to the last Palestinian authority President Yasser Arafat. It's expected to be the most transparent election in modern Arab history with potentially great impact on the peace process. CNN's John Vause is in Ramallah in the west bank. John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Fredricka. Election officials here announced a short time ago that polls would remain open for another two hours. They were due to close in less than an hour from now, but officials here say the big problem has been at Israeli checkpoints. They say many Palestinians have not been able to get through to the polling stations to cast their vote. However, international election observers say as of a short time ago that there really have been no problems in the west bank, but there was a problem in east Jerusalem.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who is here as an official observer said the situation in east Jerusalem this morning was chaos. Many Palestinians were confused and unable to cast their vote. He says he contacted the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and that problem was sorted out. So far it appears that voter turnout has been relatively low. The last report we got was around 35 percent of eligible Palestinians had, in fact, cast a ballot. Now 1.8 million Palestinians have the right to decide who will be the next president of the Palestinian authority, an election which is expected to be won by the former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, but Fredricka, everyone will be looking at his majority, his win and the voter turnout. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, John Vause in Ramallah, thanks so much.
Two weeks ago the world watched as nature's fury in the form of a tsunami devastated south Asia. This morning the death toll stands at more than 140,000. That includes 18 Americans known dead with 18 more presumed dead. Some $4 billion in worldwide relief efforts are on the way to assist survivors. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, relief workers are exercising extra caution. A hand grenade attack in a clash between Christians and Hindus killed at least three people there. Some 37 others were hurt. Officials say no relief workers were injured, but they are urging workers to remain vigilant.
An incredible survivor story out of Sri Lanka. A 60-year-old man is believed to have survived nearly two weeks under the rubble. This morning he told doctors his name and that he has a son and a daughter. Doctors expect the survivor to make a full recovery.
Utter destruction is how U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has described the tsunami's aftermath. Annan's touring the region. He skipped a planned trip to Sri Lanka's rebel held territories and is now in Maldives. CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is traveling with the secretary-general and joins us live by video phone right now. Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we are out I think in the Indian Ocean and it's a little tough to get the satellite, so we're on the phone. We tried with the video phone, but it didn't really succeed. Here in the Maldives Islands chain, at least 200 inhabited islands and here they consider themselves sort of the forgotten country overrun by the tsunami waves. In terms of the proportion of the fatalities relative to the population, the Maldives is really the third most affected country, 80 people dead, 28 still missing.
What is unique about the Maldives, it's very close to sea level. It's just a few feet above sea level, so when the waves came in, naturally, islands got flooded out. A third of the population, 100,000 people severely affected. They would like the tourists to come back. They used to get 17,000 here and now there are only 300 or 400 coming in. The first time the secretary-general has visited these islands, Kofi Annan will take a sea plane on Monday to go to two of the worst hit islands. He's having dinner right now with the leader of the country. It's a very picturesque place here, but they're calling it the worst disaster in the nation's history two weeks ago today. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Roth in the Maldives, thanks so much for that update.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is back in the U.S. after his tour of the tsunami region. Secretary Powell told CNN the U.S. is committed to providing the necessary aid for the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We will be making an assessment over time to see what is needed and if $350 million isn't enough, I'm sure the president will try to get more into the account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can see Secretary Powell's entire interview on "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. That's today at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
Few pictures have been able to convey the full force of the tsunamis as they were happening, but take a look at this, incredible new video into CNN this morning which perhaps shows the overwhelming power unlike any other images we have seen. This is in Banda Aceh. Look at the crush of the mud and the debris. This town on the northern tip of Sumatra was the closest land mass to the epicenter of the earthquake and witnesses say the wave of water following the quake was some 60 feet high, devouring, as you can see, everything in its path.
And when it was all over, the main mosque was one of the only structures left standing there. You can see it here in this still photo. The death toll in Indonesia alone is at least 95,000 people with another 77,000 listed as still missing.
The devastation so widespread, getting aid to survivors has been a colossal challenge for relief workers including U.S military personnel. Navy helicopters from the "U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln" are being used to transport help, including medical assistance. Dr. Lisa Peterson is a lieutenant on the ship and she joins us by phone. Dr. Peterson, what kind of assistance are you able to get to the people hardest to reach?
DR. LISA PETERSON, U.S. NAVY: The helicopters are able to bring the food supplies given by USAID and other non-governmental organizations. Initially they are delivering medical supplies through some organizations such as the Red Cross from different countries and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from France and supplying them and distributing them into the remote locations that can only be accessed from the air.
WHITFIELD: Some of these remote locations, are you choosing them simply be virtue of the fact that other relief workers are unable to get to them, even if the populous isn't as great as some of the other regions that are hardest hit.
PETERSON: Currently they're trying to do both, hit the population centers as well as some of the remote locations. A lot of it is still gathering intelligence, medical intelligence and figuring out where people are in need of food, water and medical supplies.
WHITFIELD: What are the kinds of injuries that you all are seeing once you land in some of these remote locations?
PETERSON: Initially the first few days we were seeing old wounds, about five to six-day old wounds with infections, lacerations, fractures that hadn't been tended to yet and then lots of aspiration and pneumonia from the salt water.
WHITFIELD: Are your personnel able to administer medical assistance, you know, actually bandaging the wounded, et cetera, or are you mostly just dropping off the supplies and the folks are having to fend for themselves?
PETERSON: We had some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) wound dressings and bandaging within the villages. Some of the more severe injuries and illnesses we evacuate.
WHITFIELD: All right, I think we just lost our connection there with Dr. Lisa Peterson. She was on the "U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln" one of the aircraft carriers in that region of southeast Asia offering medical and other assistance to the tsunami victims.
Well, sunny California, it is not. From massive waves and flooding in the south to a winter wonderland in the north, the golden state is still being hit hard by huge weather system. Rob Marciano and Orelon Sidney will be along with the latest when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, it's another day of wild weather in the far western United States. Parts of California and Nevada are getting socked again with heavy rain and snow and as we see on radar, it's not over yet. Another storm is barreling its way across California. The storms that have pounded the state this week have brought gigantic waves crashing ashore as you see right there and this is the scene yesterday in San Juan Capistrano in southern California.
The region is not used to all of this rain now causing some major flooding in many parts and compounding the problem snow is piling up in the mountains. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is keeping track of the conditions in Tahoe City, California, where he is still knee deep. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Fred. We're at Lake Tahoe, California where already three feet of snow has fallen here at lake level, about 6,000 feet. Up to five feet has fallen already up in the mountains. Why are we in Tahoe where they typically get a lot of snow? Well, just about, 50 miles or 50 minutes down the road in Reno, Nevada, on the desert side, doesn't get nearly as much snow, by the time Tuesday rolls around, this could be the worst snow storm they've seen since 1916.
Take a look at these two cars which have been here for the last three days and this is not your typical snow plow effect type of snow. This is actually wind driven snow that have completely buried not just little cars. This a Ford Expedition, a monster SUV. He is not going to be able to get out of there without actually having to dig in.
And speaking of dig in, that's what the folks here in Tahoe had to do in order to get anywhere yesterday. Some video for you folks digging out around the garbage cans, certainly the fire hydrants. Snow blowers out, not out once, not out twice, but typically three times and then again this morning. Good news usually for the mountains. We went up to Squaw Valley, checked out the ski resort there. Skiers were cutting some fresh tracks but high winds were an issue. We tracked down an avalanche coordinator up there at Squaw Valley. Her name's (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This is what she had to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With this much snow falling this quickly, avalanches become a grave concern and, obviously, interstate 80 has been closed due to some avalanche concerns and driving conditions. A lot of accidents happen. Visibility goes down to absolutely zero. The winds are absolutely screaming on the ridges. We had wind last night of 163 miles per hour.
MARCIANO: 163 mile an hour gusts at the top of Squaw. That is a category 5 hurricane force wind, obviously, nobody up there at the time, but dangerous winds, nonetheless, creating wind blowing conditions, zero visibility in spots, so traveling difficult. South towards Los Angeles in some of those mountains there, Big Bear Mountain, 36 inches of snow and there were 180 motorists that were trapped there yesterday. As for what's going on here, we're in a bit of a lull, but we have winter storm warnings up until Tuesday morning with another couple feet possible from here. Fredricka, back over to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks so much. Hunker down and bundle up because Orelon Sidney is going to tell us a little bit more about what else is on the way there from the weather center. Hi, again, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello and it looks like the snow machine is not going to shut off today, tomorrow or even Tuesday. You're going to find quite a bit of snowfall today a little bit of a lull tonight and another shot Monday night before it starts to pull out on Tuesday, but lots of snow will continue across the Sierra Nevada, down through the San Bernardinos and then as the energy moves into the Rockies, you'll get snow showers there as well. Currently though, we're looking at some very heavy rains too, especially around Los Angeles, the Catalina Island and continuing on inland.
Here's a look at some of the totals we've seen. We were taking a look at some of the encyclopedias, come to find out, the Sierra Nevadas, one of the snowiest areas of mountains in the whole world as a matter of fact. You can certainly believe it if you're at Heavenly Valley, 72 inches so far in the storm, Alpine Meadows so far, 39 inches. We could see another seven inches of rain in the valleys. Multiply that by six to 10 and that will show you how much snowfall we expect just today, just today, not including tomorrow.
This is the area of low pressure causing all the trouble, little energy impulses coming off of this, rise up over the mountains and it's kind of like squeezing out a towel. Whenever moisture rises up over the mountains, that kind of squeezes out precipitation. If you're high enough, that precipitation is snow.
That continues today in the west. Look at the rest of the country, just a fantastic forecast from the Rockies all the way out to the east coast. Skies will be partly cloudy and it's going to be a little bit on the cool side, especially in the north. You'll find snow in the great lakes tomorrow. Rain and snow continues in the west. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Orelon.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well, in Utah, at least in some parts, it is just the opposite. A warm up there is turning out to be quite deadly. Higher temperatures have produced avalanche conditions. Yesterday two people were killed in separate avalanches in the central part of the state. One of the victims was buried while snowboarding. The second victim was on a snowmobile when overcome by a snow slide. Avalanches have claimed the lives of at least five in Utah alone this winter.
Still ahead this hour, assassinations, murders, kidnappings and curfews marking the long, hard road to Iraq's first democratic elections. We'll have a live report from Baghdad coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: With Iraq's elections just three weeks away, insurgents are intensifying their attacks on Iraqi civilians, leaders and police. In the past week, three prominent officials have been assassinated. Dozens of Iraqi police and security officials killed as well. CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us with the latest from Baghdad. Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Fredricka. The violence continues across the country unabated. The first incident today happened in the town of Al Suwirya (ph) about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed and one Cossack soldier killed when they were trying to detonate a bomb at an armory storage site, eight killed total, 11 wounded in that incident and I might add here Fredricka that the Ukraine is the fourth largest contributor of troops here in Iraq. They have 1,600 troops on the ground and these troops were six weeks into their six-month deployment.
Further south in the town of al Usafia (ph) a suicide car bomber ran his car into an Iraqi security forces checkpoint, four killed in that incident, 13 wounded. And then closer to Baghdad at a place known as the al Dura (ph) checkpoint, U.S. soldiers were on a routine patrol when an improvised explosive device went off. The U.S. soldiers got out of the vehicle and started firing into the crowd, according to eyewitnesses. Five Iraqis killed in that incident. We don't know whether it was from the IED or it was from the bullets from the soldiers. So, Fredricka, like you mentioned, exactly three weeks to go before that January 30th election. The violence continues across the country.
WHITFIELD: Jeff, the violence continues, which leads one to believe that the preparations are really being stalled and hampered in order for these elections to take place as scheduled at the end of the month.
KOINANGE: That's right, but, today, we had an interview with the spokesman for the Iraqi electoral commission, Dr. Fredrida Yarr (ph) and he was confident in his own way saying he is confident that Iraqi forces will provide security for Iraqis on Election Day. This despite what a U.S. commander on the ground was saying that he cannot guarantee the security of all Iraqis. He says elections are going to go ahead as planned and with four provinces out of 18 that are apparently not fit to have elections today, he says those provinces will be ready for elections and Iraqis will turn out en mass come January 30th. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: We'll be waiting to see. Thank you so much, Jeff Koinange in Baghdad.
Well, from the media coverage of the tsunami to the end of the road for a CNN mainstay. Howard Kurtz has it all covered this morning on "RELIABLE SOURCES" and he joins us now from Washington. Hi, Howie.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi Fredricka. Thanks very much. Coming up, reporting on tragedy, a CBS correspondent's very personal account of covering the tsunami's aftermath and did the big name anchors really need to go to the region?
Plus the end of a very loud error. "CROSSFIRE" gets canceled. Does the show deserve to die? And one commentator takes cash from the Bush administration to push its policies. What is up with that? All next on "RELIABLE SOURCES."
WHITFIELD: All right. A lot straight ahead, thanks a lot, Howard.
Well it was a close call for a movie legend who had to hustle out of his race car when it caught fire. That story coming up next. CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A vacation at sea turns sickening for some passengers. That story tops our look at news across America. 116 passengers and crew members got sick on a five-day Caribbean cruise. Royal Caribbean cruise lines blames an outbreak of a Norwalk type virus. The ship came back to Ft. Lauderdale yesterday for a thorough cleaning.
Also in Florida, legendary actor Paul Newman, well, he's OK after his race car caught fire on the Daytona international speedway on Saturday. The actor took an interest in auto racing while making the 1968 movie "Winning." Thankfully he's all right.
Well controversy surrounds filmmaker Michael Moore and tonight's televised People's Choice Awards. Goldderby.com reports that Moore was tipped off that his film "Fahrenheit 9/11" will win a prize. And television show president Martin Sheen will apparently be giving Moore the award tonight.
Revelers in Alabama got a head start on Mardi Gras. Thousands of people came out for a parade in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) island. They're laying claim to the first Mardi Gras celebrations of the year. Mardi Gras officially begins January 21st.
Well, it's wildcard weekend in the National Football League with playoff action both Saturday and today. Yesterday in the national conference, the St. Louis Rams were a touchdown better than the Seattle Seahawks winning 27-20. And in AFC action, the New York Jets fought to an overtime win over the San Diego Chargers 20-17. CNN sports Steve Overmyer previews today's action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Minnesota is hoping their rematch against Green Bay will end in revenge but it won't be easy. The Vikings twice to the Packers by identical 34-31 scores and come limping into the playoffs. After a 5 and 1 start, the team finished with an 8-8 record. Now they must beat a team led by Brett Favre who is 7 and 1 in home playoff games.
MIKE TICE, VIKINGS HEAD COACH: They know they're the underdog. Probably half their wives don't think we can win, so, you know, what the hell, go in and prepare yourself with exactness and go out and play hard and play with great emotion.
OVERMYER: The Broncos beat the Colts 33-14 last week to get into the playoffs, but did so against the Colts team without Peyton Manning who had one of the best seasons in NFL history. How much does last week's results affect this week's match up?
PEYTON MANNING, COLTS QUARTERBACK: It really doesn't carry a lot of weight, if any, into the playoffs. So although what you hope is that you say, hey, we did some of these things in the regular season. We're capable of making big plays. We're capable of being good in the red zone, capable of converting on third downs and hope to carry some of that momentum of consistency into the playoffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether we got their best shot or not, last week we didn't. They took some guys off the field but we know we're going to get it this weekend and in return they're going to get ours.
OVERMYER: It's been a while since Denver's tasted playoff success. The last time was six years ago in the John Elway era. That's when the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls. Steve Overmyer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN Sunday. In a few moments at the bottom of the hour, "RELIABLE SOURCES," today taking a closer look at the media coverage of the tsunami disaster.
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Aired January 9, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 11:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 p.m. in Ramallah and 11:00 p.m. in Banda Aceh. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, history on the west bank with polls closing in one hour. Who will win the Palestinian election and what will it mean for Middle East peace prospects?
Political violence now threatens the relief effort in the region hardest hit by the tsunamis two weeks ago. We'll have the latest.
And there's Rob Marciano in a very snowy California. He'll have a live update for us coming up.
But first, a check of the top stories. A series of underground explosions has people on edge in Indianapolis, Indiana. A blast near the state house yesterday injured three people in a book store and a theater was evacuated after an underground transformer blew up. It is believed the explosions were caused by a combination of heavy rains, freezing temperatures and short circuits in underground utility lines. The city's public safety director says streets should be safe for today's NFL playoff game.
It's being called a promising day for the people of Sudan. Just hours ago the Sudanese government and the main rebel group signed a comprehensive peace accord after three years of negotiations. The African nation has been wracked by more than two decades of civil war.
An American sailor has died after yesterday's nuclear submarine accident in the western Pacific. Nearly two dozen other sailors were wounded when the "U.S.S. San Francisco" ran aground about 350 miles south of Guam. The Navy says there was no damage to the sub's nuclear reactor.
We begin with a milestone for the Arab world. Just a few hours from now the polls close in the election to pick a successor to the last Palestinian authority President Yasser Arafat. It's expected to be the most transparent election in modern Arab history with potentially great impact on the peace process. CNN's John Vause is in Ramallah in the west bank. John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello Fredricka. Election officials here announced a short time ago that polls would remain open for another two hours. They were due to close in less than an hour from now, but officials here say the big problem has been at Israeli checkpoints. They say many Palestinians have not been able to get through to the polling stations to cast their vote. However, international election observers say as of a short time ago that there really have been no problems in the west bank, but there was a problem in east Jerusalem.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who is here as an official observer said the situation in east Jerusalem this morning was chaos. Many Palestinians were confused and unable to cast their vote. He says he contacted the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and that problem was sorted out. So far it appears that voter turnout has been relatively low. The last report we got was around 35 percent of eligible Palestinians had, in fact, cast a ballot. Now 1.8 million Palestinians have the right to decide who will be the next president of the Palestinian authority, an election which is expected to be won by the former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, but Fredricka, everyone will be looking at his majority, his win and the voter turnout. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, John Vause in Ramallah, thanks so much.
Two weeks ago the world watched as nature's fury in the form of a tsunami devastated south Asia. This morning the death toll stands at more than 140,000. That includes 18 Americans known dead with 18 more presumed dead. Some $4 billion in worldwide relief efforts are on the way to assist survivors. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, relief workers are exercising extra caution. A hand grenade attack in a clash between Christians and Hindus killed at least three people there. Some 37 others were hurt. Officials say no relief workers were injured, but they are urging workers to remain vigilant.
An incredible survivor story out of Sri Lanka. A 60-year-old man is believed to have survived nearly two weeks under the rubble. This morning he told doctors his name and that he has a son and a daughter. Doctors expect the survivor to make a full recovery.
Utter destruction is how U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has described the tsunami's aftermath. Annan's touring the region. He skipped a planned trip to Sri Lanka's rebel held territories and is now in Maldives. CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth is traveling with the secretary-general and joins us live by video phone right now. Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we are out I think in the Indian Ocean and it's a little tough to get the satellite, so we're on the phone. We tried with the video phone, but it didn't really succeed. Here in the Maldives Islands chain, at least 200 inhabited islands and here they consider themselves sort of the forgotten country overrun by the tsunami waves. In terms of the proportion of the fatalities relative to the population, the Maldives is really the third most affected country, 80 people dead, 28 still missing.
What is unique about the Maldives, it's very close to sea level. It's just a few feet above sea level, so when the waves came in, naturally, islands got flooded out. A third of the population, 100,000 people severely affected. They would like the tourists to come back. They used to get 17,000 here and now there are only 300 or 400 coming in. The first time the secretary-general has visited these islands, Kofi Annan will take a sea plane on Monday to go to two of the worst hit islands. He's having dinner right now with the leader of the country. It's a very picturesque place here, but they're calling it the worst disaster in the nation's history two weeks ago today. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Roth in the Maldives, thanks so much for that update.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is back in the U.S. after his tour of the tsunami region. Secretary Powell told CNN the U.S. is committed to providing the necessary aid for the victims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We will be making an assessment over time to see what is needed and if $350 million isn't enough, I'm sure the president will try to get more into the account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And you can see Secretary Powell's entire interview on "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. That's today at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
Few pictures have been able to convey the full force of the tsunamis as they were happening, but take a look at this, incredible new video into CNN this morning which perhaps shows the overwhelming power unlike any other images we have seen. This is in Banda Aceh. Look at the crush of the mud and the debris. This town on the northern tip of Sumatra was the closest land mass to the epicenter of the earthquake and witnesses say the wave of water following the quake was some 60 feet high, devouring, as you can see, everything in its path.
And when it was all over, the main mosque was one of the only structures left standing there. You can see it here in this still photo. The death toll in Indonesia alone is at least 95,000 people with another 77,000 listed as still missing.
The devastation so widespread, getting aid to survivors has been a colossal challenge for relief workers including U.S military personnel. Navy helicopters from the "U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln" are being used to transport help, including medical assistance. Dr. Lisa Peterson is a lieutenant on the ship and she joins us by phone. Dr. Peterson, what kind of assistance are you able to get to the people hardest to reach?
DR. LISA PETERSON, U.S. NAVY: The helicopters are able to bring the food supplies given by USAID and other non-governmental organizations. Initially they are delivering medical supplies through some organizations such as the Red Cross from different countries and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from France and supplying them and distributing them into the remote locations that can only be accessed from the air.
WHITFIELD: Some of these remote locations, are you choosing them simply be virtue of the fact that other relief workers are unable to get to them, even if the populous isn't as great as some of the other regions that are hardest hit.
PETERSON: Currently they're trying to do both, hit the population centers as well as some of the remote locations. A lot of it is still gathering intelligence, medical intelligence and figuring out where people are in need of food, water and medical supplies.
WHITFIELD: What are the kinds of injuries that you all are seeing once you land in some of these remote locations?
PETERSON: Initially the first few days we were seeing old wounds, about five to six-day old wounds with infections, lacerations, fractures that hadn't been tended to yet and then lots of aspiration and pneumonia from the salt water.
WHITFIELD: Are your personnel able to administer medical assistance, you know, actually bandaging the wounded, et cetera, or are you mostly just dropping off the supplies and the folks are having to fend for themselves?
PETERSON: We had some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) wound dressings and bandaging within the villages. Some of the more severe injuries and illnesses we evacuate.
WHITFIELD: All right, I think we just lost our connection there with Dr. Lisa Peterson. She was on the "U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln" one of the aircraft carriers in that region of southeast Asia offering medical and other assistance to the tsunami victims.
Well, sunny California, it is not. From massive waves and flooding in the south to a winter wonderland in the north, the golden state is still being hit hard by huge weather system. Rob Marciano and Orelon Sidney will be along with the latest when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, it's another day of wild weather in the far western United States. Parts of California and Nevada are getting socked again with heavy rain and snow and as we see on radar, it's not over yet. Another storm is barreling its way across California. The storms that have pounded the state this week have brought gigantic waves crashing ashore as you see right there and this is the scene yesterday in San Juan Capistrano in southern California.
The region is not used to all of this rain now causing some major flooding in many parts and compounding the problem snow is piling up in the mountains. CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is keeping track of the conditions in Tahoe City, California, where he is still knee deep. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Fred. We're at Lake Tahoe, California where already three feet of snow has fallen here at lake level, about 6,000 feet. Up to five feet has fallen already up in the mountains. Why are we in Tahoe where they typically get a lot of snow? Well, just about, 50 miles or 50 minutes down the road in Reno, Nevada, on the desert side, doesn't get nearly as much snow, by the time Tuesday rolls around, this could be the worst snow storm they've seen since 1916.
Take a look at these two cars which have been here for the last three days and this is not your typical snow plow effect type of snow. This is actually wind driven snow that have completely buried not just little cars. This a Ford Expedition, a monster SUV. He is not going to be able to get out of there without actually having to dig in.
And speaking of dig in, that's what the folks here in Tahoe had to do in order to get anywhere yesterday. Some video for you folks digging out around the garbage cans, certainly the fire hydrants. Snow blowers out, not out once, not out twice, but typically three times and then again this morning. Good news usually for the mountains. We went up to Squaw Valley, checked out the ski resort there. Skiers were cutting some fresh tracks but high winds were an issue. We tracked down an avalanche coordinator up there at Squaw Valley. Her name's (UNINTELLIGIBLE). This is what she had to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With this much snow falling this quickly, avalanches become a grave concern and, obviously, interstate 80 has been closed due to some avalanche concerns and driving conditions. A lot of accidents happen. Visibility goes down to absolutely zero. The winds are absolutely screaming on the ridges. We had wind last night of 163 miles per hour.
MARCIANO: 163 mile an hour gusts at the top of Squaw. That is a category 5 hurricane force wind, obviously, nobody up there at the time, but dangerous winds, nonetheless, creating wind blowing conditions, zero visibility in spots, so traveling difficult. South towards Los Angeles in some of those mountains there, Big Bear Mountain, 36 inches of snow and there were 180 motorists that were trapped there yesterday. As for what's going on here, we're in a bit of a lull, but we have winter storm warnings up until Tuesday morning with another couple feet possible from here. Fredricka, back over to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks so much. Hunker down and bundle up because Orelon Sidney is going to tell us a little bit more about what else is on the way there from the weather center. Hi, again, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello and it looks like the snow machine is not going to shut off today, tomorrow or even Tuesday. You're going to find quite a bit of snowfall today a little bit of a lull tonight and another shot Monday night before it starts to pull out on Tuesday, but lots of snow will continue across the Sierra Nevada, down through the San Bernardinos and then as the energy moves into the Rockies, you'll get snow showers there as well. Currently though, we're looking at some very heavy rains too, especially around Los Angeles, the Catalina Island and continuing on inland.
Here's a look at some of the totals we've seen. We were taking a look at some of the encyclopedias, come to find out, the Sierra Nevadas, one of the snowiest areas of mountains in the whole world as a matter of fact. You can certainly believe it if you're at Heavenly Valley, 72 inches so far in the storm, Alpine Meadows so far, 39 inches. We could see another seven inches of rain in the valleys. Multiply that by six to 10 and that will show you how much snowfall we expect just today, just today, not including tomorrow.
This is the area of low pressure causing all the trouble, little energy impulses coming off of this, rise up over the mountains and it's kind of like squeezing out a towel. Whenever moisture rises up over the mountains, that kind of squeezes out precipitation. If you're high enough, that precipitation is snow.
That continues today in the west. Look at the rest of the country, just a fantastic forecast from the Rockies all the way out to the east coast. Skies will be partly cloudy and it's going to be a little bit on the cool side, especially in the north. You'll find snow in the great lakes tomorrow. Rain and snow continues in the west. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Orelon.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
WHITFIELD: Well, in Utah, at least in some parts, it is just the opposite. A warm up there is turning out to be quite deadly. Higher temperatures have produced avalanche conditions. Yesterday two people were killed in separate avalanches in the central part of the state. One of the victims was buried while snowboarding. The second victim was on a snowmobile when overcome by a snow slide. Avalanches have claimed the lives of at least five in Utah alone this winter.
Still ahead this hour, assassinations, murders, kidnappings and curfews marking the long, hard road to Iraq's first democratic elections. We'll have a live report from Baghdad coming up.
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WHITFIELD: With Iraq's elections just three weeks away, insurgents are intensifying their attacks on Iraqi civilians, leaders and police. In the past week, three prominent officials have been assassinated. Dozens of Iraqi police and security officials killed as well. CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us with the latest from Baghdad. Jeff.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Fredricka. The violence continues across the country unabated. The first incident today happened in the town of Al Suwirya (ph) about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad. Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed and one Cossack soldier killed when they were trying to detonate a bomb at an armory storage site, eight killed total, 11 wounded in that incident and I might add here Fredricka that the Ukraine is the fourth largest contributor of troops here in Iraq. They have 1,600 troops on the ground and these troops were six weeks into their six-month deployment.
Further south in the town of al Usafia (ph) a suicide car bomber ran his car into an Iraqi security forces checkpoint, four killed in that incident, 13 wounded. And then closer to Baghdad at a place known as the al Dura (ph) checkpoint, U.S. soldiers were on a routine patrol when an improvised explosive device went off. The U.S. soldiers got out of the vehicle and started firing into the crowd, according to eyewitnesses. Five Iraqis killed in that incident. We don't know whether it was from the IED or it was from the bullets from the soldiers. So, Fredricka, like you mentioned, exactly three weeks to go before that January 30th election. The violence continues across the country.
WHITFIELD: Jeff, the violence continues, which leads one to believe that the preparations are really being stalled and hampered in order for these elections to take place as scheduled at the end of the month.
KOINANGE: That's right, but, today, we had an interview with the spokesman for the Iraqi electoral commission, Dr. Fredrida Yarr (ph) and he was confident in his own way saying he is confident that Iraqi forces will provide security for Iraqis on Election Day. This despite what a U.S. commander on the ground was saying that he cannot guarantee the security of all Iraqis. He says elections are going to go ahead as planned and with four provinces out of 18 that are apparently not fit to have elections today, he says those provinces will be ready for elections and Iraqis will turn out en mass come January 30th. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: We'll be waiting to see. Thank you so much, Jeff Koinange in Baghdad.
Well, from the media coverage of the tsunami to the end of the road for a CNN mainstay. Howard Kurtz has it all covered this morning on "RELIABLE SOURCES" and he joins us now from Washington. Hi, Howie.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi Fredricka. Thanks very much. Coming up, reporting on tragedy, a CBS correspondent's very personal account of covering the tsunami's aftermath and did the big name anchors really need to go to the region?
Plus the end of a very loud error. "CROSSFIRE" gets canceled. Does the show deserve to die? And one commentator takes cash from the Bush administration to push its policies. What is up with that? All next on "RELIABLE SOURCES."
WHITFIELD: All right. A lot straight ahead, thanks a lot, Howard.
Well it was a close call for a movie legend who had to hustle out of his race car when it caught fire. That story coming up next. CNN LIVE SUNDAY continues right after this.
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WHITFIELD: A vacation at sea turns sickening for some passengers. That story tops our look at news across America. 116 passengers and crew members got sick on a five-day Caribbean cruise. Royal Caribbean cruise lines blames an outbreak of a Norwalk type virus. The ship came back to Ft. Lauderdale yesterday for a thorough cleaning.
Also in Florida, legendary actor Paul Newman, well, he's OK after his race car caught fire on the Daytona international speedway on Saturday. The actor took an interest in auto racing while making the 1968 movie "Winning." Thankfully he's all right.
Well controversy surrounds filmmaker Michael Moore and tonight's televised People's Choice Awards. Goldderby.com reports that Moore was tipped off that his film "Fahrenheit 9/11" will win a prize. And television show president Martin Sheen will apparently be giving Moore the award tonight.
Revelers in Alabama got a head start on Mardi Gras. Thousands of people came out for a parade in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) island. They're laying claim to the first Mardi Gras celebrations of the year. Mardi Gras officially begins January 21st.
Well, it's wildcard weekend in the National Football League with playoff action both Saturday and today. Yesterday in the national conference, the St. Louis Rams were a touchdown better than the Seattle Seahawks winning 27-20. And in AFC action, the New York Jets fought to an overtime win over the San Diego Chargers 20-17. CNN sports Steve Overmyer previews today's action.
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STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Minnesota is hoping their rematch against Green Bay will end in revenge but it won't be easy. The Vikings twice to the Packers by identical 34-31 scores and come limping into the playoffs. After a 5 and 1 start, the team finished with an 8-8 record. Now they must beat a team led by Brett Favre who is 7 and 1 in home playoff games.
MIKE TICE, VIKINGS HEAD COACH: They know they're the underdog. Probably half their wives don't think we can win, so, you know, what the hell, go in and prepare yourself with exactness and go out and play hard and play with great emotion.
OVERMYER: The Broncos beat the Colts 33-14 last week to get into the playoffs, but did so against the Colts team without Peyton Manning who had one of the best seasons in NFL history. How much does last week's results affect this week's match up?
PEYTON MANNING, COLTS QUARTERBACK: It really doesn't carry a lot of weight, if any, into the playoffs. So although what you hope is that you say, hey, we did some of these things in the regular season. We're capable of making big plays. We're capable of being good in the red zone, capable of converting on third downs and hope to carry some of that momentum of consistency into the playoffs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether we got their best shot or not, last week we didn't. They took some guys off the field but we know we're going to get it this weekend and in return they're going to get ours.
OVERMYER: It's been a while since Denver's tasted playoff success. The last time was six years ago in the John Elway era. That's when the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls. Steve Overmyer, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN Sunday. In a few moments at the bottom of the hour, "RELIABLE SOURCES," today taking a closer look at the media coverage of the tsunami disaster.
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