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Condoleezza Rice's Asia Trip to Focus on North Korea Situation; New Violence Explodes on Iraqi Streets

Aired October 16, 2006 - 14:01   ET

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

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: But the best outcome would be if the North Korean regime recognized that there is a better way than the course on which it is currently launched, and that as a part of that, there could be an opening up to the North Korean people in beginning to deal with some of the very dire needs that they have, not for just short-term humanitarian assistance, but for longer-term care.
Thank you very much. See you tomorrow.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: As you know, our top story today, the fact that it is confirmed that North Korea did test a nuclear -- missile, rather -- and that has been on the minds, obviously, of political leaders from Condoleezza Rice to the president, to the U.N. And now she's talking about her trip to Asia, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo. Bottom line, to hold North Korea accountable for its actions.

North Korea also on the agenda at the White House during the White House briefing with Tony Snow, also talking about Iraq. Both dominated the White House briefing.

CNN's Ed Henry was there.

Ed, do you want to start with North Korea?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good afternoon, Kyra.

Obviously, as you noted, some big news today. The White House finally confirming that, in fact, it was a nuclear test from North Korea last week. It's obviously what they expected. But they have that formally.

There also are reports out today that there could be potential preparations for a second nuclear test by North Korea. Secretary Rice was asked about that. She said that, in fact, the administration is watching that closely.

Tony Snow asked about it as well. And he said they basically can't really comment beyond that.

But also, a major trip coming tomorrow. Secretary Rice previewing it. She's going to Asia.

She will be visiting China, South Korea and Japan, three key nations, of course, in the so-called six-party talks. That's critical, especially the trip to China, because right now there's a lot of concern within the administration and outside it that maybe China is backpedaling a bit from supporting those sanctions approved by the United Nations over the weekend, specifically the Chinese ambassador to the U.N. saying that they would not follow through on these inspections of trucks coming across that 880-mile border between North Korea and China.

Tony Snow, though, and Secretary Rice both saying they believe China will follow through on these sanctions.

Take a listen to Tony Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Again, all parties are now committed to carrying out the provisions of the resolution.

QUESTION: Is there concern, at least, that South Korea and China, what they're saying publicly could take some of the teeth out of the U.N. resolution as it passed?

SNOW: No. Actions are more powerful than words, and we expect the actions will be powerful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, the White House is also pointing to the fact that at least at one border crossing in China, Chinese officials have started today to inspect cargo coming across from North Korea. But there have been reports that there are only -- these officials are only lifting the backs of trucks and not actually opening bags and boxes in those trucks.

So it's unclear how tough those inspections really are.

I asked Tony Snow about that earlier today, and he said give it time, it's only been 48 hours basically since these sanctions passed. But obviously a lot of tough questions for Secretary Rice heading into this big Asian trip as to whether or not these sanctions are actually going to stick -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, not only will those sanctions stick, but will the sanctions work? Members of the military, critics say, look, sanctions only hurt the people. What you have to do is kill his black market trade, whether he's dealing narcotics or dealing with armed -- with weapons shipments, that that is how he is gaining his strength.

HENRY: Well, Tony Snow was asked about that at his briefing, and he said that since the U.S. does not trade with North Korea, there are limited options for the U.S. to inflict that kind of economic pain on the North Korean government. That's why they're relying on China, South Korea and others. That's also why it's so difficult that China appears that, you know, it's unclear exactly whether they're following through.

If they do not follow through on what they promised to do -- China, after all, voted as part of that unanimous resolution that passed the United Nations -- that's going to hurt this effort. As you also note, the diplomacy goes beyond just sanctions, though, clearly.

That's why the administration is pushing these six-party talks. But critics pointing out six-party talks have not really gone anywhere. And that's why there's been a stronger push for there to be one-on-one talks between the U.S. and North Korea -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed Henry at the White House.

Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Much of the power is back on, many of the schools are open, but post-quake Hawaii has a long way to go before you can call things back to normal. Right now, bridges, roads and buildings are getting sized up for their stability, and all the islands are under an official state of emergency.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is keeping track for us in Kona -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don. The FEMA team will be flying in here later this afternoon, but until they do, local crews are going out, fanning out really across the island to inspect roads and bridges, trying to determine if the earthquake damaged the structural integrity of any of those roads and bridges.

The roadway behind me has been shut down because there's a bridge right down that road where inspectors actually saw pieces of the bridge falling out underneath it. There are people who live on the other side. They're being allowed to walk across the bridge, but they're not allowing any cars in or out of this area.

Out on the road, we've seen some roads that were cracked and bumpy, just kind of gave way. In other areas, huge boulders just came tumbling down and landed right on a major highway. (INAUDIBLE)...

LEMON: Yes. And again, we're having trouble there with Chris Lawrence, hearing him.

This earthquake caused lots of problems there with audio and with getting picture out of there. Obviously, he was coming to us from broadband. And you can imagine since all of this happened that we're having some breakup of that. But basically talking about the situation in Hawaii.

He's on Kona, where he's talking about the electricity has been down. There are thousands of people really whose homes have been messed up and they don't have anywhere to go.

So we're going to try to correct that problem. So please bear with us. As the day goes on, hopefully things will get better and we'll get Chris and some other reporters back -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk about that crash course in flashfloods now. If you can't see the road, well, don't try to drive on it. Rescue crews in southeast Texas had their hands full today pulling stranded drivers out of their cars. Some places saw up to 10 inches of rain overnight. And we've heard reports of several tornadoes.

At least two deaths are being blamed on that storm. The bodies of two women were found in an SUV reportedly surrounded by eight feet of water.

Jacqui Jeras is watching the situation for us in Houston and Hawaii, keeping her hands full today.

Hey, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kyra. Yes, a lot going on today.

And our immediate concern is the threat of tornadoes, still ongoing in eastern Texas, as well as Louisiana. Liberty County in Texas is under a tornado warning at this time. And you can see a tornado watch in effect across the entire area.

Also Winn County (sic) still under a -- Winn Parish, rather -- excuse me -- still under a tornado warning right there. You can see that until -- what time is that -- 1:15 Central Time. So we still have another five, 10 minutes to go on that warning.

A lot of rain. That has been the biggest problem. And you can see the showers and thundershowers still across the region, producing copious amounts of rainfall. Expecting to see a good inch per hour with some of the heaviest of cells.

Here you can see the Houston metro area itself. The possible tornado on the ground for Liberty County is to the north and to the east of there. But there is another line just west of Houston that's going to be moving on through here probably in the next 15 to 30 minutes. We could see a lot of lightning associated with that, as well as a little bit more flash flooding.

Of course, it's the northern and eastern sides of town which have been hit the hardest. Here's where we're seeing some of the heaviest of rain moving across the I-49 corridor.

And I want to mention Natchitoches, as Don corrected me on my pronunciation -- thanks on that one for Don Lemon. We're getting some widespread reporting of some of the floods -- some of the streets in the town are flooded out. So that's certainly a problem.

And you see more rain is pushing into southern parts of that town. And there you see Winn County (sic), where we have that possible tornado which is moving on up to the north and the east. And all those little flashes you see, that's our live lightning data coming into the system.

I want to show you some of the rainfall totals that we've had so far. This coming in from the Hydrological Prediction Center. More than 8.5 inches in Quanah, Texas. Angleton, just over 8 inches.

Houston, Hobby Airport, 6 inches there. Intercontinental, just about 5 inches. And Wichita Falls, 4.75. And, of course, you know there's problems at both of those airports because of all the rain.

And you guys really heeded some great advice about not crossing any of those roads that had water over them. That's how people die in situations like this, and it doesn't always have to happen.

More rain is expected. An additional 3-plus inches in all the white areas you see here. And keep in mind this is going to be moving across parts of the Deep South and on up into the southern Appalachians over the next two days.

Back to you guys.

LEMON: All right. And that was my mom, actually, who called. She found -- and she loves you. She said, "Tell Jacqui I said Nacogdoches."

JERAS: It's Nacogdoches, Texas and -- Natchitoches.

LEMON: Natchitoches.

PHILLIPS: Good old mom.

LEMON: Keeping them honest. Thank you very much.

Buffalo chips. It's not what you think. It's not a noun. It's a verb as a city in upstate New York goes into mass mulch mode.

Residents are starting to chip up thousands of trees felled by record snowfall. More than 200,000 homes and businesses are still without power. City schools are shut down, but warming shelters are up and running. President Bush has declared a federal state of emergency in four counties.

Now, when the weather becomes the news, you can become a CNN correspondent. If you see severe weather happening, send us an I- Report. Right? We want you to be careful and stay safe.

Go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report" or type in ireport@cnn.com on your cell phone and share your photos or your video.

PHILLIPS: That's how we get some of our best stuff.

LEMON: Yes, we do.

PHILLIPS: That's working well.

Well, key figures in the Mark Foley page scandal in for a grilling. The House ethics panel meeting again today.

Details coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: New violence explodes on Iraqi streets after a bloody weekend. Live from Baghdad ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's head to the newsroom. Our T.J. Holmes working on two developing stories -- T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Don.

Up first here we're going to talk about the suspect in the case of the disappearance and the murder of that Vermont student. Well, that suspect -- you're looking at him there -- 36-year-old Brian Rooney, expected to be in court this afternoon. However, not going to be in court answering charges related to the disappearance and death of 21-year-old Michelle Gardner-Quinn.

However, he's in court actually answering charges to the molestation of a 14-year-old girl that police say happened back in 1998. But you may remember this case here. We were talking about it right here at this breaking news desk last week.

A Vermont student went missing, a 21-year-old, after going out a night with friends. They couldn't find her. Well, it turned out she turned up dead a couple days later.

Well, they have linked this gentleman, Rooney, to the case because apparently he borrowed -- or rather she borrowed his cell phone to make a call that evening. Well, according to court papers that have been filed, he says he has nothing to do with her disappearance, even though he does admit to seeing her and walking with her up the street a bit. But he says they split ways, he had nothing to do with her disappearance death.

Again, this is 21-year-old Michelle Gardner-Quinn, a University of Vermont student. And we saw about 900 people turn out for a memorial for her on Sunday.

Just a sad story, a 21-year-old senior there at the University of Vermont. People remembered her as a nature lover and fun-loving, outgoing girl. But again, right now the suspect expected in court this afternoon, but not yet charged in her case -- Don.

LEMON: Yes. And T.J., it was a very moving memorial service yesterday.

HOLMES: Yes.

LEMON: This is someone we haven't heard about for a while, Joseph Edward Duncan, a convicted sex offender, Idaho. This happened a couple years ago. What do you have on that?

HOLMES: Yes. Back in 2005, a lot of people will remember this case because they remember this entire country was looking for these two kids, 9-year-old Shasta Groene and her 9-year-old brother, Dylan -- had gone missing, were missing after their family members, their entire family found murdered at their home in Idaho -- the family, their mother, their mother's boyfriend, and then another sibling of theirs.

The entire country had an eye out for these two kids. Well, later, sadly, Dylan was later found dead. Shasta was found with Joseph Duncan. Actually, someone recognized her. She was found OK.

Well, he has now struck a plea deal with prosecutors in the state of Idaho. And what's going to happen here now, it's going to allow him to avoid the death penalty in this case.

He pled guilty to the murder of Shasta Groene's mother, the mother's boyfriend, and also the 13-year-old sibling of theirs to avoid the death penalty there in Idaho. However, federal prosecutors are still saying they are going to go after him on kidnapping charges and also the killing of 9-year-old Dylan.

So he still could face the death penalty on federal charges, but for right now, he has pled guilty to the killing of those three family members at the home to allow him to avoid death penalty charges in the state of Idaho, but still may be facing the death penalty with some federal charges.

Back to you guys.

LEMON: All right. T.J. Holmes working the developing news in the newsroom.

Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, a worrisome milestone in Iraq. Coalition troop deaths hit 3,000 on another day of incredible violence.

Reporting live for us from Baghdad, CNN's Cal Perry -- Cal.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Iraqis hope that that milestone will mark the end of what has been an exceptionally violent period here in Iraq. U.S. officials saying that the period really started during Ramadan. That's at the point where they saw an uptick of violence.

Today no different. At least four dozen Iraqis killed across the country, upwards of 70 others wounded. Baghdad bearing the brunt of most of the attacks.

Six explosions today in the Iraqi capital throughout the day. The most recent attack has been the most bloody. That was about three hours ago.

We understand two car bombs targeted a funeral for the father of an Iraqi police officer in northern Baghdad. Twenty dead in that attack, 17 others wounded.

Now, the other major concern on the ground, of course, sectarian violence in the city of Baquba, which is to the north of Baghdad. We understand from Iraqi police that sectarian fighting there has killed at least 12 today, wounding dozens others. Also telling us that families are leaving the city of Baquba due to the ongoing sectarian fighting there. And as you mentioned, 3,000 coalition troops dead since the beginning of the war. The U.S., of course, the biggest member of that coalition. It has lost 11 troops in combat since Saturday -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Any efforts going on, Cal, that we can talk about on behalf of U.S. troops or Iraqi government, new efforts, different efforts, enterprising that's taking place to try to somehow bring down these numbers?

PERRY: Well, they're trying to two fronts. And Iraq finds itself really fighting a two-front war.

First, the war against insurgents. And second, to stop sectarian violence.

Now, politically to stop sectarian violence the prime minister has tried to bring in tribal groups. He's caught sort of a rough edge there. He's had trouble bringing them to the table, but he continues politically on that front to try to stop sectarian violence.

U.S. troops continuing on the offensive. We know that they've found over hundreds of weapon caches in what they call the "Triangle of Death" alone, which is to the south of Baghdad. CNN correspondent Arwa Damon reporting from there that these caches are large in numbers, and that many weapons have been taken off the streets -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Cal Perry live from Baghdad.

Thanks, Cal.

Well, opposition here at home to the war in Iraq now at an all- time high. A new CNN poll by Opinion Research Corporation shows support for the war at just 34 percent, with opposition climbing to 64 percent. That's two points higher than the previous high recorded just last week.

First Mark Foley's lurid e-mails, then a guilty plea from another law make on corruption charges. Now suspicion surrounding another.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel is on Capitol Hill with details -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, that's right. Two sources with knowledge of this ongoing investigation tell CNN that the FBI is investigating whether or not Pennsylvania Republican Curt Weldon may have used his position as a member of Congress to direct lobbying work to his daughter.

In fact, the FBI says it conducted a number of searches today in the Philadelphia area, and it is known that one of the four locations searched so far today was Weldon's daughter's home. "The Philadelphia Inquirer" is also reporting that the daughter's business partner's home was also raided. When reached earlier today, the congressman's attorney, William Canfield (ph), insisted they had no indication whatsoever that there is any DOJ investigation into Weldon, telling CNN, "We never hear anything from DOJ. This is so ludicrous. Here is a sitting member of Congress pretty high up who unnamed sources said is subject of an investigation. We, however, can't possibly confirm that because no one has told us if that's true."

Now, Weldon is a 10-term congressman. And until this year, he had not really had a serious challenger in his bid to win re-election. One of Weldon's top aides says that the congressman did nothing wrong and says this is all about politics.

He's accusing a liberal-leaning watchdog group and the Democratic Party for trying to dig up dirt now with just three weeks to go before those midterm elections. And, in fact, there is a DCCC -- known as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- flyer that was circulated in recent days in Congressman Weldon's district alleging this very issue, raising this very issue of questioning whether Weldon had perhaps directed lobbying work to his daughter -- Don.

LEMON: Let's go back to the story that we've been focusing on for quite some time now. What about the Mark Foley investigation, Andrea?

KOPPEL: Well, this is another week of the House Ethics Committee interviewing, asking questions of both members of Congress and their aides. We know that the -- one of the chief of staff to Congressman Rodney Alexander of Louisiana has been sort of behind closed doors on and off today.

He is a key figure because he was supposed to be the first staffer to have been contacted by a 16-year-old page from Louisiana who said he had received e-mails from then Congressman Foley that made him feel uncomfortable. So this gentleman is unrelated to Congressman Alexander. His name is also Alexander.

He is being interviewed today. And then congressman Rodney Alexander is expected to be interviewed by the Ethics Committee later this week -- Don.

LEMON: All right.

Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill.

Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, should a lawyer join her client behind bars? Lynne Stewart blames post-9/11 hysteria for her conviction for helping a convicted terrorist spread his message. Her sentencing ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, you know what you just don't see much of anymore? People walking to work. It seems like we're all behind the wheel.

"Commuting in America III," a new study from the Transportation Research Board, looks at how the nation's 128 million commuters get to and from the office or factory or whatever. It's a longer drive.

The average commute was 25.5 minutes in 2000, up three minutes in 10 years. The number of people driving to work by themselves jumped by 13 million.

And walking? Well, fewer than 3 percent of us walked to work in 2000, down from 5.5 percent in 1980.

LEMON: I hate commuting. I do. I'd rather get on a train.

PHILLIPS: Well, you want to live five minutes from work, don't you?

LEMON: Yes. Right next door and I'd have to walk. And I'd probably still be a little bit late. A little bit late.

Susan Lisovicz, we're going to talk about commuting, but also about scholarships. Parents are overestimating their kids' chances at getting a scholarship.

But what about you, do you hate commuting?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't like -- I don't like it, but I live very close to work so that I can avoid those longer commutes.

LEMON: Yes.

LISOVICZ: I can't walk to work. I'd have to walk on water. But I haven't been able to figure that out yet.

LEMON: I'm sure you will, though. You're very industrious.

PHILLIPS: Comparing her to Jesus there. Yes, that's the great thing about living in New York. A lot of people don't even have to buy a car.

LISOVICZ: And I don't own one presently.

PHILLIPS: Well, there you go.

LISOVICZ: So that's one less expense.

Well, we're talking about expenses. And expensive -- one of the biggest expenses parents will have is, of course, their kids' education.

A lot of parents think their kids are geniuses. Perhaps that's why the vast majority of parents in a recent survey overestimated the amount of help they'll get to pay for college.

According to AllianceBernstein Investments, a whopping 87 percent of parents think scholarships and grants will cover part of their kids' undergraduate expenses, and nearly three-quarters think their children are "special or unique." Enough to win a scholarship.

According to the study, parents poor college savings and investing habits have been exacerbated by grossly unrealistic expectations for financial aid, to say nothing of the fact that the kids will have crippling debt that could last for years and even decades, as some of us know firsthand -- Don and Kyra.

LEMON: Yes. And you can't wait because you know it's dangerous, because college costs have skyrocketed, while financial aid has really eroded. So you can't wait for this.

LISOVICZ: Exactly. In fact, this -- this is from the study itself. It says parents are about as prepared to meet college costs as freshmen are to do their own laundry.

The study found that parents with children ages 14 to 17 plan to have an average of $12,000 saved when their kid reaches college age, but that would cover just one year in a public college or university, and certainly fall well short of a year's expenses at a private school. The College Board estimates that four years at a private university will run you nearly $120,000.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead, paradise tossed. We're talking about Hawaii. It just goes up, the cost of Sunday's earthquake. We're going to have the latest on the shake-up and the clean-up, just ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, lawyers are supposed to speak for their clients, but rules are rules. Thus, well-known New York attorney Lynne Stewart was just sentenced to prison over a case that she worked on a decade ago.

CNN's Allan Chernoff has the details. Let's remind our viewers, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Very interesting case, here. Lynne Stewart, the radical lawyer who represented Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the convicted terrorist, herself has just been sentenced to 28 months in prison, far less than prosecutors had asked for. They wanted her to spend 30 years in prison.

She had been convicted a full year and a half ago, convicted of passing messages to and from Sheik Rahman and his followers, particularly the followers in Egypt, members of a group called the Islamic Group. And according to the prosecutors, these were messages calling on the followers to actually rise up in arms against the government of Egypt and actually overthrow it.

Now, this certainly is a bit of a surprise here, because there had been an anticipation that Stewart could be facing years and years in prison. But again, the sentence, 28 months. So relatively, relatively lenient, it would appear, for Lynne Stewart.

Lynne Stewart had argued that she was merely being a zealous advocate for her client. She says she gives her all to her clients, not just in court, but outside of court as well. And she had been meeting with the sheik in his prison. He is serving a life sentence. She had been meeting with him and, with a translator, passing messages along. And this was totally banned, according to government rules. He is not permitted to be communicating with any of his followers at all.

Behind me, quite a crowd. Many of her supporters, they had rallied this morning, calling for Lynne Stewart to be free. But 28 months certainly not as severe a penalty as she could have gotten -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: But there were also a lot of protests saying that this woman was a traitor and how could she do this?

CHERNOFF: Absolutely. Lynne Stewart said in her letter to the judge and before the judge that she is absolutely not a traitor. She said that she was a victim of post-9/11 hysteria, that prosecutors were overreacting. She said that she was merely trying to be a good advocate, and she conceded she had been careless, naive, really didn't think that she would be prosecuted for what she was doing. She just thought she was going all out to do everything she possibly could for her client, even if that client had been a convicted terrorist.

And, of course, also, more drama to this whole case, the fact that Lynne Stewart herself has just recovered from breast cancer. This sentencing had been put off for a good year because she did have surgery and radiation for that breast cancer. By the way, her attorneys also say that they will be appealing -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, we'll track it. Thanks, Allan.

LEMON: More trouble in paradise thanks to power outages, mudslides and collapses. Post-earthquake travel around Hawaii has been a challenge.

Today, more rain is just complicating Ron Haraga's job. He's the director of Hawaii's Department of Transportation and he joins us now by telephone from Honolulu.

I think you're on your way, actually, to the Honolulu Airport, just to give you an idea of how bad things are there. And you are stuck in traffic?

RON HARAGA, DIRECTOR, HAWAII DOT: I am stuck in traffic, Don. As I'm going through, a lot of intersections have lights that are flashing red and yellow. And we're just having people cautiously go through the intersections, so traffic has slowed down considerably this morning.

LEMON: But at least there's an indication that you have some power if you have lights flashing there. So tell us...

HARAGA: Yes.

LEMON: ... the situation. Here's a concern: getting people around. Because you have people who don't have homes, and they're going to have to get to shelter. You have people who want to -- who are vacationing and who want to get out from the airport. What is the emergency plan? How are you moving folks along on these roads? And also...

HARAGA: Well, right now -- OK. Well, yesterday, we had 14 flights that were canceled. These are flights that originated on the mainland, and they turn around in Hawaii and go back. And when they stopped the flights coming in, obviously we couldn't get the people out. The hotelers were real great. They made accommodations for all our visitors.

And this morning, we're back to business as usual. Hawaii is open for business. And we don't see any other delays as far as our tourists are concerned.

LEMON: So, again, you said that flights are getting out?

HARAGA: I'm sorry?

LEMON: Are flights getting out? Because I've heard people saying that they still have two days. They have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to get a flight out.

HARAGA: It may be that some of the flights were -- would be quite full, but the airlines are making every accommodation to get people out within a reasonable amount of time. But that does not stop any of our flights from leaving or coming in.

LEMON: OK.

HARAGA: We're open for business.

LEMON: Have you been able to assess just how many people you have out there? Because as I said, the roads, that's part of our job, how many people you have who may need to get to shelters. And what are you doing about those folks with the road problems?

HARAGA: Well, as far as the shelters are concerned, that would probably be on the Big Island, as far as those immediately affected by the earthquake. But as far as the airports here are concerned, on the neighbor islands, they got up to speed yesterday afternoon. This morning, all airports are up to speed, and we had about 2,000 people at the inter-island terminal waiting to get on, but that's because they didn't have any power to some of the computers on Hawaiian Airlines and some of the other local carriers. LEMON: Yes, Rob, we're talking about roads. We're talking about getting to people who may need help.

HARAGA: Right. The roads are all open, except for a couple of them on the Big Island, and that's Akonay Kulay (ph) Highway, which goes from the harbor -- Hawaii Kai(ph) Harbor all the way up to Tavi (ph), and that's where they run the Ironman Triathlon, the bike rice. And we have two bridges up there that...

LEMON: Apparently we lost -- Rod, are you there?

Apparently we lost connection with Rod Haraga. He was telling us about the situation happening in Hawaii, especially on Kona, and also on Honolulu, saying that, pretty much, the airports were back up and running, at least on the Big Island. They were having a little bit of trouble on the roads there, but most of them were open.

Some concern about folks who may need some shelter there, at least getting to those people. But he says that is getting better as time goes on. So hopefully we'll speak to him, if not on the air, we'll talk to him on the phone, and if there's any way -- or any need to update you on that, we'll make sure we get it to you.

PHILLIPS: OK, great.

Straight ahead, it's the question that we've been asking for a week now. Did North Korea really test a nuclear device? Today we do have an answer. It's straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, lawyers are supposed to speak for their clients, but rules are rules. So well-known New York attorney Lynne Stewart has been sentenced to 28 months in prison over a case that she worked on a decade ago. Stewart represented a blind Egyptian sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted of plotting to blow up five New York landmarks and to kill the President of Egypt.

In 2000 Stewart released a statement from the imprisoned sheik, even though the court forbade him from any contact with the outside world. She could have gotten up to 30 years.

Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now on the phone from New York.

Jeffrey, first of all your overall impressions of this case, where we are right now.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this was the government at its most anti-terror. This was an unusual prosecution. It's rare to prosecute a lawyer for dealings with a client, but she was tried. She had a very good lawyer. She was convicted, and the government asked for as much as 30 years in prison for her. So the government took this case very seriously. The judge cut that way back.

PHILLIPS: Stewart blamed her prosecution and conviction on post- 9/11 hysteria. What do you make of that?

TOOBIN: Well, I don't think that's a fair accusation at all. This was a clear rule that she was asked to abide by. As she more or less admitted after the trial, she did break the rules. And the blind sheik, Sheik Rahman, is a very dangerous person. And the government put those rules in for good reason, and she broke them. And she was prosecuted.

Thirty years, I think, Judge Codele (ph), very well respected judge in Manhattan here, thought was extreme, but he gave her 28 months, which is a very substantial sentence for a 67-year-old woman who is just getting over treatment for breast cancer.

PHILLIPS: Providing material support to terrorists. You know, I always ask you this question, because you're an attorney. You just find it so hard to believe that someone who is educated and trained and knows the rules and knows how big of a case this is, what she was dealing with, that the circumstances surrounded homeland security at that time, how can an attorney even think about doing something like that?

TOOBIN: Well, I think Lynne Stewart, who I faced in court when I was a prosecutor occasionally, she was a real cause lawyer. She wasn't, you know, your typical paid mouthpiece. She was someone who really believed in fighting the system, you know, from a leftist political perspective, and I think she got very carried away in this case, as she sometimes did for her clients. And she really pushed the line. She went over the line, and she got punished for it.

But, you know, she was not an ordinary lawyer to start with. She was a cause lawyer. And I think, although she had been a very effective lawyer within the rules for some of her clients, this was really an extreme violation of the rules. She got caught, and she's going to get punished in a severe way.

PHILLIPS: Jeffrey Toobin, we're going to keep tracking it.

Thanks, Jeffrey.

TOOBIN: OK, Kyra.

LEMON: Gunshots, screams and the line goes dead. A 911 call from a 14 year-old, Sinneade Bentler (ph) of Bonaparte, Iowa. By the time police got to Bentler's home on Saturday, the whole family was dead except one. Now authorities have charged 22 year-old Shawn Bentler (ph) with mowing down his parents and three sisters. He was arrested in Illinois on unrelated drug charges.

At a hearing today Bentler waived extradition to Iowa. Officials from Van Buren County are expected to pick him up this afternoon. Police haven't talked, at least in public about a motive.

PHILLIPS: Three days after the brutal killing of a family in Florida, police have found the family's Jeep Cherokee. It was spotted this morning in West Palm Beach about 70 miles south of the crime scene. Yessica and Jose Escobedo and their two young sons were found shot to death on the side of the highway last week. Investigators think the family may have known that shooter.

LEMON: Homecoming week at Gallaudet University. Demonstrators are back at the main gate of the nation's premiere school for the deaf in Washington. But protest leaders are letting students and teachers get to classes. That wasn't the case Friday when more than 100 students were arrested after linking arms, sitting down and refusing to budge. Protesters still want incoming president Jane Fernandes to quit. And some are now calling for the current president, I. King Jordan, to step down, too.

PHILLIPS: Well, she's not a resident, but officials decide that's immaterial. Madonna gets the go-ahead.

LEMON: To adopt a little bay from Malawi. Details on what happened, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This huge noise, which was this thing falling. And, you know, all my family started coming out of their rooms, because they were all -- you know, they were all asleep except me. So I came out here, and I could not believe this. And there was smoke everywhere, I guess from the concrete and everything was filled with it. And the rooms are totally dusty with all this stuff.

LEMON: Can you imagine living through that and waking up to that? Some Gershwin lyrics came to life in Hawaii yesterday. Locals say the fish were jumping just moments before a strong earthquake rolled ashore.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien has other eyewitness accounts.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The windows shook. The bed was shaking, because I was still in bed.

LILLIAN MATSUMOTO, HAWAII RESIDENT: When it came, it just shook. I mean, totally shook. And I just kind of like jumped out of bed and I said, what is that? And he said, it's an earthquake. I said, oh, my God!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It was quite a wake-up call: a strong 6.6 magnitude earthquake jolting tourists and residents on Hawaii's Big Island on Sunday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We felt the tremor and stuff and then it started swaying and we just grabbed what we could and ran down the stairs.

O'BRIEN: Dozens of tremors followed the initial quake, including a 5.8 aftershock. The power outages were widespread and there was significant structural damage. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came out here and I could not believe this. And there was smoke everywhere. I guess from the concrete and everything. It was filled with it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there was a cloud of smoke and everything outside, you know, and you'd have like 9/11 when the building goes down, all that concrete turns into dust. So a little mini 9/11, if you will, was outside there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been damage to the hospital building. Ceiling tiles have come down in our patient care areas and things have fallen off shelves and racks. We don't know about structural damage yet. We have evacuated patients off of our medical surgical unit and off of our -- out of our skilled nursing unit.

O'BRIEN: Hawaii's governor has declared the entire state a disaster area. The quake, and it's aftershocks, set off fears of a Pacific-wide tsunami. But it didn't happen. And so far there have been no reports of deaths from the quake.

ERIK VON ANCKEN, VACATIONING IN HAWAII (on phone): A gorgeous, gorgeous place. I mean, it is paradise, right up until this happened.

O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN, reporting.

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LEMON: And start your morning off the right way. Join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on AMERICAN MORNING, starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

PHILLIPS: Well, lots of cutting, but not much running in Buffalo, New York, where heavy trees equals fallen trees equals no electricity for thousands of people. More on the big chill, just ahead from the NEWSROOM.

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