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Major Earthquake in Peru; Mine Rescue Update; Two Devices Pick up "Noise" in Collapsed Mine; Car Bomb Attack in Baghdad

Aired August 16, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 16th of August.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Peru scrambling to find survivors in the earthquake rubble. Hundreds of people dead, including one American.

HARRIS: Erin dumping heavy rain on Texas right now. In the Atlantic, Hurricane Dean eyeing Caribbean hotspots.

COLLINS: Wall Street trying to find bottom today. Credit and mortgage worries keep the Dow in the dumps.

August adversity, in the NEWSROOM.

At least 337 people killed, more than 1,300 injured. The latest casualty figures from a major earthquake in Peru. And we have just learned from the State Department at least one American is among the dead.

Daylight pictures in this morning now showing just some of the devastation. Entire homes and other buildings reduced to rubble. Power is, of course, knocked out in many areas. The magnitude 7.9 quake struck off the coast about 90 miles southeast of the capital, Lima.

Here now, CNN's Eli Flournoy with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELI FLOURNOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For two long minutes, residents of the Peruvian coast felt the power of a 7.9 earthquake, and this is the result -- homes destroyed, injured rushed to hospital.

I-Reporter Fernando Calderon describes the scene.

FERNANDO CALDERON, AMERICAN VISITING PERU: For two consecutive minutes, the grounds is just shaking. And finally, this big shake came and everybody -- everybody -- everybody -- it was chaos.

Everybody started crying. Kids, everybody started crying. Everybody started running, like, towards, like, empty space. Everybody was afraid that the buildings were going to collapse.

FLOURNOY: The epicenter was located 90 miles southeast of Lima, some 25 miles below the ocean floor. Still, the strength of the quake enough to damage buildings in the capital. Schools and all public buildings in Lima have been shut down for inspection.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I felt it even though I was in a taxi. The car was vibrating and you could see all the buildings here in San Isidro and the glass vibrating.

People were running. All the passersby were grabbing their mobile phones. They wanted to call home but they could not.

FLOURNOY: Peruvian president Alan Garcia has declared a state of emergency in the area around the hardest-hit city, Ica. And on national TV, he warned of aftershocks being felt as far inland as Cusco in the Andes Mountains.

PRES. ALAN GARCIA, PERU (through translator): The truth is, the magnitude of the event is big, but be sure that after such violent quakes, much of the pent-up energy has been released from the tectonic plates.

After this, sometimes there are low-intensity aftershocks, but they surely won't have the same violent force. But for precaution, especially in the coastal areas, although tsunamis have been discarded, we must keep some distance.

FLOURNOY: The big question remains, what of the dozens and small villages and towns along the coast south of Lima? Authorities believe much of the coastal communications were knocked out by the quake and fear what they'll find as relief workers arrive to assess the damage.

Eli Flournoy, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You might be looking to try to make a difference for the earthquake victims in Peru. If you are, and when disaster strikes, CNN wants to give you the power to help.

Find out how you can impact your world. Just go to CNN.com/impact. You can click on "Natural Disasters" for a list of relief organizations.

HARRIS: Well, we really have our hands full. Double trouble this morning on the weather front. We are tracking two storms.

Heavy rains pounding parts of Texas right now. The handy work of what was Tropical Storm Erin, now a tropical depression. The threat of flooding a big concern with the soil saturated after heavy summer rains. The National Guard standing by, along with the water rescue teams.

And Dean, let's talk about Dean now. The first hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic season is intensifying in the Caribbean. Caribbean hotspots, Heidi, in the crosshairs.

COLLINS: Yes, mean Dean it sounds like, too.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: Bonnie Schneider is tracking all of this on a very busy weather morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: And in the meantime, when weather does become the news, count on CNN to bring it to you first. And if you see severe weather happening in your area, send us an I-Report. Make sure you stay safe when you do that, but go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report," or just type ireport@CNN.com into your cell phone. You can share your photos or video that way too.

HARRIS: And Heidi, we're just getting this news into CNN. Two more bodies have been pulled from the Mississippi River two weeks now, a solid two weeks, maybe a bit more, after the I-35W bridge collapsed.

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office reporting two vehicles containing human remains have been recovered from the Interstate 35 bridge collapse. So let's see if we can run the numbers just a little bit for you.

Nine confirmed dead. Two pulled from the river today. But you'll remember on Monday, the number of missing was still placed at four. So we're still trying to make all the numbers work.

But two more bodies have been pulled from the Mississippi River today. That according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. We'll continue to follow this story, of course, for you here in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: We are also following this story for you very carefully today. It's the sixth day that the markets have opened on the downside of things.

Looking at the Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 105 points right now. It's kind of been all over the place today, which is kind of in line with the other days as well -- 12,756 right now. Nasdaq down as well.

And we are going to continue to follow that for you. But a whole bunch of factors in play here, including overseas markets, risky loans that we've been talking about here quite a bit. The housing markets, lowest in 10 years.

But you know what? I still think we're going to get to 15,000 by December.

HARRIS: And what is that based on, Heidi?

COLLINS: Absolutely nothing.

HARRIS: OK. Just your belief.

COLLINS: We're back -- we're above 100 now.

HARRIS: Keep talking, because it's responding. OK.

And another story we're following here in the NEWSROOM, rescuers calling it a sign of hope, two devices picking up noise in a collapsed mine.

Our John Zarrella is in Huntington, Utah.

And John, good morning to you.

At least the news that sounds have been picked up, maybe that's some encouraging news and helps the rescue teams move forward with a little more pep in their step.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I would think so, Tony. Certainly, it had to revitalize a lot of folks up here.

It's really the first really decent news, some bit of hope in all of these 10 days. Up until now, they had not heard anything from underground.

But what they did was they placed six geophones -- these are cylindrical devices that are placed in positions up on top of the mountain, not underneath, but on top of the mountain back there behind us there. And two of these six geophones picked up something, some kind of noise. And

it really registers as a spike on a graph. You don't actually hear something. But they can listen down to 2,000 feet underground.

So they did hear something. It might have been an animal, it might have been rocks falling, but it might have been something from the miners.

The mine's CEO, Bob Murray, explained last night what he thought it might be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORP.: The sounds lasted about five minutes and they were at a frequency of about 1.5 seconds. It could be rapping, but, sir, we really don't know. And I wouldn't read too much into it yet.

But it is hope. It is hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, based on two of these geophone devices that picked up this sound, they have moved the drilling operation for the fourth hole to that location, and they said that they were going to move as quickly as they possibly could to get the drilling for the fourth hole started. We had heard it probably would be started by this morning, but no verification on that.

Now, the mine safety official here who works for the mines and who himself has a cousin who's trapped down there said he believes the men are alive. But at the same time, they are taking every precaution to protect the safety of the rescue teams.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BODIE ALLRED, MINE SAFETY DIRECTOR: As a man that's come across to help out in this effort, I've look at every one of them and I've shook their hand as they come, as they go, as they do the training. And right off the top, the best thing that we can do right now is be safe in our efforts to get them.

I know these men well. I know they would not appreciate us taking any chances. And they know -- they know damn well that we're doing what we can do to get to them, and we're going to get there. There's no doubt about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, we're also waiting on the release of video from that third bore hole that was drilled yesterday. They dropped a camera down in there and they say that they found an area down there of what looks like an undisturbed area, which means that it wasn't affected by the collapsing of the walls of the mine 10 days ago now.

And they also found a curtain that was drawn in the back of this area where they -- where they went down with the camera. And that might have been used by the miners. They would have run behind that curtain to protect themselves perhaps from falling debris, perhaps from coal dust. But they're not positive.

It could have been that this curtain was drawn prior to the incident 10 days ago. They just don't have any definitive answer on that yet either -- Tony.

HARRIS: John Zarrella for us this morning.

John, thank you.

ZARRELLA: A pleasure.

DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Rivers in Baghdad, where there's been more violence. Yet another car bomb leaving nine people dead in the center of the city.

But there was some good news. The U.S. Army says they detained an arms smuggler in a raid northeast of Baghdad. This man, they say, has direct links to Iran.

COLLINS: Luxury cars put to the test in side impact crashes. Find out which models performed best and worst.

HARRIS: And hold on moms and dads before you dish out a spoonful of medicine for the little one. You need to hear the latest warning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The death toll rising in northern Iraq. Local officials now putting it at 500. The worst attack on civilians since the start of the war. And more violence today.

Want to go straight to CNN's Dan Rivers, who is live this morning for us in Baghdad.

Dan, good morning to you.

RIVERS: Good morning, Heidi.

Yes, another car bomb attack in central Baghdad today. It happened in a sort of multi-story car park.

A car was left with explosives in it. It was detonated when there were a dozens of people shopping, families out shopping. This happened in a commercial area. Nine people so far are confirmed dead, another 17 injured in that attack.

And, of course, the country is still reeling from this awful attack up in the northwest, right over near the border with Syria, where more than 400 people are now thought to have been killed. The Yazidi community, this small religious sect, was targeted by multiple truck bombs that literally leveled pretty much the center of two towns, Ba'aj (ph) and Sinjar.

Officials up in that area are putting the death toll a little bit higher. They're saying perhaps the final toll may be as high as 500 people dead. And so, clearly, an awfully terrible and bloody attack there that looks like it will be certainly the worst since the invasion four years ago.

COLLINS: Yes, it certainly does, Dan. And I also know that there's this arrest that's taken place of a suspected bomb smuggler in Iraq. Can you tell us anymore about that?

RIVERS: Yes, the U.S. Army conducted a raid northeast of Baghdad. They say they have arrested a high-priority target, a bomb smuggler.

They describe him as someone they say has clear ties to the Quds Force in Iran. They say he's been responsible for bringing in these explosively-formed penetrators, these EFPs, which have caused such carnage on U.S. Humvees, as well as Katyusha rockets and various other weapons.

They also shot dead three other suspected smugglers, and five other men were arrested. So they're hailing this as a big breakthrough and clearly significant ties with Iran.

COLLINS: All right. Dan Rivers watching all of those stories for us, coming to us live this morning from Baghdad.

Dan, thank you.

HARRIS: The Dow opening at its lowest point since April and promptly taking another steep plunge. We were back to double-digit losses, but here we go again. Triple-digit losses.

Sell-off uninterrupted. We are following the numbers for you.

COLLINS: Spying on potential enemies, and now the U.S. turning those eyes in the sky on you? A closer look just ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And we want to take you to Miami International Airport now. You're about to hear from people who were just in on perhaps maybe the first thing out of Peru after the dust settled after the earthquake. You're going to hear from three people who are going to tell you a bit about what they saw in Peru.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it feels like the floor is like about to break. It feels all shaky and it just -- like, everything starts shaking and it feels like you're, like, going to, like, sink in. It just -- it doesn't feel good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, like, you heard everything was shaking and the windows were shaking and everything. So you went downstairs and you felt like you were surfing. It was pretty cool, but it was kind of scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt something shaking behind my head, and then all of a sudden the hotel room just was vibrating. And the earthquake lasted for about two minutes. It was one of the craziest earthquakes they ever had.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you scared? How were you feeling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it didn't feel as bad as some of the earthquakes that we had been in, in the San Francisco and L.A. area. But it was pretty scary because it lasted so darn long.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you see any people that were hurt or anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. A lot of people were pretty scared because they had never been through an earthquake before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy. Our thanks to our affiliate WSVN in Miami for getting that sound for us.

You certainly heard from the fortunate ones. As you know, the death toll stands at 330 people killed in this earthquake and the aftershocks that followed.

COLLINS: Blowing the top off of a mountain to reach the coal inside. It's sufficient, but also controversial. You're about to meet a West Virginia man who has a very personal reason to care.

Larry Gibson is today's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is the verse?

LARRY GIBSON, CNN HERO: "In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him."

But you won't find no mountain peaks around here. They've been taken.

Instead of extracting the coal out of the mountain, they're extracting the mountain off the coal.

My name is Larry Gibson. I am the keeper of the mountain.

The land right here was 300 feet higher than this. Now this cemetery is the tallest point.

Around 1993, one vice president of Coal Field Productions (ph) told me that my 50 acres was worth $1 million an acre. I said, "You can have my right arm, but you'll never get my mountain."

I've locked the land into a land trust, never to be sold. Never.

I've been shot at numerous amount of times. I've had my cabins burned. I had my dog shot.

I'm just trying to make people in West Virginia stand up and be counted instead of being a part of something that's destroying it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Larry is such an inspiration, trying to get communities to put pressure on their elected officials and stop mountaintop removal. He's not doing it for himself. He's making a point. Don't let this happen to your communities.

GIBSON: That's why I put myself in the positions I've put myself in. Sometimes you have to stand up in harm's way whether you know what's coming or not.

The young people should be crying and screaming because they're going to pay for what these people are doing.

(APPLAUSE)

GIBSON: I'm here. My feet are planted. I'm not giving up nothing. I'm not backing up nowhere. I can't imagine not fighting.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: If you'd like to learn more about Larry Gibson's campaign or nominate a hero you know for a special tribute at the end of the year, go to CNN.com/heroes.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

We are tracking two tornado warnings in Texas right now. Plus, we're also tracking a major hurricane that's developing in the Caribbean. We'll be watching Hurricane Dean as it treks across the Atlantic and gets stronger and stronger.

That's all straight ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And luxury cars took the test in side impact crashes. Find out which models performed best and worst.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Elvis may have left the building, but I'm Richard Quest, at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. When we come back, Elvis will be in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody, 11:30 Eastern time. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Let's get you right to Bonnie Schneider in the CNN severe weather center. And boy, Bonnie, what do you want to start with, you want to start with Erin, Dean?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, all right, we'll start with Erin.

HARRIS: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: And you know, we are looking at a lot of rain coming into Texas right now. Unfortunately, we still have flash flood watches that will remain straight through tomorrow because the rain just keeps on coming in.

Now Erin, we had the last advisory at 11:00 this morning. That's good news, that means the storm is breaking up. The problem is, it's kind of giving that wrap-around affect to places like San Antonio and Austin and Houston where we're getting heavy rain at this hour, straight through the hill country, the area that just doesn't need the rain because it's been inundated with rain all summer long and even into the spring.

So, flood watches are posted for much of Texas, really the lower half of the entire state. The bigger cities like Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi still facing the threat of flooding straight through the rest of the day. And if you're wondering how is all this nasty weather affecting travel in places like Houston? Well, it sure is and it's only getting worse.

Look at the delays right now out of Houston's airport, increasing an hour and a half. At this time, likely to go up even further due to heavy rain and strong wind. We're also getting delays in New York City and into Miami.

All right, we're going to talk about the tropics now. Well out into the Atlantic, we're monitoring Hurricane Dean. This storm is getting larger and more impressive. As you can see, it's about to bare down on the leeward and windward islands. It's going to be tough, a lot of wind damage is expected for places like Martinique and Guadalupe. Right now, the storm's maximum winds are at 90 miles per hour.

And as we progress through the track, you can see the storm moves to the west, that cone of uncertainty goes right into the Gulf of Mexico. By Monday morning, this could be a category 4 hurricane, very close to the United States. We'll be monitoring it very, very carefully throughout the day today and straight through next week because really, look how wide the cone is. We are looking at a threat that could extend along the Gulf Coast. So, something to keep an eye on for sure.

COLLINS: Oh, absolutely.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: All right, Bonnie, thank so you much.

Meanwhile, a frantic search underway right now in Peru. Rescuers looking for possible survivors of a major earthquake. The Health Ministry reports at least 337 people killed, more than 1,300 injured. The State Department says at least one American is among the dead.

The magnitude 7.9 quake struck about 90 miles southeast of Lima. Earlier this morning, we spoke by phone with Electra Anderson, she's an American living in Peru.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF ELECTRA ANDERSON, AMERICAN LIVING IN PERU: We're used to earthquakes but it's -- it just didn't stop. It kept going and going. And it kept getting stronger and stronger. And the things were falling and flying. It looked like -- because my apartment is all glass and real tall ceilings, all glass. And it looked like the glass was bending in.

It was, you know, at first we were just like, oh, being nonchalant, it's an earthquake, no big deal. But then it was not a normal earthquake at all. It was the worst one I've ever, ever, ever, ever been in. It was horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A very quick clarification there. Electra Anderson is originally from California. Those are the earthquakes that she is used to. The International Red Cross says damaged roads are hampering the rescue effort as you might imagine.

Want to get straight to Barbara Starr now, our Pentagon Correspondent telling us a little bit more about this word that we're getting, Barbara, that the U.S. military might actually be able to offer some help with the relief efforts in Peru.

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know Heidi, we have seen it so many times in the past in that devastating earthquake in Pakistan, and the tsunami out in southern Asia. The U.S. military, one of the organizations in the world, able to respond to these disasters.

Even though the government of Peru has not yet by all accounts, made an official request for military assistance and, of course, the U.S. military would do nothing without a request from that government. U.S. military sources say they are looking very closely at this and beginning to get ready. They do expect to be able to offer some assistance to the government of Peru.

Oddly enough, the U.S. Navy hospital ship "Comfort" is very close by. It just left Peru a few days ago. It's in Ecuador next door right now. It may well turn around and go back and offer medical assistance as well as other kinds of support to people affected by this.

We're also told, Heidi, the U.S. military has pre-positioned humanitarian supplies in the region, they're looking at how quickly they might be able to get that to the people affected as well -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And there are so many, more than 1,300 injured. Hope they can certainly help out.

Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning. Thanks, Barbara.

STARR: Sure.

HARRIS: Animal outrage in Atlanta. Check out the stitches. Someone shoved a hunting knife into this dog's head. The dog, Little Mama, was brought to the Atlanta Humane Society. She's doing OK now, but the volunteers still recovering from the shock of pure cruelty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

P.J. SMITH, ATLANTA HUMANE SOCIETY: Nothing would have prepared me for what I saw. She literally had a knife about this big sticking out of her skull.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The Humane Society now offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the person who did this.

COLLINS: Three decades ago today, the sudden death of Elvis Presley stunned the nation. Elvis still draws a crowd fit for a king.

Our Richard Quest takes us to Graceland.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): August the 16th, 1977, and for these fans, it was the day the King died. If 30 years seems a long time to cherish a memory, for those at Graceland, it's no time at all. Everyone here remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was at work, second shift. And I heard the news, and I -- afterwards I was waiting for my boyfriend, I was balling my eyes out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was playing baseball, and I was on second base, and I walked off. I didn't believe it.

QUEST: With record-breaking temperatures reaching 105 degrees, this has been something of a dangerous ordeal for the elderly fans who come to Graceland. But the true fans couldn't stay away, not for this special anniversary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His music said, come along we're going to have fun. Jump on my bandwagon and we'll have a nice, long ride. And that's what it was. A very nice, exciting ride.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't explain it. It's just -- but like they say, if you're not an Elvis fan, you can't explain it. Nobody gets it.

QUEST: In the three decades since Elvis died, despite stories of scandal and more, his music continues to be some of the most popular in the world. That's not surprising to Elvis's long-time friend, Jerry Schilling.

JERRY SCHILLING, ELVIS PRESLEY'S FRIEND: He had a charisma. There's the music business, there's Elvis. He had a love, his love, I must tell you, as corny as it may sound, that's why he has lasted 30 years. The world loves him.

QUEST: And so today, 30 years on, there's a new set of fans. Born years after Elvis's death, they can never remember true Elvis mania, but they're learning to wiggle the hips and make the right move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm all shook up!

QUEST: The high point of the memorial has always been the candle light vigil. All night, these fans waited for their turn to walk past his grave. It's a bit strange, perhaps, for those who are not hardened Elvis fans, but for this group, it's the only place where they wanted to be last night.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Our Richard Quest is joining us now live from Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Richard, so nice to see you, but I notice that you wrote in your piece there, it's a little bit strange to see all of this going on if you're not a hardened Elvis fan. Have you become one?

QUEST: And that is true. No, no, I haven't, no, I haven't. I mean, I remember him and I remember his death, but you're right, Heidi, it is a bit strange why people would want to go through so much rigmarole. But they loved the man, it's as simple as that.

Look, and then you've got the people who weren't even born when Elvis Presley actually died. Take for example this chap. This is Ben. Now, Ben is going to take part in the ultimate Elvis ...

COLLINS: Nice hair, Ben.

QUEST: ...tribute artist. I'm sorry?

COLLINS: I just said, nice hair, Ben.

QUEST: Yes, nice hair. And let me tell you, I -- there is -- you touch this thing, I mean, at your peril. But I'm told that I can pretty much move him any which way. He can rake -- shake, rattle and roll and then nothing will happen. That's not going to move in any form.

But this is what your modern day tribute artist looks like. It is not wearing the vast suit, it is not trying to be Elvis morning, noon and night. Ben, who's competing in the competition, aren't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm in the top ten in the world, so.

COLLINS: Wow.

QUEST: The top ten in the world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

QUEST: How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty-six.

QUEST: Twenty-six, this kid -- forgive me, praise King ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh no, that's OK.

QUEST: ...this kid wasn't even born when Elvis died. I've got T-shirts older than Ben.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What can you say, man.

QUEST: So, what song will you be singing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be singing to "Jailhouse Rock" and "Peace in the Valley."

QUEST: Just give us one line from "Jailhouse Rock." UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Well, went to a party in the county jail!

QUEST: Thank you, I think that's more than enough. I can't compete with either that hair, as you can see. It would take sort of an environmental disaster area to get this up and running. But I cannot ...

COLLINS: Wow.

QUEST: Hold on to those. I can perhaps at least join in a little bit.

COLLINS: Nice, nice. I knew that was coming. I'm just dying to know. I mean, Ben is a fabulous singer. I wish we could hear more. But I've got know, Richard, how well you're, you know, just kind of blending into the crowd? Because you're so quiet and you don't have an accent of any kind to worry about. How's that going for you?

QUEST: Are you talking about me or about him I wonder, Heidi?

COLLINS: I'm talking about you.

QUEST: Well, let me tell you, I actually went to school in the south. I went to school at Vandy (ph) up in Nashville, Tennessee. So for me, the American south is like my second home. I can y'all with the best of you. And my -- I tell you, when it comes to fried chicken and biscuits -- oh, man, look at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tell you.

QUEST: Fried chicken and biscuits, I have only one request when you invite me for dinner, Heidi: leave the grits alone. I have yet to find anything that can be used for grits other than perhaps mortar round bricks.

COLLINS: Wow. Yes, you are fitting in phenomenally well. All right, Richard, we certainly appreciate your take on all of this. Absolutely. And Ben, thanks to you, too.

QUEST: Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

COLLINS: Have fun, guys.

Meanwhile, hold on, moms and dads before you dish out a spoonful of medicine for the little one, you need to hear the latest warning.

And violence on the West Bank. Not between Jews and Muslims but Jewish settlers and security forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): On February 1st, 2006, thousands of protesters and thousands of security forces came to Amona (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports on "God's Warriors," straight ahead, here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A warning for parents now. Children under two should not be given cough or cold medicines without a doctor's approval. Strong advice from the FDA. The agency pointing to serious side effects, some involving the heart.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta says parents sometimes accidentally overdose kids. Federal health officials studied this for two years. They say hundreds of kids had to be treated in emergency rooms, three actually died.

"YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up in just a couple of minutes at the top of the hour. Jim Clancy standing by there with a preview.

Good morning, Jim Clancy.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, you know, we're watching a lot of major stories, serious stories that are developing around the world. Among them, that massive earthquake that struck last night in Peru. It has left tens, if not hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people out on the street. More than 1,000 people are being treated in hospitals. The death toll, well over 300 right now. And officials warn it's going higher.

Also, we're going to continue to monitor, keep everyone in the U.S. up to date, minute by minute on what's going on at this mine in Utah. A couple of hopeful signs there. We're going to tell you about that. But overall, it's difficult for the families and those watching the story unfold.

And Tony, I know you talked to him a little bit earlier, but we're going to take to you Graceland as well here and bring in our own Richard Quest. What a guy, what a character.

COLLINS: Uh-oh.

CLANCY: I don't know who is more prominent today, Elvis or Richard.

HARRIS: It's Richard, that's easy. Hands down, it's Richard.

CLANCY: We're going to be there at Graceland.

HARRIS: Absolutely. All right Jim, see you at the top of the hour.

CLANCY: OK, bye-bye. COLLINS: And now, religion and politics, a volatile mix. And there is no clearer illustration of that than the West Bank. But the strife is not always between Jews and Muslims.

Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour takes a closer look at a small Jewish outpost called Amona in her upcoming CNN documentary "God's Warriors."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR (voice-over): Amona was founded in 1995, despite what was then the Israeli government's stated policy: no new settlements.

GERSHOM GORENBERG: It was the same kind of process that went back in the '70s. They had officials who were sympathetic who would help them out. And then, these little clumps of mobile homes sprung up all over the West Bank, over 100 of them.

AMANPOUR: According to an official investigation, for more than a decade, government ministries spent millions on the unauthorized outposts, "by bypassing procedure and violating Israeli law."

GORENBERG: And then, a few of them, the settlers said, OK, we're here. The government hasn't pulled us out. Let's start building houses.

AMANPOUR: Nine of these permanent houses were built for nine Amona families living in cramped trailers. Among them, Adeet Levengers (ph).

ADEET LEVENGERS (through translator): I walk around here with my children and tell them, this is the hill that Abraham climbed. This is where Jacob had his dream. It's not something that was once upon a time. It's alive and now.

AMANPOUR: But Peace Now, an Israeli organization that opposes the settlement, wanted the nine houses torn down. Draw Edgerz (ph) filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Amona homes did not have official permits and that they were built on privately owned Palestinian land.

DRAW EDGERZ: There's no law there. I mean, there is one law. This is the law of the occupier. If you're stronger, you grab, you take.

AMANPOUR: The settlers's response? They had a legitimate deal with nearby Palestinians who feared for their lives if the transaction were ever made public.

LEVENGERS (through translator): Our land was bought and paid for. The Arab owners got their money.

AMANPOUR: But the court ruled that the nine permanent homes were illegal, and ordered them demolished. On February 1st, 2006, thousands of protesters and thousands of security forces came to Amona. Both sides prepared for confrontation. As Israeli soldiers and riot police moved forward, violence erupted. Demonstrators were beaten, soldiers and police were pelted with rocks.

LEVENGERS (through translator): We wanted to protest the demolition but nobody intended to harm anyone.

AMANPOUR: No one was killed, but there were more than 200 casualties, soldiers and settlers. All this, over nine houses on a tiny plot of land.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: The six-hour television event premieres next week. "God's Jewish Warriors" on Tuesday, August 21st, "God's Muslim Warriors" on Wednesday the 22nd, and "God's Christian Warriors" on Thursday, August 23rd. All at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. If you'd like to know more now, you can always go to CNN.com/godswarriors.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. It was four weeks ago today that the DOW closed above 14,000 for the first time. Things have changed since then. I'll have the numbers, next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The DOW is below 13,000, the S&P 500 is now down for the year, and the sell-off is -- hey, we haven't hit bottom on this thing yet.

Whoa, Susan, I'm looking at the new numbers there, 180 points down. Hi, Susan.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Luxury cars put to the test in side impact crashes. Find out which models performed best and worst.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Some pricey cars put to the test in side impact crashes. Results released this morning by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Ouch. The agency tested large luxury cars. The worst performer: the 2008 BMW 5 series. It earned the second lowest rating of marginal. The crash test is meant to show what would happen if a truck or SUV hit the vehicle at 31 miles per hour. It's not that fast.

So, which models did best? Well, the Acura RL, the Kia Amanti, and the Volvo S80. All earned the top rating of good. Those were all 2007 models. The 2007 Cadillac STS and the Mercedes E Class earned acceptable ratings.

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now. HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great Thursday, everybody.

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