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CNN Live Saturday

Snow Storm Hits California/Nevada; Interview with Christie Whitman; Interview with Jim Barry

Aired January 29, 2005 - 14:00   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 is 2:00 p.m. on the east coast, 11:00 a.m. in a very wet west. Good afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, dramatic new pictures of that tsunami hitting Asian coastline. We'll have a live report from Sri Lanka as nations around the world come together to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here in the mountains between California and Nevada, the snow is falling and falling. It is not expected to stop for three days.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Plus, democracy in action in the Middle East. Palestinians prepare to pick Yasser Arafat's successor, but are there stumbling blocks even before the first vote is cast? Those stories in a moment, but first, a look at headlines.

In California, between -- between one and 200 drivers are trapped in their vehicles because of snow in the San Bernardino national forest. The stranded travelers are on highway 18 between Big Bear City and Snow Valley ski area. We'll have more on this developing situation and a live report in a moment.

And more winter weather woes elsewhere in the U.S. Several days of rains send rivers out of their banks in Ohio. The Ohio River is close to flood stage at Cincinnati and forecasters say it could rise another five feet by Monday.

And conservative commentator Armstrong Williams has been dropped by Tribune Media. The move comes after news this week that Williams accepted $240,000 from the Education Department to promote President Bush's no child left behind act on his program and in his columns.

Well, some of the heaviest snow is reported in the mountains around Lake Tahoe. CNN's Sean Callebs is there now with an update for us. And do people have reason to worry there or are they taking this in stride, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it's interesting. A lot of the locals are indeed taking this in stride. The people you see going up and down the roads, a lot of them are indeed locals. But look at this. This is what has happened over the last week here and now new snow is falling on top of these ice packs that have formed. It has basically been snowing off and on in this area here in Tahoe City for basically the past eight days.

You talked about those drivers that are stranded on a number of state roads in California and parts of Nevada. Here is the problem, whiteout conditions. The snow that's falling on top of the snow that's already been pushed aside from the road. When the winds come from the top of the pass, it blows this off. It creates just whiteout conditions, very difficult to drive. We came through that last night. A drive that should have taken us about 45 minutes to an hour took basically a couple of hours.

And look at the road here in front of me. There have been plow trucks going up and down this road through the day. Despite their best efforts, it is still coated in thick ice. There is still snow falling. It is gauged in feet, not inches. When will it stop? Well, that is being calculated in days, not hours. They expect this snow is going to continue to fall in this region until Monday. The hotel we're staying at has one of those little weather maps they give their guests here in the morning. We looked at it today. It said heavy snow Saturday, heavy snow Sunday, snow on Monday. So it's going to get a lot worse.

And right now there are authorities out on highway 50 leading from Sacramento area to where we are in Tahoe City and also highway 88. These go up a couple of thousand feet from California to where they get into the Nevada area. Right now they're doing avalanche control. There are crews out there doing controlled blasts. We've heard them in the distance. There are a number of roads that are simply closed, both state highways and a lot of city roads.

There are just legions of cars have skidded off the roads, caused small accidents. Authorities tell us there are no serious injuries at this time. They say perhaps the one good thing about this horrible weather is people tend to go pretty slow. So when there are accidents, thankfully nothing terribly serious.

Also Interstate 80 leading from California to this area has been closed off and on. Right now we are told that both sides are open. But this is what every homeowner, every business owner has to deal with in this area. Just look at the icicles pour down, how the snow is building up. This poor soul walking around with her hot chocolate at least doing what she can to stay warm, Fredricka. Those are some of the locals dealing with it as best they can but really, very serious conditions out here. It sounds redundant, it is redundant, but authorities say if you don't have to get out on the roads in this region, don't.

WHITFIELD: Well remarkably Sean, just looking at the activity behind you however, just moments ago, there were an awful lot of headlights behind you. It doesn't sound like a whole lot of motorists are heeding the warnings. People are getting out and that really causes some potential problems, doesn't it for emergency workers?

CALLEBS: It does. It snows about 200 inches a year here in this area. That's a lot of snow. So it's also a lot of ski resorts in this area. People want to get out. They want to take advantage of this powder, but there are also avalanche concerns up in those elevations as well. Authorities doing what they can. There's a grocery store down the way. We went and checked in there. People knew this storm was coming. They went down Thursday, they went down Friday and stocked up. So I guess they prepared as best they can for this one. Usually when you get this kind of thick snow, you don't really hear anything. The silence is almost wonderful. But we've gotten used to the sound of chains on tires, the sound of the steel grates on snow plows, as they bump against the asphalt and also the two-stroke engines of snow blowers as they do what they can up and down this area. Back to you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sean Callebs, thanks so much. The drivers are moving right there behind Sean, but that's not the case on California's highway 18, where it is virtually a standstill. In fact somewhere between 100 and 200 motorists are trapped. Let's check in with Tracey Martinez who is with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Tracey, what is the status of getting help to some of those people?

TRACEY MARTINEZ, SAN BERNARDINO FIRE DEPT: Well, we've set up a winter rescue operation and we're using our snow cats and snow mobiles and search and rescue and snow plows to try to reach the 100 to 200 vehicles that are stranded in about three to four feet of snow. Our operations have been hindered a little bit because it is still snowing pretty heavily up in that area.

WHITFIELD: Well, were there any real warnings for folks to try to stay off that highway knowing that there was a pretty significant amount of snowfall on the way?

MARTINEZ: Yes. The National Weather Service along with the county of San Bernardino has put out numerous warnings, referenced to upcoming storm and what has been taking place over the last week here in southern California. We've had a great deal of rain.

WHITFIELD: So then what are you hearing from those motorists, so many of them who have called 911? What are they saying?

MARTINEZ: Most have called 911 have panicked a little bit. They're saying they can't breathe. It's very chilly up in that area very cold and they slid off the road. They've kind of hit the snow berms on the side which has caused -- basically caused a logjam of vehicles and that's why there's 100 to 200 vehicles that are just stuck. You can't turn around, there's no where to go. We don't know if half these vehicles even had chains on.

WHITFIELD: Wow and do you have any sense as to whether there are any particularly vulnerable drivers, any emergency situations among those up to 200 who are stuck in that standstill?

MARTINEZ: From the phone calls that we receive, folks using their cell phones, we've been able to ascertain that everyone is OK at this time. We have started our rescue and we've pulled about nine or 10 people out already. They're just extremely cold. You know, the ones that we've rescued so far, which has been very minimal had extra clothing and blankets in their car, so they've been OK thus far.

WHITFIELD: Tracey Martinez of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. We know you guys got your hands full. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. MARTINEZ: Yeah, no problem. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's not over for the folks on highway 18. It is not over for the folks in California as a whole. CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney has the forecast. More on the way Orelon?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's exactly right. As long as this little pinwheel stays behind me, that's going to be the situation. This is a big low pressure storm. Look how massive it is. It is actually getting bigger, it looks like, over the past few hours. Center of low pressure is right about here, but what you're getting is all this moisture wrapping around the low and then dropping across parts of California up through Oregon and Washington. Mount Baker has had 19 inches of snow so far.

But this rain is going to be a problem as well. We're looking at as much as a foot of rain possible between now and the time it ends on Tuesday, 5 1/2 inches forecast today for Los Angeles, 3 1/2 tomorrow, 1 1/2 on Monday and there could still be some showers around even on Tuesday. Get into the mountains, you multiply your rain amounts by 6 to 10. That gives you your snow and Rob Marciano earlier this morning said the snow was very, very dry. That's about 10 inches for every inch of rainfall. This is what you see when that happens. Chilkoot Meadow, 56 inches, this is in 24 hours, Huntington Lake, 28 inches, Graveyard Meadow, 38 inches and it the still snowing.

We are going to see some massive snow amounts by the time this is over. Why is it sticking around? It's the upper air pattern, big high pressure over Alaska, low pressure on either side. That's called an omega block because it makes what looks like the Greek letter omega in the jet stream, a very stable pattern. You have to wait for something to kick the low pressure out and that's not expected to be due in until Monday going into Tuesday. So your forecast today, more of same, mild in the plains, snowing in the east, but much less snow, four to six in most locations. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Wow and remarkably that's considered just a little less, Orelon, thanks.

Now to the latest developments in the tsunami disaster. Across south Asia, the death toll now stands at more than 155,000. And it is likely to rise dramatically now that Indonesia has raised the number of missing in that country from 6700 to 77,000. Right now, the death toll in hardest hit Indonesia alone is nearly 95,000. Public and private aid from the United States is pouring into the region. Much of it is headed to the hardest hit area of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Thousands of American military troops are pitching in. Here at home, President Bush has signed a law allowing Americans to deduct cash contributions made this month for tsunami relief from their 2004 Federal income taxes. Mr. Bush says he is urging all Americans to contribute as they are able.

Coming up, we'll hear what the Washington bureau chief of Arab news has to say about how American relief efforts are being viewed in the Arab world. And nearly two weeks after the tsunami struck, we're still getting new pictures that show the power of the massive waves. This home video shows the tsunami coming ashore in coastal Thailand.

The United Nations is helping to lead the international relief effort for tsunami victims. One day after his trip to Indonesia, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is getting a look at the massive damage in Sri Lanka. Here is CNN's Richard Roth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Waiting for help. It will take years to recover for these people in Trinkamali (ph) on the east coast of Sri Lanka who lost family and homes. As they waited for their special guest, a reminder of what put them in this refugee camp. It took a tsunami for a visit from the world's leading diplomat.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: (INAUDIBLE) whatever we can to assist.

ROTH: Many here say they want government help. Others said they are scared to return to living and working near the ocean. On this day, though, people in several cities visited by Annan were glad that the world was interested in their plight.

Early in his first administration, Kofi Annan became known as the secular pope, putting oil for food scandals and U.N. troubles aside, he's still regarded as that here in Sri Lanka. This is the time for emotions. Eventually the homeless and the hungry will be looking for much more from the United Nations and its leader. Richard Roth, CNN, Trinkamali, Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN's special tsunami coverage continues throughout the day. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, join us for a CNN special report "Saving the Children" a correspondents look at how the disaster has orphaned or displaced thousands of children and what's being done to protect them from predators. Also efforts to reunite the children with their families.

Palestinians are just one day away from picking a new leader. But will a win for the apparent front-runner secure a good chance for peace in the Middle East?

Plus high seas security. How the U.S. military is protecting the world source for oil.

And up next, as the U.S. helps Asia clean up from the tsunami disaster, is it also improving its own image around the world? I'll speak with a journalist from the Arab News.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is using his weekly radio address to keep attention focused on tsunami disaster relief. U.S. military crews continue to ferry badly needed aid to victims across the tsunami zone. So far, the U.S. is donating $350 million in direct government aid. The president says that amount is just an initial commitment to the cause and millions more are pouring in privately.

The U.S. is now spearheading a massive relief effort to help tsunami survivors, many in predominantly Muslim areas. But how is that U.S. effort being received in the Arab world? To help answer that question, we turn now to Barbara Ferguson, Washington bureau chief for Arab News. Good to see you Barbara.

BARBARA FERGUSON, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ARAB NEWS: Thank you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, is there a consensus yet?

FERGUSON: I think the consensus is that America is the leading country in the world and it's expected to do the best job.

WHITFIELD: Well, before the tsunami, there was essentially an anti-western point of view in many of those Muslim countries in southeast Asia. Because so much U.S. aid, along with Australian aid and Japan, is that helping in any way in the PR war?

FERGUSON: Yeah in the PR war. My concerns are two-fold in this issue. I think, number one, we -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that we're going to be there for the long run. I think that's very important. We need to stay on the ground. This cannot just be a flash in the pan in and out. It's very important as well, in my opinion, that we have a good understanding of the Islamic world, of Islam. I was imbedded with the Marines during the Iraq war and I was very disappointed to see that we did not brief the Marines and the soldiers that we sent in to Iraq, for example, on the Arab culture, on Islamic religion, which made it very difficult for them to operate on the ground.

Another issue that I'm concerned about, Fredricka, is in regards to the Mujahadin who are working on the ground right now. I think many here in the U.S. have misinterpreted what they're doing there. They're suggesting that they may be watching us to attack us. And my personal feeling is this is not what they're going to do there, but they are going to be very effective and they have a record of being very effective, of working with people staying through to the end.

In Egypt, about 10 years ago, there was a huge earthquake. And a lot of the relief that was given in Egypt went to corrupt officials and didn't get to the people on the ground. But the equivalent of the Mujahadin there in Egypt stayed and won over a lot of people and that's what we need to be concerned about for the public relations war.

WHITFIELD: So is it fair to presume that the Islamic world, that the point of view is acting as one big monolith, that the southeast Asian Muslims are looking at the U.S. and other western nations the same as Gulf region or middle eastern region Muslims as a result of this tsunami relief effort? FERGUSON: I would tend to think that those who are devastated by this tragedy are just going to be grateful for anybody's help. We're in there right now. We have USA banners everywhere. They realize that America is there on the ground and helping. And that immediately is going to cause a good impression, but again, six months down the road, are we going to be there? Are we going to be helping them? Who is going to be watching what happens to the American aid and donor money? Those are the issues that I'm concerned about.

WHITFIELD: Barbara Ferguson, Washington bureau chief of Arab News, thanks so much for joining us.

FERGUSON: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Changing the way you watch TV. We'll head out to Las Vegas and show you which innovations just might end up under your Christmas tree in 2005.

And straight ahead, our security watch takes us to the Persian Gulf. How efforts to protect oil supplies are creating an unintended benefit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN security watch. Much of what we hear about the fight for Iraq takes place on land. But the U.S. Navy is patrolling off Iraq's southeastern coast. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr takes us to the Persian Gulf in her exclusive report.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gliding across the waters of the northern Gulf, it doesn't feel like a high security zone. But we are being watched. Any boat in this area without permission risks being blown out of the water. Because we are just a few hundred yards from the al Basra oil terminal, a vital hub of Iraq's oil trade. It pumps 1.5 million barrels of Iraqi crude a day on to waiting tankers, more than half of the country's oil exports.

Any small boat that gets within two miles of al Basra gets a warning, another half mile closer, and U.S. Navy security forces on the platform may open up with machine guns and mortars.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Basically we're the last line of defense for this terminal.

STARR: About 40 Navy personnel live on this platform. They remember the fate of the "USS Cole" in Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed when a small boat packed with explosives blew up alongside the warship. And last April, the terminal itself was the target of a terrorist attack. Video shot by the Australian Navy shows a boat racing in. Security forces opened fire and the boat exploded a short distance from the terminal. Off shore the aircraft carrier "Harry S Truman" keeps a close watch for arms and drug smuggling. The U.S. Navy boards suspicious vessels. Senior commanders are aware of Osama bin Laden's appeal in this region, at least to some.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Osama has toned down his rhetoric just a little bit to expand his potential appeal to a slightly wider audience. Is your question is he being effective? I think he's being very effective in his strategic message.

STARR: But the U.S. Naval presence is also proving effective and apparently winning some friends. In these busy Persian Gulf waters, much of the merchant shipping and even the local fishermen say they like having the big gun of the U.S. Navy around. It helps keep the neighborhood peaceful. And the U.S. Navy says it's going to stick around to make sure al Qaeda and other criminal activity doesn't move back in. Barbara Starr, CNN, on board the aircraft carrier "Harry S Truman in the northern Persian Gulf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

One of the world's most volatile regions is preparing for an election that some hope could turn the tide of violence. How will officials make sure the Palestinians get a free and fair shot at selecting a new leader? My conversation with one of the international observers, Christine Todd Whitman coming up next.

Plus, it was one of the nation's hardest hit by the tsunamis. We'll have a live report from Sri Lanka where United Nations officials say important recovery efforts are being made.

SIDNEY: I'm Orelon Sidney. Here's a look at your cold and flu report. With the latest information available January 1st, you'll notice that much of the nation still showing some sporadic or local activity, but there's some pretty good concentrations of widespread activity especially in New York, continuing up through Vermont and New Hampshire down to the south and out to the west, again, you remain generally sporadic except in Alaska where some local activity has been noted.

That's a look at your cold and flu report for this week.

WHITFIELD: Our top stories now. It's a miserable weekend in parts of California and Nevada as a winter storm batters the region. Flood warnings are in effect for parts of California, heavy snow is falling in other areas. East of Los Angeles, heavy snow has trapped dozens of motorists in their vehicles.

In Iraq, the violence goes on as the country's elections move closer. This weekend, authorities are searching for four public officials who were kidnapped at gunpoint on a road south of Baghdad. The four were in a convoy traveling from Najaf when they were taken captive.

A U.S. soldier who served in Iraq has been found guilty of assault. Army sergeant Tracy Perkins was convicted for his part in an incident involving two Iraqis detainees forced to jump from a bridge into the Tigris River. Perkins could face 11 years in prison.

Palestinian elections are less than 24 hours away. A host of international dignitaries, including former president Jimmy Carter, and former Bush cabinet member Christine Todd Whitman are on hand as election observers. But will the process be free, fair and Democratic? CNN's John Vause has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number one.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even before first vote is cast, there's little doubt that Abu Masa, also known as Mahmoud Abbas, will win. This man runs his father's jewelry store in Ramallah. Like most Palestinians he's planning to vote for Mahmoud Abbas because, quite simply, he says he's tired of the fighting, tired of the bloodshed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want peace? Me, too, I want petition. You know? That's why I want to support Al Masa. He's a nice guy.

VAUSE: But many Palestinians complain that Israel hasn't kept a promise to ease travel restrictions ahead of the poll. Around the West Bank from Bethlehem to Nablus and to Ramallah, security was tight at Israeli checkpoints with long lines of Palestinians waiting to pass.

SAEB APAMAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NOGOTATOR: I really urge the Israeli government to honor its commitments, to withdraw and to remove the roadblocks in order for us to have free and fair elections.

VAUSE: The Israelis say they never promised to remove checkpoints but rather passage would be easier and in places temporary roadblocks have been cleared.

TIGAL PALMOR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We still need to control the movement of Palestinians into Israeli areas. So these road blocks, these major road blocks have not been removed.

VAUSE: But international observers warn that problems at checkpoints could bring into question the legitimacy of the election.

MARK STEPHENS, EU OBSERVER: If there are problems at checkpoints and people cannot get to polling stations, then people are going to raise serious questions about the process.

VAUSE: After an off duty Israeli soldier was killed by militants outside Navales (ph) on Friday, Israel says its forces may be sent into Palestinian towns and cities. That warning came via former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, here as an official observer. He met with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah before visiting Yasser Arafat's tomb.

VAUSE (on camera): Regardless of who wins the election, one thing is clear -- there must be free, fair and Democratic if the next Palestinian leader is to have the credibility he'll need to restart peace negotiations with Israel.

John Vause, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Former New Jersey governor and Bush cabinet member Christine Todd Whitman is in Jerusalem as an election observer. And I spoke with her earlier.

Former governor, thanks for joining us. What is your role as part of this delegation as part of an election observer?

CHRISTIE WHITMAN, FRM NEW JERSEY GOV: Well I'm co-chair of the delegation or co-leader of the delegation with President Carter and former Prime Minister Bilt of Sweden. And what we are doing there about eighty representatives here from Asia, Africa, United States, Canada our role is to deploy tomorrow, election day, to -- throughout the country, to the various polling stations, to watch and make sure that the voters have access, they can get to their villages and get to the polling stations, that those whose names are on the list get to vote, those whose names aren't on the list don't get to vote.

That there's no untoward campaigning going on near a polling place, in a polling place. Those basic things to make sure that tomorrow's vote really does represent the will t free will of the Palestinian people in this election.

WHITFIELD: Although there are representatives from about 15 countries, at first the U.S. made it very clear that it didn't want to show any kind of prejudice or even handpick in any way the next Palestinian leader. However, having you as a representative as well as former president Jimmy Carter there present, is the U.S. in any way influencing or sending a message of influencing this vote tomorrow?

WHITMAN: Oh, no, not in any way. I mean, this delegation is all about seeing what's happening. We've met with a number of the different candidates, not just one, but a number of candidates. It has nothing to do with who the candidate is. We just want to make sure that the people have the opportunity to vote. And however they vote, we're not going to know because this is a secret ballot. So this is just about the process. It's about democracy and about democracy working, not about who wins that election.

WHITFIELD: Does the U.S. feel like it has a vested interest in the outcome of this Palestinian election, and that perhaps it may in some way impact the upcoming election in Iraq as well?

WHITMAN: Well, it has a vested interest in seeing these elections go smoothly. That really is -- and to a certain extent that will have an impact on other elections. This is really a unique moment in time here in the Middle East. You haven't seen this kind of a contested election with seven different candidates. They did it under a very tight timeframe because their laws and constitution required 60 days from the vacation of the office which happened upon Arafat's death.

So they've had to pull things together quickly. It is a difficult process with all the tensions and the occupations that go on here. And for this to go smoothly will send a very strong message about the possibility of democracy working. WHITFIELD: How potentially disruptive or perhaps disturbing is it, though however, that Israel is apparently backing off its promises to refrain from entering any Palestinian cities or towns which may fall tomorrow if indeed there is any potential trouble?

WHITMAN: Well, what Israel really has guaranteed is free access. That's something we're going to away watching for tomorrow, to make sure that people do have access, to get to the polls, to get to their villages, to those polling stations. That's a concern we have. We'll be watching that very closely.

WHITFIELD: Former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, thanks very much for joining us.

On now to our continuing coverage of the tsunami tragedy. For many people in Sri Lanka, it was a day filled with fear. CNN's Hugh Riminton joins us live from Beruwala, Sri Lanka to explain more on that -- Hugh.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredreicka about a year ago a TV astrologer here in Sri Lanka predicted that a terrible event would happen in December. The sort of thing astrologers say all the time. But after the tsunami disaster, many, many Sri Lankans decided to look upon this man's every utterance as if it's holy writ. So when he announced that another tsunami would strike on Saturday, January the 8th, fear crossed the country.

RIMINTON (voice over): In Sri Lanka, the fear was back. People sat watchful or huddled inland. The normally chaotic coastal roads were all but empty. The temples full. Everybody is talking about another tsunami says this man. Several kilometers from the coast, this Jenra Seri (ph) is taking no chances. "I really believe," he says, "we can't live a normal life. Everyone is waiting for another wave." The warnings of a new wave Saturday came from the same astrologer who a year ago predicted a terrible unnamed event would hit in December. Even the skeptics are now rattled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's the only one that told about that. It has happened. So people are -- people may believe.

RIMINTON: Like all cultures, Sri Lanka has its superstitions with an obsession with horoscopes and the need for protection from evil thoughts. The suddenly gloomy weather was taken as a further sign. Few people seem amused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Translator): Sometimes they believe, sometimes they don't believe it.

RIMINTON (on camera): The man behind all this anxiety was being strangely silent as the last hours ticked away before his predicted Armageddon. Astrologer B.J. Wardener was not answering calls this afternoon. He told the local TV station not to release tapes of him making his prediction.

RIMINTON (voice over): The scare has strained already overburdened nerves. "We believe it. Of course, we're frightened. We're ready to run away at any time." But they can't leave because their shattered bricks and tiles are all that's left of their home and shop. The greater fear is that if they don't watch, this rubble even then will be stolen from them.

RIMINTON (on camera): Well, the good news is that it is past midnight here in Sri Lanka. The deadline has come and gone and there's been no tsunami. So now the people can sleep for the rest of this night without those fears haunting them -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Hugh Riminton thanks so much for that report.

And our tsunami coverage continues throughout the day. We're keeping a reporter stationed throughout the nation to bring you the latest developments.

Here in the states, a Texas appeals court is giving Andrea Yates a shot at a new trial. Should prosecutors really retry the woman who defense attorneys say was insane when she drowned her children? Our legal eagles debate next.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Daniel Sieberg. We're at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Coming up, we're going to have a race against the clock and try to cover as many trends as we can here at the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In today's "Legal Roundup," an appeals court this week threw out capital murder convictions against Andrea Yates and ordered a new trial. You might remember Yates as the Houston woman who drowned her five children in a bathtub. The court ruled that false testimony by an expert prosecution witness could have affected the jury's judgment. The jury had rejected Yates' insanity plea.

Here to talk about this legal twists are, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, New York criminal defense attorney Richard Herman. Hello to you Richard.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon Fred.

WHITFIELD: And in Cleveland, Avery Friedman, a law professor and civil rights attorney. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right guys well you know a very strong signal was sent by the appellate court that one particular witness was perhaps a little too influential in this case and this expert witness apparently used a television episode that apparently hadn't even made air as a vital argument.

So Richard, is this the right decision that the appellate court made, or, you know, are they going overboard by hinging this entire case on one particular testimony?

HERMAN: Well Fredricka, in this case, the defense put on 11 treating psychiatric experts who testified that she was -- that Andrea Yates was a paranoid schizophrenic. The government, the prosecution put on one expert, this Parker Dietz, who is well flown to the criminal bar throughout the United States. The man absolutely made it up as he went along.

He's the most dangerous kind of person to testify. He made up the facts to get this conviction. He has got impeccable credentials. He's a silver tipped order and the prosecutor unleashed him on this jury knowing what this guy would do. The jury bought it, I'm telling you this Parker Dietz, he should be imprisoned right now. He should be arrested for what he did.

WHITFIELD: So Avery, how did it come to this?

FRIEDMAN: Wait a minute. That isn't the case at all. The Texas Court of Appeals found that there was false testimony, but they also found that the false testimony, Fredricka, was not intentional.

HERMAN: They don't know that.

FRIEDMAN: Hold on. Dr. Dietz is a guy who rents himself out. He doesn't see patients. He rents himself out to prosecution teams and defense -- I'm sorry, district attorneys in prosecuting defense cases. But the truth is as soon as he discovered the error, he made up the part about he thought there was a law and order segment. There wasn't. And one week after, he sent a letter to Harris County indicating "I made a mistake." The prosecution could have corrected about this I don't think there was any evidence -- in fact, the court found there was no evidence that he intentionally misled the jury. And in fact, the Texas Court of Appeals, because of that, reversed and I think it did the right thing.

HERMAN: Fredricka this guy got paid over $100,000 for his expert testimony. For him to casually claim, oh, I made a mistake, it's outrageous. Look what happened in the Martha Stewart case with the ink expert. He got prosecuted for lying on the stand. The government and the prosecutors cannot be allowed to put on these experts.

FRIEDMAN: No evidence.

WHITFIELD: And without this type of testimony coming from this same witness again, if there is indeed another trial, how can you avoid a very similar outcome given that everyone in this country has become intimately familiar with this case and particularly in Texas? It seems as though the argument will be made change of venue, but is that even the answer for a new trial?

HRMAN: That's not the answer. And Fredricka clearly, this type of killing, the killing of three children is the most horrific crime that can be committed. Having said that this woman obviously should have been committed to some sort of psychiatric institution. That's how it has to come down, even as a matter of law. The prosecution will have no witness that will be able to --

WHITFIELD: And actually, it's five children. But Avery, how might this case, the overturning of this case, impact perhaps other child murder cases, whether it be in Texas or in other states?

FRIEDMAN: Well, that's a very good question. The fact is that the legislature in Austin, Texas is now reconsidering the insanity definition. Right now it's does a defendant know the difference between right and wrong. The real standard should be is there an appreciation for the wrongdoing. So that's not going to affect Andrea Yates, Fredricka but the truth is that when it is retried, we are not going to see Dr. Dietz. We are going to see another expert who I think will be better prepared and be forthright. And I think we may see actually the same result. It's Texas. It's Harris County. We have to see what happens.

WHITFIELD: All right and we have less than a minute, but real quick if we can talk about the Michael Jackson case trial upcoming at the end of this month. However, now apparently the defense is saying that the prosecution has something like seven alleged victims who have stepped forward. However, one just might testify. No convictions in any kind of sexual harassment involving these seven. Is it going to be admissible to even hear from one of these testimonies even though these cases have never been brought to fruition?

HERMAN: Knowing California and the way they allow everything and anything in, this evidence, you can bet it is coming in it. It is going to be devastating to Michael Jackson's defense. It will end up being a trial within a trial. That is what is going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Any argument Avery, that this automatically taints the jury pool.

FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't agree with that. We have to see what happens. There is a lot of evidence that we don't know about. Much remains to be seen. The trial starts on the 31st of January. We've got a lot to talk about coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right sorry guys out of time. I'm sure we'll be able to talk about it more later this month. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman thanks to both of you gentlemen. And Happy New Year.

HERMAN: Happy New Year.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you. You too.

WHITFIELD: Thanks.

The marriage of one of Hollywood's hottest couples is on its last legs. Is divorce the next step for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? That story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: At least they're still friends. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston are separating after four years of marriage. The couple says that it has nothing to do with what's being reported in the tabloids. The stories include claims that he wanted kids but she didn't. And we're keeping you plugged in to the consumer electronics show this weekend in Las Vegas. Our tech crew has been there all week bringing you all the hot gadgets. This hour tech correspondent, Daniel Sieberg joins us with new devices that are sure to catch on pretty fast, too, with the public. Dan.

SIEBERG: That's right. Hi Fred. Trying to see all the high tech stuff here at the show, is a bit like trying to drink from a fire hose. We've enlisted help from Jim Barry from the Consumer Electronic Association. Who puts this whole event together. Jim you have been watching trends for a few years.

JIM BARRY, CONSUMER ELECTRONIC ASSOCIATION: Yes, I've been coming to this show since 1979 here in Las Vegas. Two of the biggest trends are digital technology and wireless technology.

SIEBERG: Speaking of wireless, let's talk about this one.

BARRY: Location free TV from Sony. Check this out, both the internet and television. You can move it around with a stylus.

SIEBERG: That's a live feed right now.

BARRY: Live feed. The great thing about this, you have a 12 inch or 7 inch, you can watch it around the house. Even better you can watch your local television programs anywhere in the world wirelessly over the internet. There's a seven inch and a 12 inch screen $1,100 to $1500.

SIEBERG: OK, all right now the next one here, this is a very powerful device, it combines a lot of stuff into one.

BARRY: This is from OQO, this is not a handheld PDA. This is a full computer. This is a Pentium giga hurtsz computer with 256 mgs of ram.

SIEBERG: If you want to go ahead and close that.

BARRY: That slides right down, close it up. Very light, less than a pound, 14 ounces. This is from OQO. Really a computer, this is your desk top -- not an extension of your desktop that you can take with you, about $1,800 or so from OQO.

SIEBERG: All right now satellite radio we've been hearing about for a while, really picking right now.

BARRY: Two services, Sirius and XM. Combined they is have over 4 million subscribers. Now you think $10 - $12 a month for it. This new air wear from Pioneer, this one cost $350. you get the car set, the home set and this one that you can take with you. Even better, five hours of recording time.

SIEBERG: Recording live satellite radio on there.

BARRY: Yes think of that like a radio Tivo to record the programs that you like. SIEBERG: All right.

BARRY: Digital technology also lets our camcorders get smaller and smaller. This one from Sanyo, these record on one of these tiny little SD cards. And depending on which card you can put in there, you can put an hour or two of video. Also takes stills. This one 4 to 8 mega pixels. Still shots with this little beauty.

SIEBERG: Really everything in one. We've got about 30 seconds left, Jim.

BARRY: It is going to be out a little bit later. Also here's an mp-3 player. Talk about how small this is. This is from Panasonic. This is also an fm radio with a recorder in it. So you can like a program that you listen to, like a song you're listening to, go ahead and record it, a couple of versions of this $149 to $199.

SIEBERG: All right, wow there is a lot of stuff here, hard to keep track of it all.

BARRY: Well it keeps on coming and there will be more next year.

SIEBERG: All right. Well thank you so much, pleasure talking to you. That will do it for now. Fredricka back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right thanks so much Dan. Still so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, a CNN special report on the tsunami with all the latest news from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Plus a half hour dedicated to the amazing stories from the survivors of the tsunami.

At 4:00 "CNN Live Saturday" and you will hear from one of the mothers of one of the three civil rights workers killed 40 years ago in Mississippi. A former Klansman was charged yesterday with those notorious murders. And at 5:00 "People in the News" special, faces of the tsunami.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired January 29, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is 2:00 p.m. on the east coast, 11:00 a.m. in a very wet west. Good afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, dramatic new pictures of that tsunami hitting Asian coastline. We'll have a live report from Sri Lanka as nations around the world come together to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here in the mountains between California and Nevada, the snow is falling and falling. It is not expected to stop for three days.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Plus, democracy in action in the Middle East. Palestinians prepare to pick Yasser Arafat's successor, but are there stumbling blocks even before the first vote is cast? Those stories in a moment, but first, a look at headlines.

In California, between -- between one and 200 drivers are trapped in their vehicles because of snow in the San Bernardino national forest. The stranded travelers are on highway 18 between Big Bear City and Snow Valley ski area. We'll have more on this developing situation and a live report in a moment.

And more winter weather woes elsewhere in the U.S. Several days of rains send rivers out of their banks in Ohio. The Ohio River is close to flood stage at Cincinnati and forecasters say it could rise another five feet by Monday.

And conservative commentator Armstrong Williams has been dropped by Tribune Media. The move comes after news this week that Williams accepted $240,000 from the Education Department to promote President Bush's no child left behind act on his program and in his columns.

Well, some of the heaviest snow is reported in the mountains around Lake Tahoe. CNN's Sean Callebs is there now with an update for us. And do people have reason to worry there or are they taking this in stride, Sean?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it's interesting. A lot of the locals are indeed taking this in stride. The people you see going up and down the roads, a lot of them are indeed locals. But look at this. This is what has happened over the last week here and now new snow is falling on top of these ice packs that have formed. It has basically been snowing off and on in this area here in Tahoe City for basically the past eight days.

You talked about those drivers that are stranded on a number of state roads in California and parts of Nevada. Here is the problem, whiteout conditions. The snow that's falling on top of the snow that's already been pushed aside from the road. When the winds come from the top of the pass, it blows this off. It creates just whiteout conditions, very difficult to drive. We came through that last night. A drive that should have taken us about 45 minutes to an hour took basically a couple of hours.

And look at the road here in front of me. There have been plow trucks going up and down this road through the day. Despite their best efforts, it is still coated in thick ice. There is still snow falling. It is gauged in feet, not inches. When will it stop? Well, that is being calculated in days, not hours. They expect this snow is going to continue to fall in this region until Monday. The hotel we're staying at has one of those little weather maps they give their guests here in the morning. We looked at it today. It said heavy snow Saturday, heavy snow Sunday, snow on Monday. So it's going to get a lot worse.

And right now there are authorities out on highway 50 leading from Sacramento area to where we are in Tahoe City and also highway 88. These go up a couple of thousand feet from California to where they get into the Nevada area. Right now they're doing avalanche control. There are crews out there doing controlled blasts. We've heard them in the distance. There are a number of roads that are simply closed, both state highways and a lot of city roads.

There are just legions of cars have skidded off the roads, caused small accidents. Authorities tell us there are no serious injuries at this time. They say perhaps the one good thing about this horrible weather is people tend to go pretty slow. So when there are accidents, thankfully nothing terribly serious.

Also Interstate 80 leading from California to this area has been closed off and on. Right now we are told that both sides are open. But this is what every homeowner, every business owner has to deal with in this area. Just look at the icicles pour down, how the snow is building up. This poor soul walking around with her hot chocolate at least doing what she can to stay warm, Fredricka. Those are some of the locals dealing with it as best they can but really, very serious conditions out here. It sounds redundant, it is redundant, but authorities say if you don't have to get out on the roads in this region, don't.

WHITFIELD: Well remarkably Sean, just looking at the activity behind you however, just moments ago, there were an awful lot of headlights behind you. It doesn't sound like a whole lot of motorists are heeding the warnings. People are getting out and that really causes some potential problems, doesn't it for emergency workers?

CALLEBS: It does. It snows about 200 inches a year here in this area. That's a lot of snow. So it's also a lot of ski resorts in this area. People want to get out. They want to take advantage of this powder, but there are also avalanche concerns up in those elevations as well. Authorities doing what they can. There's a grocery store down the way. We went and checked in there. People knew this storm was coming. They went down Thursday, they went down Friday and stocked up. So I guess they prepared as best they can for this one. Usually when you get this kind of thick snow, you don't really hear anything. The silence is almost wonderful. But we've gotten used to the sound of chains on tires, the sound of the steel grates on snow plows, as they bump against the asphalt and also the two-stroke engines of snow blowers as they do what they can up and down this area. Back to you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sean Callebs, thanks so much. The drivers are moving right there behind Sean, but that's not the case on California's highway 18, where it is virtually a standstill. In fact somewhere between 100 and 200 motorists are trapped. Let's check in with Tracey Martinez who is with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Tracey, what is the status of getting help to some of those people?

TRACEY MARTINEZ, SAN BERNARDINO FIRE DEPT: Well, we've set up a winter rescue operation and we're using our snow cats and snow mobiles and search and rescue and snow plows to try to reach the 100 to 200 vehicles that are stranded in about three to four feet of snow. Our operations have been hindered a little bit because it is still snowing pretty heavily up in that area.

WHITFIELD: Well, were there any real warnings for folks to try to stay off that highway knowing that there was a pretty significant amount of snowfall on the way?

MARTINEZ: Yes. The National Weather Service along with the county of San Bernardino has put out numerous warnings, referenced to upcoming storm and what has been taking place over the last week here in southern California. We've had a great deal of rain.

WHITFIELD: So then what are you hearing from those motorists, so many of them who have called 911? What are they saying?

MARTINEZ: Most have called 911 have panicked a little bit. They're saying they can't breathe. It's very chilly up in that area very cold and they slid off the road. They've kind of hit the snow berms on the side which has caused -- basically caused a logjam of vehicles and that's why there's 100 to 200 vehicles that are just stuck. You can't turn around, there's no where to go. We don't know if half these vehicles even had chains on.

WHITFIELD: Wow and do you have any sense as to whether there are any particularly vulnerable drivers, any emergency situations among those up to 200 who are stuck in that standstill?

MARTINEZ: From the phone calls that we receive, folks using their cell phones, we've been able to ascertain that everyone is OK at this time. We have started our rescue and we've pulled about nine or 10 people out already. They're just extremely cold. You know, the ones that we've rescued so far, which has been very minimal had extra clothing and blankets in their car, so they've been OK thus far.

WHITFIELD: Tracey Martinez of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. We know you guys got your hands full. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. MARTINEZ: Yeah, no problem. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's not over for the folks on highway 18. It is not over for the folks in California as a whole. CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney has the forecast. More on the way Orelon?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's exactly right. As long as this little pinwheel stays behind me, that's going to be the situation. This is a big low pressure storm. Look how massive it is. It is actually getting bigger, it looks like, over the past few hours. Center of low pressure is right about here, but what you're getting is all this moisture wrapping around the low and then dropping across parts of California up through Oregon and Washington. Mount Baker has had 19 inches of snow so far.

But this rain is going to be a problem as well. We're looking at as much as a foot of rain possible between now and the time it ends on Tuesday, 5 1/2 inches forecast today for Los Angeles, 3 1/2 tomorrow, 1 1/2 on Monday and there could still be some showers around even on Tuesday. Get into the mountains, you multiply your rain amounts by 6 to 10. That gives you your snow and Rob Marciano earlier this morning said the snow was very, very dry. That's about 10 inches for every inch of rainfall. This is what you see when that happens. Chilkoot Meadow, 56 inches, this is in 24 hours, Huntington Lake, 28 inches, Graveyard Meadow, 38 inches and it the still snowing.

We are going to see some massive snow amounts by the time this is over. Why is it sticking around? It's the upper air pattern, big high pressure over Alaska, low pressure on either side. That's called an omega block because it makes what looks like the Greek letter omega in the jet stream, a very stable pattern. You have to wait for something to kick the low pressure out and that's not expected to be due in until Monday going into Tuesday. So your forecast today, more of same, mild in the plains, snowing in the east, but much less snow, four to six in most locations. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Wow and remarkably that's considered just a little less, Orelon, thanks.

Now to the latest developments in the tsunami disaster. Across south Asia, the death toll now stands at more than 155,000. And it is likely to rise dramatically now that Indonesia has raised the number of missing in that country from 6700 to 77,000. Right now, the death toll in hardest hit Indonesia alone is nearly 95,000. Public and private aid from the United States is pouring into the region. Much of it is headed to the hardest hit area of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Thousands of American military troops are pitching in. Here at home, President Bush has signed a law allowing Americans to deduct cash contributions made this month for tsunami relief from their 2004 Federal income taxes. Mr. Bush says he is urging all Americans to contribute as they are able.

Coming up, we'll hear what the Washington bureau chief of Arab news has to say about how American relief efforts are being viewed in the Arab world. And nearly two weeks after the tsunami struck, we're still getting new pictures that show the power of the massive waves. This home video shows the tsunami coming ashore in coastal Thailand.

The United Nations is helping to lead the international relief effort for tsunami victims. One day after his trip to Indonesia, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is getting a look at the massive damage in Sri Lanka. Here is CNN's Richard Roth.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Waiting for help. It will take years to recover for these people in Trinkamali (ph) on the east coast of Sri Lanka who lost family and homes. As they waited for their special guest, a reminder of what put them in this refugee camp. It took a tsunami for a visit from the world's leading diplomat.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: (INAUDIBLE) whatever we can to assist.

ROTH: Many here say they want government help. Others said they are scared to return to living and working near the ocean. On this day, though, people in several cities visited by Annan were glad that the world was interested in their plight.

Early in his first administration, Kofi Annan became known as the secular pope, putting oil for food scandals and U.N. troubles aside, he's still regarded as that here in Sri Lanka. This is the time for emotions. Eventually the homeless and the hungry will be looking for much more from the United Nations and its leader. Richard Roth, CNN, Trinkamali, Sri Lanka.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN's special tsunami coverage continues throughout the day. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, join us for a CNN special report "Saving the Children" a correspondents look at how the disaster has orphaned or displaced thousands of children and what's being done to protect them from predators. Also efforts to reunite the children with their families.

Palestinians are just one day away from picking a new leader. But will a win for the apparent front-runner secure a good chance for peace in the Middle East?

Plus high seas security. How the U.S. military is protecting the world source for oil.

And up next, as the U.S. helps Asia clean up from the tsunami disaster, is it also improving its own image around the world? I'll speak with a journalist from the Arab News.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is using his weekly radio address to keep attention focused on tsunami disaster relief. U.S. military crews continue to ferry badly needed aid to victims across the tsunami zone. So far, the U.S. is donating $350 million in direct government aid. The president says that amount is just an initial commitment to the cause and millions more are pouring in privately.

The U.S. is now spearheading a massive relief effort to help tsunami survivors, many in predominantly Muslim areas. But how is that U.S. effort being received in the Arab world? To help answer that question, we turn now to Barbara Ferguson, Washington bureau chief for Arab News. Good to see you Barbara.

BARBARA FERGUSON, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ARAB NEWS: Thank you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, is there a consensus yet?

FERGUSON: I think the consensus is that America is the leading country in the world and it's expected to do the best job.

WHITFIELD: Well, before the tsunami, there was essentially an anti-western point of view in many of those Muslim countries in southeast Asia. Because so much U.S. aid, along with Australian aid and Japan, is that helping in any way in the PR war?

FERGUSON: Yeah in the PR war. My concerns are two-fold in this issue. I think, number one, we -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that we're going to be there for the long run. I think that's very important. We need to stay on the ground. This cannot just be a flash in the pan in and out. It's very important as well, in my opinion, that we have a good understanding of the Islamic world, of Islam. I was imbedded with the Marines during the Iraq war and I was very disappointed to see that we did not brief the Marines and the soldiers that we sent in to Iraq, for example, on the Arab culture, on Islamic religion, which made it very difficult for them to operate on the ground.

Another issue that I'm concerned about, Fredricka, is in regards to the Mujahadin who are working on the ground right now. I think many here in the U.S. have misinterpreted what they're doing there. They're suggesting that they may be watching us to attack us. And my personal feeling is this is not what they're going to do there, but they are going to be very effective and they have a record of being very effective, of working with people staying through to the end.

In Egypt, about 10 years ago, there was a huge earthquake. And a lot of the relief that was given in Egypt went to corrupt officials and didn't get to the people on the ground. But the equivalent of the Mujahadin there in Egypt stayed and won over a lot of people and that's what we need to be concerned about for the public relations war.

WHITFIELD: So is it fair to presume that the Islamic world, that the point of view is acting as one big monolith, that the southeast Asian Muslims are looking at the U.S. and other western nations the same as Gulf region or middle eastern region Muslims as a result of this tsunami relief effort? FERGUSON: I would tend to think that those who are devastated by this tragedy are just going to be grateful for anybody's help. We're in there right now. We have USA banners everywhere. They realize that America is there on the ground and helping. And that immediately is going to cause a good impression, but again, six months down the road, are we going to be there? Are we going to be helping them? Who is going to be watching what happens to the American aid and donor money? Those are the issues that I'm concerned about.

WHITFIELD: Barbara Ferguson, Washington bureau chief of Arab News, thanks so much for joining us.

FERGUSON: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Changing the way you watch TV. We'll head out to Las Vegas and show you which innovations just might end up under your Christmas tree in 2005.

And straight ahead, our security watch takes us to the Persian Gulf. How efforts to protect oil supplies are creating an unintended benefit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: CNN security watch. Much of what we hear about the fight for Iraq takes place on land. But the U.S. Navy is patrolling off Iraq's southeastern coast. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr takes us to the Persian Gulf in her exclusive report.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gliding across the waters of the northern Gulf, it doesn't feel like a high security zone. But we are being watched. Any boat in this area without permission risks being blown out of the water. Because we are just a few hundred yards from the al Basra oil terminal, a vital hub of Iraq's oil trade. It pumps 1.5 million barrels of Iraqi crude a day on to waiting tankers, more than half of the country's oil exports.

Any small boat that gets within two miles of al Basra gets a warning, another half mile closer, and U.S. Navy security forces on the platform may open up with machine guns and mortars.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Basically we're the last line of defense for this terminal.

STARR: About 40 Navy personnel live on this platform. They remember the fate of the "USS Cole" in Yemen. Seventeen sailors were killed when a small boat packed with explosives blew up alongside the warship. And last April, the terminal itself was the target of a terrorist attack. Video shot by the Australian Navy shows a boat racing in. Security forces opened fire and the boat exploded a short distance from the terminal. Off shore the aircraft carrier "Harry S Truman" keeps a close watch for arms and drug smuggling. The U.S. Navy boards suspicious vessels. Senior commanders are aware of Osama bin Laden's appeal in this region, at least to some.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Osama has toned down his rhetoric just a little bit to expand his potential appeal to a slightly wider audience. Is your question is he being effective? I think he's being very effective in his strategic message.

STARR: But the U.S. Naval presence is also proving effective and apparently winning some friends. In these busy Persian Gulf waters, much of the merchant shipping and even the local fishermen say they like having the big gun of the U.S. Navy around. It helps keep the neighborhood peaceful. And the U.S. Navy says it's going to stick around to make sure al Qaeda and other criminal activity doesn't move back in. Barbara Starr, CNN, on board the aircraft carrier "Harry S Truman in the northern Persian Gulf.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

One of the world's most volatile regions is preparing for an election that some hope could turn the tide of violence. How will officials make sure the Palestinians get a free and fair shot at selecting a new leader? My conversation with one of the international observers, Christine Todd Whitman coming up next.

Plus, it was one of the nation's hardest hit by the tsunamis. We'll have a live report from Sri Lanka where United Nations officials say important recovery efforts are being made.

SIDNEY: I'm Orelon Sidney. Here's a look at your cold and flu report. With the latest information available January 1st, you'll notice that much of the nation still showing some sporadic or local activity, but there's some pretty good concentrations of widespread activity especially in New York, continuing up through Vermont and New Hampshire down to the south and out to the west, again, you remain generally sporadic except in Alaska where some local activity has been noted.

That's a look at your cold and flu report for this week.

WHITFIELD: Our top stories now. It's a miserable weekend in parts of California and Nevada as a winter storm batters the region. Flood warnings are in effect for parts of California, heavy snow is falling in other areas. East of Los Angeles, heavy snow has trapped dozens of motorists in their vehicles.

In Iraq, the violence goes on as the country's elections move closer. This weekend, authorities are searching for four public officials who were kidnapped at gunpoint on a road south of Baghdad. The four were in a convoy traveling from Najaf when they were taken captive.

A U.S. soldier who served in Iraq has been found guilty of assault. Army sergeant Tracy Perkins was convicted for his part in an incident involving two Iraqis detainees forced to jump from a bridge into the Tigris River. Perkins could face 11 years in prison.

Palestinian elections are less than 24 hours away. A host of international dignitaries, including former president Jimmy Carter, and former Bush cabinet member Christine Todd Whitman are on hand as election observers. But will the process be free, fair and Democratic? CNN's John Vause has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number one.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even before first vote is cast, there's little doubt that Abu Masa, also known as Mahmoud Abbas, will win. This man runs his father's jewelry store in Ramallah. Like most Palestinians he's planning to vote for Mahmoud Abbas because, quite simply, he says he's tired of the fighting, tired of the bloodshed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want peace? Me, too, I want petition. You know? That's why I want to support Al Masa. He's a nice guy.

VAUSE: But many Palestinians complain that Israel hasn't kept a promise to ease travel restrictions ahead of the poll. Around the West Bank from Bethlehem to Nablus and to Ramallah, security was tight at Israeli checkpoints with long lines of Palestinians waiting to pass.

SAEB APAMAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NOGOTATOR: I really urge the Israeli government to honor its commitments, to withdraw and to remove the roadblocks in order for us to have free and fair elections.

VAUSE: The Israelis say they never promised to remove checkpoints but rather passage would be easier and in places temporary roadblocks have been cleared.

TIGAL PALMOR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We still need to control the movement of Palestinians into Israeli areas. So these road blocks, these major road blocks have not been removed.

VAUSE: But international observers warn that problems at checkpoints could bring into question the legitimacy of the election.

MARK STEPHENS, EU OBSERVER: If there are problems at checkpoints and people cannot get to polling stations, then people are going to raise serious questions about the process.

VAUSE: After an off duty Israeli soldier was killed by militants outside Navales (ph) on Friday, Israel says its forces may be sent into Palestinian towns and cities. That warning came via former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, here as an official observer. He met with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah before visiting Yasser Arafat's tomb.

VAUSE (on camera): Regardless of who wins the election, one thing is clear -- there must be free, fair and Democratic if the next Palestinian leader is to have the credibility he'll need to restart peace negotiations with Israel.

John Vause, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Former New Jersey governor and Bush cabinet member Christine Todd Whitman is in Jerusalem as an election observer. And I spoke with her earlier.

Former governor, thanks for joining us. What is your role as part of this delegation as part of an election observer?

CHRISTIE WHITMAN, FRM NEW JERSEY GOV: Well I'm co-chair of the delegation or co-leader of the delegation with President Carter and former Prime Minister Bilt of Sweden. And what we are doing there about eighty representatives here from Asia, Africa, United States, Canada our role is to deploy tomorrow, election day, to -- throughout the country, to the various polling stations, to watch and make sure that the voters have access, they can get to their villages and get to the polling stations, that those whose names are on the list get to vote, those whose names aren't on the list don't get to vote.

That there's no untoward campaigning going on near a polling place, in a polling place. Those basic things to make sure that tomorrow's vote really does represent the will t free will of the Palestinian people in this election.

WHITFIELD: Although there are representatives from about 15 countries, at first the U.S. made it very clear that it didn't want to show any kind of prejudice or even handpick in any way the next Palestinian leader. However, having you as a representative as well as former president Jimmy Carter there present, is the U.S. in any way influencing or sending a message of influencing this vote tomorrow?

WHITMAN: Oh, no, not in any way. I mean, this delegation is all about seeing what's happening. We've met with a number of the different candidates, not just one, but a number of candidates. It has nothing to do with who the candidate is. We just want to make sure that the people have the opportunity to vote. And however they vote, we're not going to know because this is a secret ballot. So this is just about the process. It's about democracy and about democracy working, not about who wins that election.

WHITFIELD: Does the U.S. feel like it has a vested interest in the outcome of this Palestinian election, and that perhaps it may in some way impact the upcoming election in Iraq as well?

WHITMAN: Well, it has a vested interest in seeing these elections go smoothly. That really is -- and to a certain extent that will have an impact on other elections. This is really a unique moment in time here in the Middle East. You haven't seen this kind of a contested election with seven different candidates. They did it under a very tight timeframe because their laws and constitution required 60 days from the vacation of the office which happened upon Arafat's death.

So they've had to pull things together quickly. It is a difficult process with all the tensions and the occupations that go on here. And for this to go smoothly will send a very strong message about the possibility of democracy working. WHITFIELD: How potentially disruptive or perhaps disturbing is it, though however, that Israel is apparently backing off its promises to refrain from entering any Palestinian cities or towns which may fall tomorrow if indeed there is any potential trouble?

WHITMAN: Well, what Israel really has guaranteed is free access. That's something we're going to away watching for tomorrow, to make sure that people do have access, to get to the polls, to get to their villages, to those polling stations. That's a concern we have. We'll be watching that very closely.

WHITFIELD: Former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, thanks very much for joining us.

On now to our continuing coverage of the tsunami tragedy. For many people in Sri Lanka, it was a day filled with fear. CNN's Hugh Riminton joins us live from Beruwala, Sri Lanka to explain more on that -- Hugh.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredreicka about a year ago a TV astrologer here in Sri Lanka predicted that a terrible event would happen in December. The sort of thing astrologers say all the time. But after the tsunami disaster, many, many Sri Lankans decided to look upon this man's every utterance as if it's holy writ. So when he announced that another tsunami would strike on Saturday, January the 8th, fear crossed the country.

RIMINTON (voice over): In Sri Lanka, the fear was back. People sat watchful or huddled inland. The normally chaotic coastal roads were all but empty. The temples full. Everybody is talking about another tsunami says this man. Several kilometers from the coast, this Jenra Seri (ph) is taking no chances. "I really believe," he says, "we can't live a normal life. Everyone is waiting for another wave." The warnings of a new wave Saturday came from the same astrologer who a year ago predicted a terrible unnamed event would hit in December. Even the skeptics are now rattled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's the only one that told about that. It has happened. So people are -- people may believe.

RIMINTON: Like all cultures, Sri Lanka has its superstitions with an obsession with horoscopes and the need for protection from evil thoughts. The suddenly gloomy weather was taken as a further sign. Few people seem amused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Translator): Sometimes they believe, sometimes they don't believe it.

RIMINTON (on camera): The man behind all this anxiety was being strangely silent as the last hours ticked away before his predicted Armageddon. Astrologer B.J. Wardener was not answering calls this afternoon. He told the local TV station not to release tapes of him making his prediction.

RIMINTON (voice over): The scare has strained already overburdened nerves. "We believe it. Of course, we're frightened. We're ready to run away at any time." But they can't leave because their shattered bricks and tiles are all that's left of their home and shop. The greater fear is that if they don't watch, this rubble even then will be stolen from them.

RIMINTON (on camera): Well, the good news is that it is past midnight here in Sri Lanka. The deadline has come and gone and there's been no tsunami. So now the people can sleep for the rest of this night without those fears haunting them -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Hugh Riminton thanks so much for that report.

And our tsunami coverage continues throughout the day. We're keeping a reporter stationed throughout the nation to bring you the latest developments.

Here in the states, a Texas appeals court is giving Andrea Yates a shot at a new trial. Should prosecutors really retry the woman who defense attorneys say was insane when she drowned her children? Our legal eagles debate next.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Daniel Sieberg. We're at the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Coming up, we're going to have a race against the clock and try to cover as many trends as we can here at the show.

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WHITFIELD: In today's "Legal Roundup," an appeals court this week threw out capital murder convictions against Andrea Yates and ordered a new trial. You might remember Yates as the Houston woman who drowned her five children in a bathtub. The court ruled that false testimony by an expert prosecution witness could have affected the jury's judgment. The jury had rejected Yates' insanity plea.

Here to talk about this legal twists are, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, New York criminal defense attorney Richard Herman. Hello to you Richard.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon Fred.

WHITFIELD: And in Cleveland, Avery Friedman, a law professor and civil rights attorney. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right guys well you know a very strong signal was sent by the appellate court that one particular witness was perhaps a little too influential in this case and this expert witness apparently used a television episode that apparently hadn't even made air as a vital argument.

So Richard, is this the right decision that the appellate court made, or, you know, are they going overboard by hinging this entire case on one particular testimony?

HERMAN: Well Fredricka, in this case, the defense put on 11 treating psychiatric experts who testified that she was -- that Andrea Yates was a paranoid schizophrenic. The government, the prosecution put on one expert, this Parker Dietz, who is well flown to the criminal bar throughout the United States. The man absolutely made it up as he went along.

He's the most dangerous kind of person to testify. He made up the facts to get this conviction. He has got impeccable credentials. He's a silver tipped order and the prosecutor unleashed him on this jury knowing what this guy would do. The jury bought it, I'm telling you this Parker Dietz, he should be imprisoned right now. He should be arrested for what he did.

WHITFIELD: So Avery, how did it come to this?

FRIEDMAN: Wait a minute. That isn't the case at all. The Texas Court of Appeals found that there was false testimony, but they also found that the false testimony, Fredricka, was not intentional.

HERMAN: They don't know that.

FRIEDMAN: Hold on. Dr. Dietz is a guy who rents himself out. He doesn't see patients. He rents himself out to prosecution teams and defense -- I'm sorry, district attorneys in prosecuting defense cases. But the truth is as soon as he discovered the error, he made up the part about he thought there was a law and order segment. There wasn't. And one week after, he sent a letter to Harris County indicating "I made a mistake." The prosecution could have corrected about this I don't think there was any evidence -- in fact, the court found there was no evidence that he intentionally misled the jury. And in fact, the Texas Court of Appeals, because of that, reversed and I think it did the right thing.

HERMAN: Fredricka this guy got paid over $100,000 for his expert testimony. For him to casually claim, oh, I made a mistake, it's outrageous. Look what happened in the Martha Stewart case with the ink expert. He got prosecuted for lying on the stand. The government and the prosecutors cannot be allowed to put on these experts.

FRIEDMAN: No evidence.

WHITFIELD: And without this type of testimony coming from this same witness again, if there is indeed another trial, how can you avoid a very similar outcome given that everyone in this country has become intimately familiar with this case and particularly in Texas? It seems as though the argument will be made change of venue, but is that even the answer for a new trial?

HRMAN: That's not the answer. And Fredricka clearly, this type of killing, the killing of three children is the most horrific crime that can be committed. Having said that this woman obviously should have been committed to some sort of psychiatric institution. That's how it has to come down, even as a matter of law. The prosecution will have no witness that will be able to --

WHITFIELD: And actually, it's five children. But Avery, how might this case, the overturning of this case, impact perhaps other child murder cases, whether it be in Texas or in other states?

FRIEDMAN: Well, that's a very good question. The fact is that the legislature in Austin, Texas is now reconsidering the insanity definition. Right now it's does a defendant know the difference between right and wrong. The real standard should be is there an appreciation for the wrongdoing. So that's not going to affect Andrea Yates, Fredricka but the truth is that when it is retried, we are not going to see Dr. Dietz. We are going to see another expert who I think will be better prepared and be forthright. And I think we may see actually the same result. It's Texas. It's Harris County. We have to see what happens.

WHITFIELD: All right and we have less than a minute, but real quick if we can talk about the Michael Jackson case trial upcoming at the end of this month. However, now apparently the defense is saying that the prosecution has something like seven alleged victims who have stepped forward. However, one just might testify. No convictions in any kind of sexual harassment involving these seven. Is it going to be admissible to even hear from one of these testimonies even though these cases have never been brought to fruition?

HERMAN: Knowing California and the way they allow everything and anything in, this evidence, you can bet it is coming in it. It is going to be devastating to Michael Jackson's defense. It will end up being a trial within a trial. That is what is going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Any argument Avery, that this automatically taints the jury pool.

FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't agree with that. We have to see what happens. There is a lot of evidence that we don't know about. Much remains to be seen. The trial starts on the 31st of January. We've got a lot to talk about coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right sorry guys out of time. I'm sure we'll be able to talk about it more later this month. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman thanks to both of you gentlemen. And Happy New Year.

HERMAN: Happy New Year.

FRIEDMAN: Nice to see you. You too.

WHITFIELD: Thanks.

The marriage of one of Hollywood's hottest couples is on its last legs. Is divorce the next step for Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? That story coming up.

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WHITFIELD: At least they're still friends. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston are separating after four years of marriage. The couple says that it has nothing to do with what's being reported in the tabloids. The stories include claims that he wanted kids but she didn't. And we're keeping you plugged in to the consumer electronics show this weekend in Las Vegas. Our tech crew has been there all week bringing you all the hot gadgets. This hour tech correspondent, Daniel Sieberg joins us with new devices that are sure to catch on pretty fast, too, with the public. Dan.

SIEBERG: That's right. Hi Fred. Trying to see all the high tech stuff here at the show, is a bit like trying to drink from a fire hose. We've enlisted help from Jim Barry from the Consumer Electronic Association. Who puts this whole event together. Jim you have been watching trends for a few years.

JIM BARRY, CONSUMER ELECTRONIC ASSOCIATION: Yes, I've been coming to this show since 1979 here in Las Vegas. Two of the biggest trends are digital technology and wireless technology.

SIEBERG: Speaking of wireless, let's talk about this one.

BARRY: Location free TV from Sony. Check this out, both the internet and television. You can move it around with a stylus.

SIEBERG: That's a live feed right now.

BARRY: Live feed. The great thing about this, you have a 12 inch or 7 inch, you can watch it around the house. Even better you can watch your local television programs anywhere in the world wirelessly over the internet. There's a seven inch and a 12 inch screen $1,100 to $1500.

SIEBERG: OK, all right now the next one here, this is a very powerful device, it combines a lot of stuff into one.

BARRY: This is from OQO, this is not a handheld PDA. This is a full computer. This is a Pentium giga hurtsz computer with 256 mgs of ram.

SIEBERG: If you want to go ahead and close that.

BARRY: That slides right down, close it up. Very light, less than a pound, 14 ounces. This is from OQO. Really a computer, this is your desk top -- not an extension of your desktop that you can take with you, about $1,800 or so from OQO.

SIEBERG: All right now satellite radio we've been hearing about for a while, really picking right now.

BARRY: Two services, Sirius and XM. Combined they is have over 4 million subscribers. Now you think $10 - $12 a month for it. This new air wear from Pioneer, this one cost $350. you get the car set, the home set and this one that you can take with you. Even better, five hours of recording time.

SIEBERG: Recording live satellite radio on there.

BARRY: Yes think of that like a radio Tivo to record the programs that you like. SIEBERG: All right.

BARRY: Digital technology also lets our camcorders get smaller and smaller. This one from Sanyo, these record on one of these tiny little SD cards. And depending on which card you can put in there, you can put an hour or two of video. Also takes stills. This one 4 to 8 mega pixels. Still shots with this little beauty.

SIEBERG: Really everything in one. We've got about 30 seconds left, Jim.

BARRY: It is going to be out a little bit later. Also here's an mp-3 player. Talk about how small this is. This is from Panasonic. This is also an fm radio with a recorder in it. So you can like a program that you listen to, like a song you're listening to, go ahead and record it, a couple of versions of this $149 to $199.

SIEBERG: All right, wow there is a lot of stuff here, hard to keep track of it all.

BARRY: Well it keeps on coming and there will be more next year.

SIEBERG: All right. Well thank you so much, pleasure talking to you. That will do it for now. Fredricka back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right thanks so much Dan. Still so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, a CNN special report on the tsunami with all the latest news from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Plus a half hour dedicated to the amazing stories from the survivors of the tsunami.

At 4:00 "CNN Live Saturday" and you will hear from one of the mothers of one of the three civil rights workers killed 40 years ago in Mississippi. A former Klansman was charged yesterday with those notorious murders. And at 5:00 "People in the News" special, faces of the tsunami.

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