Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
In California, Flooding, Snow and Mudslides Getting Worse; University of Maryland Teaming Up With Department of Homeland Security
Aired January 11, 2005 - 06:00 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.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Floodwaters threaten to take a young life and firefighters struggle to save it. We will show you the dramatic story straight ahead on DAYBREAK.
Also, President Bush ushers in his second term soon and the nation's capital ushers in some beefed up security. We'll have the details.
And the man at the center of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal vows to fight on. Specialist Charles Graner back in court.
It is January 11 and you are watching DAYBREAK.
And good Tuesday morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed. Five more were wounded.
Ukraine's parliament wants the nation's troops out of Iraq. It called for an immediate withdrawal of the more than 1,600 Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine had been working on a plan to withdraw its troops by midyear. The move comes just days after eight Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a blast at an ammunition dump in Iraq.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. We see on those pictures there. The driver of the vehicle was killed.
And in San Dimas, California, a dramatic scene. A baby boy is rescued by firefighters twice. After a rescue raft turned over, firefighters rushed into the river and grabbed the infant.
Time to say again a good morning to Chad Myers in Atlanta -- Chad, tell us a little bit about some of those pictures, all that rain causing rivers to flood and all those mudslides, as well.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, finally now, the rain finally stopping. The heaviest rain has finally moved away and moved east of the city of Oceanside and Huntington Beach. But there is still a lot of rain here on the east side of this storm. The storm continues to the north of here as well.
Some of the numbers that are coming out of there, in the 20 to 30 inch rainfall totals. That's only in the last four days. That's like a whole year's worth of rain in a week.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: So, as Chad was talking about, it looks like California might get a bit of a break from the heavy rain and snow tomorrow. But that won't be soon enough. The flooding, the snow, the mudslides are getting worse. In La Cochita, a hillside gave way, taking everyone in its path with it. Emergency crews say at least three people are dead, 12 still missing. They had to suspend the search for survivors last night due to dangerous conditions.
But there is concern people could still be trapped inside the more than 15 homes damaged or destroyed in that mud slide. And the search for survivors resumes at first light this morning, which was probably just about three hours away.
Our Ted Rowlands was on the scene last night when they were forced to give up that search.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rescue crews are working desperately, searching for any sign of survivors in what is now a pile of mud and debris which they estimate to be at least 30 feet deep. The last survivor that they pulled out, who had been trapped for hours, told them that she feared that her neighbors were still in the debris. They were able to pull at least nine people from the rubble alive, a few of them after spending hours in air pockets.
Search and rescue crews say that they will work until they believe that everybody has been accounted for, which is a difficult task because this is an area that was evacuated, at least voluntarily, moments before the slide hit here. It is also an area that is prone to mudslides. In 1995, this same community, which is situated between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, was devastated by another mud slide, which took out up to nine homes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, La Cochita, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: Now, as you can see, the rain not letting up in southern California, just as the snow won't quit just yet in the northern portion of the state. The upper elevations have been hit with 19 feet of snow over the past two weeks. Another five could fall today.
CNN's Jason Bellini is in South Lake Tahoe, California -- good morning, Jason.
And what kind of problems is all this snow causing people there? JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All kinds of problems over the weekend, but they were lucky in that Sunday, late Sunday and all day Monday it was sunny and there was time to dig out. And this is a town, South Lake Tahoe is a town that's very used to having snow. And they've got a lot of equipment for clearing off the roads.
But they got some fresh snow overnight, as you can probably see behind me, about four inches. And as you said, they're expecting possibly six to nine more inches tonight here in the lower elevations and as well up into the mountains.
But there's some light at the end of the tunnel. People here are very hopeful that this will be the last in this string of storms, which has just pummeled this area since last Thursday. So we're waiting to see what impact the snow has here today. This town is getting used to these major snowstorms and people are learning to deal with it -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Learning to deal with it they are.
Jason, we know you were out on your skis yesterday, but we understand you were also out on some snowmobiles.
What did you see?
BELLINI: Went high up into the mountains where you had just an incredible view of Lake Tahoe. This is just a gorgeous area. And what was impressive up there was seeing these higher elevations where -- and they got those 19 inches of snow. This is what the mountains looked like up there and just majestic.
People are going to be able to enjoy that, and that's what the locals here are hoping for, that all of this snow is going to bring them more tourists and it's going to extend this season. Snowmobiling, skiing is the major industry here in the wintertime. And it has actually suffered a little bit the last few days. The snowmobiles weren't going out because there was no visibility on the trails. Skiers weren't going out because it was too windy, too cold and because many of the mountains were shut down over the weekend, some of the upper mountains. And also people get to the mountains because of the road closures over the weekend.
Now, this four or five inches they're going to get today, it's unclear whether they're going to have to shut roads again. But avalanche concerns remain. And those are still very serious, especially since we have this thick, heavy snow here and we've put more snow on top of that. And that snow had a little bit of a chance to melt and become harder. And now you have some fresh snow on top of that. So that's an ongoing concern for the highways and for skiers.
And, Kelly, yesterday we got some very sad news about a 13-year- old boy just north of Las Vegas at a ski resort who died after he was knocked out of a chairlift and buried by an avalanche -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Oh, Jason, we hate to hear that.
Very, very serious news out there and a lot of concern for people in that area.
Jason Bellini reporting from Tahoe City, California.
Thanks so much.
Here now, some other stories making news across America.
More than 5,000 residents in Graniteville, South Carolina won't be allowed back in their homes until the crews finish cleaning up liquid chlorine. That could take still several more days. Nine people died after toxic gas was released from a ruptured rail tanker car. Officials say the chlorine gas may have seriously damaged hundreds of homes in the area.
A Detroit woman scheduled to appear in court today on charges she deliberately set an apartment fire that killed two people and injured at least 11 others. Police say the woman set fire to the building to scare another woman who owed her money for drugs. The charges could include two counts of first degree murder.
Residents in one Alaska town are in danger of freezing to death. Bad weather has prevented repair crews from fixing a problem with the power supply in Kaktovik. The temperatures there are dropping to about 70 degrees below zero with the wind chill. Crews are hoping to reach the town some time today.
So how can we be sure the upcoming presidential inauguration will be safe? We will tell you all about the preparations already in place.
Plus, he's been accused of being the ringleader in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Now he faces court martial. We will bring you the latest.
And the critics are raving about "Sideways." Is an Oscar on the way?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And time again for a CNN "Security Watch."
The University of Maryland is teaming up with the Department of Homeland Security to get some answers. The school has been chosen to create a research center to study how and why people become terrorists. The government's giving the university $12 million to help pay for the project and researchers tinted to focus on how terrorist organizations form and recruit their members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GREENBERG, TERRORISM EXPERT: If we can understand why there may be legitimate grievances against the United States or misplaced grievances, and we can combat that, that will go a long way to helping us fight the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And Professor Gary LaFree will be the center's new director.
He joins us now on the phone from College Park, Maryland.
Professor LaFree, thanks for being with us.
GARY LAFREE, PH.D., DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: My pleasure.
WALLACE: First question, how does examining behaviors help in the war against terrorism?
LAFREE: Well, I think, basically to -- there's this famous saying, in fact, that if you're going to defeat your enemy, you have to know your enemy. And we just have not learned nearly as much as we really need to know about groups that are applying terrorist methods in the world and how we might actually combat those groups. And we especially, I think, have not, to this point, relied that much on the social and behavioral sciences in this regard. So there's just a whole lot to learn.
WALLACE: What specifically will you do or look at to look at sort of how terrorist organizations recruit their members?
LAFREE: Well, we have -- we basically are relying on a lot of data that we've already collected that various members of the consortium that are participating in this project are already working on. For example, one of the database we're going to be analyzing includes information on all terrorist events that have happened somewhere on the planet, really, since 1970, and in that base, database. We're also going to be collecting a lot of original data. We'll be doing quite a bit of polling, for example, in Islamic countries, in countries that have experienced quite a bit of terrorism, as well as quite a bit of polling here in the United States.
WALLACE: I also know you're going to look at the current terrorist alert system and look at what is the most effective way of kind of making the public aware of the terror risks.
What exactly -- and do you think the current system in place is not quite working?
LAFREE: Well, actually, it's far too early for me to say that. But certainly one of the things we plan to do is look at the science behind how to respond to terrorist events in the most effective way to reduce their costs and also there's a large research literature on the most effective way to get people to respond to government warnings.
And, for example, for many years there's been research done on how to get people to respond to natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes and so on, a lot of literature and a lot of research in that area. And we're planning to apply some of that same kind of reasoning to study how to give risk messages to the public when it comes to terrorist alerts.
WALLACE: Well, Professor Gary LaFree, some interesting work ahead. We look forward to talking to you in the months ahead as you do your research.
LAFREE: Thanks so much.
WALLACE: Thanks for being here on CNN's DAYBREAK.
And in just a few moments, our CNN "Security Watch" continues with a look at the security setup for next week's presidential inauguration. And, of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is about 15 minutes after the hour and here is what is all new this morning.
Twelve people are still missing after a mud slide crushed 15 homes near Los Angeles. At least three people are dead. Search and rescue efforts suspended due to the continuing bad weather.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean wants to move back into the spotlight. He is expected to announce his candidacy today for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee.
In money, Toyota wants to be number one. The company is planning to unveil four new models in an effort to pass General Motors as the world's biggest car company.
In culture now, the movie "Sideways" the big winner at last night's Critics Choice Awards. The film won five awards, including best picture. The Critics Choice Awards are often a strong indicator of Oscar success.
In sports news, Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning named the NFL's most valuable player for the second straight year. He joins Brett Farve and Joe Montana as the only back to back winners in NFL history.
And, Chad, I know we're going to talk about weather, but boy, Peyton Manning breaking all kinds of records this year, as well.
MYERS: Couldn't even come up with another name other than that. I'm sure the voting was unanimous on that. He broke records that even quarterbacks in the NFL thought were unbreakable. But I guess that's why they make them.
WALLACE: That's right. Unbelievable.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: Amazing video we have been showing you all morning of a baby rescued from swift moving waters. We will bring you the latest on the incredible story with a very happy ending.
Plus, tips on getting the most financial aid for your son or daughter.
All that and more on DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": When purchasing a car, one of the first things to keep in mind is that you don't want to put so much money into it that it takes away money that you should be using to meet other financial obligations. The key things that you want to be thinking about are how much of your budget to you want to allocate to car payments. That's usually eight to 10 percent. And then, what interest rate are you going to get on that loan?
There are costs other than just the monthly payment when you buy a car. For example, there's gas, there's maintenance, there's insurance. So when you're thinking of buying a car, you want to look at the total cost, not just the monthly payments for the loan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And time again for another CNN "Security Watch."
Washington, D.C. preparing to host a party of historic proportions, marking President Bush's second term. With all the celebrations and the big time guests, security will be everywhere.
Our own Mike Brooks joins us live now from Atlanta with more on that -- Mike, great to see you.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Kelly.
This is going to be an unbelievable inaugural, Kelly. This is the first inaugural that they've had since 9/11. There are going to be over 4,800 police officers, both uniformed plainclothes, all over the city, lining the parade routes, back behind just off of the parade routes. You're also going to see over 50 different law enforcement agencies involved in this. They've been planning this for close to a year now, Kelly.
And they have a large new coordination site in suburban Virginia that the U.S. Secret Service made and it's going to be the joint operations center, where there's going to be a representative from every different agency involved in that command center so they know what exactly is going on.
But you're still going to have the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, all of the local jurisdictions that are going to have their own command centers up and running. But there is going to be technology that's going to link all of these centers so everyone knows what's going on. If the Metropolitan Police Department is responding to a suspicious package, let's say at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, they'll know that at that joint operations center in Virginia.
You're also going to see all kinds of other technology that we haven't heard about before that's been in place -- chembio detectors in the subways. You're also going to have chembio detectors along the parade route. So if there's a sarin release, they'll be able to detect that. Just unbelievable technology that we've never seen it used at any inaugural before.
WALLACE: And, Mike, it was interesting, the U.S. Capitol police chief, Terrance Gainer, saying: "If this was the January after September 11, there would be a lot more angst."
Is this because three and a half years later, more time to get more technology to be better prepared?
BROOKS: Well, it's technology to be better prepared, Kelly. But it's also better coordination. You know, just last week we saw the new national response plan that came out. That response plan is going to be in effect and is going to be bringing together some of these different agencies.
But D.C. has been doing this for a long time. I've been involved in a number of inaugurals, both on the security side and on the planning side. But this is, I think, the most number of agencies that we've ever seen.
The president, after the swearing in, will walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. He'll also ride a little bit. But you're also going to see a number of protesters. That's one of the other concerns. There are going to be thousands of protesters besides the partiers there, Kelly. And they want to make sure that their first amendment activity is heard and they right now, they're talking about going to court because they don't feel that the area that they have been given to protest in is close enough to the parade route.
But along the parade route, you're going to have checkpoints. People who are going to be sitting in the stands and standing there, you're going to have to go through magnetometers to get to Pennsylvania Avenue and they're going to feed people through checkpoints. And sources tell me that you may even see the Transportation Security Administration, the people you see when you go to the airport going through the security checkpoints, you may even see them out there as you go through the checkpoints because no one does it better than them, they feel.
WALLACE: Mike, unprecedented security steps in place for the inauguration next week.
Mike Brooks in Atlanta, thanks so much.
We appreciate it.
BROOKS: Good to be with you, Kelly. Thanks.
WALLACE: And we want to remind you once again to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
And as you know, we just talked about it, we've got the inauguration this month. That is next week. But how do most Americans feel about President Bush? The latest Gallup poll numbers coming up. Plus, it is his day in court and the man at the center of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal says he will testify in his own defense. That story still ahead right here on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And good morning to you.
And welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.
From that Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed. Five more were wounded.
A MediVac helicopter has crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. It happened just about seven hours ago. One person was killed. Another was rescued. Police are searching the river for a third person.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. The driver was killed.
And in southern California, a frightening scene. A hillside gives way after five days of torrential rain. Three people are dead. Twelve others are missing.
And Chad Myers in Atlanta -- Chad, they're going to try and resume that search when the sun comes up.
What kind of weather will they have when they get back to looking for those still missing?
MYERS: Still some showers around this morning, but the bulk of the heavy rain is finally over. And how heavy? Since the rainy season began, and that's basically a month or two ago, downtown Los Angeles has picked up 22 1/2 inches of rain. Normal is 4.7. Last year was 3.1. So that'll give you an idea of how much rainfall those folks out there are really dealing with, huge numbers out there, and the rain is finally sliding by.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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 11, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Floodwaters threaten to take a young life and firefighters struggle to save it. We will show you the dramatic story straight ahead on DAYBREAK.
Also, President Bush ushers in his second term soon and the nation's capital ushers in some beefed up security. We'll have the details.
And the man at the center of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal vows to fight on. Specialist Charles Graner back in court.
It is January 11 and you are watching DAYBREAK.
And good Tuesday morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed. Five more were wounded.
Ukraine's parliament wants the nation's troops out of Iraq. It called for an immediate withdrawal of the more than 1,600 Ukrainian soldiers. Ukraine had been working on a plan to withdraw its troops by midyear. The move comes just days after eight Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a blast at an ammunition dump in Iraq.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. We see on those pictures there. The driver of the vehicle was killed.
And in San Dimas, California, a dramatic scene. A baby boy is rescued by firefighters twice. After a rescue raft turned over, firefighters rushed into the river and grabbed the infant.
Time to say again a good morning to Chad Myers in Atlanta -- Chad, tell us a little bit about some of those pictures, all that rain causing rivers to flood and all those mudslides, as well.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, finally now, the rain finally stopping. The heaviest rain has finally moved away and moved east of the city of Oceanside and Huntington Beach. But there is still a lot of rain here on the east side of this storm. The storm continues to the north of here as well.
Some of the numbers that are coming out of there, in the 20 to 30 inch rainfall totals. That's only in the last four days. That's like a whole year's worth of rain in a week.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: So, as Chad was talking about, it looks like California might get a bit of a break from the heavy rain and snow tomorrow. But that won't be soon enough. The flooding, the snow, the mudslides are getting worse. In La Cochita, a hillside gave way, taking everyone in its path with it. Emergency crews say at least three people are dead, 12 still missing. They had to suspend the search for survivors last night due to dangerous conditions.
But there is concern people could still be trapped inside the more than 15 homes damaged or destroyed in that mud slide. And the search for survivors resumes at first light this morning, which was probably just about three hours away.
Our Ted Rowlands was on the scene last night when they were forced to give up that search.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rescue crews are working desperately, searching for any sign of survivors in what is now a pile of mud and debris which they estimate to be at least 30 feet deep. The last survivor that they pulled out, who had been trapped for hours, told them that she feared that her neighbors were still in the debris. They were able to pull at least nine people from the rubble alive, a few of them after spending hours in air pockets.
Search and rescue crews say that they will work until they believe that everybody has been accounted for, which is a difficult task because this is an area that was evacuated, at least voluntarily, moments before the slide hit here. It is also an area that is prone to mudslides. In 1995, this same community, which is situated between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, was devastated by another mud slide, which took out up to nine homes.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, La Cochita, California.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WALLACE: Now, as you can see, the rain not letting up in southern California, just as the snow won't quit just yet in the northern portion of the state. The upper elevations have been hit with 19 feet of snow over the past two weeks. Another five could fall today.
CNN's Jason Bellini is in South Lake Tahoe, California -- good morning, Jason.
And what kind of problems is all this snow causing people there? JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All kinds of problems over the weekend, but they were lucky in that Sunday, late Sunday and all day Monday it was sunny and there was time to dig out. And this is a town, South Lake Tahoe is a town that's very used to having snow. And they've got a lot of equipment for clearing off the roads.
But they got some fresh snow overnight, as you can probably see behind me, about four inches. And as you said, they're expecting possibly six to nine more inches tonight here in the lower elevations and as well up into the mountains.
But there's some light at the end of the tunnel. People here are very hopeful that this will be the last in this string of storms, which has just pummeled this area since last Thursday. So we're waiting to see what impact the snow has here today. This town is getting used to these major snowstorms and people are learning to deal with it -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Learning to deal with it they are.
Jason, we know you were out on your skis yesterday, but we understand you were also out on some snowmobiles.
What did you see?
BELLINI: Went high up into the mountains where you had just an incredible view of Lake Tahoe. This is just a gorgeous area. And what was impressive up there was seeing these higher elevations where -- and they got those 19 inches of snow. This is what the mountains looked like up there and just majestic.
People are going to be able to enjoy that, and that's what the locals here are hoping for, that all of this snow is going to bring them more tourists and it's going to extend this season. Snowmobiling, skiing is the major industry here in the wintertime. And it has actually suffered a little bit the last few days. The snowmobiles weren't going out because there was no visibility on the trails. Skiers weren't going out because it was too windy, too cold and because many of the mountains were shut down over the weekend, some of the upper mountains. And also people get to the mountains because of the road closures over the weekend.
Now, this four or five inches they're going to get today, it's unclear whether they're going to have to shut roads again. But avalanche concerns remain. And those are still very serious, especially since we have this thick, heavy snow here and we've put more snow on top of that. And that snow had a little bit of a chance to melt and become harder. And now you have some fresh snow on top of that. So that's an ongoing concern for the highways and for skiers.
And, Kelly, yesterday we got some very sad news about a 13-year- old boy just north of Las Vegas at a ski resort who died after he was knocked out of a chairlift and buried by an avalanche -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Oh, Jason, we hate to hear that.
Very, very serious news out there and a lot of concern for people in that area.
Jason Bellini reporting from Tahoe City, California.
Thanks so much.
Here now, some other stories making news across America.
More than 5,000 residents in Graniteville, South Carolina won't be allowed back in their homes until the crews finish cleaning up liquid chlorine. That could take still several more days. Nine people died after toxic gas was released from a ruptured rail tanker car. Officials say the chlorine gas may have seriously damaged hundreds of homes in the area.
A Detroit woman scheduled to appear in court today on charges she deliberately set an apartment fire that killed two people and injured at least 11 others. Police say the woman set fire to the building to scare another woman who owed her money for drugs. The charges could include two counts of first degree murder.
Residents in one Alaska town are in danger of freezing to death. Bad weather has prevented repair crews from fixing a problem with the power supply in Kaktovik. The temperatures there are dropping to about 70 degrees below zero with the wind chill. Crews are hoping to reach the town some time today.
So how can we be sure the upcoming presidential inauguration will be safe? We will tell you all about the preparations already in place.
Plus, he's been accused of being the ringleader in the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Now he faces court martial. We will bring you the latest.
And the critics are raving about "Sideways." Is an Oscar on the way?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And time again for a CNN "Security Watch."
The University of Maryland is teaming up with the Department of Homeland Security to get some answers. The school has been chosen to create a research center to study how and why people become terrorists. The government's giving the university $12 million to help pay for the project and researchers tinted to focus on how terrorist organizations form and recruit their members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GREENBERG, TERRORISM EXPERT: If we can understand why there may be legitimate grievances against the United States or misplaced grievances, and we can combat that, that will go a long way to helping us fight the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And Professor Gary LaFree will be the center's new director.
He joins us now on the phone from College Park, Maryland.
Professor LaFree, thanks for being with us.
GARY LAFREE, PH.D., DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: My pleasure.
WALLACE: First question, how does examining behaviors help in the war against terrorism?
LAFREE: Well, I think, basically to -- there's this famous saying, in fact, that if you're going to defeat your enemy, you have to know your enemy. And we just have not learned nearly as much as we really need to know about groups that are applying terrorist methods in the world and how we might actually combat those groups. And we especially, I think, have not, to this point, relied that much on the social and behavioral sciences in this regard. So there's just a whole lot to learn.
WALLACE: What specifically will you do or look at to look at sort of how terrorist organizations recruit their members?
LAFREE: Well, we have -- we basically are relying on a lot of data that we've already collected that various members of the consortium that are participating in this project are already working on. For example, one of the database we're going to be analyzing includes information on all terrorist events that have happened somewhere on the planet, really, since 1970, and in that base, database. We're also going to be collecting a lot of original data. We'll be doing quite a bit of polling, for example, in Islamic countries, in countries that have experienced quite a bit of terrorism, as well as quite a bit of polling here in the United States.
WALLACE: I also know you're going to look at the current terrorist alert system and look at what is the most effective way of kind of making the public aware of the terror risks.
What exactly -- and do you think the current system in place is not quite working?
LAFREE: Well, actually, it's far too early for me to say that. But certainly one of the things we plan to do is look at the science behind how to respond to terrorist events in the most effective way to reduce their costs and also there's a large research literature on the most effective way to get people to respond to government warnings.
And, for example, for many years there's been research done on how to get people to respond to natural disasters like earthquakes and tornadoes and so on, a lot of literature and a lot of research in that area. And we're planning to apply some of that same kind of reasoning to study how to give risk messages to the public when it comes to terrorist alerts.
WALLACE: Well, Professor Gary LaFree, some interesting work ahead. We look forward to talking to you in the months ahead as you do your research.
LAFREE: Thanks so much.
WALLACE: Thanks for being here on CNN's DAYBREAK.
And in just a few moments, our CNN "Security Watch" continues with a look at the security setup for next week's presidential inauguration. And, of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is about 15 minutes after the hour and here is what is all new this morning.
Twelve people are still missing after a mud slide crushed 15 homes near Los Angeles. At least three people are dead. Search and rescue efforts suspended due to the continuing bad weather.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean wants to move back into the spotlight. He is expected to announce his candidacy today for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee.
In money, Toyota wants to be number one. The company is planning to unveil four new models in an effort to pass General Motors as the world's biggest car company.
In culture now, the movie "Sideways" the big winner at last night's Critics Choice Awards. The film won five awards, including best picture. The Critics Choice Awards are often a strong indicator of Oscar success.
In sports news, Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning named the NFL's most valuable player for the second straight year. He joins Brett Farve and Joe Montana as the only back to back winners in NFL history.
And, Chad, I know we're going to talk about weather, but boy, Peyton Manning breaking all kinds of records this year, as well.
MYERS: Couldn't even come up with another name other than that. I'm sure the voting was unanimous on that. He broke records that even quarterbacks in the NFL thought were unbreakable. But I guess that's why they make them.
WALLACE: That's right. Unbelievable.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WALLACE: Amazing video we have been showing you all morning of a baby rescued from swift moving waters. We will bring you the latest on the incredible story with a very happy ending.
Plus, tips on getting the most financial aid for your son or daughter.
All that and more on DAYBREAK.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": When purchasing a car, one of the first things to keep in mind is that you don't want to put so much money into it that it takes away money that you should be using to meet other financial obligations. The key things that you want to be thinking about are how much of your budget to you want to allocate to car payments. That's usually eight to 10 percent. And then, what interest rate are you going to get on that loan?
There are costs other than just the monthly payment when you buy a car. For example, there's gas, there's maintenance, there's insurance. So when you're thinking of buying a car, you want to look at the total cost, not just the monthly payments for the loan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And time again for another CNN "Security Watch."
Washington, D.C. preparing to host a party of historic proportions, marking President Bush's second term. With all the celebrations and the big time guests, security will be everywhere.
Our own Mike Brooks joins us live now from Atlanta with more on that -- Mike, great to see you.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Kelly.
This is going to be an unbelievable inaugural, Kelly. This is the first inaugural that they've had since 9/11. There are going to be over 4,800 police officers, both uniformed plainclothes, all over the city, lining the parade routes, back behind just off of the parade routes. You're also going to see over 50 different law enforcement agencies involved in this. They've been planning this for close to a year now, Kelly.
And they have a large new coordination site in suburban Virginia that the U.S. Secret Service made and it's going to be the joint operations center, where there's going to be a representative from every different agency involved in that command center so they know what exactly is going on.
But you're still going to have the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, all of the local jurisdictions that are going to have their own command centers up and running. But there is going to be technology that's going to link all of these centers so everyone knows what's going on. If the Metropolitan Police Department is responding to a suspicious package, let's say at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, they'll know that at that joint operations center in Virginia.
You're also going to see all kinds of other technology that we haven't heard about before that's been in place -- chembio detectors in the subways. You're also going to have chembio detectors along the parade route. So if there's a sarin release, they'll be able to detect that. Just unbelievable technology that we've never seen it used at any inaugural before.
WALLACE: And, Mike, it was interesting, the U.S. Capitol police chief, Terrance Gainer, saying: "If this was the January after September 11, there would be a lot more angst."
Is this because three and a half years later, more time to get more technology to be better prepared?
BROOKS: Well, it's technology to be better prepared, Kelly. But it's also better coordination. You know, just last week we saw the new national response plan that came out. That response plan is going to be in effect and is going to be bringing together some of these different agencies.
But D.C. has been doing this for a long time. I've been involved in a number of inaugurals, both on the security side and on the planning side. But this is, I think, the most number of agencies that we've ever seen.
The president, after the swearing in, will walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. He'll also ride a little bit. But you're also going to see a number of protesters. That's one of the other concerns. There are going to be thousands of protesters besides the partiers there, Kelly. And they want to make sure that their first amendment activity is heard and they right now, they're talking about going to court because they don't feel that the area that they have been given to protest in is close enough to the parade route.
But along the parade route, you're going to have checkpoints. People who are going to be sitting in the stands and standing there, you're going to have to go through magnetometers to get to Pennsylvania Avenue and they're going to feed people through checkpoints. And sources tell me that you may even see the Transportation Security Administration, the people you see when you go to the airport going through the security checkpoints, you may even see them out there as you go through the checkpoints because no one does it better than them, they feel.
WALLACE: Mike, unprecedented security steps in place for the inauguration next week.
Mike Brooks in Atlanta, thanks so much.
We appreciate it.
BROOKS: Good to be with you, Kelly. Thanks.
WALLACE: And we want to remind you once again to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
And as you know, we just talked about it, we've got the inauguration this month. That is next week. But how do most Americans feel about President Bush? The latest Gallup poll numbers coming up. Plus, it is his day in court and the man at the center of the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal says he will testify in his own defense. That story still ahead right here on DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: And good morning to you.
And welcome to the last half hour of DAYBREAK.
From that Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in today for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed. Five more were wounded.
A MediVac helicopter has crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. It happened just about seven hours ago. One person was killed. Another was rescued. Police are searching the river for a third person.
The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. The driver was killed.
And in southern California, a frightening scene. A hillside gives way after five days of torrential rain. Three people are dead. Twelve others are missing.
And Chad Myers in Atlanta -- Chad, they're going to try and resume that search when the sun comes up.
What kind of weather will they have when they get back to looking for those still missing?
MYERS: Still some showers around this morning, but the bulk of the heavy rain is finally over. And how heavy? Since the rainy season began, and that's basically a month or two ago, downtown Los Angeles has picked up 22 1/2 inches of rain. Normal is 4.7. Last year was 3.1. So that'll give you an idea of how much rainfall those folks out there are really dealing with, huge numbers out there, and the rain is finally sliding by.
(WEATHER REPORT)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
