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Strong Earthquake Rattles Central California; Italian Hostages Freed; New Poll Shows Bush Leads Presidential Race
Aired September 28, 2004 - 13:59 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll begin this hour on the shifting earth of central California, a site of several quakes, as you know, and tremors felt as far away as San Francisco and Redwood City, where there were some legal repercussions.
CNN's Ted Rowlands normally covering the Scott Peterson trial felt a little bit of the quake.
Tell us, Ted, what's up?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Peterson trial here was suspended for -- for about 20 minutes. The judge told everybody to clear the courtroom after this earthquake was felt up here in Redwood City. We're just south of San Francisco in northern California.
The quake was about 200 miles south, centered near Paso Robles. It's actually east of Paso Robles in the epicenter. According to the USGS, is an unpopulated area for the most part.
There has been no report of any injuries or damage of significant nature down there. Folks on the ground there say that it was definitely a rattler. And up here in the courtroom, about 50 percent of the folks in the courtroom felt it.
Our CNN crew who had work space across the street felt it. I was in the courtroom and didn't feel it. So it was about half and half in terms of its intensity up here in northern California. But safe to say, down in the central coast, people got quite a jolt here this morning about a half an hour ago.
PHILLIPS: All right. Ted Rowlands working two stories for us today. Thank you so much.
You mentioned the USGS. We've got Waverly Person on the phone with us now to tell us more about where exactly this quake was felt and possibly some of the effects.
Waverly, what can you tell us?
WAVERLY PERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: It is called the Parkfield earthquake, it is approximately nine miles south of Parkfield. It's in an unpopulated area.
We have no reports of damage or injuries. Felt very widely. I don't know the extent of the felt (ph), but the good thing is we have no reports of damage or injuries at this time.
PHILLIPS: OK. No reports of damage or injury. What about -- there was word that possibly this was felt in some of the same areas, Waverly, as the last quake, possibly Cambria, Paso Robles. Are you able to confirm if the same areas there that...
PERSON: Yes, it was felt in some of those areas. I know it was felt in Paso Robles, yes, it was. But this is not an aftershock from that earthquake.
This is called the Parkfield earthquake, and it's nine miles to the south of Parkfield, California. And we call it the Parkfield earthquake.
PHILLIPS: OK. Waverly Person with the USGS, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow, of course, what they're reporting there as they track where this quake was felt.
Miles O'Brien in Mojave.
Miles, as you know, you've been covering the X Prize. Did you hear it -- did you feel it out in Mojave? Or you've been talking to folks on your blackberry there to see who did get, I guess, a feel while you're out there in California? I know you've been meeting with a lot of different people.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, yes, we've all been scratching our heads trying to figure out why we didn't feel this one. A couple of thoughts.
First of all, it's a fairly long distance away. You know, Mojave is north and to the east of Los Angeles. So we're pretty far south given the epicenter of this particular quake.
And also, given its magnitude, you know, the amplitude increases greatly with each point on the scale. And so this may not have been strong enough for us normally to feel.
I asked around here -- we're here in Mojave, as we just told for you the attempt to win the X Prize tomorrow -- and I asked if anybody felt anything, and the response from one of the X Prize organizers, Eric Lindbergh, who is the great grandson of the great Lindbergh, who, of course, flew the ocean solo, said, "Well, my cell phone just buzzed."
But that's about it. So I think we can say we're safe and sound, at least this far down in Mojave.
Obviously, as you move up north and move to that central part of California, you're going to get different reports. Of course, I just drove through there last night coming down from Monterrey. It's a very, very sparsely populated stretch of California. So I suspect, even if it was a relatively serious earthquake, the damage and potential possibilities of injuries would be limited -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So this is not going to affect what you're doing there?
O'BRIEN: No, no. We're good to go here. They're very excited about the possibility.
And the runway is every bit as intact as it was just a few moments ago. And the organizer there, Peter Diamandis, is worried about much -- many other potential things that could go wrong here tomorrow. Believe me, because what they're about to try is a rather risky endeavor as they try to fly to space in a civilian-built rocket flown by civilians.
PHILLIPS: All right. Miles O'Brien, we'll check in with you a little later on. We'll talk X Prize, we'll talk Mount St. Helens. You've been working two different reports for us.
Meanwhile, we're going to go to Julissa Ortiz. She's a reporter for KCOY. In the area, of course, it's one of our CNN affiliates there in central California.
Julissa, what can you tell us about this quake and where it hit and the effects that it's had so far?
JULISSA ORTIZ, REPORTER, KCOY: Well, it certainly is bringing back some memories of the earthquake that hit our area just nine months ago in December. This was obviously not as strong.
This one was, you know, just about a 6.0. But it was certainly felt here the at station, and we certainly did feel the aftershocks just a few minutes later.
We've been inundated with phone calls already from people that felt it as far south as Santa Barbara. Fortunately, we haven't heard any reports of anybody being injured or damage yet. But certainly it did cause some power outages and a big scare for many people in and around the five cities area. They certainly felt it there as well.
But we are about 100 miles from the epicenter. And it was in Parkfield is where it originally hit, but we certainly did feel it here.
PHILLIPS: What kind of area is Parkfield?
ORTIZ: Parkfield is inland, it's I believe a small area. And not too familiar with it, but I believe it's inland and it's a small area.
PHILLIPS: Not a lot of people living in that area?
ORTIZ: No. No, I don't think so.
PHILLIPS: OK.
ORTIZ: I know I've driven through it several times, but there isn't a whole lot there, I believe.
PHILLIPS: OK. And so you haven't received any calls, say, from Cambia, or Paso Robles, these other areas that were hit pretty hard and received a lot of damage back in December?
ORTIZ: No, we have been putting phone calls out. Of course, you know, lots of phone lines busy.
We did report -- we did hear from Shandon. Shandon is not too far from that epicenter. I believe it's only about 14 miles from there, or nine miles, rather, from Shandon. I know that many of the schools felt it there, and we've been make calls to them. I believe they are probably evacuating those schools as well. But we did get reports from that area.
PHILLIPS: All right. Julissa Ortiz, with CNN affiliate KCOY there, not far from where this quake had hit, a 6.0 earthquake, central California, in an area called Parkfield. So far, no reports of any damages or serious injuries. We'll keep you updated.
We're going to move on to other news now and talk about two individuals. They share a name, an age, a country, and a calling, and a kidnapping. And now Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, from Italy, both working for an aid organization in Baghdad are both free after three grueling weeks of captivity.
CNN's Alessio Vinci checks in from Rome, where the prime minister also announced the women's anxiously-awaited release.
We talked earlier. I know that we have not heard from the young women, Alessio. Have you heard anything from them at this point?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: No, we have not heard from them. The only news that we have to update you, Kyra, is that both Simona Pari and Simona Torretta are expected back here in Rome within the next two hours or so.
We do understand that a government plane has left already yesterday to Kuwait and then to Iraq to pick up the two former hostages, leading us to believe that Italian officials had already a pretty good indication 24 hours ago that the two hostages and two aid workers were going to be freed.
We do not know at this time whether ransom has been paid in order to secure the release. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi thanked the intelligence agencies in Italy which he said we're involved in 16 different negotiations in order to secure their release. But he also thanked the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries of Iraq, including the one of Jordan.
King Abdullah of Jordan was here in Rome today. He was the one yesterday giving an interview to an Italian leading newspaper. He is saying that two aid workers were alive. And again, today, from Kuwait, a newspaper there reporting the news that not only were they alive, but ransom had been paid, and that they were going to be released in a matter of days.
Italian intelligence officials are not confirming to me whether a ransom was being paid. But they said that there was intense negotiations with mediators not just in Kuwait, but throughout the region there. And indeed, the Italian government today celebrating, as well as the thousands and thousands of people who gathered spontaneously outside the homes of the former hostages both here in Rome and in Rimini to the northeast from here.
The parents, the family, relatives of the two hostages are now being brought here to the airport where the two former hostages have now been waiting about two hours' time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci, live from Rome. Thank you so much.
And abducted at gunpoint, one day, freed the next. There were hugs all around in Gaza today after CNN producer Riad Ali was released by his captors. It's not clear who took him, although at one point Ali did say that they belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. That militant group had condemned his abduction. Ali is now headed for a reunion with his family.
With five weeks until the election, our latest poll on the presidential race shows President Bush the clear leader. Among respondents identified as likely voters, Bush leads Kerry by eight percentage points. He's now leading Kerry by 11 percentage points among registered voters. In addition, Bush's approval ratings is the highest since January.
For the Kerry campaign, the Bush lead in the polls puts added importance on the upcoming debates. The first debate this Thursday is to cover foreign policy and homeland security. CNN coverage, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
And now with the latest word from the Kerry campaign, CNN's Frank Buckley, who traveled with Kerry to Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The new poll numbers coming out in the CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll are pretty tough on John Kerry, especially on what's become the centerpiece of his offensive against President Bush during the past couple of weeks on the issue of Iraq.
This despite fact that a majority of Americans apparently believe that things are going badly there. When asked how things are going for the U.S. in Iraq, only 46 percent say things are going well, while 52 percent say things are going badly. But when those voters were asked who can better handle Iraq, 55 percent say Bush, 41 percent say Kerry.
Of course, Senator Kerry has been criticized over his position on Iraq over the past several months. The Bush-Cheney campaign saying he has been inconsistent on Iraq.
Senator Kerry's campaign says the senator will continue to criticize the president on this issue, but he has also had to play defense in some cases, as he did yesterday during a town hall meeting here in Wisconsin. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president and the Republicans have made it try to look as if John Kerry has your position or their position. I've had one position steady all the way, folks, that I thought we ought to stand up and hold Saddam Hussein accountable, but I thought we ought to do it the right way.
And doing it the right way means having the patience and the maturity to bring allies to our side, to go through diplomacy, to recognize that the United States of America is strongest when we are standing with the rest of the world in a legitimate cause.
BUCKLEY: The Kerry campaign is dismissive of the poll numbers. They say this particular poll is out of sync with other recent polls. They say they are looking forward to the debate on Thursday, and they believe President Bush will be the one who will be on the defensive when it comes to the issue of Iraq.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And like Kerry, President Bush is getting ready for the debate Thursday night. CNN's Elaine Quijano standing by live in Crawford, Texas, where the president is holed up at his ranch, so to speak -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Kyra.
That's right, the president is staying largely out of public view for the most part. However, his spokesman, White House spokesman Scott McClellan, is not. In fact, just a short time ago at a news conference in front of reporters and cameras, the spokesman, Scott McClellan, announcing that the president has a change in his schedule this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president will be going to Florida and making a stop to tour some of the area that has been devastated by Hurricane Jeanne. And we will get you those details later this afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the people of Florida during this difficult time, and the other areas that have also been impacted by the hurricanes, including Hurricane Jeanne.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, that's getting to be a somewhat grim routine for the president. He has already done this before with hurricanes Frances, Charley and Ivan. So this will be the fourth visit the president is making to the state of Florida in order to visit hurricane victims.
Now, as for the debate preparations, over the weekend the president had some formal sessions that included the help of New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican who played the role of Senator Kerry. Yesterday, the president went on the campaign trail, trying to get some campaign stops in, making two stops, one in Springfield, Ohio, the other in West Chester, Ohio.
Now, while out on the trail, he mocked his opponent, Senator Kerry, saying that the senator could probably debate himself for 90 minutes because of what the president says are his shifting positions on Iraq. Now, already, Bush advisers are playing the expectations game.
They are saying that the president, who has already had three presidential debates under his belt, will hold his own. And they are playing up Senator Kerry's experience, saying that he was a prep school master debater, that his experience in the Senate will certainly serve him well.
As for the pace of this preparation, the aides are saying the president is comfortable with him. They're saying he's relaxed. And now, Kyra, they say it's just a matter of fine-tuning -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, thank you so much.
Well, forget the high price of Texas tea. What about the rising cost of that other dark fluid we need every day? It's the story that puts the bucks in Starbucks ahead in "Biz."
They don't teach survival in school, especially when the schools are still closed. The Sunshine State's students learned some of life's harder lessons after a string of hurricanes.
And years and years and years ago, back when Miles O'Brien was a young lad, he went into the crater of Mount St. Helens. He's going to share the experience with us today as the volcano keeps everyone on high alert again.
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PHILLIPS: Well, as you know, we've been covering this earthquake that we've been reporting on, 6.2 magnitude that hit Parkfield, California. This happened within the past hour.
So far, no reports of injuries or deaths. But we do have a lot to tell you about Parkfield. Actually, a lot of interesting value-add sort of tidbits.
Paul Vercammen, who, believe it or not, we were at the same time struggling reporters back at KEYT in Santa Barbara, he is now the news director, and he is now joining us via telephone to tell us about Parkfield and this earthquake that's hit central California.
Paul, how you doing?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, KEYT: I'm doing very well, Kyra. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about Parkfield. Back when we were young struggling reporters, this is an area that you have been to. Even Frank Buckley called in to me and said, Kyra, you've got to talk about the Parkfield experiment.
VERCAMMEN: It's fascinating. The eyes of certainly geologists throughout California and the United States have been on Parkfield because, starting way back in 1857, Parkfield had a 7.9 magnitude quake. Parkfield sits right on the San Andreas fault.
Then an average of 22 years after, Parkfield had significant quakes. So what's been going on now for decades is they have rigged the town of Parkfield with lasers and all sorts of high-tech geological equipment. And they've been trying to learn how to forecast or predict a quake.
And, in fact, right now, they sunk a four-kilometer hole into the ground, the scientists in the area, in their further efforts to go ahead and predict a quake. The town itself only has about 36 people. It's just over the county line in Monterrey County, from San Luis Obispo County, very rural area, obviously low-rolling hills.
But one thing that's unique about it, you walk across the town bridge and it is literally bent and warped by all those years of sitting there on the San Andreas Fault and being rocked by quakes.
PHILLIPS: I have to admit -- now, Frank was telling me that quakes of a magnitude 6 have occurred on the Parkfield section of the San Andreas Fault at regular intervals since 1857?
VERCAMMEN: Exactly right. And that's what we were talking about.
And it's been an average of about 22 years. And if you talk to some of the elder residents of Parkfield, they will tell you stories about how all of a sudden the ground just starts shaking. And they're getting, you know, used to these quakes, but there's a big gap between the last one. I think it was 1966.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
VERCAMMEN: So far, out at UC Santa Barbara, they're telling us that this quake today sort of resembles the '66 quake. And obviously they'll explore that later. But this might be a big development for these scientists and geologists who are trying to learn how to forecast quakes.
PHILLIPS: Well, meanwhile, you're the news director there at KEYT. I'm sure you've got your staff working the aftershocks and working the earthquake. Any reports of injuries or structures that have been affected so far?
VERCAMMEN: So far, no. We did hear from people in Shandon that the schools had been, in a sense, evacuated there. I'm not saying that people ran from crumbling buildings. I'm just saying they got the students outside, and they hadn't returned to classrooms as of a little while ago.
Shandon is not on that map that you're showing. But I think it's about, oh, 10 miles due south of Parkfield, maybe a little more than that.
Again, you know, if you want to try to envision what you're looking at for viewers around the world, think of John Steinbeck's "East of Eden." This would be south of there. Again, as I said, low- rolling hills, actually just gorgeous territory, part of rural California. You've got some cattle ranches, you've got some basic farming in that area.
PHILLIPS: Paul Vercammen, also worked here at CNN for a long time. Now news director of KEYT there in Santa Barbara.
You going to keep us updated, Paul?
All right. We're moving on to another view. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much.
Now on the phone from UC Berkeley, not -- not far from where these aftershocks have been taking place, UC Berkeley seismologist Robert Uhrhammer.
First of all, professor, am I pronouncing your name properly? OK, great. Thank you so much for taking our call here, sort of the last minute.
What can you tell us? I don't know if you heard the previous interview with Paul Vercammen about the -- sort of the history behind the Parkfield area, but what can you add to what folks there in central California have been feeling?
ROBERT UHRHAMMER, UNIV. OF CALIF. BERKELEY: Well, I only heard a little bit of what he said, but basically the largest earthquake in the sequence occurred at 10:15 this morning local time. It was a magnitude of 6.0, and there's been about two dozen aftershocks, magnitude 3 and larger.
The earthquake occurred about 15 miles southeast of the 1966 epicenter, and probably on the San Andreas Fault, south of Parkfield. The earthquake is of interest because of its size and location. And obviously, it was widely felt throughout the region over a radius of perhaps 150 miles.
PHILLIPS: Robert Uhrhammer with UC Berkeley, a seismologist there following this quake in central California. Sir, we thank you for your time.
We'll continue to follow that story and see if there's any other developments coming out with regard to any possible structure damage or injuries. So far, no reports of any of that there in Parkfield, California.
Straight ahead, a morning must-have. Coming up next...
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thought you were already paying a latte for your morning coffee addiction? Think again. CNN's LIVE FROM will be steaming up right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, in the past hour, central California got rocked by a pretty strong earthquake. The magnitude 5.9, it struck about -- just about an hour ago, just south of city of Parkfield, California. It could be felt from San Francisco all the way to Los Angeles.
Some 40 aftershocks, we're told, has rocked that region. No immediate reports of damage or injuries right now. But someone who did feel, it someone who also felt that earthquake that hit Paso Robles nine months ago, is Greg Haas. He's a resident of Paso Robles.
Greg, could you even compare what you felt today to nine months ago?
GREG HAAS, PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA: Well, yes, I could compare it. It was -- it felt just as long, but not nearly as violent as the December earthquake. This was more of a rolling earthquake, like you were on a shaking water bed, kind of, except that it's the ground that's moving and not just water.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I could -- I've lived there. I know exactly what you're talking about.
So has any damage to your area -- as we know, the one that came through there nine months ago, there was a lot of damage to where you're living and on the outskirts of where you are. Any reported damage? Can you see any damage from where you are?
HAAS: No. Initially, it felt like there was going to be, but as I -- as I checked with some of my neighbors, they had no damage, I had none. But then as I listened to the radio and was just talking to the -- city hall, they have no reports of damage or emergencies right now. But they're all out mobilized, looking through all the neighborhoods and communities to see if there is any damage that hasn't been reported.
PHILLIPS: Well, so far, so good. Greg Haas, resident there of Paso Robles, reporting to us on how he fit -- or felt, rather, that strong earthquake that hit about an hour ago. So far, no reports of injuries or damage to any structures.
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Aired September 28, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll begin this hour on the shifting earth of central California, a site of several quakes, as you know, and tremors felt as far away as San Francisco and Redwood City, where there were some legal repercussions.
CNN's Ted Rowlands normally covering the Scott Peterson trial felt a little bit of the quake.
Tell us, Ted, what's up?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the Peterson trial here was suspended for -- for about 20 minutes. The judge told everybody to clear the courtroom after this earthquake was felt up here in Redwood City. We're just south of San Francisco in northern California.
The quake was about 200 miles south, centered near Paso Robles. It's actually east of Paso Robles in the epicenter. According to the USGS, is an unpopulated area for the most part.
There has been no report of any injuries or damage of significant nature down there. Folks on the ground there say that it was definitely a rattler. And up here in the courtroom, about 50 percent of the folks in the courtroom felt it.
Our CNN crew who had work space across the street felt it. I was in the courtroom and didn't feel it. So it was about half and half in terms of its intensity up here in northern California. But safe to say, down in the central coast, people got quite a jolt here this morning about a half an hour ago.
PHILLIPS: All right. Ted Rowlands working two stories for us today. Thank you so much.
You mentioned the USGS. We've got Waverly Person on the phone with us now to tell us more about where exactly this quake was felt and possibly some of the effects.
Waverly, what can you tell us?
WAVERLY PERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: It is called the Parkfield earthquake, it is approximately nine miles south of Parkfield. It's in an unpopulated area.
We have no reports of damage or injuries. Felt very widely. I don't know the extent of the felt (ph), but the good thing is we have no reports of damage or injuries at this time.
PHILLIPS: OK. No reports of damage or injury. What about -- there was word that possibly this was felt in some of the same areas, Waverly, as the last quake, possibly Cambria, Paso Robles. Are you able to confirm if the same areas there that...
PERSON: Yes, it was felt in some of those areas. I know it was felt in Paso Robles, yes, it was. But this is not an aftershock from that earthquake.
This is called the Parkfield earthquake, and it's nine miles to the south of Parkfield, California. And we call it the Parkfield earthquake.
PHILLIPS: OK. Waverly Person with the USGS, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow, of course, what they're reporting there as they track where this quake was felt.
Miles O'Brien in Mojave.
Miles, as you know, you've been covering the X Prize. Did you hear it -- did you feel it out in Mojave? Or you've been talking to folks on your blackberry there to see who did get, I guess, a feel while you're out there in California? I know you've been meeting with a lot of different people.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, yes, we've all been scratching our heads trying to figure out why we didn't feel this one. A couple of thoughts.
First of all, it's a fairly long distance away. You know, Mojave is north and to the east of Los Angeles. So we're pretty far south given the epicenter of this particular quake.
And also, given its magnitude, you know, the amplitude increases greatly with each point on the scale. And so this may not have been strong enough for us normally to feel.
I asked around here -- we're here in Mojave, as we just told for you the attempt to win the X Prize tomorrow -- and I asked if anybody felt anything, and the response from one of the X Prize organizers, Eric Lindbergh, who is the great grandson of the great Lindbergh, who, of course, flew the ocean solo, said, "Well, my cell phone just buzzed."
But that's about it. So I think we can say we're safe and sound, at least this far down in Mojave.
Obviously, as you move up north and move to that central part of California, you're going to get different reports. Of course, I just drove through there last night coming down from Monterrey. It's a very, very sparsely populated stretch of California. So I suspect, even if it was a relatively serious earthquake, the damage and potential possibilities of injuries would be limited -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So this is not going to affect what you're doing there?
O'BRIEN: No, no. We're good to go here. They're very excited about the possibility.
And the runway is every bit as intact as it was just a few moments ago. And the organizer there, Peter Diamandis, is worried about much -- many other potential things that could go wrong here tomorrow. Believe me, because what they're about to try is a rather risky endeavor as they try to fly to space in a civilian-built rocket flown by civilians.
PHILLIPS: All right. Miles O'Brien, we'll check in with you a little later on. We'll talk X Prize, we'll talk Mount St. Helens. You've been working two different reports for us.
Meanwhile, we're going to go to Julissa Ortiz. She's a reporter for KCOY. In the area, of course, it's one of our CNN affiliates there in central California.
Julissa, what can you tell us about this quake and where it hit and the effects that it's had so far?
JULISSA ORTIZ, REPORTER, KCOY: Well, it certainly is bringing back some memories of the earthquake that hit our area just nine months ago in December. This was obviously not as strong.
This one was, you know, just about a 6.0. But it was certainly felt here the at station, and we certainly did feel the aftershocks just a few minutes later.
We've been inundated with phone calls already from people that felt it as far south as Santa Barbara. Fortunately, we haven't heard any reports of anybody being injured or damage yet. But certainly it did cause some power outages and a big scare for many people in and around the five cities area. They certainly felt it there as well.
But we are about 100 miles from the epicenter. And it was in Parkfield is where it originally hit, but we certainly did feel it here.
PHILLIPS: What kind of area is Parkfield?
ORTIZ: Parkfield is inland, it's I believe a small area. And not too familiar with it, but I believe it's inland and it's a small area.
PHILLIPS: Not a lot of people living in that area?
ORTIZ: No. No, I don't think so.
PHILLIPS: OK.
ORTIZ: I know I've driven through it several times, but there isn't a whole lot there, I believe.
PHILLIPS: OK. And so you haven't received any calls, say, from Cambia, or Paso Robles, these other areas that were hit pretty hard and received a lot of damage back in December?
ORTIZ: No, we have been putting phone calls out. Of course, you know, lots of phone lines busy.
We did report -- we did hear from Shandon. Shandon is not too far from that epicenter. I believe it's only about 14 miles from there, or nine miles, rather, from Shandon. I know that many of the schools felt it there, and we've been make calls to them. I believe they are probably evacuating those schools as well. But we did get reports from that area.
PHILLIPS: All right. Julissa Ortiz, with CNN affiliate KCOY there, not far from where this quake had hit, a 6.0 earthquake, central California, in an area called Parkfield. So far, no reports of any damages or serious injuries. We'll keep you updated.
We're going to move on to other news now and talk about two individuals. They share a name, an age, a country, and a calling, and a kidnapping. And now Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, from Italy, both working for an aid organization in Baghdad are both free after three grueling weeks of captivity.
CNN's Alessio Vinci checks in from Rome, where the prime minister also announced the women's anxiously-awaited release.
We talked earlier. I know that we have not heard from the young women, Alessio. Have you heard anything from them at this point?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: No, we have not heard from them. The only news that we have to update you, Kyra, is that both Simona Pari and Simona Torretta are expected back here in Rome within the next two hours or so.
We do understand that a government plane has left already yesterday to Kuwait and then to Iraq to pick up the two former hostages, leading us to believe that Italian officials had already a pretty good indication 24 hours ago that the two hostages and two aid workers were going to be freed.
We do not know at this time whether ransom has been paid in order to secure the release. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi thanked the intelligence agencies in Italy which he said we're involved in 16 different negotiations in order to secure their release. But he also thanked the intelligence agencies of neighboring countries of Iraq, including the one of Jordan.
King Abdullah of Jordan was here in Rome today. He was the one yesterday giving an interview to an Italian leading newspaper. He is saying that two aid workers were alive. And again, today, from Kuwait, a newspaper there reporting the news that not only were they alive, but ransom had been paid, and that they were going to be released in a matter of days.
Italian intelligence officials are not confirming to me whether a ransom was being paid. But they said that there was intense negotiations with mediators not just in Kuwait, but throughout the region there. And indeed, the Italian government today celebrating, as well as the thousands and thousands of people who gathered spontaneously outside the homes of the former hostages both here in Rome and in Rimini to the northeast from here.
The parents, the family, relatives of the two hostages are now being brought here to the airport where the two former hostages have now been waiting about two hours' time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci, live from Rome. Thank you so much.
And abducted at gunpoint, one day, freed the next. There were hugs all around in Gaza today after CNN producer Riad Ali was released by his captors. It's not clear who took him, although at one point Ali did say that they belonged to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. That militant group had condemned his abduction. Ali is now headed for a reunion with his family.
With five weeks until the election, our latest poll on the presidential race shows President Bush the clear leader. Among respondents identified as likely voters, Bush leads Kerry by eight percentage points. He's now leading Kerry by 11 percentage points among registered voters. In addition, Bush's approval ratings is the highest since January.
For the Kerry campaign, the Bush lead in the polls puts added importance on the upcoming debates. The first debate this Thursday is to cover foreign policy and homeland security. CNN coverage, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
And now with the latest word from the Kerry campaign, CNN's Frank Buckley, who traveled with Kerry to Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
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FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The new poll numbers coming out in the CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll are pretty tough on John Kerry, especially on what's become the centerpiece of his offensive against President Bush during the past couple of weeks on the issue of Iraq.
This despite fact that a majority of Americans apparently believe that things are going badly there. When asked how things are going for the U.S. in Iraq, only 46 percent say things are going well, while 52 percent say things are going badly. But when those voters were asked who can better handle Iraq, 55 percent say Bush, 41 percent say Kerry.
Of course, Senator Kerry has been criticized over his position on Iraq over the past several months. The Bush-Cheney campaign saying he has been inconsistent on Iraq.
Senator Kerry's campaign says the senator will continue to criticize the president on this issue, but he has also had to play defense in some cases, as he did yesterday during a town hall meeting here in Wisconsin. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president and the Republicans have made it try to look as if John Kerry has your position or their position. I've had one position steady all the way, folks, that I thought we ought to stand up and hold Saddam Hussein accountable, but I thought we ought to do it the right way.
And doing it the right way means having the patience and the maturity to bring allies to our side, to go through diplomacy, to recognize that the United States of America is strongest when we are standing with the rest of the world in a legitimate cause.
BUCKLEY: The Kerry campaign is dismissive of the poll numbers. They say this particular poll is out of sync with other recent polls. They say they are looking forward to the debate on Thursday, and they believe President Bush will be the one who will be on the defensive when it comes to the issue of Iraq.
Frank Buckley, CNN, Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
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PHILLIPS: And like Kerry, President Bush is getting ready for the debate Thursday night. CNN's Elaine Quijano standing by live in Crawford, Texas, where the president is holed up at his ranch, so to speak -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Kyra.
That's right, the president is staying largely out of public view for the most part. However, his spokesman, White House spokesman Scott McClellan, is not. In fact, just a short time ago at a news conference in front of reporters and cameras, the spokesman, Scott McClellan, announcing that the president has a change in his schedule this week.
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SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president will be going to Florida and making a stop to tour some of the area that has been devastated by Hurricane Jeanne. And we will get you those details later this afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the people of Florida during this difficult time, and the other areas that have also been impacted by the hurricanes, including Hurricane Jeanne.
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QUIJANO: Now, that's getting to be a somewhat grim routine for the president. He has already done this before with hurricanes Frances, Charley and Ivan. So this will be the fourth visit the president is making to the state of Florida in order to visit hurricane victims.
Now, as for the debate preparations, over the weekend the president had some formal sessions that included the help of New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, a Republican who played the role of Senator Kerry. Yesterday, the president went on the campaign trail, trying to get some campaign stops in, making two stops, one in Springfield, Ohio, the other in West Chester, Ohio.
Now, while out on the trail, he mocked his opponent, Senator Kerry, saying that the senator could probably debate himself for 90 minutes because of what the president says are his shifting positions on Iraq. Now, already, Bush advisers are playing the expectations game.
They are saying that the president, who has already had three presidential debates under his belt, will hold his own. And they are playing up Senator Kerry's experience, saying that he was a prep school master debater, that his experience in the Senate will certainly serve him well.
As for the pace of this preparation, the aides are saying the president is comfortable with him. They're saying he's relaxed. And now, Kyra, they say it's just a matter of fine-tuning -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, thank you so much.
Well, forget the high price of Texas tea. What about the rising cost of that other dark fluid we need every day? It's the story that puts the bucks in Starbucks ahead in "Biz."
They don't teach survival in school, especially when the schools are still closed. The Sunshine State's students learned some of life's harder lessons after a string of hurricanes.
And years and years and years ago, back when Miles O'Brien was a young lad, he went into the crater of Mount St. Helens. He's going to share the experience with us today as the volcano keeps everyone on high alert again.
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PHILLIPS: Well, as you know, we've been covering this earthquake that we've been reporting on, 6.2 magnitude that hit Parkfield, California. This happened within the past hour.
So far, no reports of injuries or deaths. But we do have a lot to tell you about Parkfield. Actually, a lot of interesting value-add sort of tidbits.
Paul Vercammen, who, believe it or not, we were at the same time struggling reporters back at KEYT in Santa Barbara, he is now the news director, and he is now joining us via telephone to tell us about Parkfield and this earthquake that's hit central California.
Paul, how you doing?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, KEYT: I'm doing very well, Kyra. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about Parkfield. Back when we were young struggling reporters, this is an area that you have been to. Even Frank Buckley called in to me and said, Kyra, you've got to talk about the Parkfield experiment.
VERCAMMEN: It's fascinating. The eyes of certainly geologists throughout California and the United States have been on Parkfield because, starting way back in 1857, Parkfield had a 7.9 magnitude quake. Parkfield sits right on the San Andreas fault.
Then an average of 22 years after, Parkfield had significant quakes. So what's been going on now for decades is they have rigged the town of Parkfield with lasers and all sorts of high-tech geological equipment. And they've been trying to learn how to forecast or predict a quake.
And, in fact, right now, they sunk a four-kilometer hole into the ground, the scientists in the area, in their further efforts to go ahead and predict a quake. The town itself only has about 36 people. It's just over the county line in Monterrey County, from San Luis Obispo County, very rural area, obviously low-rolling hills.
But one thing that's unique about it, you walk across the town bridge and it is literally bent and warped by all those years of sitting there on the San Andreas Fault and being rocked by quakes.
PHILLIPS: I have to admit -- now, Frank was telling me that quakes of a magnitude 6 have occurred on the Parkfield section of the San Andreas Fault at regular intervals since 1857?
VERCAMMEN: Exactly right. And that's what we were talking about.
And it's been an average of about 22 years. And if you talk to some of the elder residents of Parkfield, they will tell you stories about how all of a sudden the ground just starts shaking. And they're getting, you know, used to these quakes, but there's a big gap between the last one. I think it was 1966.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
VERCAMMEN: So far, out at UC Santa Barbara, they're telling us that this quake today sort of resembles the '66 quake. And obviously they'll explore that later. But this might be a big development for these scientists and geologists who are trying to learn how to forecast quakes.
PHILLIPS: Well, meanwhile, you're the news director there at KEYT. I'm sure you've got your staff working the aftershocks and working the earthquake. Any reports of injuries or structures that have been affected so far?
VERCAMMEN: So far, no. We did hear from people in Shandon that the schools had been, in a sense, evacuated there. I'm not saying that people ran from crumbling buildings. I'm just saying they got the students outside, and they hadn't returned to classrooms as of a little while ago.
Shandon is not on that map that you're showing. But I think it's about, oh, 10 miles due south of Parkfield, maybe a little more than that.
Again, you know, if you want to try to envision what you're looking at for viewers around the world, think of John Steinbeck's "East of Eden." This would be south of there. Again, as I said, low- rolling hills, actually just gorgeous territory, part of rural California. You've got some cattle ranches, you've got some basic farming in that area.
PHILLIPS: Paul Vercammen, also worked here at CNN for a long time. Now news director of KEYT there in Santa Barbara.
You going to keep us updated, Paul?
All right. We're moving on to another view. Paul Vercammen, thank you so much.
Now on the phone from UC Berkeley, not -- not far from where these aftershocks have been taking place, UC Berkeley seismologist Robert Uhrhammer.
First of all, professor, am I pronouncing your name properly? OK, great. Thank you so much for taking our call here, sort of the last minute.
What can you tell us? I don't know if you heard the previous interview with Paul Vercammen about the -- sort of the history behind the Parkfield area, but what can you add to what folks there in central California have been feeling?
ROBERT UHRHAMMER, UNIV. OF CALIF. BERKELEY: Well, I only heard a little bit of what he said, but basically the largest earthquake in the sequence occurred at 10:15 this morning local time. It was a magnitude of 6.0, and there's been about two dozen aftershocks, magnitude 3 and larger.
The earthquake occurred about 15 miles southeast of the 1966 epicenter, and probably on the San Andreas Fault, south of Parkfield. The earthquake is of interest because of its size and location. And obviously, it was widely felt throughout the region over a radius of perhaps 150 miles.
PHILLIPS: Robert Uhrhammer with UC Berkeley, a seismologist there following this quake in central California. Sir, we thank you for your time.
We'll continue to follow that story and see if there's any other developments coming out with regard to any possible structure damage or injuries. So far, no reports of any of that there in Parkfield, California.
Straight ahead, a morning must-have. Coming up next...
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thought you were already paying a latte for your morning coffee addiction? Think again. CNN's LIVE FROM will be steaming up right after this break.
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PHILLIPS: Well, in the past hour, central California got rocked by a pretty strong earthquake. The magnitude 5.9, it struck about -- just about an hour ago, just south of city of Parkfield, California. It could be felt from San Francisco all the way to Los Angeles.
Some 40 aftershocks, we're told, has rocked that region. No immediate reports of damage or injuries right now. But someone who did feel, it someone who also felt that earthquake that hit Paso Robles nine months ago, is Greg Haas. He's a resident of Paso Robles.
Greg, could you even compare what you felt today to nine months ago?
GREG HAAS, PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA: Well, yes, I could compare it. It was -- it felt just as long, but not nearly as violent as the December earthquake. This was more of a rolling earthquake, like you were on a shaking water bed, kind of, except that it's the ground that's moving and not just water.
PHILLIPS: Yes. I could -- I've lived there. I know exactly what you're talking about.
So has any damage to your area -- as we know, the one that came through there nine months ago, there was a lot of damage to where you're living and on the outskirts of where you are. Any reported damage? Can you see any damage from where you are?
HAAS: No. Initially, it felt like there was going to be, but as I -- as I checked with some of my neighbors, they had no damage, I had none. But then as I listened to the radio and was just talking to the -- city hall, they have no reports of damage or emergencies right now. But they're all out mobilized, looking through all the neighborhoods and communities to see if there is any damage that hasn't been reported.
PHILLIPS: Well, so far, so good. Greg Haas, resident there of Paso Robles, reporting to us on how he fit -- or felt, rather, that strong earthquake that hit about an hour ago. So far, no reports of injuries or damage to any structures.
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