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Death Toll From Tsunami Stands at 22,000; Al Jazeera Airs New bin Laden Tape
Aired December 27, 2004 - 14:30 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the "News Now", the tsunami disaster. These are the latest pictures from the south coast of India where many towns remain flooded one day after the tsunami slammed ashore. The 6200 people killed in India alone, across South Asia, the death toll stands at more than 22,000.
The U.S. says it expects to spend about $15 million in its initial response to the tsunami disaster. Secretary of State Colin Powell says U.S. disaster teams are on the way to hardest hit areas. Powell says eight Americans are among the dead.
The Arab TV network Al Jazeera has aired a new audiotape from a man claiming to be Osama bin Laden. The speaker says his deputy in Iraq is now Abu Musab Al Zarqawi and that Iraqis should boycott the elections next month. The tape's authenticity has yet to be determined.
A political rematch in Ukraine has Viktor Yushchenko's supporters cheering in the street. Officials say with counting almost complete, he has a commanding lead in the presidential revote, but Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich is refusing to concede defeat. He says he'll go to the supreme court to challenge the results.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: As you've been watching, the loss of life from the tsunami disaster is almost unfathomable. In Southeast Asia, survivors of the huge waves are still in shock. Veronica Pedrosa gives us a closer look at the tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming again, coming again! Bigger!
VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They came without warning. Huge waves as high as five meters sweeping away coastal communities across South Asia. This amateur footage was taken in Thailand, but other images show the scale of the disaster also gripping India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. It's a catastrophe of biblical proportions.
The numbers are staggering. Preliminary assessments alone project more than 20,000 lives lost. Tens of thousands injured and millions made homeless. India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia appear to be worst affected by the after effects of the strongest earthquake in 40 years. The tsunamis it triggered swept across a continent. Government officials of these developing nations are scrambling to coordinate rescue and relief efforts and asking for international help. In Indonesia, this Aceh region is reeling under the double blow of the quake itself, as well as a series of tsunamis. Bodies are scattered in the streets of the provincial capital Banda Aceh. Some 10,000 soldiers have been deployed to the region to help the thousands who survived but who are in desperate need of clean water, food, and shelter.
SUSILO BAMBANG YUCHOHONO, PRESIDENT, INDONESIA (through translator): I'm deeply concerned for what has happened, this natural disaster. I have asked the United Nations to immediately coordinate aid, medicine, food and other emergency matters.
I've also asked the military commander and national police chief to take the necessary action.
PEDROSA: On the other side of the Indian Ocean in low-lying areas Chennai, India, rising sea water flooded the huts of thousands of poor fishermen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Suddenly there were huge waves that hit the shore and people started running around and a lot of women were trapped because they couldn't run, and a lot of children were trapped. About 60 people were supposed to have died. We have never seen anything like this before and really very scared.
PEDROSA: The full extent of the tragedy in India, and across Asia, is not yet known. Communication with many outlying islands and coastal communities has been lost. Counting the casualties and helping the homeless will continue for weeks, maybe months.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, disaster and disease; tsunami victims in Asia are without clean water. Bodies are laying uncovered on beaches and there is concern about water-borne disease like malaria and cholera. CNN Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta has more now on the emerging health problems.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The tsunami may have come and gone but the lingering health concerns will persist for sometime in many regions around this particular area of the world.
First of all, a gruesome thought, but decomposing bodies washing up on beaches. We've talked to health care workers in hospitals out there who say this is a concern for epidemics. They're encouraging these bodies be identified, and either cremated or buried as soon as possible. They can be source of disease. A gruesome thought, no question.
Also, lack of clean water: floodwaters tend to contaminate all the other water supply. It's important to either boil your water or use bottled water for sometime. Chlorine tablets already being passed out to try and decontaminate the water.
Same thing goes for food. Again, food supplies may have been contaminated. Also, there is no electricity. So, you can't refrigerator food. That makes it much more difficult to have the clean, safe food.
In general, there is a lack of sanitary conditions, which will probably persist for sometime. People sleeping out in fields there. We see some of the images. People sleeping out in fields, they don't have shelter. Again, they're going to be an increase in water borne diseases including dysentery, perhaps malaria.
A lot of people being cautioned at this time. Of course, relief efforts already underway. Several of the countries did have existing infrastructures to try and deal with this. India, perhaps one of the best equipped to deal with this. But other countries not so well equipped at all. They had no warning in the infrastructure and the communication suffered, as well.
You can see the United Nations probably going to be sending not only personnel but also supplies to try and combat this. The Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders probably going to be sending personnel out to this part of the world to try and deal with some of the existing health problems.
I may be on the ground there as well within the next couple of days to try to give you firsthand reports of the health care relief going on in that part of the world -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We're going to continue coverage of the tsunami later on in the program. Lot's more to tell you about. But shifting gears, another story, this is kind of breaking as we speak. Is Osama bin Laden trying to subvert Iraq's upcoming elections?
Arabic language network, Al Jazeera aired an audiotape today from a man who claims to be the Al Qaeda leader. On the tape, the speaker says Abu Musab al Zarqawi is bin Laden's deputy in Iraq. And calls for Iraqis to boycott next month's elections.
Although the authenticity of the tape hasn't been verified, CNN Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen joins us to talk about the possible impact. Peter Bergen is someone who has interviewed Osama bin Laden in the past.
Peter, have you had a chance to hear it yet, or have you just read the transcript?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Actually, I've just read the transcript. I would point out that Al Jazeera has had 100 percent scoring rate in terms of authenticating the bin Laden tape. I think it's very unlikely they would put something on that wasn't authentic.
O'BRIEN: All right. So, let's operate under that assumption for just a moment and talk about the potential alliance of Al Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden. Is that a likely scenario?
BERGEN: As you may remember, Miles, about a couple of months ago, Zarqawi announced himself that he was changing the name of his group to include the word Al Qaeda. He previously -- his group the was leading was called Tau We'ed (ph) and now has the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq. So we're seeing it now on both sides.
This tape, from bin Laden, supposedly, from bin Laden indicates that bin Laden's accepted Zarqawi's pledge of allegiance. I think it's kind of a big deal because it means that Zarqawi may be able to exploit Al Qaeda's global resources of money and men.
What it does in terms of the ground reality in Iraq probably doesn't change anything very much, but it is significant in terms of Zarqawi really having more of a global reach. We have seen Zarqawi's people showing up in Germany in the past. If he can plug into the global Al Qaeda network, that is not a good thing.
O'BRIEN: Now, the statement begins with Osama bin Laden saying "I do believe that there is no choice but to accept the Mujaheed Prince (ph), dear brother Abu Musab al Zarqawi. I do believe that there is not choice, that makes it sound as if it's a reluctant alliance.
BERGEN: Well, in the past these groups, Zarqawi and bin Laden have been as much in competition as well as cooperation. We heard evidence in a trial in Germany from a member of Zarqawi's group that Zarqawi was competing for men, for money, for funding with Al Qaeda.
Zarqawi set up a camp in Afghanistan in western Afghanistan, hundreds of miles from the Al Qaeda camps in eastern Afghanistan. So these people have operated, certainly they have the same ultimate objectives, but until recently, there was really no evidence that they were in cahoots. Obviously that has change in the last several months.
O'BRIEN: It is not that long a statement. Let's listen to another excerpt right now.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We ask god to accept this unity and bless it and for all to know the Dear Mujaheed Brother Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is the prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq. So we ask all our organization's brethren to listen to him and obey him and his good deeds.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Peter, just listening to this, reading this, you have the sense that the communication between these two men, is via Al Jazeera. And is there a back channel or not?
BERGEN: Well, you don't really need a back channel. You can go by Al Jazeera, you can also go by the Internet. The last bin Laden statement that we got was via the Internet. And obviously, the whole debate whether Al Jazeera is a good or bad thing is dead now. Because you put these statements out on the Internet, you don't need Al Jazeera anymore.
We're not clear exactly when this tape was made, but it seems certainly the last couple of months. We had another more recent audiotape from bin Laden, which was on the Internet. I think that may even be more recent than this one. This may have been stuck in the pipeline on the way to Al Jazeera.
I would point out to you, Miles, this is by my count number 30 audiotape or videotape from bin Laden or a Ayman al Zawahiri, the number two in Al Qaeda since 9/11. And it continues to be puzzling to me that U.S. intelligence, other intelligence agencies, seem incapable of tracing back the chain of custody of these tapes. After all, that is a sure fire way of finding bin Laden or Ayman Al Zawahiri.
O'BRIEN: Presumably there is a lengthy chain of people who know something about these tapes and their origin. I agree with you, you scratch your head and wonder how 30 could get out without any sort of clue.
BERGEN: Also, so many of these tapes have been given to Al Jazeera. It's not like there's only a limited universe of places they're going to. If not Al Jazeera, they have occasionally gone to other Arab language networks. It seems perhaps there is an incredibly good intelligence gathering operation we're not aware of.
But it seems that the bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri are actually releasing more tapes, rather than less tapes. It seems to me that the pace has accelerated recently where we had an average of one every six weeks, we're now getting ones coming even quicker. So it does seem to me that this is a puzzling kind of omission in terms of actually being able to find these people via the medium of these audio tapes.
O'BRIEN: Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst, thanks for your time.
BERGEN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN has on going coverage of the tsunamis and the recovery efforts all day. Coming up, a family anxiously awaits word from relatives honeymooning in Thailand. We will talk with the groom's sister here in Atlanta.
O'BRIEN: Next, some airline nightmares. And we really mean it. Is there anything customers can do to keep from getting stuck the next time?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Troubles, and we mean big troubles, with two airlines left thousands of passengers stranded or separated. And this time, it had little or nothing to do with the weather. Gary Nuremberg with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was a Christmas weekend where thousands of holiday dreams didn't come true.
SUE KING, DELAYED TRAVELER: We got in line and waited for four hours. So obviously, missed our flight.
NUREMBERG: Sue and Joe King wanted to take 20-month old Hailey to Disney World.
KING: We're on stand by now for a 3:00 p.m. flight.
NUREMBERG (on camera): If that doesn't work?
KING: There is a 7:00 p.m. that we're on stand by for.
NUREMBERG: And if that doesn't work?
KING: Then the next morning, we might be on stand by for that.
NUREMBERG: How happy are you?
KING: Not very happy.
NUREMBERG: The Kings were not alone Delta subsidiary Comair canceled weekend flights because of computer problems, thousands had to scramble. The airline generally carries 30,000 passengers a day. By Sunday afternoon, it had begun to resume a limited schedule.
DON BORNHORST, COMAIR: We're going to continue to grow that improvement with the hopes of being at 100 percent back to normal by mid week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philadelphia is a mess. Completely sold out. It's a mess. Got to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.
NUREMBERG (voice over): US Airways says it had several hundred flight attendants and baggage handlers phone in sick separating an estimated 10,000 passengers from their luggage.
(on camera): By Sunday evening, US Airways claimed to have made great progress in reuniting passengers with their lost luggage. But clearly it still had a long way to go.
And little Hailey King still has a long way to go to make it to Disney World. Her family failed to make it on two stand by flights and call it had quits.
JOE KING, STRANDED TRAVELER: We're going home. We'll just go to Disney World next year.
NUREMBERG: Gary Nuremberg, for CNN at Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: So, if you've ever been left behind at the airport or missed connecting with your luggage, you know how frustrating it is. What do you do? Our next guest, Max Hartshorn says know your rights. He joins us from Springfield, Massachusetts.
Thanks for being with us this afternoon.
MAX HARTSHORN, EDITOR, OWNER, GONOMAD.COM: Thank you, Betty. Nice to be here.
NGUYEN: Wonderful. Let's talk about Comair. They canceled 1100 flights on Christmas Day. Said it was a computer glitch that caused this. What rights do passengers have?
HARTSHORN: Well, it's a tough situation those folks flying on Comair, I feel sorry for them. The sad part is that you really don't have -- if a flight is canceled, you don't have the right to anything more than the next flight or to be -- to get on the next airline. They don't have to compensate you unless they are overbooked, which in the case of Comair was not the case.
NGUYEN: So, because it wasn't overbooked they don't have to compensate these passengers at all for having to stay at the airport for days at a time?
HARTSHORN: Well, their obligation is for when they're overbooked, they need to compensate you, but under the law they're not. It's a tough situation. The situation with Comair was not predicted or able to be changed by anybody. It was obviously an internal thing.
But, no, your rights are basically to get you to where you need to go. So there's some things you should do I guess for the next trip, which would be to remember when you book your flights to think about early morning flight. If you take an early morning flight, it would be less likely to be delayed than say a later flight due to the ripple effect.
Think about the connecting airports that you're going through. If you pick a less congested airport; let's say if you try to avoid a place like LaGuardia or Chicago where there may be more chances of congestion, that will help you, as well. It's one of those things that planning ahead certainly part of the whole game.
NGUYEN: Airlines don't even owe you a free ticket for this?
HARTSHORN: They need to get you where they're going if you're overbooked but again, the situations like this, I do not think there's legal recourse.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about the lost luggage as well because there is -- I want to read you, out of the Associated Press is reporting that in Kentucky, luggage was stacked in rows longer than a football field today. US Airways had a problem with sick calls, therefore baggage handlers weren't there. What are your rights when it comes to lost luggage? HARTSHORN: You're a little better off when it comes to lost luggage. There used to be the Warsaw Convention which allowed to give passengers certain compensation for lost luggage. They have passed the Montreal Convention now that the EU is in effect.
What that means is you have approximately $500 per bag that they are liable to compensate you for. They also improved a little bit on the amount of time they have. They used to have six weeks and now they have 21 days.
But again, the advice I give you is simple. If you have something worth more than $500, I wouldn't check it in a bag but send it with FedEx or UPS. You might want to think about receipts, if you have Christmas presents, especially, keep the receipts. Some people even say if you have valuable items keep the receipts, because you have to prove to the airline the value of those items in the luggage, as opposed to before, they had a little bit more generous compensation but you didn't have to do as many proving. Now the onus is really on the consumer to prove that amount is what you lost.
NGUYEN: Max, let's go back to that $500 per bag. Is that only if they never get your bags to you, or not within the time period that they allot?
HARTSHORN: That is if the bags are never returned to you. There is actually a museum out in -- there's a store out in I believe it was in Pennsylvania or Alabama, where all the lost luggage goes, that is eventually turned over and they actually have a store you can buy items over the long haul after a certain number of -- I believe it's a year -- those items are actually sold in a mall in Alabama.
But you can get compensation for up to $500 and eventually, you know, as you know when you've lost luggage, often times the airline will bring them right to your house. You have a 21-day window, and they have to deal with that and then the compensation would in effect after that.
NGUYEN: So, you get $500 and somebody elsewhere is getting a good deal on your items in that luggage. All right. Besides carry on, bringing everything in a carry on, is there any other way to prevent this?
HARTSHORN: One of the things that's simple would be to have clearly identified tags on your luggage, put your name on the luggage, take off the old tags. If you travel frequently, you might have an EWR, when you're going to DL, on there. Get rid of the old tags, you want to clearly identify your luggage with your name and address.
A lot of people take -- my friend who I travel with -- puts a little pink ribbon on her luggage so she'll know when looking at the carousel, that's her bag. Truthfully sometimes lost luggage is that you picked up the wrong bag. You want to clearly identify your luggage and make sure what's yours is yours.
I also have a red suitcase which I use which is great, because there are not very many red suitcases. They almost all black. NGUYEN: They're all black.
HARTSHORN: Exactly, right.
NGUYEN: Now they'll all have pink ribbons on them thanks to you. All right. Max Hartshorn, with Gonomad. We thank you for your insight today.
HARTSHORN: My pleasure, Betty.
O'BRIEN: I'm trying to find that mall in Alabama. I bet there are some ...
NGUYEN: Get a few deals?
O'BRIEN: Got a few bags there as a matter of fact. Buy them back.
After that, the other after Christmas ritual full of crowds and long lines.
NGUYEN: Did you do your part at the mall? We'll look at where retailers hope to finish the year, we'll take a look at that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Even though Christmas is over, retailers are hoping the Christmas shopping isn't. Sale prices and bargain bins are being used to entice you to get out and spend again. CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Some bargain hunters were out before dawn Sunday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, half off of you know, wrapping and tissue and everything. So you have to have it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People who were there earlier than me who got, you know, you could tell it was picked over.
CHERNOFF: Indeed, analysts say discounted items may go quickly since the majority of retailers were cautious going into the holiday season and ordered modest inventory. For many stores, especially discounters it has been a challenging season. The rising expense of gasoline, medical care, and a job market that's been slow to recover all working against retailers. Now they're hoping post-holiday sales will provide a boost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the best time to really to shop, after Christmas. That's where you buy -- find the best sale and everything. Where I look for my sales after Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything's on sale. Everything.
CHERNOFF: But for luxury retailers, it has been a season of plenty.
DWAYNE DICKSON, SHARPER IMAGE MANAGER: One of the hottest items are massage chairs. Our hyrdo-massage chairs, they're flying out of here.
CHERNOFF: Designer fashion accessories and high-end electronics were popular gifts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a new pocketbook. I got an iPod. What else did I get?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got some Tiffany jewelry.
CHERNOFF: It will be several weeks before retailers report earnings from the holiday season. But at the upscale mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, manager says sales were up about 7 percent from last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cashmere has been really hot. Jewelry is traditionally hot this time of year. Specifically diamond chandelier earrings, leather, shearling coats.
CHERNOFF: The wildcard this season, gift cards. Their huge popularity has retailers hoping consumers will quickly redeem their cards and spend extra when they do so. Another post holiday opportunity for retailers -- Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, some airlines be able to recover from the travel disasters this past weekend?
O'BRIEN: Yes, jeez, if we had a sickout like that, we'd be running the Cartoon Network or something.
NGUYEN: A lot of people would be in big trouble, too.
O'BRIEN: David Haffenreffer on the stock exchange.
What a mess between that and the computers meltdown, like the airlines need this?
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, big mess. We should note, though, Miles, not an organized sickout. But some analysts do think this weekend's trouble could be a harbinger of things to come.
More than 300 US Airways flights were canceled after severe weather grounded planes as well as a record number of baggage handlers, ramp workers, and flight attendants all calling in sick. The airline and the union say the sick calls were not part after organized labor action.
The Department of Transportation will look into the matter itself, though. The damage might as well have been done already. The holiday travel season is a critical time for the struggling airline to show its customers and the bankruptcy court that it can operate properly.
More than 20,000 union workers are facing severe wage and benefit cuts as US Airways tries to stay afloat. And some analysts say other airlines sharply cutting worker pay, could face similar morale problems, which could hurt their operations.
One bit of good news for the airlines, though, oil prices tumbling nearly $3 per barrel right now, and now trading just above the $41 per barrel mark. Despite those declines, the stock market is slightly to the downside. The Dow industrials down by 7.5 points at 10,0819. Nasdaq is down about 0.2 of 1 percent. And that is latest from Wall Street, Betty and Miles back to you.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, David. We're following some big stories today. First the tsunamis, of course, in Asia. We'll bring you the latest from the region, plus the U.S. is ready to send millions in aid.
NGUYEN: And a new audiotape reportedly from Osama bin Laden. It has ties to Iraq. We have those details next.
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 December 27, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the "News Now", the tsunami disaster. These are the latest pictures from the south coast of India where many towns remain flooded one day after the tsunami slammed ashore. The 6200 people killed in India alone, across South Asia, the death toll stands at more than 22,000.
The U.S. says it expects to spend about $15 million in its initial response to the tsunami disaster. Secretary of State Colin Powell says U.S. disaster teams are on the way to hardest hit areas. Powell says eight Americans are among the dead.
The Arab TV network Al Jazeera has aired a new audiotape from a man claiming to be Osama bin Laden. The speaker says his deputy in Iraq is now Abu Musab Al Zarqawi and that Iraqis should boycott the elections next month. The tape's authenticity has yet to be determined.
A political rematch in Ukraine has Viktor Yushchenko's supporters cheering in the street. Officials say with counting almost complete, he has a commanding lead in the presidential revote, but Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich is refusing to concede defeat. He says he'll go to the supreme court to challenge the results.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: As you've been watching, the loss of life from the tsunami disaster is almost unfathomable. In Southeast Asia, survivors of the huge waves are still in shock. Veronica Pedrosa gives us a closer look at the tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming again, coming again! Bigger!
VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They came without warning. Huge waves as high as five meters sweeping away coastal communities across South Asia. This amateur footage was taken in Thailand, but other images show the scale of the disaster also gripping India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Malaysia. It's a catastrophe of biblical proportions.
The numbers are staggering. Preliminary assessments alone project more than 20,000 lives lost. Tens of thousands injured and millions made homeless. India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia appear to be worst affected by the after effects of the strongest earthquake in 40 years. The tsunamis it triggered swept across a continent. Government officials of these developing nations are scrambling to coordinate rescue and relief efforts and asking for international help. In Indonesia, this Aceh region is reeling under the double blow of the quake itself, as well as a series of tsunamis. Bodies are scattered in the streets of the provincial capital Banda Aceh. Some 10,000 soldiers have been deployed to the region to help the thousands who survived but who are in desperate need of clean water, food, and shelter.
SUSILO BAMBANG YUCHOHONO, PRESIDENT, INDONESIA (through translator): I'm deeply concerned for what has happened, this natural disaster. I have asked the United Nations to immediately coordinate aid, medicine, food and other emergency matters.
I've also asked the military commander and national police chief to take the necessary action.
PEDROSA: On the other side of the Indian Ocean in low-lying areas Chennai, India, rising sea water flooded the huts of thousands of poor fishermen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Suddenly there were huge waves that hit the shore and people started running around and a lot of women were trapped because they couldn't run, and a lot of children were trapped. About 60 people were supposed to have died. We have never seen anything like this before and really very scared.
PEDROSA: The full extent of the tragedy in India, and across Asia, is not yet known. Communication with many outlying islands and coastal communities has been lost. Counting the casualties and helping the homeless will continue for weeks, maybe months.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, disaster and disease; tsunami victims in Asia are without clean water. Bodies are laying uncovered on beaches and there is concern about water-borne disease like malaria and cholera. CNN Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta has more now on the emerging health problems.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The tsunami may have come and gone but the lingering health concerns will persist for sometime in many regions around this particular area of the world.
First of all, a gruesome thought, but decomposing bodies washing up on beaches. We've talked to health care workers in hospitals out there who say this is a concern for epidemics. They're encouraging these bodies be identified, and either cremated or buried as soon as possible. They can be source of disease. A gruesome thought, no question.
Also, lack of clean water: floodwaters tend to contaminate all the other water supply. It's important to either boil your water or use bottled water for sometime. Chlorine tablets already being passed out to try and decontaminate the water.
Same thing goes for food. Again, food supplies may have been contaminated. Also, there is no electricity. So, you can't refrigerator food. That makes it much more difficult to have the clean, safe food.
In general, there is a lack of sanitary conditions, which will probably persist for sometime. People sleeping out in fields there. We see some of the images. People sleeping out in fields, they don't have shelter. Again, they're going to be an increase in water borne diseases including dysentery, perhaps malaria.
A lot of people being cautioned at this time. Of course, relief efforts already underway. Several of the countries did have existing infrastructures to try and deal with this. India, perhaps one of the best equipped to deal with this. But other countries not so well equipped at all. They had no warning in the infrastructure and the communication suffered, as well.
You can see the United Nations probably going to be sending not only personnel but also supplies to try and combat this. The Red Cross and Red Crescent, Doctors Without Borders probably going to be sending personnel out to this part of the world to try and deal with some of the existing health problems.
I may be on the ground there as well within the next couple of days to try to give you firsthand reports of the health care relief going on in that part of the world -- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: We're going to continue coverage of the tsunami later on in the program. Lot's more to tell you about. But shifting gears, another story, this is kind of breaking as we speak. Is Osama bin Laden trying to subvert Iraq's upcoming elections?
Arabic language network, Al Jazeera aired an audiotape today from a man who claims to be the Al Qaeda leader. On the tape, the speaker says Abu Musab al Zarqawi is bin Laden's deputy in Iraq. And calls for Iraqis to boycott next month's elections.
Although the authenticity of the tape hasn't been verified, CNN Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen joins us to talk about the possible impact. Peter Bergen is someone who has interviewed Osama bin Laden in the past.
Peter, have you had a chance to hear it yet, or have you just read the transcript?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Actually, I've just read the transcript. I would point out that Al Jazeera has had 100 percent scoring rate in terms of authenticating the bin Laden tape. I think it's very unlikely they would put something on that wasn't authentic.
O'BRIEN: All right. So, let's operate under that assumption for just a moment and talk about the potential alliance of Al Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden. Is that a likely scenario?
BERGEN: As you may remember, Miles, about a couple of months ago, Zarqawi announced himself that he was changing the name of his group to include the word Al Qaeda. He previously -- his group the was leading was called Tau We'ed (ph) and now has the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq. So we're seeing it now on both sides.
This tape, from bin Laden, supposedly, from bin Laden indicates that bin Laden's accepted Zarqawi's pledge of allegiance. I think it's kind of a big deal because it means that Zarqawi may be able to exploit Al Qaeda's global resources of money and men.
What it does in terms of the ground reality in Iraq probably doesn't change anything very much, but it is significant in terms of Zarqawi really having more of a global reach. We have seen Zarqawi's people showing up in Germany in the past. If he can plug into the global Al Qaeda network, that is not a good thing.
O'BRIEN: Now, the statement begins with Osama bin Laden saying "I do believe that there is no choice but to accept the Mujaheed Prince (ph), dear brother Abu Musab al Zarqawi. I do believe that there is not choice, that makes it sound as if it's a reluctant alliance.
BERGEN: Well, in the past these groups, Zarqawi and bin Laden have been as much in competition as well as cooperation. We heard evidence in a trial in Germany from a member of Zarqawi's group that Zarqawi was competing for men, for money, for funding with Al Qaeda.
Zarqawi set up a camp in Afghanistan in western Afghanistan, hundreds of miles from the Al Qaeda camps in eastern Afghanistan. So these people have operated, certainly they have the same ultimate objectives, but until recently, there was really no evidence that they were in cahoots. Obviously that has change in the last several months.
O'BRIEN: It is not that long a statement. Let's listen to another excerpt right now.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We ask god to accept this unity and bless it and for all to know the Dear Mujaheed Brother Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is the prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq. So we ask all our organization's brethren to listen to him and obey him and his good deeds.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Peter, just listening to this, reading this, you have the sense that the communication between these two men, is via Al Jazeera. And is there a back channel or not?
BERGEN: Well, you don't really need a back channel. You can go by Al Jazeera, you can also go by the Internet. The last bin Laden statement that we got was via the Internet. And obviously, the whole debate whether Al Jazeera is a good or bad thing is dead now. Because you put these statements out on the Internet, you don't need Al Jazeera anymore.
We're not clear exactly when this tape was made, but it seems certainly the last couple of months. We had another more recent audiotape from bin Laden, which was on the Internet. I think that may even be more recent than this one. This may have been stuck in the pipeline on the way to Al Jazeera.
I would point out to you, Miles, this is by my count number 30 audiotape or videotape from bin Laden or a Ayman al Zawahiri, the number two in Al Qaeda since 9/11. And it continues to be puzzling to me that U.S. intelligence, other intelligence agencies, seem incapable of tracing back the chain of custody of these tapes. After all, that is a sure fire way of finding bin Laden or Ayman Al Zawahiri.
O'BRIEN: Presumably there is a lengthy chain of people who know something about these tapes and their origin. I agree with you, you scratch your head and wonder how 30 could get out without any sort of clue.
BERGEN: Also, so many of these tapes have been given to Al Jazeera. It's not like there's only a limited universe of places they're going to. If not Al Jazeera, they have occasionally gone to other Arab language networks. It seems perhaps there is an incredibly good intelligence gathering operation we're not aware of.
But it seems that the bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri are actually releasing more tapes, rather than less tapes. It seems to me that the pace has accelerated recently where we had an average of one every six weeks, we're now getting ones coming even quicker. So it does seem to me that this is a puzzling kind of omission in terms of actually being able to find these people via the medium of these audio tapes.
O'BRIEN: Peter Bergen, our terrorism analyst, thanks for your time.
BERGEN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN has on going coverage of the tsunamis and the recovery efforts all day. Coming up, a family anxiously awaits word from relatives honeymooning in Thailand. We will talk with the groom's sister here in Atlanta.
O'BRIEN: Next, some airline nightmares. And we really mean it. Is there anything customers can do to keep from getting stuck the next time?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Troubles, and we mean big troubles, with two airlines left thousands of passengers stranded or separated. And this time, it had little or nothing to do with the weather. Gary Nuremberg with details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was a Christmas weekend where thousands of holiday dreams didn't come true.
SUE KING, DELAYED TRAVELER: We got in line and waited for four hours. So obviously, missed our flight.
NUREMBERG: Sue and Joe King wanted to take 20-month old Hailey to Disney World.
KING: We're on stand by now for a 3:00 p.m. flight.
NUREMBERG (on camera): If that doesn't work?
KING: There is a 7:00 p.m. that we're on stand by for.
NUREMBERG: And if that doesn't work?
KING: Then the next morning, we might be on stand by for that.
NUREMBERG: How happy are you?
KING: Not very happy.
NUREMBERG: The Kings were not alone Delta subsidiary Comair canceled weekend flights because of computer problems, thousands had to scramble. The airline generally carries 30,000 passengers a day. By Sunday afternoon, it had begun to resume a limited schedule.
DON BORNHORST, COMAIR: We're going to continue to grow that improvement with the hopes of being at 100 percent back to normal by mid week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Philadelphia is a mess. Completely sold out. It's a mess. Got to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.
NUREMBERG (voice over): US Airways says it had several hundred flight attendants and baggage handlers phone in sick separating an estimated 10,000 passengers from their luggage.
(on camera): By Sunday evening, US Airways claimed to have made great progress in reuniting passengers with their lost luggage. But clearly it still had a long way to go.
And little Hailey King still has a long way to go to make it to Disney World. Her family failed to make it on two stand by flights and call it had quits.
JOE KING, STRANDED TRAVELER: We're going home. We'll just go to Disney World next year.
NUREMBERG: Gary Nuremberg, for CNN at Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: So, if you've ever been left behind at the airport or missed connecting with your luggage, you know how frustrating it is. What do you do? Our next guest, Max Hartshorn says know your rights. He joins us from Springfield, Massachusetts.
Thanks for being with us this afternoon.
MAX HARTSHORN, EDITOR, OWNER, GONOMAD.COM: Thank you, Betty. Nice to be here.
NGUYEN: Wonderful. Let's talk about Comair. They canceled 1100 flights on Christmas Day. Said it was a computer glitch that caused this. What rights do passengers have?
HARTSHORN: Well, it's a tough situation those folks flying on Comair, I feel sorry for them. The sad part is that you really don't have -- if a flight is canceled, you don't have the right to anything more than the next flight or to be -- to get on the next airline. They don't have to compensate you unless they are overbooked, which in the case of Comair was not the case.
NGUYEN: So, because it wasn't overbooked they don't have to compensate these passengers at all for having to stay at the airport for days at a time?
HARTSHORN: Well, their obligation is for when they're overbooked, they need to compensate you, but under the law they're not. It's a tough situation. The situation with Comair was not predicted or able to be changed by anybody. It was obviously an internal thing.
But, no, your rights are basically to get you to where you need to go. So there's some things you should do I guess for the next trip, which would be to remember when you book your flights to think about early morning flight. If you take an early morning flight, it would be less likely to be delayed than say a later flight due to the ripple effect.
Think about the connecting airports that you're going through. If you pick a less congested airport; let's say if you try to avoid a place like LaGuardia or Chicago where there may be more chances of congestion, that will help you, as well. It's one of those things that planning ahead certainly part of the whole game.
NGUYEN: Airlines don't even owe you a free ticket for this?
HARTSHORN: They need to get you where they're going if you're overbooked but again, the situations like this, I do not think there's legal recourse.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about the lost luggage as well because there is -- I want to read you, out of the Associated Press is reporting that in Kentucky, luggage was stacked in rows longer than a football field today. US Airways had a problem with sick calls, therefore baggage handlers weren't there. What are your rights when it comes to lost luggage? HARTSHORN: You're a little better off when it comes to lost luggage. There used to be the Warsaw Convention which allowed to give passengers certain compensation for lost luggage. They have passed the Montreal Convention now that the EU is in effect.
What that means is you have approximately $500 per bag that they are liable to compensate you for. They also improved a little bit on the amount of time they have. They used to have six weeks and now they have 21 days.
But again, the advice I give you is simple. If you have something worth more than $500, I wouldn't check it in a bag but send it with FedEx or UPS. You might want to think about receipts, if you have Christmas presents, especially, keep the receipts. Some people even say if you have valuable items keep the receipts, because you have to prove to the airline the value of those items in the luggage, as opposed to before, they had a little bit more generous compensation but you didn't have to do as many proving. Now the onus is really on the consumer to prove that amount is what you lost.
NGUYEN: Max, let's go back to that $500 per bag. Is that only if they never get your bags to you, or not within the time period that they allot?
HARTSHORN: That is if the bags are never returned to you. There is actually a museum out in -- there's a store out in I believe it was in Pennsylvania or Alabama, where all the lost luggage goes, that is eventually turned over and they actually have a store you can buy items over the long haul after a certain number of -- I believe it's a year -- those items are actually sold in a mall in Alabama.
But you can get compensation for up to $500 and eventually, you know, as you know when you've lost luggage, often times the airline will bring them right to your house. You have a 21-day window, and they have to deal with that and then the compensation would in effect after that.
NGUYEN: So, you get $500 and somebody elsewhere is getting a good deal on your items in that luggage. All right. Besides carry on, bringing everything in a carry on, is there any other way to prevent this?
HARTSHORN: One of the things that's simple would be to have clearly identified tags on your luggage, put your name on the luggage, take off the old tags. If you travel frequently, you might have an EWR, when you're going to DL, on there. Get rid of the old tags, you want to clearly identify your luggage with your name and address.
A lot of people take -- my friend who I travel with -- puts a little pink ribbon on her luggage so she'll know when looking at the carousel, that's her bag. Truthfully sometimes lost luggage is that you picked up the wrong bag. You want to clearly identify your luggage and make sure what's yours is yours.
I also have a red suitcase which I use which is great, because there are not very many red suitcases. They almost all black. NGUYEN: They're all black.
HARTSHORN: Exactly, right.
NGUYEN: Now they'll all have pink ribbons on them thanks to you. All right. Max Hartshorn, with Gonomad. We thank you for your insight today.
HARTSHORN: My pleasure, Betty.
O'BRIEN: I'm trying to find that mall in Alabama. I bet there are some ...
NGUYEN: Get a few deals?
O'BRIEN: Got a few bags there as a matter of fact. Buy them back.
After that, the other after Christmas ritual full of crowds and long lines.
NGUYEN: Did you do your part at the mall? We'll look at where retailers hope to finish the year, we'll take a look at that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Even though Christmas is over, retailers are hoping the Christmas shopping isn't. Sale prices and bargain bins are being used to entice you to get out and spend again. CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Some bargain hunters were out before dawn Sunday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, half off of you know, wrapping and tissue and everything. So you have to have it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People who were there earlier than me who got, you know, you could tell it was picked over.
CHERNOFF: Indeed, analysts say discounted items may go quickly since the majority of retailers were cautious going into the holiday season and ordered modest inventory. For many stores, especially discounters it has been a challenging season. The rising expense of gasoline, medical care, and a job market that's been slow to recover all working against retailers. Now they're hoping post-holiday sales will provide a boost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the best time to really to shop, after Christmas. That's where you buy -- find the best sale and everything. Where I look for my sales after Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything's on sale. Everything.
CHERNOFF: But for luxury retailers, it has been a season of plenty.
DWAYNE DICKSON, SHARPER IMAGE MANAGER: One of the hottest items are massage chairs. Our hyrdo-massage chairs, they're flying out of here.
CHERNOFF: Designer fashion accessories and high-end electronics were popular gifts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a new pocketbook. I got an iPod. What else did I get?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiffany.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got some Tiffany jewelry.
CHERNOFF: It will be several weeks before retailers report earnings from the holiday season. But at the upscale mall at Short Hills in New Jersey, manager says sales were up about 7 percent from last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cashmere has been really hot. Jewelry is traditionally hot this time of year. Specifically diamond chandelier earrings, leather, shearling coats.
CHERNOFF: The wildcard this season, gift cards. Their huge popularity has retailers hoping consumers will quickly redeem their cards and spend extra when they do so. Another post holiday opportunity for retailers -- Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, some airlines be able to recover from the travel disasters this past weekend?
O'BRIEN: Yes, jeez, if we had a sickout like that, we'd be running the Cartoon Network or something.
NGUYEN: A lot of people would be in big trouble, too.
O'BRIEN: David Haffenreffer on the stock exchange.
What a mess between that and the computers meltdown, like the airlines need this?
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, big mess. We should note, though, Miles, not an organized sickout. But some analysts do think this weekend's trouble could be a harbinger of things to come.
More than 300 US Airways flights were canceled after severe weather grounded planes as well as a record number of baggage handlers, ramp workers, and flight attendants all calling in sick. The airline and the union say the sick calls were not part after organized labor action.
The Department of Transportation will look into the matter itself, though. The damage might as well have been done already. The holiday travel season is a critical time for the struggling airline to show its customers and the bankruptcy court that it can operate properly.
More than 20,000 union workers are facing severe wage and benefit cuts as US Airways tries to stay afloat. And some analysts say other airlines sharply cutting worker pay, could face similar morale problems, which could hurt their operations.
One bit of good news for the airlines, though, oil prices tumbling nearly $3 per barrel right now, and now trading just above the $41 per barrel mark. Despite those declines, the stock market is slightly to the downside. The Dow industrials down by 7.5 points at 10,0819. Nasdaq is down about 0.2 of 1 percent. And that is latest from Wall Street, Betty and Miles back to you.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, David. We're following some big stories today. First the tsunamis, of course, in Asia. We'll bring you the latest from the region, plus the U.S. is ready to send millions in aid.
NGUYEN: And a new audiotape reportedly from Osama bin Laden. It has ties to Iraq. We have those details next.
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