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Families Search for Missing After Tsunamis; Doctors Strive to Provide Medical Care for Survivors; Massive Relief Operation Underway
Aired December 28, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Helping the survivors: international aid trickles in. The U.S. promises to send Marines. We have live updates on the huge humanitarian crisis.
And the science of tsunamis. We will take you live to an Oregon lab where they simulate the destructive waves to better understand how to protect against them.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
NGUYEN: We will go to Asia in just a moment. But we begin in the rubble of what had been a two-story building in Ramsey, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities. Take a look at this video.
Authorities tell us four people are still unaccounted for after an explosion that may have resulted from a natural gas leak. That has not been confirmed, nor do we know how many people have been hurt or even killed.
First responders are all over the scene, and we will bring you updates as we get them.
O'BRIEN: And now, the fallout from the tsunami. The eyes and hearts of the world remain riveted on the crushing disaster on the Indian Ocean rim. More than 2 1/2 days after death came from the sea, as one survivor put it, the enormity of the situation is still becoming clearer by the hour.
By CNN's count, more than 33,000 are known dead, more than half of those from Sri Lanka. The confirmed death toll in India tops 9,000, but many believe the true figure is more than 13,000. Almost 5,000 are known dead in Indonesia. Officials there fear they'll find several times that many when they get a good look at the hardest hit province.
Aid is being promised and/or delivered by the U.N., the Red Cross, European Union and at least 20 individual countries.
The same U.N. official who yesterday accused rich countries of being stingy in foreign aid today is hailing what he calls overwhelming generosity towards tsunami victims. And through it all, countless families grieve, pray, fear or in some cases celebrate, as in the specific case of a Swedish toddler who turned up alone in a Thai hospital.
We get his story from CNN's Matthew Chance on Phuket Island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gasping for breath and alone. Nurses in this Phuket hospital call him Boo-boo, but his real name is lost, like his parents, in the chaos of this tragedy. Bruised and scratched, he was found half drowned and in shock. They don't even know what country he's from.
"When he's around people he gets upset, even angry," his nurse tells us. "When he's alone or with me, he just sits."
Outside the town hall in Phuket, faces of the dead and the missing are pinned to notice boards. As the waters have receded, desperation is swamping this holiday paradise.
Families like the Johnsons from Sweden have flown in to find their missing daughter.
BIRGET JOHNSON, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: Yes, she was supposed to be here. And we were sitting home and only to see on the television so we have to be here and see what we can do if we can find her or figure out what happened to her.
CHANCE (on camera): These are still early days in this disaster without precedence. Across the region casualty figures and the numbers of missing are still rising.
Yet, amid all of this tragedy, for some at least, there is still hope.
(voice-over) For them it's a miracle, but this is one family at least reunited. After a frantic search, Boo-boo is back in the arms of his grandmother.
"His real name is Hannes, she tells me." His father alive in hospital. Hours later, Hannes and his dad are together again, but his mother is still missing. A moment of joy tinged with terrible loss.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Phuket, Thailand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: In Sri Lanka a spokesman for the president there says entire families have been wiped out. Adding urgency to relief operations are predictions from the World Health Organization that disease can now kill as many people as the tsunamis did.
CNN's Hugh Rimington has the latest now from the Sri Lankan capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The death toll from the Sri Lankan element of the tsunami disaster has risen in the last few hours. It now officially stands at just over 18,000, according to Sri Lankan authorities on this island nation. And the authorities say it is likely to rise to 22,000 to 25,000.
(voice-over) We understand that up to 1,000 people died in a single incident. This was a train of eight carriages heading south from capital, Colombo, to the tourism city of Galle. It was struck alongside -- full on the broadside by this tsunami. The track itself was turned over. The train was smashed into the ground.
Police and medical authorities believe all thousand people on board that train are dead. Now, certainly either dead or missing.
Across the country, hospitals are being manned now by doctors who have been flown in from the capital, Colombo. Colombo's hospitals have been stripped of many of their medical staff to be air lifted into these hospitals.
When they get there they discover places where the buildings are often shattered. There is no fresh water. There is no electricity. There is an overwhelming demand.
The doctors themselves apparently are under such conditions that within two days most of them now are being spelled out so that they can be relieved by other doctors.
In terms of the medical emergency, there are a lot of people turning up now with respiratory difficulties, having inhaled water that's now leading to pneumonia. They say their most urgent need now are antibiotics and painkillers.
This is Hugh Rimington in Colombo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All over the world families are desperately waiting for word on sons and daughters, cousins, parents and siblings who were in the path of that killer wave and haven't been heard from since.
A case in point is Aaron Davis, a young American who moved to Thailand to teach English and who planned to spend the holidays teaching Tae Kwon Do at Thai resorts. He last spoke to his mother on Christmas Eve.
Edna Rainet was a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDNA RAINET, MOTHER OF MISSING TEACHER: We have a number of relatives all over the country that he e-mailed from time to time. And they're constantly e-mailing him at the school, plus, you know anywhere that, you know, that they think that, you know, he could have been that he -- that they have e-mail addresses. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Many such families are turning to CNN.com to solicit word on missing loved ones, and we will hear more about that at the bottom of this hour of LIVE FROM.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned the U.N. and Red Cross are spearheading relief operations that almost certainly will be unprecedented in human history. Already, some 20 countries are mounting their own efforts and among them India, which itself lost thousands of people.
More now on the big picture from CNN's Robin Curnow, joining us now from London.
ROBIN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there.
Well, this is an international relief operation on a scale never seen before, says the United Nations. If you think about it, 10 countries, tens of thousands of people dead. Millions more homeless, have lost their livelihood if not their families and close friends.
Also, of course, concerns now about further dangers threatening these people, water-borne diseases.
So with all this in mind, the international community is facing challenges it's never faced before. As we speak, hundreds of planes, says the United Nations, are making their way towards southeast Asia, carrying on these cargo planes sanitation equipment, water purification systems, food, medicine, doctors, as much as countries, aid agencies and the U.N. can give to this very, very ravaged subcontinent -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: It's a staggering task, Robin. Do you have a sense in talking to some of these aid agencies what the biggest logistical challenge is right now?
CURNOW: You know, Miles, I think the biggest logistical challenge is the logistics, essentially, the coordination of this.
We've never seen something like this. The one aid agency person I spoke to earlier today said, you know, the biggest challenge they faced so far was in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide when they had 1.5 million people moving in a two-week period. That was the biggest they've dealt with.
Now like I've said earlier, I mean, we're talking ten countries here, entire regions. So in terms of the magnitude they haven't dealt with it and it's the coordination that's important. How do the different countries from Australia to South Africa to Kenya, to the United States, to Sweden, all coordinate their effort?
Now, the United Nations is taking a lead on this, but, of course, it's a massive, massive job and that's what people are saying. This has got to work. It's got to be coordinated properly, because you cannot have full aid agencies all supplying, say, water sanitation equipment but not enough medicine. So there really needs to be a very clear coordination, and that is the job of the United Nations. And it's going to be a very big challenge in the weeks ahead, Miles.
O'BRIEN: I should say so, and when you compound that with the fact that the place that is in such dire need lacks all the infrastructure to keep that communication flowing, you've got a huge problem.
CURNOW: Absolutely, there's no communications. All the telephones are down. We're talking about infrastructures. Across some areas, we still don't know just what the devastation is in some areas. They're completely inaccessible.
So getting to these areas, getting to these people in some areas of Indonesia really is going to be a problem. But as I said, there are planes, cargo planes, really coming from all four corners of the world offering their assistance.
Now, in terms of that basic necessity, there's also money. And the aid agencies, the United Nations, are saying people must donate and pledge as much money as they can, because it's going to cost billions and billions of dollars to help these people in the coming weeks and years.
O'BRIEN: All right. Robin Curnow in London, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
We're just getting word that the Pentagon is gearing up to send ships, helicopters and hundreds of troops to Thailand as a base of operations for the humanitarian aid effort there. An array of options and forces is under consideration and a final plan of action is still pending, however.
Already the U.S. had pledged $15 million as an initial contribution to disaster relief. And the U.S. secretary of state had taken umbrage at a U.N. official's characterization of wealthy countries as "stingy" in general when it comes to foreign aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States is not stingy. We are the greatest contributor to international relief efforts in the world. We do more to help people who are suffering from lack of food or who are in poverty or suffering from HIV/AIDS. And this administration has a particularly good regard in increasing the amount of assistance that we give to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So how much is enough, however? We'll hear a debate on the relative greed or generosity of the haves toward the have-nots in the next hour of LIVE FROM -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Sri Lanka and nearby nations in the disaster zone may soon receive more of what they need least, and that's rain in the flooded areas. We get the latest now from CNN's Orelon Sidney in the weather center.
Mother Nature is not helping out now, Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Orelon Sidney. Thank you for that -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: We have correspondents throughout the region covering the tsunamis. A little later this hour, we'll take you to Indonesia, one of the countries hardest hit, where an area once closed to foreigners is now opening up to aid workers.
Also ahead, looking for the lost. We'll show you how friends and relatives are turning to the Internet, including CNN.com, to locate loved ones.
And just ahead, escalating violence ahead of the Iraqi elections. We'll take you live to Baghdad. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Insurgent attacks in Iraq are escalating as the days dwindle to next month's landmark election. At least 23 people were killed in a series of attacks on security forces today alone.
CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us now with Baghdad with the developments.
Jeff, what's the latest?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, the latest is the insurgents seem to be attacking at will and with impunity. In the town of Tikrit, former President Saddam Hussein's stronghold, insurgents calmly fired an RPG, rocket-propelled grenade, into a police station then walked in and executed all 12 policemen, including three commanders.
In the town of Baqubah, also in the Sunni Triangle, Iraqi National Guardsmen on routine patrol ran over an improvised explosive device, or IED. That device exploded, injuring three.
While their colleagues got out to help them they noticed another IED that hadn't exploded. They cordoned off the area, called for help and as they were trying to defuse it, a suicide bomber rammed into them, killing six, wounding 26.
Here in Baghdad a suicide bomber calmly sat in his vehicle as a convoy carrying the commander of the Iraqi National Guard passed by. The convoy did pass by, and the bomb exploded. But he was uninjured.
It shows that there's a stepped up campaign, but it's not just confined to Baghdad, Betty. It seems to be across the country.
NGUYEN: Jeff, yesterday we heard an audiotape by Osama bin laden, urging Iraqis to join with the insurgency. Any connection between that and these attacks that we're seeing today?
KOINANGE: It's too soon to tell, Betty, but we can tell you this: Zarqawi on his own was a deadly force. You combine him with bin Laden's al Qaeda, it becomes a deadly cocktail.
It's got to be a challenge not just for the Iraqi forces on the ground, but also for the coalition forces in the run-up to the January 30 election, Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Jeff Koinange in Baghdad for us today. Thank you, Jeff -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: News around the world now.
Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko are celebrating his victory in a rerun of that contested presidential election in Ukraine. Final preliminary numbers show Yushchenko won by more than two million votes.
His opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, is refusing to concede, preventing Ukraine from officially declaring Yushchenko, the winner.
And two Hamas militants survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Gaza today. Palestinian security sources say an Israeli drone fired a missile at a scar carrying two Hamas members. The men managed to escape.
Israel says they were involved in a recent attack on Jewish settlements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, a woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and stealing her baby due in court this afternoon. We're live from the federal courthouse.
Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at a reconstruction effort in the billions of dollars.
O'BRIEN: Responding to an overwhelming disaster. Who will pick up the tab to rebuild devastated areas?
And also later on LIVE FROM, the science of tsunamis. American researchers trying to prepare the U.S. coastline for a possible strike. We'll have a live demonstration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Live pictures now, courtesy of our affiliate KARE in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
You're looking at what remains of a two-story commercial building, a small one, in Ramsey Minnesota, about 15 miles northwest of Minneapolis, St. Paul. Dozens of firefightera on the scene there, meticulously going through the wreckage of that building.
Now let's go to tape as the camera does a pan there. But what happened there was apparently a gas explosion. One survivor has been pulled from that rubble there and air lifted to a hospital. No details on whether there are -- whether anyone else is underneath the rubble.
Apparently, it was some sort of commercial real estate office, and a gas explosion. It's suspected gas has been shut off in that general area, and the rescue effort continues in Ramsey, Minnesota. We're tracking it for you.
In a matter of hours the woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and ripping her baby from her womb is to make her first court appearance in Kansas City. Lisa Montgomery is to go before a federal judge in Kansas City, Missouri. That's where we find CNN's Keith Oppenheim -- Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
It should be just two hours from now that this hearing gets under way. And what we expect will take place is that Judge Lofner (ph) from the federal court will appoint attorneys for the defendant, Lisa Montgomery. And he'll also try to make sure that she understands what she has been accused of doing: killing a pregnant mother and stealing an unborn baby.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The federal charge Lisa Montgomery faces is called kidnapping resulting in death.
TODD GRAVES, U.S. ATTORNEY: That is a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison with parole or the possibility of a death penalty in the appropriate case.
OPPENHEIM: On December 16, police say Montgomery came to the home of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in Skidmore, Missouri, posing as a buyer of rat terriers, dogs that Stinnett raised.
Instead, authorities say, Montgomery strangled Stinnett and cut the 8-month-old fetus from the mother's womb. The mother died. The baby survived and by next day was found by investigators at Montgomery's home in Melvern, Kansas, 170 miles away.
KEVIN MONTGOMERY, SUSPECT'S HUSBAND: That was a precious baby. I know.
OPPENHEIM: Her husband, Kevin, expressed remorse and disbelief. Investigators say he thought his wife was pregnant, that she had given birth at a Topeka, Kansas, clinic. But her ex-husband claims Montgomery often faked pregnancies and accused her of lying.
CARL BOMAN, MONTGOMERY'S EX-HUSBAND: Anything that they are saying in the media, that you know, she had lost a baby within the last six months, she had a miscarriage or she delivered anything, it's all a lie.
OPPENHEIM: As police and relatives of Lisa Montgomery and Bobbie Jo Stinnett sort through lies and seek the truth, there is still a fundamental question, why? What, as police allege, might have caused a mother of four to kill for another child?
GARY DESKINS, MELVERN, KANSAS, RESIDENT: I think it probably goes back, maybe, to childhood. Who knows? I don't think it just happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: Miles, there will be another hearing this week, a detention hearing on Thursday, during which it's possible that her attorneys could argue that Lisa Montgomery should be released on bond. Although that's certainly not a likelihood, when you consider the fact that prosecutors say they haven't decided whether they will seek the death penalty in this case.
Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: Keith, in talking to her attorneys, do you have any sense if they have formed sort of a tack, a line of reasoning for their defense? Or is it too early to say?
OPPENHEIM: It's too early because she's just getting them today. That's really the reason for this hearing today. There's been a change of federal jurisdiction from Kansas to Missouri. They're really just getting started here in Missouri. She'll have a couple of days to start with her attorneys to work out the strategy you're referring to.
O'BRIEN: And, can you give us a sense, do we have any indication, any reports from inside prison as to her state of mind right now?
OPPENHEIM: No, I think what we're really still trying to get a sense of is what is the background motivation to what caused her to do this. It was her ex-husband who believed that she had faked pregnancies all along and doesn't buy the idea that she was depressed over a reported miscarriage.
So that's really the very unanswered question in this horrible story, which is what caused her to do it?
O'BRIEN: And just a quick final thought: the baby is doing fine, right?
OPPENHEIM: The baby is OK with Dad. Her name is Victoria Jo, and with her father, Zeb Stinnett.
O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in Kansas City, thanks much -- Betty.
NGUYEN: 'Tis the season for family, good cheer and apparently, credit cards. David Haffenreffer is at the New York Stock Exchange with that story.
Hi, David. Did you rack up some debt?
(STOCK REPORT)
NGUYEN: David, I'm going to have to interrupt you. Pardon for this. We want to go now to Crawford, Texas, where the deputy press secretary, Trent Duffy, is briefing reporters. Let's listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
TRENT DUFFY, DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: ... recovery effort under way.
The news reports continue to be very grim, and the president, on behalf of the American people, wants to again extend our thoughts and prayers to all those who are suffering in the region and throughout the world as we confront this tragedy.
As I indicated yesterday, the president has authorized and directed the United States to play a leading role in the rescue, relief and recovery effort which is under way.
And I would just say, of course, that the United States and the American people are the single largest contributors to international aid efforts across the globe. We have been for the past few years, and I have every expectation that that will continue.
Those contributions take the form of official government assistance, as well as individual charitable contributions to the Red Cross and to other international nongovernmental organizations.
I think the State Department has briefed recently about some of the efforts under way. I'll quickly summarize them.
There has been an initial commitment of $15 million to support the relief effort. USAID has just recently added $20 million to that for the earthquake relief. Included in that is $2 million for Sri Lanka, $1 million for Indonesia, $100,000 each for India, the Maldives and Thailand.
DUFFY: As well, an additional $4 million has been sent to the International Red Cross to support their efforts.
The United States military is also playing a role. The Thailand government has offered the United States a base to use as a regional support center in the recovery effort. We welcome that.
There are a dozen C-130's from the Pacific Command that are hauling in relief supplies as we speak, including food, water, blankets, emergency shelter. You name it, it's on its way, and those relief supplies will continue to flow.
So that's what I have.
And with that, I will take your questions.
QUESTION: Trent, do you know where the money comes from? Is there money set aside for international disasters like this?
DUFFY: There is money set aside. I suspect that there may be additional funds necessary, but I would refer you to the State Department for what exact pot of money. But the USAID has an annual pot of money that's used for emergency response.
QUESTION: Trent, we've heard your statements now for two or three days about the president's sentiments. But we haven't actually seen him, and, more importantly, the people in Sri Lanka or Indonesia or the other locations have not seen him step out, as he did so often after, say, September 11 and some other tragedies. Can you tell us why?
DUFFY: Well, the president has already sent letters of condolences to the leaders in the seven countries. He has directed the United States to play a leading role in the recovery effort, and we will continue to do that.
The president is doing what is needed most, which is to authorize the U.S. government to play a leading role in the relief and recovery effort. And so, he has extended his condolences, I have on his behalf, and he continues to express his condolences.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the actions taken. The question is whether the people in Asia, those who are suffering from all this, whether there would be any benefit from seeing and hearing from him directly.
DUFFY: I think the people in the region and around the world know that the president of the United States is saddened and has extended his condolences for this terrible tragedy.
QUESTION: Was the president as upset as Colin Powell was about U.N. humanitarian official saying that some rich nations are being stingy with aid?
DUFFY: Well, I'd encourage you to look at his remarks, his recent remarks. I think he's said as much that he's been misquoted and sort of misinterpreted.
As I said, the United States is the single largest contributor to international aid in the world. We outmatch the contributions of other nations combined, we'll continue to do so.
So I would encourage you to look at his remarks and maybe contact his office, because I think some of those were taken out of context.
QUESTION: As the relief effort proceeds, will the president be making any requests of Congress to free up more funds for this?
DUFFY: I have nothing to announce at this time.
Obviously, as we just try to grasp what the scope of this tragedy and the response effort that's needed, we'll continue to assess the needs going forward.
So I don't have anything to announce at this point, but should there be a need for additional resources, I have every expectation that the president would seek those.
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Aired December 28, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Helping the survivors: international aid trickles in. The U.S. promises to send Marines. We have live updates on the huge humanitarian crisis.
And the science of tsunamis. We will take you live to an Oregon lab where they simulate the destructive waves to better understand how to protect against them.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM begins right now.
NGUYEN: We will go to Asia in just a moment. But we begin in the rubble of what had been a two-story building in Ramsey, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities. Take a look at this video.
Authorities tell us four people are still unaccounted for after an explosion that may have resulted from a natural gas leak. That has not been confirmed, nor do we know how many people have been hurt or even killed.
First responders are all over the scene, and we will bring you updates as we get them.
O'BRIEN: And now, the fallout from the tsunami. The eyes and hearts of the world remain riveted on the crushing disaster on the Indian Ocean rim. More than 2 1/2 days after death came from the sea, as one survivor put it, the enormity of the situation is still becoming clearer by the hour.
By CNN's count, more than 33,000 are known dead, more than half of those from Sri Lanka. The confirmed death toll in India tops 9,000, but many believe the true figure is more than 13,000. Almost 5,000 are known dead in Indonesia. Officials there fear they'll find several times that many when they get a good look at the hardest hit province.
Aid is being promised and/or delivered by the U.N., the Red Cross, European Union and at least 20 individual countries.
The same U.N. official who yesterday accused rich countries of being stingy in foreign aid today is hailing what he calls overwhelming generosity towards tsunami victims. And through it all, countless families grieve, pray, fear or in some cases celebrate, as in the specific case of a Swedish toddler who turned up alone in a Thai hospital.
We get his story from CNN's Matthew Chance on Phuket Island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gasping for breath and alone. Nurses in this Phuket hospital call him Boo-boo, but his real name is lost, like his parents, in the chaos of this tragedy. Bruised and scratched, he was found half drowned and in shock. They don't even know what country he's from.
"When he's around people he gets upset, even angry," his nurse tells us. "When he's alone or with me, he just sits."
Outside the town hall in Phuket, faces of the dead and the missing are pinned to notice boards. As the waters have receded, desperation is swamping this holiday paradise.
Families like the Johnsons from Sweden have flown in to find their missing daughter.
BIRGET JOHNSON, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: Yes, she was supposed to be here. And we were sitting home and only to see on the television so we have to be here and see what we can do if we can find her or figure out what happened to her.
CHANCE (on camera): These are still early days in this disaster without precedence. Across the region casualty figures and the numbers of missing are still rising.
Yet, amid all of this tragedy, for some at least, there is still hope.
(voice-over) For them it's a miracle, but this is one family at least reunited. After a frantic search, Boo-boo is back in the arms of his grandmother.
"His real name is Hannes, she tells me." His father alive in hospital. Hours later, Hannes and his dad are together again, but his mother is still missing. A moment of joy tinged with terrible loss.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Phuket, Thailand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: In Sri Lanka a spokesman for the president there says entire families have been wiped out. Adding urgency to relief operations are predictions from the World Health Organization that disease can now kill as many people as the tsunamis did.
CNN's Hugh Rimington has the latest now from the Sri Lankan capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The death toll from the Sri Lankan element of the tsunami disaster has risen in the last few hours. It now officially stands at just over 18,000, according to Sri Lankan authorities on this island nation. And the authorities say it is likely to rise to 22,000 to 25,000.
(voice-over) We understand that up to 1,000 people died in a single incident. This was a train of eight carriages heading south from capital, Colombo, to the tourism city of Galle. It was struck alongside -- full on the broadside by this tsunami. The track itself was turned over. The train was smashed into the ground.
Police and medical authorities believe all thousand people on board that train are dead. Now, certainly either dead or missing.
Across the country, hospitals are being manned now by doctors who have been flown in from the capital, Colombo. Colombo's hospitals have been stripped of many of their medical staff to be air lifted into these hospitals.
When they get there they discover places where the buildings are often shattered. There is no fresh water. There is no electricity. There is an overwhelming demand.
The doctors themselves apparently are under such conditions that within two days most of them now are being spelled out so that they can be relieved by other doctors.
In terms of the medical emergency, there are a lot of people turning up now with respiratory difficulties, having inhaled water that's now leading to pneumonia. They say their most urgent need now are antibiotics and painkillers.
This is Hugh Rimington in Colombo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All over the world families are desperately waiting for word on sons and daughters, cousins, parents and siblings who were in the path of that killer wave and haven't been heard from since.
A case in point is Aaron Davis, a young American who moved to Thailand to teach English and who planned to spend the holidays teaching Tae Kwon Do at Thai resorts. He last spoke to his mother on Christmas Eve.
Edna Rainet was a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDNA RAINET, MOTHER OF MISSING TEACHER: We have a number of relatives all over the country that he e-mailed from time to time. And they're constantly e-mailing him at the school, plus, you know anywhere that, you know, that they think that, you know, he could have been that he -- that they have e-mail addresses. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Many such families are turning to CNN.com to solicit word on missing loved ones, and we will hear more about that at the bottom of this hour of LIVE FROM.
O'BRIEN: As we mentioned the U.N. and Red Cross are spearheading relief operations that almost certainly will be unprecedented in human history. Already, some 20 countries are mounting their own efforts and among them India, which itself lost thousands of people.
More now on the big picture from CNN's Robin Curnow, joining us now from London.
ROBIN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there.
Well, this is an international relief operation on a scale never seen before, says the United Nations. If you think about it, 10 countries, tens of thousands of people dead. Millions more homeless, have lost their livelihood if not their families and close friends.
Also, of course, concerns now about further dangers threatening these people, water-borne diseases.
So with all this in mind, the international community is facing challenges it's never faced before. As we speak, hundreds of planes, says the United Nations, are making their way towards southeast Asia, carrying on these cargo planes sanitation equipment, water purification systems, food, medicine, doctors, as much as countries, aid agencies and the U.N. can give to this very, very ravaged subcontinent -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: It's a staggering task, Robin. Do you have a sense in talking to some of these aid agencies what the biggest logistical challenge is right now?
CURNOW: You know, Miles, I think the biggest logistical challenge is the logistics, essentially, the coordination of this.
We've never seen something like this. The one aid agency person I spoke to earlier today said, you know, the biggest challenge they faced so far was in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide when they had 1.5 million people moving in a two-week period. That was the biggest they've dealt with.
Now like I've said earlier, I mean, we're talking ten countries here, entire regions. So in terms of the magnitude they haven't dealt with it and it's the coordination that's important. How do the different countries from Australia to South Africa to Kenya, to the United States, to Sweden, all coordinate their effort?
Now, the United Nations is taking a lead on this, but, of course, it's a massive, massive job and that's what people are saying. This has got to work. It's got to be coordinated properly, because you cannot have full aid agencies all supplying, say, water sanitation equipment but not enough medicine. So there really needs to be a very clear coordination, and that is the job of the United Nations. And it's going to be a very big challenge in the weeks ahead, Miles.
O'BRIEN: I should say so, and when you compound that with the fact that the place that is in such dire need lacks all the infrastructure to keep that communication flowing, you've got a huge problem.
CURNOW: Absolutely, there's no communications. All the telephones are down. We're talking about infrastructures. Across some areas, we still don't know just what the devastation is in some areas. They're completely inaccessible.
So getting to these areas, getting to these people in some areas of Indonesia really is going to be a problem. But as I said, there are planes, cargo planes, really coming from all four corners of the world offering their assistance.
Now, in terms of that basic necessity, there's also money. And the aid agencies, the United Nations, are saying people must donate and pledge as much money as they can, because it's going to cost billions and billions of dollars to help these people in the coming weeks and years.
O'BRIEN: All right. Robin Curnow in London, thank you very much. Appreciate that.
We're just getting word that the Pentagon is gearing up to send ships, helicopters and hundreds of troops to Thailand as a base of operations for the humanitarian aid effort there. An array of options and forces is under consideration and a final plan of action is still pending, however.
Already the U.S. had pledged $15 million as an initial contribution to disaster relief. And the U.S. secretary of state had taken umbrage at a U.N. official's characterization of wealthy countries as "stingy" in general when it comes to foreign aid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States is not stingy. We are the greatest contributor to international relief efforts in the world. We do more to help people who are suffering from lack of food or who are in poverty or suffering from HIV/AIDS. And this administration has a particularly good regard in increasing the amount of assistance that we give to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: So how much is enough, however? We'll hear a debate on the relative greed or generosity of the haves toward the have-nots in the next hour of LIVE FROM -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Sri Lanka and nearby nations in the disaster zone may soon receive more of what they need least, and that's rain in the flooded areas. We get the latest now from CNN's Orelon Sidney in the weather center.
Mother Nature is not helping out now, Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Orelon Sidney. Thank you for that -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: We have correspondents throughout the region covering the tsunamis. A little later this hour, we'll take you to Indonesia, one of the countries hardest hit, where an area once closed to foreigners is now opening up to aid workers.
Also ahead, looking for the lost. We'll show you how friends and relatives are turning to the Internet, including CNN.com, to locate loved ones.
And just ahead, escalating violence ahead of the Iraqi elections. We'll take you live to Baghdad. Stay with us.
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NGUYEN: Insurgent attacks in Iraq are escalating as the days dwindle to next month's landmark election. At least 23 people were killed in a series of attacks on security forces today alone.
CNN's Jeff Koinange joins us now with Baghdad with the developments.
Jeff, what's the latest?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, the latest is the insurgents seem to be attacking at will and with impunity. In the town of Tikrit, former President Saddam Hussein's stronghold, insurgents calmly fired an RPG, rocket-propelled grenade, into a police station then walked in and executed all 12 policemen, including three commanders.
In the town of Baqubah, also in the Sunni Triangle, Iraqi National Guardsmen on routine patrol ran over an improvised explosive device, or IED. That device exploded, injuring three.
While their colleagues got out to help them they noticed another IED that hadn't exploded. They cordoned off the area, called for help and as they were trying to defuse it, a suicide bomber rammed into them, killing six, wounding 26.
Here in Baghdad a suicide bomber calmly sat in his vehicle as a convoy carrying the commander of the Iraqi National Guard passed by. The convoy did pass by, and the bomb exploded. But he was uninjured.
It shows that there's a stepped up campaign, but it's not just confined to Baghdad, Betty. It seems to be across the country.
NGUYEN: Jeff, yesterday we heard an audiotape by Osama bin laden, urging Iraqis to join with the insurgency. Any connection between that and these attacks that we're seeing today?
KOINANGE: It's too soon to tell, Betty, but we can tell you this: Zarqawi on his own was a deadly force. You combine him with bin Laden's al Qaeda, it becomes a deadly cocktail.
It's got to be a challenge not just for the Iraqi forces on the ground, but also for the coalition forces in the run-up to the January 30 election, Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Jeff Koinange in Baghdad for us today. Thank you, Jeff -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: News around the world now.
Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko are celebrating his victory in a rerun of that contested presidential election in Ukraine. Final preliminary numbers show Yushchenko won by more than two million votes.
His opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, is refusing to concede, preventing Ukraine from officially declaring Yushchenko, the winner.
And two Hamas militants survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Gaza today. Palestinian security sources say an Israeli drone fired a missile at a scar carrying two Hamas members. The men managed to escape.
Israel says they were involved in a recent attack on Jewish settlements.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, a woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and stealing her baby due in court this afternoon. We're live from the federal courthouse.
Later on LIVE FROM...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking at a reconstruction effort in the billions of dollars.
O'BRIEN: Responding to an overwhelming disaster. Who will pick up the tab to rebuild devastated areas?
And also later on LIVE FROM, the science of tsunamis. American researchers trying to prepare the U.S. coastline for a possible strike. We'll have a live demonstration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
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O'BRIEN: Live pictures now, courtesy of our affiliate KARE in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
You're looking at what remains of a two-story commercial building, a small one, in Ramsey Minnesota, about 15 miles northwest of Minneapolis, St. Paul. Dozens of firefightera on the scene there, meticulously going through the wreckage of that building.
Now let's go to tape as the camera does a pan there. But what happened there was apparently a gas explosion. One survivor has been pulled from that rubble there and air lifted to a hospital. No details on whether there are -- whether anyone else is underneath the rubble.
Apparently, it was some sort of commercial real estate office, and a gas explosion. It's suspected gas has been shut off in that general area, and the rescue effort continues in Ramsey, Minnesota. We're tracking it for you.
In a matter of hours the woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and ripping her baby from her womb is to make her first court appearance in Kansas City. Lisa Montgomery is to go before a federal judge in Kansas City, Missouri. That's where we find CNN's Keith Oppenheim -- Keith.
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
It should be just two hours from now that this hearing gets under way. And what we expect will take place is that Judge Lofner (ph) from the federal court will appoint attorneys for the defendant, Lisa Montgomery. And he'll also try to make sure that she understands what she has been accused of doing: killing a pregnant mother and stealing an unborn baby.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM (voice-over): The federal charge Lisa Montgomery faces is called kidnapping resulting in death.
TODD GRAVES, U.S. ATTORNEY: That is a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison with parole or the possibility of a death penalty in the appropriate case.
OPPENHEIM: On December 16, police say Montgomery came to the home of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in Skidmore, Missouri, posing as a buyer of rat terriers, dogs that Stinnett raised.
Instead, authorities say, Montgomery strangled Stinnett and cut the 8-month-old fetus from the mother's womb. The mother died. The baby survived and by next day was found by investigators at Montgomery's home in Melvern, Kansas, 170 miles away.
KEVIN MONTGOMERY, SUSPECT'S HUSBAND: That was a precious baby. I know.
OPPENHEIM: Her husband, Kevin, expressed remorse and disbelief. Investigators say he thought his wife was pregnant, that she had given birth at a Topeka, Kansas, clinic. But her ex-husband claims Montgomery often faked pregnancies and accused her of lying.
CARL BOMAN, MONTGOMERY'S EX-HUSBAND: Anything that they are saying in the media, that you know, she had lost a baby within the last six months, she had a miscarriage or she delivered anything, it's all a lie.
OPPENHEIM: As police and relatives of Lisa Montgomery and Bobbie Jo Stinnett sort through lies and seek the truth, there is still a fundamental question, why? What, as police allege, might have caused a mother of four to kill for another child?
GARY DESKINS, MELVERN, KANSAS, RESIDENT: I think it probably goes back, maybe, to childhood. Who knows? I don't think it just happened.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: Miles, there will be another hearing this week, a detention hearing on Thursday, during which it's possible that her attorneys could argue that Lisa Montgomery should be released on bond. Although that's certainly not a likelihood, when you consider the fact that prosecutors say they haven't decided whether they will seek the death penalty in this case.
Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: Keith, in talking to her attorneys, do you have any sense if they have formed sort of a tack, a line of reasoning for their defense? Or is it too early to say?
OPPENHEIM: It's too early because she's just getting them today. That's really the reason for this hearing today. There's been a change of federal jurisdiction from Kansas to Missouri. They're really just getting started here in Missouri. She'll have a couple of days to start with her attorneys to work out the strategy you're referring to.
O'BRIEN: And, can you give us a sense, do we have any indication, any reports from inside prison as to her state of mind right now?
OPPENHEIM: No, I think what we're really still trying to get a sense of is what is the background motivation to what caused her to do this. It was her ex-husband who believed that she had faked pregnancies all along and doesn't buy the idea that she was depressed over a reported miscarriage.
So that's really the very unanswered question in this horrible story, which is what caused her to do it?
O'BRIEN: And just a quick final thought: the baby is doing fine, right?
OPPENHEIM: The baby is OK with Dad. Her name is Victoria Jo, and with her father, Zeb Stinnett.
O'BRIEN: Keith Oppenheim in Kansas City, thanks much -- Betty.
NGUYEN: 'Tis the season for family, good cheer and apparently, credit cards. David Haffenreffer is at the New York Stock Exchange with that story.
Hi, David. Did you rack up some debt?
(STOCK REPORT)
NGUYEN: David, I'm going to have to interrupt you. Pardon for this. We want to go now to Crawford, Texas, where the deputy press secretary, Trent Duffy, is briefing reporters. Let's listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
TRENT DUFFY, DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: ... recovery effort under way.
The news reports continue to be very grim, and the president, on behalf of the American people, wants to again extend our thoughts and prayers to all those who are suffering in the region and throughout the world as we confront this tragedy.
As I indicated yesterday, the president has authorized and directed the United States to play a leading role in the rescue, relief and recovery effort which is under way.
And I would just say, of course, that the United States and the American people are the single largest contributors to international aid efforts across the globe. We have been for the past few years, and I have every expectation that that will continue.
Those contributions take the form of official government assistance, as well as individual charitable contributions to the Red Cross and to other international nongovernmental organizations.
I think the State Department has briefed recently about some of the efforts under way. I'll quickly summarize them.
There has been an initial commitment of $15 million to support the relief effort. USAID has just recently added $20 million to that for the earthquake relief. Included in that is $2 million for Sri Lanka, $1 million for Indonesia, $100,000 each for India, the Maldives and Thailand.
DUFFY: As well, an additional $4 million has been sent to the International Red Cross to support their efforts.
The United States military is also playing a role. The Thailand government has offered the United States a base to use as a regional support center in the recovery effort. We welcome that.
There are a dozen C-130's from the Pacific Command that are hauling in relief supplies as we speak, including food, water, blankets, emergency shelter. You name it, it's on its way, and those relief supplies will continue to flow.
So that's what I have.
And with that, I will take your questions.
QUESTION: Trent, do you know where the money comes from? Is there money set aside for international disasters like this?
DUFFY: There is money set aside. I suspect that there may be additional funds necessary, but I would refer you to the State Department for what exact pot of money. But the USAID has an annual pot of money that's used for emergency response.
QUESTION: Trent, we've heard your statements now for two or three days about the president's sentiments. But we haven't actually seen him, and, more importantly, the people in Sri Lanka or Indonesia or the other locations have not seen him step out, as he did so often after, say, September 11 and some other tragedies. Can you tell us why?
DUFFY: Well, the president has already sent letters of condolences to the leaders in the seven countries. He has directed the United States to play a leading role in the recovery effort, and we will continue to do that.
The president is doing what is needed most, which is to authorize the U.S. government to play a leading role in the relief and recovery effort. And so, he has extended his condolences, I have on his behalf, and he continues to express his condolences.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) the actions taken. The question is whether the people in Asia, those who are suffering from all this, whether there would be any benefit from seeing and hearing from him directly.
DUFFY: I think the people in the region and around the world know that the president of the United States is saddened and has extended his condolences for this terrible tragedy.
QUESTION: Was the president as upset as Colin Powell was about U.N. humanitarian official saying that some rich nations are being stingy with aid?
DUFFY: Well, I'd encourage you to look at his remarks, his recent remarks. I think he's said as much that he's been misquoted and sort of misinterpreted.
As I said, the United States is the single largest contributor to international aid in the world. We outmatch the contributions of other nations combined, we'll continue to do so.
So I would encourage you to look at his remarks and maybe contact his office, because I think some of those were taken out of context.
QUESTION: As the relief effort proceeds, will the president be making any requests of Congress to free up more funds for this?
DUFFY: I have nothing to announce at this time.
Obviously, as we just try to grasp what the scope of this tragedy and the response effort that's needed, we'll continue to assess the needs going forward.
So I don't have anything to announce at this point, but should there be a need for additional resources, I have every expectation that the president would seek those.
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