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Entire Communities Wiped Out by Tsunami in Indonesia
Aired December 30, 2004 - 13:30 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right "Now in the News." Is it shenanigans or something more serious? This week alone, six commercial airliners in all parts of the country have been illuminated by laser beams from the ground. None of the flights were affected. But pilots noticed the beams and the FBI is now involved in the investigation. Authorities hope it's just kids fooling around with laser pointers on the ground.
Before a judge again today, Lisa Montgomery. She's the Kansas woman accused of strangling a pregnant woman and stealing her unborn baby this month. The mother died. Today's hearing will set the terms of Montgomery's detention before trial. Prosecutors have asked that she be held without bond.
And that's governor-elect Christine Gregoire. Thank you very much. After 58 days of uncertainty, three vote tallies, and the closest governor's race in Washington State's history, the election has been finally certified and Gregoire declared the winner. Not everyone's happy about it of course, although calls for a repeat election will not likely be heeded.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to our top story, the aftermath of the Asian tsunami. A sharp spike today in casualty numbers, especially in Indonesia where in one expert's words, entire communities virtually vaporized by the catastrophic waves. Now nearly 80,000 known dead in Indonesia, doubling earlier counts. The overall death toll, more than 116,000 people.
Observers on the ground say the end of the count, not yet in sight. Just moments ago, the state department increased the number of Americans confirmed dead in the tsunami disaster from 12 to 14. But 2,000 to 3,000 more are still unaccounted for. The U.S. State Department says it's been receiving 400 phone calls an hour roughly from people concerned about missing loved ones.
Donations of cash goods and services continue to pour in. More than $.5 million pledged in aid so far by the World Bank and individual nations. Corporate and private donation also coming in from all around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $3 million. Amazon.com says it has raised almost $5 million in contributions from its customers online.
If anyone could be more frantic than family members of the missing it would be those charged with finding them. For American embassy workers, it's a daunting task of figuring out who they need to find, while knowing that good outcomes are in dwindling supply. CNN's Hugh Rimington met one such embassy worker in Sri Lanka, who is consumed with searching for the missing, providing solace to survivors, and sharing sorrowful news with those who wait at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At the U.S. embassy in Colombo, Mark Williams leads the hunt for lost Americans.
MARK WILLIAMS, U.S. EMBASSY: We're planning kind of a land foray down to the south to look for areas where there are concentrations of Americans reported missing.
RIMINGTON: Sometimes there's good news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She called her -- yeah, next of kin. She is okay.
RIMINGTON: But on the latest count, more than 100 U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here you see people going through master lists of the missing. It's an ongoing process. Sometimes we think we're doing better because the number of found keeps going up, then all of a sudden we'll get a bunch of calls and e-mails saying we need to look for more people.
RIMINGTON: A fresh tsunami alert is immediately relayed to those in the field.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should just try to keep off the coast...
RIMINGTON: As well as searching for the missing and the dead, the embassy welcomes the simply bewildered and exhausted.
(on camera): For traumatized survivors in Sri Lanka, and across the entire region, home can suddenly seem like it's a long way away. The embassy here uses simple psychological tricks to try to ease the pain of that sense of dislocation.
WILLIAMS: They see the marine guard. We try to give them a Coke or Mountain Dew, kind of reassure them they're in safety and, you know this is just the first step of the long process of the way home. They're truly in some ways walking wounded.
REMINGTON: One of those is Matthew O'Conner.
MATTHEW O'CONNER: By the time I had already gotten a hold of the embassy, somehow they had already gotten a hold of my family back in America and I haven't even contacted them here. Someone I think had taken my name in the hospital.
REMINGTON: The truth is some Americans are beyond rescue. In a quiet moment, the consul signs the death papers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst part of my job. The worst part of my job. The only thing that might be worse is when you have to call the families and tell them.
RIMINGTON: He has no illusions. It's a task he expects to repeat in the days ahead.
Hugh Remington, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. On better news, we hope, we've got more on the donations that are heading to the tsunami-ravaged areas. When the U.S. says it is sending $35 million, where does that money come from and who actually decides how much to send and where it goes?
CNN contributor and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr served eight years on the House Financial Services Committee, joins me now to talk about the nuts and bolts of federal disaster relief. $35 million. That sounds like a lot of money to me. But what is it in relation to the big pot of money that is out there?
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's really a very small amount, although, of course, each member of Congress has to be accountable to their constituents for how they vote on every single dollar. $35 million is a lot of money.
But when you look at the entire budget of the United States, hundreds of billions of dollars for different programs, and billions that will be needed for the relief effort in South Asia, is really a very small -- it's just getting the foot in the door. The U.S. taxpayers, I'm sure, will pony up for a lot more of that this coming year.
LIN: Is this discretionary money the president has that he can immediately authorize $35 million and what budget does it come out of?
BARR: To some extent, yes, but sooner or later, every one of those dollars the president pledges, and if it is actually spent, will have to be accounted for and come out of moneys the Congress has appropriated. But any president, certainly through his role as commander in chief, to shift resources around the world and spend money doing that has discretionary money.
The State Department has a budget that can be used through its embassies for emergency assistance. But the vast bulk of whatever money the United States winds up spending -- it's going to be a lot of money, I'm sure, is going to have to be specifically appropriated by the Congress.
LIN: How much money do you think, the United States is going to be asked for, and is willing to give to this cause? BARR: Of course, Americans are very generous people, despite what some of the U.N. bureaucrats think. We'll wind up through charities, private donations, and the government spending and sending over to South Asia for this catastrophe literally hundreds of millions of dollars.
I suspect well in excess of $100 million or possibly even $200 million will be appropriated by the Congress. Now, the problems -- one of the problems that we're going to have to address in the Congress is the United Nations. A lot of people are not happy seeing all of that money go through the United Nations. So a lot of it may be spent in more bilateral aid.
LIN: For example, going to organizations like the International Red Cross or Save the Children or the World Food Program. Agencies that actually work directly on the ground.
BARR: Those, and also directly from the U.S. government through the aid program to the government of Indonesia, for example.
LIN: Right. OK. But is Congress in the mood to authorize hundreds of millions of dollar, given that the budget deficit may be $500 billion in 2005?
BARR: Every single time that I've -- during the years that I was in the Congress, that a natural catastrophe came up and money needed to be spent, Congress ultimately was willing to spend that money. Because they were hearing from their constituents, yes, we want to spend money to save lives. This is important. There may have to be cuts made elsewhere. But I think the money will there be.
LIN: How much -- what percentage of the money actually gets to the people who need it? Actually food on the ground, tents, for housing -- how much of that ends up with the people, the victims, and how much do you think is wasted or lost?
BARR: Well, that's the $64,000 question. A very, very good question. Because of the problems we've seen in Iraq, for example, with the Oil-for-Food Program, with so little of it actually going to help the people.
LIN: Right.
BARR: In my experience, having lived and worked overseas and seen these programs in the Congress, it's not at all uncommon for 20 or 25 percent to be absolutely lost through corruption, through ineptitude, and so forth through middlemen siphoning part of that money off. So this a major problem that the U.S. and all of these other countries will have to face.
LIN: Close to $10 million of the $35 million could be wasted or skimmed.
BARR: Eventually, down the road, that's not at all uncommon, to see that sort of waste. And there's only so much that we can do about it because we're giving it to a foreign nation or foreign bureaucracy, or foreign entity. And we lose some control over it.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much. Bob Barr. Always good to know where the American dollar is being spent, and for whom.
Well, the government dollars aren't the only funds on the way to the tsunami areas.
O'BRIEN: Yes, matter of fact, many U.S. businesses are ponying up in a big way. CNN's Allan Chernoff joining us now in New York with the corporate count.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Miles. Well, Corporate America certainly is coming through, thus far. We've calculated that companies are donating more than $60 million in money and goods. You can bet that number is going to rise rapidly because we're still in the early stages of this relief effort.
But among some of the big givers within Corporate America, first of all, Pfizer, the company is donating $10 million in cash, plus $25 million worth of medicine and supplies. Citigroup, $3 million. Abbott Lab, $2 million. Plus $2 million of medicine and supplies. Keep in mind, Abbott Labs manufacturers Pedialite. Anybody with a young child is familiar with that product. It's what you give a children this for dehydration. So it certainly can be a lifesaver ion this situation.
Johnson & Johnson, $2 million. And we see some of these companies promising to match their employee donation. Many companies providing supplies, in kind donations, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, they manufacture water. So they'll be sending thousands of cases of water over. Lands' End, part of Sears now, they are giving clothing.
Motorola donating communications equipment and we also have shipping companies donating their airtime. For example, FedEx and also Northwest Airlines. They have a cargo division. Companies also are giving their customers an opportunity to help out as well. Starbucks, for example, says next month, everyone who buys a pound of its Sumatra coffee, the company will donate $2 for every pound.
EBay is permitting people who sell goods over eBay to actually donate their proceeds. And, well, if you have plenty of frequent flyer miles, you can give those as well to relief organizations to help bring supplies over to the affected areas. Delta Air Lines, Continental, among the airlines that are allowing frequent flyers to give up their miles.
Certainly, by doing good, the companies are building some good will and over the long run this most likely would also be to the benefit of the company and to the shareholders. Miles.
O'BRIEN: Allan, that frequent flyer idea, I hadn't heard that one before. You can actually designate a specific charity that might use those miles to get people in the field?
CHERNOFF: That's exactly right. In fact, a lot of these airlines have the program in effect. Delta calls it its Sky Wish program. So they've had this program in effect. Now it's very -- it's all set up so it's very simple for somebody to simply designate their miles over and they'll give them to certain organizations such as Care, such as (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the Red Cross. So it's a good way to -- if you don't have, say, extra cash in your bank account, but you've got plenty of those frequent flyer miles this is a very nice way to contribute as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, that's a good idea. Thank you, Allan Chernoff. Appreciate it.
LIN: As we're following some serious weather on the West Coast of the United States. In Arizona, a search for missing teenagers after heavy rain turned a trickling stream into a rushing river.
And a live report from the Sierra Nevada region of California where heavy snowfall has virtually shut down many highways.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It is coming way down real fast. That is slang. Meteorologists in Arizona are using scientific lingo to describe Sedona's Oak Creek. Looking less and less like a creek today. The normally docile little waterway is up 14 feet and still rising. A dozen Sedona neighborhoods told to clear out. Two college students who capsized while canoeing the rough water are still missing.
And central Arizona is just one of many western regions dealing with record rain and snowfall today. From Lake Tahoe and points south all the way across Colorado, even Las Vegas. Closed road, mudslides, reports of injuries. So what the heck is happening out west? Meteorologist Rob Marciano reports from the CNN weather center with what those folks have to look forward to in the coming days.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The West Coast continues to be the main focus of our weather segment, with rainfalls in the record category. Phenomenally California, but places that are typically dry. Arizona Flagstaff, 3.83. Crown King, 4.7 inches of rain, Sedona, over 4 inches of rain as well. There's more on the way. These are rainfall totals across California. And 16.11 inches of rainfall. L.A., downtown, 6.85 since Monday night.
A dry day at least in SoCal today. But more rain coming tomorrow and more snow coming for the resorts at Lake Tahoe. Homewood over two feet of snow. Heavenly, 22 inches. Alpine 21, Squaw Valley, Northstar and Kirkwood all reporting 18 inches of snow. And 25 inches of snow and likely to get more of that in the way of feet over the next 24 to 36 hours.
Radar showing the latest band of moisture coming in right across southern San Francisco, San Jose, and right into the Sierra Nevada's. 25 for a low in Denver. Look at the mild air in the east. That's going to be the ongoing theme for tomorrow and tomorrow night. New Year's Eve night, looking at warm weather across the Southeast and Eastern seaboard.
A batch of cold weather coming in through Canada. And more rain, wind, and mountain snow out west. That's latest from here. Back to you guys.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob Marciano. That's the big picture. Let's look now what it's like on the ground in Northern California. Let's go to Blue Canyon, to be exact. Perhaps more aptly named White Canyon today. North of Sacramento, near Lake Tahoe, behind the fog lens, is our friend Dave Marquis, with affiliate KXTV.
I know you tried to wipe the lens off. We won't ask you to it again. It's obviously on the inside of the lens right now. We get the idea, Dave. It's kind of nasty there isn't it?
DAVE MARQUIS, KXTV CORRESPONDENT: Miles, I tell you, the problem with the camera, just indicates what it's like up here for absolutely everyone. This may not look like a freeway that is now open. It's just almost whiteout conditions. Both sides of interstate 80 have been reopen now for about 3 hours after being closed since about 1:00 in the morning, about a 7-hour closure.
Very difficult conditions. The California Highway Patrol and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) California's Highway Department just decided to shut it down all together because there were starting to be jackknifed big rigs, and cars having problems. Let's look at what traffic was like late last night before they shut the freeway down.
It was just absolutely gridlocked. Drives couldn't see. They couldn't move in some cases. A lot of them just pulling aside and spending the night in snow banks, hoping conditions would improve. They finally did as we said, early this morning, and cars allowed back through. But not a whole lot better than they were before.
What was interesting about all of this is that for a while in Eastern California, and Northeastern California, every major pass over the Sierra was shut down. Highway 70 to the north, 80 here 50 to the south, 88 below that and no one could get through the Sierra.
Fortunately, conditions are improving a little bit, but it may be a temporary reprieve, because we've got a lot of heavy weather moving on in. And it's been pounding San Francisco and the bay area and it's moving right on into the Sierras. So it's looking like another wild day up here, right on the eve of New Year's.
O'BRIEN: Dave?
MARQUIS: Yes?
O'BRIEN: Can we get you a hat?
MARQUIS: Yes. Definitely, that would be great, thanks.
O'BRIEN: All right, could luck up there, be safe, please?
MARQUIS: All right, you bet.
O'BRIEN: All right. Imagine this, having to choose which of your children to save. Remember the "Sophie's Choice," the book and movie? For one woman caught in the tsunami this is a real decision she had to make. And she did. What appeared to be a devastating moment however turned out OK. We'll have that story for you.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Haffenreffer at New York Stock Exchange. Prescriptions for Celebrex are hurting after Pfizer's popular painkiller was linked to heart attacks and stroke. I'll have that story coming up on LIVE FROM. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It's no surprise that Pfizer's arthritis drug Celebrex is suffering after being linked to cardiovascular problems. David Haffenreffer is at the New York Stock Exchange with that story. Hi, David.
HAFFENREFFER: This is a true story here, Carol, of cause and effect. New prescriptions for Celebrex, the leader in a class of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors tumbled 56 percent last week. That's after a federal study found that link between Celebrex and a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes.
In addition, new prescriptions for Naproxen fell 33 percent after the National Institutes of Health linked it to possible heart problems as well. Naproxen is also available over the counter under the brand name Aleve. The sale figures come from the market research firm Varisphan (ph). Shares of Pfizer, which makes Celebrex, are losing 0.75 percent.
Overall, stocks are virtually flat in a very quiet day of trading. The Dow industrials higher by 8 points, 10,837. The NASDAQ composite index adding 0.2 percent. That is it from Wall Street. Coming up, you might be surprised by what most people are searching for this on eBay these days. We'll find out in the next hour of LIVE FROM. Carol and Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: It's hard to get surprised by what's on eBay these days.
LIN: Just plug it in and look for it.
O'BRIEN: It's amazing what you will find up to and including human organs at times.
LIN: I remember that story. Anyway, for those who actually lived through the tsunami disaster, they're beginning to arrive home and bringing back tales of terror and loss and heartbreak.
O'BRIEN: Reporter Reese Whitby of Australia 7 News met a planeload of survivors to hear some of their stories firsthand. One mother's account proves even the happy endings are not without tears.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REESE WHITBY, AUSTRALIA 7 NEWS, (voice over): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) survival in survival instincts dissolve into tears. Jillian Searle from Wilington (ph) was at her hotel pool with Lucky, five, and Blake, two, when the tsunami hit. Her husband, watching helplessly from their first floor hotel room. JILLIAN SEARLE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I just saw this waterfall coming straight for us and I just started running. I had both of them in my hands and one on each arm and we started going under.
WHITBY: Jillian was forced to make a horrible decision. Let go of one son to save the other.
SEARLE: I knew I had to let go of one of them. I just thought I better let go of the one that's the oldest. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) grabbed hold of him for a moment. But said that she had to let him go because she was going under. And I was screaming, trying to find him. And we thought he was dead.
WHITBY: Two hours later, Lucky was found alive.
SEARLE: He climbed to a door. He said it swept him into a barrel or something and he said he was holding on to a door.
WHITBY: Does he know how to swim?
SEARLE: No. He can't swim. He said he was doggy paddling in the water. And he said the door kept him up. It was just horrible. I'm just so thankful that I still got my two kids with me. I never thought that both would survive.
WHITBY: The Johnson family from Hawking (ph) was trapped on a two-story hotel as the water kept rising. They feared the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing worse than having your three kids standing there, saying, dad, are we going to die? What can you say?
WHITBY: Paul Galvan (ph) of Escot (ph) tried in vain to save a Thai baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...CPR on a little baby. He was screaming to keep him alive. He couldn't keep him alive.
WHITBY: Many limped home. Some came in wheelchairs. The Boston family lost a loved one in the Bali bombing. Now this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bit different from Bali. You had to see this mountain water coming towards you.
WHITBY, (on camera): This the tip of the despair. Passengers arriving here say there are thousands more holidaymakers in Thailand all desperately trying to get home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was chaotic, shocking.
WHITBY: Glad to be home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
WHITBY: Reese Whitby, 7 news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable.
LIN: It just leaves you with chills if you were to find yourself in that situation with your children.
O'BRIEN: Yes. To be a parent and to think that little boy's name is actually Lucky, just adds to all the irony and tragedy. And yet the happy ending. We should point out, we're seeing a lot of stories which show westerners.
And it's not that we're focusing on westerners per se, it's just as these people return to media centers from vacation, many of them speaking English, we tend to tell those stories because it is logistically possible. It's not that we're overlooking the story of everybody who lives along the Indian Ocean. I hope viewers understand that.
LIN: I hope so too. And we have correspondents all across the Indian Ocean coast, bringing you those stories as well. We've got the second hour of LIVE FROM coming up next. And aid is pouring in from around the world for victims of the devastating tsunami.
So we're going to take a closer look at how the U.S. military is lending a hand. When LIVE FROM continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 30, 2004 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right "Now in the News." Is it shenanigans or something more serious? This week alone, six commercial airliners in all parts of the country have been illuminated by laser beams from the ground. None of the flights were affected. But pilots noticed the beams and the FBI is now involved in the investigation. Authorities hope it's just kids fooling around with laser pointers on the ground.
Before a judge again today, Lisa Montgomery. She's the Kansas woman accused of strangling a pregnant woman and stealing her unborn baby this month. The mother died. Today's hearing will set the terms of Montgomery's detention before trial. Prosecutors have asked that she be held without bond.
And that's governor-elect Christine Gregoire. Thank you very much. After 58 days of uncertainty, three vote tallies, and the closest governor's race in Washington State's history, the election has been finally certified and Gregoire declared the winner. Not everyone's happy about it of course, although calls for a repeat election will not likely be heeded.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Back to our top story, the aftermath of the Asian tsunami. A sharp spike today in casualty numbers, especially in Indonesia where in one expert's words, entire communities virtually vaporized by the catastrophic waves. Now nearly 80,000 known dead in Indonesia, doubling earlier counts. The overall death toll, more than 116,000 people.
Observers on the ground say the end of the count, not yet in sight. Just moments ago, the state department increased the number of Americans confirmed dead in the tsunami disaster from 12 to 14. But 2,000 to 3,000 more are still unaccounted for. The U.S. State Department says it's been receiving 400 phone calls an hour roughly from people concerned about missing loved ones.
Donations of cash goods and services continue to pour in. More than $.5 million pledged in aid so far by the World Bank and individual nations. Corporate and private donation also coming in from all around the world. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $3 million. Amazon.com says it has raised almost $5 million in contributions from its customers online.
If anyone could be more frantic than family members of the missing it would be those charged with finding them. For American embassy workers, it's a daunting task of figuring out who they need to find, while knowing that good outcomes are in dwindling supply. CNN's Hugh Rimington met one such embassy worker in Sri Lanka, who is consumed with searching for the missing, providing solace to survivors, and sharing sorrowful news with those who wait at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): At the U.S. embassy in Colombo, Mark Williams leads the hunt for lost Americans.
MARK WILLIAMS, U.S. EMBASSY: We're planning kind of a land foray down to the south to look for areas where there are concentrations of Americans reported missing.
RIMINGTON: Sometimes there's good news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She called her -- yeah, next of kin. She is okay.
RIMINGTON: But on the latest count, more than 100 U.S. citizens remain unaccounted for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here you see people going through master lists of the missing. It's an ongoing process. Sometimes we think we're doing better because the number of found keeps going up, then all of a sudden we'll get a bunch of calls and e-mails saying we need to look for more people.
RIMINGTON: A fresh tsunami alert is immediately relayed to those in the field.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should just try to keep off the coast...
RIMINGTON: As well as searching for the missing and the dead, the embassy welcomes the simply bewildered and exhausted.
(on camera): For traumatized survivors in Sri Lanka, and across the entire region, home can suddenly seem like it's a long way away. The embassy here uses simple psychological tricks to try to ease the pain of that sense of dislocation.
WILLIAMS: They see the marine guard. We try to give them a Coke or Mountain Dew, kind of reassure them they're in safety and, you know this is just the first step of the long process of the way home. They're truly in some ways walking wounded.
REMINGTON: One of those is Matthew O'Conner.
MATTHEW O'CONNER: By the time I had already gotten a hold of the embassy, somehow they had already gotten a hold of my family back in America and I haven't even contacted them here. Someone I think had taken my name in the hospital.
REMINGTON: The truth is some Americans are beyond rescue. In a quiet moment, the consul signs the death papers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the worst part of my job. The worst part of my job. The only thing that might be worse is when you have to call the families and tell them.
RIMINGTON: He has no illusions. It's a task he expects to repeat in the days ahead.
Hugh Remington, CNN, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right. On better news, we hope, we've got more on the donations that are heading to the tsunami-ravaged areas. When the U.S. says it is sending $35 million, where does that money come from and who actually decides how much to send and where it goes?
CNN contributor and former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr served eight years on the House Financial Services Committee, joins me now to talk about the nuts and bolts of federal disaster relief. $35 million. That sounds like a lot of money to me. But what is it in relation to the big pot of money that is out there?
BOB BARR, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's really a very small amount, although, of course, each member of Congress has to be accountable to their constituents for how they vote on every single dollar. $35 million is a lot of money.
But when you look at the entire budget of the United States, hundreds of billions of dollars for different programs, and billions that will be needed for the relief effort in South Asia, is really a very small -- it's just getting the foot in the door. The U.S. taxpayers, I'm sure, will pony up for a lot more of that this coming year.
LIN: Is this discretionary money the president has that he can immediately authorize $35 million and what budget does it come out of?
BARR: To some extent, yes, but sooner or later, every one of those dollars the president pledges, and if it is actually spent, will have to be accounted for and come out of moneys the Congress has appropriated. But any president, certainly through his role as commander in chief, to shift resources around the world and spend money doing that has discretionary money.
The State Department has a budget that can be used through its embassies for emergency assistance. But the vast bulk of whatever money the United States winds up spending -- it's going to be a lot of money, I'm sure, is going to have to be specifically appropriated by the Congress.
LIN: How much money do you think, the United States is going to be asked for, and is willing to give to this cause? BARR: Of course, Americans are very generous people, despite what some of the U.N. bureaucrats think. We'll wind up through charities, private donations, and the government spending and sending over to South Asia for this catastrophe literally hundreds of millions of dollars.
I suspect well in excess of $100 million or possibly even $200 million will be appropriated by the Congress. Now, the problems -- one of the problems that we're going to have to address in the Congress is the United Nations. A lot of people are not happy seeing all of that money go through the United Nations. So a lot of it may be spent in more bilateral aid.
LIN: For example, going to organizations like the International Red Cross or Save the Children or the World Food Program. Agencies that actually work directly on the ground.
BARR: Those, and also directly from the U.S. government through the aid program to the government of Indonesia, for example.
LIN: Right. OK. But is Congress in the mood to authorize hundreds of millions of dollar, given that the budget deficit may be $500 billion in 2005?
BARR: Every single time that I've -- during the years that I was in the Congress, that a natural catastrophe came up and money needed to be spent, Congress ultimately was willing to spend that money. Because they were hearing from their constituents, yes, we want to spend money to save lives. This is important. There may have to be cuts made elsewhere. But I think the money will there be.
LIN: How much -- what percentage of the money actually gets to the people who need it? Actually food on the ground, tents, for housing -- how much of that ends up with the people, the victims, and how much do you think is wasted or lost?
BARR: Well, that's the $64,000 question. A very, very good question. Because of the problems we've seen in Iraq, for example, with the Oil-for-Food Program, with so little of it actually going to help the people.
LIN: Right.
BARR: In my experience, having lived and worked overseas and seen these programs in the Congress, it's not at all uncommon for 20 or 25 percent to be absolutely lost through corruption, through ineptitude, and so forth through middlemen siphoning part of that money off. So this a major problem that the U.S. and all of these other countries will have to face.
LIN: Close to $10 million of the $35 million could be wasted or skimmed.
BARR: Eventually, down the road, that's not at all uncommon, to see that sort of waste. And there's only so much that we can do about it because we're giving it to a foreign nation or foreign bureaucracy, or foreign entity. And we lose some control over it.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much. Bob Barr. Always good to know where the American dollar is being spent, and for whom.
Well, the government dollars aren't the only funds on the way to the tsunami areas.
O'BRIEN: Yes, matter of fact, many U.S. businesses are ponying up in a big way. CNN's Allan Chernoff joining us now in New York with the corporate count.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi Miles. Well, Corporate America certainly is coming through, thus far. We've calculated that companies are donating more than $60 million in money and goods. You can bet that number is going to rise rapidly because we're still in the early stages of this relief effort.
But among some of the big givers within Corporate America, first of all, Pfizer, the company is donating $10 million in cash, plus $25 million worth of medicine and supplies. Citigroup, $3 million. Abbott Lab, $2 million. Plus $2 million of medicine and supplies. Keep in mind, Abbott Labs manufacturers Pedialite. Anybody with a young child is familiar with that product. It's what you give a children this for dehydration. So it certainly can be a lifesaver ion this situation.
Johnson & Johnson, $2 million. And we see some of these companies promising to match their employee donation. Many companies providing supplies, in kind donations, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, they manufacture water. So they'll be sending thousands of cases of water over. Lands' End, part of Sears now, they are giving clothing.
Motorola donating communications equipment and we also have shipping companies donating their airtime. For example, FedEx and also Northwest Airlines. They have a cargo division. Companies also are giving their customers an opportunity to help out as well. Starbucks, for example, says next month, everyone who buys a pound of its Sumatra coffee, the company will donate $2 for every pound.
EBay is permitting people who sell goods over eBay to actually donate their proceeds. And, well, if you have plenty of frequent flyer miles, you can give those as well to relief organizations to help bring supplies over to the affected areas. Delta Air Lines, Continental, among the airlines that are allowing frequent flyers to give up their miles.
Certainly, by doing good, the companies are building some good will and over the long run this most likely would also be to the benefit of the company and to the shareholders. Miles.
O'BRIEN: Allan, that frequent flyer idea, I hadn't heard that one before. You can actually designate a specific charity that might use those miles to get people in the field?
CHERNOFF: That's exactly right. In fact, a lot of these airlines have the program in effect. Delta calls it its Sky Wish program. So they've had this program in effect. Now it's very -- it's all set up so it's very simple for somebody to simply designate their miles over and they'll give them to certain organizations such as Care, such as (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the Red Cross. So it's a good way to -- if you don't have, say, extra cash in your bank account, but you've got plenty of those frequent flyer miles this is a very nice way to contribute as well.
O'BRIEN: All right, that's a good idea. Thank you, Allan Chernoff. Appreciate it.
LIN: As we're following some serious weather on the West Coast of the United States. In Arizona, a search for missing teenagers after heavy rain turned a trickling stream into a rushing river.
And a live report from the Sierra Nevada region of California where heavy snowfall has virtually shut down many highways.
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LIN: It is coming way down real fast. That is slang. Meteorologists in Arizona are using scientific lingo to describe Sedona's Oak Creek. Looking less and less like a creek today. The normally docile little waterway is up 14 feet and still rising. A dozen Sedona neighborhoods told to clear out. Two college students who capsized while canoeing the rough water are still missing.
And central Arizona is just one of many western regions dealing with record rain and snowfall today. From Lake Tahoe and points south all the way across Colorado, even Las Vegas. Closed road, mudslides, reports of injuries. So what the heck is happening out west? Meteorologist Rob Marciano reports from the CNN weather center with what those folks have to look forward to in the coming days.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The West Coast continues to be the main focus of our weather segment, with rainfalls in the record category. Phenomenally California, but places that are typically dry. Arizona Flagstaff, 3.83. Crown King, 4.7 inches of rain, Sedona, over 4 inches of rain as well. There's more on the way. These are rainfall totals across California. And 16.11 inches of rainfall. L.A., downtown, 6.85 since Monday night.
A dry day at least in SoCal today. But more rain coming tomorrow and more snow coming for the resorts at Lake Tahoe. Homewood over two feet of snow. Heavenly, 22 inches. Alpine 21, Squaw Valley, Northstar and Kirkwood all reporting 18 inches of snow. And 25 inches of snow and likely to get more of that in the way of feet over the next 24 to 36 hours.
Radar showing the latest band of moisture coming in right across southern San Francisco, San Jose, and right into the Sierra Nevada's. 25 for a low in Denver. Look at the mild air in the east. That's going to be the ongoing theme for tomorrow and tomorrow night. New Year's Eve night, looking at warm weather across the Southeast and Eastern seaboard.
A batch of cold weather coming in through Canada. And more rain, wind, and mountain snow out west. That's latest from here. Back to you guys.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob Marciano. That's the big picture. Let's look now what it's like on the ground in Northern California. Let's go to Blue Canyon, to be exact. Perhaps more aptly named White Canyon today. North of Sacramento, near Lake Tahoe, behind the fog lens, is our friend Dave Marquis, with affiliate KXTV.
I know you tried to wipe the lens off. We won't ask you to it again. It's obviously on the inside of the lens right now. We get the idea, Dave. It's kind of nasty there isn't it?
DAVE MARQUIS, KXTV CORRESPONDENT: Miles, I tell you, the problem with the camera, just indicates what it's like up here for absolutely everyone. This may not look like a freeway that is now open. It's just almost whiteout conditions. Both sides of interstate 80 have been reopen now for about 3 hours after being closed since about 1:00 in the morning, about a 7-hour closure.
Very difficult conditions. The California Highway Patrol and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) California's Highway Department just decided to shut it down all together because there were starting to be jackknifed big rigs, and cars having problems. Let's look at what traffic was like late last night before they shut the freeway down.
It was just absolutely gridlocked. Drives couldn't see. They couldn't move in some cases. A lot of them just pulling aside and spending the night in snow banks, hoping conditions would improve. They finally did as we said, early this morning, and cars allowed back through. But not a whole lot better than they were before.
What was interesting about all of this is that for a while in Eastern California, and Northeastern California, every major pass over the Sierra was shut down. Highway 70 to the north, 80 here 50 to the south, 88 below that and no one could get through the Sierra.
Fortunately, conditions are improving a little bit, but it may be a temporary reprieve, because we've got a lot of heavy weather moving on in. And it's been pounding San Francisco and the bay area and it's moving right on into the Sierras. So it's looking like another wild day up here, right on the eve of New Year's.
O'BRIEN: Dave?
MARQUIS: Yes?
O'BRIEN: Can we get you a hat?
MARQUIS: Yes. Definitely, that would be great, thanks.
O'BRIEN: All right, could luck up there, be safe, please?
MARQUIS: All right, you bet.
O'BRIEN: All right. Imagine this, having to choose which of your children to save. Remember the "Sophie's Choice," the book and movie? For one woman caught in the tsunami this is a real decision she had to make. And she did. What appeared to be a devastating moment however turned out OK. We'll have that story for you.
DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Haffenreffer at New York Stock Exchange. Prescriptions for Celebrex are hurting after Pfizer's popular painkiller was linked to heart attacks and stroke. I'll have that story coming up on LIVE FROM. Don't go away.
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LIN: It's no surprise that Pfizer's arthritis drug Celebrex is suffering after being linked to cardiovascular problems. David Haffenreffer is at the New York Stock Exchange with that story. Hi, David.
HAFFENREFFER: This is a true story here, Carol, of cause and effect. New prescriptions for Celebrex, the leader in a class of drugs called cox-2 inhibitors tumbled 56 percent last week. That's after a federal study found that link between Celebrex and a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes.
In addition, new prescriptions for Naproxen fell 33 percent after the National Institutes of Health linked it to possible heart problems as well. Naproxen is also available over the counter under the brand name Aleve. The sale figures come from the market research firm Varisphan (ph). Shares of Pfizer, which makes Celebrex, are losing 0.75 percent.
Overall, stocks are virtually flat in a very quiet day of trading. The Dow industrials higher by 8 points, 10,837. The NASDAQ composite index adding 0.2 percent. That is it from Wall Street. Coming up, you might be surprised by what most people are searching for this on eBay these days. We'll find out in the next hour of LIVE FROM. Carol and Miles, back to you.
O'BRIEN: It's hard to get surprised by what's on eBay these days.
LIN: Just plug it in and look for it.
O'BRIEN: It's amazing what you will find up to and including human organs at times.
LIN: I remember that story. Anyway, for those who actually lived through the tsunami disaster, they're beginning to arrive home and bringing back tales of terror and loss and heartbreak.
O'BRIEN: Reporter Reese Whitby of Australia 7 News met a planeload of survivors to hear some of their stories firsthand. One mother's account proves even the happy endings are not without tears.
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REESE WHITBY, AUSTRALIA 7 NEWS, (voice over): (UNINTELLIGIBLE) survival in survival instincts dissolve into tears. Jillian Searle from Wilington (ph) was at her hotel pool with Lucky, five, and Blake, two, when the tsunami hit. Her husband, watching helplessly from their first floor hotel room. JILLIAN SEARLE, TSUNAMI SURVIVOR: I just saw this waterfall coming straight for us and I just started running. I had both of them in my hands and one on each arm and we started going under.
WHITBY: Jillian was forced to make a horrible decision. Let go of one son to save the other.
SEARLE: I knew I had to let go of one of them. I just thought I better let go of the one that's the oldest. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) grabbed hold of him for a moment. But said that she had to let him go because she was going under. And I was screaming, trying to find him. And we thought he was dead.
WHITBY: Two hours later, Lucky was found alive.
SEARLE: He climbed to a door. He said it swept him into a barrel or something and he said he was holding on to a door.
WHITBY: Does he know how to swim?
SEARLE: No. He can't swim. He said he was doggy paddling in the water. And he said the door kept him up. It was just horrible. I'm just so thankful that I still got my two kids with me. I never thought that both would survive.
WHITBY: The Johnson family from Hawking (ph) was trapped on a two-story hotel as the water kept rising. They feared the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing worse than having your three kids standing there, saying, dad, are we going to die? What can you say?
WHITBY: Paul Galvan (ph) of Escot (ph) tried in vain to save a Thai baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ...CPR on a little baby. He was screaming to keep him alive. He couldn't keep him alive.
WHITBY: Many limped home. Some came in wheelchairs. The Boston family lost a loved one in the Bali bombing. Now this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bit different from Bali. You had to see this mountain water coming towards you.
WHITBY, (on camera): This the tip of the despair. Passengers arriving here say there are thousands more holidaymakers in Thailand all desperately trying to get home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was chaotic, shocking.
WHITBY: Glad to be home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sure.
WHITBY: Reese Whitby, 7 news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable.
LIN: It just leaves you with chills if you were to find yourself in that situation with your children.
O'BRIEN: Yes. To be a parent and to think that little boy's name is actually Lucky, just adds to all the irony and tragedy. And yet the happy ending. We should point out, we're seeing a lot of stories which show westerners.
And it's not that we're focusing on westerners per se, it's just as these people return to media centers from vacation, many of them speaking English, we tend to tell those stories because it is logistically possible. It's not that we're overlooking the story of everybody who lives along the Indian Ocean. I hope viewers understand that.
LIN: I hope so too. And we have correspondents all across the Indian Ocean coast, bringing you those stories as well. We've got the second hour of LIVE FROM coming up next. And aid is pouring in from around the world for victims of the devastating tsunami.
So we're going to take a closer look at how the U.S. military is lending a hand. When LIVE FROM continues right after this.
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