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CNN Live Today

Rubble Removed From Thai Resort Island of Phuket; First Bodies of Swedish Tourists Return Home

Aired January 04, 2005 - 10:30   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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: One relief organization says it has been overwhelmed by donations for the tsunami mission. Doctors Without Borders is saying that it has already received more money than it can use in those efforts and asks any future donations be made to the general relief fund, instead. The group says that it's the first time that it's encountered such generosity.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're continuing to bring you extensive coverage of the aftermath of the tsunami. We have 14 correspondents in four Asian nations on the story right now. They'll be reporting from throughout the region on CNN.

John King is traveling with Secretary of State Colin Powell as he tours the devastation.

On the Thai resort island of Phuket, the rubble is being removed and rebuilding will follow. But those who survived the tsunami will never forget it.

CNN's Aneesh Raman has one man's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The moment devastation struck the Kamala Beach Hotel. The world has seen the images and heard the sounds. More than a week later, this is what remains, a sight reminiscent of a war zone. The gargantuan task of rebuilding falls on hotel manager Wissut Kasayatanano. He has seen the video enough to never want to see it again.

WISSUT KASAYATANANO, MANAGER, KAMALA HOTEL: You've seen it two or three times, you will remember the whole thing, you know, because it is where you work and you live for.

RAMAN: It was just a few hours after the waves came in, that Wissut, inland at his house, came rushing to the scene. His reaction was visceral.

KASAYATANANO: I look around, yelling to double check, to make sure if I -- if someone can hear me or anything so I can help them.

RAMAN: The majority of guests that come here come often. The connection between the staff and tourists is beyond professional, and makes the large number of missing extremely personal.

KASAYATANANO: They're like part of my family. I mean, they -- for sure, they have to know the name of the staff. So it -- it more like a family.

RAMAN (on camera): The hotel is now a graveyard of sorts. Guests that were in these first-floor rooms would have seen the water rise to the ceiling almost instantly. Many of them were sleeping. And as the water rose so high, so quickly, there was no escape.

(voice-over): The lucky ones, like these staff members, now clean away the same debris that killed those they knew. The process is surreal. But it must go on.

KASAYATANANO: We should be able to prevail (INAUDIBLE).

RAMAN: The hotel will be rebuilt, and new guests will arrive, perhaps unaware of the hallowed ground upon which their holiday retreat stands. But for Wissut, the effects will linger, the missing always haunting him, his guilt is tragic.

KASAYATANANO: How I could be able to answer all the questions about missing people. I feel responsible.

RAMAN: One hotel of thousands trying to start anew, aware that as much as everyone might try, what happened here can never be forgotten.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And, Daryn, that really is the crux of what the people here face. They have to rebuild, and rebuild quickly. It is an economic imperative. At the same time, though, they are just coming to grips with the enormity of the situation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh you were talking about the economic importance here. I think it's hard for people here to appreciate just how important tourism is to the economy that those workers, the same ones we saw clearing out the debris, they really have nowhere to go and nowhere to work. There are no other options for them without the hotels there.

RAMAN: Thousands of livelihoods, Daryn, are dependent upon this industry. Those that we saw work about three months every year, and that's it. This peak season funds them and their families for the year. Phi Phi island is fairly destroyed. The coastal area of Khao Lak is gone. Phuket is the only thing that in some semblance is still standing. So they feel the responsibility. They're the economic lifeblood of the country, $10 billion U.S. dollars a year, Daryn, comes in from tourism. So a lot that they have to deal with to try and not compound on what is already a difficult situation.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman from Phuket, thank you.

SANCHEZ: It's interesting, Daryn, that you mention tourists, because when you consider the story a lot of the tourists that are being affected by this came from one particular country, and that's where we want to take you now. It's Sweden. An outpouring of grief mixed with anger is being felt in Sweden today. The first bodies of Swedish tourists killed by the tsunami have now returned home. CNN's Robyn Kurnow is in Stockholm, and she's following this part of the story for us.

Robyn, good morning to you.

ROBYN KURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Those bodies are not home just yet. They're on their way, a military plane transporting them from Thailand, they're expected in the next few hours here in Stockholm. They left after a short share moan was conducted on the ground in Bangkok. And a similar sort of ceremony will be conducted on the ground here in Stockholm when those first six coffins do arrive. It's expected the prime minister, the king, as well as relatives will be there to welcome these first dead.

Now in terms of numbers, Swedes are missing more than 2,400 people. Only 54 confirmed dead. Of those 54, six are returning this evening.

Now, let me put that into context here for you; 2,400 people might not seem a lot within context of all the hundreds of thousands that are dead. But Sweden is a population of 9 million people. They haven't been at war for 200 years. And Sweden also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. People live here longer than anywhere else. So, for this society to deal with such a huge number of dead is truly shocking. And the Swedes are really reeling from the tragedy.

SANCHEZ: Yes, as a matter of fact, the, the word that was used is angry. Can't help but ask why.

KURNOW: Absolutely. They're angry. Amidst all this despair, they're angry at the government, because they feel the government reacted far too slowly to help those Swedes caught up in the tsunami. About 20,000 Swedes were holidaying in Thailand when this happened.

As you can see, the conditions here are very icy and wintry and many Swedes travel to Thailand for some hot, sunny beach weather over the Christmas holidays. And many people here felt that the government just didn't realize the enormity of the Swedish losses at first. It took them days to really get any sort of organization up and running. And people just feel they weren't supported. So this is something that's really been playing out very much in the public imagination over the past few days here.

SANCHEZ: Interesting perspective we haven't heard before.

CNN's Robyn Kurnow bringing us that story from Stockholm. Thank you, Robyn.

KAGAN: Insurgents in Iraq have claimed their biggest political target yet. It comes less than four weeks before the national election. CNN's Jeff Koinange is in Baghdad with news about today's assassination -- Jeff.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn. His name was Ali Al Haidri, and he was the powerful governor of Baghdad region, and a senior member of Iraq's interim government.

This is what happened; it happened in the Al Hudia (ph) neighborhood in northern Baghdad. The governor was in a convoy, a three-car convoy with six of his heavily armed bodyguards. They were intercepted by unknown gunmen who fired repeatedly in to his vehicle, killing him, and a bodyguard, wounding two other bodyguards. We don't have any eyewitness reports whether the assailants were either captured or killed.

But this is not the first attempt on the governor's life. Barely three months ago, the same kind of ambush killed two bodyguards. The governor walked away unharmed in that one. This time around, he wasn't so lucky.

So it shows, Daryn, that the insurgents are stepping up their attacks, and they are attacking determinedly, not just at random; they're picking their victims and going at them with about 26 days to go before the January 30th election -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Other forms of violence also continue. What about the truck bomb in Baghdad today, Jeff?

KOINANGE: That's right, less than an hour before the governor's assassination, a suicide bomber in an oil tanker felled with petrol, and laden with explosives, ran his vehicle into a police checkpoint. That was meters away from police command headquarters, right outside the Green Zone. We heard there was smoke billowing in the air, charred bodies littering the streets. And the death count in that was 10 dead, including eight Iraqi commandos, two civilians, over 60 wounded. This on a day that five more U.S. soldiers were killed, three in Baghdad, one in Balad, and a U.S. Marine killed in Al Anbar province -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeff Koinange reporting live from Baghdad. Jeff, thank you.

SANCHEZ: The destruction of the tsunami is affecting even the youngest of minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like so scary. One second you're just there, and then everything's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Still to come, how to explain this Asian tsunami, some teachers attempt this difficult lesson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: We have news just in here to CNN, the house version of the tsunami relief bill is out. Our Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill. Of course he is going to have the latest developments for us. Hi, Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. That's right. CNN has gotten the first look at these resolutions that the House will pass later this afternoon, expressing condolences over the tsunami disaster. Not surprisingly, of course, the language in this resolution expresses sympathy and condolences over quote "the horrific loss of life stemming from the tsunami tragedy."

But what is most significant in here is that this resolution that the House will pass does not specify a dollar figure for the relief package. It does not cite the $350 million already pledged by the president. The significance there is that it is open-ended. It leaves the door open that later this month Congress could pass and a lot of senior staffers up here think, in fact, Congress will pass more than $350 million in relief.

Quickly the language says that the Congress quote "affirms its commitment to generous United States support for relief and reconstruction efforts." The Senate will be passing a similar resolution. We don't have the language on that yet. It's very likely that it will be similar to the language, maybe even the same language.

The Senate will be coming into session at 12:00 noon today where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will open with a moment of silence, will also offer his personal condolences before heading to the region himself later this evening. There will also be a swearing-in ceremony for new senators. And about 1:00 p.m. Eastern time today we expect the Senate to pass their version of this resolution and then maybe about 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., the House will pass this very resolution that we've just gotten a copy of -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And so when does a dollar amount get attached to that?

HENRY: The bottom line is that the State Department already has the $350 million that the president has pledged washing around in existing accounts. That money, Secretary of State Colin Powell has pointed out, will be spent. Congress is just passing a resolution to affirm that they will back up the president on whatever relief needs to be sent out. But what will happen is later in January or early February, the Congress will pass an emergency funding bill very likely that will replenish the $350 million that the State Department is laying out now.

And that emergency funding bill could include more money if, as I said here, it's open-ended. If there's an assessment that they need more than $350 million, at that point, later this month, the Congress would pass more than $350 million. They just don't want to pass a blank check this week because they do not have a good handle yet on how much money is actually needed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. I have more questions, more Ed Henry questions about this first day of Congress being in session in the new year. They will wait until the next hour. Thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: If you have children, there's a real good chance that they've got an awful lot of questions about this tsunami disaster. How can you help them try and somehow come to terms with this? Well, you can learn a lot from one grade school teacher who happens to be in New York. Her students talked about this tragedy, and they do so in their own words. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something very tragic happened over the weekend, over the last five days. Did any of you hear the news and hear what had gone on? Ayre (ph)?

UNIDENITIFIED CHILD: There was a big tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I came in this morning, it was a natural opening. What happened over break. And the kids right away started talking about it and what causes it and where was it and the magnitude of people that had perished in this.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's like so scary. One second you're just there, and then everything's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You kind of open up a subject and you let them go with it. You see how deep their thoughts are about it. How far do they want to go with it? How much can they handle? So in this particular subject, there were lots of terrible issues that did arise. Questions about parents losing children, and children losing parents. And parents making choices between children.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I heard a story that a mom had two kids, and like a 14-month-old, and a 5-year-old, and she had to let one of them go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But again, you open up a topic and you let them kind of go with it. You keep in mind how far you want them to go. But you don't quite know what they're ready to handle till you hear them start to talk about it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's like what if your mom and dad just went there, or something, and it's like, next minute you don't know if they're alive, you don't know if they're dead, you don't know what's the story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Try to get them to close their eyes and kind of visualize -- what's it's like? What's it like for those people on the other side of the world? You know, how do they feel? They're kids. What do kids want? What are kids feelings? How would you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Same as them, like sad. Scared. Like I wouldn't know what to do.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We could help donate money. We could start fund-raisers.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We could give them food.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We should send them like medicine and vitamins because they're probably weak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always work at having them get into somebody else's shoes because empathy is the beginning of all of this. Empathy and understanding. I think they just have to sometimes be quieted down from their regular life. And they need to have the space to think. And that's what happens in a classroom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So you have four kids at home. Have they been bringing this up? and have you and your wife been talking to them?

SANCHEZ: We have. And as a matter of fact, we learned from them. Because -- the younger ones we don't talk to them about it. But the older ones just happened to be studying the ring of fire and plate tectonics in their science class. So they've actually been explaining to us...

KAGAN: How it works?

SANCHEZ: ... how it shifts and how everything -- and she's right, that teacher. The key is not to just always ask questions and talk to them but to sit back and listen.

KAGAN: Let them listen -- let them talk, I mean.

SANCHEZ: Exactly. Makes them feel good.

KAGAN: Yes. And helps the parents, as well, I think. Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, a lot is at stake as the top two teams in college football -- we're going to lighten things up in just a bit. Because it is the national championship tonight. You know, some people are saying this is the best matchup of college football games in a long time.

SANCHEZ: Some people are saying Auburn should have been there.

KAGAN: Oh, well. Michelle Bonner has the answer to those questions for us. She is at the Orange Bowl -- Michelle.

MICHELLE BONNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, you know, Auburn's not playing for the national championship. It is USC and Oklahoma. They get under way in just a little over nine hours. And you know what, there's something unique about this game, and I'll tell you what that is, coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A lot of people going to be arguing about this one. They went to New Orleans to borrow a bowl of sugar, that's Virginia Tech, but they can hardly get anything sweet. That's because they ran into a machine called Auburn at the Sugar Bowl last night. Boy did they. Final score 16-13. So now, the Auburn Tigers, who as my co- host mentioned moments ago, finish with a perfect 13-0 season, can do nothing but watch TV and see if somebody else play football. They're hoping anyone will vote them No. 1 in the various polls of coaches and writers. I guess there could be a tie, right? That's the only thing.

KAGAN: Well, look what happened last year. SC knows about that, but this time they have a legitimate shot at the national championship. The question of who is No. 1 in college football may be answered tonight, or not. USC playing Oklahoma.

CNN's Michelle Bonner covering the national title game from the Orange Bowl in Miami. Good morning.

BONNER: Good morning, Daryn and Rick. I'll tell you what, a matchup like this is probably about as good as it gets on paper, No. 1 and No. 2 obviously going for the national championship. Both teams are undefeated. And four of the top five Heisman vote getters are playing in this game, including USC running back going head-to-head with Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson -- Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson going head to head. And what is unique about this game is the head-to-head matchup between USC quarterback Matt Leinart and Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. And why is this unique? Because this is the first time ever that two Heisman winners have ever played against each other in a game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's extraordinary that not only that, but then a couple of the runner-ups are here, as well. I think it's an unmatchable situation. I can't imagine this happening again. And it just adds to the -- hopefully the lure of this one game, and makes it a great, memorable game.

MARK CLAYTON, WIDE RECEIVER, UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA: This is definitely one of the greatest national championships ever. We've got four of the Heisman finalists, and two winners, and that's amazing. And I'm just blessed to be in this, you know, type of game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BONNER: Well, Oklahoma obviously hoping that this year is a little bit more memorable than last year. They suffered a bitter loss to LSU in the national championship game. USC did not play in the national championship game last year, though they did end up garnering a share of the title with LSU. These two teams, Oklahoma and USC, so very similar on paper. But there will be one difference Daryn and Rick tonight, one will win, and one will lose. Back to you guys in the studio.

KAGAN: Which leads me to the point of no matter what happens tonight, there are going to be two undefeated teams in the country. And you heard about Auburn of course making its case. So what does this do to the controversial BCS system, Michelle?

BONNER: Well, the difference between last year and this year, if you remember, USC was No. 1 in both polls last year. So the fact that they didn't play in the national championship, and they ended up still being No. 1 in both polls after they finished off Michigan in the Rose Bowl, they ended up sharing the title. Now, Auburn was No. 3 in the BCS title, and they were not No. 1 in either of the polls. So the fact -- you know, there was a lot of talk about if they came out and absolutely hammered Virginia Tech last night, and if this was a close game tonight , then perhaps they would make a better case. But as you mentioned, Auburn is undefeated. And no team has ever finished a season 13-0 and not won a national championship. So I'll tell you what, if USC and Oklahoma play a close game tonight, then Auburn really does have a good argument.

KAGAN: OK, Michelle, thank you. Well, when USC wins. I mean, if USC wins, they can say to Auburn you know what, We felt your pain last year, come back and win it legitimately next year.

SANCHEZ: You're such a partisan.

KAGAN: I'm an L.A. girl.

SANCHEZ: I know. I know. Still to come next hour, so many Americans are doing what they can to try and aid the tsunami relief effort.

KAGAN: But what about American businesses? Could they, should they be doing more?

SANCHEZ: Also, the thousands of Americans unaccounted for in south Asia. Are they tsunami victims? Or have they just been unable to get to a phone and call home? It's a perplexing question for the folks here waiting for that call.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired January 4, 2005 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: One relief organization says it has been overwhelmed by donations for the tsunami mission. Doctors Without Borders is saying that it has already received more money than it can use in those efforts and asks any future donations be made to the general relief fund, instead. The group says that it's the first time that it's encountered such generosity.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're continuing to bring you extensive coverage of the aftermath of the tsunami. We have 14 correspondents in four Asian nations on the story right now. They'll be reporting from throughout the region on CNN.

John King is traveling with Secretary of State Colin Powell as he tours the devastation.

On the Thai resort island of Phuket, the rubble is being removed and rebuilding will follow. But those who survived the tsunami will never forget it.

CNN's Aneesh Raman has one man's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The moment devastation struck the Kamala Beach Hotel. The world has seen the images and heard the sounds. More than a week later, this is what remains, a sight reminiscent of a war zone. The gargantuan task of rebuilding falls on hotel manager Wissut Kasayatanano. He has seen the video enough to never want to see it again.

WISSUT KASAYATANANO, MANAGER, KAMALA HOTEL: You've seen it two or three times, you will remember the whole thing, you know, because it is where you work and you live for.

RAMAN: It was just a few hours after the waves came in, that Wissut, inland at his house, came rushing to the scene. His reaction was visceral.

KASAYATANANO: I look around, yelling to double check, to make sure if I -- if someone can hear me or anything so I can help them.

RAMAN: The majority of guests that come here come often. The connection between the staff and tourists is beyond professional, and makes the large number of missing extremely personal.

KASAYATANANO: They're like part of my family. I mean, they -- for sure, they have to know the name of the staff. So it -- it more like a family.

RAMAN (on camera): The hotel is now a graveyard of sorts. Guests that were in these first-floor rooms would have seen the water rise to the ceiling almost instantly. Many of them were sleeping. And as the water rose so high, so quickly, there was no escape.

(voice-over): The lucky ones, like these staff members, now clean away the same debris that killed those they knew. The process is surreal. But it must go on.

KASAYATANANO: We should be able to prevail (INAUDIBLE).

RAMAN: The hotel will be rebuilt, and new guests will arrive, perhaps unaware of the hallowed ground upon which their holiday retreat stands. But for Wissut, the effects will linger, the missing always haunting him, his guilt is tragic.

KASAYATANANO: How I could be able to answer all the questions about missing people. I feel responsible.

RAMAN: One hotel of thousands trying to start anew, aware that as much as everyone might try, what happened here can never be forgotten.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And, Daryn, that really is the crux of what the people here face. They have to rebuild, and rebuild quickly. It is an economic imperative. At the same time, though, they are just coming to grips with the enormity of the situation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh you were talking about the economic importance here. I think it's hard for people here to appreciate just how important tourism is to the economy that those workers, the same ones we saw clearing out the debris, they really have nowhere to go and nowhere to work. There are no other options for them without the hotels there.

RAMAN: Thousands of livelihoods, Daryn, are dependent upon this industry. Those that we saw work about three months every year, and that's it. This peak season funds them and their families for the year. Phi Phi island is fairly destroyed. The coastal area of Khao Lak is gone. Phuket is the only thing that in some semblance is still standing. So they feel the responsibility. They're the economic lifeblood of the country, $10 billion U.S. dollars a year, Daryn, comes in from tourism. So a lot that they have to deal with to try and not compound on what is already a difficult situation.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman from Phuket, thank you.

SANCHEZ: It's interesting, Daryn, that you mention tourists, because when you consider the story a lot of the tourists that are being affected by this came from one particular country, and that's where we want to take you now. It's Sweden. An outpouring of grief mixed with anger is being felt in Sweden today. The first bodies of Swedish tourists killed by the tsunami have now returned home. CNN's Robyn Kurnow is in Stockholm, and she's following this part of the story for us.

Robyn, good morning to you.

ROBYN KURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Those bodies are not home just yet. They're on their way, a military plane transporting them from Thailand, they're expected in the next few hours here in Stockholm. They left after a short share moan was conducted on the ground in Bangkok. And a similar sort of ceremony will be conducted on the ground here in Stockholm when those first six coffins do arrive. It's expected the prime minister, the king, as well as relatives will be there to welcome these first dead.

Now in terms of numbers, Swedes are missing more than 2,400 people. Only 54 confirmed dead. Of those 54, six are returning this evening.

Now, let me put that into context here for you; 2,400 people might not seem a lot within context of all the hundreds of thousands that are dead. But Sweden is a population of 9 million people. They haven't been at war for 200 years. And Sweden also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. People live here longer than anywhere else. So, for this society to deal with such a huge number of dead is truly shocking. And the Swedes are really reeling from the tragedy.

SANCHEZ: Yes, as a matter of fact, the, the word that was used is angry. Can't help but ask why.

KURNOW: Absolutely. They're angry. Amidst all this despair, they're angry at the government, because they feel the government reacted far too slowly to help those Swedes caught up in the tsunami. About 20,000 Swedes were holidaying in Thailand when this happened.

As you can see, the conditions here are very icy and wintry and many Swedes travel to Thailand for some hot, sunny beach weather over the Christmas holidays. And many people here felt that the government just didn't realize the enormity of the Swedish losses at first. It took them days to really get any sort of organization up and running. And people just feel they weren't supported. So this is something that's really been playing out very much in the public imagination over the past few days here.

SANCHEZ: Interesting perspective we haven't heard before.

CNN's Robyn Kurnow bringing us that story from Stockholm. Thank you, Robyn.

KAGAN: Insurgents in Iraq have claimed their biggest political target yet. It comes less than four weeks before the national election. CNN's Jeff Koinange is in Baghdad with news about today's assassination -- Jeff.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn. His name was Ali Al Haidri, and he was the powerful governor of Baghdad region, and a senior member of Iraq's interim government.

This is what happened; it happened in the Al Hudia (ph) neighborhood in northern Baghdad. The governor was in a convoy, a three-car convoy with six of his heavily armed bodyguards. They were intercepted by unknown gunmen who fired repeatedly in to his vehicle, killing him, and a bodyguard, wounding two other bodyguards. We don't have any eyewitness reports whether the assailants were either captured or killed.

But this is not the first attempt on the governor's life. Barely three months ago, the same kind of ambush killed two bodyguards. The governor walked away unharmed in that one. This time around, he wasn't so lucky.

So it shows, Daryn, that the insurgents are stepping up their attacks, and they are attacking determinedly, not just at random; they're picking their victims and going at them with about 26 days to go before the January 30th election -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Other forms of violence also continue. What about the truck bomb in Baghdad today, Jeff?

KOINANGE: That's right, less than an hour before the governor's assassination, a suicide bomber in an oil tanker felled with petrol, and laden with explosives, ran his vehicle into a police checkpoint. That was meters away from police command headquarters, right outside the Green Zone. We heard there was smoke billowing in the air, charred bodies littering the streets. And the death count in that was 10 dead, including eight Iraqi commandos, two civilians, over 60 wounded. This on a day that five more U.S. soldiers were killed, three in Baghdad, one in Balad, and a U.S. Marine killed in Al Anbar province -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jeff Koinange reporting live from Baghdad. Jeff, thank you.

SANCHEZ: The destruction of the tsunami is affecting even the youngest of minds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like so scary. One second you're just there, and then everything's gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Still to come, how to explain this Asian tsunami, some teachers attempt this difficult lesson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

KAGAN: We have news just in here to CNN, the house version of the tsunami relief bill is out. Our Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill. Of course he is going to have the latest developments for us. Hi, Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. That's right. CNN has gotten the first look at these resolutions that the House will pass later this afternoon, expressing condolences over the tsunami disaster. Not surprisingly, of course, the language in this resolution expresses sympathy and condolences over quote "the horrific loss of life stemming from the tsunami tragedy."

But what is most significant in here is that this resolution that the House will pass does not specify a dollar figure for the relief package. It does not cite the $350 million already pledged by the president. The significance there is that it is open-ended. It leaves the door open that later this month Congress could pass and a lot of senior staffers up here think, in fact, Congress will pass more than $350 million in relief.

Quickly the language says that the Congress quote "affirms its commitment to generous United States support for relief and reconstruction efforts." The Senate will be passing a similar resolution. We don't have the language on that yet. It's very likely that it will be similar to the language, maybe even the same language.

The Senate will be coming into session at 12:00 noon today where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will open with a moment of silence, will also offer his personal condolences before heading to the region himself later this evening. There will also be a swearing-in ceremony for new senators. And about 1:00 p.m. Eastern time today we expect the Senate to pass their version of this resolution and then maybe about 3:00 or 4:00 p.m., the House will pass this very resolution that we've just gotten a copy of -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And so when does a dollar amount get attached to that?

HENRY: The bottom line is that the State Department already has the $350 million that the president has pledged washing around in existing accounts. That money, Secretary of State Colin Powell has pointed out, will be spent. Congress is just passing a resolution to affirm that they will back up the president on whatever relief needs to be sent out. But what will happen is later in January or early February, the Congress will pass an emergency funding bill very likely that will replenish the $350 million that the State Department is laying out now.

And that emergency funding bill could include more money if, as I said here, it's open-ended. If there's an assessment that they need more than $350 million, at that point, later this month, the Congress would pass more than $350 million. They just don't want to pass a blank check this week because they do not have a good handle yet on how much money is actually needed -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. I have more questions, more Ed Henry questions about this first day of Congress being in session in the new year. They will wait until the next hour. Thank you.

HENRY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: If you have children, there's a real good chance that they've got an awful lot of questions about this tsunami disaster. How can you help them try and somehow come to terms with this? Well, you can learn a lot from one grade school teacher who happens to be in New York. Her students talked about this tragedy, and they do so in their own words. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something very tragic happened over the weekend, over the last five days. Did any of you hear the news and hear what had gone on? Ayre (ph)?

UNIDENITIFIED CHILD: There was a big tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I came in this morning, it was a natural opening. What happened over break. And the kids right away started talking about it and what causes it and where was it and the magnitude of people that had perished in this.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's like so scary. One second you're just there, and then everything's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You kind of open up a subject and you let them go with it. You see how deep their thoughts are about it. How far do they want to go with it? How much can they handle? So in this particular subject, there were lots of terrible issues that did arise. Questions about parents losing children, and children losing parents. And parents making choices between children.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I heard a story that a mom had two kids, and like a 14-month-old, and a 5-year-old, and she had to let one of them go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But again, you open up a topic and you let them kind of go with it. You keep in mind how far you want them to go. But you don't quite know what they're ready to handle till you hear them start to talk about it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's like what if your mom and dad just went there, or something, and it's like, next minute you don't know if they're alive, you don't know if they're dead, you don't know what's the story.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Try to get them to close their eyes and kind of visualize -- what's it's like? What's it like for those people on the other side of the world? You know, how do they feel? They're kids. What do kids want? What are kids feelings? How would you feel?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Same as them, like sad. Scared. Like I wouldn't know what to do.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We could help donate money. We could start fund-raisers.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We could give them food.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We should send them like medicine and vitamins because they're probably weak.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We always work at having them get into somebody else's shoes because empathy is the beginning of all of this. Empathy and understanding. I think they just have to sometimes be quieted down from their regular life. And they need to have the space to think. And that's what happens in a classroom.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So you have four kids at home. Have they been bringing this up? and have you and your wife been talking to them?

SANCHEZ: We have. And as a matter of fact, we learned from them. Because -- the younger ones we don't talk to them about it. But the older ones just happened to be studying the ring of fire and plate tectonics in their science class. So they've actually been explaining to us...

KAGAN: How it works?

SANCHEZ: ... how it shifts and how everything -- and she's right, that teacher. The key is not to just always ask questions and talk to them but to sit back and listen.

KAGAN: Let them listen -- let them talk, I mean.

SANCHEZ: Exactly. Makes them feel good.

KAGAN: Yes. And helps the parents, as well, I think. Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, a lot is at stake as the top two teams in college football -- we're going to lighten things up in just a bit. Because it is the national championship tonight. You know, some people are saying this is the best matchup of college football games in a long time.

SANCHEZ: Some people are saying Auburn should have been there.

KAGAN: Oh, well. Michelle Bonner has the answer to those questions for us. She is at the Orange Bowl -- Michelle.

MICHELLE BONNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, you know, Auburn's not playing for the national championship. It is USC and Oklahoma. They get under way in just a little over nine hours. And you know what, there's something unique about this game, and I'll tell you what that is, coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A lot of people going to be arguing about this one. They went to New Orleans to borrow a bowl of sugar, that's Virginia Tech, but they can hardly get anything sweet. That's because they ran into a machine called Auburn at the Sugar Bowl last night. Boy did they. Final score 16-13. So now, the Auburn Tigers, who as my co- host mentioned moments ago, finish with a perfect 13-0 season, can do nothing but watch TV and see if somebody else play football. They're hoping anyone will vote them No. 1 in the various polls of coaches and writers. I guess there could be a tie, right? That's the only thing.

KAGAN: Well, look what happened last year. SC knows about that, but this time they have a legitimate shot at the national championship. The question of who is No. 1 in college football may be answered tonight, or not. USC playing Oklahoma.

CNN's Michelle Bonner covering the national title game from the Orange Bowl in Miami. Good morning.

BONNER: Good morning, Daryn and Rick. I'll tell you what, a matchup like this is probably about as good as it gets on paper, No. 1 and No. 2 obviously going for the national championship. Both teams are undefeated. And four of the top five Heisman vote getters are playing in this game, including USC running back going head-to-head with Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson -- Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson going head to head. And what is unique about this game is the head-to-head matchup between USC quarterback Matt Leinart and Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. And why is this unique? Because this is the first time ever that two Heisman winners have ever played against each other in a game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's extraordinary that not only that, but then a couple of the runner-ups are here, as well. I think it's an unmatchable situation. I can't imagine this happening again. And it just adds to the -- hopefully the lure of this one game, and makes it a great, memorable game.

MARK CLAYTON, WIDE RECEIVER, UNIV. OF OKLAHOMA: This is definitely one of the greatest national championships ever. We've got four of the Heisman finalists, and two winners, and that's amazing. And I'm just blessed to be in this, you know, type of game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BONNER: Well, Oklahoma obviously hoping that this year is a little bit more memorable than last year. They suffered a bitter loss to LSU in the national championship game. USC did not play in the national championship game last year, though they did end up garnering a share of the title with LSU. These two teams, Oklahoma and USC, so very similar on paper. But there will be one difference Daryn and Rick tonight, one will win, and one will lose. Back to you guys in the studio.

KAGAN: Which leads me to the point of no matter what happens tonight, there are going to be two undefeated teams in the country. And you heard about Auburn of course making its case. So what does this do to the controversial BCS system, Michelle?

BONNER: Well, the difference between last year and this year, if you remember, USC was No. 1 in both polls last year. So the fact that they didn't play in the national championship, and they ended up still being No. 1 in both polls after they finished off Michigan in the Rose Bowl, they ended up sharing the title. Now, Auburn was No. 3 in the BCS title, and they were not No. 1 in either of the polls. So the fact -- you know, there was a lot of talk about if they came out and absolutely hammered Virginia Tech last night, and if this was a close game tonight , then perhaps they would make a better case. But as you mentioned, Auburn is undefeated. And no team has ever finished a season 13-0 and not won a national championship. So I'll tell you what, if USC and Oklahoma play a close game tonight, then Auburn really does have a good argument.

KAGAN: OK, Michelle, thank you. Well, when USC wins. I mean, if USC wins, they can say to Auburn you know what, We felt your pain last year, come back and win it legitimately next year.

SANCHEZ: You're such a partisan.

KAGAN: I'm an L.A. girl.

SANCHEZ: I know. I know. Still to come next hour, so many Americans are doing what they can to try and aid the tsunami relief effort.

KAGAN: But what about American businesses? Could they, should they be doing more?

SANCHEZ: Also, the thousands of Americans unaccounted for in south Asia. Are they tsunami victims? Or have they just been unable to get to a phone and call home? It's a perplexing question for the folks here waiting for that call.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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