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CNN Live Today
New Jersey Drawbridge Accident; Victims of Last Year's Tsunami Being Remembered; After-Holiday Shopping
Aired December 26, 2005 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Across South Asia, victims of last year's tsunami are being remembered on this one-year anniversary of the tragedy. The massive waves generated by an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless, are still living in tents and other shelters, or with relatives.
Here in the U.S., in New Jersey, the search goes on for a Jersey City police officer who is believed to have been killed when his police vehicle ran off a drawbridge and plunged into the Hackensack River. Rescue crews have recovered the body of another officer who was also in the vehicle.
Authorities say because of rain, heavy fog and darkness the officers did not realize the drawbridge was up. The bridge's safety warning system was not operating.
One week after suffering a minor stroke, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is preparing for a heart procedure. Sharon's doctors plan to use a catheter to repair a small hole in the Israeli leader's heart. They say the hole may have caused Sharon's stroke. The procedure is scheduled to take place in two to three weeks.
In Iraq, at least 20 deaths reported in a new round of violence in Baghdad and several other areas. Among the victims, six Iraqi police officers, two soldiers and a university lecturer.
President Bush is heading to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a holiday break. The president and his family spent Christmas weekend at Camp David. Mr. Bush is scheduled to return to Washington on New Year's Day.
On this day after Christmas, millions of Americans are celebrating another holiday, Kwanzaa. The celebration of African- American culture runs from today through Sunday. It's time to reflect the history of harvest celebrations in Africa. The celebration includes candle-lighting, discussions and a feast on New Year's Eve.
Good morning and welcome to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
Checking the time across the country, just after 8:00 a.m. in Seattle, Washington; just after 11:00 here in Atlanta, Georgia; and just after 11:00 p.m. in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
This is the one-year anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
To New Jersey for our top story. A tragedy for two police officers trying to protect the safety of others. Jersey City police say the officers' emergency vehicle plunged off the bridge into the Hackensack River. They had just delivered flares to the drawbridge operator to help divert traffic because the safety wasn't working.
The police chief says searchers have recovered the body of Officer Sean Carson. Officer Robert Nguyen is missing and presumed dead.
CNN's Chris Huntington has been following the developing story all morning and he joins us live now from Jersey City.
Hello, Chris.
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.
This is an unspeakable tragedy hitting on Christmas night, the first night of Hanukkah, when most families in the New York City area would have been home, warm, and dry, celebrating the holidays. It was cold and nasty out here and very, very foggy when officers Carson and Nguyen responded, as you mentioned, to the call to try to manage traffic around this drawbridge back here.
Now, this drawbridge is the kind of drawbridge where the center span raises up vertically. It doesn't flap up as one might imagine in a typical drawbridge.
The drawbridge operator had called in requests for police assistance to manage traffic because two days earlier a traffic barricade had been damaged, and they needed police management in order to safely raise the drawbridge. Apparently there was a tug that had made a call it wanted to pass under the bridge last night. It's unclear why that was essential to happen, by the way, last night in dark, in the rain, in the fog.
We'll get to that.
Carson, a veteran of 16 years on the force, and Nguyen, for six years on the Jersey City force, responded, helping other officers set up this barricade. They delivered cones and flares. They actually drove over the bridge safely from this direction, from west to east. When they got to the other side, delivered their goods, finished their job, turned around to come back, the bridge had been raised.
Here's how the Jersey City police chief and the mayor describe the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF ROBERT TROY, JERSEY CITY, N.J. POLICE: These two officers, these heroes, they went over the bridge and they delivered the flares. And when they got done delivering the flares, the other officers were setting the flares up.
Another incident did occur there not related to what they were doing, was distracted. A lot of the officers at the scene. These two officers got back in their truck and headed east, not knowing that the bridge was opened for an oncoming tug.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of the hour, the darkness, the rain, the fog, I'm sure it was impossible for those two fine young men to see what they were driving into, their own -- their own demise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTINGTON: Now, according to local officials, rescuers were on scene within minutes. That included rescuers from the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Jersey Harbor Patrol.
Keep in mind, the Hackensack River feeds into Newark Bay, only a couple of miles from downtown Manhattan. This is part of the greater complex of the harbor system around New York City. And in fact, just the other side of this bridge is part of the big sort of sprawling industrial complex in this area of New Jersey that includes a lot of oil refineries. And generally speaking, it's oil barges that go back and forth along the Hackensack River.
Officer Carson's body was recovered, he was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The search continues for Officer Nguyen. The speculation is not good on his possibility for survival. The water is 41 degrees, virtually impossible, Daryn, for anybody to survive the length of time that he is believed to have been in the water.
Back to you.
KAGAN: Chris Huntington, live from Jersey City.
Chris, thank you.
Next story, a Christmas Day crime spree. Detectives outside of Washington trying to find a motive today in what they say looks like a murder-suicide. The crimes happened in the affluent Fairfax County area of Virginia.
Police say a young man killed four people at two homes before taking his own life. His mother was among the victims.
Authorities said little about the crime, but "The Washington Post" reports the suspect had arrests on his record for assault, weapons and drug charges.
A cell phone proves to be a Christmas lifesaver for a man in Oklahoma City. Fire racing through his home in Midwest City, Oklahoma, as he was sleeping. But Anthony Dixon managed to get out safely and soundly.
His beeping cell phone woke him up. Someone apparently text messaged him "Merry Christmas" just in the nick of time.
And there was this: a wild ride in Ohio. It started at a K-Mart in Springfield. A last-minute Christmas shopper headed in, a couple of suspected shoplifters going out. The man jumped on the thieves' car, clung to the hood. Michael Cornwall says it felt like the car clocked 70 or 80 miles an hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CORNWALL, PURSUED THIEVES: They said, "Move." I told them, "No." And the next thing I knew I heard the accelerator hit and I just jumped on, after she hit me with the car about twice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Wow. Well, Cornwall kept up his high-speed hood-hold for a mile. That's when the woman stopped and ran. Cornwall summoned police, who arrived for a true blue light special.
More than 200,000 lives lost, towns and villages washed away. Coastal communities devastated. Today marks the one-year anniversary since the tsunami sent massive waves crashing into South Asia.
From Sri Lanka in Thailand, to Indonesia and India, memorial services were held today to remember the victims.
First to Indonesia. An emergency drill served as an eerie reminder of the disaster. The country tested its tsunami warning system for the first time today.
And in India, the tsunami babies are marking their first birthday. They were born just a few hours before the tsunami struck. Today they return to the health center for their checkups.
Indonesia's Aceh province is on the island of Sumatra. It was closest to the epicenter of the quake that triggered the tsunami. That's where the first waves slammed ashore.
CNN's Atika Shubert reports from Banda Aceh, Indonesia, one year later.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a day of solemn ceremony and often emotional prayers here across Aceh. The day started at 8:15 a.m. with a moment of silence and then the sounding of sirens for a new tsunami warning system. That, of course, being the exact moment that a year ago tsunami waves crashed onto Aceh shores, killing more than 160,000 people here alone.
It was a particularly sad day for those families whose loved ones have still not been found, for those considered still missing from last year's tsunami disaster. The government has said they have now been proclaimed dead one year later.
And there has been a clear outpouring of emotion and mourning and grief in mosques across Aceh today as they held those prayer sessions. But it was also a day for survivors, particularly the half a million that were displaced by the tsunami to think about the future and how Aceh will be rebuilt.
Many of the survivors we talked to in the last few days said that they would be spending today quietly with those family members that survived, thinking and being thankful for all that the tsunami did not take away.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Still to come this hour, our tsunami anniversary coverage continues with a visit to a little boy named Nasir. You'll meet him -- you met him perhaps earlier this year. He's had more heartache in the last 12 months than many of us can imagine in a lifetime. CNN's Alex Quade updates his story for us coming up.
And I'll speak to the author of "Wave of Destruction." He gives us an up-close look at some other families devastated yet still hopeful.
That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Some interesting statistics for you on the day after Christmas and all through the store. Bear with me here, because this is a little attempt at poetry.
Go back again.
It's the day after Christmas, and all through the store, lots of creatures returning, stores help to sell more. With gift cards in one hand, unwanted presents in the other, consumers are swarming, retailers hope to recover.
Hopefully you're still with us here.
John Zarrella, hopefully you didn't run by listening to my attempt at a little poetry there. And you thought the stores were bad the day after Christmas.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That was beautiful, Daryn.
KAGAN: Was that a tear in your eye?
ZARRELLA: Do you want to do -- that's a tear in my eye.
KAGAN: Yes, because you feel bad.
ZARRELLA: It's actually the lights. KAGAN: Yes, the lights.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
We're at a Target here in the north Miami area called Aventura area. And it has been very, very busy all day here, very steady busy. But surprisingly, you know, you'd think it's a big day for returns, but it really isn't.
In fact, when the doors opened this morning at 7:00 a.m., about 60 to 70 people poured in the front door. And as they came in, I was asking them, "Well, what are you here for? Are you hear to make returns?" And those people said, "No, we're not here for returns. We're here for the bargains."
Fifty to 60 percent off. And a lot of people coming in with the gift cards.
Target was telling us that 25 percent of their holiday business is from the sale of gift cards. And you know, retailers are saying that the pre-Christmas sales in general, nationwide, were a little bit sluggish, at least that at first blush appears to be the case, before the holiday. And many of them are really relying on what's going to happen now in the aftermath of Christmas. With the huge discounts, they're counting on people coming in with those gift cards and picking up some of the greatly-marked-down items.
And I've got some folks joining me here. And they're from Montreal.
And it's Cheryl (ph) and her mother Edith (ph) and the kids. We've got -- Zachary (ph) is here and Aaron (ph), right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
ZARRELLA: Cheryl (ph), what did you guys come in here to get today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got a few -- some clothes, some DVDs, an exercise mat to work off all those pounds, and I think that's about it for now.
ZARRELLA: So you didn't really come in to stock up, but you did get a lot of stuff at bargain price. Were you looking for the bargains?
ZARRELLA: We were definitely looking for things on sale at bargain prices. We're starting right now for the after-Christmas sales.
ZARRELLA: How about you, Edith (ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bought a lot of kitchen items and a little bit of clothing. And I just love to shop here, whether they're on sale or not.
ZARRELLA: Yes, but, I mean, you've got to get stuff on sale. I mean, that's kind of like the idea, right, beat the merchant right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's correct. We're always looking for the good sales.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a very interesting store to shop.
ZARRELLA: So how about the kids? You got some stuff for them, a lot of clothes for the kids?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got some clothes for both of them and DVDs, because we have our new DVD player. So that's what we're trying to look for, the bargains. But "Madagascar" was sold out.
ZARRELLA: What about returns? You didn't make any returns, though, did you? Not really any holiday returns?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not one return.
ZARRELLA: So like a lot of the people here now, it's a little bit different. It's come in for the bargains, not the returns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right. We're looking for the sales.
ZARRELLA: Well, hanks very much. Good luck. Are you going anywhere else now after this? Any other stores?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now we're going home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Probably at the mall later on.
ZARRELLA: But going home now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Going to rest up for tomorrow.
ZARRELLA: Good idea. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
So, again, there you have it, Daryn. It really is many, many people now, this time around, not so much the returns. In fact, I'm looking at the return line here.
Jerry, you could probably shoot the return line -- no, he's giving me -- can't get to the return line from here.
But you can see, there aren't really that many -- that many folks in the line for returns, which is somewhat surprising -- Daryn.
KAGAN: You know, it's bad form for the anchor to correct the correspondent in the field, but as your pal and your friend, I feel I must help you with the pronunciation here. You know that it's Target.
ZARRELLA: What was that?
KAGAN: It's Target. Target. Yes.
ZARRELLA: Oh, that's right.
KAGAN: Yes, you shop at the Target, not Target.
ZARRELLA: Well, earlier this morning, at 6:00 a.m. I was at the Jacques Penney.
KAGAN: Oh, even better. Happy holidays, John, to you and all of the Zarrellas.
ZARRELLA: Happy holidays, Daryn.
KAGAN: Thank you.
All right. So not every gift is a wanted gift. If they can't be returned, do the unwanted gifts get packed away in the dark recesses of a closet, or do they find new life as a re-gift? It's a question of modern manners. So we sent Robyn Curnow looking for answers in London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Why is it that with so much to choose from when buying a gift we so often make a mistake?
(on camera): Let's face it, sometimes gifts are just the wrong color and the wrong smell. Just plain wrong.
(voice over): So instead of putting an ill-chosen gift at the back of the cupboard, never to be seen again, many people simply give them to someone else. A sneaky little ritual called re-gifting.
CHARLES MOSLEY, ETIQUETTE EXPERT: I didn't even know they had a book -- a book section. I must have a look at that.
CURNOW: Charles Mosley, a British etiquette expert, says a lot of people do it but it's not just right.
MOSLEY: It is considered bad form. But, of course, like all social errors, only if you're caught. So don't get caught.
CURNOW: Mosley says if you insist on re-gifting, at least do it cleverly.
MOSLEY: Of course, it's absolutely fatal giving the same gift back to somebody who gave it to you in the first place.
CURNOW: Savvy re-gifters know to keep their gifting circles widely separated by sending unwanted presents out of town, or perhaps by just not caring who gets what.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess it's part of recycling. It's a good thing, I believe. Rather than letting them pile up at home and (INAUDIBLE). You know what I mean?
CURNOW: He calls it recycling, others call it rude.
(on camera): Would you give on a gift? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, absolutely no. No, if it's given to me, it's given to me because they think that I like it. I may not put it out or many not use it, but I wouldn't -- I wouldn't give it away.
CURNOW (voice over): But pretending you like the gift in the first place is all part of the problem, says Charles Mosley.
MOSLEY: A lot of social life is based not quite on a lie but on a "let's pretend." I pretend that I love your gift. Actually, it's not that I hate it, but frankly I thought it was a bit boring. But I still come up with, "Oh, it's so sweet of you, just what I wanted." Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.
CURNOW: But fake kisses and false thanks rarely help when you know you've received a secondhand present. Unlike these brand-new goodies, the recycled gift has telltale signs, like well-worn wrapping or extra crumpled tissue paper.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can tell. You spot them a mile away.
CURNOW (on camera): Like what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Books, all these beauty products, soap. What else? Actually a used T-shirt. I've had my share.
CURNOW: A used T-shirt? How did you know? Was it all definitely well-worn?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It had hair on it.
CURNOW (voice over): Some gifts, it seems, are in bad taste no matter how many times you pass them on.
Robyn Curnow, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Well, there's the unwanted gifts and then there's the packing peanuts. How much stuff did you get like this? We're going to have some suggestions when we come back of what you can do with these annoying packing peanuts.
Also, we're going to hear from a surfer who was attacked by a great white over the weekend. You might guess who won the fight, but how did he do it?
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Ever have this happen to you? Punch a shark right in his nose? One surfer did it this weekend, and he got away with his life.
Brian Anderson was riding high off the coast of the Oregon coast until a great white locked onto his leg. Anderson made it to the shore and then to the hospital with some help from some friends. It took about 70 stitches to close up his leg.
Anderson talked to our Miles O'Brien today on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN ANDERSON, SHARK ATTACK VICTIM: And I was waiting for a set wave and George was on the inside of me. And the shark just grabbed my leg. I felt a sharp pain on my foot, and it just happened in some split seconds.
And right after that, then I saw the shark just right up in my face. And I just gave it a good punch to get it to let go.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh boy.
ANDERSON: It did. And it let go after I hit it.
O'BRIEN: Was it a reflex response, or did you have time to even think at that point?
ANDERSON: Yes, I had time to think because I saw -- I looked down and saw the shark and knew it was a great white. And then a couple swear words came out of my mouth, and then I just punched it as hard as I could in the eye. And then it let go, and then the drama, the real drama starts when you start paddling back in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Yes, I bet.
Wake up with Miles and Soledad every weekday at 6:00 in the East. The "AMERICAN MORNING" team keeps you informed until we get started here, CNN LIVE TODAY, 10:00 a.m. Then the real fun begins.
Isn't that right, Cad?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. That's us.
KAGAN: Hey!
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: All right, Chad. How many gifts did you get with this package of this peanut stuff, these packaging peanuts?
MYERS: You know, I didn't get too many, but my son Grant got quite a few.
KAGAN: Well, don't -- you don't let play with it, right? That's not safe a 1-year-old to play with. So take that away.
MYERS: No. It's all out in the garage.
KAGAN: And you were saying some of the stuff is biodegradable?
MYERS: It can be. Some of it is made out of -- kind of a corn puff product.
KAGAN: I'm hearing if you put it in water and if it dissolves, that's how you find out.
MYERS: OK.
KAGAN: If it floats and just makes a Styrofoam float, that's your clue it's not.
But you know, there are people who are concerned about this messing up our landfills and things.
MYERS: Of course.
KAGAN: There is a peanut hotline. How about this? You can call the peanut hotline, 1-800-828-2214.
MYERS: Yes?
KAGAN: And then look at this, there's also a Web site: loosefillpackaging.com.
MYERS: You know, I think the best thing that could happen to this stuff, though, is what you did, you re-gifted it.
KAGAN: I did.
MYERS: Right? And so if -- obviously it's not going to go away anytime soon if it is the real Styrofoam. If you can use it for five or six packages at a time, then you've got -- it's almost like carpooling.
KAGAN: I received a gift from my brother and sister-in-law in California, it came with all this stuff.
MYERS: Yes?
KAGAN: And then I had a gift to give here in Atlanta. I thought, well, this will work.
MYERS: And if you get enough, you can make a new beanbag chair.
KAGAN: This is why your wife is in charge of interior design and not you, Chad.
All right. We will see you in a little bit.
Perhaps you've heard of the Virgin Mary grilled cheese, the fish stick Jesus. What about the nun bun? It's supposedly as world famous. The question is, where in the world is the nun bun? That story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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