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More Bombs In Baghdad; Boy Secretly Travels To Iraq; Heavy Rains in California; New Years Eve Party Plans; Medicare Drug Plan Tips

Aired December 30, 2005 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Could get another six inches of rain, making more mudslides and flooding distinct possibilities. Jacqui Jeras will have a complete look at the weather picture in just a few minutes.
Along the hurricane-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast, the casino called The Palace in Biloxi is set to reopen right now. And this is what it looked like right after Katrina. Oh, there we go. It's still a work in progress. A bit smaller after Hurricane Katrina damaged two of its gambling barges. The owners say they are committed to rebuilding. The Palace is the third gulf coast casino to reopen recently.

The U.S. embassy in Malaysia closed today due to an undisclosed security threat. The embassy's Web site doesn't say when the facility, located in Kuala Lumpur, would reopen. The embassy says there has been no specific, credible threat against private American interests in Malaysia.

South Korea is keeping its military presence in Iraq, but it's sending some of the troops home now. The parliament today is set to vote to extend the country's deployment for another year. But it reduced troop levels by almost a third. The South Korean contingent will drop from 3,200 soldiers to 2,300. They are now involved in non- combat duties.

Georgia authority are looking for a brazen robber who held up an armored car just north of Atlanta yesterday. In Smyrna, Georgia, police there say the armored car's guard was jumped from behind by a man who grabbed the cash and then fled behind a convenience store. Police believe the robber had a getaway car waiting for him there.

Well, good morning, everyone. This is the last Friday of 2005. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We are following a developing story out of Baghdad where a pair of explosions thundered through the capital just within the last couple of hours. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is in Baghdad with the latest on that story.

Jennifer, hello.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Daryn.

I guess you could call it one of those dichotomies of life here in Iraq. As you mentioned, a car bomb and a mortar ripped through a commercial district in central Baghdad. The initial reports say that five people have died in that blast and upwards of 23 people were wounded.

And then we have across town, a desperately ill baby prepares for surgery that will save her life. As we've been reporting all day, three-month-old baby Noor left Baghdad today on a military aircraft for Kuwait. She will travel then onward to where you are, to Atlanta, where she'll undergo treatment for a spinal cord defect called spina bifida. Now that life-saving treatment will take place at a children's hospital there and it will be completely free of charge.

Daryn.

KAGAN: I know there's a lot of concern in Iraq about keeping the identity of this baby's family private because of fear of retaliation.

ECCLESTON: Yes. You know, again, this raging insurgency. Those responsible for the multiple attacks across this country, the car bombs, the IEDs, the retaliation killings. Unfortunately it is believed that if you have anything to do with the American military presence here, if you are coordinating or working in conjunction with the new government here, you are a target for the insurgency. And this family was very much aware of that and they asked those in the media who were covering this story not to reveal their identities because they have to come back to Iraq. They will be here and they want to make sure that when they do come home, and despite this incredibly good news that their daughter will have a new life, that her life will actually be saved, they want to make sure that that life remains precious and that the insurgents don't know who they are in case there is that threat of retaliation.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, I know there are a lot of people here in Atlanta, Georgia, looking forward to the arrival of baby Noor and ready to welcome her with open arms.

Jennifer Eccleston in Baghdad, thank you.

Meanwhile, wait until you get a load of this next story. A Florida teenager making a pilgrimage of his own. Well now he's on his way back here to the U.S. after quite an adventure. He ran away from home, not just anywhere, he went to visit war-torn Iraq. That's his mother's homeland. We get details now of reporter Evan Bacon from our affiliate in Miami WFOR.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN BACON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Dr. Redha Hassan has spent the last 40 years finding and resisting Saddam Hussein, both in and out of Iraq. So when his 15-year-old son Farris (ph) told him he wanted to go there, dad naturally was a bit skeptical.

DR REDHA HASSAN, FATHER: I said, I'll be glad to help you. I will take you with me next time I go on your summer break. BACON: But Farris had no intention of waiting till summer. He got a passport and took off to Iraq on his own on December 11th while his dad was returning from out of the country.

HASSAN: He didn't realize that on the ground, seeing the flesh and the blood being spilled, limbs all over by suicide bombers.

BACON: No doubt this journalist-to-be is getting the story of a lifetime. But his dad won't be able to rest until his boy is back home safe and sound.

HASSAN: He wished he could stay longer, but he has to come back to school. He's afraid that his intentions and his motive and his action is misunderstood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that report was from Evan Bacon from our CNN affiliate in Miami WFOR.

So you heard from dad there. What about his mother? What does she have to say? We'll hear from her a little bit later this morning.

Also this hour, the extremes of weather. Pacific storms are pounding the west. Fears are rising with the rainfall. Meanwhile in the tinder dry plains, the threat of more fires loom as close as the next spark. The regions are separated by hundreds of miles, but share the common ground of danger this morning.

First up, let's get soaked. Rain-saturated California and the coastline there. Heavy rains pushing rivers to their highest levels in seven years and flood warnings blanketing much of the region. Jen Rogers is in Napa. I'm sure she would much rather be doing a lovely wine tasting than a rain tasting and yet this is her fate today.

Jen, a soggy good morning to you in California.

JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, thank you very much. We're not quite soaked yet, but I'm sure that it is in the cards for us later today.

It started raining here at about 5:00 a.m. local time, so for about two hours now. The rain has certainly been picking up now. At its hardest level yet that we have experienced, and that is really what the forecast holds for us for the rest of the day. We are told, as you said, up to six inches could be expected in some parts of the north coast.

Just to give you an idea of where we are, we're at the Napa River right now on the banks and right now this river is at about nine feet. Flood stage is 25 feet and they start monitoring at 22 feet. So that might seem like, well, they've got a lot of pad here. But with all of these storms forecast out in the Pacific and the ground already so wet and saturated, all of this runoff could start piling into the Napa River and that's where the concerns are. With storm after storm still threatening out in the Pacific, it's not just what's going to happen today, but what's going to happen all of next week that has many people here very concerned. Sand bags were being snapped up yesterday here in Napa. The city giving them away for free. But people have to fill them themselves, so the labor not for free. A lot of heavy lifting but people here are used to it.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Well as long as you are there in wine country, is there any concern for the grape crop with all this rain?

ROGERS: You know, we asked a couple people about that. The vines themselves during the winter are actually dormant. They don't have any of the leaves on them. They basically go to sleep for the winter. So the rain doesn't really hurt them. But what can hurt them is if there is soil erosion. So that's what they would be looking for. But at this point, that doesn't seem like a major concern.

KAGAN: All right. I know that that's the big industry there. Jen Rogers in Napa, California. Thank you.

Boy, they would sure like to have some of that rain in fire- scarred Oklahoma. New flames have already broken out this morning. This fire we're looking at is on the edge of Oklahoma City. It had exhausted firefighters scrambling before dawn. The fire destroyed a barn and crews raced to awaken a homeowner as the flames got closer to the house. Earlier on CNN, we spoke to Chief Keith Bryant of the Oklahoma City Fire Department on the effort to protect those lives and homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KEITH BRYANT, OKLAHOMA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, it's been our primary concern. Again, with the way the fires move, you want to concentrate all your resources on protecting the residential structures and saving that property and then do your best to try to get ahead of the fire and keep it from spreading further downwind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Fire crews in Texas are hoping they can keep the upper hand on what they have been able to gain on those battles. The fires are now out in the town of Cross Plains where dozens of homes have burned. Texas Governor Rick Perry toured the area and is urging counties to implement a ban on fireworks for this year's new year's weekend.

Meanwhile, a winter storm is heading east after howling across the Colorado Rockies. Heavy snow snarled traffic on I-70. That's west of Denver. And winds gusted up to 75 miles an hour. That contributed to these traffic problems -- oh, that does not look fun. -- and knocked over some trees as well.

So slow going around Denver, soggy in California and to dry along the plains. Jacqui Jeras is here to fill us in on more. Hi, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, this just in to CNN. We are looking at pictures that were just taken from LAX, Los Angeles International Airport. That is a cargo jet we believe to be owned and operated by Northwest Airlines. And we're getting reports of a fire onboard this cargo jet. Clearly still on the ground, so not any danger. But we will keep an eye on what is happening at Los Angeles International Airport and if it's affecting any kind of traffic. Thank you to KTTV one of our affiliates -- many affiliates in Los Angeles.

Still ahead, three children who were orphaned by the tsunami. They look back on their very difficult year. We will share with you how far they have come.

Also ahead, this new year means out with the old Medicare prescription drug plan and in with the new. We'll have sign-up tips for all you procrastinators out there.

First, though, Times Square is getting ready for the big day. We're going live now to check how the party planning is coming.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: So do you have your plans ready for ringing in the new year this weekend? You can get bet New York City is on the ball, so to speak. As always, the city is throwing one of the biggest new year's eve parties in the world. And our Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff, you got an early invitation. You're a little early for your date here, don't you think?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, we are ready to party here in Times Square.

KAGAN: OK.

CHERNOFF: In fact, the city has turned Times Square into a giant sound stage. You can see behind me that the scaffolding is all set for the variety of broadcast here. We've got cables hanging from the phone wires and also we've got these huge speakers hanging all around Times Square.

Most important of all, though, we have the famous ball ready to drop. Right now it is sitting on top of number one Times Square. You can't see it at the moment. It's behind the 2006 numbers which will light up when the ball actually drops from that 77-foot flag pole. It will rise up the flag pole in the afternoon and then a minute to midnight it will begin to decline from that flag pole and, of course, down here in Times Square, there will be more than half a million people just going wild.

Now, of course, it is very important to have tight security. The New York Police Department is on top of that situation. Tomorrow afternoon they are going to cut off traffic into Times Square beginning at 6:00. They will bring all the revelers into pens.

They'll be taking barricades and they'll be bringing hundreds of barricades here into Times Square. They'll be putting them into pens. Each pens will have several hundred, perhaps a thousand people within that pen. And the people are supposed to stay there all the way until midnight. So they're going have to really use some body warmth, stay tight because it will be pretty cold tomorrow evening with the wind here. It is a pretty windy area.

Security, they'll be checking the backpacks. They'll also have plenty of police on horseback. Five helicopters in the sky. So the police will be entirely on top of the situation. But it certainly will be a very chaotic scene out here. The easiest place, inside some of the restaurant surrounding Times Square. Daryn, one of the parties here, $500 a head. So easy but certainly not cheap to watch it from inside.

KAGAN: That kind of crowd and that kind of cold, that's making my flannel pajamas and my couch sound even better for tomorrow night.

CHERNOFF: Certainly a lot easier to watch it on television at home.

KAGAN: I'm telling you. Allan, thank you. Allan Chernoff in New York City.

Well, OK, so New York City, they have the ball. But here in Georgia, they drop a giant peach. Lots of other things are being dropped across the country in the countdown to '06. Here now the facts and we do begin in New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN, (voice over): This ball, that will be in Times Square, will drop at midnight, is the same one that dropped on the eve of the new millennium. It's six feet in diameter and about a thousand pounds. The ball contains almost 700 light bulbs, 90 rotating pyramid mirrors and 504 Waterford crystals. The Times Square ball may be the centerpiece of new year's eve newscast, but many communities have come up with their own creative things to drop.

In Tempe, Arizona, how about a 200 pound tortilla chip. That drops into a giant bowl of salsa. In Lebanon, Pennsylvania, officials drop a 120 pound bologna. And perhaps the most outlandish new years event of them happens in Key West, Florida, where they drop a drag queen into giant slipper. It all happens as the clock strikes midnight.

CROWD: Four, three, two, one.

KAGAN: Well, usually it does.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: See, that year the drag queen didn't quite get down. The thing broke and it was live on CNN. It was an interesting moment and we wanted to share it with you once again. And we do hope that you will ring in your new year with CNN. Anderson Cooper will be live from Times Square with Mayor Bloomberg and also an eclectic mix of music, including James Brown, the Bare Naked Ladies, Harry Connick, Jr. and more. The fun begins Saturday night at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

So with the new year come new rules for Medicare prescription. That means time is running out for seniors to sign up. Up next, I'll have a last-minute tip and five tips, actually, to help you or your parents or grandparents.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, bah humbug on the last trading day of 2005. Things not looking so great. The markets have been open about 52 minutes. You can see what the Dow's doing. It's down 48 points. The Nasdaq also down a bit. It is down 14 points.

Let's go ahead and take a look at other stories making news "Coast to Coast."

In New York, a U.S. soldier is accused of accidentally killing a woman. Police say 23-year-old Private Danny Carpio was on leave from active duty. He was visiting friends outside this apartment building when he randomly fired a gun into the air. The stray bullet struck a young mother of two as she looked out her apartment window. He is charged with second-degree manslaughter.

In California, it's a $175,000 lesson that a violinist would soon forget. He illegally parked his car. This woman's car was towed and when she got back, she noticed an antique violin worth $175,000 was missing. To make matters even worse, it wasn't even her violin. It was on loan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so used to leaving my violin in the trunk. I mean, I've always left it in the trunk. It's always been fine. And God knows what I was thinking this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, meet the latest addition to the giant panda family at the San Diego Zoo. Everyone, am I hearing you saw ahh! Oh, look at that. Su Lin was introduced to an eager audience with a little help from mommy. And like many five-month-olds, Su Lin is already dubbed precious and curious and adorable and all those wonderful things.

OK. Our final "Top Five Tips" of the year is for millions of you who are eligible for Medicare's new prescription drug insurance. And, not surprisingly, you might be confused about which plan to choose. You know you're running out of time if you want coverage to begin on January 1st. The latest issue of "Money" magazine has tips for you and Ellen McGirt is with the magazine. She joins us, filling in for a vacationing Gerri Willis.

Ellen, happy new year. Good morning.

ELLEN MCGIRT, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Happy new year. Thanks for having me.

KAGAN: Well, it's an important topic. And, boy, this is really confusing to try to figure this stuff out. So let's try to talk people through step by step.

First of all, you need to get organized.

MCGIRT: Absolutely. There's a lot of information that you need to gather and you need to have it at your fingertips as you begin shopping. So think of your folder as your best friend. Throw away all the marketing materials but keep everything that Medicare or Social Security has sent you because that will let you know if you're eligible for premium assistance as 37 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are. But you need to get your drug list together and it has to be comprehensive. The drugs have to be spelled correctly, your dosage, your frequency, how you take it and also how much you spend a year on it, or a month, whatever works for you, because you won't know if you're saving money if you don't know what you're spending right now.

KAGAN: And so from there you set your priorities?

MCGIRT: Yes, because it's not just about saving money for everybody. Sometimes having access to a trusted pharmacist is the most important thing or a pharmacist that's close to you. And if budget really is an issue, as it is for so many people, then choosing a plan without a deductible in the beginning of the year might be better for you. So knowing what you want in advance before you start shopping is going to make a big difference.

KAGAN: OK. Then once you do start shopping, what's the best way to do that?

MCGIRT: Yikes, be prepared. It's going to take a while. There's one source for all the plan information that's Medicare. Either the Web site at Medicare.gov or 1-800-Medicare. If you call and ask for help, speak clearly because the system may not recognize what you say. One mumble or sneeze and you'll have to start all over again. And have that list in front of you. The Web site's pretty good if you're web savvy, but it will take a while and it freezes. So once you get your list of drugs in,. And you've got to spell them correctly, print it because if it freezes, you'll be glad you did.

KAGAN: Those phone computers that say, I'm sorry, I didn't understand you.

MCGIRT: Absolutely.

KAGAN: All right. Now you might find a plan that kind of works for you, but not completely.

MCGIRT: Yes. If you find one that covers all your drugs and you like it and it's your favorite pharmacist, grab it. If not, you're going to have to work out the kinks. And your best friend in this will probably be your pharmacist. If you have drugs that have a certain kind of therapy or plan that doesn't cover your drugs, call your pharmacist -- you probably won't get your doctor on the phone -- and see if they can actually make a suggestion so that you can get the drugs that are right for you. If not, the site will do the math for you. Choose a plan that covers your most expensive drugs.

KAGAN: Good choice. And then you can actually, if you want to, enroll with the plan directly.

MCGIRT: It's a better choice. You can enrol right on the phone or at the Web site with Medicare. But there have been a lot of discrepancies between what the plans actually cover and what the site says, although the Medicare site is great and they're doing a great job. This is your last chance to make sure you understand how the plan works and that it actually covers your drugs. So call the plan directly. You've got two ways to pay for it. You can have the money deducted directly from your Social Security or you can be billed every month. Whatever works for you. Just stay healthy in 2006.

KAGAN: That's what we wish for you as well.

MCGIRT: Thank you.

KAGAN: Ellen McGirt, thank you and happy new year.

MCGIRT: Happy new year.

KAGAN: We're going to go ahead and check in on our top stories just ahead.

Plus, the tsunami took away their home and their parents. We'll catch up with three young Indonesian orphans to see how they're coping one year later. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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