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American Morning

Huge Number of People Still Missing in Thailand; Stories of Survival; Snowed In

Aired January 03, 2005 - 9:00   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Desperate for help and waiting for the sound of helicopters bringing food and water to survivors of the giant tsunami. Also the rescuers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was not talking. He was not playing. Not -- he was very out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: A child rescued after the wave, and seen around the world. The story this morning of a remarkable stroke of good luck.

Also, here in the U.S., how deep can it go? The snow that just keeps on coming down on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pictures from Phuket, 9:00 here. Much damage along the shore.

Also, in the Phi Phi Islands, as well, where we spent the day. That's a big tourist destination that's right next to the island where Leonardo DiCaprio shot the movie "The Beach." Because it is a tourist destination, the bulk of those who are now missing from there are tourists.

The tsunami rolled in, and the folks who were on the beach were hit by waves, massive waves, some as high -- described as high as 30 feet on one side, 15 feet on the other side. Trapped right in between.

Lots and lots of cleanup and removal. That is the focus there right now. We're going to get some more on that in just a moment -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad. We'll get back to you in a moment there in Phuket.

Bringing you up to date on what we have here now, the latest, there are at least now 156,000 people reported dead. Still tens of thousands of others still missing.

The secretary of state, Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush having just arrived in Thailand this morning. They will tour Indonesia as well, and possibly Sri Lanka by the end of the week.

Also, helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln now flying supplies to remote parts of Indonesia. Twelve hundred Marines helping to distribute aid in Sri Lanka. The U.N. says about $2 billion in aid so far pledged internationally, $350 million of that from the U.S., $500 million so far from the country of Japan.

With that as a backdrop, back to Phuket, Thailand, and my partner, Soledad O'Brien -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill. Thanks.

As you well know, the numbers now for some of the tourists who could end up being dead in the thousands. And many of those in the hardest-hit regions like the Phi Phi islands.

Mark Larsen is the public affairs officer for the U.S. consulate -- the U.S. embassy. We spoke to him a little bit earlier today and asked him what exactly he is doing to provide support for Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK LARSEN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, U.S. EMBASSY IN THAILAND: Everybody in the embassy and the mission is really seized with, first off, supporting all the American citizens who have been affected. Or, in some cases, bereaved or injured by this calamity here, and the way it's affected all of us in Thailand.

O'BRIEN: So when you say supporting, what does that mean exactly?

LARSEN: All kinds of support. The embassy immediately had officers down here. In fact, we had some officers in this region on vacation who basically went to work within minutes of the tsunami and its hitting this island and other islands and parts of the shoreline along Thailand. Beginning their work of finding Americans, finding ways in which they could help those Americans inform -- depends on what they needed.

Some of the Americans found themselves injured, separated from family members, oftentimes lost all of their possessions. Sometimes they had not even a passport, not a penny, not a way to get to the U.S., no identification whatsoever. So our embassy officers have helped in any way they can to reunite family members and, where necessary, to find medical care for those who need it. To find people who, in fact, were oftentimes moved unconscious to hospitalization for the severe injuries they had.

O'BRIEN: There's a huge number of missing. How many of those thousands are Americans?

LARSEN: That's a very good question. And we really do not have a clear number of how many Americans we would say are confirmed missing.

Right now, we're estimating slightly less than 400 are unaccounted for. But that number is really based upon the number of e-mails and calls in to our hotline that we've gotten from all over the world and certainly from the U.S., where people have reported, "I haven't heard from Jim, I heard he was in Thailand. Is he OK?"

So that made this list of unaccounted for. And we're now furiously trying to call back people, answer those e-mails...

O'BRIEN: How big a job is that? I mean, is it looking...

LARSEN: Huge, huge.

O'BRIEN: ... for a needle in a haystack essentially?

LARSEN: Exactly. And that's one of the biggest challenges we have, is that we never knew and have no clear records of exactly how many Americans were here. So therefore, to define how many are not here now, or are injured or god forbid dead, it's very hard.

O'BRIEN: How many American families do you have that have come to your doors and said, "I'm looking for someone who I cannot find?"

LARSEN: There has been over 1,000 Americans who've come to American citizen services either here in our facilities that we're maintaining in Phuket or run in to our officers out in the field, or come in to the embassy, who've asked for assistance of one sort or another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Mark Larsen. He is the public affairs officer for the U.S. embassy. Spending a little time here to help some of the folks who have been stranded and have other issues, as well.

Now to some stories of survival. For that, we turn to Matthew Chance.

Hey, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, thank you very much.

And as you were describing there, incredible scenes of devastation. Thousands of people were killed. Thousands more missing, of course.

Amid all that tragedy, though, there have been these remarkable stories of survival. Earlier I spent some time with a couple from Seattle who had come to Thailand over the holiday period to spend some relaxation time on the beaches here when the tsunami hit. Just listen to their incredible tale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is what's left of our hotel room. Our bed was here. And we were sleeping.

CHANCE (voice-over): They're survivors amid the tragedy. For Ron Ruben (ph) and Rebecca Bedell (ph) it was meant to be a dream vacation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an absolute tropical paradise. Just miles and miles of perfect sandy beaches, palm trees. You know, Christmas Day, families walking on the beach. It was -- it was -- it was something you'd see in a postcard before the -- before the wave.

I was awoken by this crashing noise. It sounded like a landslide, an earthquake, a plane crashing and a train wreck all at the same time.

CHANCE (on camera): You can see that all along this coastline of Thailand, resort after resort has been crushed by the giant tsunami. Thousands of people were killed, Thais and tourists alike, making the story of Ron (ph) and Rebecca (ph) all the more incredible. But it doesn't end there because they didn't just save themselves, but one other as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the roof point where we had been during the tsunami, we got up here, and we thought this was the highest we could go. So this is where we -- we ended up. And most people had convened here looking for other lost members.

Everyone was missing somebody. So this is kind of the place people were trickling in to see if they could find each other.

CHANCE: And is this the exact place where you find Hannis (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, exactly.

CHANCE: You didn't know his name was Hannis (ph), did you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, of course not. No. He was laying right over about in that spot right there.

CHANCE (voice-over): They picked up like Hannis Bergstrom (ph) in shock and half drowned and took him to hospital where we first filmed him. A few days later he was reunited with at least some of his Swedish family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very emotional to see that the father was alive and the grandmother was alive. And it's a tragedy that the mother died, but we were just -- we were so happy for him. When we...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he was playing normally, just like a normal kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a toy and he kept squeezing it, and he was talking. And, I mean, he was not like that the day we had him. He was not talking. He was not playing. Not -- he was very out of it. So we were really happy to see he looked perfectly normal again.

CHANCE: But the joy is mixed with sadness, too, that only a few lucky ones could survive where so many perished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too much luck. You know, it's too much luck that we both survived.

We didn't lose one another. We have no injuries. It's -- it's -- and that's just not the case for the majority of the people that were staying in Khao Lak. So there's really no words to describe how we feel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a miracle to be alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: A miracle, indeed. And, of course, so many others were so much less fortunate than that. A couple that's worth remembering.

I think the casualty figures here in Thailand, which is by no means the worst-affected country in the region, official figures saying at least 5,000 people are now confirmed as dead, another 6,500 still missing. So anybody who walked away from this tsunami, very lucky indeed -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: This is not the first disaster obviously that you have covered. How does this compare, if that's the right word to use, to others that you've covered?

CHANCE: That's interesting, because you're right, there have been a number of other natural disasters like this that we've had to cover. Just a year ago, of course, the earthquake in Iran, in Bam in southern Iran, where there were so many tens of thousands of people killed, as well.

This is so much different, though, because of the sheer geographical range of the tsunami. It hit so many countries in the region. It's sort of like a whole regional disaster on a much, much bigger scale.

Also, just here in Thailand, so many different nationalities. Tourists from the United States, from Europe, from Scandinavia, from Germany, Britain, Australia. So it seems that this natural disaster has touched almost every corner of the world.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it certainly does. And especially one of the most horrifying things I think that I've heard about, that Thais who did not survive, is so many of the Thais do not swim. Even the fishermen who make their living on the water don't know how to swim and lost their life because of that.

Matthew, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

And let's go back to Bill in New York -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Thanks for that report again, live in Phuket, Thailand.

A check of the headlines now with Heidi Collins with me here as well here in New York City.

A developing story, too, what Virginia? HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Hampton, Virginia, actually.

We do have this news coming in to us now at CNN. Word of a school bus accident in Hampton, Virginia. Officials say a bus carrying 32 students to school overturned in a ditch about an hour and a half ago.

Eleven students were sent to the hospital. The cause of the crash is not yet known. Of course we will keep following that story and bring you the latest information just as soon as we get it.

Meanwhile, overseas to Iraq now. Military officials are investigating what may have been a car bombing over an hour ago near the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. These images from the scene just now into CNN as well. Earlier today, three other bombs went off in the area killing several Iraqis and wounding two U.S. soldiers.

Back here in the United States, a CNN "Security Watch." The FBI is investigating another laser beam pointed at a plane.

Pilots of a United Airlines jet reported seeing a green laser beam as they took off from Nashville yesterday. The plane landed without any problems. The incident is one of several in recent days. And according to FBI officials cited by "USA Today," the incidents are not linked to terrorism.

And U.S. health officials saying they plan to lift a ban on Canadian cattle imports, despite confirmation that a dairy cow in Alberta tested positive for mad cow. It is the second case of mad cow in Canada in 10 years. U.S. health officials say the new case poses no risk to American consumers.

A guest a little bit earlier on the show said that there are problems actually both in the United States and in Canada with the way that the cows are fed. So a lot more there.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

In the American West, about another foot of snow could fall today in northern California. This is an area that's already been hit by about nine feet of snow in only three days. Here's Ted Rowlands up early, Soda Springs, California.

Good morning, Ted. How's the forecast?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Forecasting more snow, at least through the day. It continues to fall here this morning. It's expected to be another day of digging out for folks living here. This is a scene that is very common. Cars completely covered with snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): For thousands of holiday travelers across the country, getting home has been a nightmare. In the northern California Sierra Mountains, they're used to snow, but not like this. In the mountain town of Soda Springs, where more than eight feet of snow has fallen since Wednesday, parked cars are completely buried, and everywhere in the region highway traffic is treacherous and slow.

SGT. JOHN DIETRICH, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: This certainly is the most significant series of storms that I've experienced here. It's pretty much been nonstop.

DEANNE MAAS, SODA SPRINGS RESIDENT: We've been snowed in since Wednesday, so we're just coming up to get some food and supplies.

ROWLANDS: The Maas family lives two miles off the beaten path. They put their two children on a dog sled to get through the snow.

MAAS: It's so deep, and little kids can't walk two miles in this kind of snow.

ROWLANDS: For ski resorts the snow means the best conditions in years. But for some spots it's actually been too much of a good thing because it is so difficult to get here.

GREG MURTHA, SUGAR BOWL SKI RESORT: It's the busiest week of the year in the ski business. And, you know, we were hoping for a little bit of a break. It didn't happen.

ROWLANDS: Even many of those that make a living off the snow, like the Maas family -- they charter dog sled trips -- say it's time for a break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I go in now?

MAAS: You can go in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: A snow -- a snow advisory which was issued last Wednesday has been extended into tomorrow in some counties in this region. It is expected that there will be a little bit of a respite. But forecasters are expecting another big storm to come rolling in here by the end of the week -- Bill.

HEMMER: It is just one after the other out there. Get warm, Ted. Thanks. Ted Rowlands there in California.

A check of the weather with Chad Myers looking at the forecast in California and the rest of the country.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Chad. Thanks so much.

We've heard the story of a supermodel who survived a tsunami by clinging to a tree for eight hours. But her boyfriend, a photographer, is still missing. We're going to show you new pictures of her hospital recovery and find out how she's coping. HEMMER: Also this morning, a CNN "Security Watch." New worries today about Osama bin Laden's possible plans. Are American children the next target? One man thinks possibly.

Back in a moment on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: "Sports Illustrated" cover model Petra Nemcova is recovering now in a hospital in Thailand. That tsunami devastated the resort where she was staying.

Her boyfriend, too, photographer Simon Atlee, is now missing and presumed dead. This is the first photo released through "US Weekly."

And from L.A. now, the West Coast bureau chief of "US Weekly" is Ken Baker. He's my guest now.

And good morning to you, Ken.

KEN BAKER, "US WEEKLY": Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: I understand you were supposed to have a conversation last night by way of telephone. That did not happen. But there's a story in that. Explain that.

BAKER: Yes, well, obviously her broken hip -- actually it's a broken pelvis -- is going to heal. And she's made great advancement in her healing process in the last week. But, you know, it's really her broken heart that's really affecting her.

She's just coming to grips with the fact that, in all likelihood, her boyfriend Simon Atlee, who is a British photographer who she was with in a bungalow when the tsunami hit, is not going to be found. And, you know, I'm told that it's really just starting to hit her.

She did sit for the photograph that you showed on Friday. And she was going to speak with me last night, but I'm told it was just -- it's just too distraught and too emotional to do that.

HEMMER: Let me try and pick away at a few things here. Why was she willing to sit for that photograph?

BAKER: Well, obviously she's a very public face, and many of us know her from the cover of "Sports Illustrated," Victoria's Secret. And there was intense curiosity in how she was doing.

HEMMER: But there's also money designed to go to a charity, right? Can you flush that out for us?

BAKER: Yes. Yes. So what we did was, you know, we presented to her that if we had some photographs of her, that any proceeds from that photograph that were acquired for media organizations to run the photograph, like here on CNN, that those would -- those proceeds would go to Save the Children, which is a relief organization.

People can learn more at savethechildren.org or usmagazine.com. We'll have information up very soon about that.

HEMMER: All right.

BAKER: And she was very interested in helping out because she had just seen the devastation, witnessed it, experienced it firsthand. And she thought that was very important to...

HEMMER: You know, Ken, I think one of the more intriguing details about her story is that she clung to a tree for eight hours...

BAKER: Yes.

HEMMER: ... by herself and survived essentially, this disaster on her own. Have we learned or have you learned more details about that eight hours or what happened before that?

BAKER: Yes. It was, indeed, eight hours.

Well, the morning that she was with Simon, they had been there on a surprise vacation. She surprised him with a vacation to Phuket. She loved that area. They were in a beachside bungalow.

It hit, it swept them out much like, you know, hundreds -- tens and a hundred, 50,000 other people. The difference was that she somehow, while Simon was swept out, she clung onto some debris, was able to clutch onto a palm tree, where she was perched for about eight hours.

When the water receded, she was found on a beach lying in a daze by some local residents and they brought her to a hospital. A few days later she was moved 100 miles north of Phuket. She's there now.

She was able to actually stand up yesterday, but she has a broken pelvis. She has a broken bone in her leg. No internal injuries, however, and she plans on trying to get back to her native Czech Republic within the next week or so.

HEMMER: All right. Ken, thanks for filling us in on those details from "US Weekly" out in L.A.

She is still recovering in a hospital clearly. Her boyfriend Simon Atlee is missing and presumed dead at this point. And that photograph provided through "US Weekly."

Relief arriving in southeast Asia. It may not be fast enough, though. In a moment, CNN goes behind the scenes to track down how the aid is getting to those who need it.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Here's Jack and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill. What to do with suspected terrorists the United States doesn't want to release or turn over to the courts. A piece in "The Washington Post" says there are plans for indefinitely imprisoning these people, perhaps for a lifetime.

One idea is to transfer detainees to a new $25 million, 200-bed prison facility for suspected terrorists who are unlikely to ever go to court because of a lack of evidence. No public hearings in Congress have been held on CIA detention practices, and Senate leaders are criticizing the indefinite detentions as unconstitutional.

The question is this, how should the United States handle terrorist suspects that it is unwilling to release or turn over to the courts?

Alan in Waco, Texas, writes: "Apparently the military or the government doesn't trust the American justice system. I wonder what America would do if an American POW was not allowed access to the courts of the holding country."

Laura in New York, "Why call it a 200-bed holding facility? When the Nazis held people without charges the facilities were called concentration camps."

Fred writes from Cary, North Carolina, "Jack, these people are trained killers. We are currently trying to deal with segments of these cells in this country which are intent upon undermining our transportation systems, infrastructure and, in general, our way of life. If we let them go, where will they turn up?"

And Ed in Minneapolis weighs in with this: "Since we no longer care about human rights, let's implant tracking chips and let them go in downtown Baghdad. We'll know in a week who's good and where to find the bad guys."

That's an idea.

HEMMER: Yes. Thank you, Jack.

COLLINS: All right. Thanks, Jack.

It's the first "90-Second Pop" of 2005. Let's look into the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): The poppers dust off the crystal ball. "Million-Dollar Baby" could be this year's Oscar heavyweight. But will another film knock out the competition?

Plus, which celebrity will achieve pop culture nirvana in 2005? The secrets revealed on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired January 3, 2005 - 9:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Desperate for help and waiting for the sound of helicopters bringing food and water to survivors of the giant tsunami. Also the rescuers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was not talking. He was not playing. Not -- he was very out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: A child rescued after the wave, and seen around the world. The story this morning of a remarkable stroke of good luck.

Also, here in the U.S., how deep can it go? The snow that just keeps on coming down on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pictures from Phuket, 9:00 here. Much damage along the shore.

Also, in the Phi Phi Islands, as well, where we spent the day. That's a big tourist destination that's right next to the island where Leonardo DiCaprio shot the movie "The Beach." Because it is a tourist destination, the bulk of those who are now missing from there are tourists.

The tsunami rolled in, and the folks who were on the beach were hit by waves, massive waves, some as high -- described as high as 30 feet on one side, 15 feet on the other side. Trapped right in between.

Lots and lots of cleanup and removal. That is the focus there right now. We're going to get some more on that in just a moment -- Bill.

HEMMER: Thanks, Soledad. We'll get back to you in a moment there in Phuket.

Bringing you up to date on what we have here now, the latest, there are at least now 156,000 people reported dead. Still tens of thousands of others still missing.

The secretary of state, Colin Powell, Florida Governor Jeb Bush having just arrived in Thailand this morning. They will tour Indonesia as well, and possibly Sri Lanka by the end of the week.

Also, helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln now flying supplies to remote parts of Indonesia. Twelve hundred Marines helping to distribute aid in Sri Lanka. The U.N. says about $2 billion in aid so far pledged internationally, $350 million of that from the U.S., $500 million so far from the country of Japan.

With that as a backdrop, back to Phuket, Thailand, and my partner, Soledad O'Brien -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill. Thanks.

As you well know, the numbers now for some of the tourists who could end up being dead in the thousands. And many of those in the hardest-hit regions like the Phi Phi islands.

Mark Larsen is the public affairs officer for the U.S. consulate -- the U.S. embassy. We spoke to him a little bit earlier today and asked him what exactly he is doing to provide support for Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK LARSEN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER, U.S. EMBASSY IN THAILAND: Everybody in the embassy and the mission is really seized with, first off, supporting all the American citizens who have been affected. Or, in some cases, bereaved or injured by this calamity here, and the way it's affected all of us in Thailand.

O'BRIEN: So when you say supporting, what does that mean exactly?

LARSEN: All kinds of support. The embassy immediately had officers down here. In fact, we had some officers in this region on vacation who basically went to work within minutes of the tsunami and its hitting this island and other islands and parts of the shoreline along Thailand. Beginning their work of finding Americans, finding ways in which they could help those Americans inform -- depends on what they needed.

Some of the Americans found themselves injured, separated from family members, oftentimes lost all of their possessions. Sometimes they had not even a passport, not a penny, not a way to get to the U.S., no identification whatsoever. So our embassy officers have helped in any way they can to reunite family members and, where necessary, to find medical care for those who need it. To find people who, in fact, were oftentimes moved unconscious to hospitalization for the severe injuries they had.

O'BRIEN: There's a huge number of missing. How many of those thousands are Americans?

LARSEN: That's a very good question. And we really do not have a clear number of how many Americans we would say are confirmed missing.

Right now, we're estimating slightly less than 400 are unaccounted for. But that number is really based upon the number of e-mails and calls in to our hotline that we've gotten from all over the world and certainly from the U.S., where people have reported, "I haven't heard from Jim, I heard he was in Thailand. Is he OK?"

So that made this list of unaccounted for. And we're now furiously trying to call back people, answer those e-mails...

O'BRIEN: How big a job is that? I mean, is it looking...

LARSEN: Huge, huge.

O'BRIEN: ... for a needle in a haystack essentially?

LARSEN: Exactly. And that's one of the biggest challenges we have, is that we never knew and have no clear records of exactly how many Americans were here. So therefore, to define how many are not here now, or are injured or god forbid dead, it's very hard.

O'BRIEN: How many American families do you have that have come to your doors and said, "I'm looking for someone who I cannot find?"

LARSEN: There has been over 1,000 Americans who've come to American citizen services either here in our facilities that we're maintaining in Phuket or run in to our officers out in the field, or come in to the embassy, who've asked for assistance of one sort or another.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Mark Larsen. He is the public affairs officer for the U.S. embassy. Spending a little time here to help some of the folks who have been stranded and have other issues, as well.

Now to some stories of survival. For that, we turn to Matthew Chance.

Hey, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, thank you very much.

And as you were describing there, incredible scenes of devastation. Thousands of people were killed. Thousands more missing, of course.

Amid all that tragedy, though, there have been these remarkable stories of survival. Earlier I spent some time with a couple from Seattle who had come to Thailand over the holiday period to spend some relaxation time on the beaches here when the tsunami hit. Just listen to their incredible tale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is what's left of our hotel room. Our bed was here. And we were sleeping.

CHANCE (voice-over): They're survivors amid the tragedy. For Ron Ruben (ph) and Rebecca Bedell (ph) it was meant to be a dream vacation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was an absolute tropical paradise. Just miles and miles of perfect sandy beaches, palm trees. You know, Christmas Day, families walking on the beach. It was -- it was -- it was something you'd see in a postcard before the -- before the wave.

I was awoken by this crashing noise. It sounded like a landslide, an earthquake, a plane crashing and a train wreck all at the same time.

CHANCE (on camera): You can see that all along this coastline of Thailand, resort after resort has been crushed by the giant tsunami. Thousands of people were killed, Thais and tourists alike, making the story of Ron (ph) and Rebecca (ph) all the more incredible. But it doesn't end there because they didn't just save themselves, but one other as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the roof point where we had been during the tsunami, we got up here, and we thought this was the highest we could go. So this is where we -- we ended up. And most people had convened here looking for other lost members.

Everyone was missing somebody. So this is kind of the place people were trickling in to see if they could find each other.

CHANCE: And is this the exact place where you find Hannis (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, exactly.

CHANCE: You didn't know his name was Hannis (ph), did you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, of course not. No. He was laying right over about in that spot right there.

CHANCE (voice-over): They picked up like Hannis Bergstrom (ph) in shock and half drowned and took him to hospital where we first filmed him. A few days later he was reunited with at least some of his Swedish family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very emotional to see that the father was alive and the grandmother was alive. And it's a tragedy that the mother died, but we were just -- we were so happy for him. When we...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he was playing normally, just like a normal kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a toy and he kept squeezing it, and he was talking. And, I mean, he was not like that the day we had him. He was not talking. He was not playing. Not -- he was very out of it. So we were really happy to see he looked perfectly normal again.

CHANCE: But the joy is mixed with sadness, too, that only a few lucky ones could survive where so many perished.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's too much luck. You know, it's too much luck that we both survived.

We didn't lose one another. We have no injuries. It's -- it's -- and that's just not the case for the majority of the people that were staying in Khao Lak. So there's really no words to describe how we feel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a miracle to be alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: A miracle, indeed. And, of course, so many others were so much less fortunate than that. A couple that's worth remembering.

I think the casualty figures here in Thailand, which is by no means the worst-affected country in the region, official figures saying at least 5,000 people are now confirmed as dead, another 6,500 still missing. So anybody who walked away from this tsunami, very lucky indeed -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: This is not the first disaster obviously that you have covered. How does this compare, if that's the right word to use, to others that you've covered?

CHANCE: That's interesting, because you're right, there have been a number of other natural disasters like this that we've had to cover. Just a year ago, of course, the earthquake in Iran, in Bam in southern Iran, where there were so many tens of thousands of people killed, as well.

This is so much different, though, because of the sheer geographical range of the tsunami. It hit so many countries in the region. It's sort of like a whole regional disaster on a much, much bigger scale.

Also, just here in Thailand, so many different nationalities. Tourists from the United States, from Europe, from Scandinavia, from Germany, Britain, Australia. So it seems that this natural disaster has touched almost every corner of the world.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it certainly does. And especially one of the most horrifying things I think that I've heard about, that Thais who did not survive, is so many of the Thais do not swim. Even the fishermen who make their living on the water don't know how to swim and lost their life because of that.

Matthew, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

And let's go back to Bill in New York -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad. Thanks for that report again, live in Phuket, Thailand.

A check of the headlines now with Heidi Collins with me here as well here in New York City.

A developing story, too, what Virginia? HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. Hampton, Virginia, actually.

We do have this news coming in to us now at CNN. Word of a school bus accident in Hampton, Virginia. Officials say a bus carrying 32 students to school overturned in a ditch about an hour and a half ago.

Eleven students were sent to the hospital. The cause of the crash is not yet known. Of course we will keep following that story and bring you the latest information just as soon as we get it.

Meanwhile, overseas to Iraq now. Military officials are investigating what may have been a car bombing over an hour ago near the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. These images from the scene just now into CNN as well. Earlier today, three other bombs went off in the area killing several Iraqis and wounding two U.S. soldiers.

Back here in the United States, a CNN "Security Watch." The FBI is investigating another laser beam pointed at a plane.

Pilots of a United Airlines jet reported seeing a green laser beam as they took off from Nashville yesterday. The plane landed without any problems. The incident is one of several in recent days. And according to FBI officials cited by "USA Today," the incidents are not linked to terrorism.

And U.S. health officials saying they plan to lift a ban on Canadian cattle imports, despite confirmation that a dairy cow in Alberta tested positive for mad cow. It is the second case of mad cow in Canada in 10 years. U.S. health officials say the new case poses no risk to American consumers.

A guest a little bit earlier on the show said that there are problems actually both in the United States and in Canada with the way that the cows are fed. So a lot more there.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

In the American West, about another foot of snow could fall today in northern California. This is an area that's already been hit by about nine feet of snow in only three days. Here's Ted Rowlands up early, Soda Springs, California.

Good morning, Ted. How's the forecast?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Forecasting more snow, at least through the day. It continues to fall here this morning. It's expected to be another day of digging out for folks living here. This is a scene that is very common. Cars completely covered with snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS (voice-over): For thousands of holiday travelers across the country, getting home has been a nightmare. In the northern California Sierra Mountains, they're used to snow, but not like this. In the mountain town of Soda Springs, where more than eight feet of snow has fallen since Wednesday, parked cars are completely buried, and everywhere in the region highway traffic is treacherous and slow.

SGT. JOHN DIETRICH, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: This certainly is the most significant series of storms that I've experienced here. It's pretty much been nonstop.

DEANNE MAAS, SODA SPRINGS RESIDENT: We've been snowed in since Wednesday, so we're just coming up to get some food and supplies.

ROWLANDS: The Maas family lives two miles off the beaten path. They put their two children on a dog sled to get through the snow.

MAAS: It's so deep, and little kids can't walk two miles in this kind of snow.

ROWLANDS: For ski resorts the snow means the best conditions in years. But for some spots it's actually been too much of a good thing because it is so difficult to get here.

GREG MURTHA, SUGAR BOWL SKI RESORT: It's the busiest week of the year in the ski business. And, you know, we were hoping for a little bit of a break. It didn't happen.

ROWLANDS: Even many of those that make a living off the snow, like the Maas family -- they charter dog sled trips -- say it's time for a break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I go in now?

MAAS: You can go in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: A snow -- a snow advisory which was issued last Wednesday has been extended into tomorrow in some counties in this region. It is expected that there will be a little bit of a respite. But forecasters are expecting another big storm to come rolling in here by the end of the week -- Bill.

HEMMER: It is just one after the other out there. Get warm, Ted. Thanks. Ted Rowlands there in California.

A check of the weather with Chad Myers looking at the forecast in California and the rest of the country.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Chad. Thanks so much.

We've heard the story of a supermodel who survived a tsunami by clinging to a tree for eight hours. But her boyfriend, a photographer, is still missing. We're going to show you new pictures of her hospital recovery and find out how she's coping. HEMMER: Also this morning, a CNN "Security Watch." New worries today about Osama bin Laden's possible plans. Are American children the next target? One man thinks possibly.

Back in a moment on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: "Sports Illustrated" cover model Petra Nemcova is recovering now in a hospital in Thailand. That tsunami devastated the resort where she was staying.

Her boyfriend, too, photographer Simon Atlee, is now missing and presumed dead. This is the first photo released through "US Weekly."

And from L.A. now, the West Coast bureau chief of "US Weekly" is Ken Baker. He's my guest now.

And good morning to you, Ken.

KEN BAKER, "US WEEKLY": Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: I understand you were supposed to have a conversation last night by way of telephone. That did not happen. But there's a story in that. Explain that.

BAKER: Yes, well, obviously her broken hip -- actually it's a broken pelvis -- is going to heal. And she's made great advancement in her healing process in the last week. But, you know, it's really her broken heart that's really affecting her.

She's just coming to grips with the fact that, in all likelihood, her boyfriend Simon Atlee, who is a British photographer who she was with in a bungalow when the tsunami hit, is not going to be found. And, you know, I'm told that it's really just starting to hit her.

She did sit for the photograph that you showed on Friday. And she was going to speak with me last night, but I'm told it was just -- it's just too distraught and too emotional to do that.

HEMMER: Let me try and pick away at a few things here. Why was she willing to sit for that photograph?

BAKER: Well, obviously she's a very public face, and many of us know her from the cover of "Sports Illustrated," Victoria's Secret. And there was intense curiosity in how she was doing.

HEMMER: But there's also money designed to go to a charity, right? Can you flush that out for us?

BAKER: Yes. Yes. So what we did was, you know, we presented to her that if we had some photographs of her, that any proceeds from that photograph that were acquired for media organizations to run the photograph, like here on CNN, that those would -- those proceeds would go to Save the Children, which is a relief organization.

People can learn more at savethechildren.org or usmagazine.com. We'll have information up very soon about that.

HEMMER: All right.

BAKER: And she was very interested in helping out because she had just seen the devastation, witnessed it, experienced it firsthand. And she thought that was very important to...

HEMMER: You know, Ken, I think one of the more intriguing details about her story is that she clung to a tree for eight hours...

BAKER: Yes.

HEMMER: ... by herself and survived essentially, this disaster on her own. Have we learned or have you learned more details about that eight hours or what happened before that?

BAKER: Yes. It was, indeed, eight hours.

Well, the morning that she was with Simon, they had been there on a surprise vacation. She surprised him with a vacation to Phuket. She loved that area. They were in a beachside bungalow.

It hit, it swept them out much like, you know, hundreds -- tens and a hundred, 50,000 other people. The difference was that she somehow, while Simon was swept out, she clung onto some debris, was able to clutch onto a palm tree, where she was perched for about eight hours.

When the water receded, she was found on a beach lying in a daze by some local residents and they brought her to a hospital. A few days later she was moved 100 miles north of Phuket. She's there now.

She was able to actually stand up yesterday, but she has a broken pelvis. She has a broken bone in her leg. No internal injuries, however, and she plans on trying to get back to her native Czech Republic within the next week or so.

HEMMER: All right. Ken, thanks for filling us in on those details from "US Weekly" out in L.A.

She is still recovering in a hospital clearly. Her boyfriend Simon Atlee is missing and presumed dead at this point. And that photograph provided through "US Weekly."

Relief arriving in southeast Asia. It may not be fast enough, though. In a moment, CNN goes behind the scenes to track down how the aid is getting to those who need it.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody. Here's Jack and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Bill. What to do with suspected terrorists the United States doesn't want to release or turn over to the courts. A piece in "The Washington Post" says there are plans for indefinitely imprisoning these people, perhaps for a lifetime.

One idea is to transfer detainees to a new $25 million, 200-bed prison facility for suspected terrorists who are unlikely to ever go to court because of a lack of evidence. No public hearings in Congress have been held on CIA detention practices, and Senate leaders are criticizing the indefinite detentions as unconstitutional.

The question is this, how should the United States handle terrorist suspects that it is unwilling to release or turn over to the courts?

Alan in Waco, Texas, writes: "Apparently the military or the government doesn't trust the American justice system. I wonder what America would do if an American POW was not allowed access to the courts of the holding country."

Laura in New York, "Why call it a 200-bed holding facility? When the Nazis held people without charges the facilities were called concentration camps."

Fred writes from Cary, North Carolina, "Jack, these people are trained killers. We are currently trying to deal with segments of these cells in this country which are intent upon undermining our transportation systems, infrastructure and, in general, our way of life. If we let them go, where will they turn up?"

And Ed in Minneapolis weighs in with this: "Since we no longer care about human rights, let's implant tracking chips and let them go in downtown Baghdad. We'll know in a week who's good and where to find the bad guys."

That's an idea.

HEMMER: Yes. Thank you, Jack.

COLLINS: All right. Thanks, Jack.

It's the first "90-Second Pop" of 2005. Let's look into the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): The poppers dust off the crystal ball. "Million-Dollar Baby" could be this year's Oscar heavyweight. But will another film knock out the competition?

Plus, which celebrity will achieve pop culture nirvana in 2005? The secrets revealed on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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