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CNN Sunday Morning

South Asia Earthquake Kills Thousands; U.S. Plan for Coping with Flu Pandemic Released; General Provides Update on Hurricane Relief

Aired October 09, 2005 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Here is what's happening right now in the news.
Rescuers are digging through huge piles of rubble in South Asia after this weekend's massive earthquake. The number of deaths has risen to nearly 20,000 this morning, most of them in Pakistan. We'll bring you a live report in just a minute.

Meanwhile, bird flu fears are growing overseas. Early tests show a 4-year-old Indonesian boy may have been infected with the deadly strain of avian flu. Now if confirmed, the case to be the sixth in Indonesia. The virus has already killed at least 60 people across Asia.

She is now a Hall of Famer. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. Other inductees include Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

It is Sunday, October 9. Another busy day. Good morning to you from the CNN center in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CO-HOST: And good morning everyone, I'm Tony Harris. Thank you for starting your day with us.

The Pakistani government announces three days of mourning following Saturday's devastating earthquake. The magnitude 7.6 quake struck hardest in India-controlled Kashmir. In some cases entire villages are flattened.

Today the desperate search for survivors or bodies goes on with bulldozers, backhoes and bare hands. The death toll is now approaching -- listen to this -- 20,000. And that number is expected to rise.

Landslides are keeping rescue teams from reaching 30 to 40 percent of the devastated areas. Pakistan's President Musharraf is touring the earthquake region today. The United Nations has sent an emergency team to coordinate relief efforts.

Most of the dead and injured are in Pakistan. In all officials estimate nearly 20,000 killed so far.

Senior international correspondent Satinder Bindra is traveling with Pakistani armed forces. Satinder joins us on the phone from Islamabad, Pakistan.

And Satinder, take your time and talk us through what you have seen today.

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, I went on an aerial tour with the Pakistani armed forces. And it was quite clear and evident to me that the Northwestern Frontier Province has borne the brunt of this earthquake.

We saw an area called Balakote (ph). And from the air, an entire hillside we could see had been wiped out, some 70 percent of the homes there completely demolished, flattened. And the Pakistani president estimating in that one town alone some 2,000 people dead.

We saw large-scale damage, as well, roads that had been sort of heavily damaged with landslides. In fact, this earthquake was so intense, so powerful there were large cracks on the hillside.

We also toured through Pakistani controlled Kashmir. The situation here was not quite as serious as in the Northwest Frontier Province.

But in the town of Musafrabad (ph), again, the damage quite extensive. And we went to one school in which some 60 children had been killed when their school literally collapsed right on top of them. So that was very difficult to see.

In Musafrabad (ph) as well, we saw a large relief camp being organized. We saw people being treated. We saw several children with horrendous injuries, fractures. They were being stitched up.

In fact, one father brought along his 8- or 9-year-old daughter for treatment, and he told me that he'd lost his elder daughter, a 13- year-old. (INAUDIBLE) collapsed on her.

So a lot of such stories, a lot of damage, and it's clear that over the next one day or so, the casualty rate will continue to mount.

HARRIS: Satinder, is it just simply overwhelming?

BINDRA: It was overwhelming today. I think that, in human terms, would be a good way of describing it.

Just from the air, when you see hundreds and hundreds of flattened homes, you see people just sitting outside their homes staring vacantly.

I described this trip to the school. And I had a mother coming up to me, begging and pleading and crying, "Do something, help, use your bare hands. Let's dig through the rubble."

We saw some very emotional and intense scenes of people just using axes, using shovels to try -- to try to dig through tons and tons of rubble.

Now because of the road situation, several roads are impassable because of landslides. It will take days, perhaps, yet to get heavy machinery in there. So the situation doesn't look too good.

The Pakistani president today, because of such a situation, appealing to the international community, and in particular to the United States, saying that he needs heavy-lift helicopters. These heavy-lift helicopters, he said, would be able to evacuate the wounded and provide relief to thousands and thousands of people who have lost their homes in northern Pakistan.

HARRIS: What a picture you paint. And the pictures themselves are just -- well, the pictures are just awful to watch. Satinder Bindra on the phone with us from Islamabad, Pakistan.

NGUYEN: That is so difficult to see.

Well, another hard-hit area is Indian-controlled Kashmir. More than 300 people are reported dead there. And thousands of homes and buildings have collapsed.

We get more now from CNN's Ram Ramgopal, who joins us by phone from Indian controlled Kashmir.

I know night is falling on the area, but give us a recap of what you've seen today as far as destruction.

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly from our -- certainly almost sketchy look right now, because we've been on the road for the last several hours, trying to get to the morrow remote parts of Indian Kashmir.

We can tell you that we are in the town of Uri (ph), which is very close to the line of control between India and the Pakistani parts of Kashmir. I can tell you that certainly at this point, it appears that this town has borne the brunt here.

According to many local residents, they are saying it's just the tip of the iceberg. If you go outside of the main highways, if you go into many of the more remote villages, they tell us there are far greater -- certainly in terms of the geographical area -- a far greater spread of houses basically demolished, certainly people buried.

And according to local officials as well, they are still trying to assess the situation in many of the more remote villages, where it appears that while the death toll in this part of the country, certainly in Indian part of Kashmir, is at about 507, it's far lower on the Pakistani side but certainly in human terms. It appears to have been quite a blow to this region.

And in fact as I'm talking to you, I can see a series of ambulances heading down the highway through this town, carrying back some of the injured victims.

NGUYEN: A lot of work still to be done there. Ram Ramgopal in Indian controlled Kashmir, thank you.

HARRIS: And Betty, for those rescue teams on the move in South Asia, it is slow going. Roads are impassable. Communications are down in the hardest hit areas.

Senior international correspondent Matthew Chance has an update from Islamabad, Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Throughout these wide, broad scenes of tragedy across the region, Tony. But there are rarely these occasional glimpses of hope. And that's exactly what we're witnessing here in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, this evening, as darkness falls on Islamabad.

You can see rescue workers are still frantically trying to get to at least one young woman who they know is still alive, buried underneath this collapsed apartment building behind me in an upscale neighborhood of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

They believe that she is about three meters underneath the surface of that mound rubble that they're now standing on. They're attempting to drill and to dig to try and get to her.

They've also spoken to her as well, dropping very sensitive microphones into the voids through the crevasses and pick up what she's saying. And she's managed to describe to them that she was on the fifth floor of this apartment block when the earthquake struck in the early hours, of course, of Saturday morning.

And she's now believed to be about two floors below the surface of that mound of rubble which was the apartment block. It's still very difficult to get to her, because that's two floors of extremely, densely, compacted reinforced concrete.

And it's a very sensitive operation as well, Tony, trying to extricate somebody who is alive from that kind of situation. Because if you disturb the concrete too much, that could cause additional injuries.

It's also a very grim task indeed. We've been talking a lot to the rescue teams that are down there Pakistani military, as well as a British rescue team that's been deployed here throughout the course of the day. They're saying that they're faced with the grim task of having to cut through bodies and take out their remains in order to get to the space where they believe that this young woman, who they haven't named -- and they do know her name but they haven't publicly named her -- where this young woman is actually now holed up, is trying to survive in these very, very difficult circumstances, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. So Matthew, boy, that rescue that you're describing -- but let me ask you, other rescues that are going on, as we can imagine they must be at this point, around the city, are you seeing coordinated efforts or are you seeing people just trying to do the best they can? We're talking about hands and shovels, whatever they can find, to affect these rescues?

CHANCE: Well, that's a good question, Tony. I think it's worth pointing out that, in fact, this collapsed building right behind me is perhaps the only building in Islamabad that's been so severely affected. The majority of the damage has taken place about 95 kilometers, 60 miles to the northeast of here. And that's where the really substantial damage has taken place in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

And it's in those areas where the authorities and rescue teams are finding it most difficult to get their efforts to. Here we're seeing heavier equipment. We're seeing rescue teams there, whatever is needed to try and get to the people who are buried beneath this rubble.

But in some of those outlying areas, the mountain communities around the Pakistani city of Muzakurabad (ph), it's proving more difficult logistically. The roads have been damaged by the earthquake. There have been landslides. Heavy rains as well have played into this, making it much more difficult.

And so all of the relief efforts that we've been seeing, the majority of them at least, have been by hospital. The Pakistani military taking supplies, taking manpower to take manpower up there. It is a much more difficult logistical operation for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance with us from Islamabad, Pakistan. Matthew, thank you.

NGUYEN: In related news, President Bush says aid to South Asia is on the way. And he says the U.S. is ready to provide more help as needed. American money, supplies and aircraft are all on the way to the earthquake zone. The president says his thoughts and prayers are with the victims.

And in a statement, he says, "The people of the United States offer our deepest sympathies for the loss of life and destruction caused by the earthquake that struck outside of Islamabad."

Now we want to show you something again. I know we just showed it to you, but it's worth repeating. This is exclusive video that has come in to CNN taken on a cell phone in Islamabad, Pakistan, when the hardest hit areas as the earthquake was happening. I want you to look at it and just listen to it for a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (speaking foreign language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Oh, you can hear the screams. Can you just imagine seeing and feeling what is happening? And then watching a building collapse. And of course, rescue operations are under way. This is a huge earthquake, 7.6 in magnitude. Several large aftershocks. And as we have learned today, nearly 20,000 dead so far. And that death toll is expected to rise.

HARRIS: Fear that bird flu in Asia could spread around the world has the U.S. government asking a lot of "what-if" questions and planning for worst-case scenario. A draft of the plan obtained by "The New York Times" warns if there is a bird flu outbreak in Asia, it would reach the U.S. in a few months, or even weeks. It also says nearly two million Americans would die.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with more on the government's plan.

Suzanne, that time line, that's frightening.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Tony, there are a lot of things that are in this plan that are really quite alarming. The language in this worst case scenario that they've painted.

It's called the Pandemic Influenza Strategic Plan, a document that's more than 380 pages, essentially a blueprint for how the U.S. would respond in the case of a bird flu pandemic.

This has become a top priority for the administration. It was just on Friday when President Bush was at the White House meeting with six top vaccine producers to urge them to try to produce more.

But of course, the government really has not come through when it comes to purchasing what is needed. And really, this plan outlines really just how far the government -- the administration is from being prepared.

Some of the highlights of the plan here. It calls for the U.S. to stockpile 133 million anti-viral treatments. Presently the administration has only bought 4.3 million treatments. It also calls that the domestic vaccine production should be at 6 million doses in six months. Presently less than 60 million.

There is a lot of work to be done. The plan also calls for states to come up with ways, legal ways to actually quarantine some of those affected areas.

And Tony, one of the things that this plan does not address, cannot address, is what do these other countries do. As we know, the outbreaks in other countries, the situation in Turkey as well.

That is why the secretary of health and human services, Michael Leavitt, is actually on the road, traveling to several countries to try to convince them that the United States and other countries need to work together to get information, real information, about what the situation is -- Tony.

HARRIS: It sounds like, Suzanne, based on your reaction at the top, and what you've just been telling us, this plan should be required reading.

MALVEAUX: Well, it's a plan that essentially is going to be required reading for many people not only in Washington, but across the board here.

We know that Secretary Leavitt has met with other cabinet members to discuss how is it that they are going to coordinate their efforts in the likelihood, the possibility, that this becomes a pandemic.

And also, it is a very real assessment of how the United States, the administration, is not prepared, what they need to do and what they're facing.

HARRIS: Sure sounds like it. CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, thank you.

NGUYEN: Signs of life are beginning to emerge in New Orleans. The first train since Katrina treks back in. But there is still a long road ahead, obviously. Up next, the man in charge, Lieutenant General Russel Honore, updates us on the progress there.

HARRIS: And her son died nine years ago, but his legacy lives on. See what the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur is doing to honor her son's last wish. It is a CNN exclusive.

Good morning, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody. Got a little of everything in your weather forecast today. We've got some wet weather. We have some snow to talk about, and some gorgeous conditions to talk about, too. Good morning to you in Chicago. The Chicago Marathon just started at the top of the hour. Run, Forrest! I couldn't help myself. Sorry. Chicago's forecast and the rest of the nation coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, cheers, hugs and a proposal as Amtrak resumes passenger rail service to New Orleans. The first train arrived Saturday with about three dozen passengers, and one man -- there he is -- sank to his knees. He actually sang a song, Tony, and proposed marriage to his girlfriend.

HARRIS: Well, why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you?

NGUYEN: Well, he's singing today, a happy one. Because she accepted! Great way to restart service for the train called the City of New Orleans.

Former President Bush is spending his second day in the hurricane zone. Today he'll visit Louisiana and Texas after touring parts of Alabama and Mississippi on Saturday. Bush and former President Clinton have been leading a national fund raising drive for hurricane victims. Bush says the scope of the destruction is simply enormous.

And rebuilding the hurricane zone. Workers on the ground are making progress. But they still have a long way to go. That's especially true in parts of New Orleans.

Earlier this morning I spoke with Lieutenant General Russel Honore, the man in charge of the military's relief effort. Here's what he had to say about the job ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY: The Ninth Ward, as you know, a part of it we're still pulling a little bit of sludge out of there, using the -- some pumps that -- some portable pumps.

And the Ninth Ward is, as you said, heavily damaged, and the whole situation there is those houses sat underwater for the longest amount of time there and in St. Bernard Parish. And there is significant damage to the structure.

NGUYEN: Now you spoke with former President Clinton last week. I don't know if you got a chance to speak with former President Bush yesterday. But have any of these men provided any kind of insight, any kind of advice, as all of us move forward after Katrina?

HONORE: Well, as you know, they are targeting and attempting to make assessments on the distribution of the donations that have been made by very generous people as to how to best distribute those. And they've been here consulting with the governors and the mayors, and in some case the parish presidents on how to best utilize those funds that have been donated from around the world. Over.

NGUYEN: Speaking of the future, you are from Louisiana. And as a native, obviously you're very concerned with how this state is going to recover. I want to ask you about Mayor Ray Nagin's plan for New Orleans in creating a Las Vegas-style casino area through the main business district. What do you think about that?

HONORE: Well, in my capacity here as the -- working in the response stage of the hurricane, you know the mayor is proposing something and that is really out of our lane as visitors here who help to save lives and help the state and the parishes move on to recovery. But I think there are going to be many things that will come along to take a look at opportunities to sustain the area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And more help is on the way. Thousands of trailers and mobile homes are being delivered to Louisiana to house those evacuees.

HARRIS: Still ahead, CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has your Sunday forecast when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Talk about whether today. Big marathon going on.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What a gorgeous day to run.

HARRIS: Mr. Garrett (ph) and his crew out there running. NGUYEN: Run, Forrest, run, right?

JERAS: I couldn't help myself. You know, I'm a geek. What do you do? Look at the pictures.

It's beautiful, though, really. If you're a runner, today is the day. It's a little bit overcast, but you kind of like that when you're running.

HARRIS: You do.

JERAS: You don't have the sun in your eyes. The temperature is about 51, 52 degrees right now, 61 tops today in Chicago.

NGUYEN: Perfect.

HARRIS: Perfect.

JERAS: Got to love it. And he sun is going to be coming out slowly but surely throughout the day: 26.2 miles, guys. That's way too long.

NGUYEN: Ouch!

HARRIS: Is that a problem?

JERAS: For me!

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Thanks, Jacqui.

HARRIS: Hurricane Katrina not only destroyed lives; it destroyed history. Up next, the now tattered African-American colleges the storm left behind. Fears now students and teachers, too, could leave them behind. Find out what's being done to try to save them.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BENNETT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I was putting forward a bad argument in order to shoot it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Bill Bennett responds to the criticism, but some, well, they just aren't buying it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The road to recovery could get rough for the colleges and universities damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. Among those are historically African-American schools such as Southern, Xavier and Dillard. Joining me now is Dillard University president Marvalene Hughes and Tom Joyner from Miami. Tom, we will get to you in a moment. But Marvalene let me start with you. Give us a sense of the damage your university suffered.

MARVALENE HUGHES, DILLARD UNIVERSITY: As you probably know, my university was submerged in water for about three weeks. In addition to that, we had three buildings burn down. So I now have about 200 people on site evaluating the damage. I can report to you that at this point, the water has receded. I have visited the campus twice and it appears that significant damage has occurred. So we will engage in the process of rebuilding, restoring, perhaps in some cases demolishing. But certainly, we know that the three buildings that burned down will be built from the ground-up.

HARRIS: Wow.

HUGHES: And so the damage is quite severe for us. But we know that we can restore Dillard University and it is truly my intention to do that. By January, I will relocate my students on the Tulane campus. I've been very, very pleased with the cooperation of Scott Cohen, the president, there. We are now in the process of planning to return to our home in New Orleans in January.

HARRIS: In January!

HUGHES: Yes. We will begin the second semester on the Tulane campus.

HARRIS: Tom Joyner, host of the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," heard on what, a about a gazillion radio stations across the country, Tom? Good to talk to you. No one can say you're not doing your part to help out, here. Take a moment to talk about the Tom Joyner Foundation HBCU Scholarship Relief Fund.

TOM JOYNER, SYNDICATED RADIO HOST: OK, our relief financed is for those students like the students of Dillard and Xavier and Southern of New Orleans who were displaced and had to go to another school and needed some tuition and book money. So what we do at foundation is -- well, I put a million dollars to see the relief fund and we've collected another $300,000. Of that $1.3 million, it's been divided into 1,300 students receiving a $1,000 scholarships for whatever school they transfer to, being it another HBCU or mainstream institution, whatever. And all they have to do is get in touch with us and we will verify that when -- when we verify they have transferred to these schools, we send the schools $1,000 to give to them towards their tuition, books, and other fees.

HARRIS: And Tom, let me be clear about this. You want to help these students who transfer to other schools even if these schools are not HBCU schools, correct?

JOYNER: Right, right, right. And normally we don't do that. Our foundation solely for the pups of helping students stay in school at HBCUs, but we've looked at this situation and we said, we're going to break our charter this time and help the students who are in need. The problem -- well, one of the problems is that there are some 8,500 students who were affected by this. And we're only helping 1,300. Not even a dent in the -- in what's needed. And god bless Dr. Hughes and the faculty and staff of Xavier, Dillard, and Southern for trying to get it back together as early as January. I mean I was just talking with Dr. Hughes and she's saying that, you know, it's going to take three or $400 million to restore that campus and three or $400 million, that's -- seems impossible.

HARRIS: Let me just ask you this then. I heard the president of Xavier saying that he would love to see some congressional help in this. Would you like to see some help from Congress and some public money go to Xavier -- not only to Xavier, but also to your school as well?

HUGHES: Well, assistance from Congress is essential. I have spent an enormous amount of time working with Senator Landrieu and Vitter who are preparing for us a bill. And we're asking for a minimum of $350 million. We need that in order to be able to pay salaries, to retain and attract faculty. We need it in order to be able to re-attract our students and provide incentive scholarships for them. We need it because of the transitional costs we are encountering with our faculty staff and students all around the country. And most important, we need it to rebuild Dillard University. Our capital plan will be very, very expensive and so we are trusting the federal government to assist us in reconstructing Dillard University and assuring that the 135-year legacy of excellence is preserved on that campus.

HARRIS: President Hughes, good to talk to you.

HUGHES: Yes.

HARRIS: And Tom Joyner, the host of the "Tom Joyner Radio Show." Good to see you and thanks for your time this morning.

JOYNER: Thank you.

HUGHES: Thank you.

HARRIS: And of course, there is concern for the students as well as the schools. If you are a student of a hurricane-affected HBCU school, go to this website, hbcurelief@blackamericaweb.com and if you're interested in sending financial assistance to Dillard, Southern, Xavier or another HBCU schools, go to www.blackamericaweb.com or send donations to Tom Joyner, his foundation, P.O. Box 630495, Irving, Texas, 75063.

NGUYEN: R&B superstar Usher will headline a benefit concert tonight for Hurricane Katrina and Rita relief, called project restart. Usher will perform several songs at the show right here in his native hometown of Atlanta. Usher has invited about 5,000 displaced Gulf Coast residents who were relocated into Georgia to attend this concert for free. Proceeds will help provide temporary housing to hurricane evacuees.

And the late hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur is known for his controversial messages an run-ins with the law. But his mother wants his legacy as an artist and actor to live on. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield shows us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first glance, Highway 10 in this Atlanta suburb looks like any other jumble of asphalt and strip shopping malls. But look closer and listen, says Afeni Shakur.

AFENI SHAKUR, TUPAC SHAKUR'S MOTHER: This is an important place.

WHITFIELD: It's a road to big dreams fulfilled, because of the enduring legacy of her slain son, popular hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur.

Nine years ago the 25-year-old, who boasted of a thug life filled with tough choices and violence, was gunned down in Las Vegas at the peak of his career. His mother, who Tupac praised in a hit song

(SONG): And there's no way I could tell pay you back, but my plan is to show you that I understand.

WHITFIELD: Focuses not on finding his killer, still at large.

(on camera): You don't want to know?

SHAKUR: No, I don't. What I want to...

WHITFIELD: Why?

SHAKUR: Because it will not change anything.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Afeni Shakur instead invested $4 million to create a safe place for other young talents who can identify with Tupac and his sometimes controversial messages.

SHAKUR: These children are living in a world where their friends, their brothers, their sisters, their cousins, their classmates are dying violently. They are trying to live with good thoughts, with hope and with vibrancy in a world that offers them that. Our only, only choice is to stand in here with them and to say, "you're right, you can hope for a better life, you can do it differently. Miss Shakur did not go on a rampage about the people who shot her son."

WHITFIELD: She used her pain, anger, and mostly royalties from Tupac's recordings and other projects to acquire nine acres of land and building space, keeping one of her son's dreams alive.

SHAKUR: Tupac, right when he was alive, one of those visions that he had for his own future was to have thug mansions all across the country which would be safe places for young people to come and develop their arts.

WHITFIELD: She settled for this, converting an old paint store into a glossy performing arts center for young teens, memories of Tupac throughout. (on camera): Might it have been easier, for you as a mother who lost your son, who was a successful recording artist, violently, to have just closed that chapter and said, "I don't want anything to do with recording music, with the performing arts, period."

SHAKUR: It would have been easier for someone else. I am a recovering addict. My children and myself and I come from lots of pain and trauma. But god has turned our lives into something besides (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD (voice-over): And in the fall of 2006 when the trees in this part begin to change, some of these young performers look forward to another transformation. When their recorded voices are joined with material, Tupac's mother says, has never before been released. A special collaboration making children's long shot hopes of becoming recording artists, dreams fulfilled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The Tupac Shakur Art Center is located in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

HARRIS: No apologies from former education secretary, William Bennett. About 100 people turned out in Bakersfield, California, turned out to protest his appearance at a business conference. It was his first public speech since the controversial comment he made on his radio show in late September. Bennett hypothetically linked the abortion of black babies to the crime rate saying, quote, "...you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down..."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BENNETT, FMR. EDUCATION SECRETARY: Although I cannot apologize for what I said and meant, which when understood in context, ought not to be objectionable, I regret that people have misrepresented my views, so that they have been the cause of hurt, controversy, and confusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Bennett says he was simply making a ridiculous argument in order to put it down.

Former FBI director Louis Freeh unloads on President Bill Clinton and the bad blood between them. It's all in Freeh's book "My FBI." Freeh says their relationship fell apart because Clinton's closets were full of skeletons. It was Clinton who elevated Freeh to FBI director in 1993. Freeh says his relationship with the Clinton White House later soured over multiple scandals and investigations, among them White Water, Monica Lewinsky, and the investigation into the 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 Americans.

Freeh writes, "Bill Clinton raised the subject only to tell Crown Prince Abdullah that he understood the Saudi's reluctance to cooperate," and then he hit Abdullah up for a contribution to the Clinton Library. Clinton's spokesman, Jay Carson, says, "President Clinton repeatedly praised the Saudis for cooperation on the Khobar Towers investigation and his pressure led to the eventual indictment." Carson said, "Freeh's claims about the library are more untruths in a book that clearly has many."

NGUYEN: Well, the death toll, in the tens of thousands, the heartache just unimaginable. Up next, the devastation left behind by Mother Nature and the long road now ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Here is a check of our top stories. In case you're just joining us this morning, the death toll is approaching 20,000 from this weekend's earthquake in south Asia. Most of the dead are in Pakistan which has declared three days of mourning.

In Guatemala, hundreds are dead or missing after a week of floods and landslides. One town was wiped out by a massive slide. All 800 residents are feared dead.

And finally, bird flu fears growing overseas. Early tests show a young Indonesian boy may have the virus. If confirmed, his case would be the sixth in that country, The virus has killed at least 60 people across Asia.

NGUYEN: Well, rescues and cleanup continue this morning in south Asia following yesterday's 7.6 magnitude earthquake. That quake struck near Pakistan capital of Islamabad. That is where nearly 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed. CNN's Veronica Pedrosa has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA PEDROSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 24 hours after tragedy struck south and central Asia, the cleanup is already under way in Islamabad. But this is what actually happened at the same spot 100 kilometers away from the epicenter of the 7.6 earthquake. Seconds after the earth shook; a massive cloud of dust is all that can be seen of a multistory building in Pakistan capital, Islamabad. But the epicenter was in the Kashmiri Mountains, near here, Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. It's a very mountainous region, remote at best of times. Victims are in need in similarly treacherous terrain in the northwestern frontier province. Earthquakes do not know boundaries. This is Indian- administered Kashmir, and this is Afghanistan. Far-flung areas are reported to be worst affected. Reports are that entire villages, even towns, have been completely flattened. No one knows how long it will take for rescuers and aid to get to such places. Road access is likely to be limited, if not impossible.

Until then, like here in Afghanistan, people are using their bare hands to clear debris. Too late for this 10-year-old girl. Pakistan president, General Pervez Musharraf and his government tried to assure the public that everything is being done to help victims. The earthquake and continuing aftershocks struck in a heavily militarized region. That may be an advantage now. There are reports of extraordinary cooperation between the Pakistani and Indian soldiers in disputed Kashmir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In some of the areas the army was already deployed and they immediately started the rescue (INAUDIBLE). And in the other areas, the rescue teams are being flown through helicopters.

PEDROSA: But the need is overwhelming and urgent. Unknown numbers of people are sleeping in the open and they've lost everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Winter is approaching. This is the month of holy Ramadan. These people needs tents, blankets, as soon as possible. It is imperative for their survival.

PEDROSA: Back in Islamabad a few hours ago rescuers pulled one lucky man from the nightmare. Voices are still being heard in the rubble, even here where heavy lifting equipment is available. But most of the victims are in remote parts of the Himalayan foothills and the final number of dead may not be known for weeks.

Veronica Pedrosa, CNN reporting.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: "RELIABLE SOURCES" is coming up at the top of the hour. Let's check in with Howard Kurtz to see what's on the agenda.

Good morning.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Good morning, Betty. Coming up, Frank Rich, Gloria Borger, and David Frum on the conservative uproar over Harriet Miers.

That noted media critic, George Clooney on television news and his new movie about Edward R. Murrow.

And Michael Isikoff and two top bloggers on Judith Miller and whether the "New York Times" has fairly covered its own embattled reporter. A jam-packed hour ahead on "RELIABLE SOURCES."

NGUYEN: Topics there, looking forward to it. Thanks Howard.

HARRIS: Let's get a final check of weather now, with Jacqui Jeras upstairs in the CNN Weather Center. Mixed bag out west, huh?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Jacqui, thank you.

NGUYEN: Well, all morning long we've been asking your thoughts on this e-mail question, right there on the screen: Is the threat of Avian Flu reaching the United States being overstated? Got a lot of very interesting responses to this.

Rita in California says, "No, this issues is very, very important, If there is even a slight chance that a pandemic is possible then we should get serious about finding a cure, vaccine, anything our scientific medicine can come up with as soon as possible. It is the one thing in the news that should be a priority."

HARRIS: And Miles writes: "We are quick to criticize the government when they are proactive, especially last year when there were vaccine shortages. It seems to me that they are taking measured steps to address what could be a serious international crisis."

And thank you. Thank you all for the e-mails this morning. It's been a good morning for e-mails. And thank you for joining us. We'll see you back here next weekend.

NGUYEN: "RELIABLE SOURCES" with Howard Kurtz is coming up next. Have a great day.

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