Tsunami Devastates Samoa and American Samoa
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That brings us to the top of the hour. It' 7:00 eastern. Thanks for joining us on the most news in the morning. It is Wednesday, the 30th of September. I'm John Roberts.</s>KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have a lot of big stories we're breaking down for you in the new the next 15 minutes. We're following breaking news right now out of the Samoan islands. Entire villages flattened in the south pacific. And help is on the way right now from the U.S. after a powerful earthquake triggered a killer tsunami on the Samoan islands. More than 80 people said to be killed, dozens more injured, and many missing. There are some stunning eyewitness accounts on exactly what happened ahead.</s>ROBERTS: And this just into CNN. We are getting reports of another powerful earthquake rocking western Indonesia this morning. Another regional tsunami watch has been issued, this not too far from the epicenter of that huge earthquake that triggered the killer tsunami across the Indian Ocean back in late 2004. This just off of the western coast of Sumatra.</s>CHETRY: And also, watch what you say online, because police play be watching you. Today we have another installment of our special series, "Watching You 24/7," and we're going to tell you about these secret fusion centers set up all over the country. And it enables police to track potential threats, but in some cases, innocent people may be getting caught up in the web. More now on our developing story this morning, an absolutely disaster in what was a true paradise. This is the area where a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the islands of Samoa and American Samoa, triggering massive tsunami waves that flattened villages and swept cars and people out to sea. The number of dead is now rising, more than 80 and counting across the south pacific right now. The director of health services in American Samoa was quoted as saying "I thought it was the end of the world." And there's more. Our Zain Verjee joins us live with some stunning eyewitness accounts of the earthquake and the killer tsunami. Good morning, Zain.</s>ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. I spoke to one aid worker who met some people at a village, and he said that they were in shock. They were so stunned he described them as being like statues, that they couldn't believe or even speak to him about what had just happened. I did manage to speak to some residents on Samoa and American Samoan islands, and here's what they had to say about what happened.</s>VERJEE (voice-over): They practiced drills before, but this tsunami was the real thing, leaving residents on the Samoa island chain shocked.</s>MAULOLO TAVITA, WITNESS TO EARTHQUAKE: Houses were completely demolished, there were all shattered into pieces of kindling. They were all floating in the waters. And, you know, they were still looking for some missing relatives. And I've never seen something like this before in my whole life.</s>TASATOLO TAUGI, STUDENT, AMERICAN SAMOA: The roads are blocked, and I mean, it's cut into half. DR. SALAMO LAUMOLI, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH, American</s>SAMOA: It was so strong, it was so strong. I thought the earth would be broken on its surface.</s>VERJEE: One aide worker describes the waves in one village.</s>MALCOLM JOHNSON, RED CROSS: The wave must have been very high, because when we were out there, the power lines, they're about 30 feet up, there was a fine mists up on the power lines. So the wave would have been fairly close to that if not over the top of 30-foot power pole.</s>VERJEE (on camera): How afraid are you right now?</s>STEVEN PERCIVAL, RESIDENT, SAMOA: I guess the aftermath has already passed by, so we are now just having to deal with the tragedy and the loss of life.</s>VERJEE (voice-over): There are fears of aftershocks and more killer waves. Right now, the focus is survival.</s>TAVITA: The main things they need, number one, they need shelters, you know. Number two, they badly need clothes. And number three, they badly need medicine.</s>VERJEE: Zain Verjee, CNN, London.</s>VERJEE: One resident I spoke to on Samoa Island said that they all are really feeling it so acutely because it's an island community, and everyone knows everyone else, so they really feel the loss because they're close to everyone they live with -- Kiran?</s>CHETRY: It's just so devastating to see the pictures and the aftermath of the situation. As we understand, some FEMA officials will be coming from California to try to help out. They're also expecting to get a shipment from a C-130 transport plane out of Hawaii, but it looks like they really need this help, and concerns about possible aftershocks.</s>VERJEE: Exactly. People I spoke to said that that was one of their concerns, as well as another tsunami. So they were really afraid of that. But one thing that one person pointed out to me also was the fear that there would be a total breakdown in law and order. There have been reports of looting and people just going out to their stores and just boarding them up because they're afraid that the police and the security forces at this point aren't able to control things.</s>CHETRY: What a tough situation there. Zain, thank you for giving us some of the firsthand perspective of what's going on. Thanks, Zain. Also President Obama issued a statement late last night. He said, quote, "I'm closely monitoring these tragic events and have declared a major disaster for American Samoa which will provide the tools necessary for a full, swift, and aggressive response." And you can be involved in that response. Go to CNN.com/impact. You can find several resources for helping people devastated by the tsunami. There are links to aid organizations. It's all there at CNN.com/impact.</s>ROBERTS: To the make or break push on health care reform now, and in a major blow to the public option, some Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee joining Republicans voting to keep a government-run plan out of their bill. So is that plan dead in the water? Will the president let it die? Our Jim Acosta is tracking the latest from Washington for us this morning. Do we have an answer to those questions yet, Jim?</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not sure if the president's going to let it die. There are some Democrats in Congress who are not going to let it die, John, and you know all of the other bills coming out of committee in Congress have the public option. So these votes yesterday were the first big losses for the public option on Capitol Hill with a handful of centrist Democrats coming down against it. But that does not mean public option supporters are going away just yet.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Rockefeller?</s>SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Aye.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Rockefeller aye. Mr. Conrad?</s>SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: No.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Conrad, no.</s>ACOSTA: This time the nos came from Democrats who joined Republicans to defeat the public option, keeping it out of the Senate finance committee's crucial version of health care reform. The committee's chairman argued there's no way the option could beat a filibuster in the Senate.</s>SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-MT), FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: No one has been able to show me how we can count up to 60 votes with a public option in the bill, and thus I am constrained to vote against the amendments.</s>ACOSTA: Two amendments that would give the uninsured the option of joining a government-run health care plan pitted Democrat against Democrat. Public options supporter Jay Rockefeller cited data from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that says the provision would save the government $50 billion. A bill without the option, he argued, gives the insurance industry a pass.</s>ROCKEFELLER: Who comes first, the insurance companies or the American people?</s>BAUCUS: We all agree on the goal.</s>ACOSTA: Republicans also got into the mix, with Iowa's Charles Grassley tangling with public option proponent Chuck Schumer over the prospect of government health care.</s>SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), FINANCE COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER: If you want competition, you don't want the government running everything. The government is not a fair competitor. It's not even a competitor.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: So you don't want Medicare?</s>GRASSLEY: It's a predator.</s>SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R-UT), FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I can tell you right now, it would be a disaster. And what's worse, the American people will lose an awful lot of control over their own health care needs.</s>ACOSTA: Just before watching his amendment go down in defeat, Rockefeller signaled the fight would go on.</s>ROCKEFELLER: The public option is on the march.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman?</s>BAUCUS: No.</s>ACOSTA: Then a little more than an hour later, Schumer's public option amendment also lost. But the New York senator was also defiant.</s>SCHUMER: Today the odds went up that there will be a public option in the bill.</s>ACOSTA: Liberal health care reform supporters say it was exactly the showdown they wanted. (on camera): You wanted this debate, right?</s>RICHARD KIRSCH, HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA NOW: We definitely wanted this debate. We didn't want our champions in the Senate to shirk from this. We wanted to lay the sides out very clearly, make it really clear that there was a stark choice here between those who want to continue to leave us at the mercy of the private health insurance industry without any competition and those who say we need a choice.</s>ACOSTA: All eyes now will be on Olympia Snowe, the main Republican who may offer up an amendment that would call for a trigger, threatening the insurance companies with a public option down the road if the industry doesn't change its ways. There's a reason why some in Washington call her "President Snowe." That's because health care reform just might be riding on her vote -- John?</s>ROBERTS: It certainly has raised her profile there in Washington.</s>ACOSTA: It has.</s>ROBERTS: Jim Acosta this morning. Jim, thanks. And coming up, by the way, reaction from both sides of the aisle. In about five minutes time we'll be talking to RNC chairman Michael Steele, at the half hour Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to the public option. And next hour, we'll also talk with Maine's Senator Susan Collins, who is a crucial swing vote in the debate.</s>CHETRY: Also new this morning, it's Toyota's biggest recall ever, close to 4 million cars. The company says it involves driver's side car mats that can jam the gas pedal and literally create a runaway car. This jamming has now been reported 102 times, resulting in 13 crashes, 17 injuries, and five deaths, including a horrific crash that killed four family members. Toyota models on the list include some Avalons, Camrys, Prius, Tacoma and Lexus. Federal safety officials now say owners should just take those mats out now and not wait for a fix.</s>ROBERTS: And 4,000 troops will be coming home from Iraq next month. The top general in Iraq is expected to make that announcement today before the House Armed Services Committee. He'll also say attacks have dropped dramatically from more than 4,000 in August of 2007 to about 600 last month.</s>CHETRY: And only a day on the market and CNN's brand new iPhone app hits the number one spot on iTunes. It is the number one paid application on the list, so apparently people are liking being able to download a lot of interesting information right there at their fingertips on their iPhone. How do you get yours? Go to iTunes and you can download it. It cost $1.99, and you'll automatically get breaking news alerts and you'll be able to upload iReports right from the palm of your hand, and you can also check out the latest video. So it's at iTunes. Get the app.</s>ROBERTS: Over the last couple of years we've done a lot of stories on the most news in the morning about the injuries from football. When your head gets banged around that much, exactly what are the internal effects of it? Sanjay Gupta's covered it. We did something on the helmet that has all the sensors inside of it. Now for the first time the NFL has got some really surprising data on exactly what's happening with its players on the field when they get knocked around to the degree that they do. We'll have that for you coming up. It's 11 now minutes after the hour.