Bill O'Reilly, thanks for watching Inside Edition today. In just a few moments, we'll have Tonya
Harding's side of the story in the Nancy Kerrigan case. Tonya's career is hanging on the edge.
But first, the world is focused on Los Angeles right now, as the effects of the earthquake
are becoming apparent. People have died, many are hurt, and the damage is incredible. Today,
Inside Edition will tell you some personal stories and show you some video you'll see
nowhere else. First, an overview.
It struck without warning.
All of a sudden, it was a lot of jolting. And that's all we felt. We kept trying to
get up, but we were knocked back down.
At 431 this morning, residents of Southern California were literally shaken out of their
beds into a world of terror, as one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the area in decades
rolled through. Measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, the quake was centered near the town
of Northridge in the San Fernando Valley, 20 miles northwest of L.A. It lasted only
30 seconds, but as the early morning sun began to rise, the effects of the area's latest
catastrophe began to be seen.
The entire stairs in the back, iron, steel, steel and iron, concrete, caved in.
Dozens of homes, businesses, and office buildings have been destroyed or damaged. The quake
ignited dozens of fires, and with gas and water mains shattered, fires have raged out
of control. The violent and deadly effects of the quake collapsed highways throughout
the area, crushing cars and in some cases, the people in them. Here in Northridge, at
the center of the quake, a three-story apartment building collapsed, trapping victims inside.
I felt it fall, but I wasn't sure that we were on the first floor, because we live on
the second floor, and we climbed out the balcony.
We jumped off the balcony from the second floor to the first, which is now the second.
Yeah, we were lucky that we got down on the first, because I don't know how we would have
gotten out.
And joining us now from Van Nuys, California, just north of LA, is Tony Cox, who has been
on the scene since early this morning and has seen some incredible things take place.
Tony, what do you have for us?
Well, the first thing, I'm trying to find some solid ground that I can stand on that
won't shake for a few minutes, and as you can imagine, here in Los Angeles this morning,
that's quite an accomplishment. As you look all over the county, there is devastation
in a number of neighborhoods. We had the opportunity this morning to go out and talk to a couple
of homeowners, and I'll tell you, as I walked into the front door of this one particular
house, it looked as if everything was okay, but as soon as you stepped into the living
room and looked toward the back of the house, you could determine that there were no walls.
Literally, the back walls, some of the side walls had completely caved in. All of the
belongings in the kitchen, in the living room, in the dining room, in the bedroom were strewn
all over this house, and the homeowner there, a woman who has lived there for some 20 years
plus, in fact, she was there during the 1971 Sylmarquake, the last big one here in the
city of Los Angeles, says that as scared as she was and as scared as she has been because
of this, she intends to stay. Now, just across the street from her at another house, about
two stories tall, there was even more devastation. The second floor partly caved in on the living
room, which is on the first floor, and a number of people who were living there had to scramble
for their very lives. What about the police who died? What happened there? A very tragic
story. In fact, we just came from that area just north of the city, and literally a freeway
overpass simply buckled, fell down to the ground, and unfortunately for that motorcycle
officer who was on that overpass at the time, if you can imagine riding a bike or driving
in a car or walking for that matter, and all of a sudden to step in front of you, all of
a sudden is gone. He fell 40 feet to the concrete below and lost his life. There were a number
of other people who were also injured at that location, including a woman who I understand
was six months pregnant, but thanks to a good Samaritan who was on the scene, she was successfully
rescued and not injured very seriously, we understand, but unfortunately it was too little
and too late that could be done for the Los Angeles motorcycle officer who was killed.
Tony Cox, thank you for that report. And also in then eyes is Janet Tamaro, whose own home
suffered some damage, and Janet, it must have been an intense experience at 4.30 in the
morning. It's an incredible experience. I've lived in California on and off for 17 years,
and my house was shaking so much it was difficult to get out of bed. As you know, I have a nine-month-old
baby, and I found myself waking up and at the same time just screaming, get the baby,
get the baby. We didn't hear dishes crashing, but by the time we were walking out or running
really, my living room, my dining room was just strewn with china and dishes, and my
chimney on the outside of the house collapsed, fell on one of the cars. So, you know, we're
so used to covering these disasters, it's just an amazing feeling to be in the middle
of one of them. Well, first of all, your baby is okay, right? My baby's fine. My baby didn't
make a noise, didn't cry. I think she was so shocked by being wrenched out of bed at
430 in the morning while the house was shaking. I don't think she knew what to do. And children
are probably the most adaptable among us. Also, you don't live in the epicenter of this
quake. You live a few miles away. That's right. We live on the top of the hill, and all the
chimneys in the block had come down. You go to the bottom of the hill, and people weren't
even outside of their houses. So, obviously they felt it, but the damage really is a block-to-block
sort of thing. Some areas are really devastated. Some are seemingly fine. Okay, Janet, thank
you very much for that first-person account. And Inside Edition will continue our quake
coverage. I'll be out there tomorrow joining Janet Tamaro and Tony Cox and the rest of
our correspondents in Los Angeles, and we will be broadcasting from the scene. More
to come today. Tanya Harding wants the world to know how she feels, and we'll have that
story next. Are you telling me that they know nothing about this plot? That's right. How
could that be? They weren't involved. They had everything to lose and nothing to gain
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troop for their one-time performance at the Capitol Theater Sunday, February 6th. Get
your tickets now by calling 966-0930. Detectives are busy with leads following a violent weekend.
Three people remain in the hospital after police say rival gangs shot it out on Yakima
Avenue. And authorities in the Tri-Cities are looking for two men who robbed a couple
at gunpoint. The woman was also raped. Red Cross volunteers from the Northwest are headed
to Southern California to help earthquake victims. And Tanya Harding tonight returns
to her home rink in Portland. We'll show it to you tonight on Northwest Nightcast. We'll
see you at 11. The pressure on skater Tanya Harding is intensifying. The U.S. Olympic
Committee is re-evaluating Harding's presence on the Olympic team. A decision is due at
the end of the month. All of this, of course, is because of the attack on Nancy Kerrigan.
Men close to Tanya Harding have confessed. But Tanya herself says she is innocent. And
she directed one of her best friends to talk to Inside Editions' Jeff Cole. It has turned
into a media circus, literally. This was the scene outside the home of Tanya Harding and
Jeff Galuli last night as camera crews were entertained. But there is a serious side to
this story as Tanya and Jeff have become targets of horrendous allegations that have forced
them to go into hiding. They have now been reported to be accused by Tanya's bodyguard,
Sean Eckhardt, and the alleged hitman Shane Stant of being involved in the assault of
Nancy Kerrigan. Along the way, vicious stories have been told of marital abuse and of Tanya's
hot temper. Tanya's father, Al Harding, is now breaking his silence. Both innocent of
these accusations. I firmly believe this. I've known them too long. I've known Jeff
ever since he's been dating with Tanya before they got married and everything. They had
nothing to gain by it. The relationship now is stronger than ever. They love each other
very much. And without each other, I don't think they can make it through this. Twenty-year-old
Mark Anderson says he's a family friend. And in this exclusive interview with Inside Edition,
he says he was asked by Tanya and Jeff to tell their side of the story. They're staying
out of the limelight out of the press because they don't feel that they should have to prove
their innocence to a press that's already prosecuted them. How does Mark Anderson know
so much about Tanya and Jeff? Well, for 18 years, he's lived in this neighborhood, right
across the street from Jeff Galili, and remains one of the couple's best friends. And he says
the Jeff he grew up with is far different from the one being portrayed in the media.
Jeff's not the bad guy. Everyone's trying to make him out the bad guy. Everyone's trying
to implicate him. It's just he's not the bad, tough guy image that everyone sees of him.
Tanya and Jeff's marriage has been rocky, and their stormy romance has been marked with
Tanya's account of being abused by Jeff. Restraining orders have been issued, and last year they
got a divorce. There was certainly an appearance that Jeff is a tough guy and abused Tanya.
They're just like any other couple. They have their arguments. Now, the way they worked
them out probably wasn't the same like you and I might work things out with having this
couple as somebody. But restraining orders, accusing him of abuse, that seems like the
wrong way to go about solving marital problems. That was just the way that she felt she could
work it out. He tried to work things out to no avail, and so he just kind of let it ride,
and that's how it ended up. The couple have now reconciled and continue to live together,
although legally they are still divorced. They actually decided that they missed each
other and they were asked actually something there that they had missed, and they figured
hey maybe this divorce thing really wasn't good. Maybe we can actually work this out
after all, and they were able to do that. But two of the three men who have been charged
with the assault on Nancy Kerrigan have reportedly claimed that the couple planned the scheme
from the beginning. It shocked them. They're in disbelief. Are you telling me that they
know nothing about this plot? They know nothing about what the bodyguard was planning? That's
right. How could that be? They weren't involved. They had everything to lose and nothing to
gain by this. Mark Anderson says that Jeff Galuli hired Sean Eckhardt after a death threat
was made against Tanya last November. Eckhardt was a high school friend of Jeff's and out
of work at the time. He was doing it as a favor. As a favor, and he used the favor both
ways. He went in favor for Sean so that he could be employed, and went in favor for Tanya's
image that they had security and that they'd be safe. During our interview with Mark, he
received a phone call from the couple that the country is waiting to hear from. The two
men that have been charged have implicated them. Do they have any reaction to those charges?
Do they have any reaction to the charges? It's ridiculous. They had nothing to do with
it. I'll have more to say later this week. I just want to try and get Tanya's skating
back on track because that's important right now is the Olympics. That's the most important.
She's worked her whole life in the last ten years at this goal and they want to complete
it. Authorities are still investigating what, if any, role the couple has in the assault.
But until they come forward and tell their story, they have chosen Mark to tell it for
them. What message do they want you to tell the rest of the country? They're just hoping
that this will end soon so they can get back with their lives. And this morning, Nancy
Carrigan skated publicly for the first time since the attack. She did some basic routines
but not the tough stuff, saying she doesn't want to push it. However, those close to her
say Nancy's recovery is going better than expected. And coming next, this Inside Edition
moves along, a big time chef in Palm Beach turns out to be a big time con man. He used
my money to set him up in a business that he could steal money from every day.