Everybody still leads big with the tsunamis, with the Wall Street Journal topping out the death count at nearly 70,000 and almost certain to go much higher. Indonesian officials report 32,500 dead but say it doesn't include one particularly hard hit region of Aceh. USA Today, citing unknown wires, said 10,000 have died in that region's main town. The New York Timessays the U.N. has "unconfirmed reports" that the number in just that part of Aceh is closer to 40,000. 

According to early morning reports caught by a few of the papers, 28 policemen in Baghdad were killed when they raided an apparently booby-trapped house. Another two dozen Iraqi soldiers and police were killed in an assortment of attacks yesterday.

A reporter for Indonesia's official news service took a helicopter tour of Aceh's hardest-hit area, Melulaboh. "There are no longer any signs of life along 240 kilometers," he said. "All that is left from houses and offices are only foundations." The Washington Postsays a helicopter tried a rescue mission but couldn't find a dry place to land.

Indonesia allowed some foreign reporters into the largely destroyed capital of the normally closed Aceh. The Los Angeles Times said authorities "appeared unprepared to organize even the most basic services." Gas is in such short supply, says the LAT, ambulances are being allocated a gallon per day. Hundreds of government workers died, and those that didn't are focused on helping their own families. "There is not anyone to bury the bodies," said one U.N. officer.

The Post also reports from Aceh's capital and quotes one researcher estimating the tsunamis were about 50 feet high. People tried to outpace the waves in cars and often didn't make it.

The NYT reports from the Indian Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were only about 100 miles from the quake's epicenter. The islands were "barely above sea level," and rescuers are having a hard time getting into the capital, let alone outside it.

The NYT mentions that contrary to conventional wisdom, corpses don't need to be buried ASAP in order to avoid epidemics. "The data shows that corpses are not a reason to have draconian measures that would undermine the ability of loved ones to identify bodies and go through burial," said one top researcher. Still, considering the lack of proper sanitation and clean water, one top WHO official said, "There is certainly a chance that we could have as many dying from communicable diseases as from the tsunami."

After a U.N. official criticized wealthy countries' "stingy" overall aid numbers, the U.S. more than doubled its initial tsunami aid package to $35 million and promised much more. Secretary of State Powell also pointed out that no country gave more aid last year than the U.S. As the NYT mentions far down, proportionally the U.S. is "among the smallest donors" annually.

Noticing that President Bush is resting in Crawford on vacation and hasn't commented on the tsunamis, the Post stirs the pot on Page One: "AID GROWS AMID REMARKS ABOUT PRESIDENT'S ABSENCE." The "remarks" really aren't all that; the highlight being one "senior career official" (?) saying, "It's kind of freaky."

A "White House official" defended Bush and also took a moment to slam President Clinton, who has urged a coordinated relief effort. "The president wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts," said the official. "He didn't want to make a symbolic statement about 'We feel your pain.' "