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CNN Saturday Morning News
Reid Recovers; Space Shuttle Discovery On Top Of 747; Strike at Northwest Airlines
Aired August 20, 2005 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, Northwest Airlines says it'll stick to its normal schedule, despite a major strike. Northwest mechanics walked off the job around midnight, after contract talks broke down. They refused to agree to big pay cuts and new layoffs. Pilots and flight attendants voted against a sympathy strike.
A cross country piggyback ride for Space Shuttle Discovery. Strapped on top of a jumbo jet, the shuttle is heading for Florida from its landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Discovery is now at an air force base in Louisiana. It'll resume its journey in a couple of hours.
In about three hours from now, we should know if remains received in Philadelphia are that of a missing pregnant woman. Latoyia Figueroa was five months pregnant when she disappeared a month ago. Police will talk to the media at 10:00 Eastern this morning.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
It is August 20. Good morning, everyone.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.
Good morning.
WHITFIELD: Good morning to you.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
Good to see you.
Some of the stories we're coverage on CNN this Saturday morning, bone dry -- the water is shut off at a popular water park after hundreds of people get sick. We will bring you the latest.
Plus, he seemed to be in perfect health. Now, one of the nation's most powerful lawmakers faces a health scare. What can you learn from this?
And how would you like your car to get 80 miles per gallon? We'll take a look at some hyper-hybrids.
WHITFIELD: A disease outbreak is being linked to tainted water at a popular water park in Upstate New York. State health officials say nearly 1,800 people, many of them children, contracted a serious intestinal illness and most of them spent time in a play area with sprinklers.
Elizabeth Harness of our affiliate station WROC has more.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JACOB WOLFE: I was doing all right.
ELIZABETH HARNESS, WROC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two-and-a- half-year-old Jacob Wolfe got sick as he and his family visited this playground at Seneca Lake State Park in early August.
J. WOLFE: Tell me if I've got a little.
SUSAN WOLFE, MOTHER: So we were on the E.D. for a little while and they gave him some fluids. The long and short of it is they ended up admitting him because he couldn't keep any of the fluids down.
HARNESS: Jacob is one of just 1,738 people who have now fallen ill from a parasite called cryptosporidium, found in human and animal feces.
DR. NANCY BENNETT, MONROE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: It's generally spread through water. But it can be spread from person to person.
HARNESS: The disease, much like a stomach bug, can incubate up to 12 days before symptoms occur. In Jacob's case, it took only three days before diarrhea, vomiting and fever came on strong.
S. WOLFE: He's a little guy and they said he was -- the blood was from him vomiting so much, because his throat was just irritated all the way down.
HARNESS: Health officials are warning daycare workers, health care workers and food service employees not to report to work for at least two weeks after their symptoms resolve.
BENNETT: If you have a child that attends daycare, two weeks is also the same rule for them. They need to wait at least two weeks after their symptoms have resolved before they can go back to daycare.
S. WOLFE: Just the thought of this parasite crawling through my kids.
HARNESS (on camera): Environmental investigators are looking into whether a sewage backup near the park in mid-July could have caused the outbreak, but they say it's still too early to make that link.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: And park officials have closed the water attraction for the rest of the summer. Coming up at the half hour, an expert on water borne diseases joins us. Find out what you can do to prevent and treat such infections.
HARRIS: Take some down time. That's what doctors are telling the Senate's most power Democrat after he suffered what's being described as a mild stroke.
CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid appeared in perfect health last month, meeting with Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: Judge, welcome to the Democratic side of the United States Senate.
JOHNS: Harry Reid is the most powerful Democrat in the U.S. Senate, soft-spoken but tough and direct. Members of his party elected him to lead them on Capitol Hill after the former Democratic leader, Tom Daschle, was defeated in his reelection bid.
Reid is 65 and aides said he experienced dizziness and other symptoms of what had been described as a mini stroke on Tuesday, while at his home in Searchlight, Nevada. He went to the hospital at the after the urging of his wife Landra, who was with him at the time.
He's a former boxer who's also run 12 marathons. Reid is said to work out five times a week. He doesn't drink or smoke.
The news came at a time when the Senate is out of session for its long August recess. Reid had done some traveling, including fundraisers in a handful of states and a family vacation.
When the Congress goes back into session in September, Reid's staff predicted his condition will not disrupt his work at all on Capitol Hill and that doctors had placed no limits on his activities of any kind.
The news spread quickly. White House Spokesman Trent Duffy said: "The president is glad to hear that Senator Reid is feeling fine and looks forward to working with him this fall."
The Senate majority leader, Republican Bill Frist, a medical doctor, said in a written statement that he has spoken with Senator Reid and "he's feeling fine, showing his usual strength of spirit."
The Reid spirit has been credited with creating an effective Democratic communications operation, as well as a surprising amount of party discipline and unity in voting on the Senate floor, working with what he's got, even though Democrats have little power to control the agenda in the Senate, short of a filibuster.
REID: Thank you very much for being here this afternoon. We're sorry that we don't have a more convenient place, but we don't run the Rules Committee and we go where we find room.
JOHNS: His plain-spoken manner has brought him praise from party loyalists and even gotten him into trouble at times, like when he called the president a loser and a liar.
REID: The president of the United States would not be president of the United States had he not come to Nevada and told the big lie.
JOHNS (on camera): Reid has canceled some public appearances that were scheduled over the remainder of the August break, during which time his staff says he's expected to rest and recover.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: So what does all of this mean for Senator Reid's future health and is this type of an attack a sign of more serious things to come?
For some answers to those questions and more, we'll talk with a stroke expert, live in our next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
WHITFIELD: And now to our "Security Watch."
We update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror every Saturday morning.
A Moroccan man will spend seven years in prison after a German court convicted him for belonging to a terrorist group. But he was acquitted on charges of being an accessory to murder in the September 11 attacks. He was accused of providing logistical help to the al Qaeda cell in Hamburg that included three of the 9/11 hijackers.
Saudi security forces have killed a man they say was the leader of al Qaeda on the Arab peninsula. The man was killed in Medina ahead of a planned visit by Saudi King Abdullah.
A blunt message to transit passengers in the San Francisco Bay area. As you can see, the signs show a pair of eyes and the words " bomb detectors." The message below says, "If you see something unusual, warn others, move away and report it." The Bay Area's transit system has been on high alert since the London bombings on July 7th.
U.S. transportation officials have received 89 complaints of children being banned from flights because their names are on the watch lists. Airlines are not supposed to deny boarding to kids under 12 or select them for security checks, even if their names are on the list.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Tony.
HARRIS: And some other stories making "News Across America" this morning. Drug maker Merck says it will appeal a $250 million damage award in the nation's first Vioxx lawsuit. A Texas jury awarded the money to a widow who blamed the once popular painkiller for her husband's death. He died of a heart attack. More than 4,000 Vioxx related lawsuits are pending nationwide.
Cindy Sheehan says she plans to rejoin the anti-war protest near President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch very soon. She had left Thursday to tend to her mother, who suffered a stroke in Los Angeles. Sheehan's supporters say they will keep up their vigil at a campsite.
And prison orange is out, Fred. Boxer pink is in. Some 3,400 Arizona inmates donned only pink bloomers as they moved into a brand spanking new...
WHITFIELD: Look at that coral.
HARRIS: Oh, oh, that's fancy. We're told every cell is already occupied in the 450,000 square foot facility.
WHITFIELD: Blushing pink.
HARRIS: Blush.
WHITFIELD: Yes, blush. That's blush.
All right, well, we all want a pay raise when we do a good job, right?
HARRIS: Sure.
WHITFIELD: Well, how about Terrell Owens?
HARRIS: Well -- WHITFIELD: Is he doing a good job? Does he deserve more? Is three point something million enough?
HARRIS: Million enough? Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well, that's the question today when we're looking "Beyond The Game," pre-NFL season, that is.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center.
Severe weather expected across parts of the country today.
It's Pittsburgh.
Good morning to you. It looks beautiful right now. Look at that live picture. The sun is shining. There's the Allegheny, there's the Ohio River. But this picture not going to look so pretty later on today, when those thunderstorms rumble in to cause some damaging winds.
We'll have your weekend forecast coming up in a little bit -- Tony.
HARRIS: We're missing the Monongahela. That's -- OK.
And how high will gas prices have to go before you change your driving habits? We invite you to talk with CNN this morning. E-mail us your questions about gas prices, what's driving them and who's making money off them at WEEKENDS@CNN.COM. Then tune in at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. CNN business correspondent J.J. Ramberg will be here to answer those questions.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lunch. I like to drive my car. I don't -- like, bring me some lunch and I use my lunch money for gas. So, I really have no choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I probably should change my budget. I'm the process of having to look at it again because I'm spending probably 50 percent more on gasoline for my car every week. And I have what I consider a not gas eating car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, here's a question for you. High gas prices -- is it killing your budget? In the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, find out how to pay $0.98 for a gallon of gas today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, Jacqui, here's the thing I was prattling on about, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
JERAS: What was that word?
HARRIS: We have the confluence of rivers...
JERAS: Yes.
HARRIS: ... there in Pittsburgh.
JERAS: Yes.
HARRIS: The Ohio, right?
JERAS: Yes.
HARRIS: The Allegheny.
JERAS: Yes.
HARRIS: And the Monongahela.
JERAS: Monongahela.
WHITFIELD: And you...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: How should I say it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JERAS: I don't know that one.
WHITFIELD: Monongahela.
HARRIS: Yes, see?
JERAS: OK, so what was I right, though?
HARRIS: That's it.
JERAS: That's the Ohio and that's the Allegheny.
HARRIS: Beautiful.
JERAS: Where's the other one?
HARRIS: It's around the...
JERAS: The Mana, Mana, Mananama?
HARRIS: It's -- OK.
WHITFIELD: Well, wait a minute. But that shot is...
JERAS: Isn't that beautiful?
WHITFIELD: Yes, but...
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: That's Pittsburgh. That's the city.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: That looks good.
JERAS: I know. It looks very good today.
HARRIS: And it looks great.
JERAS: Don't be fooled.
HARRIS: Really?
JERAS: Yes. WHITFIELD: Oh, it's going to roll in something else later.
JERAS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: OK, here's the deal. I've got to get the -- sorry, I've got to get past this. The Allegheny and the...
WHITFIELD: I know. From here on, you will get past it.
HARRIS: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: And the Monongahela flow into, are basically source waters for the Ohio. There you go.
JERAS: All right.
WHITFIELD: A little trivia this morning.
HARRIS: Settle it?
JERAS: Settles it.
WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ladies and gentlemen.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: You learn something new every day on this program.
WHITFIELD: ... picture.
HARRIS: And now everyone's happy that we can move forward.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HARRIS: Thank you, Jacqui.
If you are just joining us no CNN SATURDAY MORNING, here's a rundown of our top stories.
Gas prices are still rising. Just this week, prices jumped about $0.19, setting a record every day. The national average now for a gallon of regular unleaded, $2.60. Police say remains found near Philadelphia may be those of 24-year-old Latoyia Figueroa, a pregnant woman who's been missing more than a month. One person is in custody, but police won't say why. They're planning a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
CNN will have that live for you.
A popular water park in Upstate New York has been shut down. Nearly 1,800 people say they came down with a stomach illness after going there. And later this hour, an expert on water borne diseases joins us. Find out what you can do to prevent and treat infections.
WHITFIELD: Well, the need to sing didn't go away when a young soldier was sent to Iraq. In fact, the dry sands of Baghdad became the perfect place to feed his unquenchable thirst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there is nothing in the world now that keeps me from you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Tomorrow on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING," music inspired by the deserts of Iraq and the horrors of war. A soldier's story tomorrow, live, 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: Well, it's the time of year when football headlines should be about touchdowns and field goals. Instead, we see stories about contract holdouts and disgruntled players. T.O. -- the question this morning, is it hurting the NFL's image?
And here's the man with the answers, CNN sports business analyst Rick Horrow takes us "Beyond The Game."
That's next.
WHITFIELD: T.O. is Terrell Owens?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): It's the most popular sport in America this time of year -- holding out and sticking your NFL team for more money. While we're all ready for some football, the headlines are focused on the holdouts.
Terrell Owens, for instance, is unhappy about his annual $3.25 million contract, projecting an image that's disturbing to the NFL. But watch out whiners -- a new survey shows pro-football is the only major sport where fan respect for players is dropping. Pro-football's image, the topic this morning, as we take you "Beyond The Game."
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, this year's pre-season has become quite the soap opera, with Terrell Owens, T.O. in the starring role. Not a TV show the NFL wants you to watch.
Let's turn to the author of "When the Game Is On the Line," CNN business sports analyst Rick Horrow, joining us now -- joining us from Palm Beach, Florida, where hopefully it's nice and sunny and you'll get a chance to go play later -- Rick.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: I'm going to go play in about an hour, Freddie. Thank you.
And how refreshing to do this interview without being burdened by Tony Harris (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
WHITFIELD: Ah! Tony! Oh, sorry about that.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Hey, let's talk a little Terrell Owens. I mean, you know, $3.2 million. He's kicking and screaming now, saying it's not enough, I demand more. I am the man.
You know, what's this doing to the NFL overall, anything?
HORROW: Well, he may be the man, but he's only the man to himself, and it's a $49 million, seven year contract that he just signed last year that he says he's now rethinking and he's got to do it again.
The NFL is going to survive. They're the gold standard of pro sports. The Dave Mathews Band signed a deal and the Rolling Stones are going to open with their extravaganza in September...
WHITFIELD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HORROW: It's the highest level of all sports.
Yes, they got the Stones involved for all of us that care about that.
But the bottom line is that corporate America loves the NFL. It's the most fan loyal of any sport other than NASCAR. And it's a $5 billion business.
If he gets back and plays, that's great.
If he's iced for the season, that's still OK. The NFL is going to survive.
WHITFIELD: Wow! It's a big business, of course, supported by the game itself, and even supported by the sale of these jerseys, which go for quite a bit, you know, among the fans there.
Let's look at the list of the top selling jerseys.
HORROW: Right.
WHITFIELD: And guess what, Terrell Owens? You're not even on it.
HARRIS: No.
HORROW: Well, you know...
WHITFIELD: Ouch! HORROW: ... his jersey may have been suspended for the week like he was. But Randy Moss is on there. He's had some marijuana admission problems recently. But the other guys, by the way, the Michael Vicks, the Roethlisbergers, the Tom Bradys from the Patriots, the Donovan McNabbs, the quarterback of the Eagles, those are all the leaders of their teams.
But remember, football is a team game. That's why the top 50 guys on a payroll in the entire sports world, only five are NFL players. It's an endorsement game for the individuals.
You know, Agassi on the tennis court, we see the guy for four hours and his logos. Tiger Woods on the golf course, the same thing. These guys are wearing helmets. Yet they've still got endorsements. Peyton Manning is big. Michael Vick, by the way, in your hometown in Atlanta...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HORROW: ... is going to replace Elton John on the big billboards once the season starts...
WHITFIELD: Unbelievable.
HORROW: ... Courtesy of AirTran.
WHITFIELD: People love him.
HORROW: So...
WHITFIELD: They love him.
HORROW: Yes. Well, they do, and the NFL is a marketing machine that's only getting better, by the way.
WHITFIELD: Yes. So, all right, so behavior by T.O. just might affect his marketability.
All right, well, a new survey says the NFL has the most loyal fans of any sport. You alluded to that.
Can league officials do anything to perhaps diversify its fan base if they want more?
HORROW: Yes, and they're doing it already. And you've got to diversify, obviously, because corporate America wants that. Women, for example. Now, those of us who have significant others, us males, we understand that women make well over 100 percent of all significant buying decisions, so corporations love the idea of promoting for women.
There's a new NFL clothing line for them that's tripled in revenues. Twelve percent African-American fans. Ten percent Hispanic fans. The real key is the kids, the hearts and minds of the next generation. And 50 percent of those kids over 17 love football today, twice as much as any other sport. But obviously more work needs to be done.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
And, you know, kids have a lot of choices these days.
HORROW: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: The sporting field is very full.
All right, your favorite foul ball or fair ball of the week?
HORROW: Yes, let's do the fair ball first.
The guy's name is Larry Primeau. He's been an old time Packer fan. You know how Green Bay Packer fans love their sports? The guy's called the Packalope. He's gone to games with a 10 point deer rack on top of his head for the past few years.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.
HORROW: It blocks people's view, but, hey, it's Green Bay. Everybody loves it. Now because of security, they're saying he can't wear that thing anymore. But, Larry, he said that's OK, because my neck is sore after three hours of watching NFL anyway. So that's all right on the fair side.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It looks dangerous, doesn't it?
HORROW: Yes.
Now, on the foul ball side, which is interesting, we have another connection back to the NFL. We've got a Korean guy, 28 years old by the name of Lee in the South Korean town of Taegu, who died, by the way, after 48 straight hours of playing Starcraft video game. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he was fired from his job a few weeks before for nonstop playing and he died of a heart attack. It's an example of the video craze, which the NFL is tied into, but everybody else is, as well, with some detrimental consequences.
And by the way...
WHITFIELD: That is an addiction.
HORROW: It's an addiction.
WHITFIELD: An addiction to another level.
HORROW: And addiction.
And speaking of another level, apologize to Tony. I was told to be nice. I apologize.
WHITFIELD: Oh, his feelings aren't hurt. He understands.
HARRIS: Yes. I don't mind.
HORROW: I don't think his feelings can be hurt by me. So (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
WHITFIELD: I have just only momentarily, only temporarily come between the two of you.
HORROW: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: Yes, cry me a river.
WHITFIELD: All right, Rick Horrow, thanks so much.
HARRIS: Still ahead, seven years ago, the Taliban stopped short of assassinating Osama bin Laden. Newly declassified documents explain what happened. That's next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
And 40 years of Israeli occupation in Gaza dismantled in a matter of days. We will take you there to see what happens next.
And here are some moments captured by the cameras of the Associated Press this past week in the Middle East.
Here, in one of the more violent confronts, Jewish settlers threw green paint on Israeli police as they stormed the roof of a Jewish synagogue in southern Gaza.
Here, a 42-year-old Palestinian farmer watches the evacuation. He said he feels safe enough for the first time in years to stand on his roof.
And finally, this little Israeli girl cries on a bus leaving her settlement in the Gaza Strip.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The Taliban came close to cutting ties with Osama bin Laden nearly a decade ago. So what happened?
We have new information from declassified documents.
Welcome back.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Betty Nguyen.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
That story in a minute.
First, a look at the morning's headlines.
Now in the news, Northwest says it'll fly today despite a strike by its mechanics. They walked off the job overnight after contract talks broke down. Northwest says it has lined up replacement workers. The mechanics had opposed big pay cuts and layoffs. Northwest pilots and flight attendants did not stage sympathy strikes.
The space shuttle Discovery is due to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida later today. You may recall bad weather forced Discovery to land in California's Mohave Desert. Ti will take off from Louisiana in more than an hour. The cross country trip costs NASA about a million dollars.
A final pitch by the Pentagon for military base closings. In about an hour, defense officials will make their final case to close or downsize dozens of military bases. The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission votes next week on those closures. The panel will then submit its recommendations to President Bush before September 8th.
The New York State Health Department has shut down a popular water park for the rest of the summer after more than 1,800 people got sick from what appears to be a water borne illness.
Michael Beach, with the National Center for Infectious Disease, joins us now from the Centers for Disease Control.
Michael, good to see you.
MICHAEL BEACH, NATIONAL CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Good morning, Tony.
HARRIS: And good morning to you.
What's the parasite that we're talking about that is wreaking so much havoc on these 1,800 or so people at that water park, who at least visited that water park in Upstate New York?
BEACH: This is a parasite called cryptosporidium and it causes diarrhea. The unusual feature here is that this is a parasite that's naturally chlorine resistant. So that it bypasses that major barrier that we find in most pools.
HARRIS: So what does that say? You said it's resistant to chlorine. So what are the symptoms when you get this?
BEACH: It's a severe diarrhea that can last for several weeks, abdominal cramping and nausea and so on.
HARRIS: Oh, boy. All right. And you just feel horrible...
BEACH: Yes...
HARRIS: ... is the bottom line on it?
BEACH: Yes.
HARRIS: OK, how long before you start to feel, from the moment of exposure to the point at which you start to feel these rather nasty symptoms?
BEACH: It takes, on average, about a week for people to start getting ill. So they're thinking about what they ate last night, not where they swam last week.
HARRIS: Anything you can take to make yourself feel a bit better?
BEACH: There's actually a new drug that's been licensed by FDA called nitazoxanide that can be used.
HARRIS: Yes. When you get an outbreak like this, what are the protocols for a water park like the one we're talking about in Upstate New York? Do you close the water park right away? Do you test the water first and then close the water park?
BEACH: In the case of cryptosporidium, usually we close the pool and do remediation on that pool water to kill the parasite and then reopen after that.
HARRIS: You know, some of these illnesses, we understand, in the New York case, date back to June.
Does that tell you anything?
BEACH: It absolutely does. It underscores a critical point, which is that we want the public to understand that if they're ill with diarrhea, they don't go swimming. And clearly somebody who was ill or a young child visited this park back in July and contaminated the water when they were ill with diarrhea.
HARRIS: OK. So, the people who are sick or have these symptoms, don't swim in any recreational water? Is that the advice here?
BEACH: No, not at all. I mean swimming is a great recreational activity. It's a healthy activity. We really want people to understand behavioral changes that needs to go on. You know, swimming is a communal bathing activity. And so we essentially are swimming with everybody else. Let's stop swimming when we're ill with diarrhea, but there are hundreds of millions of people that swim every year and, you know, they're not all getting ill. There's a handful of tragic outbreaks, as we've heard, but we certainly don't want to stop swimming.
HARRIS: OK.
Michael, I guess I need to apologize a bit. That's diarrhea about five times in our conversation this morning, and it is early morning on Saturday, but it is very much a part of the story and there's some useful information to be learned from this.
And, Michael, we appreciate it.
Thanks for taking the time this morning.
BEACH: Thank you so much.
HARRIS: OK.
WHITFIELD: In the war on terror, we're now learning the U.S. was trying to get al Qaeda out of Afghanistan years before the 9/11 attacks. Not long after this video of Osama bin Laden was made in 1997, American officials began holding secret talks with the Taliban about expelling the al Qaeda leader. This is according to new, declassified documents from the State Department. Those papers reveal the Taliban regarded bin Laden as a folk hero to many Afghans. But the Taliban also said if the U.S. wanted to assassinate bin Laden with a cruise missile, as it had already tried to do, the Taliban were powerless to prevent it.
HARRIS: And time now to check out some of the other stories making news around the world.
WHITFIELD: Palestinians in Gaza have been rejoicing as Israel withdraws from the occupied territory.
HARRIS: And for the details on that and the rest of the international news, let's go to Anand Naidoo at the CNN International Desk -- Anand, good morning.
ANAND NAIDOO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, thanks and good morning from me.
More from Gaza in just a moment.
But first, we want to get to Jordan.
Security forces there are hunting for six people after the rocket attacks against U.S. war ships in the port of Aqaba. Officials say they're looking for a Syrian and several Egyptians and Iraqis who are believed to have escaped in a vehicle with Kuwaiti license plates.
One rocket missed a U.S. Naval ship but slammed into a warehouse, killing a Jordanian soldier. It injured another.
Another landed near a military hospital. A third rocket was fired toward Israel from the same location. A taxi driver was slightly wounded near Eilat Airport in Israel.
Now, an al Qaeda group or an al Qaeda linked group is claiming responsibility for those attacks -- Tony.
HARRIS: And, Anand, we're about a week into the Gaza pullout.
What's the latest?
NAIDOO: Well, the latest, Tony, is that Israel says that the pullout is almost complete. Troops used bulldozers to break through barricades and evacuate the settlement of Gadid. The operation has been put on hold for the time being. That's for the Jewish Sabbath. But officials say the entire evacuation could be complete by Tuesday.
After Gadid, four settlements remain to be evacuated.
Now, meanwhile, Palestinians have been celebrating the Israeli withdrawal. That's on the other side. The Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas declared the pullout, and these are his words, "the fruits of sacrifices of Palestinians." And elections, by the way, for that territory are scheduled to take place in January next year. And that's it from me -- Fredericka, Tony.
HARRIS: Anand, thank you.
WHITFIELD: So how did Gaza become such a flashpoint in the Middle East crisis?
CNN's Daryn Kagan has our "Fact Check."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The Gaza Strip is only about 140 square miles, or about half the size of New York City. Nearly 1.4 million Palestinians live in Gaza. The Jewish population in Gaza before the pullout only numbered about 7,000.
Gaza's borders were first drawn up in 1949, at the end of the Arab-Israeli war. Palestinian refugees packed into the small Arab controlled area after being forced from their homes in Israel. Gaza quickly became overcrowded and impoverished, and a staging point for operations against Israel.
Israel seized the area during the Suez crisis of 1956 and then turned it back over to Egypt under international pressure.
Israel took control of Gaza again during the Six Day War of 1967, and the current occupation has continued from then until now.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
WHITFIELD: High gas prices? Well, this driver does not care. Find out. We'll get to his car stories every morning later this hour.
HARRIS: And good morning, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, weekend.
WHITFIELD: Are you going to give some commentary on the rivers there?
HARRIS: No, no, no. I've been told to pipe down.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HARRIS: To shut it down. It was just, it was too much about...
WHITFIELD: We get it.
HARRIS: Yes, too much about the confluence here.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HARRIS: It was too much.
Your weekend weather and the weather for the rest of the nation.
WHITFIELD: It was a nice little educational tidbit this morning.
HARRIS: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: I appreciate it.
HARRIS: Thank you, Fred.
We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NINA ZAGAT: The three most popular restaurants in Chicago are Tru, Charlie Trotter's and Frontera Grill.
Tru is the most popular of the restaurants in Chicago. It has new French cuisine and is really well known across the country as being one of the top restaurants.
Charlie Trotter's has got new American cuisine. Charlie Trotter is a very well known chef and he pays a huge amount of attention to viscera and has an outstanding wine list, which a lot of people really note as being one of the top.
Frontera Grill is a Mexican restaurant -- boisterous and exciting and a really fun place to be.
When we look at the three top for popularity in Chicago, we're seeing a diversity of restaurants. There's new French, new American, Mexican, different kinds of experiences.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: High gas prices got you down? Well, in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, find out how to pay $0.98 for a gallon of gas?
WHITFIELD: Whoo!
HARRIS: Today.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories, in case you're just waking up, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has a mild stroke. The Democrat was not hospitalized and his office says he feels fine. Reid was in his home state of Nevada when it happened.
Nearly 1,800 people in New York State are sick after a trip to an upstate water park. Health officials say the symptoms of gastrointestinal illness are probably linked to a water attraction at Seneca Lake State Park.
And the price of a gallon of gas set new records every day this week, jumping about $0.19 overall. The national average for a gallon of regular self-serve unleaded stands at $2.60. HARRIS: Well, you probably don't need to be reminded that gas prices are still on the rise. Just this week, a gallon of unleaded regular shot upwards, Fred just told you, an astounding $0.19.
One driver in the San Francisco Bay area couldn't care less.
John Freize (ph) of affiliate KRON explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN FREIZE, KRON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Do you hear that? That's the sound of money in Ron Gremban's pocket.
RON GREMBAN, HYBRID CAR OWNER: With this car, I get anywhere from 65 to infinite miles per gallon.
FREIZE: His Toyota Prius looks like a typical hybrid, but as with any car, it's what's under the hood that counts.
GREMBAN: There they are.
FREIZE: Or, in this case, what's in the trunk -- 18 low tech electrical bicycle batteries that make gas not just optional, practically obsolete.
GREMBAN: The gasoline usage could be reduced by two thirds, maybe even nine tenths and substituted with clean, American made electricity.
FREIZE: All you need is a socket and you'll be plugged in to up to 34 miles per hour of non-petrol power, which allows this Prius to pass by the pump regularly.
(on camera): That's not something you do very often, is it?
GREMBAN: No, it isn't. Notice I'm not very good at it.
FREIZE (voice-over): And sorry, gas guzzlers, this environmentalist hopes gas prices will continue to soar.
GREMBAN: That will finally get people interested in saving fuel and reducing greenhouse gases, consequently.
FREIZE: For our short trip around town, we were cruising at nearly 100 miles per gallon.
GREMBAN: And, of course, that's only because it doesn't go up above 99.9.
FREIZE: And when it's low on juice, any socket will do.
GREMBAN: If you forget to plug it in at night, no problem. You've got a clean hybrid. If you do, it's even better.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: That was John Preiz of San Francisco affiliate KRON.
Now, the owner of the Prius spent about $3,000 on the modifications, on top of the car's $22,000 sticker price.
Well, if the cost of gasoline is giving you the vapors, we'd like to hear from u. CNN's J.J. Ramberg will join us in our 10:00 Eastern hour to answer your questions about the rising prices at the pump. Send your e-mails now to WEEKENDS@CNN.COM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Politics I just got interested in. So I'm going to pay attention. But I think it speaks to the government is corrupt. And they want to take my money. All the time, that's what they want to do. See, I've got every last drop. I'm like there went $0.50.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually think that it's the American public that needs to have a stronger voice in what we do and not rely so much on government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: If your week was more about deadlines than headlines, some of the news may have slipped past you.
Let's take a look at some of the headlines you may have missed.
Tuesday, experts say a computer worm brought down PCs at the U.S. Senate and several major news organizations. The worm made its way in through a vulnerability in a Microsoft software application. At least 125 corporate systems were affected, making the attack one of the worst this year. Still, the impact was fairly minimal.
Authorities are still trying to figure out who's responsible.
Also Tuesday, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. suffered a stroke and a mild heart attack. Seventy-eighty-year-old Coretta Scott King will be hospitalized for at least another week in Atlanta. Her doctor says she'll undergo extensive rehabilitation.
And if you haven't noticed, boy, gas prices hit another record high Friday, pushing the average cost of a gallon of unleaded self- serve to $2.60. Experts are not ruling out the possibility that prices could hit $3 a gallon before the end of the summer.
And tomorrow we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.
WHITFIELD: The summer heat causes plenty of afternoon thunderstorms across the country. Well, holler if you see one of these coming your way. Straight ahead, we'll tell you where this one was and where more just might pop up.
First, a "CNN Extra."
Attacking childhood obesity -- the American Beverage Association wants to eliminate soft drinks from elementary schools. It's recommending that soft drinks only be made available at middle schools after hours and for high schools, it says no more than 50 percent of vending machine selections should be sweetened drinks.
About nine million schoolchildren between the ages of six and 19 are overweight. The CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, says that number has doubled since 1980.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Check out this twister in Kansas. It touched down Friday near the town of Great Bend, which is smack dab in the middle of the state. The tornado did some damage to homes and a motel, but no injuries were reported. Forecasters warn the danger still exists this morning for more severe weather.
HARRIS: Yikes.
WHITFIELD: Some crazy weather all over the map...
HARRIS: It is.
WHITFIELD: ... all summer.
HARRIS: All right.
Let's check in now with Jacqui Jeras...
WHITFIELD: Jacqui.
HARRIS: ... who can explain it all to us -- good morning, Jacqui.
JERAS: It's not that crazy.
WHITFIELD: Hi, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
JERAS: Guys, believe it or not...
WHITFIELD: Really? It seems like it's been a wild summer of weather.
JERAS: Well, we've had a lot of heat. That, certainly, we had.
HARRIS: Yes.
JERAS: But we've had very little severe weather activity. In terms of tornadoes, our numbers have been way, way down. This was really only one of a handful of tornado outbreaks that we really have seen this year. So far we've been quite fortunate.
(WEATHER REPORT) WHITFIELD: If the cost of gasoline is driving you crazy, we'd like to hear from u. Talk to us. Send us your questions about rising gas prices. Then tune in to our 10:00 hour to get some of the answers. We are at WEEKENDS@CNN.COM.
HARRIS: You may not know the name Glenwood Clonts, but we guarantee you know him. He was a fixture in the CNN Newsroom for nearly 20 years and he played an intimate role in this network's evolution.
You probably saw his tall, lanky frame in the background hundreds of times.
WHITFIELD: Most of the time it was Glen's words you heard as you got caught up on the day's news, especially on this show. He was a gifted writer, an outstanding journalist and a terrific human being.
HARRIS: So it is with great sadness that we learned our good friend and colleague, Glenwood Clonts, has died of a heart attack. He was one of a kind and he is deeply missed.
And "Now in the News:" A decomposed body found early today near Philadelphia may be that of Latoyia Figueroa. The pregnant 24-year- old Philadelphia woman has been missing more than a month. Police will provide more details at a news conference in about two hours.
Northwest Airlines mechanics are on strike this morning after union negotiators refuse big pay cuts and layoffs. Northwest wants to cut mechanics' pay by 26 percent and cut the workforce by half. The nation's fourth-largest airline vows to keep flying using replacement workers.
Pope Benedict is meeting at this hour with Muslim leaders of Germany's Turkish community. Reaching out to Muslims is a key goal of his first foreign trip. The pope was greeted warmly by Jewish officials yesterday when he visited Cologne's synagogue.
An upstate New York water park attraction is shut down after hundreds of visitors got sick. Nearly 1,800 people have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal distress. Thirteen cases have been confirmed.
Up,, and away. Records at the gas pump are shattered as gas prices continue to soar.
From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is August 20, 8:00 a.m. here at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, 7:00 a.m. in the Mississippi Valley.
And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Betty Nguyen this morning. Thanks for being with us.
As if you didn't already know, you're now shelling out even more at the pump. The price of a gallon of gas surged about 19 cents this week alone, setting a record every day.
Prices are still shy of an inflation-adjusted record, but we're getting there. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded, $2.60. The nation's most expensive gas is in California, $2.80 a gallon, on average. The cheapest is in Utah, $2.44.
HARRIS: Gas prices in Minnesota are just below the national average, but some people there are paying much less than that. Why? Because they bet on gas futures and now they're laughing all the way to the pump.
Boyd Huppert from our Minnesota affiliate, KARE, has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NORM HANNON (ph): Thirteen hundred dollars, yes, I wrote out a check.
BOYD HUPPERT, REPORTER, KARE: Norm Hannon (ph) can still remember the chill last fall when he informed his wife he'd purchased $1,300 worth of gasoline.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only problem I had is that we didn't discuss it first.
HANNON: And I said, you know, Honey, you know, I just know gas prices are going to go up.
HUPPERT: Today, Norm's pumping his gas for $1.68, while everyone else pays $1 more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now I have to admit, he really did a great job.
JIM FENEIS, FIRST FUEL BANKS: Gasoline is up a penny, 49 (INAUDIBLE)...
HUPPERT: Jim Feneis isn't exactly in the business of saving marriages, but he has to admit, he's making a lot of people happy these days.
FENEIS: It sure feels good. It certainly does.
HUPPERT: His St. Cloud-based First Fuel Banks allows customers to buy gasoline on the futures market, pumping it at yesterday's prices today.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling really smart. Well, especially when you're saving some dollars.
HUPPERT: With a fleet of 50 trucks, John McDowell bought 50,000 gallons of gas at First Fuel Banks in the spring. That $1.96-a-gallon purchase is now saving his roofing, heating, and air conditioning company $3,000 a month.
FENEIS: That's at today's prices, and if they keep going up, they save all that much more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I called in yesterday for $100 worth on my account.
HUPPERT: Based on brisk recent sales, customers are convinced gas prices aren't done going up.
(on camera): Fact is, more people are buying First Fuel Bank futures at today's price of $2.54 a gallon than they were at $1.54.
FENEIS: But people are funny. They want to buy it after it goes up.
HUPPERT: People are funny, but Larry Behrent (ph) is the one doing the laughing.
LARRY BEHRENT: Probably about three years ago, something like that, I put in about $3,000 worth into it and I bought it for 98 cents a gallon.
HUPPERT: With half that gas still left, imagine the pleasure Larry gets showing his receipts to his friends.
BEHRENT: (INAUDIBLE) putting in 8.5 gallons, cost me $8.41. So that's the way I buy gas.
HUPPERT: Larry Behrent, laughing all the way to the Fuel Bank.
BEHRENT: Yep, I like it. Best interest I ever got on my money.
HUPPERT: Boyd Huppert, Caraletta (ph) News, St. Cloud.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So what is driving this latest runup of gas prices? And is there any relief in sight?
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Well, we wish we could share that with you, but we're still looking...
HARRIS: Right.
WHITFIELD: ... for the answers.
CNN's J.J. Ramberg will join us, though, in our 10:00 hour to answer some of your questions about the rising gas prices at the pump. Send your e-mails to WEEKENDS@CNN.COM.
Well, when it comes to gas-guzzling trips, this one is a real doozy. A jumbo jet is carrying space shuttle "Discovery" from its landing site in California back to its home base in Florida. The shuttle's now in Louisiana. The journey resumes in under an hour from now. And just what does it take to get this trip off the ground? Here's a CNN fact check. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Talk about a guzzler. The first leg of this flight will consume about 47,000 gallons of fuel. That's about what it would take for a small car to travel around the world 60 times. The fuel soaks up a fair share of the $230,000 NASA estimates the flight will cost. It takes some energy to keep the combined weight of about 500,000 pounds in the sky. Interestingly, the shuttle actually weighs less than the plane.
The double-decker flight will cruise low at an altitude of only 15,000 feet, and at a speed of less than 300 miles per hour. The distance between Edwards Air Force Base and Kennedy Space Center is about 2,500 miles. This combined contraption can only fly a little more than 1,100 miles. That's why it has to make refueling stops.
Altogether, the trip will probably burn more than 100,000 gallons of jet fuel. That's more than 2 million miles worth of driving in your average car, probably a good bit more than you'll drive during your entire lifetime.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And just how do they get the shuttle on that jet's back? Well, here's how they do it. They hoist it on a gigantic gurney inside a massive steel frame. Wow.
HARRIS: To our security watch. We update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror every Saturday morning.
A Moroccan man will spend seven years in prison after a German court convicted him of belonging to a terrorist group. But he was acquitted on charges of being an accessory to murder in the September 11 attacks. He was accused of providing logistical help to an al Qaeda cell in Hamburg that included three of the 9/11 hijackers.
Saudi security forces have killed a man they say was the leader of al Qaeda on the Arab peninsula. The man was killed in Medina ahead of a planned visit by Saudi King Abdullah.
A blunt message to transit passengers in San Francisco and throughout the Bay area, as you can see. The signs show a pair of eyes and the words "Bomb Detectors." The message below says, "If you see something unusual, warn others, move away, and report it." The Bay area's transit system has been on high alert since the London bombings of July 7.
U.S. transportation officials have received 89 complaints of children being banned from flights because their names are on watch lists. Airlines are not supposed to deny boarding to kids under 12 or select them for security checks, even if their names are on the lists.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
WHITFIELD: Remember Colin Powell's presentation to the U.N. in the runup to the war in Iraq? Well, the former secretary of state tried to make the case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now a former Powell aide says the data he passed on to his boss back then marks the lowest point of his life.
National security correspondent David Ensor has details in a special "CNN Presents" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: One of the most worrisome things that emerges from the thick intelligence file we have on Iraq's biological weapons is the existence of mobile production facilities used to make biological agents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ENSOR, NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He makes a dramatic accusation, Saddam has bioweapons labs mounted on trucks that would be almost impossible to find.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: We have firsthand descriptions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID KAY, FORMER CIA WEAPONS INSPECTOR: In fact, Secretary Powell was not told that one of the sources he was given as the source of this information had, indeed, been flagged by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a liar, a fabricator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: To find even one of these (INAUDIBLE)...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: Powell was also not told that the prime source, an Iraqi defector codenamed "Curveball," had never been debriefed by the CIA.
LARRY JOHNSON, COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: Well, maybe the name of the agent wasn't alarming enough. Maybe it should have been Screw-Up or, you know, A Lying Sack of Manure, something like that. But, you know, to know that you're giving the president a ticket to go to war based upon one source? At that point, you want to drag the source in and talk to him yourself.
KAY: "Curveball" is a case of utter irresponsibility, and a good example of how decayed the intelligence process has become.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: Leaving Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein in possession of weapons of mass destruction for a few more months or years is not an option, not in a post-September 11 world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENSOR: The speech would turn out to be riddled with misleading allegations. But at the time, the press plays as an overwhelming success.
COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO POWELL: He had walked into my office musing, and he said words to the effect of, I wonder how we'll all feel if we put half a million troops into Iraq and march from one corner of the country to the other and find nothing?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: "Dead Wrong: Inside an Intelligence Meltdown" premieres Sunday night at 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern on CNN.
HARRIS: Updates this morning about the health of the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, and Senate minority leader Harry Reid. Both suffered strokes this week. And later, we'll find out more about the warning signs.
WHITFIELD: Also, kicking the habit and treating lung cancer. Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes a "HOUSE CALL" at the bottom of the hour.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And are you sweating this morning? Millions of Americans will be feeling temperatures greater than 100 degrees. We'll let you know if you're going to be one of them coming up with your weather report.
There's a live look at Pittsburgh. You're going to be a bit on the toasty side today, 87 degrees, but more concerned about severe thunderstorms later today. We'll have more on that as well. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Here's a look at our top stories, just in case you're just joining us this morning, and just waking up.
Well, a search is or for the terror suspects in Jordan, a day after a rocket attack apparently aimed at U.S. warships. The rockets missed their apparent targets and killed a Jordanian soldier. The White House is condemning the attack.
Newly released documents show that before 9/11, the U.S. and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers bargained over Osama bin Laden. The documents show U.S. officials held secret meetings with the Taliban about expelling the al Qaeda leader and possibly killing him.
Tree limbs and other debris are littering streets across Kansas this morning. That's after a powerful storm sparked at least one tornado. More storms could strike again today.
HARRIS: But notwithstanding, Jacqui says it's the heat that's the real issue today.
WHITFIELD: I know.
HARRIS: Throughout most of the country.
WHITFIELD: And (INAUDIBLE) serious heat wave...
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... (INAUDIBLE) a good part of the country, hasn't it?
JERAS: It really has. Go to the pool.
HARRIS: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: ... I'm sorry, in New York, I'm a little (INAUDIBLE) about pools now.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: You have to be careful.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes, well.
JERAS: Absolutely, be smart about it. Go to the doctor if things are looking good. OK, yes, you really asked for my advice on that this morning.
(LAUGHTER)
JERAS: How about some advice on the, where's the hot stuff going to be today?
(WEATHER FORECAST)
JERAS: Nice conditions out to the west, though. Any travel problems out there, not going to see them for today.
Back to you guys.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Jacqui. I'll pick it up from here.
Her doctor says Coretta Scott King is improving after suffering a stroke and a heart attack this week. Doctors say Tuesday's stroke caused major damage to the right side of King's body. She's been unable to walk. But on Friday, she did manage to sit up and speak a few words. Doctors say the 78-year-old widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., can expect a long, difficult recovery. She's undergoing speech and physical therapy right now.
Senate minority leader Harry Reid is getting some R&R after experiencing a mini-stroke. The Nevada Democrat saw a doctor Tuesday after feeling lightheaded. Aides say there are no restrictions on his activities, and they expect him to be back on the job after Congress returns from its summer recess next month.
Senator Reid's mild episode is called a transient ischemic attack. Joining me now from New York to talk about this and other stroke symptoms is Dr. Mark Siegel. And he is the author of "False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear." And he's in NYU's school of medicine.
Thanks for being with us, Dr. Siegel. I hope I said that right.
DR. MARK SIEGEL, AUTHOR, "FALSE ALARM": That's right.
WHITFIELD: It's also called a TIA. What is that?
SIEGEL: Well, it's a TIA is actually not a mini-stroke, Fredricka. It's actually a warning sign that a stroke could be in the offing. What it means is that you may have a narrowing in one of the arteries in the neck or possibly even a blood clot in the heart. But it doesn't mean that there's been any damage to the brain at all. That's why he can return to work and why he wasn't hospitalized. But it means that a workup needs to be done in a hurry.
WHITFIELD: So Reid and King both experiencing strokes. But can you believe that strokes happen for the same reason?
SIEGEL: Well, strokes happen for different reasons. And in Reid's case, the most likely thing is that he has some narrowing or plaque in one of the arteries in the neck that caused him not to get enough oxygen for the brain temporarily, but then it opened up again, which is why he's OK. He may have had one-sided weakness. He did have some light-headedness. And he was right to see a physician right away.
WHITFIELD: So they had very different outcomes. You know, Harry Reid says he's feeling fine. Coretta Scott King, there's some paralysis on the right side of her body. Why is it that the stroke seems to affect different people in different ways, leaving them with very different outcomes, different conditions?
SIEGEL: Well, that's a very good question. It's because in her case, the brain itself was damaged in a way that it won't recover. In his case, the brain did recover. It was only temporarily not getting enough blood supply, and it should have recovered fully. Within 24 hours, if you replenish the blood supply to the brain, you don't get a permanent damage, and that's what it looks like happened to Senator Reid.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure, how do those factors weigh in?
SIEGEL: Well, you know, they increase the risk dramatically of having a transient ischemic attack or a stroke. And you have to watch out and look for these underlying conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and also smoking increases your risk. So people in those groups have to be screened very, very carefully.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Mark Siegel in New York, thanks so much for being with us.
SIEGEL: Thank you, Fredricka.
HARRIS: And just ahead, the long-gone wallet. It was finally found 25 miles away, 40 years later, and several fathoms down in the Atlantic.
And in 10 minutes, Dr. Sanjay Gupta makes a "HOUSE CALL" to help you quit smoking.
We'll be right back.
WHITFIELD: And extra. Results from this year's ACT college entrance exams suggest that many students just aren't ready for college. Barely one in five hit the benchmark in math, science, English, and social science. The ACT is a predominant college entrance exam for states in the middle part of the U.S., while the SAT is more popular on the East and West Coasts. More colleges accept either exam.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would be fixed, and I wasn't aware that they (INAUDIBLE) gas price. And I just want to trade my car in now, actually, because I don't want to ride around. And my A.C., I mean, you know, I think that it really bothers me. And I don't recognize these prices, like, I kind of just don't want to look at them. I don't want to be aware. (INAUDIBLE) I pump and pay, you know, 40 bucks each time, maybe almost twice a week. It's insane.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Forty bucks?
WHITFIELD: That's a lot. Twice a week, no less.
HARRIS: Twice a week.
WHITFIELD: That's serious driving.
HARRIS: All right. If you are feeling the pain at the pump, who isn't these days? Well, we might have some relief for you. And our J.J. Ramberg will be along in a couple of hours to at least answer your questions about what is driving the runup in gas prices.
WHITFIELD: That's right. She's not going to solve the problem...
HARRIS: Can't solve the problem.
WHITFIELD: ... facing America, but we're just going to talk about it, and, you know...
HARRIS: That's what we do, we...
WHITFIELD: ... maybe folks (INAUDIBLE)...
HARRIS: ... we talk about it.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: ... talk about it, maybe folks have some great suggestions.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Maybe someone who can make a difference...
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... will be listening. How about that?
So please send your e-mails in the form of questions. The address is WEEKENDS@CNN.COM.
WHITFIELD: Now some other stories across America this morning.
What are the odds? A Gloucester fisherman finds a wallet caught in his net.
HARRIS: Right.
WHITFIELD: It had fallen off a boat 25 miles away and 40 years ago, at that. The credit cards are in pristine condition, so the fisherman checked the phone book, tracked the man who lost the wallet down, and that person's now living in Connecticut, and so a reunion has taken place...
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... between wallet and man.
HARRIS: Good, good, good stuff.
Is the 75-year-old mystery of Judge Crater solved? It's the stuff of legend in New York. Judge Joseph Crater vanished in 1930. Numerous theories involve a mob hit and a showgirl mistress. Now, a dusty note suggests a possible grave under the New York Aquarium at Coney Island.
WHITFIELD: Dusty Harrison is a National Guard Reservist who just returned from his tour in Iraq to find this. Take a look at the video. There you go. Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey staked out in his front yard. Hear what he thinks next hour. HARRIS: But first on "HOUSE CALL," Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look at lung cancer, what you can to do to treat it and how to prevent it. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And now in the news, police in Philadelphia say they have strong reason to believe a body they've discovered is the body of a missing pregnant woman. Latoyia Figueroa was five months pregnant when she went missing in July.
Replacement mechanics are on the job at Northwest Airlines. The air carrier's mechanics are on strike to protest big pay cuts and layoffs that would have cut their numbers almost in half. Northwest says it plans to operate on its normal schedule despite the strike.
A Texas jury says the drugmaker Merck is liable for the death of a man who was taking the drug for his arthritis. The jury awarded more than $250 million in total damages to the man's family. This suit is the first of thousands to go to court.
I'm Tony Harris. HOUSECALL begins right now.
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