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CNN Saturday Morning News

Ricin Possibly Found In Texas Dorm; Still Picking Up The Pieces Along The Mississippi Gulf Coast; Zulu Dancers Help New Orleans Parade; Ports Deal On Hold; Nigerian Violence Send Oil Prices Up; Olympic Update; Gray Hair A Good Thing?; Shaun White Interview

Aired February 25, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Anyone with a student at the University at Texas needs to here this. Authorities suspect the powerful poison ricin has been found in one of the dorms.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: But so far no illnesses have been reported. And we should stress that the toxicology tests are just preliminary at this point. But it's still potentially alarming, this development, and merits close attention today, and that's what we are going to give it.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. It's Saturday the 25th February, 10:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 9:00 in Austin, and 7:00 a.m. on the West Coast. Thank you for starting your weekend with us.

NGUYEN: Now in the news, here are some other stories to tell you about. Mardi Gras, New Orleans cranks up its famous tradition. Here is a look right now at Bourbon Street, a live picture. You can see some folks still milling about. They probably haven't gone to sleep at all.

For the next few days at least the city will try to put aside its Katrina troubles and focus instead on letting the good times roll. That's what you do at Mardi Gras. Parades get underway in just a couple of hours.

In Bangladesh, at least 18 people are killed and hundreds more are still trapped in the collapse of a six-story garment factory. You're looking at what's left of it right now. It happened today in the capital. The structure was less than two years old. A hospital was under construction in part of that building.

Now, to Iraq. A deadly car bomb today in Karbala killed at least five people. It was just one of many violent spasms now threatening to plunge the country into a Muslim civil war. Since yesterday, at least 18 people have been killed and dozens more wounded. In addition, Iraqi police say 11 bodies were found today in Baghdad.

HARRIS: And the Philippines today marked the end of the Marcos dictatorship 20 years ago, but there are no public rallies because the president has proposed a state of emergency. She alleges the crackdown is necessary because of a coup plot against her. Political opponents used a Catholic mass today to criticize the president's action.

And singer Sheryl Crow is being treated for breast cancer. Crow's publicist says she had surgery this week for cancer that is said to be, quote, "minimally invasive." The 44-year-old musician will postpone next month's tour to undergo radiation treatment. She is expected to make a full recovery.

NGUYEN: Coming up, has President Bush done the unthinkable? Critics say when it comes to port security, he might have. We'll see whether the White House sinks or swims.

Also, ladies, you better watch out because a flying tomato is looking for a little something-something to complement his gold medal.

HARRIS: What the ...

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. And put away the hair dye, Tony. A little salt and pepper might be just the way to go.

HARRIS: Wait a minute.

NGUYEN: Yes, we're going to be talking about that hair. Word on the street is ladies like a man with a little gray in there.

HARRIS: Oh, I've got that for them.

NGUYEN: It's distinguishing, you know? Very distinguishing. Later this hour, we'll hear from "GQ's" style editor.

HARRIS: Well, in our top story this morning an investigation is underway after a powder was found inside a dorm at the University of Texas, Austin. A preliminary test indicates it's the deadly poison ricin. School officials tell us a student found the powder in a roll of quarters she was using to do her laundry.

Joining us now is one of the U.T. students who was evacuated from the dorm, Chao Zhang. Chao, good to talk to you. Thanks for talking to us and taking the time this morning.

CHAO ZHANG, U.T. STUDENT: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: First, let me ask you -- I understand there was a briefing that was held in one of the auditoriums. When was that briefing? Was that last night? Yesterday?

ZHANG: It was last night around -- actually around midnight.

HARRIS: OK, around midnight. Chao, tell us what information you learned from that briefing.

ZHANG: Well, we found out that, like you said, one of the students was using a roll of quarters when there was a white powder discovered inside. So both her and her roommate were treated and was checked into. And no one else has been -- and so far no one has actually exhibited any symptoms, which is a very good thing. And they also instructed on us, telling us about what ricin was, like you said, a very potent toxin. And also there is no antidote for the toxin. So the only thing they can do for you is give you supportive treatment.

HARRIS: OK, you have a room on the second floor of this dorm. Is that correct?

ZHANG: I live actually on the first floor.

HARRIS: On the first floor, and the laundry is where? Is it on that same floor?

ZHANG: Right, the laundry is on the first floor.

HARRIS: OK. Is it true that you had clothes in that laundry room at the time of this discovery?

ZHANG: That's true. I was actually doing laundry right before they held the meeting, and they kind of taped up and locked everything and my clothes actually are still in there right now.

HARRIS: Well that was my next question. So when did you learn, first of all, there was a problem? And what kind of measures did you see unfold before your eyes from local officials and authorities?

ZHANG: Well, the actual incident was about maybe a day before the meeting, before the briefing. So until the briefing I had no idea. From the briefing, I was told a lot about what was going on.

And right then, there were a lot of street cars -- street police walking the streets and there were a lot of people in chemical suits coming in, doing like different tests and decontaminating areas.

HARRIS: You back in your room?

ZHANG: In the second and basement mostly. Those areas are the most problematic.

HARRIS: All right, let me try that one more time because I think you're breaking up. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Are you back in the room, Chao?

ZHANG: Right, I'm back in my room.

HARRIS: Oh, you are?

ZHANG: OK. And to the best of your knowledge, two people looked at, treated, no one beyond that and no one is showing any symptoms of the poisoning, correct?

ZHANG: That's correct.

HARRIS: OK, Chao Zhang, thanks for taking the time. We appreciate it. Good update.

ZHANG: My pleasure.

NGUYEN: CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more details on this. The good thing is no symptoms at this point, which leads me to the question, how long would you know before those symptoms arise?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting. The timing of this is actually pretty quick. When you think about it, this incident happened Thursday afternoon, and some of the symptoms of ricin poisoning, they would show up within four to eight hours.

Other ones would take a day or two or maybe a bit longer, but you would expect to see some symptoms, for example, nausea or fever, quite quickly within four to eight hours. The fact that that has not happened certainly is good news.

Let's talk a little bit about what ricin is. I think many people are not familiar with it. It's a poison. And a tiny, tiny amount of it can kill a human being, just the amount that would be on the head of a pin, 500 micrograms, could kill a human being.

And let's talk a little bit about what some of the symptoms would be if someone were affected by ricin poisoning. It is actually -- first of all, I should say, it comes from castor beans. It's naturally occurring. It comes from castor beans. It wouldn't happen if you just handled the castor beans. You actually have to intentionally do something to get the ricin out of it.

It's poisonous if inhaled, injected or ingested, and there is no known antidote. Now, the symptoms if inhaled include chest tightness, difficulty breathing, fever, cough, nausea, heavy sweating, low blood pressure, and respiratory failure.

Many of those would have shown up within four to eight hours if one of those students had gotten ricin poisoning. Symptoms if ingested include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and low blood pressure.

Now, some of these pictures that we've been looking at here are pretty scary. We've seen pictures of people in the moonsuits going into the dormitory to try to clean it out and what is going on. And when you see that list of symptoms, certainly that's very scary, too.

But there's something that you really have to keep in mind. Some of the preliminary tests can be wrong. They are called preliminary for a reason. What is more of a gold standard are DNA-based tests. They're called PCR testing, and that's more of the gold standard.

When those come out, that's more of a sign that this really would be ricin. Now, as far as we know, that has not happened yet. As far as we know they haven't completed those DNA tests. Those can take several days.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, the good news is there are no symptoms. That's very key and very critical at this point, but with these students coming in contact with this ricin on their hands or whatnot, can particles be inhaled? Is there some way for that to penetrate the skin? Or does -- are they pretty much in the clear if it's just on the hands and they wash the hands?

COHEN: It depends how well they wash the hands, of course. It depends if maybe they touched their face at all before they washed their hands. But this is something where the concern really is if it is injected, if it's ingested, or if it's inhaled. In other words, being on the skin is not known to be a primary way to get someone sick.

For example, there has been times where someone injected a ricin pellet into the skin of someone who they wanted to kill. And that's a pretty effective way of doing it.

Another piece of good news, if you will, about ricin is that it's not contagious. So if, God forbid, one of the students did have ricin poisoning, she wouldn't be giving it to somebody else.

NGUYEN: I see.

COHEN: And that's why ricin is not really the weapon of choice for getting a big group of people sick.

NGUYEN: A lot of people, I understand.

COHEN: Right. It's just, you know, you've got like you've got one person and you want to do something to them. It's more that kind of poisoning.

NGUYEN: All right. And the key, though is, we need to wait on these final test results, because preliminary ones can be wrong at times.

COHEN: That's right, and they have been wrong in the past.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, we'll wait on that and, of course, this is what we know so far. Thank you for dissecting all of this for us, Elizabeth.

And you want to stay with CNN throughout the day for the latest on this developing story. We're going to have complete coverage including live reports.

HARRIS: Well it is a tale of two cities this morning, yet they are both the same. One of them still reeling from the chaos of Hurricane Katrina; the other reveling in the pageantry of one of its greatest traditions.

Not even the brute force, Betty, of a deadly and devastating storm can stop Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. It has been six months since Hurricane Katrina lashed the Gulf Coast, and this year's Mardi Gras should be a memorable one despite the debate among some Louisianans that a party in the midst of such tragedy is just wrong. Meanwhile, that sentiment is not the case in the neighboring Mississippi where the local economy needs all the business it can get. CNN's Kathleen Koch is live in Biloxi. Biloxi or Biloxi -- I guess you can -- tomatoes, tomatoes. With more this morning, good morning to you, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. And, yes it is Biloxi, and there will be some Mardi Gras parades rolling down the streets of Biloxi. But there's also just this massive cleanup effort that is still very much underway six months after Katrina.

What you see behind me is the huge, hulking remains of what was one of the floating casinos here in Biloxi. They have been chipping away at it for months trying to dismantle what's left of it. And these profitable corporations like the casinos have the money to bankroll this kind of a huge undertaking.

But for individual homeowners it's really a very different story. We caught up this week with one of my high school classmates, Diane Bourgeois, who's home has really been destroyed, and she really chips away gradually at the cleanup going back every week to see if there's anything else that she can salvage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE EDWARD BOURGEOIS, BAY ST. LOUIS RESIDENT: Just pieces here and there. No telling where everything else is. You know, I lost so much I can't even -- I haven't had time since Katrina to realize what all I have actually lost.

You know, it will be a moment when I reach for something or want something and I say, oh, I don't have that anymore. You know, not even my address book. You know, I have to start over.

But, you know, like I said I'm still -- our family is way more fortunate than most. You know, we are. I mean, look at those who had nothing to come back to. We just thank God we have our lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now along the Mississippi Gulf Coast that amazing spirit of determination and optimism really does prevail despite the destruction that you still see all around you in so many places. So many people are very, very committed to this area, committed to staying and trying to rebuild -- Tony.

HARRIS: Kathleen, how emotional has this been for you? You have got the "CNN PRESENTS" where you visit your hometown. We see you there hugging your high school classmate. How tough has this been for you?

KOCH: It's been very tough but, you know, when I'm moved to tears my friends say -- you know, they reassure me and they say, hey, it's OK. You know, we're all cried out. And we're just moving forward. We have all got to do that. We've all just got to pull together. And so oddly enough, you know, they're the ones who infuse you with the strength to deal with it all, because it's tough. It's tough when you come back and you see some progress. There's certainly been progress in many areas, but it's just rough to see so much that just looks the way it did six months ago.

HARRIS: And evidence right behind you of all the work that is still to be done. Kathleen Koch for us. Kathleen, thank you.

KOCH: You bet.

HARRIS: Well, will this first Mardi Gras since the storm be one to remember? It will around here. That's for sure. Monday CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" and "ANDERSON COOPER 360" will be live from the Crescent City until the last float rolls through Tuesday night. All day coverage you'll find only here on CNN.

NGUYEN: And there's much, much more to come right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, including the latest on the developing story out of Texas. A poisonous scare at the University of Texas at Austin. We're going to have the latest on that.

HARRIS: Plus, critics say letting an Arab-based country run some American port is like letting the fox guard the henhouse. A live report from the White House coming up.

Hey, take a look at this. It's the real thing, folks. African Zulu dancers do their part to save Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Good morning, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What's going on this morning, Betty? We have time for weather?

NGUYEN: Hard at work today. We have time ...

HARRIS: Do we?

NGUYEN: We always have time for weather, especially this kind of weather. Bonnie Schneider is here to talk about what is happening out there. Good morning, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: That's great.

NGUYEN: Yes, let the good times roll. OK, Bonnie, thank you.

Still to come, there is blood in the water when it comes to port security deal. Congress wants it to sink. The White House wants to keep it afloat. We'll bring you the latest.

And ...

(MUSIC)

HARRIS: And how about this? The beat of life goes on in the Big Easy. Some real life Zulus make a long type to help out the American counterparts. We'll take you to Mardi Gras when we come back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERRI WILLIS, CNN HOST: Save on your energy bills with a home energy audit. Contact your local utility for a free or a low-cost audit. You can hire an independent energy auditor listed in your local Yellow Pages, or even do it yourself. You can learn how on the Energy Department's Web site, eere.energy.gov/consumer, and click on energy audits.

The audits should cover everything from insulation to heating and cooling systems to appliances. Don't forget some of those unexpected areas of heat loss like fireplaces and electric outlets.

And remember, you may also be wasting energy on lighting. Look for areas where you can replace 100 watt bulbs with 60 or 75 watts of even fluorescent lamps.

I'm Gerri Willis with your energy tip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

NGUYEN: With Mardi Gras underway, the Krewe of Zulu is celebrating its 90th anniversary. The club honoring one of New Orleans' many influences had to overcome some big odds to take part in carnival this year.

Two-thirds of its members are still recovering from the loss of their homes and businesses in Hurricane Katrina. So today, members of the real African Zulu tribe are flying to New Orleans to help fill in the gaps. We give you a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Zulu first appeared as a small tribe in southeast Africa in the early 1700s. The tribe rose to greater prominence under the leadership of the famous warrior Shaka Zulu, and the Zulu Kingdom was established early in the 1800s.

Despite infighting and civil war, the kingdom remained intact until the Zulu warriors were defeated by the British in 1879. During the next century the Zulu people spread throughout South Africa, but under apartheid they were forced back to their homeland, where divisions formed between Zulus who cooperated with the apartheid government, and those who joined the resistance movement, cooperating with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Violence between the groups continued even after apartheid ended in 1990. Today there are about 11 million Zulu people living in the Kwazulu-Natal province of South Africa. About half of them live in rural villages, observing the same tribal traditions they've lived by for generations. Others Zulus have moved into urban townships and become regular members of middle class South Africa.

Celebrity talk show host Oprah Winfrey announced last year that she learned of her Zulu heritage through a DNA test, although some scientists and historians have expressed skepticism. Most of the African slaves that were taken to North America came from western Africa, thousands of miles from the Zulu's homeland.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now, earlier I talked with Mardi Gras organizer Felicia Suttle (ph) about the Zulu tribe helping out their American friends.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Felicia, it's not every day that you go looking for real Zulu warrior dancers to be a part of a parade. How did this idea come about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well it came up when Blaine (ph) was in South Africa and we were having dinner. And he was there really to try and see if he could recruit Zulu traditional dancers or Zulu warriors to be in the parade.

And, obviously, the cost was, obviously, astronomical. We said, Blaine, we have Zulu cultural dancers who literally represent the Zulu culture or try to give people an idea what the Zulu culture is all about who are right here. Let's get them to New Orleans and that's how it all happened. And the Soweto Street Beat that is based in Atlanta will be there.

NGUYEN: I was going to say, right here in Atlanta, that is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right, 20 young people who literally promote Zulu culture in America.

NGUYEN: And are they men and women? All men? Tell us about this group?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are about 20 men and there are 10 girls but I think you're just going to have the men because this can be a little chauvinistic sometimes because of the culture there, if I may just take a little dig at it, but our teacher felt the men obviously would represent the warriors in many ways.

NGUYEN: True. And tell us about this dance because, of course, if they are going to be a part of the parade, they have got to come with the original dance and what does it signify? Just kind of walk us through the steps of what they're going to -- the performance that they are going to put on down there? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think Peter is more able to tell you. But I think what you're going to see there is the vibrance of the Zulus, and why we're saying the Zulu dancers should take part in this is really to empathize with New Orleans.

In African culture we have a word that we use called ibunto (ph). Ibunto means humaneness. We are bringing this humaneness, this forgivingness, saying to the people of New Orleans, you are with us during the times of apartheid.

You helped us fight apartheid, and now here we are with you to try and see how we can help empathize with you, console you through this most devastating time, and in African culture we dance and we sing even when we are sad.

NGUYEN: Wow, we will be watching it. It's really a remarkable thing that's happening, especially with the authenticity of the Zulu warrior dancers taking part. And the Zulu parade is one of the most anticipated parades of Mardi Gras, so we are looking forward to it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will all be there.

NGUYEN: Felicia Suttle from the South African Tourism Department. We appreciate your time today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: An Arab company's delay in acquiring six U.S. seaports gives more time for heated debate. That's for sure. And political opponents are finding unusual consensus when it comes to maritime security. A live report from Washington just ahead.

And the most celebrated U.S. athlete before the Olympics -- yes, Bode -- could become the biggest loser after. Up next a live report from Torino just two hours away from Bode Miller's last attempt at bringing home the gold.

But first, Danielle Elias has us going global this morning. Good morning, Danielle.

DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony. A hostage standoff in Nigeria. Militants have displayed a 68-year-old American pleading for help. We'll have the details when we go global.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Flying by, isn't it?

NGUYEN: So much to talk about this morning, a lot for you.

HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone. CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for joining us today. We're getting more information regarding this ricin scare at the University of Texas at Austin. And that is where a powder suspected of being a deadly poison was discovered late Thursday in a dorm area. So joining us live on the phone is Dr. Theresa Spalding with the University of Texas health services. Doctor, first of all, when were you notified? When did you get the call?

THERESA SPALDING, MEDICAL DIRECTOR (on phone): I actually wasn't notified until yesterday evening when the powder result came whack back as presumptive positive for ricin.

NGUYEN: OK and when you got this information and obviously other things were in motion already, but what kind of precautions have been taken?

SPALDING: The area had already been cleaned up by our environmental health and safety crew on Thursday as soon as it had gotten reported.

NGUYEN: And so just to clarify, was this ricin found in a dorm room or in the laundry area of a dormitory?

SPALDING: It was found in a roll of quarters that the student had and so they were using the quarters to run the machines for their laundry.

NGUYEN: So it was down in the laundry area where the quarters were open and the powder fell out.

SPALDING: Well, actually the quarters were opened in the room.

NGUYEN: OK. So they were discovered in the room, moved down to the laundry area.

SPALDING: Right, right.

NGUYEN: I see, so that being the case and you being medical director, what kind of concern does that cause for you and the possibility of others coming in contact with it?

SPALDING: Well, since it was contained in the quarters, it's lessened the anxiety instead of just finding it somewhere in the laundry room or in her dorm room. But we have taken the precautions of alerting all the students on the symptoms of exposure to ricin. The student herself had washed it off immediately and with the area cleaned up, I think the risk of exposure for other students is minimal.

NGUYEN: And we've been talking to medical experts this morning, toxicologists and things of that sort to kind of understand exactly the potential of ricin. Let me ask you, if this was handled by the hands and whatnot, would we have seen symptoms by now in the individuals who touched it?

SPALDING: Correct. I mean on intact skin it would not cause a problem. It's more if it was on the hands and then they ingested it, put their fingers in their mouth. NGUYEN: ... touched their eye or something like that.

SPALDING: Right or inhaled it, putting it to their nose. So it's more on the skin being washed off, there's not an issue there. We did -- in all precautions turn off the ventilation system to the area, as well while the hazmat team was in there trying to clean up, double checking, cleaning up everything to avoid any chance of it being spread in the air.

NGUYEN: Understood. Medical director at the university health services there, Dr. Theresa Spalding, doctor, we thank you for your time today.

SPALDING: Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Tony.

HARRIS: It is a matter of national security. Folks on both sides of the political spectrum are vehemently opposed to a deal that would turn over control of terminal operations of six U.S. ports to an Arab maritime company. Critics say we're inviting terror attacks. Supporters say the deal does not and will not compromise port security. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now with more. Elaine, good morning to you.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Tony. That's right and there could still be a showdown looming over this issue between the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Now, as you know earlier this week, the company itself Dubai Ports World decided to put this deal on hold for now, now that after enormous pressure here in Washington not just from Democrats but even members of the president's own party as you mentioned opposed to this deal. Now, well the White House maintains that this transaction has been thoroughly vetted. They also say that they welcome this delay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The president supports that deal and believes that it should go forward. But obviously questions have been raised in the public and in the Congress and the president believes that additional time which would allow the company and the administration to explain this and provide more information to the Congress is a good thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, despite the delay, some lawmakers say there is still a lot they don't know about this transaction and they are pushing for a 45-day investigation of the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D) NEW YORK: A cooling-off period simply doesn't do the job. We need a full comprehensive 45-day investigation to answer the many questions about this deal before the deal can move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: So that is basically where the potential showdown could happen if lawmakers insist on pushing ahead with a 45-day review and they try to block the deal. That's something that President Bush said that he will veto. The president said earlier this week he thinks that backing out of the deal would send a mixed message to Arab allies around the world. And of course, those allies, as you know, Tony, critical to this administration in fighting the war on terror. Tony.

HARRIS: CNN's Elaine Quijano for us at the White House. Elaine, thank you.

NGUYEN: Well violence in Nigeria over oil and the kidnapping of workers has sent oil prices sharply up in international markets.

HARRIS: Our Danielle Elias joins us from the international desk with the details. Danielle, good morning.

DANIELLE ELIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Tony. Ethnic militants in Nigeria have stepped up their bargaining tactics. Money, oil and environmental concerns have led gunmen to showcasing a 68- year-old American hostage in their plea to the international community. Nine Shell oil workers, including three Americans are being held hostage in Nigeria.

They were kidnapped in the West African country's oil rich delta region. The militants have said they don't trust the Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo. And Shell says it is working with Nigerian authorities for a safe release of the hostages.

French agriculture officials say the European Union has confirmed its first case of bird flu. A turkey farm in southeast France was sealed off after hundreds of birds were found dead. The rest of the flock was slaughtered. French President Jacques Chirac says there is no danger in eating poultry and eggs and if they are well cooked. And he says consumers should not worry.

Well to keep up the spirit of partying as we have seen in New Orleans, how about carnival in Brazil? Tony, Betty, do you have your dancing shoes on?

NGUYEN: We sleep with them on, Danielle.

ELIAS: Take a look at this. Brazil's biggest party has kicked off in Rio de Janeiro when they handed over the key to the city to King Momo. From now until the end of the carnival, he will be in charge of the city and King Momo wasn't the only one celebrating the five-day pre-Lent festival. U2's front man Bono headed to Salvador in northeastern Brazil to join in on the festivities. I'm ready to go to Brazil. How about you two?

NGUYEN: I'll ready. Bags packed, let's go.

ELIAS: Let's go. HARRIS: A rock star like Bono in Rio for carnival.

NGUYEN: Yes. Apparently, he had huge shows beforehand and then he stuck around for the fun.

NGUYEN: Of course, right.

HARRIS: Can you say any more. Danielle, thank you.

NGUYEN: All right. We're going to be talking Olympics and some breaking news. This was supposed to be Bode Miller's last shot as gold but we have learned that he has been disqualified. Is this right? Mark McKay joins us now live from Torino. Are you kidding me? His last shot and he's disqualified, what happened?

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am kidding you Betty. We did have a disqualification but we ended up having the other guy Ted Ligety disqualified. Bode Miller actually ran off of the course after straddling a gate in the men's slalom. That's exactly what happened. Bode Miller the cover boy of the U.S.

Alpine ski team will be coming home from these games without a medal as he straddles the gate and is out after the first leg of the men's slalom. Again, the skier that was disqualified, Ted Ligety, he was the surprise gold medallist he won the combined. So the U.S. comes away from these games with only two alpine medals. Fortunately, both of them will be gold.

On to the speed skating track. Can Apollo Ohno single handedly find himself, find himself, stopping a South Korean sweep. He's going to try his best. Ohno is competing in the 500 meter speed skating race. He'll also take part in the team relay, the 5,000 meter team relay. Ohno has managed just a single medal from the games, that being a bronze in the thousand meter short track events.

Former Tulsa University football player Todd Hayes (ph), he'll head out and try to win a medal in the four-man bobsled a little later in Torino. After the first day of competition on the track, Hayes and his USA One sled sit in seventh place overall.

Betty, he will be hanging up his bobsled helmet, Hayes will. It's his last Olympics. He would like to come home with a medal. Bob sled, may be a medal, but as you mentioned off the top, Betty, it will be no medal for Bode Miller. He wasn't disqualified, but he straddled the gate. He went out on the first run of the slalom which is still being contested up there in the Italian Alps.

NGUYEN: Oh, goodness. We were just really hoping that Bode would pull it out, he would get that gold, something.

MCKAY: OK. I was going to tell Tony, we talked last weekend about the bagels. Bode got his bagel but it wasn't a medal.

NGUYEN: You just had to fit it in here and twist it, didn't you?

HARRIS: That's good Mark. That's good. NGUYEN: Mark McKay, pulling a funny from Torino. Thank you Mark.

HARRIS: Lookout world. Here comes the flying tomato. Love him. Teenage snowboarder won an Olympic gold.

NGUYEN: He won the bagel, the real bagel.

HARRIS: Now what? Shaun White will tell us about some fringe benefits he hopes will come his way.

NGUYEN: Also ahead for men, some say it's cool. Well for women it's not so cool or is it? Coloring your do or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Despite what my wife thinks.

NGUYEN: You're about to get in trouble, but go ahead.

HARRIS: I live in trouble. There's a growing trend among today's men. It's OK to be gray. Right? While some men are determined to cover their stray strands, stylish guys find a silver lining in the salt and pepper look. So let's thank people like Anderson Cooper, George Clooney, Jon Stewart for letting their silver shine. A recent "GQ" magazine article even went so far as to suggest that gray is the new black.

NGUYEN: Really?

HARRIS: Joining me now

NGUYEN: Well, I do. I see a little bit of gray, got the salt and pepper.

HARRIS: Adam, good to talk to you.

ADAM RAPOPORT, GQ'S STYLE EDITOR: Just a little bit.

(CROSSTALK)

RAPOPORT: Just a little bit.

HARRIS: Here's the thing. Betty is joining us in this conversation. It was just supposed to be the two of us, but Betty.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Here's the thing. The reason we're doing this segment is because my wife believes and a couple of stylists in the shop where I go to get trimmed up -- there's not a lot to do where I get trimmed up -- suggest to me strongly that I should color my hair. I should rinse it. But the problem is that it -- Adam what do you think about coloring the gray?

RAPOPORT: Not easy. You expect women to do it, but when a guy does it, you kind of think he belongs in Vegas on stage or something.

NGUYEN: We just had a picture Adam, although if you a monitor there, but take a look at Tony with the coloring or the lacquer as we've been calling it.

HARRIS: It looks like the Valdez spill right there on my head.

RAPOPORT: It looks a little odd. I just want to make it clear. You're blaming your wife for this, is that correct?

HARRIS: Well, here's the thing. I mean it's my wife and it's the two women in the salon. It's a powerful force.

RAPOPORT: You don't want to mess with them.

HARRIS: You don't want to mess with them.

NGUYEN: Look at it now, turn sideways. We want to get the two shots there. I think the other way.

HARRIS: That way. That way.

NGUYEN: I think it looks natural with a little bit of gray.

HARRIS: But that is ultimately my point. So let's get down to it Adam. Going gray, OK?

RAPOPORT: I think it is. Listen, if you're Steven Tyler and you're in Aerosmith and you got to be on stage every night, fine, dye your hair. You're a news Tony. Jon Stewart's a news guy. Anderson Cooper is a news guy. I think it works to your advantage.

It gives you a little bit of gravitas. People take a little bit more seriously, especially someone like Anderson very handsome guy obviously, but he's also kind of youthful looking and I think the gray hair lets people take him a little bit more seriously.

HARRIS: Let's go back to that really good list here. So we got Anderson Cooper. How about Lee Marvin?

RAPOPORT: Lee Marvin, always cool, bad ass if I can say that word on TV. But he's one of those actors, I don't ever recall seeing him without gray hair whether it was the "Dirty Dozen" or whatever movie he was in. But he was always a tough guy with gray hair and a good looking guy, too.

HARRIS: And it really works for George Clooney. We watched him go gray.

NGUYEN: Yes, it does work for George Clooney. I can testify to that.

HARRIS: It works for him, doesn't it Adam?

RAPOPORT: It is interesting and I mean, it works for him well. I think what I found is I've kind of gone a little bit gray, is my guy friends who haven't seen me in a while. They're like, dude, what's up with the salt and pepper? Women notice it, but they say, no, I really like it. I think it looks good. It's attractive.

HARRIS: What about women? Let's talk about women. We've got a shot here of Atlanta's Mayor Shirley Franklin. And I think, first of all, my thesis here is that if you've got a great face, it doesn't matter whether if it is gray. And where is a shot of Shirley Franklin? It doesn't matter - she's got a great face, so it doesn't matter whether it is gray or purple or blue. If you got a great face, you can wear the hair color? Am I close here Adam?

RAPOPORT: You are getting there. I think what is important is that how you cut it also. I think when you go gray, it helps to go a little bit shorter, keep it a little bit cleaner. You look at someone like Anderson or Clooney. They look great. You look at some like Richard Gere sometimes. He's got this big kind of mop on his head and it's going this way and that way. He's not 21 years old any more.

HARRIS: Adam, my theory, great face, one other woman, take a look at this picture. Take a look at this next picture. It just doesn't matter.

NGUYEN: Oh my goodness.

HARRIS: Great face.

RAPOPORT: She is still looking...

NGUYEN: I don't know. I'm not digging the gray on me.

HARRIS: Let the gray go.

NGUYEN: A little too much gray.

RAPOPORT: But I think when women go gray they tend to cut their hair a little bit shorter usually.

NGUYEN: Yes. Yes, I'd have to get a trim, a lot of it trimmed.

HARRIS: You thought it was going to be about me.

NGUYEN: This was going to be about you.

HARRIS: Adam, good to talk to you ...

NGUYEN: Looking good with the salt and pep are by the way.

Still to come, a visit from the flying tomato, no gray there. But it's a visit you won't soon forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said when you went to the Olympics I read anyway, you were like -- I hope this helps me get some babes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Dude. What better place to get some babes than right here at CNN Olympic champion snowboarder Shaun White slides his way into our studios when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White AKA the flying tomato is one dope air dog, trust me. That's a compliment. He can fakie, goofy, grab, twisty, swiffer, shred and rinse like nobody's business, but those are tricks and nothing compared to his moves the other day right here at the CNN center. You want to check it out because he stuck out the landing with CNN's Robin and company.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since winning the gold in the men's snowboarding half pipe, he went from magazine cover boy to a phenomenon. Shaun White, AKA the "flying tomato," joins us this morning. What did you think of that build-up my friend?

SHAUN WHITE: You were right on. I mean I've gotten some interest before, but that was pretty Money.

I want one of those. Come on. There you go. I feel part of the team now. I'm on the crew.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gosh. I'm messing with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robin, Shaun, you guys met?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we did. We'll just have a great time. Doesn't that rock? We're having a little fun this morning with Olympic gold medallist Shaun white. He won the gold in the men's half pipe in Torino and that was at the start of the games. He's back home now, kind of making the rounds for the media. His Olympic win is making him an even bigger star, too. Shaun White is joining us now. Did you like that? That was so cool.

WHITE: That was my action there, my cartoon action.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

WHITE: That was pretty good. I wish I was that rad in real life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure you are. A lot of people think you are. You said when you went to the Olympics I read any way, you're like, I hope this helps me get some babes.

WHITE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get some babes here and between Jay Leno, David Letterman, I'm trying to show the camera here, David Letterman, you mentioned Martha Stewart, has it worked? Are you getting the babes?

WHITE: Martha was a babe, was crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait a minute. Drinks, you're 19 years old.

WHITE: I'm talking about Mountain Dews, baby. All right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He called me baby. How are you? I don't get a baby.

WHITE: My parents saw the interview we did and they died. No, they loved it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We behaved ourselves. Do you have a girlfriend yet?

WHITE: No. I'm working on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is this?

WHITE: I mean, that was before you. I don't even remember now. Oh, good one. Oh, we got one. Let me get the tape and replay it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: He is a chick magnet, should we say. I mean he is working every minute of it.

HARRIS: Ah, to be young, to have a gold medal and a cool nickname.

NGUYEN: The flying tomato.

HARRIS: It's absolutely priceless, flying tomato. And the next stop, what, the bank?

NGUYEN: Yes for a large withdrawal.

HARRIS: Beautiful.

NGUYEN: In our next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING, the party does go on in New Orleans and CNN is going to take you there.

HARRIS: We'll talk to someone who knows everything, everything there is to know about Mardi Gras from the culture to the history to the hotel situation, all important. We'll let the good time rolls and then some. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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