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American Morning
Tropical Storm Ernesto; Hurricane John; Defending The War; Pressure on Iran; Attacking Cancer
Aired September 01, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to the Pacific now, Hurricane John. A category three storm moving ever closer to the Baja Peninsula. Harris Whitbeck joining us now from there. From Cabo San Lucas.
Hello, Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello once again, Miles.
The storm is expected to reach the Baja Peninsula in a few hours. It's expected to bring about 18 inches of rain and that could mean lots of flash flooding and mud slides from the nearby mountains. Local officials here have asked 15,000 residents to evacuate to public schools located on higher ground. The Mexican army is in charge of those evacuations and does have the right to force people to evacuate if deemed necessary.
Also between 7,000 and 8,000 tourists in this very popular resort. Most of them staying in big resort hotels which have put their contingency plans into place, basically moving guests from their rooms into ballrooms which are located in safe areas. The hotel that we're operating from has begun its evacuation. It's already asking its guests to move into a ballroom even though the storm isn't expected to hit here until -- for another few hours.
We will begin to feel some tropical storm strength winds soon. But the hurricane strength winds, it will be a few hours.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Harris Whitbeck in Cabo San Lucas, thank you very much. Let's get now to our severe weather expert Chad Myers. He is in our hurricane headquarters in Atlanta.
Chad, what's the latest?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest -- we'll talk about Ernesto and then we'll talk about John. We'll talk about how much rain North Carolina has received because we saw such a tranquil shot there from Raleigh. But I'll tell you what, it's a completely different story east of where the eye is. The eye is just to the east and southeast of Raleigh. And from Wilmington, all the way up into Cape Hatteras, this is just -- that wind is howling over there. Sixty and 70 miles per hour still this morning.
But this is the bigger storm out here. This is John. This is a category three, 115-mile-per-hour storm. Probably headed to 120. So Harris's weather is going to go down rather quickly.
There's the eye of the storm. And it just seems to me, in the past couple hours, this storm has wobbled. Watch it just a little bit. The last couple of frames. This storm has wobbled to the left. Rather than making this line toward Cabo, I believe now it's on the left side of the cone for Cabo San Lucas. And that may be great really, really great news for people there.
We are flying around the hurricane here. There's the radar out of North Carolina. The plane is actually way out into the Atlantic Ocean on their way down to Miami.
And the planes will be flying around this one. This is the live radar from the Mexican radar company. There you go, from Los Cabo there, there is the center of the eye. Thanks to the Mexican government for that shot there.
There is the satellite picture. We'll keep watching Cabo and we'll keep watching the east coast. If you live in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, especially D.C., Richmond, Virginia, you're going to be under the gun for an awful lot of rain coming up this week and all the way through the weekend because the storm's not going to move very much throughout the weekend. We'll have more coming up.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: Chad, while we were just talking here, we got word that just came across here of a tsunami warning in the Pacific.
MYERS: Wow.
M. O'BRIEN: Apparently there was a 6.9 magnitude quake in and around the Soloman Islands and the tsunami warning is -- affects a large swathe of the Pacific. Let's see. I'm trying to get the basic information on what is effected. The west coast, Alaska, tsunami warnings, issued bulletins. I don't know -- we can go to the Solomon Islands. It's just coming in. I tell you what. While I'm going on to this next story, Chad, if you could -- I know you can help us out on giving us a sense of what areas might be affected by that tsunami warning.
MYERS: Absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you.
Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. While U.S. troops battle in Iraq, President Bush is trying to convince more Americans to back his policy of keeping those troops there. He's been giving a series of speeches. Let's get right to CNN's Elaine Quijano. She's live in Washington.
Hey, Elaine, good morning. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, you know, President Bush says that he doesn't govern by polls, but clearly his speech to the American Legion demonstrates how public approval is affecting his message. We know that his numbers on the Iraq War have been down, or at least lower compared to his overall numbers on the war on terror. So with this latest communications push, the president is trying to make the case more forcefully that success in Iraq and security for Americans are inextricably linked.
Now in making his argument, the president said yesterday that Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon were all connected. Part of a broader struggle, he said. And he reiterated his belief that Iraq, in his view, is the central front in the terrorism fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some Americans didn't support my decision to remove Saddam Hussein, many are frustrated with the level of violence. But we should all agree that the battle for Iraq is now central to the ideological struggle of the 21st century. We will not allow the terrorists to dictate the future of this century, so we will defeat them in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now with violence continuing in Baghdad, specifically the president compared the fighting there to the World War II battles at Omaha Beach and Guadalcanal. He also said that today's terrorists were the successors to fascists, Nazis and communists. And, Soledad, with 10 weeks to go, of course, until the midterm elections and also just days away now from the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the president is using some new language, Soledad, to sound some familiar arguments.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Elaine, thanks.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has two objectives when he arrives in Tehran this morning. He's pressing Lebanon neighbors, Syria and Iran, to not back Hezbollah with weapons. He's also asking Iran to give up its nuclear plans. Those are two very big objectives. The U.N. is leaning toward sanctions on Iran because of its nuclear program. So how are Iranians reacting to this growing pressure? CNN's Aneesh Raman has that for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Iranians have known this day was coming. And in Tehran, as shops opened for business, it was a day like any other, only the newspapers to remind of the nuclear deadline. But here, despite fears of business going down, of sanctions, there was defiance.
"We have undergone sanctions for 27 years," says Hussein (ph). "We are not afraid of sanctions. Iranians can live off a bite of bread and live in cramped dwellings."
Defiance as well from their president. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking to huge crowds in extreme northwest Iran, left no doubt his country will not suspend its nuclear program.
"This nation will not tolerate tyranny and will not give in to cruel pressure and violation of its rights even a bit," he said.
People in this agricultural region are some of Ahmadinejad's strongest supporters, cheering every phrase. Here, for some, he is a hero. Elsewhere, supporters of Iran's right to nuclear energy this day said things could have been different.
Mojtaba Vahedi runs a reformist newspaper here.
MOJTABA VAHEDI, NEWSPAPER OWNER, (through translator): A better response from Iran was possible by opening this issue up to the public and using independent experts like former reformist officials.
RAMAN: That did not happen and now Iranians can only hope against the worst.
BAHRAM TAVAKOLI, GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE, (through translator): If a military invasion against Iran is a possibility, it's to the Iranians benefit to resolve the problem peacefully.
RAMAN" A military invasion is not seen as something that will come anytime soon. But Iran's government has made it clear through war games that have been ongoing for weeks now that it will defend against any attack.
Iranian officials say the report by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is essentially baseless and they say it shows that they do not have the capability to pursue a nuclear weapon. That they are, in fact, pursuing peaceful civilian nuclear power. They will likely use that as another reason to stand firm in their refusal to back down.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. says there is ample evidence of Iran's defiance. At the top of the next hour, we're going to talk to John Bolton about the next step in this nuclear standoff.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We gave Chad an assignment and he's fast. We told you about a tsunami warning after a 6.9 magnitude quake in the Solomon Islands.
What do we know?
MYERS: Well, it was -- right now it's been downgraded to a 6.8. Not that that's a big difference. But here's Australia. And here is the big red square. That's where the latest earthquake took place just in the past hour. And there is no Pacific-wide tsunami warning going on out of the west coast, from Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii. But there may be some localized tsunamis.
Probably not that large of a tsunami of the 6.8. You have to realize that the tsunami that happened over in Banda Ache, that was a 9.0. So that was a significantly stronger earthquake than that. But still they are saying that some localized small tsunamis still could be occurring in the area but nothing Pacific-wide.
Back to you guys.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Chad. As more details come in, we'll bring them to you of course.
Happening in America.
A massive manhunt underway right now in western New York. Two troopers ambushed last night as they tried to arrest a fugitive. Shot and critically injured with a high-powered rifle. Both in critical condition this morning. The suspect, Ralph Phillips, escaped from prison in April. He's suspected of shooting another state trooper in June.
In Georgia, a crystal meth bust. Take a look at this. It's about 340 pounds of methamphetamines found in Gainesville, northeast Georgia. They say it's a record. Two men now in custody, two others on the run.
Take a look at this. Colorado bus meets farm vehicle. A tractor. The bus driver in the hospital this morning. It happened in Fort Morgan at an uncontrolled intersection. Now the bus had the right-of-way but the farmer won't be cited because his vehicle is not covered under the motor vehicle code. Two students and the tractor driver were hurt but not seriously.
A massive wildfire still spreading in southern Montana. There may be some reason for optimism, though. The derby mountain fire near Big Timber has already charred more than 150,000 acres, burned 20 homes. High winds and low humidity are causing problems but firefighters say cooler temperatures are now helping things out.
The New York City tram that stalled and left dozens of people stranded over the East River last spring back in business this morning. Reopened just an hour ago. There you see the pictures. The tram now has a few upgrades. New motors, emergency kits and toilets, just in case.
It's the end of a 130-year-old tradition in the small town of Eastburg (ph), Connecticut. Prohibition finally over. Voters approved an ordinance in December to allow the sale of beer and wine. But there's some caveats, only at restaurants seating 35 or more can serve alcohol.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: MTV, is it showing its age? The network just celebrated its 25th anniversary. And the reviews for last night's video music awards were, you know, kind of stade (ph) and boring is what they said. The critics say it didn't have any shock value, which, of course, is what MTV is known for. Justin Timberlake there he is dancing around -- opened with his hit "Sexy Back." No wardrobe malfunctions to report. Comedian Jack Black was the host.
There was one unscripted moment. That's when this guy crashed the acceptance speech of "Panic at the Disco." And, look, he's trying to grab the trophy. That's J.Lo there and she's like, I'm not giving the trophy to you.
M. O'BRIEN: The guy in the white shirt is the impostor?
S. O'BRIEN: He was the first guy who walked out. He's got the microphone.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Anyway, the group won for video of the year for "I Write Sins Not Tragedy." And they got that guy off the stage. You can see J.Lo's like give me back that trophy.
M. O'BRIEN: You think they do that on purpose just so we put that on the next day? You know it's like that guy's just an actor? Just a thought.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow, you have finally really become a conspiracy theorist.
M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
Coming up on the program, a cancer fighting pioneer who may have made a huge breakthrough. An experimental treatment that teaches a body to destroy cancer on its own. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the house.
S. O'BRIEN: Plus, a New Orleans doctor and two nurses accused of killing patients in Katrina's aftermath. But could politics keep their case from going to trial? We'll take a look.
M. O'BRIEN: And amid the unrelenting violence in Iraq, a patch of peace. A story of success in the battle for Baghdad ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
Polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs could be headed to Utah as soon as today. He's charged with setting up marriages between underage girls and older men. He did not fight extradition yesterday in Las Vegas.
In Beslan, Russia, a memorial service on the second anniversary of the worst terror attack in that country's history. Three hundred and thirty-three people died when Islamic militants took over a school. Most of the victims were children and most died during a chaotic rescue effort. The first Italian troops expected to arrive in Lebanon this weekend. The Italian defense ministry says 800 will arrive in Tyre on Saturday. Another 200 in Beirut on Sunday. Part of that peacekeeping force of 15,000 there to keep the Israelis and Hezbollah and that cease-fire underway.
And New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is in New York City trying to attract business to New Orleans. The visit comes after Nagin criticized the rebuilding pace in lower Manhattan after 9/11. He referred to ground zero as a hole in the ground.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the city leader said, well that doesn't really help us.
M. O'BRIEN: No. It doesn't help anybody, really.
S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) New York. We'll see how he does today when he comes.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll see.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to medical news now. A possible big step forward in the fight against cancer. Using gene therapy, scientists have apparently been able to turn immune cells into tumor fighters. There's a study published today in the journal of "Science" and they're reporting that the experimental technique saved two men who had melanoma, which, of course, is a deadly skin cancer. And it's a skin cancer that affects a lot of folks. Sixty thousand Americans are diagnosed with melanoma every year and 8,000 of them are going to die. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more this morning on this revolutionary treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Mark Origer shared the dreams of many fathers I've met, to walk his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. But melanoma almost took that away from him. He was diagnosed with the deadly skin cancer in 1999. After an operation, it went away. But it came back three years later. And by 2004, his doctors in Wisconsin could find nothing that would slow its spread. It moved into his liver.
MARK ORIGER, CANCER PATIENT: I was just pretty much devastated when I found out that I did not respond. Right around that time my daughter got engaged and I knew there was going to be a wedding coming up and so there was concern. I wanted to be there.
GUPTA: And the chance of that happening wasn't very good. But then Mark found a clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. There a cancer fighting pioneer by the name of Dr. Steven Rosenberg was trying to create a new way to attack cancer. Not with a knife or chemotherapy or even radiation, but by teaching the human immune system to kill cancer all on its own. A remarkable idea. And one that doctors put to the test in clinical trials with Mark and 16 other patients diagnosed with melanoma. The doctors took some of the parent's immune cells, called lymphocytes, and added the genes of a virus that would teach them to seek out tumors, attached to them, and destroy them.
In 15 patients, the treatment didn't work. But in two so far the cancer appears to have completely disappeared. Mark was the first and more than a year and a half later he's still cancer-free. Although the approach is still in clinical trials, the results are published in the journal "Science."
DR. STEVEN ROSENBERG, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE: This is highly experimental treatment that we've used in only a few patients, but it represents a proof of the principle, for the first time to my knowledge, that you can actually genetically manipulate the human body and cause disease regression.
GUPTA: And, yes, Mark's other dream also came true as well. On September 17, 2005, he walked his daughter, Katie, down the aisle, virtually cancer-free.
ORIGER: It's a celebration. A celebration of life. It was the beginning of my daughter's life, her new life, and the beginning of my new life. I think I shook more through it than anybody.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Dr. Rosenberg should know by September 15th if the FDA has approved another clinical trial with an even more powerful gene therapy. He's also looking to expand his treatment to lung and ovarian and prostate cancers. If you want more information on clinical trials and how to qualify for them, you can go to www.clinicaltrials.gov.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, Houston, they have a problem. One year ago the welcome mat was out. Apparently not any more. We'll tell you why so many people in Houston are upset about Katrina evacuees.
And in New Orleans, those alleged mercy killings in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Remember that? Could it be the medical personnel who are charged may never see a jury? We'll have an answer for you on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer checking in on some vices today. Tobacco and booze.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it. That's my beat.
S. O'BRIEN: That beat rocks.
SERWER: It really does. Well, at least half of it does, let's put it that way.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, right.
SERWER: Sin companies . . .
S. O'BRIEN: A lot to talk about on the other half of it.
SERWER: Yes, that's right. Some sin companies to tell you about this morning.
On August 17th, Federal Judge Gladis Kessler (ph) ruled that it was misleading for tobacco companies to market some of their cigarettes as low tar or light. Now the tobacco companies are asking the judge if it's OK for them to market cigarettes as low tar and light overseas. In other words, the timeless question, do U.S. laws apply in foreign countries to U.S. businesses doing -- selling there wares there?
M. O'BRIEN: No, right?
SERWER: It's a very tricky question because what happens oftentimes is that the feds and regulators will connect those foreign businesses -- say bribery, which is illegal in the United States, it's less illegal in some countries. In some countries it's . . .
M. O'BRIEN: Encouraged somewhere.
SERWER: Some companies have gotten in trouble.
S. O'BRIEN: Wait, this is done in other places.
SERWER: Right. That's right. And some companies have gotten in trouble in bribery investigations began domestically and spread overseas.
M. O'BRIEN: I see. I see what you're saying.
SERWER: So interesting stuff there. And the cigarette companies are saying they'll be at a disadvantage because foreign tobacco companies will be able to sell cigarettes as light or low tar, so why shouldn't they be able to do that overseas.
M. O'BRIEN: So why not a foreign subsidiary then?
SERWER: Yes, and it's -- you can see the lawyers are going to have . . .
M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
SERWER: Now, on to the alcohol companies. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that alcohol companies seem to be violating a ban by advertising to youth. This is a study that was done about radio advertising and it suggests that booze companies are selling their wares to young people, to teenagers.
Here's how it works. The U.S. population -- 15 percent of the U.S. population is between the ages of 12 and 20. A radio station is considered youth oriented if it's audience is greater than that 15 percent. Then the CDC found that 49 percent of the liquor companies ads were on stations that were considered youth oriented.
M. O'BRIEN: So they're going for the youths.
SERWER: Yes, which doesn't surprise me. Meanwhile . . .
S. O'BRIEN: That's kind of a weird (INAUDIBLE).
SERWER: I know it's a little tangled to get there.
M. O'BRIEN: And these are beer spots on, you know, pop stations that would do that.
SERWER: Right. Exactly. And so they have a huge audience of young people and the CDC is saying it's not right.
S. O'BRIEN: But not even a huge. I mean, bigger than 15 percent.
SERWER: I could be, right, an outsized is the way to put. I agree with you, Soledad. I think its perhaps a bit of a stretch and you best believe that the liquor company's lawyers are going to say it's a bit of a stretch.
M. O'BRIEN: I should say.
SERWER: So that one is another to be continued.
M. O'BRIEN: And the theme is this segment is the lawyers win, right?
SERWER: The lawyers win and people are still smoking and drinking. That's (INAUDIBLE) too.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. And what do you have next?
SERWER: Next we're going to be talking about football because 'tis the season. And Madden football continues to do really well.
M. O'BRIEN: Ah, yes. OK. Excellent. See you in a bit.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Got a look at our top stories straight ahead.
We're tracking Tropical Storm Ernesto as it pummels the Carolina coast. Severe weather expert Chad Myers is telling us where it's headed next.
Plus, what's old is new again. But should this one come back? The automat. But it's not an ordinary vending machine food any more. They've updated it. SERWER: (INAUDIBLE).
S. O'BRIEN: Not that story.
That and much more ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
We're talking about Tropical Storm Ernesto this morning, and it is just saturating North Carolina. The storm, which is just below hurricane strength, made landfall last night. It's now headed north. Let's check in on what Ernesto's doing right now. Gilbert Baez of our affiliate WTVD is in Fayetteville, North Carolina today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GILBERT BAEZ, WTVD REPORTER: We're here in Fayetteville, which is the home of the airborne, just south of Fort Bragg here. We're about an hour from where the storm, maybe about 90 minutes, came ashore near Wilmington, North Carolina this morning. This is Cross Creek. And behind me, this is normally a pretty tranquil creek. And I'm going to move back a little back so photographer Jeff Finkel (ph) can push in a little bit. And you can see, we can take a kayak down this thing right now. This is one of the main tributaries that runs through Fayetville, and it feeds into the Cape Fear River here.
We've got some video that we shot a little bit earlier that we want to show you right now. The wind and the rain that did come down here overnight was pretty good, but not a category-one hurricane by any means; it was a tropical storm, and we were able to get the wind through here without too much damage. We did have some power lines down. We did have a little bit of wind damage, not much in the way of flooding.
So for the most part, we seemed to have dodged the bullet. So that's the main thing for us here in Fayetteville, North Carolina, we were able to get through the storm without too much of a problem, Soledad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BAEZ: That was Gilbert Baez reporting for us. he's in Fayetville.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Another deadly 24 hours in Baghdad. At least 46 people killed in a series of attacks. But amid all of the violence we've been telling you about, where is the U.S. succeeding?
CNN's Michael Holmes spent some time with U.S. troops and found just such a place.
Hello, Michael.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.
That's right, this week alone nearly 300 Iraqis have been killed, many times that number wounded in that string of attacks, and yet Operation Together Forward, that moving into problematic suburbs, continued. We travelled with a U.S. Army unit trying to build trust in one of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods as part of Operation Together Forward.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): Hamid is treated for a burn to his arm, a burn that's been untreated until now. Outside this makeshift clinic, for the first time in several months, locals in the usually violent Baghdad suburb of Gazaliya (ph) line up for medical treatment, courtesy of the Iraqi and U.S. military.
Until a couple weeks ago such a gathering in this Sunni neighborhood would likely have attracted death squads bent on killing these people and the troops who stand guard this day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's better now. Before we couldn't sleep. We were scared of the death squads that attacked us.
DR. HUY LUU, U.S. ARMY: The issue is having to feel safe, to be able to travel that short distance to go to the clinic.
HOLMES: It's all part of a security crackdown known as the battle for Baghdad, a massive influx of troops here in recent weeks, driving out death squads and uncovering arms caches like this one.
LT. COL. VANN SMILEY, U.S. ARMY: We found a variety of different weapons, ammunition, explosive devices, and different tools and things used to inflict injury on both coalition forces and Iraqi security forces.
HOLMES: For now, the operation is about maintaining a presence and building trust, what officers call protect and hold.
(on camera): It's also very much about winning hearts and minds, convincing locals like these people that it's in their own interest to reclaim their cities and resist the return of insurgents.
(voice-over): The soldiers who brought us are friendly but wary. Incidents of violence here are down 50 percent, but far from over. The day before a kidnapping, and a bomb went off. Twenty-four hours after we came here with this unit of the 123 Stryker (ph) Brigade a massive bomb hit one of their vehicles on the very road we drove along. Two soldiers were killed, others hurt.
Soon, U.S. troops will pull back, Iraqi troops will patrol, but much of the peace keeping will be in the hands of Iraqi police, and that is problematic. In this staunchly Sunni area, the predominantly Shia police are feared and hated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's the police who kill us. We don't trust them.
HOLMES: Gazaliya locals still live in fear and filth. Garbage strewn streets, most shops still shuttered. Here we patrol through a pool of raw sewage. But it's the return of those death squads they fear most of all bringing some measure of quiet to these streets is one thing; keeping it is another.
(on camera): You think it will stay this way, quieter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope so. I don't think so, but I hope so.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And now, Miles, trying to make men like that, he's a local doctor, by the way, more hopeful about their future, is the aim of the operation. The concern is when those troops pull out, the American troops in particular, the insurgents might come back in. And as it was, as we said in that report, a particularly bad day for that Stryker unit, their first casualties 24 hours after that patrol, two men killed -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael, obviously huge language, cultural gaps between the troops and the people in that area. How do they bridge that gap?
HOLMES: Yes, Well, when they go out on patrols like that, they have their own translators, Iraqis who really risk their lives. I remember a few months doing a story just on the translators, and the numbers who have been killed doing that job. That's who they use when they go out, and they communicate with the Iraqi military, and the police and the locals through those translators. But there still is a large gap to bridge, you are quite right -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Michael Holmes in Baghdad, thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, lots of Katrina victims say the insurance companies aren't paying up, because they're too focused on the bottom line. Could be, though, a good thing in the long run. We'll explain as we look at our series "Red Tape and Rubble."
M. O'BRIEN: And just how hungry do you have to be to buy a burger from one of these machines? The automat returns, hopefully with some new food in there. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A little bit of news just coming into us right now, word of an incident involving an Iranian airliner. This is from the northeastern city of Mashad (ph). Apparently an airliner there caught fire somewhere in the course of landing, 60 are known dead, 80 have been evacuated according to various reports from wire service reports. As soon as we get more information on that, we'll bring it to you. That's in Mashad, not Tehran, as you see on the map there -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: New Orleans judge is now backing down, at least for now, from his threats to release prisoners who've been jailed for months without a hearing. The city is backlogged with cases since Hurricane Katrina. And the judge told the D.A. he's got to start weeding out cases that don't stand a chance, beginning with misdemeanors.
In Houston, Texas, the mayor is adding 140 police officers to the city's west side. The move comes after more than 1,700 west Houston residents told the mayors that they want Katrina victims out of their neighborhoods, blaming evacuees them for violent crime rates that have increased almost 14 percent in just one district.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just want you to understand our situation in this community, and we appreciate your work and your hard work that you've done. But we want the New Orleans residents to go home.
(APPLAUSE))
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can't walk to a park that was put in that is wonderful without being accosted. I want to know what y'all are going to do about it, or do we have to take it into our own hands?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: One year ago today, perhaps one of the most shocking stories following Hurricane Katrina was developing. Louisiana's attorney general says desperate medical workers murdered patients in order to speed up the evacuation of a New Orleans hospital.
CNN's investigative reporter Drew Griffin's been covering another twist to this story. He's at the CNN Center in Atlanta this morning.
Hey, Drew, good morning.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
You know, despite arrest of a popular doctor and two nurses charged in the deaths of these four parents, this case may never go to trial. Why? Some say it may be boiling down to good old New Orleans politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): It was a shocking photo, bodies of Katrina's dead lined up inside the chapel of New Orleans Memorial Hospital. Another shock came weeks later when this doctor, Bryant King, told CNN some of the dead may not have been victims of the conditions after the hurricane, but victims of medical professionals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked around, and one of the other physicians had a handful of syringes. And the only thing I heard her say is I'm going to give you something to make you feel better.
GRIFFIN: Louisiana's attorney general, Charles Foti, said he couldn't ignore the stories of possible patient killings at Memorial Hospital.
CHARLES FOTI. LA. ATTY. GEN.: Family members reported suspicious deaths. Life-care hospitals (ph) self reported suspicious deaths. A number of state agencies called up and said that they had complaint complaints on suspicious deaths, and so once we had this information, we are mandated under federal law to start an investigation.
GRIFFIN: And what he discovered was showing.
FOTI: This is not euthanasia; this is a homicide.
GRIFFIN: In July, Foti announced the arrest of Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses, Sherry Landry (ph) and Laurie Budo (ph), on charges of second-degree murder of four patients. But while Foti can arrest and bring charges, the local prosecutor must bring the case to trial. And so far the Orleans parish attorney, Eddie Jordan, who now has the case, won't say what he's decided to do.
(on camera): Like everything else in this city, it may be boiling down to politics. District attorney Eddy Jordan has refused to discuss this investigation, at least with CNN. What we have learned is that lobbyists for the hospital have talked to Mr. Jordan about this case, and so have many attorneys, who do not want to see the case go any further.
(voice-over): Mr. Jordan says that it's common for lawyers to talk to him about their cases, but it doesn't affect his decision. It is the latest of many twists in the year since Katrina.
Charles Foti sat down to explain why he pursued this case.
(on camera): Was it difficult for you to believe this could have happened?
FOTI: Absolutely. My brother is a doctor, a number of my family members are either doctors or former assistant (ph) nurses, physical techs. You want to believe that everything happened right.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): But critics accuse Foti of rushing to judgment, grandstanding, disregarding the horrible conditions inside the hospital after Katrina, blaming medical professionals for the government's and hospital owner's failure to evacuate.
FOTI: This is not a broad-brush investigation; this is specific fact. As those facts came to light, it proved that these people, these suspicious deaths, were not suspicious, that there was the possibility of homicide.
GRIFFIN: Foti says the case remains open, and sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN as many as five more patients may have been killed, and others could be charged. Attorneys for the three medical workers say their clients will plead not guilty, and friends and family of the accused like Dr. Anna Pou's brother and sister, say Foti's got it all wrong.
MICHAEL POU, DR. POU'S BROTHER: They were there. They didn't cut and run. It was unbearable conditions. They, along with many other doctors and nurses, worked through it. And to have this, you know, after the fact is just unbelievable. From people who in my biased opinion have no idea what was going on, the attorney general in particular.
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GRIFFIN: District attorney Jordan's only comment is that he will decide if the evidence warrants going forward, regardless of public opinion, Soledad. But in another twist a local radio station reports that one of Mr. Jordan's own staffers was polling callers to his office, asking if the case should be brought to trial. Jordan says the staff member did it on their own, and says that -- quote -- "That was stupid."
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet he feels that way, especially since we're talking about it today. Drew griffin on the story. You know, the twists and turns just keep going.
Drew, thanks -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Up next on the program, Andy "Minding Your Business."
Hello, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hello, Miles.
What's the hottest selling video game of all time? I'll give you a hint. The game's namesake hates to fly. There's a couple famous people like that. Think about it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Up ahead, a blast from the culinary past, the return of the automat. But is this souped-up vending machine going to do it? It has a modern twist to it, which maybe will entice you. I don't know, though. I'm not very hungry looking at that right now.
Stay with us.
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S. O'BRIEN: Are you someone on the go? Are you strapped for a little cash? Maybe you're just nostalgic? Easy for me to say. There's a unique eatery that opened in New York this week that might be right up your alley if all of those things apply to you. It's a blast from the past, got a little bit of a modern twist, though.
CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Knock, knock, who's there? A Spam mosavi (ph)? A peanut butter and jelly empinada (ph)?
(on camera): Pizza dumplings?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to try it?
MOOS: Pizza dumplings?
(voice-over): This isn't mere vending-machine food. This marks the return of the Automat. Celebrated in movies like "Easy Living" and "That Touch of Mink." Normally hands don't come out. Pie did. Back in the early 1900s, you put in nickels, then help yourself to everything from baked beans to creamed spinach. But now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want a bite?
MOOS (on camera): Yes.
(voice-over): Now there's macaroni and cheese croquet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, that is so good!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And teriyaki burgers, and...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A pig in a blanket?
MOOS: A king-size blanket.
This was the grand opening of Bamn!. So what if there's no place to sit, the food is cheap, most items are under two bucks.
(on camera): How fresh is this going to be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is made directly behind the machines.
MOOS (voice-over): There are about four people back in the kitchen, cooking and reloading the shelves.
(on camera): How do we know that this isn't an ancient teri- burger?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have timers on the back. If anything sits more than 15 minutes, we throw it away.
MOOS (voice-over): Hard to believe they throw delicasees like the peanut and jelly empinada. Or everyone's favorite.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm waiting for more croquets.
MOOS: Even senior editors from "Food and Wine" magazine graced the opening of this humble automat, waiting for macaroni and cheese encased in fried breading.
Another food editor snapped photos of Spam on sushi rice. LAREN SPIRER, FOOD EDITOR, GOTHAMIST.COM: I like the saltiness paired with the teriyaki, the sweetness.
MOOS: The three New Yorkers who created Bamn! dream of an empire of automats some day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like a drunk person in the street, and, like, coming out of the bar late at night.
MOOS: Or a kid's dream. This one got a pig in a blanket for his sleeping brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sure you don't want to see him mad.
MOOS (on camera): Hot dog, Nicholas!
(voice-over): No luck. In the Internet age when spam usually comes via computer, the old-fashioned automat has picked itself up off the mat.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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S. O'BRIEN: Plus, here is the great news. Bamn! is open 24 hours a day, and it's designed for speed. I'd try that. I'm convinced.
M. O'BRIEN" What?
The empinadas, the croquets with mac and cheese.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: You're going to go there. I think I'd have to be pretty darn hungry to try that.
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: That indigestion is fun.
S. O'BRIEN: No, it looks good.
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