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Blitzer and President Bush; Hungary Havoc; Al Qaeda In Iraq
Aired September 21, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Watch the news unfold live on Thursday, September 21st. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
President Bush telling CNN absolutely he'd send U.S. troops into Pakistan to get Osama bin Laden. Not so fast says Pakistan.
COLLINS: Falling health care costs. Wal-Mart comes up with a prescription to slash generic drug prices.
HARRIS: And safe at home. Space shuttle Atlantis comes down before the sun comes up. You're in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The world's most wanted terrorist fugitive. How far would U.S. forces go to get Osama bin Laden? President Bush says as far as it takes, even if it's inside Pakistan's borders. The president made the comments in an exclusive interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The president also talked about other issues from Iran and Iraq to the search for bin Laden. Here now Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): With New York's scarred skyline behind us, President Bush made it clear he still wants Osama bin Laden dead or alive. And he says he'd order U.S. forces to go inside Pakistan to get him and other top al Qaeda leaders.
If you had good actionable intelligence in Pakistan where they were, would you give the order to kill him or capture him?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely.
BLITZER: And go into Pakistan?
BUSH: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Even though the Pakistanis say that's their sovereign territory?
BUSH: Absolutely. We would take the action necessary to bring him to justice.
BLITZER: A quick and angry response from the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf. PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: No, we wouldn't like to allow that at all. We will do it ourselves. We would like to do it ourselves.
BLITZER: I sat down with President Bush a day after he and the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave dulling speeches at the United Nations. Mr. Bush defended his decision not to meet with Ahmadinejad, saying the U.S. will talk to Iran only if it suspends its nuclear activities.
Do you think they would drop a bomb or launch a missile on Israel?
BUSH: Wolf, my judgment is, you've got to take everybody's word seriously in this world. You can't -- again, you can't just hope for the best. You've got to assume that the leader, when he says that he would like to destroy Israel, means what he says.
BLITZER: Ahmadinejad is working to strengthen his ties to Iraq, embracing the Iraqi leader, Nuri al-Maliki, on a recent visit to Tehran. But Maliki still gets a vote of confidence from President Bush.
BUSH: These people want a unity government. The unity government's functioning. I'm impressed by President Maliki.
BLITZER: Here at home, President Bush appears to be giving new ground on immigration. An issue that has divided his party. A bill to build a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border is making its way through Congress.
Even though it's not part of what you want, comprehensive immigration reform, if the Senate passes what the House has passed, will you sign it into law?
BUSH: Yes, I'll sign it into law.
BLITZER: The president, clearly hoping to strengthen the hand of Republican candidates in the lead-up to the November election.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You can join Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room" weekdays at 4:00 p.m. Eastern and again in primetime at 7:00.
The rugged mountains of Pakistan, a suspected hiding place for Osama bin Laden. Are the U.S. and Pakistan at odds over the hunt for the terrorist fugitive? A closer look coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: It may be just what the spin doctor ordered. Just last hour, the world's largest retailer announced a major health care initiative. Critics have long accused Wal-Mart of providing inadequate healthcare for its employees. But this plan to slash the price of generic drugs could also benefit you. To explain, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis.
Gerri, good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
HARRIS: So, Gerri, spell this out for us. What does all this mean?
WILLIS: Well, here's the deal. Wal-Mart says it plans to start selling generic prescription drugs to its workers and customers at sharply reduced prices. The discount retailer will offer nearly 300 widely prescribed drugs, some for as low as $4 for a 30 day prescription. Right now, a month supply runs anywhere from between $10 and $30.
Now at first the cheap drugs will only be available in Tampa, Florida. That's where Wal-Mart is testing out the program. But it will be available throughout Florida in January. And if it's successful, the retail giant could soon role out cheaper generics nationwide.
Tony.
HARRIS: OK. So, Gerri, what does this mean for you and me?
WILLIS: Well, this could have widespread implications. At first it means the obvious, generic alternatives to brand name drugs will be much cheap are than ever before. And Wal-Mart says the price will be the same for customers whether or not they have insurance.
That's right. If you're one of those 45 million Americans without health care insurance, you can get these generics at $4 a pop. Now, if the program is expanded, industry experts say other retailers could be forced to follow suit in order to compete, and that could hurt profits.
Here's an interesting fact. Generics are actually much more profitable for pharmacies than brand name drugs. Of course, Wal-Mart stands to benefit as well. Its pharmacy business has been struggling lately.
Tony.
HARRIS: So, Gerri, as you know, Wal-Mart has come under fire for the benefits it offers to its employees. Could this change all of that?
WILLIS: You bet. Critics have complained that health insurance is out of reach for many of Wal-Mart's more than 1 million U.S. workers. Now, as I mentioned, this program will give Wal-Mart's employees access to many, many common drugs and for very little money, whether or not they have insurance. Back in April, you may remember Wal-Mart extended health coverage to the children of its part time workers.
Tony. HARRIS: OK. Gerri, appreciate it, thank you.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Nice to be back. Those words from the Atlantis commander just after touching down this morning. The astronauts, seen here emerging from the shuttle about two hours or so ago, pretty happy smiles on their faces. Atlantis glided into the Kennedy Space Center just before sunrise. Our Daniel Sieberg is covering the mission. He's joining us now live from Florida.
Yeah, they're back!
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a round of cheers here, I think, for NASA. They're very happy with how things went, the landing and the mission itself.
We can give you a live shot now of shuttle Atlantis as it sits on runway 33, getting some final checks before it's towed back to the orbiter processing facility. That's sort of the nose-on shot of it there.
You mentioned the crew emerging about two hours ago, led by Commander Brent Jett. They got a quick medical exam as they came out of that mobile transporter unit, came down the stairs there, met some of the NASA officials. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin among them. The five men and one woman.
They got a chance to look at the underbelly of shuttle Atlantis. Those protective heat shield tiles, which have been talked about so much over the last couple of days and really over the last couple of years since Columbia. But when they were checking out some of that mysterious debris, they had to do a further inspection, make sure they were OK to land.
And let's go ahead and run that landing video. We've got sort of a pilot perspective. This is the heads-up display. As you can see them approaching runway 33, coming from the southeast here at Kennedy Space Center. Commander Brent Jett bringing it down.
This runway about 15,000 feet long. They've touched down at 6:21 a.m. Eastern Time. Predawn hours. It was dark here. It was before sunrise. It comes down like a glider. They describe it as like landing a falling brick. They have a one opportunity to bring it down. Once they do that de-orbit burn, the drag chute opens and it's stopped about 10,000 feet down.
They got a good look at the shuttle itself and everybody very pleased with the way it went. The weather cooperated here. Nothing to report in terms of anything -- any problems post-landing.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Oh, it looks good. Love to see that instrumentation there. Right from the pilot's bird's eye view.
Daniel, thanks.
I guess the next shuttle flight looking about December 14th, maybe even earlier?
SIEBERG: Yes, there's a possibility they could actually get it off the ground December 7th. That would be Discovery. Again, all of this has to do with completing the International Space Station by 2010. The highlight of this mission, three space walks. And the highlight really was unfurling these massive solar arrays. They will eventually double the power up there at the ISS. And such a critical part of this mission.
COLLINS: Daniel Sieberg watching it all. Wish I was there. All right, Daniel, thank you.
A wealthy Dallas businesswoman joins an elite class of tourists. An interview with her from space coming up in the NEWSROOM next hour.
HARRIS: Extra duty in Iraq. Plenty of troops are pulling it and some are paying the ultimate price. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr reports on the losses suffered by the 172nd Striker Brigade.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): These soldiers should have been home by now, back with their families. But the Army's 172nd Striker Brigade drew the ultimate short straw. Just as they were headed back to their base in Alaska last month, from a year- long tour of duty, they were ordered to stay in Iraq. Now, they are patrolling and sometimes dying in Baghdad's toughest neighborhoods.
Sergeant Joey Davis was killed when his striker vehicle struck an IED. Now, Joey's brother, Andy, will meet his new sister-in-law for the first time at his brother's funeral.
ANDY DAVIS, BROTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: I got an e-mail that said, hey, I got married, right before he shipped out.
STARR: Andy knew his brother was in danger.
DAVIS: I guess the last time my mom spoke with him two weeks ago, the part of the city where he died, he was telling her he was going there and he described it as the ghetto. One of the worst places to be.
STARR: Candace Jordan was hearing the same thing from her son, Corporal Alexander Jordan, after the unit was ordered to stay in Iraq.
CANDACE JORDAN, MOTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: I think it's where I really became alarmed.
STARR: Alexander's e-mails were grim.
JORDAN: He wrote me an e-mail about a week ago and he said, mom, he said, I hate to tell you this, but he says, those people are trying to kill us.
STARR: She knew what had happened when there was that knock at the door.
JORDAN: I know exactly what to expect. I know who to expect. And that was my worst nightmare. I think it would be any mother's nightmare. I never, ever expected to see them at my door.
STARR: And Staff Sergeant Eugene Alex, killed on patrol in Baghdad. Three soldiers scheduled to have been back home with their families, ordered to stay in Iraq, killed in the last three weeks.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surging groups in the U.S. military now say al Qaeda has become the darkest core of Iraq's insurgency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Bush administration has its view on the war in Iraq, the insurgents have theirs. Coming up, we'll hear from al Qaeda commanders in Iraq.
HARRIS: And is it possibly the clue investigators have been looking for? Narrowing the search in the spinach scare. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM..
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Protestors in Hungary concerned about security. They're postponing rallies planned for the weekend. Three days of street protests turned bloody in Hungry this week. CNN's Nic Robertson is in the capital, Budapest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): For a third night, the most violent demonstrations Budapest has seen in decades. Volleys of pepper gas were fired as running battles between youths and police erupted along the historic boulevards of his ancient European capital. In one incident, a protestor was hit in the head by a pepper gas canister, fired directly at the crowd.
It's a different mood from the previous night. The police are much more in control. They seem to be running the demonstrators off the streets before the demonstrators can take control themselves.
But increasingly, divisions are opening within the ranks of the protestors. Divisions over how to protest. Violently, clashing with police, or peacefully, as thousands were outside parliament.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority accept the democratic laws, the democratic behavior and the aversive things are not included in the democratic voice (ph).
ROBERTSON: Among peaceful protesters, concern is violence will undermine their goal to force Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany to quit.
The people in the crowd here are so intent on showing us they oppose violence, they brought us here to see this lady saying, this shows we're not hooligans.
But in the nightly violence against the prime minister's admission of lies and economic reforms, the root of the country's biggest problem is being overshadowed. The budget deficit is dangerously high.
GYORGY JAKSITY, ECONOMIC ANALYST: Hungary will find it more and more difficult and more and more expensive to finance its deficits. And that's a real danger.
ROBERTSON: In a telling assessment of who economists think is best for the country, Hungary's financial markets have not been worried so much by the violence, as demands the prime minister, who leads the economic reforms, step down.
JAKSITY: The markets only became nervous after there was talk about the possible resignation of Mr. Gyurcsany.
ROBERTSON: On the contrary, as the demonstrations continue, Prime Minister Gyurcsany shows no signs of stepping down. He believes the controversy over his leaked admission of lying, which he says was taken out of context, strengthens his hand for economic reform because he challenged his party to face the truth about the country's dire economic situation.
FERNEC GYURCSANY, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER: It's been lately stronger. I have enough support and I have enough commitment to do that.
ROBERTSON: The showdown is far from over. The protestors say they'll continue and the justice minister says he's considering much tougher restrictions on public gatherings.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Budapest, Hungary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And our Nic Robertson is meeting with the leader of Hungary's opposition party right now as we speak. Nic will join us with a live report in the next hour, tell us what he learned right here in CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Well, Thailand's new military leader is consolidating power today. They are banning political meetings and taking over parliament's legislative powers. On the streets, it's more or less business as usual in Bangkok. Cars jammed roadways as soldiers kept watch. Many schools and government offices reopened for the first time since the takeover. The Bush administration, for its part, is denouncing the coup. It says future trade talks with Thailand depend on the restoration of democracy.
From the fields, to the produce aisle, the E. Coli outbreak exposes a huge hole in food safety. That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get a quick check of the early action on Wall Street this morning. The big board. The Dow, as you can see, down 19 points inside the first hour of the trading day. The Nasdaq down 6. We'll continue to follow that throughout the morning for you.
COLLINS: One health official is calling it the smoking gun in the E. Coli outbreak. An opened bag of baby spinach left in a refrigerator. The person who ate it got sick from the bacteria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAMANTHA CABALUNA, NATURAL SELECTION FOODS: The New Mexico Department of Health has announced a link to E. Coli 0157 in an opened, leftover bag of spinach from a case patient. The product was conventional spinach that they've been testing and the strain matched the outbreak strain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Experts have narrowed their search now for the source of the contamination to growers in three California counties. At last check, 146 cases of E. Coli, including one death, have been reported in 23 states.
HARRIS: Let's talk a little more about the spinach scare now. It's raising new questions about our food from the farmers' fields to your family's table. Is enough being done to safeguard food? CNN's Greg Hunter takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Gwen Welburn (ph) is one of more than 100 people who recently got sick after eating E. Coli contaminated spinach
GWEN WELBURN: And I just said, try everything you can. I don't care what it is, just try to save me.
HUNTER: Her lungs are now badly damaged and her kidneys shutting down. Welburn is just one example of why food safety is so critical. The recent spinach outbreak is another in a long line of severe problems involving produce. In 2003, 650 people got sick and four died from contaminated raw onions served in Chi-Chi's, a national restaurant chain. Three years later you may ask, is our produce any safer?
CAROLINE SMITH DEWAAL, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Produce outbreaks are growing in terms of the absolute number of outbreaks occurring each year. Also, they're larger than other types of outbreaks. For example, from meat, poultry or seafood.
HUNTER: There are no mandatory safeguards in place to protect people from things like E. Coli, just voluntary guidelines from the FDA. Things like farm water must not contain runoff from cattle pastures. Farm workers must use bathrooms and wash their hands. Farm equipment should be kept clean. Sounds like common sense, but should these voluntary guidelines be mandatory? The FDA says commercial buyers already insist on it.
DR. ROBERT BRACKETT, FDA: Many of the buyers of these products already have specifications that they require good agricultural practices and good manufacturing practices and have that written right into their guidelines. So whether or not the government has required this in real life, they're expected to have this by the purchasers.
HUNTER: But are voluntary guidelines really enough to protect the public from getting sick?
DEWAAL: The FDA is relying on the produce industry to police itself. They've implemented no mandatory standards. They're relying on voluntary guidance and letters to the industry to control what is a growing public health problem.
HUNTER: Is produce being inspected by the government anywhere in the food chain, from farm fields, to store shelves? According to consumer advocacy group CSPI, not regularly.
DEWAAL: USDA regulates meat and poultry products and they have federal inspectors in those plants every single day. But FDA almost never visits a farm or even the processing plants that produce the fresh lettuce and the vegetables and spinach that we're consuming every day.
HUNTER: Resources for inspections are a problem and the FDA agrees there is need for improvement.
BRACKETT: We are doing more. Now could more be done? Absolutely. And we're insisting that more be done in the future. But what we're trying to do is get a good science-based way or exact points where these improvements can be made.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Greg Hunter is part of the team covering the world for "Paula Zahn Now." Watch tonight and every weeknight 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Insurgent groups and the U.S. military now say al Qaeda has become the darkest core of Iraq's insurgency.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: The Bush administration has its view on the war in Iraq. The insurgents have theirs. Up next, you'll hear from al Qaeda commanders in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Katricians (ph) themselves are quoted as saying, the crime rate is going to go up if they don't get more free rent. Then it's time to get your concealed handgun license.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: On the air and under the gun. A Houston radio host says arm yourself against Katrina evacuees. That story in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: If al Qaeda wasn't in Iraq before the war, it is now. CNN's Michael Ware looks at the status of the terror group in Iraq. It's a story you will see only on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Until now, most communications from al Qaeda in Iraq have been carefully crafted videos like this one. Showing the shooting down of a U.S. apache helicopter. What's unprecedented about this video is we hear from al Qaeda in English.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to let you know, that our lives are nothing beside our religion. We will bomb everything.
WARE: Insurgent groups in the U.S. military now say al Qaeda has become the darkest core of Iraq's insurgency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to let you know that we have to die as you have to live.
WARE: An organization so secretive that despite seized documents, intelligence and interrogations, the U.S. military still struggles to know how it works.
COL. SEAN MCFARLAND, ST BRIGADE, 1ST ARMORED DIVISION: We don't have a 100 percent understanding of that, and the enemy tries very hard to keep us from understanding.
WARE: There have been successes -- cells disrupted, leaders captured. And most stunning of all, the founder of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, executed in a U.S. air strike. But reality on the ground suggests the U.S. military is far from crippling the deadly network.
Abu Khalid al-Raqi (ph) is a top commander from the powerful alliance of local Islamic insurgent groups. In his first television interview, he tells CNN Zarqawi's death brought change, but not what the U.S. had in mind. Instead, younger, even more radical al Qaeda leaders.
ABU KHALID AL-RAQI (ph) (through translator): Al-Zarqawi is one person, and al Qaeda is thousands of people.
WARE: Local Sunni insurgent groups more moderate than al Qaeda and Iraqi nationalists, mostly from Saddam's former military, agree: al Qaeda is becoming stronger. Listen to this nationalist insurgent commander. He says al Qaeda's decentralized structure, seemingly endless money and growing support in and out of Iraq is overpowering local guerrilla groups.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Al Qaeda's leadership is different. But as an idea, it has expanded. Because most other groups, pressured between U.S. forces and al Qaeda have had leaders killed or captured, and al Qaeda took over their fighters.
WARE: That's an assessment shared by many in the U.S. military. American commanders like Sean McFarland confront the al Qaeda-led insurgency every day.
MCFARLAND: What we're trying to do here is counteract the strong presence of al Qaeda that's intermixed with some lingering Baathist influence.
WARE: Four months ago, Abu Khalid's (ph) insurgent group was distancing itself from al Qaeda. Now, he says, there's no difference at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Al Qaeda works within the resistance and is part of the resistance.
WARE: The Sunni groups say fear of civil war with Shiites in control of the Iraqi government and unchecked Iranian interference is driving them to al Qaeda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): America came to Iraq saying it would free us from turning into a dictatorship, but that hasn't happened because the U.S. increased power of the Shia religious organizations, gave them the government, and we regard this as giving power to Iran.
WARE: If so, it is Zarqawi's most enduring legacy, his plan all along to spark sectarian conflict and draw Sunni insurgents to al Qaeda's cause. The insurgents say al Qaeda's hard line is gaining traction where there was little before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the nationalist forces become weak, that leaves al Qaeda as a strong force in the area.
WARE: Yet the U.S. military is still hoping disillusioned moderate Sunnis reject al Qaeda.
MCFARLAND: Al Qaeda is herding them back toward us. So, to an extent that Sunnis may be trapped between the devil and deep blue sea.
WARE: But Sunni insurgents know one day the United States will leave Iraq and they believe al Qaeda will not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Michael Ware joining us now live from Baghdad.
And Michael, it seems like these more moderates that we're talking about here are having to make a choice between either going with the desires of the U.S. military or the desires of the insurgency. Which is it? How do they make that decision?
WARE: Well, there's a number of factors. I mean, what we're talking about here, particularly -- I mean, apart from the broader Sunni community, which is in the exact same position, and they're also drifting towards the hard line -- we're talking about members of Saddam's former military and his intelligence apparatus. The Baathists, the professional soldiers.
Now, the U.S. has been in secret negotiations or discussions with these people for 18 months now, and that's what Khalizad is now talking openly about it. So these guys say we tested you out, we reached out to you and you have failed us and you've failed yourself. We're left with no choice. You let these pro-Iranians take over, you're going to leave us defenseless. Our only friend will be al Qaeda. We're now seeing that shift. They say we tried, you failed, you've left us no choice -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And you talk about the decentralized structure of all of that and the endless money. Where does the U.S. military go next? I mean, do you think that they're confident with knowing exactly where all that funding for this insurgency is really coming from?
WARE: Well, they admit that they only have broad ideas about the channels which bring the money in. It's generally known that they're tipping into traditional al Qaeda donors in oil rich Gulf states. However, we're also seeing President Bush, in his recent speeches, put Iraq as the centerpiece of his global war on terror, which is odd, because so does Osama bin Laden.
And both of them, President Bush and bin Laden, point to Al Anbar province as the main front in that fight. And President Bush warned about al Qaeda's plans to take over the government there. Well, we already see evidence of that. They've so heavily infiltrated the Ramadi provincial government that they've capitalized, dominated the oil industry. And they control all oil distribution to the capital in that province. They are benefiting, according to the U.S., between $400,000 to $600,000 every month from that, and that goes to fund operations against Americans -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, it goes without saying it's getting more and more complicated every day. Michael Ware, live from Baghdad this morning. Michael, thanks.
The U.S. military calls it a clear sign of progress in one corner of Iraq. Iraqis now in charge of another piece of real estate in the south. Italian troops today handed over Dhi Qar province to Iraqi security forces. It is the second of Iraq's 18 provinces now to revert to Iraqi control. Iraq is responsible for security in those two provinces, but they can call in coalition troops if they need help.
HARRIS: In Green Bay, Wisconsin, charges are expected to be filed against the suspects accused of plotting a Columbine-style school attack. School administrators and police were tipped off by a fellow student. Matt Atkinson is being hailed as a hero. Police say they turned up a large cache of weapons at the homes of two of the students. A former student was also arrested. Atkinson says he regards the alleged plotters as friends, but he said he would not have been able to live with himself if they had acted.
Baby Abby is safe and sound. Now, the woman accused of taking her heads to court. Shannon Torrez is due to be arraigned today on kidnapping, assault and other charges. Authorities say the 36-year- old Torrez abducted Abigale Woods from her rural Missouri home last week after slashing her mother's throat. The infant was returned Tuesday after Torrez's relatives recognized the infant. Authorities are also looking into Torrez's claim she had a child that was stillborn the very same day. If Torrez is convicted, she could face life in prison.
COLLINS: Indictment in Louisiana. The owners of a flooded nursing home facing charges of negligent homicide and cruelty. Thirty-five patients died at St. Rita's when Hurricane Katrina hit. The owners did not evacuate them. The home was located in St. Bernard Parish, an area virtually washed out by Katrina. An attorney for the owners, Salvador and Mabel Mangano, blames the death on the city's failed levees. The case is the first major criminal prosecution arising from Hurricane Katrina.
HARRIS: The hunt for Osama bin Laden and his top deputy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If you had good applicable intelligence in Pakistan where they were, would you give the order to kill him or capture him?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely.
BLITZER: And go into Pakistan?
BUSH: Absolutely.
PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: We will do it ourselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Pakistan's leader takes issue with President Bush over how far U.S. forces should go.
COLLINS: Thailand after the coup. A return to normal for some, but questions about the road ahead. A closer look in the NEWSROOM.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Bright lights, exotic ambience. Bangkok is a big draw for tourists, but could the coup change that and deal a major blow to the economy?
CNN's Dan Rivers takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bangkok's famous backpacker hangout, the Cossan (ph) Road, was bustling as normal. Even though the city is under military occupation, there's more chance of being run over by an SUV than a tank.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just came in from Kohang (ph) today, heard there was something going on, but not exactly sure what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been wandering around here for three days.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were -- we saw soldiers, but we don't know why for, and we don't worry, because all people around are smiling, so...
RIVERS (on camera): Everything seems OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, I hope.
RIVERS: But nearby, it's a very different scene. The army has been tightening its grip on power across the city. Many here are greeting the troops almost as heroes. This coup's been well received by the urban middle classes. And officials insisting there's no reason for tourists to cancel their holidays.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody is scared. You can see everybody is happy.
RIVERS: And Thais desperately want to preserve Bangkok's party atmosphere. Tourism is a vital industry here, and they're praying the coup won't burst that bubble.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: I guess this is business news we want to share with you right now. This happening in New York right now. You're looking at Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire, businessman, adventurer.
COLLINS: Hot air balloonist.
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes.
Branson making the announcement that he is committing $3 billion over the next 10 years to combating global warming. Branson making that announcement, as you can see, right now, in New York City, where former President Clinton, right behind Sir Richard, is holding his Clinton Global Initiative Conference. Let me see if I can sort this out better for you. Branson is committing to investing 100 percent of all future proceeds to the Virgin Group from Branson's transportation interest. That includes trains and airline businesses, and then that money will then be directed to tackling global warming.
So that announcement just minutes ago. The press conference ongoing right now. Billionaire British businessman Richard Branson committing $3 billion over the next 10 years to combating global warming.
COLLINS: And speaking of money, a wealthy Dallas businesswoman joins a very elite class of tourists. An interview with her from space, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
And then, flying high, our own Kyra Phillips, three years ago -- look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I've good on the hand salute. And we are just about to go. And here it comes.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes!
COLLINS: Yes, it gets kind of addicting, doesn't it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Barf bag, anyone?
HARRIS: The U.S. Navy invited Kyra to take one final ride before saying goodbye to the F-14 Tomcat.
Next hour, her exclusive live report from the fighter squadron. This launched shock and awe.
HARRIS: And mixed-up medications -- medical mistakes that can be deadly doses. We will tell you how to protect yourself. That is straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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HARRIS: The wrong medication, even the wrong dose, they can kill. In Indianapolis, three premature infants died after they accidentally got an adult dose of blood thinner.
CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are some of the most vulnerable patients in any hospital, so small and fragile. Preemies need around-the-clock care.
But over the weekend in the neonatal unit at Indianapolis's Methodist Hospital, a tragic medicine mixup. A half a dozen newborn infants were accidentally given adult doses of an anti-blood clotting drug.
SAM ODLE, METHODIST HOSPITAL CEO: Viles with an inappropriately high level of Heparin, a blood-thinning agent, were mistakenly administered to six infants in place of those with the lower correct dose.
GUPTA: Two of the babies died. One remains in critical condition. The three other babies recovered from the overdoses.
An investigation is under way.
Hospital officials say a pharmacy technician with 25 years experience accidentally delivered vials with the wrong dosage. The vials apparently looked identical to the ones used for premies.
ODLE: When something like this occurs, we're all affected from the nurses at the bedside to the CEO.
GUPTA: Tragically, what happened in Indiana is not uncommon, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine, the IOM. Here's what it found. On average, a hospital patient is subject to at least one medication error a day, and at least 400,000 hospital patients are injured or killed by medication mixups each year. Dr. Albert Wu served on the IOM committee and is an expert on patient safety.
DR. ALBERT WU, JOHNS HOPKINS RESEARCHER: I would have to say that I was actually shocked.
GUPTA: Every year, hospitals spend more than $3.5 billion treating medical mistakes that happen on their watch.
ILENE CORINA, PULSE OF AMERICA: The government knows about this. The hospitals and health care professionals know about this. We need to be working together to make sure it ends now.
GUPTA: Ilene Corina is a patient safety advocate who read the report.
CORINA: I think that the consumers should be demanding to know why these errors happen.
GUPTA: The reasons aren't simple, but a combination of computer glitch, fatigue, poor communication and illegible handwriting are to blame.
While some medicine mishaps are inevitable, the good news, says the IOM report, there are ways to prevent the majority of mistakes. It suggests hospitals invest more in technology.
WU: A simple thing that could be done is to adopt electronic prescription writing. This would virtually eliminate the problem of doctor's handwriting.
GUPTA: E-prescriptions also keeps track of all the drugs a patient is taking and looks for possible interactions, allergies and potential overdoses.
The report also puts some of the responsibility on the patients. First, know your medical history, and don't just assume your doctor does.
Next, ask for a written list of all medications, what they do, and when to take them.
Also, bring an advocate. Someone to speak for you if you are too sick.
Finally, if you think you are getting the wrong medicine, speak up. You have the right to refuse treatment.
WU: You don't have to be obnoxious about it. Any medical person would be given pause if you say, I'm worried there may be a mistake.
GUPTA: A passive patient is not always what's best for the doctor, or for the patient.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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HARRIS: You can see more of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's reports on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Watch weeknights, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Katricians (ph) themselves are quoted as saying the crime rate is going to go up if they don't get more free rent. Then it's time to get your concealed hand gun license.
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COLLINS: On the air, under the gun. A Houston radio host says arm yourself against Katrina evacuees. That story, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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