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American Morning

Job Seekers Bombed in Iraq; Bush Listening Tour; E. Coli Outbreak; Augusto Pinochet's Funeral

Aired December 12, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

M. O'BRIEN: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Deadly attacks. Sixty people killed, hundreds more injured in an overnight bombing in Baghdad, adding new pressure to President Bush to come up with a new strategy before the new year.

M. O'BRIEN: E. coli on the move. Now cropping up in Minnesota. Plus, new questions about the onions that might have made Taco Bell customers sick. The company's president will join us live shortly.

S. O'BRIEN: And the world's biggest cruise ship pulls a banker, carrying a new plan to keep a virus from affecting passengers again on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody, Tuesday, December 12th.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.

We begin with what's new in Iraq this morning. A suicide bomb targeting Iraqis waiting in line for jobs. At least 60 dead, more than 200 hurt.

President Bush holds a conference with military commanders and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad. Bush will also meet with the Iraqi vice president at the White House.

This happening while a new CBS News poll shows only 15 percent of Americans say the U.S. is currently winning in Iraq. That's an all- time low.

CNN's Cal Perry joining us live from Baghdad with more on that bombing -- Cal.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

This was a very powerful explosion at about 7:00 a.m. I think it's fair to say that just about everybody in Baghdad felt this blast this morning. Iraqi police telling us 60 people are dead, 200-plus others wounded.

Now, most of the wounded and killed are day-laborers. Day labor is a staple in the Iraqi economy because unemployment is exceptionally high, anywhere between 20 and 60 percent, depending where in the country you look. We understand that a man in a pickup truck pulled into the square, he motioned for day-laborers to come over to his truck, offering them work. When the crowd gathered, that is at the point in which he detonated those explosives.

Now, as I said, we see these attacks oftentimes here in Iraq, day-laborers being targeted. In fact, a month ago, in the town of Hilla, 19 people killed in a very similar attack -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Cal Perry in Baghdad.

Thank you.

President Bush gets more advice today on the Iraq war. The White House hoping the president can announce his new plan to the nation before Christmas, but saying he might need more time.

CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House with more -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

And White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was essentially noncommittal yesterday in the off-camera briefing about the timing of an Iraq announcement. He was asked whether the idea of a presidential speech on Iraq before Christmas was "in cement." And his response was that it was not in cement and not not in cement. Now, what we know, though, from senior Bush aides, privately they have been saying all along that it is the administration's desire to, in fact, announce any changes to Iraq policy before the end of the year, possibly before Christmas.

For now, the president is continuing with his Washington listening tour. Yesterday, of course, he was at the State Department. And today -- in fact, the next hour -- the president will be sitting down to take part in a joint video conference with his military commanders on the ground in Iraq and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.

Now, as for his deliberations, officials here are trying to emphasize that the president is not going to be continuing with deliberations in a vacuum, that essentially he's looking at a variety of sources, and that will include input from an Iraqi vice president that President Bush will be sitting down with later today.

This afternoon he'll be sitting down with a Sunni vice president named Tariq al-Hashimi. And this, of course, Miles, coming on the heels of a meeting that the president had last week with a prominent Shia politician. Obviously the White House trying to get these different factions together to try to convince them it's in their best interest to work together to find a way forward in Iraq -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Thank you -- Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: The E. coli outbreak is now affecting seven states, and reportedly there are 400 cases in the Northeast. And in a new twist, the source of the Taco Bell contamination may not be green onions after all. It turns out that the test that implicated the scallions was wrong. White onions have now tested positive with a different E. coli strain that's not linked to any illnesses.

And overnight there was news that an E. coli outbreak at Taco John's restaurant, not linked to Taco Bell, may have spread to Minnesota. There are already cases reported in Iowa. Taco John's, as we mentioned, not affiliated with Taco Bell.

Let's get more this morning on these cases of E. coli.

Sanjay Gupta is in Atlanta this morning.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of why this is happening. Why do you think?

GUPTA: Well, it's interesting. When you look at these outbreaks overall, there's been almost 700 outbreaks over the last 15 years. So, I mean, these E. coli outbreaks, in and of themselves, are not that unusual.

They do appear to be of larger scale. And we have had a sort of doubling of produce-caused outbreaks over the last several years. Produce seems to be an increasingly large culprit here.

Is it because the farming industry has changed to some degree to have much broader reach in terms of which -- which locations their produce actually reaches? We don't know. There's a lot of theories out there.

But this particular E. coli, this strain of E. coli, is a particularly troublesome one. It gets people quite sick. E. coli can exist very naturally in your body. Several different strains don't make you sick at all, but this one is a bad one -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Why -- how could they say at first that the green onions, the scallions, were the source and then later say, well, not the source?

GUPTA: You know, when you look at these medical investigations, what happens is they literally get these people who are sick and they give them questionnaires. I've actually seen this process. It's an interesting process. And they try and find out over the last several days, what did you eat, where did you eat, and they start to find common things among all these people.

Taco Bell ended up being something that was common in all these people. They do a preliminary test on several different food groups. The green onions sort of rose to the top as possibly being infected.

These preliminary tests are not that specific. They're very sensitive, maybe overly sensitive. So it wasn't so much that the test was wrong, it's just that further testing or more definitive testing could not confirm that, in fact, the green onions had the E. coli in them.

The white onions, as you mentioned, did have E. coli, but it's a different strain of E. coli. It's not the one that's causing these illnesses. So that sort of confounds things even a little bit further.

But this is unfortunately sometimes how a medical investigation has to take place. It's a combination of the CDC, who's examining the sick people, then subsequently the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, goes and examines the food and tries to determine which specific food item in these Taco Bells seem to be the culprit here.

S. O'BRIEN: Theoretically, we may never know what exactly caused the outbreak at either the Taco Bells or the Taco John's?

GUPTA: That is possible. Oftentimes, as we saw with spinach and with lettuce, it just takes -- it takes a while. I think people are used to getting quick answers when it comes to these sorts of outbreaks.

You can just see -- here in the process, you can see that it takes some time. You have got to actually get the people to fill out these questionnaires, find out when they got sick, where they got sick, and then start examining all the e food items.

The fact that the farming industry has changed to some degree and you have distributors distributing to larger, you know, locations, more locations, in some ways makes it easier, because you have fewer culprits from which to choose. But it just takes a while -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta for us this morning.

Thank you, Sanjay, as always.

GUPTA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning in Miami, the world's largest cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas, is scheduled to sail again today, this time with two extra doctors and 45 more cleaning workers on board.

Last week, an outbreak of norovirus infected 108 passengers. The trip before that, 380 people got sick on the same ship. The ship has been scrubbed from stem to stern.

Discovery astronauts set to make a spacewalk at the International Space Station today. They're up there to install a two-ton addition to the craft, the station that is. And now they have to also do a little bit of damage checks as well.

On the ground, NASA engineers poring over images of that chipped heat shield and some tiles, and the leading edge of the left wing seen there, which was hit ever so slightly with a micrometeor yesterday. So far they see no risks to the crew, however.

More chaos on the streets of Gaza. Hamas security forces firing on a group of Palestinians protesting the deaths of those three children gunned down Monday morning. Their father is an intelligence children with the rival Fatah movement. At least two protesters are hurt, one is in critical condition.

In Iran, Holocaust skeptics from all over the world are gathering, there at the invitation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke is among those attending from 30 countries. They questioned whether Nazis killed six million Jews during World War II, and they doubt that the gas chambers existed.

Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan with a parting shot aimed at President Bush. It happened during a farewell speech at the Truman Presidential Library in Missouri. Annan suggested President Bush has to be a better leader, more willing to work with the global community to tackle the world's problems, including terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over others. We all share responsibility for each other's security, and only by working to make each other secure can we hope to achieve lasting security ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Annan is a harsh critic of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the speech a "missed opportunity."

S. O'BRIEN: In Chile, a formal farewell to former dictator Augusto Pinochet. The military funeral is set to begin right at the top of the hour. So in about 50 minutes or so.

Let's get right to CNN's Harris Whitbeck. He's in Santiago, Chile, this morning.

Harris, good morning.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Pinochet's funeral slated to begin in about an hour's time. And at that same time, his detractors will be organizing a mass rally at the monument to Salvador Allende, the Marxist president who Pinochet deposed back in 1973.

The fact that these two large public events are happening at the same time in the Chilean capital is just one more testament to how divided Chilean society is as to the legacy that General Pinochet will leave this country. His supporters say that he saved Chile from communism and that he set the Chilean economy on a course towards sustained growth. And, in fact, today the Chilean economy is one of the strongest in Latin America.

But his detractors remind people of the fact that death -- that -- that by his death, Pinochet escaped justice. He was the subject of several hundred legal proceedings against him, allegations of gross human rights violations during his tenure as a Chilean dictator.

And the families of those disappeared remind people that many of those who disappeared have still not been found and that the legal cases that were brought in hopes of justice being served have basically been -- will have to be abandoned by the fact that Pinochet died today. So there's a lot of division in Chilean society as to what Pinochet's legacy will be for this country, a lot of division that will not be -- that will not -- that will not end, and some say will be exacerbated by Pinochet's death.

S. O'BRIEN: Harris Whitbeck for us this morning.

Thank you for the update, Harris -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: More on the E. coli outbreak straight ahead. And go straight to the source, the president of Taco Bell, to find out how he's trying to assure customers it's OK to eat there.

And a tragic end. Late developments on the search for a couple who went missing on a drive up the East Coast.

That's when AMERICAN MORNING continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Top stories on our radar.

At least 60 people dead, 200 injured in a truck bombing targeting unemployed day-laborers in Baghdad.

And President Bush talking Iraq strategy with some of his top commanders. They'll talk via video-conference at the top of the hour.

About a quarter past the hour right now. Let's get a quick check of the forecast for you. Chad Myers has that.

Hello, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get back to the E. coli outbreak that we've been covering for you for quite a while now.

As we told you earlier, the FDA is now saying that in fact green onions were not the source of E. coli infection at Taco Bell. They're going to stay off the menu though at Taco Bells across the country. The restaurant hoping to have all of its restaurants open by noon today. But, of course, the big question is, is the food safe?

Greg Creed is the president of Taco Bell. He's in Dallas, Texas, this morning.

Nice to see you, sir. Thank you very much for talking with us.

GREG CREED, PRESIDENT, TACO BELL CORP.: Good morning, Soledad. How are you?

S. O'BRIEN: I'm well, thank you.

Let's talk a little bit about what is believed to be the root cause of the E. coli infection. It sounds to me as if investigators are saying, we don't really know. So how can Taco Bell say, OK, our food is safe and we're going to open up restaurants at noon?

CREED: Well, certainly our food is safe. And as you said, we hope to have all the restaurants opened by noon.

I think there are a number of reasons. The first is that the last reported outbreak was December the 2nd, which is about 10 days ago. The other thing is that all of the hundreds of samples that we took from the restaurants, which we both tested independently and were also tested by the CDC and FDA, have come back negative.

As you said, there was what we called a presumptive positive test on green onions about a week ago. And as a result of that, we withdrew green onions from our restaurants. But we also took the extra precaution to change our produce supplier in the Northeast.

So we've taken all of those steps that the food is safe to eat at Taco Bell.

S. O'BRIEN: But nobody knows if it was the produce supplier who would be to blame, so how do you know changing the produce supplier is going to make any difference?

CREED: Well, we're not saying it's the produce supplier. What we've just said is there's an abundance of caution. We've withdrawn green onions, we've changed out the produce supplier.

Obviously, all of those restaurants that were closed, we removed all the food, we have resanitized all of those restaurants. And as I said, there's been no reported outbreaks for the last 10 days. And that's obviously very good news.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's excellent news.

What are you going to do in the future? I mean, how are you going to protect the people who come to your restaurant to eat from, let's say, today on?

CREED: There's a -- I think there's a bigger issue. And what we intend to do is to lead an industry-wide coalition to examine the safety of the food -- of the produce of our food chain, obviously working with everyone in the industry, as well as our competitors.

This is not just a Taco Bell issue. This is a broader issue. And what we've got to do is to put in place even greater procedures to ensure the safety of the produce, and also to reassure the public.

S. O'BRIEN: Like what kinds of things, do you think? I mean, often, you know, people have told me that it's undercooked meat is where you get E. coli infection. But it looks like there's some growing indication that it's in produce. So how do you protect people in the produce?

CREED: Well, obviously, we don't have all the answers. And we're obviously going to work with the FDA, the CDC, and obviously, as I said, an industry-wide coalition to examine how we can improve the practices. Not just for Taco Bell, but for everyone, so that we can improve the safety of the produce supply chain.

S. O'BRIEN: You have 5,800 Taco Bells across the country. How many were closed while this E. coli outbreak was happening?

CREED: We probably had about over 90 restaurants closed. They were all -- the restaurants closed were in the Northeast -- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. And as you know, the FDA and CDC have both reported that this outbreak was linked only to those four states. And so all the other states were not affected in any way by this outbreak.

S. O'BRIEN: Greg Creed is the Taco Bell, where they're going to be opening those 90 or so stores at noon today.

Thanks for talking with us. Appreciate your time.

CREED: Soledad, thank you very much.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, stranded on a mountain. Stormy weather strands three climbers on Mount Hood, with more snow moving in. The latest on the search ahead.

And is the world's largest cruise ship finally ship shape? The Freedom of the Seas gets ready to sail again after two previous voyages steam home with sick passengers.

That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: New this morning, NASA engineers are carefully looking over the picture of the shuttle Discovery's heat shield today. They're making sure it's going to still protect the crew when they return home.

The world's largest cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas, will set sail today after two different outbreaks of norovirus. More doctors and more cleaning staff is going to be aboard this trip. M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America today, In Oregon, the search for three missing climbers is on hold as blizzard conditions are hitting Mount Hood. Kelly James and Brian Ball of Dallas and Jerry Cook of Brooklyn, New York, set out to climb on Wednesday. Rescue teams described treacherous conditions on the mountain, with strong winds and limited visibility.

In North Carolina, the bodies of Wayne and Dianne Guay found in their crashed car. They were missing five days while on a drive from South Carolina to visit their children in New York City. The car was found in a swamp. Police think it crashed through a divider and plunged down an embankment.

In Texas, a prison delay for ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling. Skilling was scheduled to start his 24-year sentence today for fraud and conspiracy in the Enron collapse. Skilling is appealing his conviction and the court is granting him a delay while it considers whether or not to let him stay out on bail.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now the NBA is getting rid of those new basketballs.

Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."

VELSHI: And if you have somebody on your holiday shopping list for whom you were going to get a regulation leather NBA ball, go out and get it today, because they're going to fly off the shelves.

This is the new ball that they introduced. I know you guys talked about this a while back. This is the composite synthetic ball. After apparently a lot of research, the NBA decided this is the ball they wanted to use. They didn't...

S. O'BRIEN: What's wrong with it?

VELSHI: Well, the players say that once it gets old or wet, it just doesn't work properly. It injures them, it's cuts people's hands. And this is all reading to me -- I wouldn't know. But they really complained -- in fact, to the point that the players filed a complaint with the National Labor relations Board...

M. O'BRIEN: It's kind of serious.

VELSHI: ... to say that the NBA did not consult them about changing the ball.

Anyway, the NBA has now reversed its decision. They're going back to leather balls, but there aren't enough leather balls because they gave a bunch of them away to charity. Each team has to have, like, 30 balls on hand at any time. And they won't be -- you know, they've got -- Spalding has to ramp up and make more of these.

M. O'BRIEN: They can't do a swap with the charities? Take these back...

VELSHI: Yes. Well, they actually have to be checked out by Spalding to make sure that they're still, you know, fit for use.

And the NBA maintains it wants to get -- you know, make balls that are better in whatever fashion, but for now, they are getting rid of these synthetic balls. So these are going to be cheap if you're looking for them for -- for the holidays. But the leather ones...

S. O'BRIEN: You would think they would have tested them with their multimillion-dollar players. You know?

VELSHI: You'd think. Yes, you'd think.

And I don't know how much of this -- apparently, the dissatisfaction with these was fairly across the board, it was universal. I don't know how much of it is, "I don't like the ball," and how much of it is, "Don't bring a new ball into a game without checking with everybody first."

So we're going back to the old ball. The way things used to be.

M. O'BRIEN: Tradition.

VELSHI: So that's it.

And we'll be watching the Fed for the rest of the day. So we'll tell you what happens.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You've got a busy day.

VELSHI: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Thank you, Ali.

VELSHI: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: Up next, a parting shot. Kofi Annan says good-bye, but not before saying a few choice words about President Bush.

And sea sick. The truth about sick cruise ships and how to avoid a virus on your cruise vacation. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will make a "House Call" when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Deadly blast. Dozens of people looking for a job are killed in an overnight truck bombing in Baghdad, and now the prime minister is warning of revenge attacks.

M. O'BRIEN: A parting shot. Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says good-bye with some tough words aimed at President Bush, apparently.

S. O'BRIEN: Scrubbed clean, they say. The world's biggest cruise ship is setting sail after two outbreaks of norovirus.

Are the passengers safe? Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to take a look at the health risk on the high seas on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Welcome back, everybody. It's Tuesday, December 12th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

We're glad you're with us.

S. O'BRIEN: Here's what's happening this morning.

New details just coming in on that suicide bombing that killed 60 day-laborers this morning in Baghdad. There are reports that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is now blaming the attack on Sunnis insurgent groups and just yesterday more than 30 Islamic clerics in Saudi Arabia called on Sunnis to rise up against the Shiites in Iraq.

In Iran, day two of a conference on the Holocaust. Former Klu Klux Klan leader David Duke is among those attending from 30 countries at the invitation of Iran's president who says the Holocaust didn't happen. President Ahmadinejad called the conference to bolster his image as a tough opponent of Israel.

Massive brush fires in southern Australia. We want to show you a satellite photo. You can see how the smoke plume is from miles up in space. We have that satellite photo we can show folks? This is obviously ground-level pictures there. That's the satellite photo. Look at that. That is the swirl of smoke from the satellite.

Let's get back to the ground-level pictures now. Thousands of firefighters are trying to contain the dozens of fires on the island of Tasmania. 22 homes have been destroyed. Electricity and phone service has been knocked out. Officials say the fire has burned 7,400 acres, and it's still growing. It's been fueled by high temperatures and gusty winds.

Discovery astronauts are set to make a space walk at the international space station. They're slated to install a two-ton addition to the station today. On the ground, NASA engineers are pouring over images of chipped heat shield tiles. They say the leading edge of the left wing was hit with something ever so slightly. Right now they say there is no risk to the crew.

And more violence to tell you about on the streets of Gaza today. Hamas security forces firing on a group of Palestinians who are protesting the deaths of those three children who were gunned down on Monday morning. CNN's Atika Shubert is in Gaza City for us this morning. Good morning to you Atika.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. The streets of Gaza are on edge as Palestinians are increasingly angry at the breakdown of law and order and lack of security that allowed three children to be gunned down on their way to school.

There have been demonstrations all through the day, clashes in south Gaza. People are arriving at the family home of these children. Their father was a senior intelligence officer. And there are fears that the killing of these children could trigger an escalation in the political fighting that has spilled out onto the streets here over the last few months.

Now at that family home, there are friends and neighbors coming to visit, to grieve, but also politicians from the various factions. And it's interesting to note that one of the women at that morning service that we were at earlier today, said that the people who carried out this killing could very well come to this morning service and offer their condolences. That really sums up the kind of political fighting that's happening here in Gaza -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Atika Shubert for us this morning, thanks Atika -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Outgoing U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on a farewell tour, of sorts, is speaking his mind, including some parting shots aimed at President Bush. Richard Roth is CNN's senior U.N. correspondent. He joins us with more on this speech in Independence, Missouri -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, you couldn't help notice the location, Miles. The presidential library of Harry Truman in Missouri, the Show-Me State. Kofi Annan showing the United States his views, some of them have been aired before. But it was a sharp speech.

Annan did not think it was an attack. He didn't think this was some broadside. He's saying to the Bush Administration, come back to the fold, help the world, don't go it alone, things like that. Let's listen to Kofi Annan echoing Harry Truman's vision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: As President Truman said, the responsibility of great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world. He showed what can be done and what can be achieved when the U.S. assumes that responsibility. And still today, none of our global institutions can accomplish much when the U.S. remains aloof. But when it is fully engaged, the sky is the limit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: The backdrop to all this, of course, is Iraq. And Annan bitterly opposed that war, was emotionally despondent after the U.S. made the decision to go in. Annan lost key people, friends in the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. And this is still going on. And he's positioning himself, I think, for after his secretary general life after January 1st.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, let's talk about the U.N. after Kofi Annan. And the incoming secretary general from South Korea. What sort of relationship would we anticipate he would have with the U.S.?

ROTH: Well certainly I think, you're not going to see him at the outset and maybe even for months or maybe years make speeches like this. This is a career diplomat bureaucrat in the South Korean ministry system.

He has met President Bush. The U.S. was in favor of Ban Ki-Moon to get this position, so was China. But the post has a way of changing people at times. And he's given speeches recently in Africa, perhaps that don't exactly match what he has said in the past. And being a bit more outspoken and he knows that he's already being accused of being Washington's man, so he may have to bend over backwards to prove the other.

M. O'BRIEN: All right , here's a tough question in the time allotted -- but how would you characterize the ten-year term of Kofi Annan?

ROTH: Great first half, a problem second half. Iraq changed everything. Oil for Food didn't help. Annan won a Nobel Peace prize. Career U.N. person who disappointed some inside the U.N., but set the U.N. on a better course after Boutros-Boutros Galli.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You did that in 30 seconds. Very well done. Our man at the United Nations always can sum it up well. Richard Roth. Thank you very much.

ROTH: Thank you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, in North Carolina, a terrible ending to a search. The bodies of Duane and Diane Guay have been found. They went missing while they were on a drive from South Carolina to visit their children in New York. Well, they were discovered in their car. The car was found in a swamp after it crashed through a divider, plunged down an embankment. Both have died.

The search for three missing climbers is on hold in Oregon this morning, as blizzard conditions are hitting Mt. Hood. Kelly James and Brian Hall of Dallas and Jerry Cook of Brooklyn, New York set out on a climb on Wednesday. Rescue teams describe treacherous conditions on the mountain and very strong winds.

A Muslim group that represents five of the six imams who were removed from a U.S. Airways flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix last month, looking for a settlement. The executive director of the Council on American-Islamic relations says he has sent U.S. Airways a letter looking for a mutually agreeable solution otherwise he says the group is ready to go to court. The six imams were removed from a Minneapolis-to-Phoenix flight last month allegedly for behaving suspiciously.

In California, UCLA is plugging a massive security breach in its computer system. In fact, it is one of the largest ever at an American university. Hackers broke into the university's database, gained access to information on about 800,000 students and former students and faculty members. UCLA is going to be sending letters to everybody affected. And Wisconsin is fighting to stay the big cheese among cheese makers. California though is on course to make Wisconsin a second- rate cheese power. Last year, California produced 2.1 billion pounds of cheese, Wisconsin was ahead at 2.4 billion pounds. And industry watchers say it's just a matter of time before California takes over as the big cheese.

Possible breakthrough to tell you about in the fight against Alzheimer's straight ahead. We'll cover that

Plus, a sick ship gets ready to set sail again. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is up next to show you what you can do to avoid a cruise ship virus. AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Developing stories we're watching for you this morning. In Iraq, 60 people are dead, 200 and more injured, after a truck bombing in Baghdad. The prime minister is reportedly blaming Sunni insurgents for the blast.

And President Bush is just about 20 minutes away from talking about Iraq strategy with some of his top commanders. That's going to happen via video-conference this morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: There may be a test for Alzheimer's, a new one. And a new study out this morning says a pattern of proteins in spinal fluid may indicate who has it. Researchers say more study is needed before doctors can start doing spinal taps to test people for Alzheimer's.

Another twist in the E. coli investigation. Nearly 400 suspected cases now in the Northeast according to federal officials quoted in today's "New York Times." And the feds say green onions may not be the source after all.

It turns out the test that implicated scallions conducted first by Taco Bell and confirmed by New York State health officials was wrong. White onions now have tested positive with a different E. coli strain, but it's not linked to any illnesses. Green onions are still off the menu at Taco Bell while health officials try to sort this confusion out.

And first it was Iowa, now Minnesota is looking into a possible E. coli outbreak at Taco John's -- that chain unrelated to Taco Bell. So as of today, illnesses have been reported in seven states, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and South Carolina -- all Taco Bell related. And Iowa and Minnesota, Taco John's-related. That's what we know so far.

"House Call" this morning. The world's largest cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas scheduled to sail again today after two consecutive outbreaks of norovirus. Hundreds of passengers got sick, their vacations spoiled. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now from Atlanta with some words on how to keep your love boat vacation from going south. Sanjay, good to have you with us.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: First of all, how is norovirus spread?

GUPTA: Well, first of all, it is a virus, so that's an important thing. It's not a bacteria, it's not a parasite, so antibiotics are not going to treat this. It is one of these unfortunate viruses that has to run its course.

It is typically spread the way that a lot of other of these infectious bugs are spread through people actually touching things, whether they be contaminated and then touching their mouths or touching their eyes and subsequently contaminating their own bodies.

Food and water can also be spread. This is one of these bad viruses Miles that gets you sick very quickly, within a day or so. It's a pretty violent illness. People get stomach cramping, they get a low-grade fever, they'll get some nausea and vomiting as well. And then subsequently these contaminated foods are liquids or surfaces or objects -- for example handrails on a cruise ship -- might be the culprits here as well, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Why do we see it so often in cruise ships? Or is it just because it's so concentrated there, we notice it more?

GUPTA: We did some homework on this, Miles because I was curious about that same thing. When we talk about these noroviruses, also called norwalk viruses, there are actually very common in the general population.

About one in 12 people will have a norwalk virus infection in the course of a year and just from daily life. Cruise ships, so that's about one in 12, just under eight percent, or around eight percent. On cruise ships, it's actually much less than that. It's about one in a -- over, less than 1 percent. So a much smaller concentration of people on cruise ships actually get this, but it's much more news worthy.

I mean you're confined to a space for five to seven days. There's really nothing you can do about it. You can't go home. A lot of times you can't do anything except just let the unfortunate virus run its course. So I think it's just more noticeable, if you will. But you see this norwalk virus just about everywhere. You see it in hotels and casinos, but, again, you're not confined, so that's the big difference there.

M. O'BRIEN; All right. So, if you're thinking about a trip over the holidays, how can you protect yourself? Is there anyway to protect yourself against this virus? GUPTA: Well, you know, there is a couple of things. First of all, the cruise line industry is offering insurance programs now, sort of if you do get sick on that, to be able to reclaim, recoup some of your costs in terms of that aspect of it.

In terms of the actual illness itself, it's much more difficult because this is such a ubiquitous virus, it's easy to get contaminated. We talk about washing your hands. I almost feel silly saying it over and over again, but the reason we say it over and over again because it works, exponentially decreases your risk.

Bottled water, contaminated water can also be a problem. Perhaps drinking just bottled water, making note of that when you're actually on one of these cruises. Avoid shaking hands. You know, some people do this as a routine thing, avoid shaking hands on cruise ships, because again, a lot of confined people.

Carry around one of those alcohol-based sanitizers before you use the common utensils, before you get into the common places on a cruise ship, try and make sure your own hands are clean in case you're the carrier to don't spread it to to other people.

M. O'BRIEN: Is there anyway, before you book a cruise, to check the health record of a cruise line?

GUPTA: Yes. That's really interesting, Miles. Again, we did some homework on this. The CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, actually has a website, vessel sanitation program. They actually look at that, trying to figure out specifically, measure all sorts of different things on cruise lines you know if there's any unsafe temperatures in terms of cooking food, look at the water.

And they actually give numerical scores to several different cruise lines. I'm reading in here The Golden Princess for example got a 100, which is perfect. Legacy on the other hand got a 72 out of 100, which is a low score. So you can actually can go to the CDC vessel sanitation program and get some idea of how the cruise ship line you're looking at ranks up.

M. O'BRIEN: That's good advice. Good place to check out before you book that cruise. Dr. Sanjay Gupta thanks as always.

GUPTA: Thank you sir.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well years ago they were called sundowntowns as in if you're black, you don't want to be here after sundown. Well tonight on "PAULA ZAHN NOW", CNN's Keith Oppenheim takes a look at a town with a bad reputation in Texas. He's got a preview for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Take a ride to Vidor, Texas, and you'll find a town that looks like many others in America, but just below the surface you'll soon find this small city of 11,000 people carries a dark past.

They were trying to live down something from 40 to 50 years ago.

OPPENHEIM: Forty to 50 years ago, Vidor had a reputation as a sundown town, where it was said African-Americans were warned not to be caught after dark. Charles Jones lives in Beaumont, the bigger city 10 minutes from Vidor. He told us when he was 19, a Vidor policeman intimidated him and his friends when their car broke down at night.

CHARLES JONES, BEAUMONT, TEXAS: He said, "Well, let me tell you something. You boys better hurry up and get out of here, because I'm going to go to that next exit and come down and come back around. And you'd better be gone."

OPPENHEIM: Vidor also had a reputation as a haven for the Ku Klux Klan. To this day, many African-Americans in the area keep their distance from Vidor.

WALTER DIGGLES, DEEP EAST TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS: They think that that's a racist town and when you go through Vidor, you'd better be very careful. And most blacks still refuse to stop.

OPPENHEIM (on camera): Is this a racist community?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely not.

OPPENHEIM (voice over): Orange County commissioner Beamon Minton and Vidor mayor Joe Hopkins spoke to me about perceptions of Vidor.

MAYOR JOE HOPKINS, VIDOR, TEXAS: The vast majority of our citizens are not racist, would welcome anybody here who's a good solid citizen.

BEAMON MINTON, ORANGE COUNTY, TEXAS, COMMISSIONER: We don't have a klan. We haven't had a klan here in about 30 years.

OPPENHEIM: Several Vidor residents told me they'd welcome blacks, as did this woman. Then she added...

PEGGY FRUGE, VIDOR, TEXAS, RESIDENT: I don't mind being friends with them, you know, talking and stuff like that. But as far as mingling and eating with them and all that kind of stuff, I mean, that's where I draw the line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: You can see Keith's full report tonight on PAULA ZAHN NOW, a special hour. It's called "Skin Deep: Racism in America." It airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

CNN NEWSROOM is just a couple minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead this morning.

Good morning.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, good morning to you.

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, good morning back.

HARRIS: Good morning.

I get so excited when you see you.

On the NEWSROOM rundown this morning, President Bush, another day focused on a new direction for Iraq. A teleconference with military commanders in Baghdad shortly. An Oval Office meeting with Iraq's vice president. Three climbers mission on Oregon's snowy Mount Hood.

Crews hoping to resume their search today. Blizzard conditions forced them to retreat.

Join Heidi Collins and me in the NEWSROOM. We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Tony. We'll see you then. Thanks.

Christmas is back at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The trees return. The controversy that brought those trees down is over. We'll tell you how it was all resolved, straight ahead when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Given the option, Miles, would you prefer to have a day off, or would you prefer to go to the holiday party with all of your colleagues? Well, apparently...

M. O'BRIEN: It's kind of a trick question, isn't it?

S. O'BRIEN: It is. Yes, it is.

M. O'BRIEN: I love my time I spend with all of you.

S. O'BRIEN: There's no right answer to that one.

M. O'BRIEN: That's all I can say, but give me the time off.

S. O'BRIEN: Seventy-three percent of workers would agree with you, they'd prefer an afternoon off instead of going to the holiday party. That's according to a recent survey by Workplace Media. The same survey found that 68 percent of U.S. workers are going to buy their boss a gift. Are you giving your boss a gift this year?

M. O'BRIEN: Always, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Big brown-noser. That's the most important survey of all. Maybe we should go in together.

M. O'BRIEN: I've got a big mortgage; the boss gets a gift, all right. In Seattle, we've been talking about this for a while now, the religious controversy apparently is all over. Christmas trees are going back at the Seattle International airport. The trees, we told you about yesterday, were taken down, and they were ordered back up last night after the storm of controversy passed. The airport had pulled the trees because a rabbi was threatening to sue. He said he wanted to have a Menorah along with all the holiday decorations. I think there's something like 14 trees at the airport. The rabbi said he didn't want the trees to come down; he wanted a big Menorah to be up instead.

So he said he's not going to have a lawsuit. He's offering a Menorah to the airport, and he hopes that they will take it and display it.

M. O'BRIEN: But they haven't said whether they will. They're concerned about all the other...

S. O'BRIEN: Right, their original concern was you put the Menorah up, and then other groups could sue, because now you have a religious display.

M. O'BRIEN: Kwanzaa, whatever the case may be.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, here's a quick look at what "NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

HARRIS; Some of the stories you'll see in the "CNN NEWSROOM," Baghdad's bloody day: car bombers lure day laborers to their deaths, dozens killed and wounded.

UCLA security breach: Thousands and thousands students, current and former, exposed to possible identity theft.

Here comes another one: Cleveland-area Congressman Dennis Kucinich plans a second run for president. The announcement today.

You are in the "NEWSROOM," 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 on the West Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to talk to the former president Jimmy Carter. He's got a new book out. It's called "Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid," and as you can imagine from the title, it's already pretty controversial.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, a lot of people upset with that book.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they are. We're ask him a lot about that. That's coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

For now, though, we are out of time.

M. O'BRIEN: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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