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U.N. Security Council Slaps New Sanctions on Iran; Poisoned Pet Food

Aired March 24, 2007 - 16:00   ET

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

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ROBERTS: And the numbers are even more devastating for the Iraqis. The United Nations calculates that nearly 100 civilians were killed each day in 2006.

But now the political landscape in the United States is changing, drastically. One of the war's main architects, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, is out. And the new Democratic Congress is putting increasing pressure on President Bush to get the troops out. But many Iraqis believe a quick U.S. withdrawal would leave the future of their country in the hands of some who put religious division above national unity, as Sunni insurgents and Shia death squads and militias continue their bloody civil war.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Standoff with Iran. From the United Nations in New York, to the Persian Gulf, the diplomatic crisis unfolding right now.

Also, parts of Indiana under water. Flooding hits the heartland. Jacqui's got the latest on severe weather.

Plus, a tiny bug from south of the border poses a major threat to America's blood supply.

Hello and welcome. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

First this hour, Iran's isolation. Within the past few minutes, the United Nations Security Council approved new sanctions against Tehran for its renegade nuclear program. The vote was unanimous.

Let's listen in right now.

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ALEJANDRO WOLFF, ACTING U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: ... in failing to comply with Security Council Resolution 1696 and 1737, requires that we uphold our responsibilities defined in the charter of this esteemed body and to take necessary action. And while we hope Iran responds to this resolution by complying with its international legal obligations, the United States is fully prepared to support additional measures in 60 days, should Iran choose another course.

We are here today because of the decisions of Iran's leadership. Their actions include more than 20 years of deception of the IAEA, a nuclear program hidden from the international community in violation of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, a program that is emerging from the shadows slowly and incompletely, only due to the efforts of international inspectors and outside groups.

Let me quote from the IAEA director general's latest report summing up the basic problem. And I quote -- "Given the existence in Iran of activities undeclared to the agency for 20 years, it is necessary for Iran to enable the agency through maximum cooperation and transparency to fully reconstruct the history of Iran's nuclear program. Without such cooperation and transparency, the agency will not be able to provide assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran, or about the exclusively peaceful nature of that program."

The unanimous passage today of Resolution 1747 sends a clear and unambiguous message to Iran. The regime's continued pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability in violation of its treaty obligations, as well as its obligations as a member state of the United Nations, will only further isolate Iran and make it less, not more, secure. In light of this history, it is not...

WHITFIELD: You're listening to the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Alejandro Wolff. He says that this unanimous decision by the U.N. 15- nation body there, imposing sanctions against Iran, sends a clear and unambiguous message to Iran.

Our Richard Roth is there at the U.N.

And whether the message is clear and unambiguous or not, does it mean that Iran will respect these new sanctions?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, all indications are they will not, because they haven't before, and the threat is already on the table now. And you have 60 days to listen to this message. And previously, just a few days ago, Iran's president was calling the Security Council an illegitimate body.

He failed to come here to confront the Security Council directly, as he promised for days, saying he country did not receive enough visas for his traveling party, something the U.S. says is completely wrong. There was some dispute over paperwork.

Nevertheless, countries such as Qatar and South Africa on the Security Council had reservations about this resolution, but the U.S., through its negotiating, and the others, were able to get them on board. So it is a unanimous vote against Tehran.

Financial asset freezes for certain individuals, some linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, plus a conventional small arms export ban on Iran designed to cut off arms shipments into Lebanon or Iraq. But there's still a ways to go for the U.N. Security Council to get tough on Iran. It's all designed by the U.S. to try to keep China and Russia on board. It takes months to get these resolutions really legally ready and get all the big countries ready to go. But it seems only a matter of minutes usually for Iran to discard them.

Iran's foreign minister is waiting in the wings to speak to the Security Council in place of its president. I don't think we can expect many surprises there, Fredricka. He's likely to highly criticize the action passed.

Iran says it is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program, but you heard there are suspicions by the U.S. and others.

WHITFIELD: And when you talk about these sanctions, like, for example, cutting arms shipments, it really does take the cooperation of these other countries in which to cease such operations with Iran. So the sanctions only work if everyone, all the nations who can offer these supplies to Iran, actually cooperate.

ROTH: That's right. And there's even -- they could be tougher.

Look, there's a watch list, but it's voluntary on many individuals. There's an annex in the resolution.

So they could certainly go a long ways away, and they're practically begging Iran to come back to negotiate. But every time they do, critics say it's just a stall tactic and nothing ever is solved. We still have many months to go on this one, I think.

WHITFIELD: And we still have yet to hear from Iran's foreign minister, who is the representative who is likely to speak since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is unable to be there. So, what are we likely to hear from him, except that that country may continue to snub its nose at these sanctions?

ROTH: Well, it's interesting. The Security Council proceedings today seemed to be delayed a bit as if they were waiting perhaps for the Iranians to arrive, and then the person who sat down in the Iran chair at the Security Council table is -- I believe is some lower functionary. The foreign minister then minutes later, after the meeting started, walked in to the chamber area.

I think you're going to hear what -- what his president told the U.N. general assembly last year, that the Security Council is dominated by the U.S., Britain and others, it's an arrogant body that the U.S. is spreading destruction in Iraq. Why aren't their sanctions on America? Is there a double standard -- or Israel, Iran says, has nuclear power, maybe nuclear bombs.

We're being unfairly targeted. That's what the Iranian foreign minister is likely to say.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Roth, thanks so much, from the U.N.

Well, in Tehran, where perhaps the message is slowly making its way there, Aneesh Raman is there.

A couple things we're going to talk about Aneesh. Not only this U.N. Security Council vote to impose such sanctions, but also the issue of the British sailors and marines that have been taken by the Iranians for allegedly going in to Iranian water. So, let's first talk about what Iran's point of view is on these sanctions. We know that they have snubbed their noses before.

What makes this one any different?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I don't think anything makes this one any different, Fredricka.

As Richard said, it's likely we'll hear from the Iranian foreign minister say that they will push ahead with their nuclear program despite this second round of sanctions. There are obviously people within Iran watching this vote. But everyone had expected it to take place in a unanimous forum.

The sanctions that are being passed target individuals associated with the nuclear program. They don't have the teeth, many here feel, to get Iran to stop its nuclear program.

Iran's position is that, look, we're pursuing peaceful civilian nuclear technology, we've suspended our program before for talks. That didn't produce anything. So we are within our right to pursue peaceful civilian nuclear energy.

The issue essentially is trust. The West, and now unanimously the U.N. Security Council, doesn't trust Iran's word. And at the core of that is the IAEA, the group that monitors nuclear activity within these countries. They aren't getting all the answers that they want from the Iranians.

The Iranians say we'll give you all the answers, but don't make us suspend our program, and stop with the sanctions. So, the back and forth will continue. And as Richard said, I think we have a number of months to go before Iran feels enough heat to stop the program.

WHITFIELD: So, Aneesh, while this back and forth continues, you have to wonder if there's any connection between the U.N. Security Council vote and the fact that 15 British sailors and marines were taken into custody by Iranian authorities for allegedly getting into Iranian waters when they got off their ship and on to the raft and into these waterways.

Any coincidence about these two things happening nearly simultaneously?

RAMAN: The timing, of course, is quite interesting. And a number of people I've been talking to on the ground are speculating about that connection. But I think what goes against that is the rapid sort of action that was taken by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard. People say there wasn't enough time for this to be coordinated in terms of it being linked to this U.N. vote. That said, people I've spoken to who have gone to that waterway, Shatt al Arab, that this incident took place on Friday, say that on an average basis -- and they haven't been there for some months, but at least in recent times -- these boats do cross over from one side to the other without incident. It's sort of an understood allowance on the -- on the ground, or at least on the water. So, this is something different.

What triggered it, we just don't know. We do know that the Iranians continue to hold those 15 British military personnel with no sign as to when they will be released -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Aneesh Raman, thanks so much.

And just so you get a better understanding of the kind of video you just saw, where you saw the British sailors and marines who were on those rafts, that's the kind of apparatus that these soldiers and marines were on when they left the HMS Cornwall there in the Persian Gulf before they got to the that controversial waterway.

Aneesh, thanks so much for that update.

Well, today we did reach a journalist who was aboard the British mother ship, the Cornwall. She happened to be embed on that ship when the Iranians seized the two patrol boats that come from that ship, and those sailors and marines onboard.

Terri Judd gave us one of the clearest accounts yet as to what may have occurred yesterday in the long-disputed waters.

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TERRI JUDD, JOURNALIST: I was on the ship at the time, and obviously the marines and the sailors were on small inflatable boats further out towards the Iranian area. Our take is that they went out, they were inspecting a ship, compliantly and according to U.N. rules.

They reboarded their inflatable rig (ph) and were, from what could be seen, though information is sketchy at the moment, were surrounded by Iranian Republican Guard Corps Navy vessels and taken out -- the shuttle (ph) out of the waterway.

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WHITFIELD: And again, that was from an earlier conversation I had with journalist Terri Judd, who was embed on that British ship, the Cornwall.

The British insist their forces were not in Iranian waters, and they are demanding the captives' immediate release.

Meantime, suicide bombings rocked Iraq today as a sudden surge of violence left dozens of people dead there. At least 20 died in Baghdad in a blast outside an Iraqi police station. Reports from the scene say the bomb was hidden in the back of a truck beneath a pile of bricks. The blast shook the city and produced a plume of smoke seen from miles around. Eight others were killed in a suicide attack south of the city.

And close to the border with Syria, in a the town of Tal Afar, a suicide attacker blew himself up in a pastry shop. At least 10 people were killed in the Iraqi town portrayed as a success story by the U.S. military.

Defying President Bush. The House narrowly approves a war spending bill that calls for pulling U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by next year. Democrats call it a victory on Capitol Hill. President Bush denounces it as political theater. He's vowing to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The purpose of the emergency war spending bill I requested was to provide our troops with vital funding. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq.

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WHITFIELD: On Monday, the Senate takes up its own version of the bill.

Coming up, dog and cat owners, beware. You definitely want to check the label of your pet's food. Otherwise, you might end up feeding them poisoned food. What you need to know, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And this...

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wouldn't even keep rat poison in my house in the furthest corner of the basement. To think that I was feeding it to my pet, I feel like I was punched in the stomach.

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WHITFIELD: One family's tragic loss gives hope to another. This touching story in about 20 minutes from now.

And then this. So everyone's into the spirit. Why not? "American Idol," move over. The inmate idols are coming.

You definitely need to see this one. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: Pet owners understandably nervous today after a chemical used in rat poison was found and recalled -- pet food. Several animals ate the food and died. The question now on everyone's mind, how did it get there?

CNN's Mary Snow has the latest.

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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): How did rat poison wind up in pet food? That is still uncertain. But investigators in New York say what they do know is that they found a toxin called aminopterin in samples of pet food suspected of being tainted. The toxin is not a legal pesticide in the U.S. Doctors say it can be found in some forms of cancer treatments.

PATRICK HOOKER, NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER: This is one step in a long process that will lead all of us to know what has happened.

SNOW: The CEO of Menu Foods, the company that recalled over 90 brands of dog and cat food, says he's both relieved and happy investigators found the problem during what he called an unprecedented search.

HENDERSON: Our hearts go out to the thousands of pet owners across Canada and the United States for their losses and their worries.

SNOW: But the CEO says he is at a loss to explain where the toxin came from, and he says the campaign will test raw products to trace the origin. Veterinarian Dr. Ann Hohenhaus says knowing that rat poison is involved can prevent animals from dying if they are suffering kidney failure.

DR. ANN HOHENHAUS, NEW YORK ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, it sounds to me like giving fluids intravenously or maybe by other routes is going to be key to trying to prevent or fix this problem.

SNOW: But, she adds, there are a new set of worries.

HOHENHAUS: We don't know what the long-term effects are on their kidney function, and only time is going to answer that question.

SNOW (on camera): Another question being posed, what about compensation for pet owners who lost a pet? The CEO of Menu Foods says the company will take financial responsibility if it's proven that medical problems were linked to the food.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

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WHITFIELD: And those promises of financial compensation do little to temper the anger of heartbroken pet owners.

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SANDY BABB, SUING DOG FOOD MANUFACTURER: "Do you think she could have eaten anything?" He goes, "It's toxic. Everything's coming up toxic."

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WHITFIELD: And now the toxic reaction from those who unknowingly served their pets the compromised food.

Rick Sanchez has more on this story next hour here in the NEWSROOM.

And there's another recall to tell you about. This one concerns imported mineral water that you and I drink that may be contaminated with arsenic.

Today, the FDA re-issued a warning to people not to drink five specific brands of Jermuk brand mineral water imported from Armenia. Test samples of the water found higher than acceptable levels of arsenic, a poison to humans. No illnesses have yet been reported.

Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, new developments in the prosecutor purge.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is standing by his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, even as critics argue newly-disclosed documents seem to contradict something the attorney general said.

I'm Elaine Quijano, live at the White House. I'll have details coming up.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN weather center.

Severe weather a possibility this afternoon. And rivers going out of their banks across the heartland, from Iowa to Indiana. Rivers are bank full.

We'll have the latest on flooding around the Indianapolis area. That's coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Jacqui.

Also ahead, Democratic presidential candidates in Sin City. What led them to Las Vegas?

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name news.

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WHITFIELD: So you've heard it before -- what's happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Well, so why are so many presidential hopefuls in that town today?

Sumi Das is live in Sin City. SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sumi Das in Las Vegas, where Senator and Mrs. Edwards made their first public appearance since revealing that Mrs. Edwards is battling cancer once again. I'll tell you what John Edwards had to say about his commitment to the race for the White House.

QUIJANO: President Bush is standing by his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, even as critics argue newly-disclosed documents seem to contradict something the attorney general said.

I'm Elaine Quijano, live at the White House. I'll explain coming up.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Elaine.

These stories and more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name news.

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WHITFIELD: Half past the hour. Here's what's happening right now. It's unanimous, you're looking at a live picture right now of the 15-nation body U.N. Security Council, about 45 minutes ago the U.N. Security Council approved new sanctions on Iran, which refused to stop its uranium enrichment program.

And heading for higher ground in the Hoosier State, flash floods in suburban Indianapolis lead to road closures in Hamilton and Madison counties. More wet weather is forecast for that area. We'll keep you posted right here in the NEWSROOM.

Well, it's an issue that sparks a lot of emotion and debate in this country. The country's escalating health care crisis. Costs are soaring and millions remain uninsured. Democratic presidential candidates are in Las Vegas today talking about how they would tackle the problem if elected. CNN Sumi Das is there -- Sumi.

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka. Well, the event wrapped up just about an hour ago. And we should mention all of the candidates who are running for the White House were invited to this forum by the sponsors of the event. However, none of the Republicans accepted the invitation. And all but one from the Democratic Party chose to attend, Senator Joseph Biden, I believe, had scheduling conflicts.

Now this was a forum, not a debate. So it gave a chance for the candidates to basically lay out their health care plans, one by one. They were not on the stage simultaneously. John Edwards, the senator from North Carolina, was up first.

Now, the issue of health care has been at the forefront of his agenda and many believe that he has the most comprehensive plan for achieving universal health care for all Americans. Now, the forum comes just two days after the Edwards' family made the announcement that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned, and the first question that Senator Edwards received from the moderator of this forum was about that issue.

She basically asked how he was going to handle these very two time-consuming aspects of his life, first of all, dealing with his wife's cancer, and also how he was doing to continue pursuing the presidency. Now Senator Edwards reaffirmed that the campaigning would not stop.

He said that he was definitely in the race for the duration.

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JOHN EDWARD (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But we know what it's like to function in a very difficult environment, and there is a focus and a maturity that I think is required to be able to do that. But I know because I've done it in the past that we can do it. I know because of the nature of the woman I'm married to that she will be there every single step of the way making sure that we do it.

And we take our responsibility to serving this country very seriously, and it is the reason I'm running for president, because I love this country, I think we can do so much better than we're doing now. And we want to serve, both of us.

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DAS: Senator Edwards said that this is not the first challenge that he and his wife faced. He mentioned the fact his son -- their son Wade died in 1996 in a car accident at the age of 16. John Edwards also took a moment at the beginning of his remarks to thank everyone for their kindness and generosity in light of the news of his wife's health care setback.

And he also extended that gratitude to his competition even. He thanked his fellow candidates for their support for reaching out, and a couple of the other candidates took advantage of the forum as an opportunity to publicly reach out to the Edwards' family, including Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Senator Hillary Clinton.

Now, Senator and Mrs. Edwards remain on the campaign trail. John Edwards has an event in San Francisco on Monday, and while we did not hear from Elizabeth Edwards today, she did not speak, she will be addressing the City Club of Cleveland on Monday in Ohio -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sumi Das in Las Vegas, thanks so much.

Well, it's a controversy that keeps getting more controversial by the day. The firings of eight federal prosecutors and what role top White House officials and the U.S. attorney general may have played.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano with that.

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ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush says he regrets that the U.S. attorney story has become what he calls a public spectacle. But in his weekly radio address showed no signs of backing away from his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In recent months the Justice Department determined that new led leadership in several of these positions would better serve the country. I strongly support the attorney general in this decision.

QUIJANO: Yet Justice Department documents released late Friday are providing fresh ammunition for the attorney general's critics. They show about 10 days before the prosecutors were fired, Gonzales attended a meeting to discuss what a Justice Department spokeswoman says were the general outlines of a plan on how to carry out their dismissals.

But critics say that doesn't square with this statement by Gonzales nearly two weeks ago.

ALBERTO GONAZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I was not involved in any discussions about what was going on.

QUIJANO: Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer calls that an inconsistency.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I'm renewing my call for Attorney General Gonzales to step down. More than any other cabinet official, the attorney general must tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but. And the more the facts come out, the more it seems that the attorney general was not coming clean.

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QUIJANO: Now, Justice Department officials contend that the latest documents do not contradict what the attorney general said, but the officials could not say for sure whether or not the final list of attorneys to be fired was even discussed. Lawmakers hope to fill in some of the gaps when the former chief of staff to the attorney general, Kyle Sampson, testifies on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

And tonight, Fredricka, meantime, senior Bush aides continue to say that President Bush has full confidence in Alberto Gonzales -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine, meantime, I'm wondering if there's any reaction from the White House on our top story, which is the U.N. Security Council voting unanimously to impose new sanctions against Iran.

QUIJANO: Absolutely there is, this is certainly something the United States wanted to see, the Bush administration in particular saying that this really sends a strong message. And in the words of the National Security Council spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, that message is, quote: "Stop isolating your country and your people. Suspend your program and come to the table" -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Elaine Quijano. And on the right-hand side of your screen, you're looking at live pictures of Iran's foreign minister, who is speaking now to the U.N. Security Council after their unanimous decision. The person who was supposed to be in that position was the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But because he says his flight crew was unable to get visas, instead his foreign minister was able to fly commercial and make it to New York for this response at the U.N. We're monitoring his remarks. And when we get them we'll be able to bring them to you.

Meantime, holding the U.S. military accountable. New developments in the friendly fire death of a man who gave up his professional football career to serve his country.

And a rare look inside one of the nation's top trauma centers. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta reveals "Grady's Anatomy." You won't want to miss that, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: The wealth of misinformation surrounding the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, The Associated Press says a new Pentagon report due out Monday will blame members of the Army's top brass for much of that. The AP says defense investigators will recommend nine officers, including up to four generals be held accountable for the Army's initial incorrect report that claimed Tillman was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2004.

Tillman was actually killed by members of his own platoon, but the Army didn't come out publicly with that until five weeks after his death, a delay the Army blames on procedural mistakes. Defense officials tell the AP investigators uncovered a number of errors and inappropriate conduct but did not find evidence of a coordinated cover-up.

And now back to our top story of the U.N. imposing sanctions against Iran. Just a moment ago, the foreign minister of Iran had these comments.

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MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Rather than emanating from these so-called proliferation concerns.

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WHITFIELD: All right. We apologize for the audio. We were expecting to get some of the translation there, unable to get that, but here are live pictures right now because the foreign minister is still speaking. When we get the proper translation for you we'll be able to bring that to you.

All right. Finding life in death. The Richmond County, Georgia, Sheriff's Department knows the irony. A deputy who died earlier in this week in a car crash gave the gift of life to a fellow colleague suffering kidney failure.

More now from Kimberly Scott of affiliate WJBF.

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KIMBERLY SCOTT, WJBF REPORTER (voice-over): The past few weeks could be best described as an emotional roller coaster to Deputy David James (ph) and his family. However news of a much-needed transplant is bittersweet.

SGT. ROBERT SILAS, RICHMOND CO., GA., SHERIFF'S DEPT.: The Sikes (ph) family, doing what they're doing for other people spreading the joy of life.

SCOTT: Deputy James received a kidney from fellow officer Deputy Eric Sikes (ph), he died this week after a car accident. James started dialysis just a month ago after his own kidney started failing. This operation will help extend the life of this father of four.

DR. MURALIDHARAN JAGADEESAN, KIDNEY SPECIALIST: Imagine somebody who was on dialysis goes three times as week and now gets a transplant, actually a new lease of life for them.

SILAS: The surgery went great. He was in and out of surgery within about six hours.

SCOTT: Now his fellow officers are breathing a sigh of relief. Kidney specialist, Dr. Jagadeesan says after the surgery, the work continues.

JAGADEESAN: Immediately after transplant they have to go through a recuperative phase and you tell them to watch (INAUDIBLE) for a while, anywhere up to you know, three months or longer, depending on the age of the patient.

SCOTT: But stresses that recovery process depends on more than age.

JAGADEESAN: The medications, side effects of the medications, the expectations what they have of the transplant.

SCOTT: Those are all factors and each patient is different. The recovery of Deputy James could take a few weeks, or a few months. However, hours after the operation, his prognosis is great.

SILAS: He's on a liquid diet. He's had a couple popsicles this morning, he said is ready for a rib-eye steak.

SCOTT: That rib-eye may take a while, but his gratitude will last a lifetime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. As promised, we mentioned to you that the U.N. Security Council had voted unanimously to impose new sanctions against Iran. Well, the foreign minister of Iran is still speaking right now, responding to the vote. Well, just moments ago we finally got that translation for you on some of what he has been saying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOTTAKI (through translator): These resolutions have not indicated universal acceptance. Particularly when the heads of state of nearly two thirds of the U.N. members who belong to the non-aligned movement and the OIC supported Iran's positions as recently as September 2006 and express concern about policies pursued inside the Security Council.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Better, but still not great. Difficult to understand the response there from the Iranian foreign minister. We'll try to get a better translation for you coming up for you coming up.

Meantime, more of the NEWSROOM. Straight ahead, Rick Sanchez is here. What you got?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I think they seem to be saying, you know what, same old-same old. That seems to be the Iranian reaction. I was just on the phone moments ago with Aneesh Raman, and he was telling me that this has kind of become old hat for him. It's like sanctions-shmanction. You know?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: ... and here we go again.

SANCHEZ: Right. So, you know, obviously, we're going to be paying a lot of attention that and checking in on that. And that's going to be coming up.

WHITFIELD: Sanctions shmanctions, I've actually heard him say that.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: Translated in Farsi. I don't know how you say that in Farsi. Sanctions shmanctions. By the way, we're also going to be talking about the nation's blood supply. Is it in danger? It's a vicious disease from Latin America that's affecting that. We're going to be talking about that.

But then at 10:00, there's something else going on we're going to be focusing on.

WHITFIELD: What's that, Rick?

SANCHEZ: Well, this is really interesting. We've been focusing on this throughout the week. So we wanted to see if it really is happening in parts of Indonesia. The sex slavery, it has just been out of control there. We've got a report...

WHITFIELD: For a while now. It seems to be getting worse.

SANCHEZ: Oh, exactly. And it's in a part of the world that's so desperate, and these poor little girls and little boys are so sad. It's so sad that they need the money so desperately that they're literally hired out. So we have a reporter who goes there...

WHITFIELD: And some cases even their families handing them over to help make the money.

SANCHEZ: Exactly. The family knows. Well, in this case that you're going to hear tonight, the family actually thinks that she's working as a baby-sitter. But one of our reporters goes there and hires them out so he can talk to them and get them out of there. So he pretends that he's hiring them.

Actually he takes them away and tries to work with them, and tells their stories. And they do -- unbelievable piece. It will be on tonight at 10:00. And only too happy to be able to share that with you.

WHITFIELD: Good, we'll be watching, Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right, Fred. I look forward to it.

WHITFIELD: Have a good one.

All right. Well, the nation's blood supply in danger. Rick talked about how they're going to talk about it later in the NEWSROOM. We're going to talk about it as well in a different way. It's a vicious disease from Latin America making its way to the U.S. And it has a lot of health officials very concerned. The details in about three minutes from now. You'll hear from Dr. Bill Lloyd. You're watching CNN. The most trusted name in news.

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WHITFIELD: More concerns now over a threat to the nation's blood supply. The threat comes from Chagas disease, a deadly parasite found in humans in Latin America and Central America. But medical experts say the disease is now showing up in an alarming number of blood donations here the U.S. We'll talk to our favorite physician about this blood supply threat, Dr. Bill Lloyd, joining us now from Sacramento.

OK. So it comes from Latin America, Central America, but really what is it? And how did it get here?

DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Sure, Fredricka, what if I told you there was a problem with the blood supply, an infectious disease that was present in communities like Los Angeles 10 times more frequently than in finding the HIV virus. That's what is going with Chagas disease. Chagas disease comes from a parasite, you catch it by being bit by an insect, like you said, in Central or South America.

So it can involve people who normally live there and migrate to the United States or Americans who traveled to Central America or South America and acquire the disease. There's probably 12 million cases right now. So it's endemic outside of the United States. But as you mentioned, people who manage blood banks are concerned that more and more case of Chagas disease are sneaking in to the United States. WHITFIELD: Oh interesting. So it's not necessarily that the bug or the parasite has made its way across the boarder, but the human carriers of this disease are then helping to transmit it, how?

LLOYD: Well, it's a big problem because it's an emerging illness, just like you said. Because there's mobility. Culture, civilizations, people moving across borders legally or illegally, and bringing the diseases with them inside their own body.

So it's in the bloodstream and now when these individuals donate blood or perhaps they arrange to have an organ donated for somebody else, and right now they're not testing organs for donations, you can transmit Chagas disease to another American.

WHITFIELD: So how do you know whether you have Chagas disease? What are the symptoms, if any?

LLOYD: Well, there is the acute phase, which just feels like a flu, you might get a rash. You'll probably definitely have a bug bite but you come back to the country and you don't know what you've got. You've got flu for a couple of days and all of a sudden you get better and you don't really know what you have.

But then months later you can get into trouble with heart problems or intestinal problems, and here's the real important point, Fredricka, if you have symptoms that persist and you are not getting better, make sure your doctor knows about your travel history, where have you been and where you have been in contact with.

And if you have had any kind of insect bite, be sure you mention that as well. Because doctors here in the States, doctors in Minnesota, doctors in Idaho, they may not be familiar with Chagas disease since the time they were in medical school. And so to come across a brand new case in 2007 would be a remarkable finding for them. So be sure if you don't get better, make sure your doctors always know about your travel history.

WHITFIELD: So how do you stop, cure or treat it?

LLOYD: Well, Chagas disease is an infection. And there are two very powerful drugs that can be given to reduce the number of the bugs. and in many patients, eliminate Chagas disease altogether. Only about one out of three folk who actually receive the insect bite and acquire the parasite actually go on to develop acquire full-blown Chagas disease.

So there are many people carrying the bug around in their bloodstream, they haven't gotten sick but they could donate blood and transmit the disease to somebody else. So more and more blood banks now are testing for Chagas disease just like they test for hepatitis, HIV and other serious infections.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much. Had never heard about it before. But now, note taken. Chagas disease. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill Lloyd.

LLOYD: Global medicine. Talk to you soon.

WHITFIELD: All right. Appreciate it.

All right. Well, just like the hit TV show "American Idol," how about this? The contestants are inmates? We'll take you onstage and behind bars with "Inmate Idol," coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: A truly captive audience at a talent show in Arizona aptly called "Inmate Idol." All of the contestants in this "American Idol" kick-off were residents of the Maricopa County Jail. And even though the competition and the crowd were tough, this man managed to take home the top prize for his rendition of "My Girl."

(CLIP OF INMATE SINGING "MY GIRL")

WHITFIELD: He is 36-year-old Corey Brothers (ph), who is serving time for a probation violation. Brothers says the contest made him realize that music will be part of his future.

And our own singing sensation, easier said than done, right? Rick Sanchez. Folks, have you heard him sing?

SANCHEZ: I can't believe that you're giving away our secret, Fred.

WHITFIELD: I know.

SANCHEZ: You know, that's the last time I sing for you.

WHITFIELD: I hear you hum a few bars every now and then. Oh, it's mesmerizing, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Said so much, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

SANCHEZ: Have a good evening. All right. Well, next in the NEWSROOM, flooding in the Midwest is shutting down some roads and sending several families looking for shelter tonight. We're going to be tracking some of these storms for you.

Also, two teens are in trouble now, this is a for a phone prank that led to a stroke for this woman. Now we don't her picture, but we'll be able to get it for you, we promise.

And then there is story, of course, that we've been following all afternoon, Iran's insistence on sticking with its uranium enrichment program is leading to more sanctions from the United Nations.

And hello again, everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez. That is our top story tonight, Iran's isolation. Just a short time ago, Tehran stood alone as an unanimous U.N. Security Council slapped it with tighter sanctions for its renegade nuclear program. We're going to get to that story in just a little bit. But on a separate front now, Iran is suddenly in the midst of a diplomatic crisis. This is sparked by its seizure of a group of British sailors and marines. An hour or so ago the U.N. Security Council tightened the screws on Iran with a second round of sanctions over its nuclear program.

The vote against Iran was unanimous. And joining us live from U.N. headquarters in New York now is CNN's Richard Roth. He is following this part of the story for us.

What happened, Richard?

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