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American Morning

Body Found in Iraq: U.S. Working on Identification; Long, Hot Summer: Dangerous Drought Conditions; Busy Hurricane Season Predicted

Aired May 23, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. It is Wednesday, May the 23rd.
I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Thanks so much for joining us today.

We start with breaking news, disturbing news out of Iraq. A body found, and it could be one of the missing American soldiers.

They describe it as a western-looking man dressed in military pants with a tattoo, pulled from the Euphrates River about five hours ago. An official from the unit currently searching for the missing soldiers is now on the way to this area to help identify the body.

CNN's Arwa Damon is with those troops that have been searching in this so-called Triangle of Death, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.

What can you give us as far as an update, Arwa, on what you're hearing there?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, everyone here pretty much waiting for that representative to either call in or make the trip back after looking at the body and making or not making a positive identification as to whether or not that is in fact one of the three kidnapped soldiers.

We are at the headquarters in Yusifiya with the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, and the unit right now going through a very difficult time as they try to figure out the fate of one of their own. They have been searching relentlessly for nearly 12 days now, conducting multiple missions on a daily basis.

Now, the information about this missing soldier originally came out from the Iraqi police. They are the (INAUDIBLE) 18 miles south of where the attack took place. The attack taking place in Karguli (ph) village, a very dangerous area and known to the U.S. military al Qaeda stronghold. Again, the troops here right now just waiting for word on the fate of one of their own -- Kiran.

CHETRY: CNN's Arwa Damon.

Thank you.

ROBERTS: CNN's Barbara Starr is monitoring the story from the Pentagon this morning. She joins us now.

Barbara, what is the latest from your vantage point?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as this very difficult news does begin to spread, the U.S. military is making it very clear, even if and when positive identification comes, the number one priority will be the families that are awaiting word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: We will work diligently to determine if he is, in fact, one of our missing soldiers. We have not made any identification yet.

If appropriate, we will first notify the families of the results of that identification process. We are making every effort we can to ensure that the families of our soldiers are the first to receive accurate information. We all would expect, I believe, nothing less.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: General Caldwell making clear there what the military priority is this morning, and, indeed, John, as you know, in these circumstances there are military liaison officers with each of the three U.S. families that are awaiting very difficult word -- John.

ROBERTS: Do people at the Pentagon, Barbara, have any kind of theory as to why this soldier may have been separated from the other two that remain missing, if, in fact, this happens to be one of those three soldiers?

STARR: Well, they don't know yet, John. That is going to be part of the investigation, clearly.

I think General Petraeus made it very clear last weekend that he thought he had information it was possible one of the soldiers may, indeed, have died shortly after being captured, or shortly after that firefight, that initial attack ended. They had some information that that might have been the case and that two might have survived. But, to be very clear, because all of the families may be listening, what senior officers continue to say is they simply do not know. They're going to continue their search -- John.

ROBERTS: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon.

And Barbara, I know you'll get back to us the moment that you hear anything. Thanks.

CHETRY: Another question today, did Osama bin Laden personally order the creation of a terror cell in Iraq to launch attacks against the United States? It's the claim that President Bush will make later today in a speech at the Coast Guard Academy, at graduation ceremonies there.

There's also some new information that had been hidden away in a secret intelligence report for the past two years claiming that bin Laden wanted to use Iraq as a launch pad for attacks and actually ordered a top lieutenant, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, to set up a cell dedicated to that purpose. Al-Libbi was captured back in 2005.

Suzanne Malveaux is following the story from the White House this morning. She joins us live now with more on that.

And what do we know, if anything else, about what the president will be revealing today?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, as you know, this is really all about the president using everything in his power to justify the Iraq war. He's under tremendous amount of pressure to bring U.S. troops home, and what he has is a unique power to declassify information. And yesterday he did just that.

He's going to be delivering a commencement address to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy later today, and he's going to lay out the specifics of this story, saying in 2005 Osama bin Laden worked with a top lieutenant called Abu Faraj al-Libbi to plan -- to form a terror cell inside of Iraq, to plan attacks against the United States and other countries.

Now, Kiran, we have heard this kind of general story before from the president, but not these details. The administration is hoping by providing these details they'll be presenting a more convincing case to Americans that, yes, if U.S. troops leave prematurely, that al Qaeda will fill this kind of power vacuum and it will be very dangerous for Americans -- Kiran.

CHETRY: The question, Suzanne, though, is why do it at a commencement address, a Coast Guard commencement address, if, indeed, there are key things that we should all be knowing about this discovery?

MALVEAUX: Well, one thing here is that it really is a chance to convince Americans here, for the president to make the case. He's under tremendous amount of pressure to bring those U.S. troops home to say, look, we have got to stay longer and this is why. Because there's this fear, this threat that al Qaeda will actually fill that power vacuum if U.S. troops leave too soon or too quickly.

There is a lot of skepticism, though, Kiran, as you know, because critics say, look, he can always selectively declassify information to build a case. One case in point, of course, is the weapons of mass destruction, when the United States, the president put out before us this intelligence that was declassified. And that, ultimately, we found out it wasn't true when it comes to those weapons of destruction.

One thing administration officials do say is that they're able to declassify this now because there aren't any of the major players that are out there. They're either dead or captured -- Kiran.

CHETRY: One of them though has been in jail since 2005, apparently.

Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.

Well, there's also a new tape said to be from bin Laden's right- hand man. In it, Ayman al-Zawahiri praising a Taliban leader killed in Afghanistan and saying that hundreds of his followers are prepared and equipped to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: From California to Florida, north to south, large sections of the United States are scorching from severe drought.

CNN's John Zarrella now on the impact from your holiday weekend trip to the lake, to fresh water available to drink.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In some spots, the water was more than a foot deep. Seven inches of rain fell on parts of Miami this past weekend, but rain needed to fall over Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, primary sources of water for five million people. None did.

(on camera): This is bad, about as bad as you've seen it?

FRED SKLAR, SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DIST.: Just about, yes.

ZARRELLA (voice over): We flew over the Everglades water conservation areas with Fred Sklar, a chief scientist for the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks great, doesn't it?

ZARRELLA: In places, the river of grass is barely a trickle. The brown and white patches below are completely dried up.

SKLAR: This time of year, normally what I would find would be at least half a foot of water over this area, and we would be surrounded by wading birds.

ZARRELLA: There are no birds, no water. During most dry seasons, 600 million gallons of water a day would be pumped from this area eastward to coastal well fields. There, it would help keep fresh water flowing. This year, with no water to pump, the fields are being shut down to prevent saltwater intrusion.

An even bigger concern out here is fire.

SKLAR: This could go up at any minute.

ZARRELLA: The ground is not dirt, but organic material, 100 years of decomposed vegetation. A fire out here in this peat could last weeks. There are already fires burning along the fringes of the glades. You could see them as you drive along Alligator Alley, where forestry crews are setting backfires to keep the flames from reaching the road.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ZARRELLA: I'm at the Jacaranda golf course in Broward County. Now, where I'm standing in the normal season this would all be under water. No matter where you look, all the golf courses around south Florida looks just like this. The water levels are several feet down.

Now, it's a little misleading when you look back here and you see that it's all green. Well, that's the problem. The rainy season has kicked in, John, but it's raining in south Florida heavily, but not where it needs to rain, on Lake Okeechobee and in the Everglades -- John.

ROBERTS: All right. John Zarrella live for us from Plantation this morning.

John, thanks very much.

All right. Guess the rainiest city in America.

Seattle? Guess again. Seattle didn't even crack the top 10.

Mobile, Alabama, is number one. An average of 67 inches of rainfall a year over the past 30 years. Followed by Pensacola, Florida, New Orleans, West Palm Beach and Lafayette, Louisiana.

What was the driest city in America? Las Vegas.

Weather forecasters are predicting a busy hurricane season. We're going to talk to the director of the National Hurricane Center, the new director, coming up next.

And our severe weather expert, Chad Myers, will have forecasts for the hurricane season and the droughts.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, the National Hurricane Center putting out its own predictions, new predictions this year, on what to expect for this upcoming hurricane season, saying that we should expect actually a busy summer and fall.

Bill Proenza is the new director of the National Hurricane Center. He joins us this morning to talk more about what we can expect.

Bill, good to see you. Thanks for being here.

BILL PROENZA, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Good morning.

CHETRY: So, the predictions are out. Tell us what we're looking toward as we head into hurricane season. PROENZA: An active season with up to 17 named storms. That is -- that counts as tropical storms and hurricanes. And up to five major hurricanes. That is, hurricanes that would reach about 111 miles per hour or higher.

CHETRY: Last year we had a bit of a discrepancy between what was predicted by the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, as well as others at universities, and actually what happened.

So, how do these predictions come to fruition? How do you make sure that you're in line with what eventually happens?

PROENZA: Well, last year was, no doubt, over-forecasting expectation for the year, as it turns out. But, indeed, we had a beneficial impact from an El Nino effect which suppressed the amount of tropical storm and hurricane activity for the key peak months of August, September and October.

We have no such effect this year. We're looking book at the multidecadal, the more active cycle of hurricane and tropical storm development that we're in, and we're saying it's going to be an active season.

CHETRY: So you're saying that we'll know within the next one to three months for sure, though, whether or not there will be one of these type of systems that eventually affects the outcome of hurricane season?

PROENZA: Well, things could change, but as we see it now, we're looking for an active season. And our concern, of course, is making sure that the American public all along the coastal areas of the U.S. are prepared.

CHETRY: All right.

Now, you found yourself in a little bit of a controversy by weighing in on what NOAA, your umbrella organization, is planning to do to celebrate the 200th anniversary. They're spending a bunch of money on parties. You called it in the Florida "Sun-Sentinel," "an ill-advised use of federal funds."

What is going on with the party plans and what is the price tag?

PROENZA: Well, it's a celebration, as they call it. And I'm saying that at this point I would like to see such appropriated funds used for higher priority, and that is the delivery of our mission and the protection of life.

CHETRY: Yes. There are others that agree with you, including the compatriot down there in the state organization in Florida saying the same thing. Saying, why are we cutting money out of some programs, including flight times for when you guys go and check on weather?

What is going on with money being cut from your program and from your department? PROENZA: Well, as I understand, the flight time, should we need more hours than what has been allocated for this year, have the assurances from the leadership at NOAA that we will be able to accommodate the additional requirements from the season itself. But nevertheless, we want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to focus our attention, our efforts, our resources into the challenges that we have facing us into the future, making sure that we bring the latest technological and science infused into operations so that we can gain the benefits and what we have out there for the American people.

CHETRY: All right. Are there programs -- I understand there was $700,000 that was cut for some programs that were on the pipeline. What's going on with that?

PROENZA: There was a shortfall of about $700,000. It was essentially $500,000 that was cut from research and some $200,000 administrative support that we needed. And these were one to two-year projects that brought some science and technology infused into our operations. We were missing those funds as far as what we needed, and we're hopeful that they will be restored.

CHETRY: Because they're spending apparently $4 million on their 200-year anniversary celebration?

PROENZA: There's a certain amount of money being spent on the celebration, and, indeed, that is a case where we feel that if we're short in some areas, we need to look at those funds to make sure that we are able to round them off, and making sure, of course, that bottom line, the mission to protect life is sustained.

CHETRY: All right.

Bill Proenza, the director of the National Hurricane Center.

Thanks for joining us.

PROENZA: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes after the hour now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Hey, this morning, concern for the health of Delta and Dawn, those wayward whales trying to make it back to the Pacific. Scientists say wounds on them show signs of infection now.

The whales are still 70 miles from open water. They're hoping if they can get them into the salt water it might help to heal those wounds.

And the plague -- Bubonic Plague at the Denver Zoo. Are humans at risk? The monkeys certainly are. We'll talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: And welcome back to the most news in the morning.

The American home is getting super-sized. At least one in five houses had at least four bedrooms in 2005, according to the Census Bureau. And the average home is 400 square feet bigger than it was in 1990.

Families, though, are getting smaller, down to 2.6 people. We always laugh about that, right? It makes no sense. You can't have a .6 of a person per household.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: There is a beautiful shot as some of the ships are coming in to New York Harbor. It is Fleet Week. That kicks off today and goes on through the rest of the week.

And you were right, John, when you -- when you correctly identified what ship that was.

ROBERTS: It's right there on the right-hand side. A missile cruiser, and an aircraft carrier on the left.

CHETRY: A beautiful shot. And we'll see many, many more ships making their way here into New York Harbor over the next few days.

And welcome, once again. Thanks so much for being with us.

It is Wednesday, May 23rd.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts.

Good morning to you.

CHETRY: Well, we have some new developments on a disturbing story out of Iraq this morning. A body has been found that could be one of the three missing American soldiers.

It was pulled from the Euphrates River this morning. The body had a tattoo on one arm. wearing U.S. military pants and boots, found about 23 miles south of Mahmoudiya. That's where the troops were attacked 12 days ago.

A U.S. representative is now on his way to where the body was found, trying to make a positive identification.

Did Osama bin Laden personally order the creation of a terror cell in Iraq to launch attacks against the United States? Well, it's the claim that President Bush will be making later today in a speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The new information had been hidden in a secret intelligence report for two years. It claims bin Laden wanted to use Iraq as a launch pad for attacks in the U.S., and ordered a top lieutenant, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, to set up a cell dedicated to that purpose. Al Libbi was captured back in 2005.

Well, Democrats not getting everything they wanted in the war spending bill, but neither is the president. The money, nearly $100 billion, will be released without imposing a timeline for troop withdrawals, but there will be benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet in order to keep U.S. reconstruction aid flowing. The final compromise is projected to be reached by the end of the week.

"ANDERSON COOPER 360" airs weeknights at 10:00 Eastern. Here's Anderson now with a look at what will be on his program tonight.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Kiran, tonight, we'll take a little trip with billionaire Richard Branson across the Arctic by dog sled to witness and document climate change that could put hundreds of million of people in jeopardy. Richard Branson, the Arctic, only on 360 tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, thanks, Anderson.

ROBERTS: Thirty-one minute after the hour now.

Startling statistics from a Pew Research poll have been making headlines in the last hour. The poll show that eight percent of U.S. Muslims -- this is Muslims living in the United States -- think that suicide bombings of civilian targets can often, or sometimes, be justified if it's in the defense of Islam. That number jumps look when you look at people between the ages of 18 and 29, 15 percent in that case.

But do the numbers tell the whole story? Here to talk about the Pew poll, I'm joined by three young Muslim-Americans, Yasmin Hamidi. She is with the Network of Arab-American Professionals. Haroon Moghul is a grad student at Columbia majoring in Islamic history, and Zaheer Ali is a Phd candidate who's doing an oral history of the Nation of Islam in Harlem.

Good morning to all of you.

Let's start with you, first of all, Yasmin. What do you make of this idea that -- now, we should say that it was only 1 percent of respondents who said that suicide bombings are justifiable in all cases, 7 percent said maybe in some cases. That would mean that the overwhelming majority is still against them, but I'm surprised that nearly 10 percent would say it's OK in some cases.

YASMIN HAMIDI, NETWORK OF ARAB-AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS: Well, I think it is a good news survey precisely for the reason you pointed out, which is that the overwhelming majority are against it.

I think what we have to look at that there is a minority that is unwilling to criticize violence against civilians as a political tactic, and I think that's what we have to look at. What that points to, I think, is the need for increased education of Muslim-Americans about the futility of violence as a political tactic, and I think that's what we need more of.

But I think that overall, it's good news in that the vast majority are against it.

ROBERTS: Haroon, what do you make of this idea that 15 percent of people under age 30 say that it's OK in some, if not all, cases?

HAROON MOGHUL, GRADUATE STUDENT: I think there's an ambiguity there, because as Yasmin was saying, that there's definitely a sense that this has become so common in the news that I wonder if we're not noticing a difference. Is there a difference between acknowledging violence and espousing it. These people weren't asked, you know, is this something tat you personally would do? Not that it makes it acceptable for even one person to espouse that kind of view. But at the same time there is an ambiguity there, and I think we also have a culture of violence in a broader sense, especially among youth, in terms of video games, and movies and just news that we get and the kind of environment that we're saturated by, and I wonder if that maybe affects the youth more so than the older generations.

ROBERTS: The poll also had another interesting finding. It found that 40 percent, only 40 percent, less than half of Muslims living in the United States, believe that Arabs were behind the 9/11 attacks. What do think is responsible for that number?

ZAHEER ALI, GRADUATE STUDENT: Well, I think It's important to keep in mind that events over the last few years, especially in the case of Iraq and the WMD that no one found has undermined the credibility of the U.S. government and its narratives. And certainly in the history of this country in terms of African-Americans there is enough reason to be suspicious and skeptical of the official narrative of the U.S. government.

ROBERTS: Can I ask you what do you think?

ALI: What do I think? I think that the -- I do think that the narrative we've been given is convincing.

ROBERTS: So you believe Arabs were behind it?

ALI: I believe as it has been presented to us pointed that the evidence does point in that direction. I do also believe, though, that it is very important to maintain skepticism, dissent, speaking truth to power and protests, which is very crucial to the Democratic process.

ROBERTS: Well, I think that the case for war going into Iraq and how it has been proven raised the skepticism level among all people.

Yasmin, do you know of Arab-Americans -- what about yourself -- or Muslim-Americans, Muslims in America, who may be skeptical of this?

HAMIDI: I'm sure. I definitely encounter that in my daily life. The majority of people I know think do believe that Arabs perpetrated the attacks.

I think as Zaheer said, there's a lot of skepticism. There's deep suspension in our community about the U.S.'s role in the region throughout history. And I think some of the policies that came about 9/11, the Patriot Act, special registration, the attack on Iraq, made people construct things in a certain way. It can be tempting to do so, especially when you have that mistrust, but I think it needs to go back to the facts, the evidence that's been presented and to look inside themselves.

ROBERTS: Haroon, you weren't born in this country?

MOGHUL: I was born here.

ROBERTS: You were born in this country.

How does your perspective as a Muslim in America of America differ, perhaps, from what we might see among Muslims in other areas of the world?

MOGHUL: I think there's definitely a lot of privilege that comes from being Muslim in America from my own background. A lot of immigrants who came here were able to do very well for themselves, and I think that's really reflected in the poll, that a lot of Muslim- Americans, 71 percent, I believe, think that if you work well in America, you'll do well for yourself, and that's definitely something that we've been inculcated with.

And being a minority in such a wealthy country definitely changes the way you look at Islam, I think, and the way you look at yourself and the world around you. And I think that's different from how a lot of Muslims in the rest of the world look at their own religion.

ROBERTS: When you look into the conversion to Islam, 91 percent of converts to Islam were born in the United States; 49 percent of those conversions happened before the age of 21.

Zaheer, were you a convert to Islam?

ALI: No. No.

ROBERTS: You were born in Muslim?

ALI: Yes.

ROBERTS: Give us some perspective here on why you think -- what is it about Islam that is attractive to people? What is it particularly attractive to young people? And what is attractive about it predominantly to African-Americans, who make up almost 50 percent of all the of converts?

ALI: Well, I think two things in particular. One, there's a strong history of many of the slaves who came to America came from predominantly Muslim parts of Africa, so there's an identification with the roots and history of Islam in Africa. Two, there's a long- standing history of Islam in the African-American community playing a very positive role. And when you look at the most prominent Muslim- Americans, many of them come out of the tradition of African-American Islam, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Elijah Muhammad, Imam W.D. Muhammad (ph), Zay Shakir (ph), Sherman Jackson (ph), Anita McCloud (ph), and the list goes on, jazz artists, hip-hop artists. So there's a strong cultural, political and social component where African-Americans as Muslims have played a strong role in the African- American community.

ROBERTS: Well, you definitely have been doing your research. I hope that your thesis goes well and, do me a favor, send me a copy. I'd like to read it.

ALI: I will. Thank you.

ROBERTS: All right, Jasmin Hamidi, Haroon Moghul, Zaheer Ali, thanks very much for being with us to help put some perspective on this Pew Research study. It's a very interesting piece of information.

Coming up, funnel clouds and marble-size hail. We've got some amazing pictures of some extreme weather in Kansas.

And a monkey at the Denver Zoo dies of bubonic plague. Could it spread to other animals or even people?

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.

Take a look at these pictures of a hail storm that was pounding Graham County, Kansas. Reports say the hail varied in size from marbles to golf balls, but that wasn't all. The weather system also brought a funnel cloud. And it was a beauty. Take a look at that storm. Video was taken by some storm-chasers, not the most well- formed tornado. In fact, not really even really a tornado at all because it hadn't touched the ground. Still a sight, though. No injuries reported in that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, we talked about an outbreak of bubonic plague at the Denver Zoo. It killed one monkey. Well, now more than a dozen others are in isolation and being given antibiotics. Visitors to the zoo also being warned.

We're Paging Dr. Gupta to find out if there is a risk to humans. And Sanjay Gupta joins us now from Atlanta.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. You just mention plague and people start to get a little nervous because it killed so many people years ago. Much more easily diagnosed than treatable maladaise (ph). It was a capuchin monkey that you were just referencing that actually died of the plague, and now the 17 other monkeys are on the -- that's not the monkey, but that is a capuchin monkey. There are 17 other monkeys around this particular zoo in this particular zoo. The way to sort of protect them is to isolate them and then treat to prophylactic them with antibiotics. It could be serious for these other animals, probably a very small risk to humans, though -- Kiran.

CHETRY: How does a monkey get bubonic plague at the zoo?

GUPTA: You know, we're not sure, and we asked the same question, because we were curious working the phones, and probably ate the carcass of an infected animal. That's the most common way. Now these animals typically are in very remote locations. They don't typically find their ways, like squirrels, even prairie dogs, don't find their way into sort of more urban areas. But it can happen. They may die of the plague, subsequently get eaten, and -- or they can get bitten by the flea, as well. A flea might actually bite an infected animal and then bite another animal, transmit it that way.

CHETRY: So if it can be spread by fleas, can humans get it from flea bites?

GUPTA: Potentially. It can happen. It's very rare. There's one case. We looked into this -- one case so far this year in New Mexico. It's a very rare thing, in part, because the animals that do have it are often in very rural areas, very remote areas, and oftentimes the fleas just hang around those infected animals. So unlikely to go ahead and bite a human as well. But it can be very serious among animals.

For example, entire colonies of prairie dogs can be wiped out by the plague, much in the way that humans were so long ago. But not very common anymore in humans.

CHETRY: Yes, and so one case so far this year in New Mexico, and that was believed a person was bitten by an infected flee. So if you're at the zoo, how would you get bubonic plague? What's your risk?

GUPTA: I think it's very minimal. We asked people at zoo that as well. First of all, there has to an animal that was infected unrecognized, so not isolated. A flea would have to had to bitten that animal and then bitten you, as well. So it just doesn't happen very often.

Some of the things to worry about, though, if you are concerned -- in case you're curious, Kiran, and that's what it looks like. If you see this in your refrigerator, don't eat it. But if you had a high fever, for example, suddenly high fever, also swollen lymph nodes. The name comes from these buboes. You get them in your armpits, and your groin and your neck, and you also get a lesion at the site of the flea bite. Again, I just want to point out, again, that it's very easily treatable with antibiotics, as long as it's recognized early.

CHETRY: Now one other question about your pets. I mean, if monkeys at the zoo can get bubonic plague, can your animal, can your dog or cat get it?

GUPTA: Yes, it's -- what's really interesting about this, is that the answer is yes, but dogs for some reason appear to be very resistant to plague. They're not sure what it is about dogs specifically, but they just don't seem to get the plague, be carriers of it or get sick of it. Cats, on the other hand, can carry it and can die from it. So cats much more likely. If your animals are roaming free in the prairies, for example, in very rural, remote areas, and then coming home with fleas on them, they could be concerned. But, again, we don't have to guess at this. We know the numbers are very, very small in terms domesticated animals and humans getting it.

CHETRY: All right, so bottom line, be aware, but you don't really need to be terribly nervous about it.

GUPTA: I think you can still take your kids to the zoo.

CHETRY: All right, Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

By the way, we're taking questions that you may ask the doctor. Go to CNN.com/americanmorning. Write to us, and Sanjay will answer your e-mails, some of them, tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: "CNN NEWSROOM" is just minutes away now. Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center. She joins us now with a look at what's ahead.

Hi, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, John.

That's right. We have these stories coming up on the "NEWSROOM" rundown. The U.S. military trying desperately to determine whether a body is one of the three missing soldiers. The corpse pulled from the Euphrates River today. We'll have the latest on that.

And live coverage, former top Justice Department aide Monica Goodling testifying on Capitol Hill this morning with immunity. She coordinated the firings of federal prosecutors with the White House.

And a drug for attention deficit disorder gaining popularity now as a weight-loss medication. So does it work? And what are the risks?

Plus, John, we're going to have an opportunity to show some of the video. I was in a Blackhawk helicopter and flew over the fires in southeast Georgia. We're going to show some of that to our viewers, as well. So join Tony Harris and me in the "NEWSROOM" coming up the top of the hour on CNN.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to that. Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: You bet.

CHETRY: President Bush expected to leave the White House shortly. He's on his way to the Coast Guard Academy -- that's in New London, Connecticut -- for their big graduation, and he's expected to unveil some intelligence about Osama bin Laden and a plot to attack America from inside of Iraq. We're also spend to some time with the Coast Guard cadets. They're the ones that are going to be listening to the president today as they head off into their military career. And the class of 2007, by the way, is a history-making graduating class. We're going to show you why, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

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COLLINS: Beautiful shot this morning. You see one of the ships coming in to New York harbor, heading up the Hudson River. It's because it's the start of Fleet Week, and those ships are going to be docking up there, and along the west side of Manhattan, a lot of people, even hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, heading up to get a chance to meet the crew, take a tour and just get some Naval history. So Fleet Week under way starting today.

Well, as we mentioned, President Bush heading to New London, Connecticut shortly. He's going to be delivering the commencement address to the coast guard academy. We recently spent some time with the Coast Guard graduates who are making history in their military careers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY (voice-over): In New London, Connecticut, they still carry out the drills at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy the same way they did 131 years ago.

But with a few notable exceptions. Jayna McCarron is one of 77 women graduating from the academy this year. A homecoming queen and high school track star from Massachusetts, McCarron says she was more interested in making the grade than making a point.

JAYNA MCCARRON, COAST GUARD CADET: I applied thinking, you know, why not? It's an hour and a half from my house, free education.

CHETRY (on camera): Did you know how many other women were going to be joining you as cadets?

MCCARON: I didn't know what the percentage was or anything, but I knew it was a place I wanted to try and it would be hard, but the percentage didn't matter to me.

CHETRY (voice-over): Roughly one third of the graduates are women, and that is a milestone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all have the highest number of women graduates ever.

(APPLAUSE)

CHETRY (on camera): What drew you to the Coast Guard over some of the other branches?

MCCARON: It is the missions. They're much more humanitarian. I like that we have search and rescue and drug interdiction.

CHETRY (voice-over): About 2,000 active duty members of the Coast Guard are in Iraq.

(on camera): There's always the possibility that you may be asked to go to Iraq. Would you go if they needed you?

MCCARON: I would, absolutely. It did cross my mind going into the military academy, but, in the Coast Guard, we mostly do stay on the coasts here in the United States.

CHETRY (voice-over): And now in the post-9/11 environment that means protecting U.S. borders against possible terror attacks.

(on camera): How fast are we going right now?

MCCARON: 14.5.

CHETRY (voice-over): Cadets train in hands-on lab such as this ship simulator, where Cadet McCaron piloted us through a mock storm.

MCCARON: I really feel like we're moving.

(on camera): Is there anything about your four years here and was it different than what you expected showing up?

MCCARON: I didn't even know when I showed that I was going to be yelled at. Honestly I wasn't expecting it. There's definitely a higher volume of leadership.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Graduation day marks yet another milestone at the academy. Thirty years ago today, or today when they graduate, it was 30 years ago at that graduation that they first allowed women to enter as "swabs." That's what they call freshman. Also, along with Navy, Air Force, Army and Merchant Marine, the Coast Guard is one of the five service academies in the United States.

ROBERTS: Here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" -- actually, sorry, before we get there, some pictures just in to CNN. Take a look at this. This is a train derailment in Denver, Colorado. It's coming to us from our affiliate KUSA. This is close to the intersection of I-25 and 13th Street in Denver. Apparently these tanker cars derailed. You can see that one hit another engine there, and apparently the contents of the tankers spilled out all over the ground. It was some sort of white foamy liquid.

Good news, though, no hazard to life or limb because the material coming out of the train cars, as you can see there, is beer. So you might see a bunch of rescue workers running over there with straws, but not going to be evacuating anybody.

Here's a quick look now at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM": discovery in Iraq. Is a body pulled from the Euphrates one of three missing U.S. soldiers?

President Bush live this morning linking Osama bin Laden to terror plots in Iraq.

A former top aide to the attorney general testifying with immunity this morning; topic: the fired federal prosecutors.

Another round of severe weather pounds the Plains.

"NEWSROOM" top of the hour on CNN.

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(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, that's all for us here from AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: See you again tomorrow morning. Hope to see you back here as well.

"CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

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