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Airline Passengers Exposed to Tuberculosis?; President Bush Pushes Immigration Reform Bill; Thousands of Venezuelans Protest Government Crackdown on Media

Aired May 29, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon, who is on assignment.

Well, it's a traveler's nightmare: a fellow passenger infected with a dangerous form of tuberculosis. How close would you have to get to risk catching it yourself? We will ask an infectious disease specialist.

PHILLIPS: Plus, a horrific discovery near Fort Worth, Texas: a mother and her children found hanged in a closet. We are going to get the latest in a live report.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Well, a warning for passengers on two recent transatlantic flights: The CDC says some may have been exposed to an American infected with an extremely drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.

The infected patient flew to Europe and back this month. The government has now issued a rare federal quarantine order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: What is unusual about this circumstance is that this patient's tuberculosis organism was extremely resistant to the T.B. drugs that we would normally use to treat infection.

We know this is an emerging problem on a global basis, and it -- from, time to time, it does occur.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with us now.

People hear T.B. But this other, this is something nasty. This is different.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a whole different ball game. HOLMES: Right.

COHEN: This is not the same thing as regular T.B. I mean, it's also tuberculosis, but the disease that Dr. Julie Gerberding at the CDC was just talking about, extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.

That means, as one doctor I talked to put it, we do not know how to treat this disease. There are not good drugs out there. They try the regular drugs, and they don't work. This disease has a very high mortality rate. It is very unusual in this country. From 1993 to 2006, there have only been 49 cases. This disease has a very, very high mortality rate.

HOLMES: OK. And that should give us a pretty good sign, when we hear that there's a federal quarantine order put in place. We don't hear about that ever, usually.

COHEN: Extremely rare. Dr. Gerberding said that they asked around at the CDC. They don't think they have issued this type of isolation order since 1963.

As you can see here on the screen, the government does have the power to apprehend and detain individuals to curtail the spread of disease. The president has to sign an executive order. So, this is a big deal. Again, they don't think they have done something like this since 1963.

So, the person with this disease is now in a hospital somewhere in isolation. And what does this mean now for the people who were on these two transatlantic flights? They need to go get checked out to see if they have T.B.

Now, luckily here, if you can speak of anything in terms of good luck, this disease, it is transmitted person to person, but it wouldn't transmit, let's say, to most of the people on the plane. When someone with T.B. has been on a plane, in one case, somebody traveled. There were 925 passengers on the various flights that he took. Fifteen of them got T.B.

So, he didn't get everyone sick. He didn't get nearly everyone sick. And those 15 people had what is called latest disease. They didn't have active tuberculosis. So, it's transmissible, but there's no -- I don't want anyone to think that, gosh, everyone on that plane now has T.B., because that is not the case.

HOLMES: But, still, everybody needs to be checked out.

COHEN: That's right, especially if you sat near this gentleman.

Now, the CDC -- it was interesting -- they said, we're particularly worried about people who sat a couple of rows in front, two rows in front and two rows behind, and in the same row. I didn't hear them say the exact row.

And, of course, even if you -- if they said it, you might not remember. HOLMES: Right.

COHEN: Gee, which row did I sit in?

HOLMES: Right.

COHEN: But I think it's worth saying what those flights are. This is a flight on May 12, departing Atlanta, going to Paris. And that was on Air France Flight Number 385. And, then, there was also a Czech Air flight, 0104, that went from Prague in the Czech Republic to Montreal on May 24.

So, here you see the first flight 385. And then you see the second flight, Czech Air 0104, the flight is May 12 from Atlanta to Paris, May 24, from Prague to Montreal. This -- this person who had the disease then drove by car back into the United States.

HOLMES: All right, a lot more to come on this. We are going to be talking to a specialist on this T.B.

But, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

COHEN: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, four little girls and their mother hanging in a bedroom closet, it sounds too horrific to imagine, but, unfortunately, it's true. It happened in Hudson Oaks, Texas, near Forth Worth.

Ellie Hogue from radio station WBAP is on the scene. She joins us by phone.

Ellie, what have you been able to find out?

ELLIE HOGUE, WBAP REPORTER: Well, we're still trying to determine a motive in this case.

We have heard a -- a couple of different things. For example, within the hour, I just spoke to a godmother of one of the four little girls, who described the 22-year-old mother as good, happy, and hardworking.

But we have heard other people, neighbors, say that -- that the 22-year-old mother was depressed about a recent separation with her husband. Somebody else had said that she was basically overwhelmed, because she just wasn't getting any financial support or really any kind of support in taking care of these four young girls. So, that's what we're really trying to wait for is a motive. There was no suicide note.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ellie, could it be postpartum?

HOGUE: Well, you know, that's a good possibility. I mean, we have certainly -- we heard about that. And I have certainly covered many of those stories over the past several years.

Her youngest child, the child who has survived all of this, and is said to be in good condition, by the way, about is 8 to 9 months old. Still could be. I mean, that's -- that's still a baby. So, that's a good possibility.

PHILLIPS: Is the 8-month -- 8-month-old still in the hospital in good condition, and what will happen to that baby?

HOGUE: Yes, to our knowledge, good condition. We got that update about an hour ago. She's still in the hospital.

Probably what will happen, as normally happens in these situations, child protective services will step in. We -- there may have been some sort of a custody fight between the 23-year-old mother and the father.

There may also be two fathers, at least, involved in this. So, perhaps DPS will step in, or perhaps the father of the surviving child may step in as well.

PHILLIPS: Ellie Hogue, with WBAP Radio, appreciate you updating us.

HOGUE: You bet.

HOLMES: Targeting U.S. troops and their rescuers, it's a devious tactic Iraqi insurgents have repeatedly used. Now they have done it again. And, this time, they managed to kill eight Americans. And those are far from the only deaths, Iraqi or American, across Iraq this week.

We want to go now to the Pentagon and CNN's Jamie McIntyre covering the latest for us.

Hello, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, T.J.

These latest deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq are pushing the total for May above 100. In fact, it's about 114. That's going to make May one of the deadly months so far. This latest incident took place in the very deadly Diyala Province, where a lot of insurgents in al Qaeda have moved, having been squeezed out of Baghdad by the U.S. security crackdown there.

According to military sources, what happened in this case was, a Kiowa scout helicopter overseeing a very busy supply route was brought down by small-arms fire. Then, when the U.S. quick-reaction force was rushing to get to the scene, a Bradley Fighting Vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. That killed five additional soldiers. An eighth death was the result of when another vehicle went to the aid of the Bradley and also was hit by a roadside bomb.

But let's take a look at those numbers for the month of May: 114 deaths. That surpasses the highs that we saw just last month, for instance, in April, where it was 104, in December, 112. And, then, back in November of 2004, 137, that's when the U.S. was engaged in a major offensive in Fallujah.

And, T.J., at this rate, President Bush's prediction that things are going to get worse before they get better, with an increase in violence expected in August, as it gets closer to that September deadline, the U.S. military is on track to have a year this year in Iraq where it would have lost more than 1,000 U.S. service members. That would make it the deadliest year of the war so far -- T.J.

HOLMES: A dire prediction there.

Jamie McIntyre for us at the Pentagon -- Jamie, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: With Congress on a break until next week, President Bush is trying to give some momentum to immigration reform legislation. He spoke today in south Georgia at a federal facility where Border Patrol officers train.

CNN's Kathleen Koch joins me from the White House with all the details.

Hi, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, President Bush came out swinging today. He accused opponents of the immigration reform bill before Congress of using what he called empty political rhetoric to scare people from supporting the measure. The president insisted that, in his opinion, it was a good bill and the nation's best hope for lasting immigration reform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of Americans are skeptical about immigration reform, primarily because they don't think the government can fix the problems.

And my answer to the skeptics is, give us a chance to fix the problems in a comprehensive way that enforces our border and treats people with decency and respect. Give us a chance to fix this problem. Don't try to kill this bill before it gets moving.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, the measure, which has detractors on both sides, does resume being debated in Congress next week.

Conservatives say that it is tantamount to amnesty for people who have entered the country illegally. And they also have concerns that it doesn't do enough to beef up border security, whereas pro- immigration groups, their main concerns, among other things, are that the plan being eyed by Congress makes it basically too tough for immigrants to gain legal work visas. They charge that the $1,500 price tag every four years that it would require is simply too expensive -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kathleen Koch, live from the White House, thanks.

KOCH: You bet.

HOLMES: The Fort Dix terror plot, six people charged in the alleged scheme to attack the New Jersey Army base. Police were tipped off to the group by a video clerk who saw something disturbing on a tape brought in by two of the suspects.

Brian Morgenstern is now going public with his story, speaking for the first time with CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING"'s John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, TOLD POLICE ABOUT FORT DIX TERROR PLOT: It was more of a moral dilemma at that point. I thought about whether or not it should be reported.

I actually waited that night and weighed out my decisions. I went home. I talked to my family about it, thought, you know, their input would be very helpful in the situation. They agreed with me.

And, the next day, I went into work, and I told the management at the time that I was going to make the call, and they supported me. Circuit City has been very supportive on this whole situation. And I called the police.

JOHN ROBERTS, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": And what happened? What did the police say when you called them?

MORGENSTERN: The police came over. They took a look at the film.

ROBERTS: So, they treated this very seriously right from the start?

MORGENSTERN: Everybody has been very professional about this. And they -- they came over, and they looked at the video. And they stopped it at one point, and said: OK, this is -- this is serious. We need a copy.

I don't feel like a hero to be honest with you. I feel like I did the right thing, but I think the real heroes are men and women overseas and the people in our law enforcement who handled the situation.

ROBERTS: Do you have concerns for your security even now?

MORGENSTERN: There are concerns, yes. But I think that me being present is more important than my security right now at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Morgenstern also says the whole thing feels a bit unreal, like something out of a movie.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead: If you wear contact lenses, stay tuned -- the latest on that lens solution recall straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in Vallejo, California.

Those two wayward whales are on the move, and, this time, in the right direction. We will have an update coming up.

HOLMES: And keeping his eye on the ball and on a global crisis -- an NBA player wants to put a full-court press on saving Darfur -- his creative plan ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 3:15 now. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

Right now, health officials are urgently searching for people from two transatlantic flights because they may have been exposed to a rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis. They say an infected American rode on both those planes.

The first was Air France Flight 385, leaving Atlanta on May 12 and arriving in Paris the next day. The patient returned last Thursday on Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal, Canada, then drove into the U.S.

Police are investigating a horrific scene near Fort Worth, Texas, right now. A mother and her four young daughters were found hanging in a mobile home closet. The woman and three of the girls, ages 5, 3, and 2, are dead. An 8-month-old baby survived. Police say it appears to be a murder/suicide.

Also, a new protest today in Caracas, Venezuela -- people are still angry over the government's weekend shutdown of an opposition- linked TV station. Meantime, the government is investigating news broadcasters, accusing them of inciting the protests.

PHILLIPS: The two humpback whales that have made headlines for days aren't out of the woods yet, or, in this case, just out of the river just yet. But they are headed in the right direction. That's good news.

CNN's Dan Simon joins us now from Vallejo, California, with a bit of a progress report.

Hey, Dan.

SIMON: Hi, Kyra.

Well, there was a lot of excitement about an hour ago, when these whales passed right in front of our eyes. And I'm going to step out of the shot, because you can see, out in the distance, some of these boats trailing the whales. I would estimate those boats about five miles away from our location.

And, like I said, about an hour ago, we saw these whales just -- just pass before us. This is the Carquinez Strait. We saw them breach to the surface, quite an incredible sight.

Over the last 24 hours, these whales have really made considerable progress. They have gone about 30 miles. At this point, they have about 25 more miles to go to the Golden Gate Bridge. Experts are really encouraged that they are now in saltier water, because they believe that's going to allow their injuries to heal.

Over the weekend, they administered antibiotics to the whales, but they don't feel that they have to do so anymore, because these whales appear to be improving. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNADETTE FEES, ASSISTANT DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR EDUCATION & OUTREACH, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME: We believe that that improvement is in part due to the first dose of antibiotics that were administered, as well as the change in the water. They are now in a more high -- high-saline waterway, which we know is much more healthy for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, the big concern now, as these whales go out into open water, is the ship traffic. Of course, there are a lot of ships there in the San Francisco Bay. Authorities say they're going to be communicating with the various ship captains to -- to try to prevent any collision from taking place.

But that is the number-one concern now, as these whales continue to make their way to the Pacific Ocean -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Dan Simon, we will keep checking in. Thanks.

HOLMES: Well, he bagged a beauty of a beast -- if a big old hog is a beauty to you.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: And he lived to tell about it. That is...

PHILLIPS: In 'Bama, it is.

HOLMES: In 'Bama. That's a beauty of a beast in Alabama, yes -- more on the hunt ahead in the NEWSROOM. I'm not even -- should I even read that line that somebody wrote there for me? Look at that.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Look at that.

PHILLIPS: No, don't read it.

HOLMES: OK.

We're going to skip that line.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: All right. We will be right back.

PHILLIPS: We won't bore you with the line.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Chanting "We are not afraid," thousands of Venezuelans have been protesting a media crackdown by the government. Demonstrations continue today.

And CNN's Harris Whitbeck is on the line with us from Caracas with an update.

Are these protests, I guess, loud, but are they still nonviolent?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., thousands of students who have been gathered throughout the day here are now running from riot police, who have been lobbing teargas canisters at them.

The students have been trying to get closer to the building that houses the Organization of American States here in Caracas to lodge a protest, and to continue to defend publicly their right to freedom of speech, which they say was violated by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

As I said, the students have been running from riot police. You can really see -- smell vinegar in the air. Many students are carrying around vials of vinegar, which they pour on to handkerchiefs and breathe into it as a way of countering the effects of teargas.

Many of these students also have toothpaste that -- they have painted their faces with toothpaste, because their toothpaste, also, according to them, counters the effects of teargas.

The situation seems to be getting tenser as the day wears on. We haven't seen any major incidents of violence, but the riot police are definitely out here. And the numbers of students appear to be growing. I can say they are at least in the several thousand.

Most of these students are from private universities. They are from several private universities. The interesting thing here is that this is one of the first times since the Venezuelan opposition movement really took -- gained ground that students, the students themselves, have taken to the streets.

Again, they say that President Chavez violated the country's rights to freedom of expression by having canceled the license of the largest television station in the country, RCTV, which occurred last Sunday night -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Harris Whitbeck on the line and in the midst of the protests happening there in Caracas -- Harris, thank you so much. PHILLIPS: Well, the pressure for airlines to arrive on time is creating some interesting schedule changes.

Here's the common denominator. Your flight is going to take longer.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us more about it -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, you would think better technology, in the form of better navigation systems, faster planes, would lead to increased efficiency. But airlines are padding their schedules now more than ever.

"The Wall Street Journal" checked two dozen flights from June's airline schedules. It found that block times, the amount of times airline allot for a trip, are about 10 percent higher than a decade ago.

Some examples: A flight from New York to L.A. is scheduled to take 25 minutes longer than it did 10 years ago. A flight from Philly to San Francisco will keep you on the plane for 33 more minutes.

And New York to Washington, the very popular shuttle, which can be flown in about 35 minutes, now gets nearly a two-hour block.

Welcome to the 21st century, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, no kidding.

Congestion, is that the only thing behind all this, you think?

LISOVICZ: It's a big factor. And, of course, flying now is a lot different than it was 10 years ago. A lot of that is, of course, security-related. And everything takes longer.

Even though some airlines have better navigation systems, equipment for air traffic controllers has not yet caught up. That means planes can't always take the most direct route. Experts say the FAA's modernization program should eventually help speed things up. But many say things will get worse before they get better.

Another factor, fuel prices are so high that airlines are forced to fly their planes at lower, more fuel-efficient speeds.

Not all of us are driving slower, but, anyway, as for stocks, well, they are mixed. The Dow industrials right now are down just slightly -- ExxonMobil the biggest loser among the blue chips, hurt by a big drop in oil prices.

The Nasdaq composite, still hanging in there, it's up 11.5 or about half-a-percent, thanks to news of a potential takeover in the tech sector. One tech stock we're watching is Google. The tech giant said the FTC has opened an antitrust review of its proposed $3.1 billion purchase of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick. Google says it's confident the deal poses no risk to the competition, and should be approved. Shares of Google are gaining nearly 1 percent.

I will be back in about 30 minutes with a wrap-up of the trading day.

In the meantime, I will throw it back to you, Kyra and T.J.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Susan.

HOLMES: Well, the crisis in Darfur has been unfolding for more than four years. So, why is the Bush administration taking action now? A closer look at sanctions and timing -- ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon, who is on assignment.

Two hundred thousand people reported killed in Darfur, two million more forced from their homes -- now the Bush administration is responding to the crisis.

PHILLIPS: But are economic sanctions going to help? We are going to ask a human rights activist.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Taking steps to end the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region. Three years after calling it genocide, President Bush orders economic sanctions against that African nation. These sanctions block 31 companies with ties to Sudan's oil industry from doing business with the U.S., along with three individuals believed to be involved in the fighting.

The head of the Save Darfur Coalition welcomes the sanctions, but he fears they may be too little, too late. Diplomats from Sudan called them unfair and unjust, saying they are based on "wrong assumptions," but Mr. Bush was adamant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I promise this to the people of Darfur. The United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, joining us now from Washington, human rights activist John Prenderghast. He's special adviser to the International Crisis Group, which is an independent nonprofit organization. Obviously makes a number of trips there.

John, great to see you.

Your first reaction to the president, what he's saying. Does it make sense? Will it work? And why is he doing this now?

JOHN PRENDERGHAST, SPECIAL ADVISER, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Well, we waited a long time. It was late October, I think, the first time the administration foreshadowed that they were going to take these steps. But it was very cagey about what specific steps they would actually take.

Now that they've made the announcement today, it's very disappointing because it's simply not enough. I think after waiting four years since this crisis erupted, one expected a lot more action, particularly a lot more action in New York, in the United Nations Security Council.

If we're going to make a difference in Darfur, we're going to have to work multilaterally through the Security Council. And right now, all they've said basically is we're going to consult with our allies about what to do, and what next steps to take in New York. And I don't think that's enough.

PHILLIPS: Well, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, had this to say about the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW NATSIOS, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SUDAN: The United States supports the U.N.-AU political and peacekeeping operation. But we think that unless some really aggressive measures are put in place, the kind that the president announced this morning, that the Sudanese government will find ways of delaying and obstructing Ban Ki-moon's diplomacy.

We need Ban Ki-moon's memo that he sent last week for phase three. The most critical and controversial of the peacekeeping package that was sent to President Bashir last Thursday. We need to have it approved by President Bashir now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: John, tell me more about that memo. And is that memo a part of this aggressive approach? And do you agree with that, that what the president is finally doing is more aggressive?

PRENDERGHAST: Well, certainly what needs to happen now is we've got to get a peace process going that can get a peace deal between Darfur's disparate rebel groups and the government, and, as Andrew is saying, we need to have the U.N.-led hybrid force deployed as rapidly as possible. Get the 22,000 soldiers out there to stabilize the situation to the maximum degree possible. The Sudanese government is obstructing both.

So, the measures taken today because they are only U.S. measures, because the Sudanese government had already anticipated these measures, they can circumvent them very easily. Until we take these measures and make them multilateral, until we give -- make it Plan B with teeth, I don't think anything is going to change on the ground in Darfur. PHILLIPS: OK. But the president again is saying, look, we've gone after certain individuals, we've gone over certain companies that have been promoting, helping with the terrorism, the death, specifically these three men -- I want to ask you about them -- Ahmed Muhammed Harun, Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs; Awad Ibn Auf, Sudan's head of military intelligence and security; and then Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the justice and equality movement.

Are these the right guys to go after? Because that's what the administration is bragging about. Hey, look, we've gone after them. They have done activities that have destabilized the government.

PRENDERGHAST: Well, the government officials have nice titles. They're not the guys running the show in Khartoum. We've got to go after the senior officials, the figures that are actually doing damage in Darfur.

Saleh Abdel Goche (ph) is the head of all the intelligence apparatus. He's the same guy that the United States flew over to Langley, to Virginia, to debrief on al Qaeda. He's an ally of ours on the global war on terror. We're not going to go after him.

Nafi Ali Nafi (ph), who is the senior adviser to the president of Sudan, he's the guy that's orchestrated a lot of the policies with respect to the Janjaweed, those militias in Darfur. We're not going after him because he helped us with a peace deal in southern Sudan.

We've really got to decide, are we going to go after the senior officials that are most responsible and then do so through the United Nations Security Council? Once we put scarlet letters on the shirts of those guys, we'll start to see a difference being made on the ground in Darfur.

PHILLIPS: So, real quickly, why isn't the president doing that, then? Because what you are saying makes sense.

PRENDERGHAST: I think because we don't want to break eggs right now. We have so much riding in Iraq and Afghanistan and Iran in the Security Council. We're working so assiduously on North Korea.

We have a lot to lose in these things. When we start pushing on a tier two issue like Sudan, we start losing support on the tier one issues. We've got to make Sudan a tier one issue. The president has to decide we're willing to expend leverage in order to get our objectives met, and an end to the genocide in Darfur ASAP.

PHILLIPS: John Prenderghast.

Always great to see you and talk to you, John.

PRENDERGHAST: Thanks, Kyra.

HOLMES: Victims of the Darfur violence are getting an assist from an unlikely source. In the thick of the NBA playoffs, a Cleveland forward has his eye on the ball and his mind on the bigger picture. Here now, CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ira Newble's interest in Darfur started with an article he read in the newspaper about Eric Reeves, an English professor in Massachusetts whose mission is to stop the bloodshed. So Newble gave him a call.

IRA NEWBLE, NBA PLAYER: He never was expecting to receive a phone call from anybody, any -- or athlete period. He was excited about it and he was anxious to work with me, and I was anxious to work with him to help.

PROF. ERIC REEVES, SMITH COLLEGE: Ira was good to go from the first moment. He saw the potential. He saw this as something that he felt morally compelled to do.

SMITH: For years, Reeves has been tracking the situation in Darfur and speaking out.

REEVES: Everything in this campaign has one goal, and that is to provide security on the ground for humanitarians and civilians in Darfur. If we don't protect the humanitarians, they'll leave. And if they leave, tens of thousands of people will die every month.

SMITH: China is heavily invested in Sudan. So Reeves believes it could exert its influence to get U.N. peacekeeping forces into Darfur. So far, the Chinese government has been reluctant. So Reeves wants to pressure China, which is hosting the summer Olympics next year.

That's where Newble came in. Together, he and Reeves wrote a letter of protest to China. And Newble got 11 of his teammates to sign it.

REEVES: It is a much harder thing to do, to go to fellow athletes and say, this is an intolerable situation. You may not have heard of it, you may not know where Darfur is on the map, but let me tell you, this is -- this is unsurpassably urgent.

NEWBLE: A lot of times when you are talking about issues like that, a lot of people are frightened it was more like a boycott. And I didn't want it to sound like a boycott, because it's just simply a protest. It's just basically bringing awareness and trying to make China aware that, you know, we in the NBA are concerned about what's going on.

REEVES: It should be a letter that any athlete of conscience should be able to sign if suitably informed about realities. And I think Ira's going to do his part to make sure that people understand what those realities are.

NEWBLE: I wasn't an activist. I just turned to it and it reached out to me. And it's a tragic situation. And I just felt like -- you know, I thought I could do something to help. REEVES: I have a very small pantheon of sport heroes. Until recently, it had one member, Sandy Koufax. Now it has another, Ira Newble.

SMITH: Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: A TB scare that has the potential to affect passengers on two transatlantic flights. More details on this disease with an expert on TB. That's coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All this year CNN is introducing you to some pretty incredible people. We call them CNN Heroes. And today we want you to meet two people who will show you how just $25 can help a small business in a developing country make it.

Matt and Jessica Flannery are today's CNN Heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA FLANNERY, CO-FOUNDER, KIVA.ORG: My name is Jessica Flannery. I'm a co-founder of kiva.org.

MATT FLANNERY, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, KIVA.ORG: I'm Matt Flannery, co-founder and CEO of kiva.org.

J. FLANNERY: We connect people through lending for poverty alleviation.

M. FLANNERY: By facilitating loans from people in a developed world to those in a developing world.

J. FLANNERY: Our site, anybody in the world can browse profiles of entrepreneurs and then lend directly to those entrepreneurs.

M. FLANNERY: And get paid back over time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother started getting sick in 1989. We had to pay the rent. We had to eat. With my heart only I could not make it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had a savings account. Sitting there, it wasn't doing anything, and then I saw this opportunity where I could do something useful with it, positive for other people.

The cool thing about Kiva is that it's not a donation. The money is actually yours. When the borrower's finished with their loan you get it back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I took that loan I extended my business. We eat from here and we are able to pay the rent. The way I was before is not the way I am today. M. FLANNERY: I wasn't necessarily surprised intellectually by how $25 can really transform someone's life in east Africa. I was surprised in my heart. People by nature are not selfish. And if you just give them an outlet for expressing their generosity, they will be generous.

J. FLANNERY: If someone out there's overwhelmed thinking, what can I do, I'm just one person, that's all you need to be. That's enough to get started.

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PHILLIPS: Well, if you'd like to make a loan to Kiva or nominate someone you think deserves special recognition for a CNN Hero Award, you'll find all the details at CNN.com/heroes.

HOLMES: Two planeloads of passengers and crew may be at risk for a virulent type of tuberculosis. The CDC held a news conference last hour warning of the possible exposure after a patient with Extensively Drug-Resistant TB took two transatlantic flights.

Joining us now, Dr. John Ho, an infectious disease specialist at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College.

Sir, thank you for being here.

First, put this in lay terms for us. This is not your everyday TB. What is this XDR-TB? What is this stuff?

DR. JOHN HO, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST: Well, it means that the organism, the bacteria, is extremely drug-resistant. For tuberculosis, we have first line drugs and then second line drugs. So, for extreme drug resistance means that the organism is resistant to at least three out of the six second line agents. So, this is a very difficult problem, especially in developing countries when there's a poor city of health care.

HOLMES: All right. And like we said, we heard from the CDC a short time ago, the CDC director, Julie Gerberding. This is what she had to say a short time ago about this particular -- this particular patient, this passenger, and the chances of him spreading this to others who were on that plane.

Let's take a listen. We'll talk about it right after.

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DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: The medical evidence would suggest that his potential for transmission would be on the low side, but we know it isn't zero. And so, we are considering not only his own ability to transmit, but also the seriousness of this organism and the chance that some passenger on this plane could be one that was at a special risk for serious tuberculosis on the basis of their own personal medical history. So we are encouraging these passengers to cooperate with the advice from their health authorities for testing and whatever medical follow-up is indicated. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right. Potential for transmission would be on the low side. Should that give us some kind of comfort, and is that the case?

HO: I think it is. Certainly there's been incidents of in- flight transmission of tuberculosis, but there is certainly no cases where a person infected actually developed disease.

So even in a normal situation, over a lifetime, when a person with normal immune function gets infected, they only have a one in 10 chance of getting the disease over their lifetime. So it's really still on the low end of the probability. And on a flight situation, even though it's a more confined environment, the number of instances is quite rare.

HOLMES: Well, if the chances are so low, why do we have to go ahead and issue this order, this federal order for quarantine? I guess in a lot of people's minds, they hear that and they're, like, oh, my goodness, this is a major thing. But I'm hearing from you and hearing from her as well that the transmission possibility is pretty low.

HO: Well, yes, it's low, but nonetheless, I think it's prudent to all health officials to take the most aggressive action, simply to protect those people who might have been infected. And without such an order, they would not be able to track every potential passenger who may have been exposed.

And putting that order in place allows them the ability to track these individuals down and then afford them testing. And if those individuals are found to be infected, which again I want to reiterate, too, the probability is low, but nonetheless, those people who are infected then to be, you know, evaluated and followed for a potential development of disease.

HOLMES: All right. We will keep an eye on it. Hopefully everybody gets tracked down and hopefully everybody is all right.

But again, Dr. John Ho, infectious disease specialist.

Sir, thank you so much for your time.

HO: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, of course a picture may be worth a thousand words. But do we really need more than four little letters? H-E-L-P.

PHILLIPS: How about get a grip?

HOLMES: Oh, it's probably a bad picture. We don't know what's going on in this picture. All right?

PHILLIPS: She needs to grow up. That's what's going on in this picture. HOLMES: No, we don't know what's happening.

Lindsay Lohan is what we're talking about. We'll come back and let Mama Phillips go off about it.

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PHILLIPS: All right. It's time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He has definitely much more serious things to tell us about in "THE SITUATION ROOM," don't you think?

HOLMES: Yes.

I sure hope so, Wolf. How are you doing, sir?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.

A lot is going on, including President Bush. He wants to stop what he calls genocide in Darfur. Two hundred thousand people already slaughtered. To help do that, he imposed some new sanctions against the Sudanese government today.

I'll speak about it with the deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte. We'll talk about the administration's efforts to stop the bloodshed, and if the U.S. is going to lean on China to stop its economic cooperation with Sudan.

Also, Newt Gingrich turns on members of his own party. In a new magazine interview, he says the Bush administration has become a Republican version of the Jimmy Carter presidency. And he even trains some of his fire on Karl Rove.

We'll have details.

And why is the U.S. military kicking out some of the people it so desperately needs? That would be some U.S. troops who are bilingual and gay. One person says it's directly affecting national security, and the problem is getting worse.

All that, guys, coming up right at the top of the hour.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Wolf.

The closing bell and a wrap of action on Wall Street straight ahead.

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