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Al Qaeda Delivers New Threat to United States; Dangerous Form of Tuberculosis Prompts Global Health Scare; Dangerous Form of Tuberculosis Prompts Global Health Scare; Teen Death Mystery; The Iranian View
Aired May 30, 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.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for Don Lemon, who is on assignment.
Well, additional flights, additional concerns -- we're getting more details from the federal disease specialists about that man with the drug-resistant tuberculosis, including new information about other flights he took while traveling throughout Europe.
You are the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Just in, we're getting word here at CNN that a NATO helicopter has gone down in the middle of the night in southern Afghanistan. We're getting this word from the International Security Assistance Force out of the NATO headquarters there in Afghanistan.
The incident, we are told, happened about 9:00 p.m., Afghanistan time. This comes amid the fighting there in the south between Taliban militants and NATO and Afghan forces. There's no immediate word about casualties. All we know at this point, that a NATO -- NATO helicopter has gone down in southern Afghanistan.
We will bring you more information as soon as we get it.
MARCIANO: Well, it's the first health-related federal isolation order in more than 40 years. And it was sparked by one man infected with an extremely rare, extremely dangerous strain of tuberculosis.
He's now in isolation here in Atlanta, after traveling on two international flights. But there is some reassuring news. Just minutes ago, federal health officials said the man's level of infection remains low.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta with the latest.
Elizabeth, what else did we learn today?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Rob, interesting news at this press conference from the CDC: This patient was actually on five more flights, not just the two transatlantic ones that we have heard so much about. He was also on flights from Paris to Athens, Athens round-trip to Mykonos, the Greek island, Athens to Rome, and then Rome to Prague. He was on his honeymoon. However, the CDC official said the risk of him getting -- giving T.B. to anyone on those shorter flights is quite small.
They said, if it's less than eight hours, the risk of transmission is extremely small. That's why they're focusing on contacting passengers who were on the longer transatlantic flights -- Rob.
MARCIANO: What happened?
I mean, we found out -- or the CDC found out about this dangerous strain while he was in Europe. What happened when they found out?
COHEN: Well, what happens when they found out is that they tried to contact him. And they said to him, please don't get on a flight. And he did. He got on a flight and went to Montreal, and then drove into the United States, and that that led to his being isolated here at -- here at Grady.
Now, they're trying to find people who were on those transatlantic flights. And it was interesting. CDC officials expressed a bit of frustration at trying to find those passengers. They said it was taking too long to get those passenger manifests from the airlines. They said longer than necessary. They said, we need to think -- find a quicker way to do this, a more electronic way of getting in touch with passengers, getting those manifests.
MARCIANO: OK. So, now he's in isolation. They're going to ship him off to Denver.
How long does he stay in isolation? Apparently, right now, he's not terribly contagious; is that what you're getting?
COHEN: Well, that is what they're saying, is that the risk of his giving T.B. to someone is low, but not entirely zero.
His plans at this point is to go to Denver for a very specialized surgery they do to remove part of the infected lung, so that he can hopefully recover from this disease better.
Now, it's interesting, because one of the questions has been, what did health authorities know, and when did they know it? Health authorities -- he's been saying: Nobody told me not to get on a plane out of Atlanta. Nobody told me not to get on this plane.
Now, just today, CNN's Rusty Dornin spoke with Fulton County health officials here in Atlanta, and they said that they told him that they agreed with him that, if he got on a plane with a mask, that that would be OK.
Let's hear Rusty's interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ERIC BENNING, FULTON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Wearing a mask is -- is -- is one of the things that we suggested to him.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You did tell him to wear a mask if he traveled?
BENNING: We suggested to him to wear a mask. And -- and my understanding is that he did actually have access to masks.
DORNIN: But he did not -- did he indicate whether he wore them or not?
BENNING: I haven't spoken with him about what he did on the plane. So, I don't know whether he actually wore the mask or not. But he did indicate a willingness to do so when I met with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, as that is doctor just said, it is not known whether this man did wear a mask on those now seven flights that he was on -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Can't they just ask him? I mean, have they asked him? Do we -- a yes-or-no question, I suppose, to this guy.
COHEN: We -- we don't know. I would love to know the answer to that, but health officials there, they're not saying right now whether or not he wore a mask or if they even asked him.
MARCIANO: Well, we more -- we know more now. But there are still lots more questions.
Thanks, Elizabeth Cohen, live for us...
COHEN: That's right.
MARCIANO: ... in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: Well, a new boss for the World Bank -- President Bush today nominated Robert Zoellick to the post. If the bank's board confirms him, he's going to take over leadership of the bank's mission to reduce world poverty.
Zoellick is a Wall Street executive with Goldman Sachs, but his long resume includes stints at deputy secretary of state and U.S. trade representative. Zoellick would replace Paul Wolfowitz, who is stepping down after a controversy over his role in arranging a pay package for his girlfriend, a World Bank employee.
MARCIANO: More misery for folks across north Texas -- here you go, stormy weather, heavy rain, and a deluge across the Dallas area, flooding streets there, flights canceled or delays, and thousands without power -- still, the city under a flash flood watch for the next couple of hours.
Bonnie Schneider has been watching it in the Severe Weather Center here in Atlanta.
Bonnie, what's going on right now?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Rob, looking at some of the rainfall totals, it's really interesting.
Some parts of the Dallas area only received an inch of rain. But, once you start heading a little bit further to north of the city, and then also towards Fort Worth, we have had indications of over five inches of rain. And that has caused some problems in terms of flooding.
Looking at our graphic, we can show you that much of the heavier rain has pushed further to the east. This is a fast-moving thunderstorm complex, as it works its way towards areas into Louisiana, pushing through the Shreveport region, where we're getting some heavy downpours at this time.
And the bigger picture shows you, at least now, the severe thunderstorm watch that was in effect has expired. But we still have flood watches that we're monitoring here.
You're also looking at real-time lightning strikes. And you can see it here near the Grapeland area. That's where we're getting some frequent lightning at this time -- Dallas still under a flood watch. That should go until about 4:00 p.m. Central Time.
Another area we have been tracking very closely is Flight Explorer, real-time data now showing you the squall line of thunderstorms and all the planes from all over the country that are headed to Dallas. There's 103 of them in the sky right now.
And notice they're pretty tightly packed, as you start looking at the Dallas area, still, not as bad as it was about an hour ago. We're not reporting delays, but, still, I think a lot of folks are still going to be waiting a little long to pick up the arriving flights that are coming in because of the thunderstorms that have rolled through the region.
Coming up in a bit, we're going to talk more about the tropics and show you a new tropical storm in the Pacific -- Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, Bonnie, we look forward to that. Thanks.
SCHNEIDER: Mm-hmm.
PHILLIPS: A new message and a new threat from al Qaeda, this time delivered by their American-born spokesman.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's al Qaeda's latest message, delivered by California native turned Muslim convert Adam Gadahn. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM GADAHN, AL QAEDA SPOKESPERSON: You're losing on all fronts, and losing big-time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Gadahn, known as Azzam the American, is an alleged mouthpiece for Osama bin Laden and top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri.
This year alone, al Qaeda has released some 47 video messages, averaging one every three days, according to Virginia's IntelCenter. In this one, Gadahn warns Americans, among other things, to get out of Muslim lands. He cites the consequences, even referencing the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech, where a student gunman opened fire, killing 32 classmates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: You and your people will, Allah willing, experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11, Afghanistan and Iraq, and Virginia Tech.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Though Gadahn doesn't go into any specifics about what kind of attack is threatened, a terror expert at Virginia's IntelCenter says, the tape is really a way for al Qaeda to make unreasonable demands, then justify any possible actions by claiming it gave the United States fair warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: Bush, the dye has been cast, and the blood has been spilled, and there is no way to undo what you have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Gadahn, who grew up on his goat farm listening to rock music, also makes mention of a recent University of Maryland poll.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GADAHN: Muslims continue to support and defend the goals, efforts, and sacrifices of their brothers and sisters, the mujahedeen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Deborah Feyerick joins us now from New York.
Deborah, how critical is Gadahn to al Qaeda's media machine?
FEYERICK: Well, he's very critical. He's really the link between Osama bin Laden and the West. I mean, when you see him, this is an American who is speaking. And he's speaking the words of Osama bin Laden and the top deputies. So, it's very important.
And the fact that he uses these different cultural references really shows that he is inside of America. He knows exactly what is going on. So, as a propaganda tool, it is very powerful, because he speaks like pretty much, you know, anyone in America, simply talking about al Qaeda and why people should join.
PHILLIPS: Well, what's the significance of the reference to Virginia Tech in his video?
FEYERICK: Well, it really does show that he's got a reach here in the United States, that he can talk about the latest tragedy, that he can elaborate on different things that are going on.
That means he is, most likely, on the Internet, following what is happening, and he can use it as a propaganda tool and manipulate the politics of the country.
PHILLIPS: So, he makes outrageous demands that he must know the U.S. will never agree to. Why is that?
FEYERICK: Well, in part, it's because, with al Qaeda, there's got to come a warning. There's got to be with -- with -- in Islam, you have to warn the enemy before the attack.
But the demands are so outrageous, that there's absolutely no possible way that they could ever be met. That said, they have warned us. So, that's where the -- the state of affairs ends.
PHILLIPS: So, with regard to the FBI, how dangerous do agents think he really is?
FEYERICK: Well, they consider him a high-value target. And he's -- he's effectively indicted for treason. So, they -- he is serious. You get rid of him, and at least those messages that come out don't have the same clarity as they do when he is the one who is saying the words.
PHILLIPS: All right, Deb, thanks.
You can see more of Deborah Feyerick's reporting. You can just tune in tonight to "PAULA ZAHN NOW," intolerance and social injustice out in the open. That's at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
MARCIANO: Well, a goodwill trip to Africa ends in tragedy for a New Jersey teen. Now her parents must search for answers around the world -- that story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: And, move over, Jack Kerouac. CNN goes on the road. We answer the question, is it cheaper to drive this season or fly? Find out -- straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARCIANO: It's almost quarter past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Some reassuring news coming just moments ago from federal health officials -- they say a man isolated with a dangerous form of tuberculosis still shows no symptoms. And they say his level of infection remains quite low. The man traveled on two transatlantic flights this month, prompting worries that he exposed others to the disease.
Fred Thompson, he has been talked about as a possible presidential candidate -- contender for months now. Well, sources say the actor and former senator is a -- a step closer to declaring his candidacy. They say he's testing the waters by starting to raise some money and hiring staff.
And where she blows, well, we don't know -- no sightings today of the two wayward humpback whales in California's Sacramento River. They said that they have made slow progress back to sea, and officials hope that, if they don't see the whales today, that means they may have made it.
PHILLIPS: Well, another drop in gas prices -- they slid almost half-a-penny overnight to just under $3.20 a gallon.
Our consumer reporter, Greg Hunter, got a lesson in the cost of filling up. He just finished his road trip from Columbus, Ohio, to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And here's what he found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CONSUMER CORRESPONDENT: High gas prices -- even so, you're still going to take a vacation to someplace like Myrtle Beach, right? But the question is, with those high prices, should you drive or should you fly? That's what we hit the road to find out.
(voice-over): It was anything but a free ride on this road trip. We felt the pinch of those steep gas prices, starting with $3.37 per gallon in Columbus, Ohio; $2.95 in Wytheville, Virginia; $3.09 in Greensboro, North Carolina; and $2.99 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Before setting out, we tried to cut costs, stocking up on drinks and other supplies, spending more than 69 bucks on day one.
Day two, we ate drive-through for lunch and a cafeteria dinner. But our gas cost almost as much as our food. With hotel and other expenses, the day's total was more than $410.
Some simple pleasures weren't costly at all, like roadside strawberries. And some were free, like these majestic views of West Virginia, and unusual monuments in North Carolina, a state famous for its furniture industry.
And, even though yours truly cooked dinner for the group, day three expenses, with $61 in gas, pushed that day's tab to $156.19.
(on camera): This is a relaxing break from driving.
(voice-over): All told, our go-cart, at $6.50 a pop, was the cheapest ride we had.
(on camera): OK, so the moment of truth. Which is cheaper, flying or driving? Well, our road trip cost $635 one way. You got to go home, so double that: $1270.78.
Cost to fly -- this includes your flight, your rental car and parking at the airport -- $1,369, about $100 difference, still cheaper to drive than to fly.
Greg Hunter, CNN, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, you can get more on oil and gas price trends on CNNMoney.com. You can get in-depth analysis of what's happening and why, and find out what you could do. Just go to CNNMoney.com.
MARCIANO: Well, some like it hot. Some like it really hot -- and a Wendy's worker apparently shot when he's stingy with the chili sauce.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lucky to be alive right now. My life could have been taken away for -- over chili sauce. So, I'm really lucky to be alive, sitting right there, talking to you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: The driver-through dispute that overheated, that's coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: A fast-food manager is recovering today, after a bizarre attack.
It happened at this Miami-area Wendy's. Police say an angry customer opened fire over extra packets of chili sauce. Store policy, three per customer -- the guy wanted 10. And police say he got them, but he kept arguing.
And the manager intervened, and he got shot in the arm. Police in Miami are looking for the customer and a companion.
Big fan of the hot sauce, Susan Lisovicz, down there at the...
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: ... New York Stock Exchange.
PHILLIPS: She's just hot.
MARCIANO: Yes, she's just spicy.
(LAUGHTER)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh. Oh, yes.
MARCIANO: That may be a job you may want to retire from, I suppose, after being shot.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: Well, I'm working for the same company as you guys are, OK?
And I -- you know, I have ways to go, I think, miles to go before I sleep, as Robert Frost would say.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: What do you have today?
LISOVICZ: Well, I have some news, that we're working longer than ever. I mean, 65 used to be the time, Rob and Kyra, when people would retire.
After falling for more than a century, the average age at which Americans choose to retire is on the rise. According to government statistics, in the mid-1980s, just 18 percent of people in their late 60s still had jobs. Last year, that figure was up to 28 percent. And experts say it will continue to rise.
According to "The L.A. Times," one in four baby boomers say they plan to never retire. But, for most people, well, they're not continuing to work because they love their jobs. It's a financial necessity.
For a long time, it was easier to retire. People had Social Security, Medicare to pay medical bills, and many big companies provided pensions which virtually guaranteed payments for life.
Now those pensions are increasingly rare. And new rules mean that some Americans have to wait until later in life to get their Social Security payments. So, save. Invest.
MARCIANO: Uh-huh.
LISOVICZ: Keep working.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Should have invested in Microsoft way back when. I know it had to be a deal at the time.
LISOVICZ: You would be a millionaire.
(CROSSTALK)
LISOVICZ: You would be a millionaire if you -- yes, if you had invested in, say, the '70s, early '80s, that kind of thing, yes.
MARCIANO: Bill Gates could retire, I suppose, if he wanted to.
LISOVICZ: Oh, many times over, and all of his friends as well.
And he's got something new to offer, Rob -- Microsoft unveiling a new coffee-table-shaped Surface computer. The product is called the Surface. It has a 30-inch display under a hard plastic tabletop. It allows people to touch and move objects on a screen. It also recognizes and even interacts with objects placed on its surface, like cell phones and digital cameras.
It's a major step toward Bill Gates' vision of a future where the mouse and the keyboard are obsolete, replaced by natural interaction. At first, only corporate customers will be able to buy it, and, well, not surprisingly, because it will cost a lot, between $5,000 and $10,000.
But Microsoft says it hopes to bring the price down for consumers within three to five years -- pretty cool and very easy to use. That makes it very market-friendly.
As for the stock market, it's been a bumpy ride today. But guess what? Stocks are gaining momentum in the final hour -- checking the numbers, the Dow industrials rallying nicely after a weak open. We got the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting in the last hour. And everybody breathed a sigh of relief that it doesn't look like policy-makers are too worried about things.
The NASDAQ composite is up 10 points, or about half-a-percent, and the broader S&P 500 just about one point away from its all-time closing high. We will find out if the S&P 500 finally sets a new record. We have been watching it for the last couple weeks. It's been so close, big tease.
Rob and Kyra, we will bring you the final numbers.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: I will see you then.
MARCIANO: All right, Susan. We will see you in a little bit. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: The state of New Orleans a year and nine months after Hurricane Katrina -- Mayor Ray Nagin plans to update recovery efforts this evening in his first state of the city address since the disaster.
And, all along the Gulf Coast and the Eastern Seaboard, people are watching for the next one. In just two days, it will officially be hurricane season again. And forecasters predict it could be a doozy. If battered, will your house remain standing?
Well, CNN'S John Zarrella takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Two twin turbo diesel engines produce 2,800 horsepower, driving eight enormous fans. The University of Florida engineering team had never done this test on this scale before.
The idea, focus hurricane-force winds, in excess of 100 miles an hour, on a simulated house. In other words, how will your windows, doors and roof perform in a hurricane as a whole, not as individual pieces?
FORREST MASTERS, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: If you're a homeowner, you want a house that has every single part of that house designed for a particular wind speed, not a range of wind speeds.
ZARRELLA: For this test, a 1970s-style window was used, common today in millions of older homes. How will it perform, and the rest of the structure, the shingles and wood frame, built by the team to new tougher hurricane codes?
Let's see.
Within seconds, hurricane-force winds and rain are pummeling the side of the wood frame. The pressure is too much. The top pane of glass blows in. Seconds later, the rest gives way. The shingles peel back, but stay intact, as does the wood frame.
Full-scale testing like this may answer what fails and why.
LESLIE CHAPMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, FEDERAL ALLIANCE FOR SAFE HOMES: Whether it's just a tornado, a hurricane, or even an ordinary thunderstorm -- so, we are answering questions by doing this before a storm. It tells us how to build it differently, so we can prevent the damage in the first place.
ZARRELLA: Damage like this -- a home obliterated in Hurricane Charley, its unprotected windows blown in, the outcome clear here in the real world and in the lab.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Once again, that's our John Zarrella.
MARCIANO: Unwittingly sealed up with a potentially deadly bug for hours. Now the race is on to track down transatlantic travelers who may be at risk of extreme T.B. investigation -- more on the investigation just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Philips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for Don Lemon. He's on assignment.
Still many more questions than answers in the case of an Atlanta man isolated with a severe form of tuberculosis.
PHILLIPS: Why didn't health officials insist he avoid airline travel if he posed a threat to other passengers?
Our Rusty Dornin joins us with more with this investigation.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
MARCIANO: New details today on a global health scare and the man who prompted it. He's infected with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis, and federal health officials put him into isolation at a hospital here in Atlanta. They're also looking for passengers and crew of two international flights taken by the man this month for his wedding.
He left Atlanta on May 12th on Air France Flight 385 for Paris. He flew back last Thursday on Czech Air Flight 0104 from Prague to Montreal, Canada. And while in Europe, he traveled to several Greek islands, and also went to Rome.
Just a short time ago, federal health officials had some news that's bound to be somewhat of a relief to some of the man's fellow travelers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARTIN CETRON, DIV. GLOBAL MIGRATION QUARANTINE: The good news is -- about the patient. The patient continues to feel well and be asymptomatic. He is currently still in isolation at an Atlanta hospital, and he's under the care of infectious disease specialists at this hospital.
The medical news that we have evolving also continue to be reassuring. As Dr. Gerberding indicated yesterday, we believe that his degree of infectiousness is quite low. And as she indicated yesterday, his sputum continues to be smear-negative. That is, we don't see the visible evidence of the tuberculosis bacteria on the stain, and we are still awaiting culture results from that which takes several weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: The man tells the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" he feared he would get poor treatment at an Italian hospital. He's on a no-fly list in the U.S., so he and his new wife flew to Canada and then drove in. Health officials say they advised him not to travel, but he says he was never ordered to stay put.
PHILLIPS: Well, CNN continues to learn more details from the Atlanta doctors who first treated the TB patient.
Our Rusty Dornin has been investigating this and learning more.
We even ran bits of your exclusive interview with the doctor here in Fulton County who actually talked to him.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the health department.
PHILLIPS: How did this all start? He went to see his doctor. He had a chest x-ray. Take it from there.
DORNIN: Something showed up on the chest x-ray. His doctor notified the Fulton County Health Department on April 25th that they had a TB patient.
The health department runs some tests, they discover a multi- resistant drug strain of tuberculosis. They sit down with the man on May 10th -- he, his doctor, and the health department -- and Dr. Eric Benning told us that they told him three times during that not to travel.
Now, they had no legal jurisdiction to stop him, but they said the man was insistent that he had to travel. And so they offered a suggestion.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ERIC BENNING, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, HEALTH DEPT.: Wearing a mask is one of the things that we suggested to him.
DORNIN: You did tell him to wear a mask if he traveled?
BENNING: We suggested to him to wear a mask. And my understanding is that he did actually have access to masks.
DORNIN: But he did not -- did he indicate whether he wore them or not?
BENNING: I haven't spoken with him about what he did on the planes. So I don't know whether he actually wore the mask or not. But he did indicate a willingness to do so when I met with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: Now, the CDC officials did say they found some masks. They don't know whether he did wear them or not. But what's interesting is, they were so concerned about him traveling, that Dr. Eric Benning of the health department told me that they contacted the county attorney's office to see what they could do.
They could get a court order restricting his travel, but the county attorney's office said they had to document the fact they told him not to travel. So the next day after that meeting, they sent a letter to his house and tried to contact him by phone, but they could never reach him. And two days later he got on that plane to Paris.
PHILLIPS: So, obviously he wanted to get married. He wanted to go forward with his life.
DORNIN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: So they didn't know that first time around how dangerous this strain was.
DORNIN: No.
PHILLIPS: Then they figured out, uh-oh.
DORNIN: On May 16th, the county discovered that he had the XDR, the extreme drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. They notified the CDC.
The CDC does their own tests. They try to start getting a hold of him. But as we learned this afternoon, they didn't get a hold of him until May 23rd. And while they were trying to scramble and figure out how to get him back here safely without trying to fly commercial, apparently he made other plans. And at that point, they were even sending somebody to his hotel to try to get him, but he disappeared.
PHILLIPS: So they tried to get that court order. It just was the timing, and he moved on?
DORNIN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: OK, interesting.
DORNIN: But they say he broke no laws doing that.
PHILLIPS: Right.
It will be interesting what happens now.
OK. Rusty Dornin, thanks so much.
And as we have been telling our viewers, he did get moved to this hospital in Denver that actually specializes in respiratory disorders, the National Jewish Hospital in Denver.
We are expecting a live news conference from there out of Denver. We will take it as soon as it happens.
MARCIANO: Well, the parents of a teenage New Jersey girl are demanding answers following the mysterious death of their daughter during a high school trip to Africa. Felicia Moore was found dead in a swimming pool in Ghana, and her parents are convinced she was murdered.
CNN's Randi Kaye has been looking into this case.
Hi, Randi. What do you know?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rob.
Well, we do know that she left April 14th, arrived in Ghana April 15th, and was found dead floating in a hotel pool April 16th. The school district in Teaneck, New Jersey, says there were seven adult chaperones on the trip, and one chaperone tells us the students all signed forms saying they would not go anywhere alone. Felicia Moore's parents say their daughter managed to leave a pool party by herself to go back to her room. They say she never made it and her roommate never reported her missing.
One chaperone told us they did not do bed checks or take a head count that night. Her body actually wasn't discovered until the next morning in the hotel swimming pool, 11 hours after she had left that pool party.
Now, initial autopsy results from Ghana show no obvious signs of foul play. But in my exclusive interview with Felicia's parents, they told me they are convinced their daughter was murdered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOLA MOORE, FELICIA'S MOTHER: She encountered someone or something, and she was held until the following morning and put in the pool when -- when they thought that they couldn't -- or he or she or whoever thought that they wouldn't be -- they wouldn't be seen.
KAYE: What do you think happened?
DOUGLAS MOORE, FELICIA'S FATHER: She was murdered. I know she was murdered.
Someone got my daughter, held her, murdered her. Probably she was -- she might not even have been dead when they threw her in the pool. She probably took her last little breath in the pool, you know. And I know for a fact my daughter didn't -- you know, didn't have an accident.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And now making matters worse, the Moores say they have been told by officials at the U.S. Consulate in Ghana that the clothes Felicia was wearing when her body was found, a bathing suit, tank top and shorts, were thrown out. With them possibly some very good evidence. Also, that her blood samples were not saved.
The U.S. ambassador to Ghana told us that is not the case. All the family wants right now, Rob, are some answers.
MARCIANO: Randi, what are the chances? I mean, isn't it possible she just drowned, she just fell in the pool?
KAYE: I asked that of her parents and Mr. Moore told me that his daughter didn't actually like the water, didn't like to swim. She said she would never have gone by herself back to the pool that night. He also said she had taken swimming lessons and was able to tread water and swim actually from one end of the pool to the other. So he does not think his daughter drowned.
MARCIANO: Missing for 11 hours. How long do they think she was actually in the water?
KAYE: Well, the parents actually had a second autopsy done when the body was brought back here to the states, which actually took six days. But in that second autopsy, they said that the medical examiner told them that the body had not been in the water for a very long time.
So that means that Felicia may not have been in the pool overnight. The question is, where was she then for those 11 hours? And they still don't have any answers on that.
MARCIANO: Randi, we're going to look for your report tonight. Thanks very much.
That's Randi Kaye, tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," with the complete story, 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific.
PHILLIPS: Riding the Tehran subway. CNN's Aneesh Raman finds out what average Iranians think about America straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We are waiting for a live news conference out of Denver, Colorado. This is the hospital where that patient has been taken with tuberculosis.
He has been isolated, not quarantined. He's being sent to this hospital, and we will update you on his condition, what it means for all of you that might have been around him, flying with him, and the next steps for him and the investigation.
That's coming up. As soon as it happens live, we'll take it.
Big bucks for the fight against AIDS. Just minutes ago, President Bush asked that Congress triple the spending on his international AIDS initiative. He's also asking Congress to extend the program for another five years.
The White House says that the changes will expand the number of people being treated from the current 1.1 million to 2.5 million.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today I asked Congress to demonstrate America's continuing commitment to fighting the scourge of HIV-AIDS by re-authorizing this legislation now. I asked Congress to double our initial commitment and approve an additional $30 billion for HIV-AIDS prevention, for care, and for treatment over the next five years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Now, the President says First Lady Laura Bush will get a first-hand look at the AIDS programs during a trip that she'll take to Africa next year.
MARCIANO: Talking with Iran. Historic talks were held in Iraq just this week, but now a warning from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
She says U.N. discussion on Iran's nuclear program must include a full range of sanctions. Rice made those remarks on her way to the G- 8 summit in Berlin.
Now, what do the people of Iran think of the relationship with the U.S.? Well, CNN's Aneesh Raman rides the subway in Tehran to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT (voice over): No confusion and no delays. Underground in Tehran, the trains run without a hitch. More than a million trips a day are taken on the Iranian capital subway, built with French and Chinese help, and equipped with Australian rolling stock, but of course no U.S. technology. It's where we've come to see what people think of Monday's historic talks.
In the first car, reserved for women, a range a range of outfits and a range of opinions. "Good relations have to start somewhere and go slowly between these two countries," this woman tells us. "God willing, from here it will get better."
But before it does, from those less eager to befriend the U.S., a mood of distrust. "Some governments," she says, referring to the U.S., "are bullies and power hungry and don't want to understand. Just dominate."
(on camera): Among most of the people we spoke with, there is optimism. But they also keep in mind that this is just another point along a process that could easily derail.
(voice over): And quickly. An American Tuesday was charged with working against the regime. Another officially in Iranian custody. Neither story getting much coverage here, nor did Monday's talks in Baghdad. A sign perhaps of limited expectations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't seen much. Even I think there is kind of pressure. I'm used to it. They don't make it something like headline, not that much.
RAMAN: The people here are used to their country and the U.S. heading in opposite directions, but the great majority hope that a head-on collision can now be avoided.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: What is next for that patient with tuberculosis? Well, he's been sent to a special hospital in Denver, Colorado.
We are expecting a live news conference. We'll take it as soon as it begins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We're anticipating a live news conference from that Denver hospital where the patient with tuberculosis has been taken. This is the live shot that we're getting right now out of the hospital. Wondering if, indeed, these are chest x-rays.
As we find out more about this patient, we are being told that this is how it all began. He went to go see the doctor. The doctor noticed something in his chest through an x-ray.
We are assuming these are his x-rays. We are not sure, though. We're just preparing for this live news conference that's about to start. And that's how this all unfolded.
He had a wedding in store. He had travel plans in store. He had gone to the doctor prior to that. Something showed up in his chest x- ray.
Fast forward to where we are now. He is in isolation in this hospital in Denver, Colorado, where they specialize in respiratory diseases. He is not in quarantine, but in isolation.
What does this mean for him, for those that were around him when he flew those two transatlantic flights? And what does that mean for all of us and what we need to know about TB and this strain that he had?
As soon as the news conference starts, we'll bring it to you live so we can find out more about him, his condition, and if indeed these are his chest x-rays.
MARCIANO: Well, they're changing the channel. The U.S. State Department is condemning the Venezuelan government for forcing that country's only independent television station off the air.
Radio Caracas Television went black this weekend. And opponents of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez responded by battling with police. Chavez supporters also took to the streets.
The Venezuelan president accuses the station of trying to incite attempts on his life. Opponents accuse Chavez of trying to silence dissent.
Well, here's a close-up look at the protests in Venezuela thanks to a CNN I-Reporter.
Adriana Spinetti took this video of a demonstration in Valencia, Venezuela, then she sent it to CNN.
Hey, you can be an I-Reporter, too. If you have photos or video of a news event, just go to CNN.com and click on the I-Report icon.
And sending an I-Report has gotten a whole lot easier. We love to see that intriguing video, and you can do it right through your cell phone. Simply shoot a picture or piece of video, click to e-mail it, along with your eyewitness commentary to ireport@cnn.com, and then hit "send".
For more, just go to cnn.com/ireport.
PHILLIPS: Graduation Day for 977 cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Yes, that's the moment they all wait for, to toss that cap in the air.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told them and the whole world that was watching that the fight on terror is the most important. They must always do the right thing. And he said because of the Internet, any mistakes they make will be magnified around the world.
Got to have the fly-by, too, with the F-16s. Come on. That's just a part of the ceremony.
It always ends with that fly-over. The Thunderbirds doing their aerobatics. Oh, we got a little music, a little stunts.
Should we take this up? Nice. All right.
MARCIANO: All right. Speaking of flights, we've been talking about the tuberculosis scare. We want to take you now live to Denver, Colorado, where that patient is expected to be transferred.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are some that are resistants to two of those four drugs, the two best drugs that we have. We call that will multi-drug resistant TB. And the reason that's important is it's increasing worldwide, basically throughout the globe. And it's much harder to treat, with lower cure rates.
XDR-TB has been around for years. However, its name did not exist until very recently. And XDR-TB is multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, plus additional resistance. So it can be resistant to all known drugs that we have, or half of those, six of those, seven of those.
There's a very specific definition. That definition was created for surveillance purposes so that we could track these globally and that we would all use the same definition.
So the case that we're talking about and that you're interested in has been diagnosed with XDR-TB, meaning they're resistant to a large number of drugs. And those data come from the CDC. We have the isolate here at National Jewish in our laboratory, and we're going to be checking some additional drugs that haven't been testified yet.
So XDR-TB is something that really made the news recently because of an outbreak in a hospital in South Africa. Many of the patients there were HIV infected, and all but one died in a very short period of time, around two weeks. That was a splash in the news, and it should be, because that's an incredible mortality in a very short period of time. We now know that just about everywhere you look, you find XDR-TB. It's out there. It's throughout the globe. It's here in the U.S. There were two cases here last year in the U.S.
And so why would such a case come here? Well, National Jewish opened in 1899 as a TB sanatorium. And we've been doing TB for a long time. And over the last few decades, we specialized in treating dug- resistant tuberculosis.
We have XDR-TB patients here over the years. They weren't called that at the time. We've had two or three, I think, in the last -- since around 2000. But we've had other cases that, although they don't mean the definition of XDR, were just as resistant to just as many drugs, sometimes more than some of the cases that are being described in the literature.
So they're coming here because of our expertise. We have one of the world's reference laboratories here, which does drug susceptibility testing and does drugs that aren't done at other places. So, this patient's coming here for our expertise in managing these kinds of cases.
I think that one of the other elements of therapy -- as you can imagine, if you have an...
MARCIANO: We've been listening in to a live news conference from Denver, Colorado, the hospital in which the patient diagnosed with the extremely dangerous strain of tuberculosis is -- well, we don't know when he's scheduled to be there, but he will be transported by the CDC eventually from the hospital here in Atlanta for further treatment there in Denver.
Well, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street, that's coming up straight ahead.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So you want proof? How about this: folks in Alabama say the big skull is this picture. Well, it's from a 1,051 pound wild hog shot by an 11-year-old boy.
The skull was produced after skeptics suggested that the photo of the huge hog was fake. Well, the boy says it took eight shots from a .50 caliber pistol to bring the beast down. It's said to measure 9'4" from snout to tail.
The closing bell about to ring on Wall Street.
MARCIANO: Awfully clean skull there, you know, to be scraped from a dead boar.
PHILLIPS: Awfully small pistol to take down a 1,000-plus hog. That's a whole other story.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Time for "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
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