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Pleasure Boat Sinks Off Miami Beach; Tuberculosis Scare; President Bush Calls for Consensus on Emissions
Aired May 31, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 31st day of May.
Here's what's on the rundown.
An Atlanta TB patient arriving at this Denver hospital this morning for treatment. His extreme form of tuberculosis, drug- resistant and often fatal. Dozens potentially exposed on transatlantic flights.
The American president, the Iraqi president, together again. The backdrop, one of the bloodiest months yet for U.S. troops.
COLLINS: High gas prices. You want to squeeze every drop out of your tank. Our guest tells us how to make your car green to keep your wallet green coming up this hour in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Some dramatic pictures coming into the CNN NEWSROOM just a short time ago. We want to take you quickly now off the coast of Miami.
Take a look at this. This is a pleasure boat, obviously a 65- footer, we understand, sinking. Literally sinking.
While you were on commercial break we actually watched this boat go under water. But these are pictures from just a short time ago.
This is happening ten miles east of Government Cut, off the coast of Miami. A wider shot, you will see that other boats are in the area. And we believe they may have been involved in the rescue of as many as five people.
That information coming from one of our local affiliates. As you can see, the Coast Guard is on the scene. And it looks like -- you can see the people rescued from that pleasure boat there on the Coast Guard boat as well.
OK. Great. I understand that we have some sound, sort of a play by play of this situation from the helicopter pilot from our local affiliate, WSVN.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 18 miles from Opa Locka Airport, about 10 miles off of Haulover Beach. The Coast Guard on the scene here taking five people off a boat.
They called in about 45 minutes to an hour ago, said they were taking on water. They were in a dire situation.
The Coast Guard did put two divers in the water to rescue those people. Everybody has been accounted for.
You're looking at the tip, the nose of a 64-foot boat that is now about to sink deep into the Atlantic. We'll bring the camera out and show you a debris field, a couple of good Samaritans over there.
There's a Coast Guard vessel here on the scene. I'm afraid to go out too wide here, but I would like to find that to show you the people that are on board that ship. But you have to trust me when I tell you that those five people on board that boat are in good shape now as the boat takes a last breath here above the surface and sinks below.
That's the story happening from 7 Sky Force (ph). Again, about 10 miles off of Haulover Beach, a 64-foot boat starts to take on water, sinks in less than an hour.
There it goes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy. And what kind of catastrophic breach would have caused this?
The people on board that 64, 65-footer obviously in a dire circumstance. Boy, as you can see here, pictures of folks in the water here. Coast Guard divers eventually in the water to make this rescue.
Just dramatic pictures, dramatic scenes just moments ago unfolding. Again, 10 miles east of Government Cut off the coast of Miami in the Atlantic Ocean.
And there you see it, the boat actually going under water, sinking before our eyes. The good news is, the Coast Guard was able to rescue those five people on that boat. A live picture now of those folks.
Boy, a story we will continue to follow for you in the NEWSROOM. But at least at this point a happy ending for everyone on board.
COLLINS: Out of one hospital and into another. A man infected with a dangerous form of tuberculosis goes for further treatment. Within the hour, doctors confirmed he has been transferred from an Atlanta hospital to one in Denver.
CNN's Rusty Dornin joining us now with the very latest.
Rusty, I know you've been following this story. And doctors say, ad we heard in the press conference coming from National Jewish in Denver, that the guy seems to be doing relatively well. He walked into the facility on his own, but was at that point wearing a mask.
What about all the other people that we have been, you know, hearing about on the flights that he was on?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you and I have both spoke within some students that were part of a group of 30 that were traveling from South Carolina that were going to Paris, and apparently none of them have been contacted by the CDC regarding testing. It was their parents in many cases urging them to get tested to see.
COLLINS: Right.
DORNIN: And the ones that we have spoken to say they did not notice anybody wearing a mask on that plane. And as, of course, we've talked about before, he was told directly by the doctors here in Fulton County, by the health department officials, when he said he was insisting on traveling, that he should wear a mask.
COLLINS: It seems like the least, you know, that you could do, knowing what your condition was. But, you know, wonder, too, about some of these legal obligations.
We talked before with Jeffrey Toobin, our legal analyst, about, yes, well, they hold him not to fly, so he flew on foreign aircraft and then he drove from Canada into the U.S. So, I wonder what will come of that as well.
What are the people that have been flying with him think about his possible, you know, irresponsibility?
DORNIN: Well, that's exactly the way they put it. They feel that it was very irresponsible. And of course now they are hearing from us that he was indeed an attorney in Atlanta.
He, of course, must understand his obligation for public safety. The doctors told him not to travel.
Of course, he is telling -- he told the "Atlanta Journal- Constitution" reporter that they just they preferred not to travel. But the doctors told me they told him three times in one meeting, in a face-to-face meeting, not to travel. And then when he suggested the mask, they said, please, please, if you are on a transatlantic flight, please wear a mask.
COLLINS: Tell me quickly -- I think I heard you saying earlier that they really have jurisdiction over him when you talk about the county. Would that have to be the CDC who would then tell him definitively, you cannot travel? DORNIN: Well, that's what happened. The feds had to take over and impose that quarantine. Of course, it hasn't been done in 40 years.
The county was not a police authority. They were looking into what they could do to stop him from traveling, which would have taken some kind of court order. The county's attorney's office did tell them, you have to at last document that you've told him not to travel, which they did.
They sent him a letter to his house, directly to the house, tried to contact him the day before he left for Europe. But they were unable to contact him.
COLLINS: Yes. It's a pretty unbelievable story. We know that you will be following it.
Rusty Dornin.
Thank you.
HARRIS: Greenhouse gases on President Bush's mind today. The president unveiling his own strategy on climate change.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is live from the White House with that.
Elaine, good morning to you.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.
Well, President Bush is heading to the G8 summit next week in Germany, and sure to be front and center is this issue of global climate change. The United States certainly has not seen eye to eye with other countries on this issue. Germany, in particular, wants to see a global temperature goal, but the United States disagrees with that.
And today, as you noted, the president unveiling his proposal. He would like to see instead of that, a global greenhouse gas emissions goal.
Now, to get there, the president announced a series of meetings he would like to see. Fifteen countries in all, not just G8 countries, in order to tackle this issue, and specifically to try to work towards getting that greenhouse global gas emissions goal by 2008.
Here's President Bush just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will work with other nations to establish a new framework on greenhouse gas emissions for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. So my proposal is this: by the end of next year, America and other nations will set a long-term global goal for reducing greenhouse gases. To help develop this goal, the United States would convene a series of meetings of nations that produced most greenhouse gas emissions, including nations with rapidly-growing economies like India and China.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: And, of course, India and China, two developing countries that the United States says that it has already sort of laid the groundwork with in this proposal.
Now, the Bush administration, of course, has been criticized for not moving fast enough on this issue of climate change. White House officials, though, insist their thinking on this certainly has evolved as the science has evolved. And they say this is a top priority for the president.
Back to you.
HARRIS: White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano for us this morning.
Elaine, thank you.
COLLINS: Want to go ahead and get a check of the weather situation. Kind of a lot going on over there as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, they say he clogged inboxes around the globe with millions of e-mail. Now authorities say they canned the spam man.
In the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: A U.S. helicopter like this one goes down in Afghanistan, killing the Americans on board. What happened?
The story in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Is your car a secret gas-guzzler? Find out what you can do to turn your car green and keep more green in your wallet.
Money-saving tips in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you more on the president's speech last hour on climate change, his proposals moving forward.
Our chief technology and environment correspondent, Miles O'Brien, joins us from New York.
Miles, great to see you.
The White House was billing this as the president taking the opportunity to unveil his plans for a long-term strategy on climate change. What did you hear?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, did he unveil some specific measures that he'd like to take. But they are not measures that would satisfy the Europeans.
We're talking in advance now of the global 8 -- or excuse me, the G8 summit next week. It will be hosted in Germany by Angela Merkel, the German leader, who, by the way, used to be an environment minister in Germany. And one of the big focuses of discussion at this meeting will be climate change.
The Europeans are way ahead of the United States on embracing these so-called cap and trade programs, which essentially set limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that go into the atmosphere. The Bush administration remains steadfastly opposed to this. And today, while the president said he'd like to gather the major countries together over the coming years to kind of come up with some ways of cutting emissions, he came well short of the proposal by Angela Merkel and other G8 nations to have a 50 percent specific cut in CO2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and to limit global warming to two degrees Centigrade, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
The president not embracing that. The Bush administration's sort of laying out some territory her in advance of this G8 summit.
HARRIS: Hey, and Miles, if you would, review for everyone the U.S. opposition, why the U.S. has not signed the Kyoto Protocol.
O'BRIEN: Well, one of the big issues -- and the president did mention this -- when he holds these meetings, he wants to have China and India as a part of this.
HARRIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: China and India -- just to give you an example, in China, China is opening up a new coal-fired utility plant on average about every week. And so very soon, China will surpass the United States in net output of greenhouse gases.
They are exempt from the Kyoto protocols of 1997 which put caps on the emissions of greenhouse gases by the European countries -- which of course, embraces. The U.S. did not sign on to this. The point U.S. makes is, if China and India, which is close behind, these emerging nations are exempted from this because they're considered emerging and this is a way to help combat poverty in those nations, as long as they're exempted, what's the point?
So, the president is trying to say, look, the solution has to include China or India or there is no solution.
HARRIS: And we shouldn't kid ourselves. The president is going to be under some pressure in Germany next week to come around on this in a forceful -- in a forceful manner.
O'BRIEN: To say the least. HARRIS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: The G8 members are all square in favor of these so- called cap and trade programs. They've all signed on to Kyoto.
What would be interesting is, on the sidelines of this meeting, representatives from China and India will be there. It will be interesting to see what kind of pressure can be brought to bear on those nations to perhaps change the way they operate and the amount of coal-fired technology that they're putting online.
HARRIS: Miles O'Brien in New York for us.
Miles, great to see you.
O'BRIEN: Good to see you, Tony.
COLLINS: Cue the scary gas music.
Gas prices easing a bit. AAA says they've slipped about 3 cents a gallon since last week's record highs, down to just under an average of $3.20 for regular unleaded. But still, higher than they were one year ago today.
And if high gas prices aren't enough of a problem, there's a good chance your car is guzzling more than it needs. Automotive expert Lauren Fix explains how to green your car and pocket the savings. Joining us now from Buffalo, New York.
Hi there, Lauren. Thanks for being here.
LAUREN FIX, AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALIST: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Let's go ahead and talk about this first tip. Some people may have heard these before, but probably very much worth mentioning because they might be surprised at how much they really could be losing. Our first tip is, check your vehicle gas cap.
FIX: Right. Believe it or not, 17 percent of cars that are on the road today don't have gas caps, or they're broken or just plain missing. If you try and figure out what that means, that means 147 million gallons of gas evaporated. That's equivalent to about -- at $3.50 a gallon, about $514 billions lost, and that could be in your pocketbook.
COLLINS: Yes. I wish it could be in mine, just all by myself.
FIX: Mine too.
COLLINS: What about your air filter? That apparently would help quite a bit as well.
FIX: Right, your air fitter is two to three miles to the gallon. It's very critical. It's the lungs of your car. And when it starts affecting your fuel economy, is if you haven't changed it in the past six months. And what that really means is your car works so much harder, so it uses more gasoline to get the vehicle going.
COLLINS: All right. You can check on that, then.
FIX: They're under $5. Yes.
COLLINS: Under five bucks. Exactly.
FIX: They're around $5. They're $5 and up, really.
COLLINS: OK.
FIX: I mean, around $5, you can save a lot of money and put it in your wallet.
COLLINS: Yes. Probably very much worth it.
The third one we have here is inflate your tires. The PSI, right?
FIX: Right. That's really important. And believe it or not, that's another two to three miles to the gallon. But half the people on the road today don't check their tire pressure.
And the other thing is, 45 percent of people believe that the number that you're supposed to use is on your tire. That's absolutely incorrect. That tire could fit a dozen cares or more.
You always want to use the number that's inside your driver's door. And the difference is your car will run better because it's like driving with your parking break on otherwise.
COLLINS: Wow. Inside your driver's door is the correct pressure there.
FIX: Right.
COLLINS: OK. I'm taking little notes.
FIX: That is correct.
COLLINS: The last one, probably the easiest and most well known as well, but not always the cheapest. Get a tune-up. Kind of stay ahead of the game.
FIX: Right. Tune-ups back in the '60s were points and plugs. This is the 21st century tune-up. It's a little bit different.
And you obviously want to have your belts and your hoses checked. But that basic maintenance of having your oil changed, having the coolant checked, that's going to have your car run its best, because if you get a "check engine" light, believe it or not, it can affect your fuel economy by up to 40 percent. And that will really hurt when it goes to fill up at the pump.
So, those are things that you really need to get on top of. And the Car Care Council is always here trying to help people be more educated, to be safer on the road.
COLLINS: Very good. Lauren Fix, we appreciate your time here today. Thank you.
FIX: Thank you.
HARRIS: And still to come this morning in the CNN NEWSROOM, a patient with a potentially deadly germ on the go again, moved to a hospital in Denver.
Extreme tuberculosis scare in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Every day all over the world there are people working to make life a little better for others who really need some help. All too often their stories don't get much attention.
Well, this year, CNN is doing something about that. Each week we are shining the spotlight on everyday folks whose passion and dedication to a cause really has made a difference. We call them CNN Heroes.
Today, a passionate mountain climber who's all about garbage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEN NOGUCHI, "DEFENDING THE PLANET" (through translator): Before, I was known for being the youngest one to climb the highest peaks. But recently, people say, "Oh, it's the garbage guy."
I started picking up trash on Everest eight years ago.
My name is Ken Noguchi, and I am pleased (ph) and also clean the mountain.
(through translator): When I first climbed Mt. Everest, it was full of garbage, especially Japanese garbage stood out. (INAUDIBLE) reproached me saying, "You Japanese have bad manners."
I really felt terrible. It's obviously Japanese garbage. Anyone can see that. So, I thought if it's so obvious, we should clean it up.
Cleaning Everest is especially tough. Many times I thought I would quit because it was so hard. But if I stop, all I've endured loses its meaning.
On Mt. Fuji, we clean year around. First we teach the volunteers how to separate for recycling. But then the important thing is to explain to them why we are picking up the garbage.
When I find this dangerous garbage, I feel the sense of crisis firsthand. I do this because it's my social responsibility. With such admission, rather than doing it quietly, it is better to advertise. So if I become a hero and lots of people start coming, then being here is a good thing, isn't it?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And there is a lot more about Ken Noguchi and his organization on our Web site.
You can also nominate your hero for special recognition later this year. All the details are at CNN.com/heroes.
Also want to get to our CNN's Jeanne Meserve, who is bringing us more information now about the tuberculosis patient that we've been reporting on.
Jeanne, I understand that you have a little bit more information about his travel after he had learned that he had this rare form of TB.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
We knew that he flew into Montreal and then crossed a land border into the United States. There's been questions about how he crossed that border unchallenged, because information had gone out to Customs and Border Protection, they should isolate him, detain him, and contact public health authorities.
A Homeland Security official has just told me that they have now discovered that the passport of this TB-infected man was indeed swiped at the Champlain, New York, border crossing. That means that the alert information would have come up on the screen of the Border Patrol agent who was manning that post. However, this man and his wife were at the border crossing for less than two minutes and were let into the country.
The investigation is ongoing, but at this point, indications might point to human error in this instance.
We're told that Customs and Border Protection had gotten the information from the CDC on the 22nd of May, that this man had this form of tuberculosis that was considered very dangerous, and if they came in contact with him, they should isolate him, detain him and contact public health authorities. That was distributed all across the nation to every single border crossing, including the one in Champlain, New York.
And yet, this man was allowed to cross -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Jeanne, let me just quickly make sure I understand you. They were there for such a short amount of time, less than two minutes, you said, that even though the passport was swiped, did it take longer for that alert to show up and they had already left?
MESERVE: No. The Homeland Security official tells me the information did come up on the screen.
As you may know, at the U.S.-Canadian border you don't necessarily have to show a passport.
COLLINS: Right.
MESERVE: And there had been some discussion that maybe this guy had only shown a license, been asked a couple of questions, and been flagged on through. But what they're telling me now is, no, absolutely, this passport was swiped. The information did ping in the system, and yet he was allowed to enter.
And by the way, the Customs and Border Patrol agent who was involved in this incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation into this continues. An investigation is being conducted by internal affairs at DHS, as well as the department's inspector general.
COLLINS: Wow. Interesting detail here.
All right. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reporting for us.
Jeanne, thank you.
MESERVE: You bet.
HARRIS: Celebration and sorrow. An Alabama high school demolished by a tornado. Now it's graduation day. How students killed in that storm are being remembered in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back, everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. Boy, at the top of the hour, we brought you these dramatic pictures as a 64 or 65-foot pleasure boat, there it is, as it's sinking off the coast of Miami, 10 miles east of government cut, the Coast Guard put divers in the water to rescue five people. Man, everyone OK, three adults, two children, just amazing pictures as we saw people in the water. As the boat was quickly, I mean quickly, taking on water and sinking, gone there. But, everyone, everyone is safe and sound right now. As you can imagine, it must have been a wild ride. There they are on the Coast Guard vessel, unbelievably scary for those people as their boat just rapidly taking on water. But they're OK now.
COLLINS: A baby.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Yikes.
Well, in search of a tuberculosis treatment. A patient infected with a rare, potentially fatal form of TV is at a hospital in Denver right now. Hospital officials explain what's ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILLIAM ALLSTETTER, NATL JEWISH & MEDICAL RESEARCH CTR: The first thing that will be done, he's going to have a patient history and a basic physical exam. The patient history sort of goes over some of his health history. It also talks about where he's been and his social contacts to see if we can determine where he got the disease, expected to go on two antibiotics today, one oral and one intravenous. As I said, those are guided by some of the info from CDC. We will do further tests on other drugs that they haven't tested to see if we can find more that he will be treated for. Late in the day, he will get a CAT scan, CT scan and a lung X-ray. So today, is really evaluation and just beginning treatment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us now with more on these latest developments. So we had the press conference there coming from National Jewish. That's really the premiere facility to be treating tuberculosis in the first place.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. If you have tuberculosis, especially this extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, this is where you want to go. This gentleman, this 31-year-old lawyer who had tuberculosis, he knew that. He's been actually trying to get to National Jewish in Colorado for quite a while now. He's had quite a trip from Europe to Atlanta and finally out to the place he wanted to go. We heard the doctor at National Jewish talking about how they're going to be giving him antibiotics that were not tried here in Atlanta. They've tried several, we don't know how many, but they've tried many and seen that they haven't worked.
The ones that they're going to try now could be very toxic to his kidney and his liver. This is sort of the last set of antibiotics or nearly the last set of antibiotics that you want to try on someone. They have to monitor his live and his kidney function very closely. They'll be doing all of this in the man's room. If you've been in the hospital, you know often (INAUDIBLE) you get brought from room to room in different places for X-rays and different places (INAUDIBLE). That's not going to happen here. People are coming to him. He's in an isolation room and we're told today that the only time he will leave the room is to get a CT scan. You can't get a CT into a patient's room. But obviously they're being very careful with this man. Now as many tuberculosis patients as they've treated at National Jewish, they've only had approximately, we were told today, about one to three cases of this extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, which really is a whole different ball game.
COLLINS: I think there's another thing that they are able to do there if in fact they need to. We're not sure of what they're going to do specifically yet but they can perform surgery.
COHEN: They can and they said in this press conference, they said to CNN producers, that it appears likely that he will have the surgery at some point. But first they're going to try these antibiotics. They're going to get a history. They're going to do all sorts of tests on him. But as Heidi said, he's going to be there for weeks or months. But it seems like surgery is going to happen. That's where they go into where the most infected part of the lung is and they actually remove it and that makes this disease easier to treat.
COLLINS: I didn't know that that was possible. All right, very good. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for that.
And air travelers who may have been exposed to tuberculosis speaking out about their concerns. Earlier in the NEWSROOM we talked with two passengers who sat on the same row as the infected passenger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON VIK, FLEW WITH TB PATIENT: I think if he knew he had tuberculosis regardless of whether it was XDR, I think anything contagious, if he wore a mask it's one thing. But for him to ignore health authorities is very irresponsible. I think it's selfish of him to do that and put other people at risk. Now you're looking at 30 college students. No telling how many kids were on this flight. And I think it's just ridiculous that somebody could put that many people at risk.
LANEY WIGGIINS, FLEW WITH TB PATIENT: They told me that if I do test positive, that I'm not contagious and that it's just the infection which may be treated. It doesn't become the full-blown disease until it's not treated. So if I test positive, then I'm OK for now and then if I test negative, then in two months I'll go back and be tested again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Also had the opportunity to talk with both Jason and Laney after the interview. They tell me that the CDC has not contacted them or any of the 30 students they were traveling with from the University of South Carolina at Aiken. Also, health officials did urge the infected man to wear a protective mask. Other passengers we talked to say they do not recall seeing anyone on the flight wearing a mask.
HARRIS: And we have some breaking news into CNN we want to share with you right now. We have a white powder scare to tell you about. This is in Miami, the Miami fire rescue team responding to the VA hospital located, if you know the area, northwest 16th Avenue for a white powder incident. An envelope was sent with white powder saying anthrax on it. We understand 13 people have been exposed to whatever is in that envelope. And those people are being washed down right now. Once again, the Miami fire rescue team responding to the VA hospital located at northwest 16 th Avenue for a white powder incident. Again, an envelope was sent with the white powder saying anthrax on it. Thirteen people have been exposed to whatever was in that envelope. Those people are being washed down right now. We'll continue to follow the story and bring you updates as we get them here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The man accused of poisoning ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London, he says he didn't do it, but he has some ideas about who did. Andrei Lugovoi pointing a finger at British intelligence. Lugovoi calls the whole affair a quote grim political story. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREI LUGOVOI, ACCUSED OF KILLING LITVINENKO (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It is difficult to abandon the idea that Litvinenko had become an agent of the British special services who got out of hand and was then eliminated, if not by the special services themselves, then under their control or their connivance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Russia has refused to extradite Lugovoi to Britain. This latest development further straining relations between the two countries.
HARRIS: Ambush and air strike after a U.S. chopper goes down in Afghanistan. Officials say preliminary reports indicate the Chinook was shot down last night. All seven on board were killed. Five U.S. soldiers along with two soldiers from Britain and Canada. The chopper crashed in southern Helman (ph) province where NATO and Afghan forces are fighting the Taliban. NATO says rescuers who responded to the crash were ambushed and called in an air strike. No word of any casualties from that attack.
COLLINS: An American president, but to Nancy Reagan he was simply Ronnie, remembering the love affair. Nancy Reagan and Larry King, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. A new report shows the economy is slamming on the breaks. But will that affect your prospects for summer employment? We'll have some answers when NEWSROOM returns. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Ronald Reagan remembered by the person who knew him best. Nancy Reagan shares her heartfelt memories tonight with CNN's Larry King. Next week marks the third anniversary of Reagan's death. The former first lady says time has not made the loss any less painful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How much do you miss him?
NANCY REAGAN, FMR. FIRST LADY: Ronnie?
KING: How long has it been now? It seems like yesterday.
REAGAN: I know, to you maybe. No. There are people who told me that it gets much easier. Well, maybe for them but not for me. I miss him more now than I ever did. I remember more now than I ever did, all the little things that we did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Tune in tonight for a rare and emotional interview with Nancy Reagan, "Larry King Live" airs at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, only on CNN.
COLLINS: We already knew economic growth slowed sharply during the first three months of the year. Now the government says it was even worse than originally thought. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with the numbers. How bad is the damage, Susan?
LISOVICZ: 0.6 percent, really slamming on the breaks, Heidi. That's for the first three months of the year. The government says the economy grew 0.6 of a percent annual rate, much weaker than the government's first estimate of 1.3 percent growth. It's also worse than economists had been expecting. Just as comparison, in the fourth quarter, GDP which had already been slowing down was 2.5 percent. One big culprit, the slump in the nation's housing market, which has been hurting economic growth for nearly a year. Of course, it was a catalyst prior to that. It was really you know, a great boost to the economy and the recession and in some of the dark days around that time. Heidi?
COLLINS: Despite the slowing growth, it's getting easier to find at least one kind of job.
LISOVICZ: Yes, we don't need those kind of jobs anymore I think Heidi, the summer job. According to "The Wall Street Journal," the chances of landing a summer job, everything from paid internships to scooping ice cream are brighter this year than last.
COLLINS: I'll take that job.
LISOVICZ: I actually did that job and I enjoyed it a lot. Five years ago it was a lot tougher for students to work, to find summer work. But in '04, employment among 16 to 24-year-olds turned around. It looks like the trend will continue this year. The "Journal" says Web sites for young job seekers like snagajob.com, campjobs.com and teensforhire.org are posting more job listings, career service. (INAUDIBLE) areas that are especially hot, accounting, finance, technology and health care. Maybe there's some ice cream scooping in there as well. In other words, your teenagers should be able to find work this summer.
Checking the markets, stocks are in the green, added to records hit yesterday by the Dow and S&P 500. That weaker-than-expected GDP report could make it more than likely that the Fed could cut interest rates this year. That's something that's very favored on Wall Street. Checking the numbers, the Dow right now is up 13 points. The Nasdaq is up 10 points. Not so bad at all. And that's the latest from here. Back to you, Heidi and Tony.
COLLINS: I made fudge one summer. It wasn't ice cream scooping.
LISOVICZ: You probably gained 10 pounds that summer too.
COLLINS: At least. Thank God I actually don't like fudge. That's another story entirely. Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome. HARRIS: Your life, boy, "Your World Today" is coming up in just about 14 minutes at the top of the hour. You've done everything, haven't you?
COLLINS: No, not yet, so much more to be done. Hi, Jim.
HARRIS: Hi Jim. I'm sorry.
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's all right. I was listening in there, pretty interesting. Join Colleen McEdwards and me coming up at the top of the hour for "Your World Today." We've got a couple of murder mysteries for you and some interesting developments. The first one in Moscow, the suspect in the murder of a former KGB agent, a former KGB agent himself pointing a finger now at British intelligence in that radiation poisoning. We're going to take you live to Moscow for some surprising twists and turns in that one.
Plus, the son of Lebanon's murdered Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will be joining us live to talk about reaction to the UN now setting up a criminal court to bring suspects to trial. That's against the wishes of Syria and Hezbollah. What's the evidence? What are the risks in this? He's got a lot to say.
Plus, while they're demonstrating out on the streets in Venezuela, after Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez pulled the plug on a TV station that aired opposition views, now the station is back in living color on the Internet. How freedom of speech is faring with a little help from its friends. Heidi and Tony, join me at the top of the hour.
HARRIS: Absolutely, we'll be there.
COLLINS: We will be there. Thank you Jim.
HARRIS: Call him the Susan Lucci (ph) of spelling bees, probably wouldn't like that very much. Five years in the running, never a winner. Will today be the day for Samir Patel? That story in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Celebration and sorrow in Enterprise, Alabama. The high school demolished by a tornado holds its graduation ceremony today. Nine people, including eight students were killed by the March 1st tornado. Two seniors who would have graduated today were among the victims. The principal says two empty chairs will be placed in honor of the students. Their parents plan to attend the ceremony.
HARRIS: He is a star of the national spelling bee, but he is not letter perfect. Today, a teenager makes his fifth appearance at the annual contest. It is his last chance to walk away a champ. CNN's Tom Foreman spells it out for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The word is eremacausis. It means gradual decay, but for the dauntless seventh grader, Samir Patel last year, it meant sudden downfall.
SAMIR PATEL, SPELLING BEE CONTESTANT: A-e-r-o-m-o-c-a-u-s-i-s.
FOREMAN: Over the past five years this young man from Texas has emerged as an undeniable star of the Scripps national spelling bee, a skilled competitor who has the best overall record of success ever, but who has never finished first. In 2003, as a nine-year-old, he made it to the final three, dazzling the crowd, but the Creole sausage Boudin stumped him. The champions cheers went to a boy from Dallas. The next year, Samir hit the word corposant which refers to an electrical phenomenon and he shocked the crowd by finishing 27th. Indiana took the prize. In 2005, the word was roscian, which has to do with acting.
PATEL: R-o-s-s-i-a-n.
FOREMAN: The cup was raised by a boy from California. Samir finished second, acting like it didn't hurt. Last year, a girl from New Jersey captured the crown. Samir tied for 14th. So once again, he stands on the brink. He's already made it into the quarterfinals this year.
But this is his last chance. He'll be out of the eighth grade and the running next year. He is the only kid in the room competing for a fifth time and the only one who will truly know the meaning of this victory if it finally comes his way.
PATEL: D-e-c-o-r, decor.
FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Hard not to root for him, right?
Meanwhile, the iPod is one of the newest things, of course. Now it's in the hands of some of the oldest people. Tell you all about it, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know how some songs take you back in time? Isn't it fun? "Atomic Dog" for me. Imagine when you have a full century to reminisce about those favorites. The time machine, the iPod music player, a birthday present for a few folks turning 100. Details now from Jennifer Ryan. She is with CNN affiliate WUSA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER RYAN, WUSA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you've already celebrated 99 birthdays, it's nice to know that life can still deliver a surprise when you turn 100.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you try it out for me?
RYAN: It's the latest technology and it's wonderful to see these 25 centenarians at the Hebrew home of greater Washington truly embrace it.
KAREN SNYDER, EXEC. DIR, EVERCARE: These are people that there were no airplanes. There were no ball point pens. There were no computers, no TV.
RYAN: These modern tools not only keep our centenarians current, Karen Snyder says they are therapeutic, sharpening cognitive skills while exercising the aging brain and providing entertainment.
DAVID SAKOFF, 100 YEARS OLD: I played the violin. I was a musician.
RYAN: Centenarians are actually doing a pretty good job of keeping up with the world around them. In fact, a third have watched MTV and even reality shows. They are 6 percent who logged on to the Internet and 11 percent have enjoyed a cup of coffee at Starbucks. What do you think about paying $3 for a cup of coffee?
[ bleep ].
RYAN: Some modern trends are hard to swallow, others tough to keep up with. In fact, Frances was warned to slow down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They slowed it down for me.
RYAN: Running over people?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did, one lady, 103.
RYAN: Along with their candor, 100 years hasn't dimmed their curiosity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't frustrate me. I'll figure it out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: I love that. What did that one woman say?
COLLINS: Bleep.
HARRIS: Yeah, nursing home workers say that mental challenge, that particular challenge, learning something new is part of the benefit from iPods, plus they said news can be quite soothing.
COLLINS: Good for them, well done. CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.
HARRIS: "Your World Today" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great day everybody.
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