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American Morning
Chertoff's Gut Feeling: Increased Risk of Terror Attack; Sanjay Gupta vs. Michael Moore; Senator Sex Scandal
Aired July 11, 2007 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Gut check.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: All of these things give me a -- kind of a gut feeling that we could easily be attacked.
ROBERTS: The head of Homeland Security's alarming words.
CHERTOFF: I believe we're entering a period this summer of increased risk.
ROBERTS: Is he seeing something we should be worried about?
On this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Good morning to you and thanks for joining us. It's Wednesday, the 11th of July.
I'm John Roberts, along with Kiran Chetry.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you as well.
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: The man in charge of keeping America safe says this is no time to relax. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff says he has a gut feeling al Qaeda and other terrorists are regrouping for a summer attack. He made the comments to the "Chicago Tribune's" editorial board yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERTOFF: We're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We've seen a lot more public statements from al Qaeda. These things give me a -- kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of -- not that I have a specific threat, you know, that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Clark Kent Ervin is a former inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security, and he joins us now from Washington. Clark, what is the most concerning thing about what Chertoff said?
CLARK KENT ERVIN, FMR. DHS INSPECTOR GENERAL: Well, you know, John, Secretary Chertoff is a very circumspect man, and he chooses his words very carefully. He is not one to hype things.
So, for him to say that he thinks that there is an increased risk this summer I think is very significant, indeed. And the factors he cited are the factors to be cited; namely, the increased number of warnings from bin Laden and from Zawahiri. There have been so many taped warnings lately that those whose job it is to keep track of them are finding it hard to do so. Increasingly sophisticated tapes, by the way.
And further, there is this pattern of al Qaeda attacking. At least in Britain, in the summer, of course, the plot was unfoiled just a couple of weeks ago. That's the most recent one.
ROBERTS: So it's not so much the fact that it was said, because certainly we heard Tom Ridge say it a lot. You say it's the fact that Chertoff who said it that troubles you most?
ERVIN: Right. And that he said that there was an increased risk. There is always a risk against the United States and against other Western countries, but an increased risk.
You know, summertime is a time of complacency generally. You know, people kind of lower their guard unconsciously. It's also a time when, needless to say, millions of Americans are traveling. They're at airports, they're at seaports, they're at mass transit stations.
And also, really, the cultural (INAUDIBLE), it seems to me, is very similar to that in the summer of 2001. You know, back then we were focused on shark attacks and missing people. There's much of the same kind of attitude here in the country today.
ROBERTS: What about these reports that were carried by ABC last night that there may be an al Qaeda cell either on its way to the United States or already here? Our Peter Bergen said that there didn't seem to be much concern among low-level intelligence analysts that that would be the case, but he did say that upper-level officials at the FBI are worried about it.
ERVIN: Well, that's right, John. And of course we saw that tape -- I think it was an ABC tape -- a week or so ago of a training camp in Pakistan or Afghanistan, apparently. A graduation ceremony, and apparently suicide bombers, according to this tape, were being sent to the United States. So there's a reason to be concerned about this.
Our vulnerabilities remain very high, indeed, and, frankly, I think we're overdue for a hit. There is no question but that al Qaeda wants to hit us again. We are nearly six years after 9/11, and it seems to me that an attack may come at any time.
ROBERTS: Clark, real quick here, is there enough of a concern you think that the terror alert level should be raised?
ERVIN: No. As the secretary said, there appears to be no specific intelligence -- when, where, exactly how. And that being so, there is no specific action that the government can do to protect us.
ROBERTS: OK. All right.
ERVIN: But there's a reason for concern if the secretary has said so.
ROBERTS: Clark Kent Ervin, former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security.
Thanks for joining us.
ERVIN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: President Bush's national security adviser heads to Capitol Hill today hoping to save the so-called surge. The Senate votes this morning on a plan to withdraw troops from Iraq within 120 days and be out by next April.
Also new overnight, prosecutors in London decided to retry two terror suspects after a jury failed to reach a verdict yesterday. The jury convicted four other men, all of them charged with plotting to bomb London's transportation system back on July 21st, 2005.
A major development will be announced today that could solve the pizza bomb mystery. A pizza deliveryman robbed a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. That was back in 2003. When police caught him, he said gunmen had forced him into the robbery by locking a bomb around his neck.
The bomb was real. It went off, it killed him. Today, the U.S. attorney is expected to charge Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Ken Barnes with the robbery. Both are already in prison for other crimes.
CHETRY: Time now to check on some of the other big stories with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents.
Another madam speaking up in the D.C. sex scandal. AMERICAN MORNING'S Sean Callebs has been following this story for us from New Orleans, with more details this morning.
Hi, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Indeed, she is a madam from here. She's called the "Canal Street Madam". Her accusation that Senator Vitter was a longtime client of her brothel. She is making a lot of accusations but offering, Kiran, no proof.
CHETRY: All right. Sean Callebs.
More details on that coming up in just a couple of minutes. Thank you.
Meantime, is John McCain's campaign in trouble? A much- publicized staff shakeup has a lot of people talking this morning.
Jacki Schechner is watching reaction on the blogs today.
And boy, when you look at the headlines, it makes it seem like you should just pack it up and leave.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Good morning, Kiran. A quick survey for you.
As you might imagine, liberal bloggers are saying this is it for McCain. Stick a fork in him, he's done. The comment is that the wheels are off on the bus here on the Straight Talk Express, that this is really the end of it.
On the right, conservative bloggers, there's an interesting mix. McCain has some problems with regard to his support of immigration with conservative bloggers.
Patrick Ruffini, in the interest of full disclosure, used to work for Giuliani, but he's also a very well-respected Web consultant and analyst. And he says the problem with McCain's campaign up to this point was the pressure of being the front-runner, combined with too many leaders, not enough followers in his management team.
Interesting, though, to note, there are some conservatives who are still very optimistic at this point. Captain Ed saying this is not wheels coming off the bus, this is changing the wheels midstream, and this means McCain is committed to this fight -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. Maybe it could mean new energy in the campaign. Who knows?
Jacki Schechner, thanks so much.
Also, severe weather expert Chad Myers is watching for thunderstorms in the Northeast part of the country today. He brings us an update now on what we can expect in the weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: It all started when our Dr. Sanjay Gupta did a fact check on Michael Moore's new movie "Sicko". Moore then launched into a tirade on everything from Sanjay, to Wolf Blitzer, to CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq.
Well, last night, Sanjay and Michael Moore squared off on "LARRY KING LIVE".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The point is, though -- and I think you have to concede this point, Michael -- that you're trying to lead people to believe -- again, people who are really concerned about this issue -- that it is free in these other countries, and that is what I think...
MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: It is free.
GUPTA: It's not, Michael. I mean, the taxes are high. I understand that you're equating taxes with HMO premiums. I get it. I've studied this stuff, as have you. But to just say to someone who doesn't have a sophisticated understanding exactly how health care work that it's free is simply not true.
Why do they have such a high tax in France? Why are they paying so much more in taxes?
MOORE: The difference is, is that in those countries, if you get sick, you never have to worry about whether or not you're going to be able to afford to pay for it. That's the difference. And when you've got 47 million people in this country with no health insurance, they don't go to the doctor because they can't afford it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, Sanjay is in Atlanta this morning.
And Sanjay, you and Michael Moore continued to disagree about some of the raw facts about some of the data. But you did come to an agreement that there are some serious problems with the U.S. health care system.
GUPTA: Absolutely, John. I mean, I think there's a lot that we did agree on, and I think that this whole idea that the health care system is not working right for a lot of people, there's a lot of uninsured people, there are a lot of under-insured people as well, is absolutely true. But, you know, I think what is most important, I think, for people who really care about this is to really point out what is happening in these other countries, completely transparently.
We talked about whether it's free or not. You heard the arguments that I made. But also the things to point out, for example, in France, in Canada, in England, a lot of people buy supplemental health care insurance. If it's totally free, if it's totally utopic (ph), why are they buying all this supplemental health insurance as well?
I think we owe it to viewers who are going to be curious about this topic to present all of the facts. That's what we were trying to do last night.
ROBERTS: I grew up in Canada, and the system certainly was better when I was a kid than it is now. But it's almost developing into a two-tier system like we see in England, where some doctors are opting out and they're starting to create this private parallel system there.
GUPTA: Yes. You know, and people -- for the average person out there, they're concerned about wait times. And you're going to hear all sorts of different arguments on this.
You know, for example, for a cardiac catheterization, which can be an urgent, if not emergent, procedure, you can wait from six to 60 days in Canada. And that's on average. Obviously, there is going to be anecdotal cases in either direction. In the United States, it's more likely to be hours to a day.
If you have crushing chest pain -- and I pointed this out to Michael last night -- where do you want to be? And I think that these are tough questions, but they're important questions if we want to fix our health care system.
ROBERTS: Just a point of fact, my mother-in-law waited a number of weeks for both the cardiac catheterization, and then as well for a coronary artery bypass.
Hey, let's switch gears just a little bit. You're going to be talking a little bit later on this hour about urinary tract infections in children and the use of antibiotics in children.
What's the headline?
GUPTA: Yes, this could be a very difficult thing for doctors and parents to take care of. If your child has a urinary tract infection, should you give antibiotics to prevent a future one? We're going to talk about why you shouldn't and what you should do instead in just about half an hour or so -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see you then. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.
GUPTA: All right. Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: And back to the Senate sex scandal story and developments this morning out of New Orleans. Sean Callebs has been reporting new accusations about Republican senator David Vitter. Sean joins us again from New Orleans.
Where is the trail headed now, Sean?
CALLEBS: Well, the latest accusations come from a colorful individual known as the "Canal Street Madam". From 1979 until 2002, she ran a brothel here in the city and says Vitter, Senator David Vitter, was a longtime client. However, since 2002, she has been on probation after the feds busted her, but that is not keeping her from talking about Vitter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice over): Sitting on the bed of her small home, the alleged "Canal Street Madam" says she is going public in an effort to defend embattled senator David Vitter.
JEANETTE MAIER, "CANAL STREET MADAM": I didn't want to hurt somebody who was decent, OK? Somebody who was good. And so what? Men fool around. Not all men, but a lot of men.
CALLEBS: Jeanette Maier says she first met Vitter in New Orleans back in the late '80s or early '90s. She can't remember. Maier spent much of Tuesday talking with various media outlets about this story. We have no proof of her allegations, only Maier's word.
MAIER: So I had girls that worked, and girls come back and say, you know, that they had partied and they were with David. Like I gave a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I was always taught not to -- hey, the least I know the better off I am.
CALLEBS: Maier says Vitter paid her girls $300 an hour.
(on camera): Why do you think it was important to keep quiet all of the years? Because the rumors came out when he was running for the U.S. Senate. Why was it important for you to keep quiet about it?
MAIER: Because a real madam doesn't -- believe it or not, they do have morals. You don't give out guys' names.
CALLEBS (voice over): Maier's attorney, Vinny Mosca (ph), says Vitter's name is not found in the former madam's black book, but Mosca (ph) says he has no reason to doubt her. We couldn't reach Vitter for comment, but in 2004, he adamantly denied having any relationship with the alleged "Canal Street Madam," saying he was being attacked by crass Louisiana politics.
What makes this so hard for Vitter's constituents to believe is the senator has made traditional family values the cornerstone of his political career. And just Monday, Vitter apologized for being linked to the alleged D.C. madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who is facing racketeering charges for allegedly running a brothel disguised as an escort service.
Despite the allegations, the staunch conservative still has plenty of backers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boys will be boys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I appreciate his honesty, first of all. He kind of nailed it on the head. And I think none of us is without things that, you know, that we haven't dealt with in the past.
CALLEBS: Vitter's apology was prompted in part by questions from "Hustler" magazine. It was "Hustler" editors that on Monday first asked Vitter why he was calling the alleged D.C. madam back in 2001 while he was still a congressman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And just to remind you why "Hustler" may have an interest in all of this, Larry Flynt made a very public proclamation a month ago, offering $1 million to anyone who could provide proof that a member of Congress or a high-ranking member of the U.S. government had a relationship with a prostitute.
And John, Vitter's day could be a long one again. We know Flynt has scheduled a news conference for 5:00 Eastern Time, 2:00 West Coast, for the sole purpose of dishing more dirt on this embattled senator.
ROBERTS: So this later accuser says, listen, I may be a madam, but I'm a lady. I have a moral code, madams don't dish on their clients.
Obviously, Sean, she has thrown that moral code out the window. Why?
CALLEBS: Exactly. Does she have an ulterior motive here?
She says she made a lot of money the years she ran a brothel. But you know what? Life has been tough since the feds shut her down.
She has no money right now. We know she's trying to put together a book deal. She's also trying to push herself as a consultant. And all of this could play into some kind of perhaps hidden, perhaps not so hidden, plan to rake in some money.
ROBERTS: Sean Callebs for us in New Orleans this morning.
Thanks, Sean. We'll get back to you a little bit later on -- Kiran.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: Well, the beltway is buzzing this morning. Lots of big stories from a shakeup in John McCain's campaign this morning, to new revelations to the Senate sex scandal. So a lot to talk about today.
And joining us from Washington, Ron Christie. He's a former special assistant to President Bush.
Ron, good to see you this morning.
RON CHRISTIE, FMR. SPECIAL ASST. TO PRESIDENT BUSH: Hi, Kiran. Nice to be with you.
CHETRY: Of course the news broke, it caused quite a buzz yesterday afternoon, that campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver both departing the McCain campaign.
What do you know about what is going on within that camp?
CHRISTIE: Well, Senator McCain was long perceived to be the front-runner for the presidential race on the Republican side. He was expected to raise $100 million this year for his presidential campaign, Kiran. And sadly, Senator McCain has only raised $24 million. He only has $2 million in cash on hand.
That has allowed former governor Mitt Romney from Massachusetts to set up quite an impressive organization in Iowa and New Hampshire, areas where McCain thought that he would thrive. And I think his Straight Talk Express bus that Senator McCain talks about all the time right now is in the shop. A couple of the wheels are off the bus, and he needs to retool his campaign if he still has any shot of getting this nomination.
CHETRY: Let's talk about Senator Vitter. His political problems seem to be worsening because this morning, another madam -- this one from New Orleans -- he's a Louisiana senator -- is claiming a connection as well to the senator.
What do you think his chances for political survival are right now?
CHRISTIE: Well, at this point, they're pretty strong as it relates to the D.C. madam. All that we've heard is Senator Vitter's number has showed up on her call list registry. The question remains, why was he calling her? What sort of interaction did he have with this madam or any of the people in her employ.
I do worry, however, that Mr. Flynt is going to have a press conference at 5:00 Eastern today. The publisher of "Hustler" magazine.
CHETRY: Right.
CHRISTIE: The question remains whether or not he has any further allegations or more evidence against Senator Vitter. So the jury is still out. It's a little early at this point.
CHETRY: There's more GOP defections when it comes to Iraq. You've been inside of this White House. How do you think the president is responding behind closed doors to this growing criticism from within his own party?
CHRISTIE: Well, I think it's to be expected. Any time that the country is at war you're going to have people who are opposed to the president's policies.
President Bush has been very steadfast about why we've gone to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, why it's important to win this war on terrorism. I think that General Petraeus' report coming out in September later on this year will outline the progress that's gone on, on the ground, and I think that will help quiet some of the chorus of the GOP discord right now.
CHETRY: Another criticism right now going on is the former surgeon general testified, Richard Carmona, in front of a congressional panel, saying that he was silenced and that sometimes he felt political considerations came above public health within this White House. How much trouble is that for this administration?
CHRISTIE: Not much. I had the opportunity to serve with Admiral Carmona from 2002 to 2004 when I was in the White House. He helped the president, one of his initiatives, create a Medical Reserve Corps. To help protect and preserve communities around this country. Mr. Carmona was a very happy individual that I worked with. I had the opportunity to travel around the country with him on a couple of different occasions to give speeches.
CHETRY: Right. So why now is he saying, listen, I was not allowed to speak about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, among other things. Why is he coming out with that now?
CHRISTIE: You've got me, Kiran. Again, I never had the opportunity to see him express any displeasure. He was very happy with his appointment.
But one thing I would point out to your audience, you serve at the pleasure of the president of the United States. For those of went out to speak on the president's behalf, our speeches were vetted to make sure that it was in line with the president's policies. I just wonder if Mr. Carmona, now that he's -- did not get a reappointment to be surgeon general, is airing some of those sour grapes because he did not get another opportunity to serve this administration.
CHETRY: Interesting perspective.
Ron Christie, former special assistant to President Bush.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
CHRISTIE: Thanks, Kiran.
ROBERTS: A major development this morning in a four-year-old mystery. Suspects revealed in the case of the pizza deliveryman accused of robbing a bank with a bomb strapped around his neck.
Those revelations next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Look at that beautiful shot this morning. This comes to us courtesy of KSDK St. Louis, Missouri. It's 69 degrees right now, partly cloudy skies. But it is shaping up to be a sunny, beautiful day in St. Louis. If you're going to meet someone there, 83 degrees. How about that?
ROBERTS: Who are you ever going to meet in St. Louis? Certainly not me.
CHETRY: Really?
ROBERTS: No meeting me in St. Louis.
CHETRY: Fine. You're going to get in trouble. It is Wednesday, July 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry, along with John Roberts. Good to see you today.
ROBERTS: Remember that pizza bomber case, the weird case from Erie, Pennsylvania back in 2003. This guy robbed a bank with a bomb strapped around his neck, and it eventually went off and killed him. Police didn't know who was involved. Well, there's a break in the case now.
CHETRY: That's right. It looks like they are going to be arresting, or at least, filing charges against two different people. And the plot certainly thickens there. One of them is already serving prison time for apparently confessing to killing her boyfriend and stashing him in the freezer.
The plot is definitely getting stranger. But today we may have some answers about whether or not the poor guy that was sitting there, that ended up getting up getting blown up was an accomplice or just an innocent person at the wrong place at the wrong time.
ROBERTS: Also did a Chicago television reporter go too far? She was fired. Certainly her employer thought she did. She showed up in a bathing suit at the home of a man whose wife went missing back on April 30th.
There she is.
CHETRY: It was a case she was following. She was on that beat. A rival television station ended up filming this, and airing the story. She has since had to resign. We will talk more about that.
Meanwhile, the war over the war. President Bush's national security advisor heads to the Hill today to hoping to save the so- called surge. The Senate votes this morning on a plan to withdrawing troops from Iraq within 120 days, and then be out by next April. Within the last hour on AMERICAN MORNING, Lee Hamilton, the co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, had this to say about the current situation in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE HAMILTON, CO-CHAIR, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: American casualties are up. Overall, the violence in the country has not diminished. Services in Baghdad are as bad as they were in the prewar levels, with regard to water and electricity. The sectarian clashes continue.
I do not see any fundamental change in the equations in Iraq today. It is still grave. It is still deteriorating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Just yesterday, President Bush asked for more time for the surge to work.
A candid warning from Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff. A quote, "gut feeling" he says he has about the risk of a terror attack. Chertoff told the editorial board of "The Chicago Tribune" that Al Qaeda and other terror groups are preparing to strike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, DIRECTOR, HOMELAND SECURITY: We're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We've seen a lot more public statements from Al Qaeda. These things give me kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of -- not that I have a specific threat, you know -- that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Chertoff says that there is actually no specific intelligence about any planned attack, but he is urging Americans to remain vigilant.
America's former surgeon general says he was hushed up by the White House. Dr. Richard Carmona told a House hearing on Tuesday that the Bush administration routinely interfered on hot button issues like stem cell research and sex education. On CNN's "Anderson Cooper" last night, Carmona claims that politics were put before science.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RICHARD CARMONA, FMR. SURGEON GENERAL: It's the most marginalization we've seen pushed on a surgeon general in the history of this nation. That's not my opinion, that's coming collectively from my predecessors, who watched my tenure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Carmona served as surgeon general from 2002 to 2006 -- John.
ROBERTS: After four years, a mystery maybe solved. Police had cornered a bank robber in Erie, Pennsylvania this was back in 2003. He told them that he was a pizza deliveryman, and that gunman had locked a bomb around his neck to force him into robbing that bank.
The bomb was real and went off, it killed him. So many unanswered questions about this case for so long. Was he involved? Or was he an innocent victim? Who put the bomb around his neck? Today, finally some answers. CNN's Jason Carroll is here with what is expected from today's announcement.
So, what do we got?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some answers. It really is a strange case. Later this afternoon authorities will hold a press conference where they are expected to announce that they are charging two people in connection with the crime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice over): It was a frightening moment, one that became a mystery, lasting nearly four years. This pizza deliveryman, Brian Wells, handcuffed, minutes away from death. Police unsure if he's a victim, or a bank robber.
Wells telling them a bizarre story, saying armed gunmen forced him to rob a bank and attached a so-called collar bomb around his neck, and time was running out.
"Why is no one coming to get this thing off me? I don't have a lot of time."
But no one knew how much time. Minutes earlier, surveillance video had captured Wells as he walked into this PNC Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. Had he a gun shaped like a cane in his hand, a lollipop in his mouth, and as you're about to hear in this 911 call, a strange object around his neck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy just walked out with I don't know how much cash in a bag. He had a bomb or something -- or something wrapped around his neck.
CARROLL: When police finally caught up with Wells, told them had he had the wrong man. Listen as he tried telling them the story about the gunman who he says put the bomb around his neck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He pulled a key out and started a timer. I heard the thing ticking when he did it.
CARROLL: Minutes passed. A bomb squad raced to the scene. They didn't make it in time. We cannot show you what happened next.
Wells was killed in the explosion. His family called him a victim, proclaiming his innocence on a website.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother told them it was a group of strangers that accosted him at gun point, shot at him when he tried to run away.
CARROLL: Now, finally, almost four years later, a break in the case. A knowledgeable source tells CNN investigators are expected to charge Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong (ph) and Kenneth Barnes (ph) with conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
It's not clear at this point, if they knew Wells. Diehl- Armstrong is already in prison serving time for the murder of her ex- boyfriend, James Rodin (ph). Barnes is behind bars as well in Erie County Prison, being held on a drug charge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Authorities have not said if they believe Wells was a victim or a coconspirator. Perhaps at a press conference they will answer that question and tell us if the suspects new Wells. Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the one who is serving time for killing her boyfriend. The body of that man was found at a home near where Wells made his final pizza delivery.
Coincidence? We're going to have to see at the press conference, that's expected later this afternoon.
ROBERTS: When you take a look at the pictures of the device it seems like it was pretty sophisticated. Did either one of these people have the expertise to craft that?
CARROLL: Well, there is another man, a man who since has died, who there has been speculation that perhaps he, too, may have been involved in this whole scheme. I mean, maybe perhaps again at this press conference, we'll get word if this third person was involved as well.
ROBERTS: Such a bizarre case. The answer so long in coming but you've answered a lot of them. Jason Carroll, thanks very much.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Back to North Korea for the U.N. inspection team, topping our "Quick Hits" now. They're going to arrive this weekend. Pyongyang is letting them watch the dismantling of a weapon-making nuclear reactor. Oil, from South Korea, also should arrive this weekend as part of the aid package that was agreed upon.
One of the U.K. bomb plot suspects is in grave condition. Kafeel Achmed (ph) has third-degree burns over much of his body and doctors say he will likely die. He was in that burning Jeep that rammed a terminal in Glasgow airport.
And everyone is talking about the video that landed a TV reporter in hot water; showing up to swim, with her kids, at the home of a suspect that she'd been covering. That's next, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A new study suggests antibiotics do nothing when it comes to urinary tract infections in young kids. And, in fact, they could be harmful. Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us from Atlanta with details on this.
Antibiotics, as a prevention or as treatment after someone has been diagnosed with a UTI?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The specific study was looking at it as prevention. Everyone agrees if a child or anybody has a urinary tract infection a course of antibiotics is a good idea. Seven to 10 days worth, usually takes care of it.
The question is, if a young child gets a urinary tract infection how much more likely are they to develop recurrent urinary tract infections? And what should be done about it?
A lot of doctors will recommend they get some sort of study to find out if there's an anatomical problem, but to also give prophylactic antibiotics.
This new study says, not so fast. Prophylactic antibiotics may not be a good idea for two reasons. One is they may not work. They may not actually prevent further urinary tract infections. And the second thing is they may actually cause resistant bacteria to grow. Something you and I have talked about quite a bit in the past.
This was a relatively small study about 700 children under the age of six. So a larger study is going to be needed to look at this issue. This whole idea of what you do with a young child with a urinary tract infection is something that -- definitely parents need to talk to their doctor about.
CHETRY: Why do kids get urinary tract infections?
GUPTA: It can be a lot of different things. It be can this anatomical problem, where urine is actually instead flowing forward down the urethra, it is actually going backwards, sometimes even into the kidneys. That can be a problem.
In an older child it can simply be that they are holding it. They sort of have a dysfunctional urination pattern. And a younger child it could be longer-term dirty diapers things like that. Different than in adults who get urinary tract infections for different reasons.
CHETRY: I got you. And what is your take on cranberry? People talk about like drinking lots of cranberry juice to help that?
GUPTA: It's interesting. I was curious about the same thing with two young daughters. In kids, at least, it really hasn't been studied well enough to make a difference. It may have some effectiveness in adults, which is why people have given it some popularity. But it doesn't seem to have as much effectiveness in kids.
You know, with regards to kids you really have to pay attention to the symptoms and it can be hard, Kiran, as you may know, as well. Sometimes urinary tract infection can just be a kid is tired, or not eating properly. It's not always a classic fever and burning so just be more vigilant about that and get them treated if they have the UTI.
CHETRY: OK, Doctor Sanjay Gupta. Thanks so much.
Also, every Thursday we open "Dr. Gupta's Mailbag". If you'd like some questions that you want answered go to cnn.com/americamorning and you can e-mail Sanjay your question.
ROBERTS: Coming up now on 45 minutes after the hour. Chad Myers is down at the Weather Center in Atlanta, monitoring some thunderstorms.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: A television reporter in Chicago covering the case of a missing woman caught a tape hanging out with the missing woman's husband? In a bathing suit? We'll talk to Chicago's own Roland Martin about it next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A puppy that wears its heart on its back. A Chihuahua born in Japan has a near perfect heart-shaped pattern on its fur. Take a look at that. The shop owner says out of 1,000 puppies that she's bred, this is the first time she's seen it. By the way, she's not going to sell this puppy, and she has named it Heartkin.
CHETRY: He is very cue. How about that? Sure it's not painted on? Does it smudge?
ROBERTS: It looks perfect.
CHETRY: It sure does. He's a cutie.
Every year Merriam-Webster, the big dictionary company, decides whether or not they're going to add new words.
ROBERTS: Based on pop culture?
CHETRY: Based on pop culture. This year they have a whole group of them. One our producer, Rebecca, loves to use, "ginormous". Which I guess is a mixture of gigantic and enormous. It means extremely large or humongous.
ROBERTS: A lot of words added as well. Let's move onto the next screen and tell folks what -- "smackdown", act of knocking down or bringing down a opponent.
Of course, the title of wrestling.
CHETRY: Right, the second definition is that it's a wrestling contest, a pro wrestling contest, The Smackdown. How about that?
This one we had much debate about, because, "crunk" is, I guess the formal definition is a style of Southern rap music. However, our teleprompter operator, who is 22, so really an expert in young pop culture, says it also means getting a little bit too drunk.
ROBERTS: What is a "DVR"? Digital video recorder. That's another abbreviation that has been added.
Another one that is a real sign of the times, "IED", improvised explosive device, which is those terrible bombs killing so many of our American forces overseas.
CHETRY: A couple of other quick ones, "Ballywood", of course. You know the home of a lot of Indian movies that are made there in --
ROBERTS: "Sudoku"
CHETRY: "Sudoku", which I love. A puzzle.
ROBERTS: And "speed dating", was another one.
CHETRY: Speed dating, how about that?
ROBERTS: A total of 20 new words, including an "anulotte" (ph), which has long been a word, it's just Italian word.
CHETRY: Oh, OK. And "telenovella", the Latin American soap operas, as well. So, it's interesting. They say there are some who linguistic conservatives, as they call them, turn their noses up at the new words, but part of it is all in good fun. Pop culture has sort of come in a way that now we can find it in the dictionary.
ROBERTS: A lot of slang creeps into the English language every year. And just the recognition, that yeah, it's part of the vernacular. So, why not?
CHETRY: Well, California is growing and its changing and that tops our "Quick Hits". The state is predicting there will be nearly 60 million people living there by the middle of the century; 52 percent will be Hispanic, and 26 percent white, and 13 percent Asian, and 5 percent black.
Old people may have a hard time getting jokes. This is a study from the University of Washington. It showed that people over 65 did not pick up on jokes as well as college students. I bet you there are some that would like to quibble with that study.
There's also a new focus on Alzheimer's disease today. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain that for us as well.
Hi, Sanjay.
GUPTA: A couple of big things coming out about Alzheimer's. First of all, possibly a path to try to reduce some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's. Pretty important stuff.
Also there's a new test to try and determine whether or not you might be actually be developing some of the symptoms of Alzheimer's as well. We will put you guys to the test in a little bit, as well, just coming up in about half an hour or so.
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ROBERTS: Live pictures this morning from the White House. You're saying to yourself -- what room is that? That is the new James Brady Press Briefing Room. It's opening to the White House press corps today. It's in the West Wing of the White House.
A place that used to be an absolute dump, believe me, I spent six years there. Still built over the swimming pool that Franklin Roosevelt put, in the 1930s. But the place has been transformed. Take a look at that!
CHETRY: Shiny and new, how about that? A fresh coat of paint.
ROBERTS: Boy! Does that look official, or what?
CHETRY: Now, they didn't they also make it more high-tech. There were some problems, right? Before that, there wasn't enough -- what?
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: There wasn't enough room, there wasn't enough wire, there wasn't enough anything.
CHETRY: There wasn't enough, what? Electrical outlets?
ROBERTS: There wasn't enough food, either. There wasn't enough food, I can tell you that.
CHETRY: How about the seating didn't change, though, because you still see Helen Thomas, front and center.
ROBERTS: Right up front. There was a lot of controversy about that. They tried to expand the seats to get the cable news network up front, as well, FOX and CNN. And they managed to work everything out pretty much to everybody's satisfaction.
Look how beautiful that looks now. Fantastic.
It's 56 minutes after the hour. Talk about super-sizing. Time for your "Quick Hits" now. The giant mushroom was picked in a Mexican forest, recently. It measured 27 inches tall and weighed in at 41 pounds.
CHETRY: It looks like a Shiitake, doesn't it?
ROBERTS: It's -- well -- it looks like some sort of mushroom, I'm not sure exactly what kind.
And a family of ducks rescued by a man in Connecticut. The man says he saw them struggling to cross a street so he didn't want anybody else -- or he did what anyone else would do, at least. He put them under his car and fed them French fries. The family eventually settled down in a nearby cemetery.
CHETRY: Ah, the poor things need some water to wash down those salty fries. That looks pleasant, too.
Three minutes from the top of hour, Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business".
Good to see you back.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much. Just back from traveling around the world and exchanging money and feeling the pinch from the U.S. dollar.
You know, it's vacation season. Airplane tickets are expensive, and gas prices are high and the U.S. dollar is worth less than it's been worth in a very long time against major currencies.
Against the euro hit its lowest point ever. Let's take a look at this: $1.37, roughly. It's changing constantly, will get you one euro. More than $2 to buy a British pound. And for those of you who thought you would save on the air travel just and go up to Canada -- which used to be a big discount -- now one Canadian dollar will cost you 95 U.S. cents. There was a time when it was in the 60s.
So, a lot of problems for folks who are traveling. It's getting expensive on a number of fronts. It is going to affect Americans' decisions about travel. What it is going to do is help other people come here, so it's a boom to the U.S. tourist industry, as well as the U.S. manufacturing industry. Because things we make that are sold now on the world stage are going to be a little bit cheaper as a result of this.
There is good and bad to having a low dollar but for those of you who don't like the idea this is the lowest it's been. I think against the Canadian dollar it's 35 years, against the yen it's six years, against the pound it's about 26 years, and against the euro, since the day the euro came out in 1999.
ROBERTS: So next time you go on vacation rather than going to St. Petersburg, Russia --
VELSHI: St. Petersburg, Florida.
ROBERTS: There you go.
VELSHI: That's exactly right. Find a place where you can come back and say I was just in St. Petersburg. It was fantastic.
CHETRY: And just don't elaborate.
ROBERTS: Everybody is going to think you were in Florida, anyway.
VELSHI: That's true.
CHETRY: Tan, rested, and ready, aren't you, Ali. Thanks so much.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
ROBERTS: When will it end? A new effort today to shore up support for the war. A new bid to bring the troops home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HARRY REID, MAJORITY LEADER: The American people are outraged. They're demanding a change of policy in Iraq.
LEE HAMILTON, CO-CHAIR, IRAQ STUDY GROUP: I do not favor that we cut and run.
ROBERTS (voice over): Plus, a new idea for America's planned exit from Iraq. On this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. It's Wednesday, the 11th of July. I'm John Roberts, along with Kiran Chetry.
CHETRY: Good to see you this morning. On our radar today, a big shake-up. It was announced yesterday and the fallout continues this morning. Two big senior members of John McCain's presidential staff deciding to turn in their resignation letters today. Interesting timing. He was speaking actually on the Senate floor when these -- this hit the mainstream media, at least, that they were deciding to walk away from his campaign. The fallout today, and can he survive it?
ROBERTS: One member of his staff said the campaign is, quote, "imploding".
Also, Springfield, Vermont, hitting a "Homer" -- we're not talking about baseball here, we're talking about "The Simpsons".
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