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American Morning

Virginia Tech Report: Missed Chances to Stop Gunman; Musharraf to Quit as Army Chief; Mold and Your Mood

Aired August 30, 2007 - 08:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): New blame. A critical new report on the Virginia Tech shootings out this morning.

GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: I'm troubled that a student who had talked about Columbine, that that information was unknown to anybody on the Tech campus.

CHETRY: Who missed opportunities to prevent it?

Plus, a horrifying first day on campus. A freshman stabbed. A university's emergency alert system put to the test.

The chancellor joins us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And welcome. Glad you're with us.

It's Thursday, August 30th.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts.

Good morning to you.

We begin with Virginia Tech and the critical findings just coming out overnight from a panel appointed by the governor's office to investigate the shootings on campus last April. It points to missed opportunities the day of the shooting and in the years leading up to it. Governor Tim Kaine talked about that just a few minutes ago on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAINE: That the protocol for making a decision about how a notice would be sent out was too cumbersome. That under normal circumstances, it might have been fine, but under an urgent circumstance it took too long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Our Brianna Keilar is live in our Washington bureau with more on this. And Brianna, while the governor characterized it as a fairly balanced report, it does come down pretty hard on both Virginia Tech officials and the campus police department.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does. Blame there is widespread. But, John, when you look at this report, what really catches your eye is that Seung-Hui Cho was not this troubled young man who appeared out of nowhere when he enrolled at Virginia Tech.

He was markedly shy from the time that he was even 3 years old. And then in elementally school, officials there recommended to his parents that they get him into therapy. And Cho's parents did go ahead and do that.

He continued with therapy. School officials were looped in both in middle school and in high school. Cho was on anti-depressants for a year in high school. This report paints a picture of Cho being monitored very closely at this time until he went to college.

When he went to Virginia Tech, records of his problems did not follow him. Officials at Virginia Tech were not aware of his mental health background from elementary, middle, high school. But the report also points out there were enough red flags at Virginia Tech.

Students, professors, resident life, like RAs, the office of the dean, Virginia Tech police, the mental health center, all of them had multiple encounters with Cho, but they failed to connect the dots. The question from hours after the shooting has been why? Why were they exchanging information?

Well, this report says that they believed federal privacy laws prohibited them from doing so. But in reality, this panel found it would have been legal for them to communicate and share that information about Cho -- John.

ROBERTS: There's also citations of a number of blunders on the part of both the Virginia Tech Police Department and in the school government.

KEILAR: That's right. Virginia Tech police especially really getting hit hard for how they responded, not requesting that an alert be put out after that first shooting.

Recall there was one shooting at 7:15. They didn't put out an alert until about two hours later. At that point, it was just minutes before the second and most bloody shooting at Norris Hall.

So, Virginia Tech police, according to this report, erred in prematurely concluding that their initial lead in the double homicide was a good. Remember, they believed that there was a suspect in that first shooting who left the campus. This report says they were not prepared for the possibility that that assumption was inaccurate.

ROBERTS: Brianna Keilar for us out of our Washington bureau with the latest on that Virginia Tech report. Brianna, thanks.

CHETRY: Right now we're going to take a look at some of our best video of the day.

This doesn't look like a controlled explosion because it's not supposed to. The abandoned Brach's candy factory in Chicago erupted into a huge fireball. This was for a movie, actually.

It was set up for the new Batman movie. It will be Gotham Hospital in the next flick titled "The Dark Knight". They didn't want to use special effects. They wanted it to be the real thing. So they had one chance to make it happen, and it looks like they certainly pulled it off.

Well, California wilting under a heat wave. Now residents are being asked to conserve power after approaching an all-time record for energy use.

Temperatures are expected to stay in the upper 90s throughout the weekend, but if you think that's bad, how about poor Phoenix, Arizona? That city set an unbelievable record yesterday, hitting 110 degrees for 29 straight days. It's almost been a month of triple-digit heat there. So hot, that even at 11:00 last night, it was still 99 degrees out -- John.

ROBERTS: Also new this morning, another spinach recall to tell you about. A California company is voluntarily pulling its spinach off the shelves after finding traces of salmonella bacteria. There are no reports of anyone getting sick yet though.

You want to look for Metz Fresh Spinach being sold in 10 and 16- ounce bags. For more information, we've got it all on our Web site. Go there, CNN.com.

Also new this morning in the sex scandal surrounding senator Larry Craig, a new poll of voters in his home state of Idaho and growing calls for Craig to resign. Two fellow senators, John McCain and Norm Coleman, have said that Craig should quit. Coleman is from Minnesota, where Senator Craig was arrested in an airport bathroom for a suspected lewd act.

Mike Huckabee, a GOP presidential hopeful and a Baptist minister, also weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think when you see public figures who have spoken in one way and maybe acted in a different way, frankly, Americans will forgive us for being sinners. They won't forgive us for being hypocrites.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: GOP leaders are removing Craig from key leadership posts. They have also asked the ethics panel to look into the case. We also talked with Congressman Peter Hoekstra from Michigan a little earlier today. He also believes that Craig should resign.

And a new poll shows the public's also losing faith in Larry Craig. SurveyUSA says 55 percent of Idaho voters think that Craig should leave office, 34 percent say he should stay. Eleven percent really don't have an opinion on it -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, there are details now of a report on Iraq that are leaking out this morning. Several news organizations reporting that congressional investigators will deliver a classified briefing today saying that Iraq has failed to meet 13 of 18 benchmarks for political and military goals. The draft report is under review by the Defense Department, and it could be changed before its release next week.

The administration's Iraq report, though, that's the one that will be given by General David Petraeus, is due the following week.

Well, it's being called an unfortunate incident. Six men from Iraq removed from an American Airlines flight in California. People on the plane became upset that the six were speaking Arabic. It turns out that the men were actually returning from Camp Pendleton, where they were working for a defense contractor helping train Marines.

Here is how one of the men reacted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ALWATAN, IRAQI PASSENGER: Why are we getting that if we helping our people here, American people? Why are we getting that, treated like that? That's what we wonder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the men were questioned and then quickly released. The flight was going from San Diego to Chicago. It was delayed long enough that passengers ended up having to be put in a hotel and took a flight the next morning.

There is a new poll showing that pro football fans seem to be done with Michael Vick. Sixty percent of people surveyed by Gallup say that Vick should be out of the NFL for good. Eight in 10 want to see him serve prison time for his role in a dogfighting ring.

ROBERTS: Seven minutes after the hour and time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new that we're following this morning.

A power-sharing deal in the works in Pakistan, where President Pervez Musharraf is expected to step down as head of Pakistan's military.

CNN's Monita Rajpal monitoring all of this, live in our London bureau.

Good morning, Monita. MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

I guess if you're President Pervez Musharraf, desperate times call for desperate measures. In a power-sharing deal that's yet to be finalized with former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, and once Musharraf rival, there would seem to be the consider that Pervez Musharraf would have to step down as the country's military chief.

Now, in 1999, in a bloodless coup, Pervez Musharraf took over as Pakistan's president, as well as the chief of the military. Under this deal, he would have to step down, but he would retain his position as the civilian president.

Now, Musharraf's power has been seen to be declining dramatically in recent months, and as challenges to his power have been rising. With this, he would then secure a deal with his former rival, who is also the main opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

Now, as you well know, Pakistan is a key U.S. ally in its fight in the war against terror, particularly in the search for Osama bin Laden, as well as with finding and searching for militant insurgents in the porous borders between Pakistan and Afghanistan -- John.

ROBERTS: Might this deal shore up his ability to go after those insurgents in the tribal areas?

RAJPAL: Well, one of the main things -- one of the problems that Pervez Musharraf has been seeing is his ability to really influence and to fight, if you will, the Islamic insurgency that is on the rise in Pakistan in itself. And that is why he needs Benazir Bhutto, whose main opposition party seems to have some sort of influence within the country in itself. But again, it's yet to be seen in terms of her credibility as well.

As you know as well, she is still facing corruption charges in Pakistan for when she was prime minister. But again, under this deal, those charges would be dropped.

ROBERTS: Convoluted web of politics in Pakistan.

Monita Rajpal this morning.

Thanks very much.

Got some extreme heat out in the desert Southwest. Parts of California again today.

Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center tracking the extreme weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, you heard that mold in your home can affect you physically, it can make you sick. Well, now we're hearing that it can possibly affect your mood as well.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins us now to explain.

It's not just that you're depressed because your house is moldy and you need to clean it up. It can affect your mental well-being?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's what the possible results of this new study from "The American Journal of Public Health" is saying. It's interesting. It caught our eye as well.

In fact, they say that people who have mold in their houses, not any specific quantity, are 40 percent more likely to have some sort of depressive symptoms. As you mentioned, we most likely think of physical symptoms, but in this case, very specific to point out these could be mental health symptoms as well. Make it real clear, we're not saying for sure that mold causes depression, but there does seem to be some sort of association here.

Kiran, it was a pretty large study. It was about 6,000 adults that all lived in Europe. The World Health Organization analyzed this data and came to this conclusion, that there is this association, again, between mold and not just physical health, but mental health as well.

CHETRY: All right. So, how do you know if, A, you have it in your home? And, B, if it could be the cause of your depression?

GUPTA: You know, that's one of the questions that they tried to really get it, what exactly is the association here? It could be something simple.

For example, lack of light is often associated with more mold, but also associated with more depressed mood. It could be that people who are already depressed are less likely to clean their homes and more likely to have mold as well. But it could be something even more than that.

Mold could cause physical ailments which could be, in part, associated with depression. There is even the hypothesis out there, at least as part of this study, that it could have a direct impact on the frontal cortex of the brain, the front part of your brain which is responsible for mood and judgment and things like that. Hard to say which, though. The only thing that's for sure is this 40 percent number in terms of mood and mold.

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay, thank you.

By the way, if you have a question for Sanjay, send it to CNN.com/americanmorning. He's going to be back answering some our questions coming up in just a few minutes.

ROBERTS: Will the Senator Larry Craig scandal blow over or will it stick around long enough to hurt the GOP's chances in 2008?

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The best shots of the morning in your "Quick Hits" now.

Police used tear gas, water cannons and clubs to hold back a crowd in Chile. Hundreds were protesting the government, demanding everything from better health care to housing. Some reports say police arrested as many as 300 people.

And the annual tomato fight in Spain. The Tomatina Festival looking as crazy as ever. Forty thousand people took part this year, tossing 117 tons of plum tomatoes. Local legend traces the event back about 60 years, to when a group of kids got into a food fight near a vegetable stand.

Look at that, raining tomatoes.

And you've got to respect this. Skip Storch (ph) is trying to break the distance record for an unassisted swim by circling the island of Manhattan. He started yesterday afternoon and hopes to finish tonight.

He's got to cover more than 85.5 miles in less than 33 and a half hours. And a lot of it in the currents of the East River.

We'll keep you posted on how he does.

CHETRY: All right. Good luck to him. Hope he doesn't catch anything.

Well, Idaho's Republican senator, Larry Craig, just added to an already crowded list of elected officials making the wrong kind of headlines.

Joining me now from Washington to discuss Senator Craig's impact on the 2008 presidential election are Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus and CNN contributor, Democratic strategist Paul Begala.

Thanks to both of you for being with us.

Good morning.

CHETRY: Will it, Cheri, have an effect on the election?

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't think it will. I think we're far enough away, and this is -- you know, this is something that's particular to an Idaho senator. I don't think it should really have a whole lot to do with any of the presidential candidates.

So, I don't think it will be an issue, but, you know, both parties run the risk of having to deal with these things when one of their members gets into a little bit of trouble. I think the key is to try to nip it in the bud. Republican leadership have asked him to step aside from his committee responsibilities. He's agreed to do so, unlike Congressman William Jefferson, when they found the 90 grand in his freezer and he had to have a fight with his own leadership whether or not to step aside.

So, we -- you know, we learn from these. And I think the thing is to deal with it as quickly as possible and give Senator Craig a chance to deal with his legal problems and not have to drag the whole party into it.

CHETRY: All right.

Well, let me ask you about this, Paul. Is there a double standard when it comes to Washington and sexuality and what's a scandal and what isn't?

You've got Patrick Kennedy -- and this isn't sexual, but Patrick Kennedy getting busted driving under the influence. He's still in office. That seemed to blow over. I mean, didn't he crash his car into, you know, a barrier outside the Capitol?

You've got Senator Vitter, whose number was found in the D.C. Madam phone records, and they're still there. Yet, there's this chorus of people calling for Vitter to step down, and he actually, if you break it all down, pled guilty to a misdemeanor, disturbing the peace.

PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think you're right, there are totally different standards. I think the thing with Congressman Kennedy is that he pleaded guilty and went and got help. He clearly had an addiction problem. And Congressman Kennedy is getting help.

And there are members of Congress, in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle who have had those problems and have dealt with them. And I think Washington deals with probably addiction problems better than they do with these sexual problems.

But the double standard here, I think, not to defend Larry Craig, who is a deeply creepy, icky guy, but you kind of feel for him. David Vitter, the Louisiana Republican senator, who really is the champion of family values in his rhetoric, much more than Larry Craig, is accused of -- well, admits being on the D.C. Madam's call list. So he's plainly using prostitutes, and he's not being booted out of the party.

He hasn't been kicked off any of his committee assignments, but here, Larry Craig, who is accused of a gay sexual encounter, is being booted off of his committees, probably going to be driven out of the Senate. So, the Republicans, they tolerate the whoremonger but not the homo. You know?

CHETRY: Is there a double standard?

JACOBUS: Paul, that's not the issue. The issue is he pled guilty and has nothing to do with...

CHETRY: But to disturbing the peace. OK? I mean, technically, that's what the charge is.

JACOBUS: And he pled guilty. That's the problem.

BEGALA: Well, if we're going to start running everybody out of office who pleads guilty to a misdemeanor, let's start with the president of the United States, who pleaded guilty to drunk driving, which kills a lot of people. I have dead friends killed by drunk driving.

CHETRY: All right, but Paul -- but Paul, I mean...

BEGALA: That's a serious crime.

CHETRY: ... if you want to start digging up stuff like that, I mean, you were there when President Clinton had -- you know, and the whole Monica Lewinsky thing, and he stayed in office.

BEGALA: Right. And that's what I'm saying, is that we -- the Republicans have a double standard.

CHETRY: So is there a double standard -- is there a double standard when you're talking about, A, Republicans, and B, when you're talking about gay questions about homosexuality versus, you know, heterosexuality with prostitutes?

BEGALA: I think there is in the Republican Party. Let me be clear: I don't think Larry Craig should resign. I think he should stand for re-election or not depending on -- let the voters of Idaho decide that.

JACOBUS: You know, Paul...

BEGALA: They're sensible people up there. Let me finish my point. Let me finish my point.

But I think the problem here is the deeply ingrained homophobia in parts, really the leadership -- well, most of the Republican Party. That's the real problem here. So, they've constructed this closet.

You know, why not have a society where gay men and women can serve openly in the military, in the Senate, everywhere else? I mean, they're our brothers and sisters. And I think the problem that Craig is running up against is that he helped to feed this really vicious homosexual prejudice in the Republican Party. Now he's a victim of it.

JACOBUS: Paul, I think you just love talking about the homosexuality aspect. The fact of the matter is, the man pled guilty. He has a legal problem to deal with. That's why many of his colleagues think he should take his time to deal with that.

And whether he was -- pled guilty to soliciting sex from women or men is really not the issue. He has a legal problem, and he's doing the right thing by stepping away from his committee assignments.

CHETRY: All right. A quick yes or no...

JACOBUS: It's too bad that your guys -- but we're not going to let our members drag us through, drag the country through the type of mess that your president, Bill Clinton, did when he lied about it and then sent his cabinet out to lie about it. So I think...

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: All right. Well, a quick question, Cheri. Do you think that -- do you think that Senator Craig should step down? Because Paul has said he doesn't think he should.

JACOBUS: You know, I don't think that -- I think the fact that he pled guilty means he has to deal with his legal problems. I'm not in a position to say whether he should step down -- step completely aside.

The fact that that he's stepped away from his committee assignments is a good thing. Again, Democrats are not real good about doing that. So this will play itself out. I think it has a lot to do with what the folks back in his home state have to say about it. It doesn't matter what I say about it.

CHETRY: Well, I want to -- all right. Well, I want to thank both of you, Cheri Jacobus and Paul Begala.

JACOBUS: Thank you.

CHETRY: By the way, people back in Idaho, 55 percent, I think, from the latest poll, say they think he should step down. Thirty-five percent of those polled said no.

Thanks for being with us.

BEGALA: Thanks, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Bridges not getting fixed topping your "Quick Hits" now.

According to "USA Today," at least 96 bridges that were rated structurally deficient today had the same righting back in 1982. Nearly four million cars and trucks are crossing those bridges every day.

The Michael Vick case is causing a surge in dogfighting raids. Police report going after 42 new dogfighting cases since last month. That's well over twice as many as they pursued last July and August. Plus, a half a dozen states are trying to toughen their laws against dogfighting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS (voice over): Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, attack on campus.

NATE SOLDER, SOPHOMORE, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO: He grabbed the kid, a random kid walking by, and begins to, like, slice his throat as if he were, like, trying to kill him or something. ROBERTS: A freshman's horrifying first day, and a test to the school's emergency alert system. Did the university do the right thing?

The chancellor joins us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. And just when you thought that all of the news about the iPhone and the iPod and everything that Apple Computer had made, except for the $625 million that Steve Jobs is making...

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There you go.

ROBERTS: ... it kind of, you know, passed by.

Ali's here with more.

VELSHI: Time for Apple to get back to its roots, it says, or at least its current roots, which is about making these iPods and iTunes. So, two months after all the hype about the iPhone, there's going to be an announcement next Wednesday, and that is confirmed. We know that there's an announcement next Wednesday in San Francisco from Apple.

What are they going to tell us about? Well, the folks who claim to know say that it is going to be an improvement to the iPod. And like the touch screen that you can see there on the iPhone, some people are guessing that it might have a touch screen type of a device.

It will be a little bit shorter. It will have greater storage capacity. It's the new generation of...

CHETRY: It's going to be so small that we're all going to lose it.

VELSHI: Right. Where's my -- oh, here it is. Yes, it's going to be crazy small. That's what Apple is...

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: I heard rumors of Bluetooth as well.

VELSHI: Well, that's one of the problems. Apple -- iPods don't have Bluetooth. And a lot of people don't want the wires hanging around. So that could be one of the developments.

Always this speculation -- Apple has mismanaged the speculation from time to time because people over-speculate and then the announcement actually comes out and it's not what people expect it to be. So, we're not getting any official word from Apple on that. However, what we do have official confirmation on is that Steve Jobs met with the CEO of Volkswagen, and that has led to all sorts of speculation about an iCar, which will also be wireless and an inch shorter. What it really means is iPod is going to -- it's probably talking to Volkswagen about lots of integration between the iPod and the car.

These days, you can get all sorts of after-market gadgets to connect your digital music to your car. Ford has a deal with Microsoft that allows you to do all sorts of things. That's probably what it is. But then, again, it could be a car shaped like an iPod. What do I know?

I'll keep you posted when it happens.

CHETRY: Or maybe they're just friends and they're going to go to lunch.

VELSHI: Or maybe they're just hanging out. Maybe they just really like each other.

CHETRY: Ali, thanks.

VELSHI: OK.

CHETRY: Well, here's a look at a story coming up that you can't miss. You know, we've been talking about this report out of Virginia Tech and whether or not the college acted fast enough when it came to alerting students about the potential and the violence that had taken place on the campus.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, the University of Colorado, CU out there in Boulder, earlier this week a student was stabbed on campus the very first day of classes. There's a look at the campus there at CU.

They sent out an alert right away. They've got this new alert system that they institute in the wake of Virginia Tech. A lot of people got notified as to what happened, but there's also some questions as to how this could have happened in the first place.

CHETRY: So we're going to talk about that, much more coming up. We're going to be talking with the university chancellor about it on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stick with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's morning in Chicago. And what a fabulous picture that is. Our thanks to our friends at WLS for that shot. Chicago, Lakeshore Drive, taking a look northward, with Lake Michigan on the right-hand side. The city on the left. It's 67 degrees and brilliant sunshine there. Going up to a high of 74 today. Not too hot. It's going to be just a beautiful day in Chicago. In fact, it's going to be so nice -- take the day off.

CHETRY: But only if you live in Chicago! Any other city --

ROBERTS: Every where else --

CHETRY: Get to work!

ROBERTS: Get to work, exactly.

It's Thursday, August 30. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Some new developments this morning about whether or not more could have been done to prevent the Virginia Tech massacre. There is a report that has been requested by the governor's office that is public today. It says that the school, the police, the health counselors, all missed opportunities to alert the campus and to possibly stop a mentally ill student long before he killed himself and 32 innocent victims.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine talked about the gunman's troubled childhood earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM KAINE, VIRGINIA: Cho had an extensive history as a middle schooler and high schooler of mental difficulties, even thinking about Columbine and the aftermath of Columbine, and for hurting himself and others. None of that information was transmitted with his high school records to Virginia Tech. So, all of that information was just basically was left behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the report also criticizes university officials for not sending out an alert for two hours after the first killings.

ROBERTS: The 17-year old student starts his first day of college by getting brutally stabbed in the neck. The attacker a former employee of the university and a man with a history of violent mental illness. Chancellor Bud Peterson from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where the stabbing takes place, joins me now.

And Chancellor, for the interest of full disclosure I should point out that my son is a student there. Currently a senior at CU.

This individual, Kenton Astin, who was involved, allegedly, in this attack was hired as part of a program to reintegrate people who have been treated for mental illness back into the workplace. Do you want to tell us a little more about that?

P. "BUD" PETERSON, CHANCELLOR, UNIV. OF COLORADO: Yeah, John, this is a program that we've had in place for about 17 years with the Chinook Community Center. We've never had problems with any of the employees before. But the purpose of the program is to try to help reintegrate individuals into the workforce and into society. ROBERTS: That program has been going on for some 17 years. Was it widely known at CU? I notice on the web site you have opportunities for students to volunteer at Chinook, but was it widely known that you were brining people from that program in to work at the college?

PETERSON: I don't think so. We did have some students that volunteer with it. They're involved with the program. It has been a longstanding relationship. But I think if you ask majority of people on campus what Chinook Community Center is, or what our involvement is, they probably wouldn't be aware of it.

ROBERTS: How did you not know about Kent Astin's violent past?

PETERSON: What we've done in the past is we get referrals from these types of programs, then we hire the individuals on a temporary employment. Mr. Astin was hired for a six-month employee, as a cashier in one of the grills in the UMC.

We were not aware of his past, apparently Chinook Community Center was aware of it, but didn't inform us when they referred him to us, of his past record.

ROBERTS: So the college didn't undertake a separate criminal background check?

PETERSON: No, we did not. But immediately following the incident we initiated policy to conduct criminal background checks on all newly hired individuals, both permanent and temporary, so we'll be doing that.

ROBERTS: So you took Chinook at their word. Whatever happened to the principle of trust but verify?

PETERSON: Well, we didn't follow through on it. We did not verify, but we will in the future.

ROBERTS: How are you going to change those protocols in the future?

PETERSON: Well, we've instituted a number of things. First of all, as I mentioned, we are now conducting required criminal background checks on all employees, both -- all new employees both permanent and temporary. We're looking at the procedure for current employees. We have conducted criminal background checks on a number of our employees, historically, depending on what their role and function was here at the university.

We're reviewing the relationships that we have, these referred employee relationships we have with different organizations to try to evaluate those. We put several employees from Chinook on temporary, administrative pay with leave (sic), until we can conduct the necessary checks on them also.

ROBERTS: One thing that did seem to work well was this new alert system called RAVE, that I guess you instituted in the wake of Virginia Tech. Tell me more about that. PETERSON: We had some -- a little bit of an advance issue last December. We had a snowstorm here and tried to alert the students that we were closing the university, and then realized it took about two hours to get the e-mail messages out. We started, at that time, to look at emergency communications processes and procedures.

Then in the wake of Virginia Tech incident, significantly speeded up our efforts in that arena. We implemented the system last Thursday, just a week ago today. By first day of classes, on Monday, when the attack occurred, we had about 1300 individuals that had subscribed. And today we're over probably in the neighborhood of 8500 people that have subscribe to it.

ROBERTS: And hopefully, Chancellor, one of those is my son whom I chastised for not having signed up in the first place.

Chancellor Bud Peterson from CU, thanks for being with us.

PETERSON: Thank you very much.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, if you're traveling by air over the Labor Day holiday, get ready to wait, unfortunately. U.S. airlines are expected to carry more than 15 million passengers between today and next Wednesday. So far this year, nearly a million flights have been delayed an average of an hour or more. AMERICAN MORNING's Greg Hunter is live at New York's LaGuardia Airport. He's been checking into why are we seeing all these delays? They've really become the norm.

GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, all the experts agree that airport delays and cancellations is really a multifaceted problem. But critics of the government say that it is ignoring one of the biggest things it can do to alleviate the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTER (voice over): How many times have you seen this while waiting to fly? At New York's LaGuardia Airport, for example, there are just two runways for more than 1,000 flights a day in June. That means a plane is taking off or landing every two minutes. Lack of runway space is a nationwide problem. According to Barrett Byrnes, president of the Air Traffic Controllers Association.

(On camera): Your group asked the government to start building runways 10 years ago.

BARRETT BYRNES, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOC.: Correct. We asked them to build 50 miles of runway, per year, just to keep up with the potential demand we're seeing now.

HUNTER: Did they do it?

BYRNES: No, they didn't.

HUNTER (voice over): One that did? Atlanta's airport, the busiest airport in the country. Added a fifth runway last year. And officials say takeoff delays dropped by 78 percent. The FAA says it expects some relief when a new multibillion dollar program called NextGen.

ANNOUNCER: NextGen is about the development of a satellite-based 21 century air transportation system.

HUNTER: It is designed to give pilots more information that will allows them to fly safely closer the each other, making air traffic more efficient. But it won't start until 2013. Meanwhile, the FAA says it plans to redesign air space in the busiest part of the world, New York City, hoping to reduce delays by 25 percent. Byrnes says that just won't fix the real problem.

BYRNES: LaGuardia and Newark are at 100 percent capacity right now. That's why you are seeing three-hour delays on a consistent basis.

HUNTER: Because of the runways?

BYRNES: Because of the runways. Not enough runways, not enough places to put these airplanes.

HUNTER: The FAA disagrees and tells CNN its NextGen plan will be able to handle two to three times the traffic that they are currently handling.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTER: If the NextGen plan is instituted, it will cost $15 billion to $20 billion and they say it will increase the capacity two to three times? Well, what that means here at LaGuardia is instead of 1,000 flights a day, taking off and landing every two minutes, that would be 2,000 flights a day, landing and taking off, every one minute, if they triple the capacity like they say they can do with this NextGen system. That would be 3,000 flights a day right here in LaGuardia taking off and landing every 40 seconds.

The air traffic controllers I talk with say that's not only tight, it's impossible. The system is maxed out.

Now, to help you navigate flying -- no matter where you live in the country -- you can log on to cnn.com and get some tips what to carry in your bags and when to check in and also you can check your flights, delays and cancellations. Click on to cnn.com, go to the AMERICAN MORNING section and there will be a link for you right there.

Back to you guys, in New York.

CHETRY: All right, Greg. Good advice. Thanks a lot.

Still ahead, can diet control diabetes? Also is spray-on sunscreen just as effective as the type that you rub on to your skin? Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers those questions and more coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Every Thursday we reach into Doctor Sanjay Gupta's mail bag to answer your medical questions.

CHETRY: That's right and he's here now, joining us.

First question, Sanjay, from an anonymous viewer is something that you spend a lot of time covering. He says diabetes -- he says he was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, with the adult onset, can eating low glycemic foods reduce your dependency on medication?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is a very interesting question. First, I want to clarify something. Eating foods that are too high in sugar don't give you diabetes. That's a question we get a lot.

What diabetes really is, is really more of a problem with insulin, not enough insulin production. Now to answer the question more specifically, actually eating a diet that has a lower glycemic index, or that has lower sugars, can actually improve your overall regulation of your diabetes, if you already have the disease.

Your blood sugars can be more easily stabilized, you may require less meds and in certain situations may even be able to go off insulin, if you're already taking insulin as an injection.

But, again, the sugar itself, in someone who is just healthy, will not give you diabetes.

ROBERTS: Next, Dennis from York, Pennsylvania asks, "How would you evaluate spray-on sunscreens versus lather-on sunscreens as to their effectiveness?"

GUPTA: Great question, important question this weekend as a lot of people get outside for sure. A couple of things, there really is no difference. It's the same active ingredients although we've talked quite a bit on your program about the fact that you should look for UVB and UVA ratings. You want to make sure you're getting both of those UV protections.

One thing, we have talked to some dermatologists about this issue in the past. And one thing they have told us is that the spray-ons might actually get the edge on this one, probably because people use it better. They actually do spray it all over their body and they end up using more. With the just rub-ones, a lot of times people don't use it properly and they don't use enough.

ROBERTS: Interesting.

CHETRY: I always find the spray-ones run out faster, though. Right? They're really cool, the continuous spray.

GUPTA: Because you're using enough probably.

CHETRY: Maybe. And they're more fun, of course. The last question comes from Don in Ontario, Canada.

"I think you said that the makers of antibacterial soaps are using low levels of triclosan. I was wonder if this could lead to triclosan resistant bacteria?"

GUPTA: Great question, again, Don. Really good questions this morning.

What we have found, and what Don is referring to is anti- bacterial products do have this ingredient, triclosan, or triclosan, in that which is basically to kill germs.

What we found, though, as we investigated this is that the concentrations of triclosan aren't high enough in these products to actually make a bit of difference. So, buying the antibacterial products versus regular soap, no difference. Because they're so low, they're less likely to lead to any sort of resistance as well. The jury is still out on that but I think the concentrations are low enough where it's probably not going to be a problem on the resistance front.

ROBERTS: I remember that being a big issue when these things first came out.

CHETRY: Also, I saw triclosan in my toothpaste the other day, as well.

GUPTA: Exactly. They do put it in a lot of different products. The problem is the stuff that we use in hospitals, to scrub our hands, for example, which you guys made fun of me the other day for washing my hands on the set. They are much higher concentrations of it. It actually does kill and remove a lot of the bacteria. The concentrations are so low in the antibacterial products it is just sort of a wave of triclosan, may not make a bit of difference.

ROBERTS: Nobody looks as good covered in chlohexadine (ph) as you do, Sanjay.

GUPTA: That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, John.

ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks very much. Be sure to check Sanjay on his own show on the weekends, "House Call". This weekend he checks in on New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and when you need to get a second opinion. "House Call" 08:30 a.m. Eastern, Saturday and Sunday right here on CNN.

CHETRY: And CNN "Newsroom" is just minutes away. Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what is ahead.

Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Good morning, Kiran. That's right.

The Virginia Tech massacre on the "Newsroom" rundown this morning. Investigators are outlining their findings this morning in their report. It sharply is critical of Virginia Tech officials.

The news conference will happen live right here in the "Newsroom."

Senator Larry Craig facing calls from Capitol Hill colleagues to quit. Craig says his sex sting arrest was a misunderstanding.

Phoenix on fire; 29 straight days at 110 or higher. A new record. It is, after all, a desert, but still hot.

Breaking news when it happens. You're in the "Newsroom", at the top of the hour on CNN.

Guys.

CHETRY: Thanks, Heidi.

Well, it survived 2,000 years but looking like it may not make it another 2,000. It might not even make it another 20. What's eating away at the Great Wall of China? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Some "Quick Hits" now. It's 4,000 miles long; 2,000 years old. But China now says the Great Wall is disappearing. State media saying that sandstorms are eroding one 37-mile section that's made of mud instead of brick and stone.

Well, a tough new crackdown up for debate in Italy. Lawmakers want to jail anyone who hangs around traffic lights waiting to wash windows for a small tip. Proponents say the punishment could help deal with immigration problems since most of the window washers are illegal aliens.

Here's a picture that caught our eye overnight, wondering what the sign means? We were, too. Turns out, that they're going up, in England, to warn drivers that may not be able to trust your expensive satellite navigation systems. Officials say the gadgets are great at sending drivers on the most direct route, but sometimes those routes are small or antiquated roads and drivers end up getting stuck.

As we show a picture of a driver driving directly into what? A lake? All right. Sometimes you need a little common sense along with that sat nav, right?

ROBERTS: Yes, I'll tell you, though, interpreting that sign is somewhat difficult.

CHETRY: The quickest way the get to New Jersey is to plow right through the Hudson River.

ROBERTS: There you are!

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Get across. ROBERTS: Save a lot of time.

One guy who puts a lot of faith in satellites, our Rob Marciano, tracking extreme weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Here is a quick look at what CNN "Newsroom" is working on for the top of the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: See these stories in the CNN "Newsroom."

Virginia Tech investigators release their findings on the April campus massacre. The news conference live in the "Newsroom".

Fellow Republican senators calling on Idaho's Larry Craig to resign after his sex sting arrest.

A new spinach recall to tell you about. And high police drama on an Ohio highway. "Newsroom" just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're rolling.

JESUS AGUAIS, MEDICAL MIRACLE: The simplest idea could make the biggest impact. Recycling HIV medicine. How many people out there are looking for medicine? And how many people with HIV in the United States have no idea that they could save lives with something that is just a leftover for them?

My name is Jesus Aguais, I'm the founder of Aid for AIDS International. I'm dedicated for improving the quality of life for people with HIV in developing countries.

Early in 1993 I got a job as a counselor in one of the Latino AIDS organizations here in New York, in terms of helping people abroad. There was very little that you could do. There was no medicine at all. Only people with lots of money could come to the United States. The rest, the common people, have to die.

In 1996, the first two protease inhibitors got approved, but some people couldn't tolerate it. A treatment that cost $1,200 was being thrown away. I just knew it was wrong, purely wrong.

I was telling people, why don't you bring it to me? We started using the concept of recycling the medicine. All the medicine comes from people with HIV around the U.S. and goes abroad. People can send it directly to us, or if they live in the New York City area, we can pick it up, And we send it on a monthly basis straight to the patient. This is a matter of saving lives. People need this medicine. We need to get it to them. It's our responsibility. I see it as what I'm here to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: More information about Jesus, his organization, or to nominate a hero of your own visit our web site, at cnn.com/heroes. We're back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, here we have the best shots of the morning. I wonder who this guy's dentist is, by the way. In Malaysia he is the man known as the King Tooth. He pulled a seven-car train nine feet, two inches, using his teeth. The train weighs more than 300 tons. Well, now Guinness is checking it out. They are considering giving him the record.

ROBERTS: Why would anyone want to anything with their teeth?

That's going to do it for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: See you back here tomorrow. CNN "Newsroom" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.

HARRIS: Good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Thursday, August 30th.

Here's what's on the run down. A panel says Virginia Tech should have done more to protect students and staff from a rampaging gunman. A live briefing this morning.

HARRIS: Congress eyeballing classified findings on Iraq today. Iraq reportedly failing to meet most benchmarks set by Congress.

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