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American Morning

Parents of British Girl Who Disappeared Named Formal Suspects; Troop Reduction: Pullback Early Next Year?; 76-Year-Old Rescued in Oregon Mountains

Aired September 07, 2007 - 07:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Just coming up to the top of the hour. Ali Velshi here "Minding Your Business".
Good thing you didn't buy the iPhone, because you would have overpaid.

ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yesterday we were complaining about, you know, how in the midst of this whole announcement from Apple, they declared that they were dropping the price of the iPhone from 600 bucks to 400 bucks for the eight gigabyte iPhone. And the headlines yesterday were really about all those early adopters who were really, really loyal Apple people who were standing in line, these people you're looking at now, who were really mad that two months ago they paid this.

Now, everybody knows that electronics go down in price, but nobody expects them to go down in two months. So, yesterday, responding to this, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, made a statement where he said, "I've received hundreds of e-mails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple dropping the price. We have decided to offer every iPhone customer a $100 store credit," splitting the difference, so they still overpaid by 100 bucks, but the people who buy iPhones can use a store credit at the Apple store. So that will be good for them.

CHETRY: To buy the next one that comes out next week.

VELSHI: To buy the next one that's overpriced, yes.

The other big story is that yesterday Chrysler Corporation announced that it has hired Jim Press. Now, Jim Press was the president and chief operating officer of Toyota North America. This is him here. He was a Toyota executive, a Toyota employee for 37 years, was the highest one in America, really made a success out of Toyota North America, and now he's going over to Chrysler. That bodes very well for that company.

ROBERTS: What do you think they offered him to come over?

VELSHI: It must have been equity. It must have been a piece of the company if he -- if he does well, because Toyota must have been paying him very, very well.

ROBERTS: Yes.

VELSHI: This guy is a success story.

ROBERTS: Yes. Ali, thanks. We'll see you soon.

CHETRY: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS (voice over): Breaking news. A surprise twist. The parents of missing Madeleine McCann named suspects in her disappearance.

We're live in Portugal with the latest.

And coming soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bin Laden soon is going to try and say, I'm still the leader here.

ROBERTS: A new terror tape from Osama bin Laden, days ahead of September 11th and years since we last saw him.

Plus, stranded in the mountains with no food or water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had nothing to eat for that two-week period.

ROBERTS: How a 76-year-old woman survived 13 days alone in the wilderness. We'll talk to the people who went in late last night and brought her out alive, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Just an incredible story of survival. And so much news to tell you about this morning.

Thanks for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.

It's Friday, the 7th of September. I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

And we start with breaking news, shocking news in the search for 4-year-old Madeleine McCann, the little British girl who disappeared back in May on holiday with her family. Well, today, a family spokesperson is saying that Kate McCann and now her husband, Gerry, both the parents of this little girl, expect to be named suspects in their 4-year-old daughter's disappearance.

This is a video of madeleine's mother, Kate, arriving for yet another day of questioning in Portugal. Pictures of her walking in just about an hour ago. She was questioned for 11 hours yesterday.

The 4-year-old British girl vanished from the family's hotel room in Portugal while her parents said they were at a restaurant 50 to 100 yards away. Paula Hancocks is there. She joins us on the phone from Portimao, Portugal, this morning with more reaction and details on the news that the father as well is likely to be named a suspect today.

Hi, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kiran.

Well, I'm standing outside that police station where just after an hour ago Kate McCann was escorted inside. Now, she's been in there an hour. We don't know how long she's likely to be in there, but what we do know from parts and members of her family is that they are expecting her to be named as a formal suspect.

Now, this would be a very dramatic twist in this four-month-old saga surrounding 4-year-old Madeleine. Now, what that would mean is in theory, she would have more legal protection. She would have the right to remain silent when she's being formally questioned. She would also have the right to legal representation, but she already has that.

Now, when it comes to Gerry McCann, that's a little more uncertain, the father of Madeleine. He's expected here in a couple of hours' time. It was supposed to be for more informal questioning, but certainly if it is the case that Kate McCann is going to be a formal suspect, then one would wonder what would happen to him as well.

And certainly over the past four months there's been criticisms about the Portuguese police not having done enough to try and solve this case, and really it all turned around just about 48 hours ago when some DNA results from the room where Madeleine was taken from or where she was missing from, those results came back from Britain, results from specs of blood, from some hair, some other materials. And certainly as soon as the Portuguese police received those results, that is when they wanted to see Kate McCann and Gerry McCann individually -- Kiran.

CHETRY: What has been the reaction or if any thought on to why the Portuguese police made this decision at this point?

HANCOCKS: The Portuguese police are saying absolutely nothing about these DNA results. Obviously, it is an ongoing criminal investigation, so legally they're not able to say anything and they don't want to jeopardize anything.

But it's coming with such criticism of the way they've dealt with this case over the past four months. But certainly there's a lot of local people around here that are just turning up to see what has happened.

This has really attracted attention around the world, the fact that the McCanns went to see Pope Benedict XVI, the fact that David Beckham, celebrity footballer, became involved and called for someone to give information. So it really has spiraled, it's taken a life of its own. But up until this point, the police had always insisted that the McCanns were witnesses, they were being questioned as witnesses and they were never suspects.

So certainly the speculation here in Portugal and back in London is rife that whatever was within those DNA results is certainly what has -- what has changed the tone dramatically here.

CHETRY: Yes. Boy, a lot of questions this morning as these two reported arrests or being named as suspects comes to light, a lot more questions than answers.

Paula Hancocks helping fill it in for us.

Thank you.

ROBERTS: Six minutes after the hour.

And also new this morning, word is coming out about what some of what General David Petraeus is going to say about U.S. troop levels in Iraq when he reports to Congress next week. Could he accept the pullback of an initial brigade beginning in January?

CNN's Barbara Starr has got the latest live from the Pentagon for us this morning.

It sounds, Barbara, like he's willing to throw a bone to people who are concerned about this idea of bringing troops home, but just a very small bone.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: A small bone. A lot of clues flying through the air, John.

"The Boston Globe" newspaper has just published an interview with General Petraeus where he gives some clues about his thinking. Listen right now to one of the things that he says to the newspaper.

He said, "I expect to be able to recommend that some of our forces be redeployed without replacement." "That," he says, "will over time reduce the total number of troops in Iraq."

What is General Petraeus saying in this quote? What he's saying is he's accepted the notion that the troops are going to start coming home -- timing, when, how many.

The surge runs out in April. Generally speaking, it's accepted that General Petraeus and President Bush already know that they have to start bringing the troops home then. What is on the table? Could they do it sooner? Could they possibly bring home one brigade, starting perhaps at Christmas, at the new year, 4,000 troops, make that token gesture to Congress, to the American people, and to the Iraqis?

If they start bringing troops home, will the Iraqis feel the pressure? Will the Iraqis then step up? Is security strong enough to bring those troops home early?

That's the tradeoff. That's everything that's going to be discussed this weekend in Washington, John, when General Petraeus sits down behind closed doors and talks to the administration about what his recommendations are.

ROBERTS: It would appear pretty obvious, Barbara, that General Petraeus is worried about the whole thing sliding back to square one if he were to give in to the critics who say, you know, get rid of the surge, bring a lot more troops home as well.

STARR: That is indeed the issue on the table, because there is security progress in Iraq. The judgment call that has to be made is, how deep is that progress? How enduring? Is it real?

Is this a thin veneer of security progress? If you start bringing troops home, will the violence just simply increase yet again or is this real progress?

And it appears by all accounts the real question that has to be answered is, if they bring troops home, will the Iraqi security forces step in, will they be able to take over? Will there be that political progress in Iraq that really solidifies it -- John.

ROBERTS: According to Marine General Jones' report which came out yesterday, they're still a long way from doing that.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning.

Barbara, thanks.

STARR: Sure.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: And also some news from North Korea that could bode well. Atomic experts from the U.S., Russia and China will be visiting North Korea ahead of that country's planned nuclear shutdown. The State Department says it's accepted an invitation by the North. Pyongyang has promised to complete this shutdown by the end of the year.

And for the first time since the 2004 election, we could see video of Osama bin Laden. An Islamic militant Web site announcing that they expect a tape from the al Qaeda leader. It could come in time to mark six years since September 11th. It may come out sometime this morning.

There are differing thoughts from terror experts. Is this new? Will we see him? Is this pictures of him that have been spliced together from past appearances?

Either way, we'll wait to see.

A bomb ripped through a crowd in Algeria, killing at least 14 people. Local police on Thursday said it was a suicide bombing. There's been no claim of responsibility, but al Qaeda did take responsibility for bombings back in April.

Security officials have been warning about attacks around the 9/11 anniversary. ROBERTS: Well, back here at home, an amazing story of survival and rescue now. A 76-year-old woman found alive nearly two weeks after she disappeared on a hunting trip in the rugged mountains of eastern Oregon.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is live in Baker City, Oregon. She's got more on this amazing story.

Good morning, Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. When you consider the rescue, it really is pretty amazing.

Now, since the moment that Doris Anderson went missing August 24th, many rescuers were out combing the area. They had sent dogs out there looking for her. And then after seven days, that rescue mission was called off and family had given up hope, until last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ (voice over): In this vast, rugged Oregon wilderness, an amazing discovery. Seventy-six-year-old Doris Anderson, who had been missing for 13 days, found alive.

MELVIN ANDERSON, BROTHER-IN-LAW: You'll never believe this. They found her. And I figured they found her dead. No, they found her alive. She was in the bottom of a ravine, just off the road.

GUTIERREZ: Doris's husband Harold believes it's a miracle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife I stated I'd never see again. That's why I have her pictures up close to me.

GUTIERREZ: Their ordeal began August 23rd when the couple went elk hunting. Their SUV got stuck in the creek in the mountains.

They walked for several miles for help but decided to separate when Doris couldn't go on. She would return to the vehicle, where there was food and water, and Harold would seek help.

He was picked up by hunters late in the afternoon, but when they returned to the vehicle, Doris was nowhere to be found. The family said Harold was inconsolable.

ANDERSON: He was devastated. He said life would never be the same.

GUTIERREZ: A massive search went on for days, but the family thought there was little hope. And just as they were planning her memorial service, two Baker County sheriffs deputies found Doris Anderson.

She was flown to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker City, Oregon, where doctors are surprised as how well she's doing, considering she survived nearly two weeks in frigid temperatures, without food or water. DR. STEVE DELASHMUTT, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Yes, for that age, and being unprepared, and being out in the cold, she's done remarkably well.

GUTIERREZ: No one more surprised than Harold, who's been married to Doris for 55 years.

(on camera): Are you going to go elk hunting again like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never. Never. I'm going to spend the rest of my days with my wife.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Doris Anderson is in stable but critical condition. She is here. She is resting. Her husband and her daughters are here, and she's expected to make a full recovery, and perhaps be released within a week -- John.

ROBERTS: Oh, god bless her, being able to survive that long out there in the wilderness.

From Baker City, Oregon, our Thelma Gutierrez.

Thelma, thanks -- Kiran.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: A new report on teen suicide suggests that the problem is getting worse. And young girls appear to be most at risk.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins us now with details.

When we heard about this study, every one of us in the room said, my god, what's behind this?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know. And what's even more alarming is for so long, the suicide rates were actually going down. And then they took this sudden spike and they came out of two studies, one from the Centers for Disease Control, actually looking at suicide rates and what's going on among teenagers. And they found that in fact it was girls between the ages of 10 to 14, that attributed the largest part of this increase. They had a 76 percent increase just in this particular population, which is stunning.

The question that you're asking, a lot of people are asking, is what's going on here? Why are these girls and a lot of other children starting to commit suicide in such -- more quickly rates here?

A new study actually showed that there was about a 22 percent drop in antidepressant prescriptions after these black box warnings. A lot of people remember the black box warnings warning that antidepressants could actually increase the risk of suicide. The antidepressant prescription rates went down, suicide rates have gone up.

Is there a connection? That's what a lot of people are asking this morning, John. Does it deter people from getting treated that would have had otherwise needed treatment?

ROBERTS: Why are we seeing more suicides among young girls than boys?

GUPTA: Well, a lot of people speculate different things. One is that if you look at the age specifically, the average age of puberty somewhere between 9 and 11, the suicide rate's gone up in that 10 to 14 age group by 76 percent. Is it somehow related to just having gone through puberty, are there hormonal changes that could somehow be attributed?

Is it this overall imagery that we see a lot in the media placing unfair sexual and body image expectations on girls? Hard to say. For boys and girls, is it the increased distraction of parents, not enough time to spend with their children?

ROBERTS: Well, speaking of distraction of parents, what should parents be looking out for? Obviously, you've got to pay attention to your young person, particularly as they're entering adolescence, to watch for these changes.

GUPTA: Yes.

ROBERTS: What should parents be looking for that may be indicators that this tendency is about to happen?

GUPTA: Some of the big ones are obviously going to be depression, personality changes. But more specifically, isolation. Isolation from things your child maybe used to enjoy, no longer seems to enjoy.

And one of the big questions that always seems to come up is, well, what do you do about it? Is it OK to talk to your child about suicide? And the answer seems to be coming back always yes, it's OK. It doesn't somehow put the thought in your child's mind that they're going to therefore do it.

Go ahead and ask about it.

ROBERTS: But how do you know it's more than just typical prepubescent mood changes?

GUPTA: A lot of these things do sort of fit in, and the vast majority of children who have those sorts of behaviors -- you know, personality changes and isolation -- are just teenagers. But, you know, if it seems out of proportion, if it's different for your particular child or different with respect to your other children, maybe something to ask about. And it's OK to talk about it. That's one advice that keeps coming back.

ROBERTS: Good tips. And we'll see you a little bit later on for some fun in the park. GUPTA: That's right.

ROBERTS: All right, Sanjay -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, he's got one day under his belt as an official candidate. How is Fred Thompson holding up?

Our John King is with him on the campaign trail in Iowa. Find out how he's being received and what's he talking about.

He's going to join us live, next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning here on CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, we've gotten our first look at the Fred Thompson campaign. Fred Thompson is the official candidate. Thompson is on a quick swing through Iowa after his late-night announcement and his late entry into the race. And the question everyone is asking is, is it too late?

Chief National Correspondent John King is in Sioux City, Iowa, this morning.

Is it for all of the people he's going around pressing the flesh with, or are they thrilled that he's finally, you know, really in it?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we won't have the answer until the people of Iowa and other states begin to vote, Kiran, but you're right, this is day two of the Fred Thompson debut, if you will. Sioux City here, as he continues a bus tour through Iowa's rolling hills and conservative farm country.

Thompson's messages to Republicans is essentially this: I know you've been looking at all of these other candidates for months now, but look again. I'm your man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Fred go! Go Fred go!

KING (voice over): The big challenge now is to make it worth the wait.

THOMPSON: So the preseason is over. Let's get on with it.

KING: Fred Thompson used his first rally as a declared candidate for president to label himself a commonsense conservative and the Republican Party's best hope of keeping the White House in a campaign in which the Democrats are heavy favorites.

THOMPSON: My friends, our country needs us to win. Our country needs us to win. I am ready to lead that fight.

Let's do it together.

KING: But this tiny crowd at the campaign kickoff highlighted concerns that Thompson waited too long and is too far behind his rivals in building an organization. Eight other Republicans have been at it for months already, but Thompson suggests that he alone is the complete package to keep taxes low, no amnesty, anti-abortion conservative, and more.

THOMPSON: We must show the determination that we are going to be United as an American people and do whatever is necessary to prevail not only in Iraq, but in the worldwide conflict that lies beyond Iraq.

KING: There are many questions, and a late start means the answers needs to come quickly.

TUCKER ESKEW, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: There's time, but he'll have to come out of the gate strong. He's got that potential and he's got a party that is looking for its man on a White horse.

KING: Early staff turnover in some cases because of friction with the candidate's wife, Jeri, who is also raising some eyebrows.

WHIT AYRES, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Senator Thompson's executive experience is substantially less than that demonstrated by Mayor Giuliani or Governor Romney. Therefore, people are going to evaluate Senator Thompson's executive ability through the way he organizes his campaign and sets up his organization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Thompson's speaking style is much more low key, rural Tennessee than a flashy guy with Hollywood skills. And as you might expect in any campaign, there are some early hiccups.

The buses rolled into conservative Council Bluffs last night. The man introducing Senator Thompson conceded he didn't know that much about the candidate. He read from a campaign bio and then introduced him to the crowd as Senator Fred Roberts -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Whoops. That's all right.

And it's also funny -- you see his entourage with him. He has, what, a 10-month-old baby as well?

KING: He has a 10-month-old baby and little girl who is almost 4, although she describes herself, we are told, as three and three- quarters.

CHETRY: Very cute.

And then also, what, a grandchild that sometimes goes around with them as well that's about the same age as his little boy?

KING: He has a son from his first marriage who is traveling with the campaign as well -- a grandson, I'm sorry, who is from his first marriage who is traveling with the campaign as well.

It is quite an entourage. Senator Thompson getting out on the road.

And the early hiccups you might expect. He hasn't run for office in quite some time. But they proclaim themselves quite happy, Kiran. They believe that there's opening for a low-key candidate.

And for those who say, well, maybe the guy is not the flashiest speaker, they say look at the current two-term president of the United States, George W. Bush. He did just fine, especially in rural conservative country like this.

CHETRY: Pretty cool. All right. Well, whenever he has to kiss babies he already has his own on hand. So that makes it easier.

John King in Iowa.

Thanks.

Well, they stayed in a foreign country for months. They were praying and hoping and trying to get as much attention as possible put to their case, their missing 4-year-old daughter.

Well, now they're possibly considered suspects in a disappearance of Madeleine McCann. What led to this major twist?

We are following the latest developments that have been breaking all morning in this investigation, a shocking twist in the investigation. And Portuguese police are not saying why.

We'll try to get to the bottom of it coming up.

Also, an incredible story of survival. An elderly woman lost for two weeks in the wilderness, nothing to eat, nothing to drink. In fact, her own family had given her up for dead. They were planning the memorial service, and then an unbelievable twist.

We're going to find out how she was found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, here's a look now at a story coming up in our next half hour that you can't miss, really, this time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, John, one of the difficulties I have is trying to figure out how to get some of those -- those things that you lose in sweat back into your body. What do you do?

ROBERTS: Yes, I have no problem sweating, that's for sure. Usually some water, maybe a little bit of a drink mix, something like that.

GUPTA: Well, I'm told that these strips, take six of them before, during and after, you can actually satisfy that demand.

So let's give it a try.

ROBERTS: All right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Take it after you start.

All right. Here we go. That's a look at two iron men, as they're known here at CNN, one running, one pedaling furiously in spandex. We're going to find out whether or not those electrolyte strips helped these two, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. It's Friday, September 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.

ROBERTS: And yes, good morning. Thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts.

Breaking news from overseas in the search for Madeleine McCann today. A family spokesman said Kate McCann, now her husband Gerry as well, both expected to be named suspects in their 4-year-old daughter's disappearance. Madeleine's mother arrived for another day questioning in Portugal a little more than an hour ago.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, we've been telling you about this incredible story out of Oregon this morning, 76-year-old Aura Doris Anderson missing for two weeks in the mountains, found alive, just when searchers were ready to give up.

And now we are joined by three of those who were able to rescue her, deputy Travis Ash of Baker County -- of the Baker County sheriff's office. Thanks for being with us this morning. Also senior Trooper Chris Hawkins of the Oregon State Police. And also with us Baker County Sheriff Mitchell Southwick, Dr. Steve Delashmutt as well who is treating Doris at St. Elizabeth's hospital. Thanks to all of you for being with us this morning.

Let me start out with you Deputy Ash. Can you tell us, explain for us where you finally found her? Because this was a search that had taken place. A lot of people had given up hope because they heard nothing, and they had seen nothing, and in fact her family was close to preparing a memorial service for her. What changed?

DEPUTY TRAVIS ASH, BAKER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We actually found her down in Bennett Creek, right along the Creek in pretty heavy brush.

CHETRY: But is that an area you had searched before?

ASH: I believe it had been searched before. CHETRY: And so what was different this time? It was -- apparently she was found in like a crevasse or she had been down in a gully?

ASH: We were just able to walk on down to her when she was down next to the creek. We actually heard some birds in the area earlier in the morning, and we made a walk down through there, and was able to find her laying next to the creek.

CHETRY: Trooper Hawkins, did she explain how she was able to survive two weeks without any food or water?

TROOPER CHRIS HAWKINS, OREGON STATE POLICE: No, we really didn't ask her those kinds of questions. We just made sure we kept her awake and kept her talking, about family, about just general things, and didn't really go into specifics on how she'd gotten there.

CHETRY: What kind of condition was she in, Trooper Hawkins?

HAWKINS: Considering how long she'd been out there, I think she was in very good condition. A few scrapes but she looked well.

CHETRY: And doctor, I don't want to mispronounce your name. Could you give it to me one more time?

DR. STEVE DELASHMUTT, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Delashmutt.

CHETRY: OK, Doctor Delashmutt, Tell me what condition she was brought to St. Elizabeth's?

DELASHMUTT: She had been exposed to the elements and was cold, as one would expect. She was also dehydrated, and had been talking to us to some degree, but clearly wasn't making sense.

CHETRY: How did she survive two weeks without water?

DELASHMUTT: Miracle?

CHETRY: Really? Medically that's not supposed to happen, right? Medically that's...

DELASHMUTT: Right, that's true. We were just conversing this today. If we had heard of another survivor in these mountains for two weeks, and none of us had, so she probably drank water out of the stream to stay partially hydrated.

CHETRY: We understand that she did have a hip injury. She was in conditions that were under 30 degrees, or hitting about 30 degrees at night. She was not wearing a lot of clothing, and on top of that she's older, 76 years old. What -- she's listed as critical, but stable right now, but she's expected to fully recover?

DELASHMUTT: Yes, I think so. She's steadily gaining ground, and she's talking to her family now, and recognizes her family, so she's steadily making progress.

CHETRY: Why is she still considered critical then, doctor?

DELASHMUTT: We leave that designation on until we get her lab tests back to normal, until she's clearly back on a track to recovery, and she'll probably reach that in a few more hours.

CHETRY: Wow. Well, thanks for giving us insight on her condition, and thanks to both of you, Deputy Ash, as well as Trooper Hawkins. You guys saved a life here, and it's great quick thinking and the fact that you guys went back and didn't give up, and her husband says no more hunting for them. He's going to spend the rest of his days with his wife. Thanks to all of us for being with us.

DELASHMUTT: Thank you.

ASH: Thank you.

HAWKINS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thirty-nine minutes now after the hour.

Forget the sports drinks. There's something new to help athletes replace electrolytes, and it fits on the tongue.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with details. We actually road tested this yesterday.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We had to. I wanted to grab you and actually go into Central Park and get a sense of just how difficult it is to sometimes replace all those electrolytes. You're an athlete. I mean, I saw you...

ROBERTS: Oh! Excuse me. I work out once in a while.

GUPTA: Here's the proof right there. Although you're biking and I'm running, so just to be clear, although John did a very good job. He actually biked very well through the park.

Big question, though, when you're exercising like this, is how do you -- I'm sweating pretty hard there.

ROBERTS: I was calm, cool and collected. I'm going eight miles an hour.

GUPTA: That's right. You really put me to the test.

But the question is, how do you replace a lot of the electrolytes sometimes when you're running? Obviously you can drink water, and that's great for a lot of people, but if you're concerned about replacing electrolytes, what do you do? Well, There's lots of products out there.

John, I want to you try something here, again. This is a little strip.

ROBERTS: This looks almost like the breath strips.

GUPTA: That's right, it looks exactly like it. It's the same sort of concept.

ROBERTS: Put it on your tongue?

GUPTA: Yes, put it right on the tip of your tongue, and just let that absorb. You actually have to take six of these before you run. I'm not going to make you do that now, unless you want to.

ROBERTS: Look at the size of it -- it's a little bit bigger than one of the breath strips.

GUPTA: Yes, how does that taste?

ROBERTS: It's a little bit salty. But this is vanilla berry flavor. The flavor's not bad, but a little salty, though.

GUPTA: Right, and that's probably a lot of the electrolytes -- potassium chloride, sodium chloride. You're basically trying to get that into your body before your run, during your run, afterwards as well. You've got to 18 of these every exercise routine.

But the idea is can you somehow replace these electrolytes in your body in an easier way, something you carry around in your hand? We, again, decided to put it to the test ourselves by just running like this. I think the jury is still out on how well it works, but you're starting to see a lot more products like this.

I'll tell you incidentally one of these strips, and you can take a look here, Gatorade or sports drinks, or something that people drink a lot, one of the strips is equal to about an ounce of the actual liquid.

ROBERTS: I found in trying these yesterday they made both of us thirsty at the very beginning. We actually had to have water to kind wash it down, but then we didn't get thirsty again for at least a half an hour.

GUPTA: That's right. And one thing is, obviously, You're not getting the liquid, and that's a big concern here. Most athletes, John, most people who just exercise or are athletes don't need any kind of electrolyte replacement. That's something you've got to keep in mind as well. Just simple water, which I saw you carry on your bike yesterday, is fine. That's all you really need.

ROBERTS: Except on a really hot day.

GUPTA: On a really hot day you definitely need to hydrate, definitely may need some actual electrolyte replacement as well, but only about a fifth of athletes actually need any kind of electrolyte replacement.

So whether or not these are going to be something that you need on a regular basis, hard to say, but these are the sorts of products that are out there.

Let me tell you something else, you see these strips, obviously breath strips are something that people are more familiar with. They're thinking about creating these sort of strips for children who become dehydrated because of diarrhea or vomiting. Also a hangover strips, so the next morning, or if you're feeling awful for whatever reason, ten you can put one of these on your tongue as well.

ROBERTS: There's probably a market out there for this somewhere.

GUPTA: We'll see how well it works, but it's out there for now.

ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks very much. And be sure to catch Sanjay this weekend when he makes a house call on your future health. He'll bring you the inside story how one man is predicting his health mapping his DNA. Also he'll have tips for reducing your stress. What is stress doing to your body and how can you stop it? Saturday and Sunday morning, 8:30 Eastern right here on CNN, "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- Kiran.

O'BRIEN: All right, well, he's a survivor, but this is his biggest test yet, the fifth day lost in the desert for thrillseeker adventure Steve Fossett. The search is now expanding, an area covering the size of Massachusetts. Are rescuers getting any closer to finding clues as to where he may be and how he's doing? New details ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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CHETRY: Still ahead, he's been lost now for five days in the Nevada desert, and no sign of Steve Fossett. The search is expanding, and our own Miles O'Brien went up and flew with these searchers. He can give us a firsthand account of what it's like. They've now expanded the area to the size of Massachusetts. Will they be able to find him in time? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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ROBERTS: Coming up to ten minutes to the top of the hour. They say it's like finding a needle in the haystack, and that hay stack just got a whole lot bigger. Search teams in the Nevada desert have expanded the search for missing multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. It's now an area the size of Massachusetts. Pilots say it's an area notorious for winds so powerful and tricky that they can toss a small plane around like a leaf, even shear off a wing.

Our Miles O'Brien joined the search. He took his own plane out there. He's live for us this morning in Mindin, Nevada.

Miles, there you are with your aircraft. What's the reason that they dramatically expanded the size of this search area?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically they don't have many leads to go on, John. There's no flight plan filed. That wouldn't be too unusual, and so as a result, they're expanding the area because of the possibilities here. They're literally all over the map. I'm going to show you what happened yesterday, we took a flight. I flew with one of the senior civil air-patrol people, and we flew into the search area, and I really got a sense of what it's all about. That's Lake Tahoe right there. That's Reno, Nevada. This is where the airplane sits right now, where we are right now. This whole swathe of area right here is where they're looking, and wait until you see the pictures we've gathered when we were out there. You'll really get an eyeful, get a sense of the challenges they face.

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O'BRIEN (voice-over): Major Cynthia Ryan of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol was my guide. We took off from Mindin Airport and made our way to the search zone, and it is incredibly rugged territory, riddled with steep mountains and narrow canyons.

(on camera): It's a cliche, but needle in a haystack.

MAJOR CYNTHIA RYAN, NEVADA CIVIL AIR PATROL: This is the biggest hay stack you'll ever see, and you know, airplane wreckage typically, you're looking at maybe 20 to 30 feet of crash site, depending on how full the pieces are. You can very easily dismiss it, or as just mining junk out in the desert, who knows what.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Abandoned cars, refrigerators, old sofas, all of them, red herrings for searchers.

RYAN: Nevada is just a big junkyard.

O'BRIEN: And it is just plain big -- 30 aircraft are now deployed searching from Lake Tahoe in the north to Bishop, California, in the south, an area of more than 10,000 square miles, about the size of Vermont. They remain focused on the rough terrain south of the secluded Flying M (ph) Ranch where Steve Fossett's flight began.

Major Ryan gave us the basics on how they hunt for a downed plane.

RYAN: His job is to look out that window. My job is to look out this window, and you can only truly see what amounts to the size of your fist as it goes by.

O'BRIEN (on camera): Right.

RYAN: So you work your eyes along as we go by.

O'BRIEN: A fist at a time?

RYAN: A fist at a time, and you have to let your eyes actually stop moving so that they have time to focus and register what you're actually seeing.

O'BRIEN: That gets tiring, doesn't it?

RYAN: After four hours of this, you're beat. O'BRIEN (voice-over): The military is also deploying some high- tech tools designed to find a lost person or aircraft. A spy satellite provided a possible tip, but so far, no paydirt. What do we know about his chances being out in the desert.

RYAN: You know...

O'BRIEN: What kind of equipment did he have, what kind of supplies?

RYAN: He apparently didn't have any emergency supplies with him, unless we don't know about a power bar in his pocket. But his chances if he wasn't severely injured are quite good. We really do think that we can find him alive unless he, you know, there's something really unfortunate happened.

O'BRIEN: I guess the most ominous thing is there's been no emergency beacon at all.

RYAN: Yes, Yes, you got that right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: John, Major Ryan said in many cases in the past they have searched for pilots for as long as two weeks, and found them still strapped into their aircraft alive, but the key in this case will be, does Steve Fossett have access to water?

John?

ROBERTS: And of course miles, we just had the story this morning that 76-year-old woman survived two weeks in the Oregon wilderness. She's not an adventurer like Steve Fossett, so maybe it might bode well for him.

Miles O'Brien for us this morning in Mindin, Nevada. Are you going to be joining the search at all, Miles?

O'BRIEN: I'm going to be spending a little bit of time today before I leave taking one more look in these areas. They're trying to discourage civilians from doing this, by the way.

ROBERTS: Not exactly your typical civilian, but, Miles, thanks very much. Kiran?

CHETRY: Thousands of you wanted to be the first to have apple's new iPhone, but it looks like being first didn't necessarily pay off, at least in the pocketbook. What Apple's planning to do about it to make amends. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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CHETRY: We're coming up on two minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business," and some early iPhone users are probably happy this morning. ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're happier than they were yesterday, because now the iPhone that they paid 600 bucks for two months ago is only, you know, undervalued by $100. Two days ago Apple decided that they're cutting the price on these iPhones, introducing other things. This, of course, got these people steamed, because they stood in line, and two months later, we all know the things go down in price. You want to be an early adopter. You want to the first to buy it. Somebody else is going to get it cheaper later, but within two months dropping the price from $600 to $400, so yesterday Steve Jobs, the boss at Apple, issued a statement where he said, "I have received hundreds of e-mails from iPhone customers who are upset about Apple's dropping the price, so we decided to offer every iPhone customer a $100 store credit. They are customers who had already bought the whole thing.

CHETRY: Right, but can you really put a price on being the only one of your friends that had it for two months?

VELSHI: Or sleeping on the street for two days in order to get one. So for those of you who got some value of that, congratulations.

CHETRY: Ali, thank you.

VELSHI: All right.

CHETRY: We'll check in with you the next hour.

Meanwhile a story coming up in our next hour that you can't miss.

ROBERTS: Who's got one of the best bods in the entertainment business?

CHETRY: That's right, LL Cool J for sure, also known as much for his hot body as he is for his songs. Well, he's doing something a little different. He's actually helping the over-50 set stay in shape.

ROBERTS: Teaming up with the AARP. We're going to be talking to LL Cool J coming up, because the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

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