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American Morning

Missing British Girl's Parent Named Suspect; 76-Year-Old Woman Found Alive in Oregon Wilderness; North Korea Shutdown: State Department to Survey Nuclear Sites

Aired September 07, 2007 - 07:59   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): Breaking news. A surprise twist. The parents of missing Madeleine McCann named suspects in her disappearance.

And against all odds. Rescued late last night, after 13 days lost and alone in the wilderness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For that age and being unprepared and being out in the cold, she's done remarkably well.

ROBERTS: The remarkable story of a 76-year-old woman's fight to stay alive on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: A remarkable story of survival. And just stunning news about the McCann family.

Thanks for joining us this morning.

It's Friday, the 7th of September.

I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Glad you're with us.

And we start off once again with breaking news. New details coming into us minute by minute in the case of missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann.

Today, a family spokesman said that Kate McCann and her husband Gerry both expect to be named suspects in their 4-year-old daughter's disappearance. Madeleine's mother Kate arrived -- there you see her there -- today for another day of questioning in Portugal.

There were many people standing by jeering her and cheering her as well. She was questioned for 11 hours yesterday. The 4-year-old British girl disappeared from her family's hotel room back in may. Her parents said they were at a restaurant with friends 50 to a hundred yards away.

Paula Hancocks is live in Portimao, Portugal, with new details right now.

Any confirmation by police at this point about whether they are indeed naming these two as suspects?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kiran.

Well, we do have confirmation from the McCann family spokesperson that Kate McCann is now officially a suspect. She is in arguido (ph), as they call it here, which basically means she is a formal suspect in this investigation into the disappearance of her 4-year-old daughter, Madeleine McCann.

Now, she is behind us still in the police station here in Portimao, which is in southern Portugal. She's been there since 11:00 this morning local time. That's about two hours now. You saw those pictures of her arriving.

Now, we've also been told to the spokesperson about the details of why she has been named as a formal suspect. Now, what they're telling us is that the police say they had to put her as a formal suspect, as they wanted to ask her 22 different questions.

Now, part of those questions surrounds suggestions that there has been blood found in a car that the McCanns had rented out 25 days after Madeleine was reported to have gone missing. So certainly this is something that they want to ask Madeleine McCann about. We heard reports from the spokesperson that Madeleine McCann says this is just outrageous and does not understand it at all, and it could not have possibly been the case that the blood of Madeleine was found in that car.

We're also hear from the McCann lawyer that Kate McCann could possibly be charged by this evening. Now, we don't know exactly what the charge will be at this point, but she could remain in custody this evening as well. So that's the latest we have from here -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And what are the lawyers planning to do about this situation and where does that leave her husband?

HANCOCKS: Well, at this point, we do still expect Gerry McCann to come here within an hour's time. That was always what was going to be happening. Now, whether or not this changes that is another matter. That's something the lawyers cannot be drawn on at this point.

But certainly once -- if there is any kind of charge, then that is when the lawyers will have to do their work, certainly when she's a formal suspect. She has more legal protection which she does right now. Kate McCann is a suspect, so she is allowed to refuse the right to speak, she has the right to silence, she's also allowed the right to legal representation, which she already has. And certainly if this does result in a charge later on today.

Now, these are very big ifs at this point, the lawyer was almost not speculating but he was suggesting this is what he is expecting to happen and what he has been guided towards by the Portuguese police. The Portuguese police themselves are remaining very shept (ph). Now, of course, if they do decide to charge Kate McCann, then they would have to come out, they would announce that, and they would give their reasons why they decided the evidence was so compelling that there was no other option for them -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Maybe we'll hear more about that this evening then.

Paula Hancocks, thank you.

Joining us to talk more about this now, Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom. She's been following the latest developments as well.

Hi, Lisa. Good to see you.

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Hi. Good morning.

CHETRY: What do you make of this situation, and especially this new detail that we hadn't heard until now about possible blood found in a rental car used by the McCanns 25 days after Madeleine was reported missing?

BLOOM: Well, if true, that's a huge break in the case, because we know that forensic evidence was recovered from the hotel room, but that doesn't mean much because, of course, the parents were in the hotel room with their kids, and so evidence indicating blood, fibers, hair tissue samples wouldn't tell us a lot if that was linked to the parents. But blood found in a car rented 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance, presumably that Madeleine had never been in, would be a huge break.

But I still think without a body, it's going to be very difficult to get a conviction against anyone, especially the parents.

CHETRY: Everyone in -- even here in the studio shaking their heads, because you want to be able to at least put together some sort of a rational theory for what happened. So you have a family on vacation with other friends. They have two 2-year-old twins, and they're able to -- I mean, you know, just trying to think how they would put this together, what? Hide their 4-year-old? Or...

BLOOM: Right.

CHETRY: ... you know, it just seems like where -- what are police working from here?

BLOOM: Well, it would have to be some kind of a theory that there was an accident or abuse, she was killed somehow. They buried her body, disposed of it somewhere, and then came back later, got her in the car and buried her somewhere else. That would be the only explanation for Madeleine's blood being in a car rented 25 days later.

CHETRY: Right. And would there be blood 25 days later? I mean, we're just -- you know...

BLOOM: Well, that's a good point, too. And moving a body? I mean, it is possible.

Frankly, I think it's far-fetched. Keep in mind, Kiran, that it was just last week when the McCanns filed a libel case against a Portuguese paper that accused them of killing their daughter, that the director of the police in that town said they are not suspects, they have never been suspects.

So this has to be an enormous sea change from just last week based on forensic evidence.

CHETRY: Yes. And the shock yesterday, 11 hours of questioning...

BLOOM: Yes.

CHETRY: ... which Kate McCann went to willingly thinking she was helping with the case. And then this shocking and stunning news.

BLOOM: And they've been cooperative from the beginning, these parents. They've initially talked to the police, they've talked to the police all along. They've made a worldwide appeal. I mean, they have been working with law enforcement from the beginning.

CHETRY: Right.

BLOOM: By the way, this arguido status, calling them a suspect, that can help them, because that gives them legal rights in Portugal that they may want, such as the right not to answer questions, the right to have an attorney. So they may have been part of this process of trying to invoke this arguido status.

CHETRY: Well, we'll see what happens. Right now, there seems to be more questions than answers. Maybe some of that will be filled in if they indeed do say they are filing charges later.

Lisa Bloom, thank you.

BLOOM: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Well, back here at home, an amazing story of survival and rescue now.

Seventy-six-year-old Ora Doris Anderson found alive nearly two weeks after she disappeared while on a hunting trip with her husband in the rugged mountains of eastern Oregon. Right now, Anderson is in intensive care in the hospital. Rescuers say she was conscious and alert when they found her, but she did suffered a hip injury. She was also pretty dehydrated by the time they got to her.

Police had largely given up hope of finding Anderson alive. They say that she was lightly dressed in an area where overnight temperatures had dipped into the 30s during the past two weeks. Incredibly rugged country with high mountains and deep valleys as well.

Yesterday, though, two officers decided to go back to an area that had already been searched. It was their day off. They gave it up and they found her.

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

She is so lucky to be alive, Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, she really is.

You know, the two officers that you mentioned who actually rescued Doris Anderson are here at the hospital right now. They are in her room, they're meeting, they're having a private meeting with Doris and her family at this time.

Now, six days after the rescue mission was called off for Doris Anderson, these two men, as you had mentioned, decided to go back up into the mountain on their day off. And yesterday, their persistence paid off.

(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 critical, but stable, condition. She's suffering from hypothermia and dehydration. And earlier, doctors were concerned that she may have broken a hip. They got the x-ray results back a short time ago and say that she has not and she's OK. And she should be able to go home in about a week -- John.

ROBERTS: I'm sure that her husband is not going to let Doris out of his sight from now on.

Thelma Gutierrez, for us in Baker City, Oregon, with that incredible story.

Thelma, thanks very much -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, for the first time since the 2004 election, Osama bin Laden could be appearing on videotape. An Islamic militant Web site announced that they're expecting a tape from the al Qaeda leader that could come in time to mark six years since 9/11, perhaps even as early as this morning.

Also new this morning, word of what's coming in General Petraeus' report to Congress. It's due out Monday. According to some published reports, Petraeus will recommend a troop reduction in Iraq early next year. He tells "The Boston Globe" by e-mail, "I expect to be able to recommend that some of our forces will be redeployed without replacement. That will, over time, reduce the total number of troops in Iraq."

"The New York Times" also reporting that senior administration and military officials say Petraeus could expect the pullback of 4,000 troops beginning in January.

And a major breakthrough today in talks with North Korea. The State Department accepting an invitation by the north, it says. Atomic experts from the U.S., Russia and China will now visit North Korea ahead of that country's planned nuclear shutdown.

Suzanne Malveaux joins us now live from Sydney, Australia, with more on this -- on these developments.

Good morning, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

It really is an extraordinary development. Very dramatic regarding North Korea.

We saw the U.S. chief negotiator Chris Hill, who made the announcement here in Sydney earlier today, essentially saying that North Korea has invited nuclear experts, teams from the United States, Russia and China, to go to North Korea September 11th to the 15th to actually visit some of those nuclear facilities, those sites that they want to see shut down. Now, the way that Hill describes this, he says it's a very technical meeting, simply trying to figure out the best way to disable these nuclear facilities, whether it's pouring concrete or clipping wires or cables, that type of thing. But the main point of this is to make sure that North Korea has the same understanding when it comes to disabling its facilities as the international community does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER Hill, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it's a good step. We have to see what the results are of the visit. Our hope is that they can agree on some disabling measures that are, first of all, meet the definition of disabling, which is to make it very difficult to bring a facility back on line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Hill also said that, look, this is just the beginning of the process. It is not the end. That this is going to take a long, long time. But he does believe that this is a significant step forward -- Kiran.

CHETRY: It looks to be for sure.

Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.

ROBERTS: Coming up now to 13 minutes after the hour.

It's a new way of looking at the heart that may give doctors an early warning if you're at risk for heart disease or even diabetes.

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

What is this all about?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is amazing, because one of the largest populations you need to try and figure out before they develop the problem is diabetics. How do you find them in that pre-diabetic period and what sort of screenings can you do?

Well, researchers have been stumbling on to something, looking at the heart specifically. And let me tell you a couple of things.

It turns out that you build up fat in your heart before you even build it up in your body, or you develop diabetes if you're going to develop diabetes later on.

ROBERTS: This is one of the earliest signs.

GUPTA: It's a very early sign. And people have been doing a test called magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or MRS.

Let me show you here, John. This is interesting.

Basically, what they do is they do this scan of the heart and then they measure the fat concentrations in different parts of the heart. This is one particular part of the heart, but you can also measure it in some of the ventricles and chambers over here where the blood is sort of pumping back and forth.

The question is, if you see high concentrations of fat in the heart, even twice the amount that you expect to see, it can be a very good sign, very good predictor of pre-onset diabetes. And so people are starting to look at this as a possible screening tool later on down the road.

This is obviously a sophisticated test, so it's not widely available yet, but this is very interesting. And it sort of points to something that is physiologically happening in the body. And, not only do you get the obvious indicator that you might have diabetes, you can also get a sense of what that diabetes is doing to the heart. Is it changing the heart in some way as well?

ROBERTS: So if somebody is predisposed in their family to diabetes, this might be something they want to get.

You have a family of heart disease in your family. You recently had a scan of your heart. Is it similar to this, completely different?

GUPTA: I had a CAT scan and they did what is called 3D reconstruction. Let's take a look here.

ROBERTS: Whoa. Is this you?

GUPTA: They're both preventative tests. This is my heart. A good-looking heart, isn't it?

ROBERTS: Yes. Not bad at all.

GUPTA: Not bad.

ROBERTS: I like what you've done with it.

GUPTA: And basically you can see it sort of spinning around here. You can see it spinning around here. And basically you're looking to check out the health of the heart. Again, this is a preventative test, meaning that you want to do something before someone has problems.

What they are specifically looking for -- and a lot of people don't get a glimpse like this of their own heart. But these are the blood vessels that sort of come all along the wall of the heart, and basically you're looking to see if you see any calcifications, if you see any blockages. If you do, that could be an early indicator that you're developing heart disease.

It can -- it's good enough -- as you can tell there, John, it's very good clarity if someone needed an angioplasty, for example, something to actually open up one of these blood vessels or even bypass later on down the road. That is what this preventative sort of 3D CT scan is for. People who have a history of heart disease who are worried about it, they can get it checked out like us.

ROBERTS: How readily available is this scan and the MRS?

GUPTA: The MRS I don't think is readily available yet. And probably for good reason. It's probably cost-prohibitive.

These are expensive tests right now. And I think the science is interesting in that the fat builds up into the heart before somebody develops diabetes, but they've still got to figure out how to make that more widely available. This test costs about $1,000, so it's not cheap.

As more people get it the costs might come down. But prevention, trying to detect these things ahead of time, these are what all these tests are sort of pointing towards.

ROBERTS: That is a nice-looking heart.

GUPTA: Not bad.

ROBERTS: Nobody can say you don't have a big heart.

GUPTA: I have a good heart, John.

ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thanks, guys.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, with Washington ready to decide the next step for the U.S. in Iraq, we're talking one on one with former Joint Chiefs chairman General Richard Myers.

And how about this one? What is LL Cool J doing crashing an AARP convention? There's a live look right now. He's going to join us to talk about it right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to 19 minutes after the hour. An update for you on one of our top stories of the day. And that is word that General Petraeus in his report to Congress next week may say that he is willing to see a small drawdown of troops sometime around January, something in the area of brigade size. You'll remember that five more brigades were sent over for the so-called surge. That would be about 4,000 to 5,000 troops. Well, getting some pushback on that report this morning.

Now Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon. Let's check in with her.

You've been working your sources, Barb. What are you thinking about?

And no, apparently, we're not going to Barbara Starr. We're just updating you on the information.

So, again, General Petraeus, the information is that he is -- sources close to him, at least, are pushing back against that story, saying that he has not said that he is willing to accept a drawdown of troops. This is in -- this is in direct contradiction to some of these stories.

We did have a chance yesterday to speak with General Richard Myers, who is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You'll remember was chairman during the initial invasion and for a couple of years after that.

We talked to him in advance of the Petraeus report, and as well a report coming up from the ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, about Iraq and how he sees things over there. Here is some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: General Myers, the last time you were on CNN was back in January with my colleague, Wolf Blitzer. He was asking you about this so-called surge. And you thought at that point that the plan was a good idea. Let me replay just a little bit what you said and then I'll ask you about it.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, FMR. CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: The thing I like about the plan is it has three elements that you need to defeat any insurgency. It's got a security element, it's got a political element, and it's got an economic element.

ROBERTS: So it has a security element, a political element, an economic element.

Now, six, seven months later, how would you measure what we see in the surge against your expectations? Because there hasn't been much development economically, and even the national intelligence estimate says literally none on the political front.

MYERS: Right. I think on the security side, obviously, there has been some progress, and you can point to Al Anbar province, where they used to have 50 to 60 attacks a day. They haven't had an attack for over a hundred days now. So -- then in Baghdad. So the violence is down, so the security part is working.

I think there's been some political progress. It has not gotten to the point though where the parliament has approved things like, how are we going to reconcile former Ba'athists? How are we going to divide the energy resources among the various folks in this country? So parliament has to act. But there's been some political progress, but obviously not enough.

ROBERTS: Right.

Looking back to March of 2003, was it a mistake to go in so light? And I ask that question because I was embedded with the Marines, and literally to a person as we were coming up through Narsiriyah and up toward Al Kud, they said we have got enough guys to win the war but we don't have enough guys to establish the peace. We can depose Saddam Hussein, but we can't stop these people from fighting each other.

MYERS: I think what people understand is that there were in train a lot more forces headed towards Iraq when we went into Iraq in March of 2003. So I think the numbers were exactly right for major combat. We wanted to do that very quickly, and we wanted to do it quickly because we wanted to have minimum impact on the civilian infrastructure and the civilians themselves, the collateral damage, so-called collateral damage.

ROBERTS: So you say it was the right number for military operations.

MYERS: Right.

ROBERTS: But was it the right number for the political stability that needed to be had afterwards?

MYERS: Well, there were a lot of assumptions going forward in that time frame, and some of those assumptions were that, you know, we would be greeted as liberators. Some of those assumptions just didn't work out. And there was always a fine line in Iraq. And this is what the military commanders on the ground and I and the Joint Chiefs were talking about.

There's a fine line between being too heavy and being this foreign invader and being liberators. And we always tried to walk that fine line.

If we had gone in heavier, you could draw a scenario that would of made it worse. And the troop numbers have gone up and down. Right after major combat they came down a little bit, then they went back up. They went back up for a constitutional referendum, for elections, and so forth.

ROBERTS: As chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you needed to look at things from a 30,000-foot level. I mean, it was one thing for the commanders on the ground to observe their battle space, but you had to look at the whole operation.

MYERS: You bet.

ROBERTS: From the 30,000-foot level, what is Iraq war doing to the U.S. military?

MYERS: Well, it's done several things, and a lot of positive things. If you just look at the reserve component, the Guard and Reserve, they're a much different force today than they were before 9/11 of 2001. A much different force. I would submit a better force.

Recruiting and retention are fine. They're doing very well. They've gone from a strategic reserve to a more operational reserve.

I think the biggest effect is, as people are on their third, sometimes fourth rotations, families start to vote here. And while the military member may want to continue, families say, you know, worrying about you, you know, every other year for a year or 12 months is a big burden. So...

ROBERTS: When do you expect that the military could draw down forces in Iraq?

MYERS: I can't -- I don't have enough granularity on the situation. I've been briefed in general on the situation in Iraq, but not that granularity.

ROBERTS: We will find out soon enough, though. General Petraeus expected to announce his proposals next week.

General Myers, good to see you.

MYERS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thanks very much.

MYERS: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And we'll have more of my interview with former Joint Chiefs chairman Myers on Monday, including his thoughts on what General Petraeus will recommend and what General Myers would recommend if he were in a position to, to bring peace to Iraq -- Kiran.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi here now "Minding Your Business".

And with all of this concern about identity theft, people are starting to get a little concerned about giving out information.

ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, it's not just shredding your bills and things like that. Americans are concerned about giving their Social Security number out to organizations that may not need them.

Now, that's sort of intuitive. We would have expected that. But "Consumer Reports" commissioned a poll as part of its submission to the Federal Trade Commission which is investigating the use of Social Security numbers by businesses in America, whether they are traded or used. Here's what -- some of the interesting things that they found.

Seventy-eight percent of people prefer not to give their Social Security number out widely, but they're concerned of the consequences -- by the consequences of not doing so. So they feel that when somebody asks you for it, if you don't give it -- and that is true, in many cases there are a lot of companies that identify you by your Social Security number, even though the law doesn't require that you give it to them. You just won't get what that company wants -- you know what they might be selling you. So that's problem number one.

Problem number two is that -- this is sort of expected as well -- 89 percent of Americans want companies to stop using Social Security numbers as identification for the customer. So the Federal Trade Commission is looking into this, they're going to study it and make some recommendations. But, you know, no big surprises there. Folks don't want to give out their Social Security numbers.

ROBERTS: Yes. It's attached to so much information.

VELSHI: Yes. Yes.

ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks very much.

CHETRY: Thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Right now, coming up, a story that you can't miss.

How about this one -- LL Cool J -- of course, so many albums out there. He's been in a ton of movies. Well, now he is helping the over-50 set get in shape.

ROBERTS: Teamed up with the AARP for fitness over 50. Can he whip some old dogs into shape?

We'll find out when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. It's Friday, September 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.

Lots of breaking news this morning. A break in the search for little Madeleine McCann. Police have told a family spokesperson that Madeleine McCann's mother is a formal suspect in the little girl's disappearance. Madeleine's father, Gerry, is also expected to be named a suspect. A family friend is also telling CNN that the 4-year- old girl's blood was found in a car the parents rented 25 days after they reported her disappearance in May. Also new this morning, we thought we had an early look at what is coming in General Petraeus' report to Congress on Monday. Published reports suggested that he might be willing to see a small drawn-out of troops in January, maybe as early as December. Some republicans have suggested perhaps about the size of a brigade which is 5,000 people. We have since learned, though, our Barbara Starr has been talking to sources close to General Petraeus that he has not agreed and will probably not suggest an early drawdown of troops. He is very concerned about security there.

Obviously, there will have to be an end of the surge at some point, most likely April, that is when the deployment of these forces begin to run out. While we may see a drawn down of troops late spring of next year, it's quite possible he will not be recommending his draw down of about 5 thousand troops early in either December or January. More on that coming up throughout the day here on CNN.

A major breakthrough meanwhile in talks with North Korea, nuclear experts from the U.S. will now visit the country ahead of its planned nuclear shutdown and expected to happen next week. The state department says it has accepted an invitation and will be joined by two other nuclear powers, Russia and China. North Korea has promised to complete the shutdown of its nuke program by the end of this year.

There is fear of flooding and mudslides after a once powerful typhoon dumped staggering amounts of rain on Japan. The slow moving tropical storm made landfall southwest of Tokyo yesterday pouring as much as two feet of rain on an area home to 25 million people. Authorities say one person killed and dozens hurt, at least three reported missing and tens of thousands of people lost power.

CHETRY: And now that amazing survival story we told you about. A 76-year-old woman lost for two weeks in the rugged mountains of eastern Oregon amazingly found alive and in fact, we spoke to the doctor who was treating her. He says it's a miracle. There's no medical way to describe it.

Ora Doris Anderson was separated from her husband. They had gotten stranded on a hunting trip. One went looking for help. One went back to the car. They searched for two weeks and turned up nothing. They had found him but could not find her. And they were fearing the worst because she was lightly dressed and nighttime temperatures in the 30s.

Her relatives even started planning a memorial service but yesterday, two officers who decided not to rest on their day off went back to an area that had already been searched. They say it was circling ravens that tipped them off. Anderson is in intensive care right now but her doctors say she is in remarkably good shape. She does not have any broken bones and they expect she could be released from the hospital in a week.

Search teams in the Nevada desert have expanded the search for missing multi-millionaire Steve Fossett. It's now an area the size of Massachusetts. It was just 600 square miles. Now it's 10,000. A spokesperson for the Nevada civil air patrol says they're looking at a number of possible leads. Flyovers of the most likely landing spots could take another week. Fossett's plane disappeared Monday in the treacherous Nevada desert.

ROBERTS: Speaking of the Nevada desert, let's get to Rob Marciano in the weather center in Atlanta. How is the weather looking there in the search for Steve Fossett, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good visibility still, John.

Here is a radar scope. We are looking at clear skies. Remember, we talked yesterday about the moisture Henriette was bringing to the desert southwest? It's staying in southern parts of Arizona but it has already moved out, at least a chunk of it has moved out of New Mexico and getting to the panhandle of Texas.

Believe it or not, moisture from what is left over of Henriette getting into the plains and this is an area that does not need anymore rainfall and 4 inches of rainfall expected the next day or two, flash flood watches have been posted for central Oklahoma and into parts of southern Missouri which has seen a tremendous amount of moisture as of yesterday and they'll see it again today.

Still watching this thing. Trying to get its act together here. The circulation is here in the Atlantic and is actually beginning drifting farther to the west. Our computer models continue to pick it up and bring it close to the U.S. How close and how strong those answers yet to -- questions yet to be answered but folks who live in the Carolinas still want to keep an eye on this thing as we head through the weekend.

John, back over to you.

ROBERTS: Let's hope it's not close and not strong. We're counting you on, Rob.

MARCIANO: I like it.

ROBERTS: How many times have you had a family dinner in recent memory? It could be the key to staying healthy. Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us why next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: 20 minutes now to the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is back "Minding Your Business." Because some alarm bells gone off in the economy over jobs.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually a little bit unexpected. The job report has just come out for the month August. The U.S. economy lost 4,000 jobs in August. This is significant. 4,000 is not a big number but is the first loss in four years for the U.S. economy. We are supposed to be growing jobs, 75, 150,000 and as recently as April we were still over a hundred thousand a month created.

Now, we've lost jobs. The losses are in construction, manufacturing, transportation sector and in government. The places where we're gaining employment, we're gaining jobs in education, health care, in leisure and hospitality and in retail but the big -- we know the manufacturing jobs and the construction jobs are falling off because of the housing crisis. The unemployment rate in the United States remains at 4.6 percent. That is quite low but the futures have taken a dive this morning because of this news. What this might do is force the Fed to reduce interest rates when it meets in a couple of weeks.

ROBERTS: When it does that?

VELSHI: Then the markets will go up. So it's unclear what the effect will be but we're losing jobs.

ROBERTS: Ali, thanks -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Lost in the hustle of modern day life sitting down for a family dinner is being replaced by eating on the run. Few trips to the drive-thru, carryout, takeout. Now there's some concrete proof spending time at the dinner table can pave the way for a healthier lifestyle for kids. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more. This is fascinating. It's like a duh but in everyday life, people don't do it.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You get to have dinner with your daughter she is so young but as people get older oftentimes they don't get to have the meals with their children anymore. It's healthier at the time. The question is what does it do to these kids as they grow older? We found out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA (voice-over): Remember the classic American family dinner? Everyone sitting down at the same time every night. Today, it's not so common. But the Lee family makes sure it's a priority. Crystal and Wayne both work but manage to have dinner with their daughter Erin. Their strategy? Prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them and reheat during the week.

CRYSTAL LEE, ERIN'S MOM: If I had to prepare a meal, we probably would not eat until 6:30 and then Erin has homework.

GUPTA: Erin is glad for the home cooking.

ERIN LEE, STUDENT: Sometimes, the stuff that you eat every single day at restaurants are greasy first of all and they're salty.

GUPTA: They're eating better foods.

WAYNE LEE, ERIN'S DAD: We try to select foods that are lower in fat and high in fiber.

GUPTA: University of Minnesota researchers questioned 1700 high school students on their eating habits and found those who ate with their families had more fruits and vegetables. Fewer sodas and most sat down for breakfast. More importantly, they discovered that the same teens continued those healthy lifestyles into adulthood. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those teenagers who were eating with their families, seven or more times per week when they were in high school had almost a full serving more of fruits and vegetables when they were young adults.

GUPTA: For families who can't always eat together, nutritionists say a couple of family meals, even on weekends, can help young people develop better eating habits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There they are eating at the table. Breakfast, they say that is so key. Why?

GUPTA: A few reasons. One is if you eat breakfast, people that actually eat a normal breakfast tend to eat fewer calories throughout the day so adults and children pay attention to that because it cuts down on your eating later on today and probably cuts down on obesity later on as well. You eat more nutrition food at breakfast than the rest of the day on average. It helps with weight management as you get older.

CHETRY: The Lee family froze their meals and do you keep the same nutrition value doing that?

GUPTA: Freezing may take something out of it and the warming up process may take something out of it. A lot of people stick that in the microwave and not as good as steaming things like fresh vegetables but still much better than ordering out or eating junk food which is what a lot of people resort to.

CHETRY: Dr. Gupta, something to think about for sure. Thank you.

And be sure to catch Sanjay this weekend. He is making a "HOUSECALL" on your future health and bringing you the inside story how one man is predicting his health by mapping his DNA. It is so fascinating. Could it be the future for all of us? He is going to have tips on reducing stress, what stress does to your body and how you can stop it Saturday and Sunday morning 8:30 eastern.

ROBERTS: About 15 minutes from now we go to the "CNN NEWSROOM." Tony Harris at the CNN news center with a look what is ahead.

Hi, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, John. Good Friday to you. Good morning.

We have these stories on the "NEWSROOM" rundown for you. New twist in a missing girl case. Four months after reporting her daughter disappeared, a mother is named as a suspect today.

Her family was planning her funeral, now they're celebrating her return. How about this story? A 76-year-old woman survived two weeks in the wilderness. Making her point, taking her punishment. What happens when a woman registered her dog to vote?

Betty is back from Africa and with us in the "NEWSROOM" and we get started 15 minutes from now at the top of the hour on CNN. Good weekend to you.

ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Thanks Tony. You, too.

Overnight in California, firefighters able to contain 35 percent of one fire that has so far burned 27,000 acres near San Jose. Another fire north of San Francisco has destroyed 28,000 acres and three structures, one of those structures, a home.

We've been showing you the picture all morning. LL Cool J at the AARP convention in Boston, sweating to not the oldies but hip-hop this morning. Yep. There he is. LL Cool J joins us after the break. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. You two pay attention. We're talking about the AARP convention!

ROBERTS: Excuse me! It's just around the corner for you!

CHETRY: No way! Decades! Anyway, when you think of AARP convention, hip-hop music probably isn't the first thing you think of but times are changing. It's not Bingo, it's more like bling bling.

ROBERTS: It does seem like an odd mix but in Boston, baby boomers this morning boom boxes are coming together. LL Cool J is trying to help spread the word about staying fit.

CHETRY: That's right. If you look at his album covers you see he is sort of an expert in that. There he is.

ROBERTS: Wow.

CHETRY: Kept himself in good shape. He is the author of his own fitness book, "LL Cool J's Platinum Workout" and LL Cool J joins us live from Boston as well this morning. You could do laundry on those abs! How do you keep it up?

LL COOL J, HIP HOP ARTIST/ACTOR: It's about wanting and dreaming. I think a lot of times, people focus so much on the physical, but you have to remember that if you really want something, if you have passion, if you have true passion, if you have a true desire, if you're willing to make some sort of a sacrifice and if you really can visualize yourself making it happen, it can work for you and you can get in the kind of shape you want to be in. It's just a matter of believing.

ROBERTS: LL, you're a young guy and you're just a tremendous example of what you can do when you put your mind into it and get into shape. How does that translate with your relationship to the AARP which typically would address people over the age of 55?

LL COOL J: I'll tell you. My trainer and the co-author of my book, his name is Scooter. He's 52-years-old, all right? He is ripped and shredded and in great shape. He started getting AARP letters in the mail and started freaking out coming to the gym! I can't believe it! I'm getting AARP letters! He was going nuts! Then, all of a sudden, this opportunity came and I said, you know what? Look. Dreams don't have deadlines.

I think too many times, people want to write people off when they're older and want to write people off when they're younger and write people off and it seems like if you're not 20 or 30, you don't count! And you know, those people out there that are in their 50s they can make their dreams come true as well if even if you're a person that can't move.

There were people in there who are arthritic and have knee problems and now learned they can just get a -- assist themselves up and out of a chair, back and forth to get in shape. My point was just that dreams don't have deadlines and we have to be willing to embrace our maturity and embrace our lives so we can extend our lives and have longevity.

ROBERTS: Sanjay and I were doing it in the park yesterday.

GUPTA: What are some of the things you tell people who are over 50 or older than that, some simple exercises, what advice do you have for the people at the convention some?

LL COOL J: I think, first, warm up before you stretch. Your muscles going to be like a rubber band and they can pop. Secondly, I would tell them that this is a real cute one but when you're at the supermarket, shop around the track. Stay out of the center, that is full of junk that you don't need to get involved with. And the real thing is that you have to believe that you can get in shape and stay in shape.

You have to believe. So many people out there want to get in shape and want to be in shape and they start and stop and they start and stop. But they just don't believe that they can look like, you know, that guy on TV with the abs or look like that Hollywood starlet with the tiny dress on. But you can do it! But you have to believe. Do you know what I'm saying?

CHETRY: You bring up a good point for sure. How much does diet play into what you're able to do as well? You're 39 right now. Metabolisms change. Do you feel a difference and how much is about what you restrict when you eat?

LL COOL J: Metabolism has definitely changed but I feel phenomenal. I feel better than I felt, you know, in my late 20s. You know? Because, you know, this exercise has taken my body to another level. I'm lifting heavier weight than I've ever lifted in my life. My endurance is greater than it's ever been. When I do concerts, instead of it being 20 minutes with two albums, it's an hour and a half with 13 albums and I'm in crazy shape and I can keep going. So it's really, really about, you know, it's built up that endurance, that real inner endurance and changed my thinking. I've had a paradigm shift. I'm able to think better. It's translated into my businesses, into my career. This is really something that will uplift you on many different levels. Not just physically.

ROBERTS: LL, do you give advice to older folks, listen, do what you can't but don't do too much? Obviously at the age of 39 you can do pretty much whatever you want.

LL COOL J: You know what? Look. I'm still young relatively speaking and hip-hop years, I'm a hundred. But in real life, I'm very young. And you know what? You don't want to hurt yourself. I'm not encouraging someone who is 57-years-old to run down to the neighborhood gym and get on the treadmill for six hours and get sent to the hospital, you know?

What I'm saying is that if you eat right, if you get some consistent exercises in, if you stretch, if you treat your body good, if you put some good proteins and good carbohydrates in your body, and if you get that metabolism sped up again by really having enough meals during the day, you will find that you will be able to lose weight.

That's another thing. Because of the amount that I eat and because of the consistency with which I put food in my body, my metabolism is flying. It's like I'm 22. Do you know what I'm saying? Because I eat constantly. You got to do that.

ROBERTS: I would take just 42!

CHETRY: Well, you certainly inspired us this morning. LL Cool J's Platinum Workout is what it's called. Have fun at the convention and thanks for joining us to talk more about it.

LL COOL J: Thanks.

CHETRY: Let's show that video from yesterday. Sanjay and John are trying to listen to LL, there they are running and biking in the park and keeping themselves young. How about that?

GUPTA: They talk a lot about that upper body training as well when you get older. So important. John looked good out there.

CHETRY: Still wearing spandex! There you go.

GUPTA: He was turning a lot of eyes out there.

CHETRY: I bet he was.

ROBERTS: People going by saying what the heck is he wearing?

CHETRY: Here's a quick look at what the "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on at the top of the hour.

HARRIS: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM." Little girl missing for months. Will her mother be named a suspect in the case? New terror threat, Bin Laden video said to be on the way.

New guy on the campaign trail. What Fred Thompson is saying after launching his white house bid.

And a concert over Virginia Tech. Top performers console a community. "NEWSROOM" is just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Add this to your checklist next time you fly. Be careful what you wear. You could get yourself in trouble. Kyla Ebbert, a Hooters waitress, was escorted off a Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Tucson because of what she was wearing there.

ROBERTS: She was lectured on how to dress properly and asked to pull down her shirt and skirt and then allowed back on the plane. The airline said the following Southwest Airlines was responding to a concern about her attire on the flight that day.

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