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American Morning
Chester Arthur Stiles Arrested; Extreme Drought in South; The New Cold War; Crucial Eye Exam: Quick Test for M.S.
Aired October 16, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome. Thanks for being with us on this Tuesday, October 16th.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts.
Good morning to you.
After a nationwide manhunt, police in Nevada arrested 37-year-old Chester Arthur Stiles late last night. He is accused of sexually assaulting a girl who was then 3 years old and videotaping it.
That was four years ago. The girl is now fine. Her mother says that she has no memory of that incident.
Police pulled Stiles over last night in Henderson, Nevada. His car had no license plates. Officers began questioning him and they say Stiles simply gave himself up.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Chris Lawrence is live in Las Vegas for us this morning with the latest on this.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Good morning, John.
Right now, Chester Stiles is locked up in the jail behind me. As we know right now, he doesn't have a lawyer or a court date, but we know he has got to be arraigned sometime in the next few days. He wouldn't be in custody right now if not for that routine traffic stop and the fact that initially he handed the police officers a driver's license with a picture that didn't look anything like him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER MIKE DYE, HENDERSON POLICE: When me and Officer Gad (ph) were questioning him, because we didn't believe his story or who he was, he finally told us, "Hey, I'm Chester Stiles. I'm the guy you're looking for." And at that time, he said, "I'm sick of running."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: And this all goes back to that four-year-old videotape that was found out in the desert that shows a little girl being sexually assaulted. Now, initially, police didn't know who the man or the girl was, or whether she was still in any danger. As it turns out, she is now 7 years old, she is living with her mom, who had no idea this had even happened four years ago.
Apparently, the assault happened while the mom was at work and while the little girl had been left with a baby-sitter. And some of the questions the police are going to be asking now are, you know, was she the only one? Police say they don't know if they're going to find other victims, but we do know that Chester Stiles was wanted for allegations that he groped a little girl four years ago.
ROBERTS: And Chris, there are potentially other cases as well that they may be at least looking at?
LAWRENCE: Yes. As far back as 2001, there was an allegation that a little girl may have been assaulted. Police are going to go back and take at look again at that allegation as well.
ROBERTS: All right.
Chris Lawrence for us this morning from Las Vegas.
I'm sure they've got a lot of questions to ask that man -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we have some pictures of extreme weather.
New this morning, an earthquake rocking San Bernardino County in California in the early morning hours. It measured a magnitude 4.2 and hit about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It was felt as far away as Glendale, a suburb of L.A.
There is a look at exactly where it started.
And Rob said it was quite shallow, actually, not that deep underground, but that, interestingly enough, it really did not do much damage. He said the most you would probably feel were some dishes rattling because it was not that strong.
In northern Texas, high water left some golfers stuck right on the course. In fact, they had to be rescued with inflatable rafts. Heavy rain and flooded roads. It damaged buildings and knocked out power. A lot of problems because of storms to homes and businesses around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. One person died when his car slid into the path of an oncoming truck.
There's also the opposite problem, and that's extreme drought in the Southeast. In fact, mayors of many different cities in the South calling for extreme conservation in towns from North Carolina to Georgia. By some estimates, northern Georgia has less than four months of water left.
Rob Marciano is at the CNN weather desk. He's tracking all of this extreme weather for us.
And any relief in sight for the Southeast, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not to where we desperately need it the most, Kiran. That's been the ongoing problem.
There has been rain in spots, sometimes heavy at times. But not in the most drought-stricken areas.
Here's what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico.
One of the reasons is we haven't seen a whole lot of action as far as moisture is concerned off the Gulf during what is typically an active time of year, hurricane season. And we're wrapping that up right now. The satellite picture shows you a little bit of a flare-up heading into the Southeast, but the question is, how far does it get and how much organization does it have?
Here is a radar picture showing you Mobile Bay, eastward towards Pensacola, and then a little bit farther east towards Destin and Panama City. Heavy showers there, not the best of beach day.
This is all with a system that is kind of slowing down, hitting the brakes. And most of the energy is heading into Canada. So it's not really diving south and east to where we need more of the moisture.
Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, South Bend, you're getting a little bit of moisture this morning, that's for sure. But this line and eastward is where we need the most rain. And this is the 48-hour forecast showing, well, one to two inches of rain possible the next 48 hours. So, again, getting the rain where we need it less than we would like.
Might get some showers and thunderstorms where we need them on Thursday, but the next couple of days will bring not only showers and thunderstorms, but the potential for damaging tornadoes and large hail. Potential for an extreme weather outbreak here the next 48 hours. We will keep you posted on that front as we go through time.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right, Rob. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Iran right now, says that he believes Iran's nuclear ambitions are peaceful. Putin was meeting with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a news conference about an hour ago. Putin appeared to issue a veiled threat at the United States.
Zain Verjee is monitoring Putin's trip from the State Department. She joins us now.
Zain, what was this veiled threat that Putin issued?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, in a press conference just a short while ago, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, essentially said this: he warned the U.S. not to use any former Soviet Republic to stage any kind of missile attack against Iran.
Now, this is significant, because as you know, the U.S. and Russia have really been butting heads over a U.S. plan to push forward with a missile defense shield it wants to put in Poland and the Czech Republic, which is kind of in Russia's back yard. So Russia feels that security is being threatened by this.
Now, the U.S. is saying that it wants to push ahead with that plan in order to counter any missile threat with Iran. So that's why Putin is saying this. And the U.S. isn't going to like it -- John.
ROBERTS: If Putin, as we said, believes that Iran's nuclear intentions are peaceful, what does that say for the U.S. and the White House's desire to get him on board with new tough sanctions against Iran?
VERJEE: Well, that, again, is in direct opposition to what the U.S. says. The U.S. is saying Iran is not after any kind of peaceful program to generate electricity. What they want is a nuclear weapon.
So they've been issuing up a lot of -- they've been gearing up the international community to put sanctions on Iran. They want to go for round three of sanctions on Iran.
Now, the Russians are saying we don't really want this, let's give Iran a little bit of time, let's negotiate. So they're skeptical about this.
Now, the Russians, John, as you know, have a lot of business interests as well in Iran.
ROBERTS: Yes.
VERJEE: So this trip by Putin is not going to make the U.S. very happy either, because they want to isolate Iran. And what Putin is doing is breaking that isolation and showing that he is important, he's a player, and so is Iran.
ROBERTS: And of course, one of those business interests is that Russia is helping the Iranians build that nuclear reactor at Bushehr.
VERJEE: That's right.
ROBERTS: Zain Verjee for us this morning at the State Department.
Zain, thanks very much.
Also this morning, the personal appeal from Idaho senator Larry Craig. He is speaking out about his job and the personal fallout from that incident in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: Idahoans have taken a heck of a beating here. I'm Idaho's -- one of Idaho's senators and I'm very proud of that. And they've taken a heck of a beating and, for that, I'm embarrassed. I'm regretful that it happened, but it has happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And he is still resisting the notion of stepping down, saying that he has said that he is not going to run for reelection, so why shouldn't he stay? Craig's wife Suzanne, by the way, sat beside her husband during the entire 70-minute interview to CNN Affiliate KTVB. Just yesterday, the senator opened what could be a new legal battle by filing an appeal to remove his guilty plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG: It is an important next step. We don't know what the appellate court will say to us or to me. You know, I could honestly say appeals courts tend to defend the courts below them.
At the same time, my attorneys think we do have some solid arguments that must be made. And we're going to make them.
It is my right to do what I'm doing. I've already provided for Idaho certainty that I think Idaho needed. I'm not running for reelection. That's already started the next political cycle in Idaho, so I'm no longer in the way. I'm no longer blocking the political process of Idaho, but I am pursuing my constitutional rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Craig also discussed his relationship or lack thereof with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Craig was once Romney's Senate liaison. Romney called the bathroom incident disgusting the day after it became public and urged Craig to resign. Craig says, "Not only did Romney throw me under his campaign bus, but he backed it up and ran over me again."
Another Republican is leaving Congress. "Texas Monthly" magazine says Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will not seek reelection, may run for governor. In all, 17 members of the GOP have announced that they will not run for reelection.
It's an all-time high price for oil. The price for a barrel opens this morning above $86. Why? OPEC says crude production in some countries is falling even as global demand for oil is rising.
So we want to know what you think about all of this. Will rising oil prices force you to cut back on spending on other items?
Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. Right now, 88 percent of you say, yes, it will affect you, 12 percent say no.
We'll continue to update the poll results throughout the morning. We'll have a final tally for you in about 50 minutes' time -- Kiran.
CHETRY: More drama for Britney Spears. She turned herself into Los Angeles police overnight to face charges.
Stemming from an August 6th fender-bender, it was caught right on camera by Celeb TV. Spears was booked on misdemeanor counts of hit and run and driving without a valid California license. Each count carries a potential sentence of six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.
Well, for the first time in its 15-year franchise history, the Colorado Rockies are headed to the World Series. They beat the Arizona Diamondbacks last night in Denver. They swept the National League championship series and they now wait for the winner of the Red Sox/Indians American League series to see who they will play in the World Series.
ROBERTS: It's a simple five-minute eye exam, but a new study says it could play a big role in the early detection of multiple sclerosis.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay gupta, is in Atlanta with more on this.
Hey, you've got me intrigued.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, this caught our eye as well, John, talking about multiple sclerosis and a simple eye test.
A lot of people will ask, well, what is the connection here? A couple of things to keep in mind.
First of all, blurriness of vision can be one of the earliest signs of someone who has M.S. A young person suddenly develops some blurriness of vision. Doctors will think about of M.S. as a possible diagnosis.
Also, if you think about the eye, it's the only real way to sort of look into the brain itself and sort of look into the brain and get a sense of what it might look like. We've got some images I think I want to show you here, John, of what this might look like, a simple test actually looking to the back of the eye. And you can actually look at the optic nerve.
We have those -- OK. Here is an example of what it might look like.
Take a look at these two images. You see sort of -- this may not look that different to you, John, but stick with me here for a second. You have optic nerve sort of on both sides over here.
I keep losing my image. Sorry.
If you look to the right there, those ort of greenish images -- I'm sorry. We're losing our images here. But if you look to the right, you see those greenish images.
You see on the top one there, it looks a little thicker, that orange/greenish sort of area. That's thicker than the bottom area, which is much thinner. That thinner area is basically indicative if there is some disease there to the optic nerve. And that gives doctors a clue that there might be something going on there that could actually give them a clue that M.S. might be something that is either developing or they might be at risk for.
Again, if there is a family history, if someone is having some symptoms, actually getting that simple test, looking at the thickness of those fibers there, might give people an idea -- John.
ROBERTS: The thickness of fibers then would be a marker of early degeneration of the optic nerve. I mean, M.S. attacks the nerves.
How different is this from other ways that we test for M.S.?
GUPTA: Well, you know, first of all, someone may have a likelihood of developing M.S., or they might have some symptoms. So, it's going to be clinical sort of things first.
The doctor will ask about all sorts of different risk factors, but also this idea that they have this blurriness of vision, it's a real sort of early precursor. And that might prompt what's known as an MRI scan...
ROBERTS: Right.
GUPTA: ... looking for inflammatory plaques in the brain.
But what you're looking at right there, John, is something known as Optical Coherence Tomography. You've probably seen this sort of test before. They use it to test for glaucoma, but that's the exact sort of test that they would use as well. And some, if they're suspicious, might have M.S.
You're basically just looking in the back of the eye, looking at that optic nerve and measuring the thickness, if you will, of those optic nerve fibers to see if there is any degeneration.
ROBERTS: So how soon might this be a widely accepted form of early diagnosis?
GUPTA: Well, you know, the thing is that the test is already out there. The question is the application of the test.
And, you know, doctors say -- this was a small study, but doctors say over the next couple of years they will be able to say for sure that it's a good test for detecting early M.S. and that it can be more widely used. But until then, there are some -- again, some risk factors or some things to look out for people who might be concerned about M.S. That blurriness of vision is one of them, but also heat intolerance, mood swings, fatigue.
These sorts of things, while they may seem sort of vague, if you're developing a constellation of symptoms and you didn't have them otherwise, talk to your doctor about it. It could be some early signs of M.S.
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff this morning.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: And don't forget Sanjay's mailbag, coming up on Thursday here on AMERICAN MORNING. Get your questions in to us -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Coming up at the top, a Republican in the House says it's all wrong the way Congress is going at the children's health insurance plan. We're going to be talking to John Boehner live coming up in just a moment.
Also, what was it like inside the Cleveland high school where a 14-year-old opened fire on teachers and students? This morning, a teacher tells us what the teen said to him seconds before pulling the trigger.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: President Bush meets with the Dalai Lama today. The Tibetan leader will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in a public ceremony tomorrow.
China not happy about that, saying the meeting and the ceremony will hurt ties between China and the U.S. A State Department official says China has already pulled out of a strategy session that was planned for tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Health insurance for children is the focus of a political dogfight this week. House Democrats are trying to drum up enough votes to override President Bush's veto of SCHIP. That's the State Children's Health Insurance Program. That vote is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
Democrats want to increase spending on the program by $35 billion over five years. President Bush wants a $5 billion increase over the same time period, but says he might be willing to go higher.
Joining me now from Washington is the House minority leader, John Boehner of Ohio.
Good to see you, Congressman.
Where are we headed on this SCHIP debate? Do the Democrats -- will they by Thursday have enough votes for override the veto in the House?
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: They will not have the votes to override the veto. We will sustain the president's veto.
John, Republicans and Democrats came together 10 years ago to create the Children's Health Insurance Program to help low-income children, really children of the working of the poor who didn't have access, to get health insurance. ROBERTS: Right. So...
BOEHNER: We want to reauthorize this program, but we think the poor kids ought to come first.
ROBERTS: OK.
BOEHNER: There are 500,000 kids in America who are eligible for this program who have not been signed up. Yet, there are some 700,000 adults who already are on the program. And our point is, let's go do the poor kids first, because in states like Minnesota, 87 percent of the people on the Children's Health Insurance Program are adults.
ROBERTS: Right.
BOEHNER: Sixty-six percent in Wisconsin.
ROBERTS: You're in a bit of a difficult spot on this, because some new polling -- an ABC News-"Washington Post" poll shows that 72 percent of Americans are in favor of increasing the program in the same way that the Democrats are. And -- but then you've got other polls that show 52 percent think that people should be covered.
Two hundred percent of the poverty level, only 40 percent think it should be 300 percent, which the Democrats are proposing. But they're really kind of beating you with a rubber hose on this.
Let's take a quick look at this ad that is out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George Bush and his backers would rather send half a trillion to Iraq than spend a fraction of that here to keep our kids healthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Congressman, are Republicans on the wrong side of this issue?
BOEHNER: Listen, we didn't pick this fight. It was the Democrats who picked it. If you go back two weeks ago, when the president vetoed this bill -- and he told the Democrats up front that he would veto it if they proceed down that path -- we could have had this override vote two weeks ago, we could have sat down and resolved our differences and reauthorized this law.
Republicans and Democrats both want to reauthorize this law. We could work out our differences, but they delayed than override vote for two weeks to try to score political points. That's not what the American people want from us.
ROBERTS: So where do you think the compromise lies here in terms of dollars?
BOEHNER: I think there's a way to insure poor children first, to make sure that they are covered before we get into expanding this program into adults.
ROBERTS: I wanted to switch gears a little bit here. This Armenia resolution on the genocide that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vows to bring to a full vote there in the House, we understand from a very senior U.S. military official just today that the U.S. military has now issued a "warning order" to be prepared to execute alternatives to the Incirlik Air Base if access to that base is cut off by Turkey. Turkey is threatening retaliation if the House go ahead and votes on this.
What is your view of this whole thing?
BOEHNER: Well, there is no question that the suffering of the Armenian people some 90 years ago was tragic, but we ought to let historians solve this 90-year-old problem, not politicians here in Washington. And I think bringing this to the floor at this time is -- it may be the most irresponsible thing I've seen this year here in Congress.
Turkey has been a valuable ally in our war against the terrorists. They're in a strategic location in the world. And for politicians in Washington to try to decide whether this was a genocide or just tragic suffering, I think, is meaningless. It should not be brought to the floor and the speaker should make sure it does not come to the floor.
ROBERTS: Is there any way, quickly, Congressman, that you can block this if she does indeed seem intent on bringing this to a full vote?
BOEHNER: Oh, there are options available to us. I would hope that we would not have to do that. I think bringing this bill out of committee in and of itself has been a difficult blow to our friends over in the Turkish isles.
ROBERTS: The House minority leader, Congressman John Boehner.
Thanks for being with us this morning. Hope you reach a compromise in this SCHIP thing, because certainly the children are preeminent of importance in this country.
BOEHNER: I hope we can, too.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it. Thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" airs weeknights, 10:00 Eastern. Here's Anderson now with a look ant what is on his program tonight -- Anderson.
All right. Well, maybe we'll hear from him a little bit later. Hear from him, not just see him.
He looks great in HD, though, doesn't he?
ROBERTS: There was a lot more to that program than might seem to have been indicated right there. CHETRY: Well, a New York commuter -- railroad commuter is on a one-man mission to punish rude passengers. He rides the Long Island railroad in every single day and he's taking it upon himself to quiet the yappers on the cell phones or people he think are talking too loud amongst themselves.
Is he part of the solution or part of the problem? Two very different takes on this. And we're going to be talking with our AMERICAN MORNING legal contributor, Sunny Hostin all about it coming up.
Ever wonder what your work day is going to look like in the future? Bill Gates shares his ideas with Ali Velshi.
That's up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: So, just so that you suddenly don't get confused, I've got to take off and be part of a political panel. So I will leave things in your capable hands.
CHETRY: We'll miss you.
ROBERTS: Don't crash the cart.
CHETRY: I'll be joining you in 45 minutes, actually.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see you then.
CHETRY: So he gets the head start, which means he gets all of the good food, Ali.
You know how it goes at those breakfasts.
ROBERTS: I'll save you a plate, all right? How about that?
See you guys tomorrow.
CHETRY: Bye. Is it something I said? Oh, no, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's all good. I'll keep the seat warm for you.
CHETRY: You couldn't -- he couldn't even leave. The wind couldn't even stop blowing and he he's taking over.
VELSHI: I'm no John Roberts, but that kind of...
CHETRY: It feels good, doesn't it?
VELSHI: Yes. I'm so fired from doing this, by the way.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: His chair -- your chair is, you know, just a hard... VELSHI: My chair is over there.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: Want to talk business?
CHETRY: Yes, absolutely.
VELSHI: All right. Well...
CHETRY: You look so strange from this side.
VELSHI: You're seeing a whole side of me you're not used to seeing.
I want to talk to you about technology, actually.
The people who have been working on the technology that you use every day say that the future of your job and your work involves connecting people the way they want to be connected, when they want to be connected. I talked to Bill Gates the other day about what he thought the future of the worker was going to look like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL GATES, CHAIRMAN, MICROSOFT: They'll have a tablet (ph) device that they'll take with them in the meetings. It will be (INAUDIBLE) reading off of it, taking notes on it. It will be very simple.
As they get back to their desk, they'll have a much bigger display surface than they have today. You can look and glance at more information. The information that they care about will be represented in rich, new ways, and they can navigate in and see more details.
VELSHI: What do you honestly believe the saving to people's time and effectiveness is going to be by having this unified communication, by always being able to reach someone or knowing when to reach them?
GATES: Well, what happens is the economy becomes more effective, and so the products get better, you know? Will we discover breakthrough new drugs? Yes, by using these approaches, we will.
We will be able to make safer products, safer cars by using these designs and these tools. And so the benefits all go to the people who are buying the products, because companies are working more effectively. The employees are sharing information, catching the trends, responding to demands in a much better way.
VELSHI: Is this going keep Microsoft in the forefront? Because some folks think that you have got to run harder than you used to have to because of everything that's out there. Is that a good thing that you actually do have to run harder to keep your lead?
VELSHI: Well, we've always had to run extremely hard. It's one of the most competitive businesses there is. We're making breakthroughs all the time. That's why it's so much fun, because, you know, we're not resting our laurels, but rather we're pursuing the vision for software that we had from the beginning. And we're not even near to the distance we can take software.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: And Microsoft is unveiling its version of the software of the future today. You can find out more about it and how it's probably going to affect your future on money.com -- cnnmoney.com.
We will have that interview and other details about, you know, what they think is going to be the way in which you work.
CHETRY: So does this -- do we all just sort of come along with the technology? I mean, does the actual outlook change to...
VELSHI: Yes, you will. It will change.
You know, there are about 500,000 people who use Microsoft Office, and Microsoft says that within three years they are expecting 100 million people to be using this new method of communication. And it's not just a Microsoft thing. It's sort of all of technology, but Microsoft is unveiling it today, and that's going to bring a lot of people into the mold.
CHETRY: Wow.
All right. Ali, Ali -- oh, wait, sorry. Ali, thank you.
VELSHI: It's been fun being here.
CHETRY: John Roberts is so mad right now. You better get out of his chair before he comes back.
Meantime, that story and much more coming up when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Tuesday, October 16th. I'm Kiran Chetry. John Roberts had to take off a little bit early on assignment.
Here's a look right now on what is new this morning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in Iran right now for a historic meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They spoke to the press earlier today. President Putin insisted that Iran's nuclear facilities are for peaceful purposes and warned the U.S. not to use a former Soviet Republic to stage an attack on Iran.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is also in the Middle East this morning. She's in Egypt meeting with President Hosni Mubarak. Some shuttle diplomacy going on there. Secretary Rice is trying to make some progress with the Israelis and Palestinians ahead of a peace conference that's going to take place next month. Police may be closer and closer to closing in on a suspected pedophile this morning. Interpol, the International Police Organization, asked for the public's help to find the man. His image was scramble but using technology, they were able to unswirl it and reveal it, putting it on out on web pages all over the world. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Interpol told us that they have tracked the suspect now and narrowed him down to Bangkok.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
ANDERS PERSSON, SPECIALIZED OFFICER, INTERPOL (on the phone): I can confirm that we know who the man, who is called Vico, if and that was through information from the public who responded on our request for help.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, they're calling the suspect Vico, that's a combination of Vietnam and Cambodia because hundreds of pictures of him abusing children in those countries were posted online.
School is back open at the high school in Cleveland where a 14- year-old student went on a shooting rampage last week. And for the first time, we're hearing from one of the teachers who was shot, Michael Grassie, hit in the stomach with a bullet. He left the hospital yesterday and talked about being shot by Asa Coon. The same student that he had scolded a week earlier for talking too much. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GRASSIE, WOUNDED TEACHER: Another teacher came into my room and said, I think there's somebody here with a gun. Can you get your storage room open? Which is where we're supposed to go in a code blue. And I was trying to get my storage room open when Asa Coon came into my classroom, and I backed away from him, away from my storage room, behind some tables. And he was about ten feet away from me, and he was -- I don't know what he was saying. He just, he stood there, and he had his hands up like this with a gun in each hand. And he said, now what have you got to say to me? And then he just shot me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, after that Coon then took his own life. He also shot two students and another teacher before turning the guns on himself. All of the victims are now out of the hospital. Teacher Michael Grassie says that the school should have had a metal detector or security guard.
In our terror watch this morning, real time terror drill are designed to see how well the government will respond to an actual attack involving weapons of mass destruction and they're going on right now. They cost millions of dollars and some are wondering whether or not we learn valuable lessons from them. Jeanne Meserve is live in Portland, Oregon, where one of the drills will be taking place later today. Hi, Jeanne. JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on-screen): Hi Kiran. When all is said and done, 25 million of your taxpayer dollars will be spent on this exercise called Top Off Four. That includes two years of planning and preparation. The actual physical exercise this week and the follow-up report that is supposed to help the entire nation better prepare for a terrorist attack. But some critics are wondering if you are getting your money's worth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): One critic compares the top-off exercises to a highly choreographed Japanese kabuki dance.
MIKE HOPMEIER, UNCONVENTIONAL CONCEPTS, INC.: Everything is detailed, scripted, know well in advance what will occur, and people simply step through the motions. There is no way to learn anything because people aren't supposed to make mistakes.
MESERVE: The fumbled federal response to Hurricane Katrina proved, the critic say, that lessons are not being learned and implemented. The storm hit after three multi-million dollar top-off exercises. The last top-off was held in 2005. Some members of Congress are irate that two years later, the report laying out weaknesses in preparations, response, and recovery has not been shared with all 50 states and their local governments, who will be the first line responders in the next real emergency.
REP. BERNIE THOMPSON: Our state and locals are not the enemy. They are our friend. They are our partners in this effort.
MESERVE: Federal officials say those after-action reports expose too many vulnerabilities to be made public, but they insist the problems revealed by top-off are being incorporated into federal disaster planning.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: If you don't exercise, if you're a football team and you never actually play a scrimmage game, you're never going to know what's working and what's not working.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Top-off is short for top officials. And experts say it's very important for policymakers to be involved in the exercise. CNN has learned that the secretary of homeland security and health and human services and the commander of Northcom will be playing to some degree but Fema, that is running the exercise, wouldn't provide us with a full list of the participants. Back to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Jeanne Meserve, live for us in Portland where as you said one of the drills is taking place today. Thank you.
A wild shootout caught on tape in Charleston, South Carolina. A panicked witness, actually many of them actually called 911. All of it involved an off-duty police officer who is also a candidate for mayor. It began at the El Cheapo Gas Station. Surveillance video shows Officer Omar Brown reaching around a man to grab items off the counter. Well, apparently that man took offense to it. Brown left the store. The man followed. And then he can be seen on the tape rushing to his car. This is when prosecutors say he walked to Brown's car and with his hand hidden behind his back. Brown got out of the car, started shooting and at least six people called 911.
(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)
CALLER: Yes ma'am. This is Freddie Robinson. I'm at Dolchester Road across from the bus station at the El Cheapo. There was a bunch of shots just fired here. There was a black guy running around. And somebody's hooting the hell out of him.
(END AUDIOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, the man Antonio Rivers was shot several times in the back trying to get away. He survived. He was later charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, as well as gun possession. Officer Brown was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. The prosecutor is saying that Brown acted appropriately, trying to protect himself.
A security alert this morning for thousands of truckers. The Transportation Security Administration saying that two of its laptops were recently stolen from cars belonging to separate contractors. The computers contain the names and social security numbers of 3,900 truckers who were applying for hazardous materials licenses. The drivers have been notified and will be offered a year of free credit checks.
Sexual activity it turns out may be good for the heart for some patients. We're paging Dr. Gupta with more on the subject. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I'm a bit of a prude, Kiran but this is an important topic, talking about sexual activity and people who have heart disease. It's a question they ask often of their doctors. When is it safe and when is it not? We'll have some answers for you, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: 41 minutes past the hour now. Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather for us today. And boy, we certainly have had a lot to talk about with all of the rain that we saw in some parts of the Midwest and then the extreme drought in the southeast. Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi there, Kiran. Now, that rainfall across Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas now it's heading into parts of Indiana and Michigan but kind of losing its punch east of Indianapolis and through Grand Rapids and South Bend, Indiana getting a little bit of it this but it's kind of heading into Canada and taking most of its energy with it. A little bit of energy, a little bit of moisture down across the Florida panhandle. This is kind of falling apart but not really getting to where we need it to go. Brighter colors here indicate the rainfall over the next 48 hours, where you see blue and brown that's little, if any rainfall and that is the area where we need it the most. So, the drought continues in some spots more than extreme.
So, here is your storm from yesterday. Losing its punch. One, two fronts coming into the west coast. They will combine tonight over the Rockies and then tomorrow exit into the plains, tap moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and this looks to be a pretty decent severe weather event over the next couple of days. Tornadoes, could be large winds, large and damaging hail a potential as well for Wednesday and Thursday. We are now getting into the secondary severe weather season. We have in the spring and we also get it this time of the year as we head towards the middle of fall. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Rob.
Perhaps you could call it sexual healing, there is some new information suggesting that sexual activity may not be a bad idea for heart patients. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, in Atlanta.
And you said you were a little bit of a prude and you didn't want to talk about this but for a lot of people who have had a heart attack, I think the conventional wisdom is you're putting your life at risk if you engage in anything that's too strenuous including sexual activity.
GUPTA: You're absolutely right, Kiran. A lot of people talk about this specifically and talk about a lot of anxiety surrounding this issue. Patients asking their doctors about it, and to be clear there hasn't been a lot of data actually studying this. But there's now a new study looking at the last ten years of heart failure patients and trying to figure out just how safe it is to have sex. There is about 5 million people first of all that have some degree of heart failure and they actually looked at all sorts of different activities and tried to figure out how much of a threat it was to their heart.
Take a look at this. Specifically regarding sex, they said that for most people, sexual intercourse, this is their description, not mine, is similar to climbing stairs slowly or vacuuming the house. Something that most people with heart failure should be able to do. Of the 5 million patients out there that have heart failure at any given point, 4 million of them fall into this lower or medium risk category where sex shouldn't be a risk factor for them. Kiran.
CHETRY: It's really interesting. So, you know, what is your recommendation when a patient comes to you and would talk to you about something like this?
GUPTA: Well, I think you need to be real candid with them about what is allowable and what is not allowable. There are different types of activities, which certainly people will be at higher risk for. But you know, frankly, sex is something a lot of patients don't talk to their doctors about. So, if you talk to your doctor about it, you now have some actual data out here to say for the vast majority of people, about 80% of people it is perfectly fine.
Now, there's going to be a subpopulation of people that are going to be at higher risk. If you have heart disease in addition to something known as pulmonary hypertension which just means you have too much pressure in your lungs as well, you might be at higher risk so definitely talk to your doctor about this. But I think, Kiran, the message here is that this good news for the vast majority of people out there who ever worried about this.
CHETRY: And any other taboo that people are talking about more and more, of course, Viagra or other things for ED as they call it. What about, how does that factor in if you have heart trouble?
GUPTA: Well, you know, what's so interesting about that. It might be the exact opposite of what you think. First of all, Viagra, you may not know this, but it was actually sort of developed as a medication to try and treat heart disease. It actually opens up some of the blood vessels in the heart, which might sound like a good thing for someone with heart failure. The problem is a lot of people who do have heart failure will also take a medication known as nitroglycerin, which does the exact same thing. So, what happens is people who take both medications could actually get a significant drop in their blood pressure and have serious problems. So probably not the best idea unless you're talking to your doctor about which of those medications is safer to take. Kiran.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Good topic. Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Great to see you, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: By the way, if you have a question for Sanjay, e-mail us CNN.com/am. Sanjay answers all of your questions on Thursdays on AMERICAN MORNING.
CNN NEWSROOM is just minutes away and Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning. On the NEWSROOM rundown this morning, we're going to be talking more about the child rape suspect that has been arrested. What is next for Chester Stiles? Las Vegas police say he taped himself sexually assaulting a 3-year-old child.
Congress taking a look at the racially charged incident at Jena high school in Louisiana. We'll be talking live shortly with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
And the Colorado Rockies are mile high this morning. The glass slipper fits too. Cinderella heads to the World Series. It's their first show. Breaking news when it happens here in the NEWSROOM, top of the hour on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: Heidi, thanks. Well, the bison return to Yellowstone. That tops your "Quick Hits" now. There is a lot of excitement about this. The bison population in Yellowstone National Park rebounded to near record levels following a disease outbreak in 2005 that really threatened them. Park officials have flown over the park. They counted about 4,700 bison, that's up by about a thousand since last year.
And some very old bones are actually a new dinosaur species uncovered in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Scientists think this animal was 105 feet long and the neck alone 56 feet long and that it roamed the earth some 88 million years ago and was a vegetarian.
We all know that rude passengers could ruin a commute. Well, now one man is out to fight them. Is he helping or making the problem bigger? It depends on who you talk to, but are there legal concerns as well? Our legal contributor Sonny Hostin weighs in ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK
CHETRY: Well, as many of you know, the daily commute can be a headache and one ex-cop is now making it his mission to stop the annoyances at least on his particular train. John Clifford writing his own set of rules when it comes to finding peace on his ride to work. He takes the Long Island railroad in the Penn station. While from pouring coffee on someone to actually interrupting cell phone conversations when he felt people were yapping too loudly.
The Long Island Railroad says that these actions will not be tolerated but so far he has been getting away with it and leaving some other commuters cowering in fear when he's around. So, when can the average person take justice into their own hands? AMERICAN MORNING's legal contributor Sunny Hostin joins us now. This guy is quite a character. I don't know if I would like to be riding next to him. We all sympathize hearing people screaming on their cell phones or just being rude when you have to commute but this guy is actually been arrested nearly ten times.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
CHETRY: For doing various things.
HOSTIN: He has and he was actually fired from his previous position because they thought he was unstable. I have to say, for me, what he is doing is what you should not do. It's a prime example of what you should not do. This concept of citizen's arrest has been around forever. While you can do it as a citizen, when you're witnessing a felony, not a misdemeanor, but a felony, it really is very, very difficult to discern when there is a felony and when there is a misdemeanor. I did some research, of course. In certain jurisdictions, the game rules change.
For example, in Tennessee, if you make that arrest, and it turns out that you didn't have the facts were insufficient to support it, you're safe. In other jurisdictions like Massachusetts, if you make a citizen's arrest and someone is acquitted, the arrestee can then sue you for false arrest or false imprisonment. So, you're opening up the door for legal action against you. I would say bottom line is call the police if you see something is happening.
CHETRY: The other interesting thing though is he has taken it upon himself in some of these instances actually pouring coffee on a woman saying she deserved it and throwing an egg sandwich on someone. So, he's gotten physical.
HOSTIN: Those are assaults.
CHETRY: However, none of these charges have actually stuck because every time he appears in court, the victim doesn't and so they're dropped.
HOSTIN: Well, you know, a lot of times we live in New York. I'm a New Yorker, a native New Yorker. You're just used to it. You're used to someone yelling at you on the train and it's sad but that doesn't mean what he is doing is appropriate. If you throw coffee on someone that could be an assault so the fact that someone doesn't show up doesn't mean what he's going is appropriate. In fact, I would think it's illegal.
CHETRY: Yes. I think, he's gotten a lot of attention. So maybe he will leave that caller alone.
(crosstalk)
HOSTIN: Hopefully he'll just stopped.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly, before he gets himself in some more trouble. But let me ask you about this O.J. Simpson. We have two of O.J. Simpson's co-defendants in the alleged armed robbery of the sports memorabilia situation in a Vegas hotel room. Both of them agreeing to plea deals, one of them is expected to testify that there were guns used. How is all of this going to factor into O.J.'s defense?
HOSTIN: it really does factor. What the prosecution is doing is sort of putting all of their ducks in a line. When you have someone pleading, that means that person is a cooperating witness and that's what the prosecution wants. Now you have someone that can testify to exactly what happened. We hear that Charles Cashmore is going to testify that guns were involved. For O.J. that means something very, very distinct. That means that he is now looking at armed robbery charges with more time in prison. And the other person is also going to testify that there were armed people, there were guns there.
CHETRY: So, even if O.J. wasn't holding the gun himself, even if they testify that it wasn't him holding the gun?
HOSTIN: Exactly, we're talking about conspiracy to commit armed robbery. This is not a good turn of events for O.J. and the remaining defendants.
CHETRY: We'll see how his legal team handles that. Sunny Hostin, great to see you as always. AMERICAN MORNING legal contributor, thanks.
HOSTIN: Thank you. And we're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, Anderson Cooper did a little bit of double duty last night and we want to show this one to you real quick. Actually, he did his show, as usual, and also appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Anderson and Conan swapped stories about the horrors of going high-def. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER: You never notice. Like I learned I have a little fatty deposit under my left eye. And I didn't really know. Someone told me this.
CONAN O'BRIEN, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN:" You didn't notice this before until shooting in HD?
COOPER: You have this big huge picture of me on a projection screen and he gave me a mirror and said what do you see? And I said, well, I'm here for this little fatty deposit. And he goes, well yes there is that and I was like, what else is there? He had this whole litany of things that I could have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Anderson also promoted his special worldwide documentary "Planet in Peril." That, by the way, is going to be premiering a week from tonight. A worldwide investigation on the earth's environmental issues. "Planet in Peril" will be debuting October 23rd, 9:00 p.m., right here on CNN.
Here's a quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
COLLINS: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A 3-year-old sexually assaulted on videotape. Now a traffic stop leads to a big break in the case.
The Jena 6 case. The subject of a Capitol Hill hearing this morning.
Flooding hits Texas again.
A record-breaking shark haul.
And Britney Spears booked in this hit and run fender bender. NEWSROOM top of the hour, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, we've been talking about the record high oil prices up to $86 a barrel and rising. And we wanted to ask you, will rising oil prices force you to cut back on spending. And many of you cast your vote for us at cnn.com/am. So, here's the final tally. 87% saying yes, you will cut back because of rising oil prices and 13% saying no.
And before we go, here's one shot we want to show you again. Earlier we talked to Ryan Patricio. He just set a world record for the fastest time in solving the Rubik's cube one-handed. It was a big competition that took place in Budapest, Hungary, the home of the man who invented the Rubik's Cube. We put him to the test on the show and he certainly proved he's the real deal. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIO: Timer?
CHETRY: In 3-2-1.
ROBERTS: I couldn't even move it like that.
PATRICIO: Done.
CHETRY: All right. 25 seconds on the nose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There he was, Rubik's cube champion, Ryan Patricio. Congratulations.
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