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Stranded Cruise Ship: Coast Guard Rescue Under Way; Dangerous Toy: Date Rape Drug When Swallowed; The Case Against O.J. Simpson
Aired November 08, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on Thursday morning. It's November 8th.
Here is what's on the rundown.
Rescue happening right now. A small cruise ship taking on water off Virginia. The Coast Guard on the scene.
HARRIS: A toy maker connects the dots. Arts and crafts beads recalled. They could put your child in a coma, if swallowed.
COLLINS: Hugs at school earn a student a two-day timeout.
Embraceable you, in the NEWSROOM.
Breaking news this hour to tell you about. A small cruise ship stranded and taking on water. A Coast Guard rescue under way at we special speak.
The ship ran into trouble in the Intercoastal Waterway in Virginia Beach. You see it there now, a live shot for you. The Coast Guard says there are 66 people on board and evacuations will begin soon.
The ship is the Spirit of Nantucket. It was on a 10-day cruise between Alexandria, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina.
We want to get the very latest now.
Joining us on the phone is Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris Evanson.
Thanks so much for being with us, Officer.
Tell us what we're looking at here. I'm not sure if you can see the picture, but we see a couple of rescue boats coming up on this ship. PETTY OFC. CHRIS EVANSON, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, what you see right now, you see the de-watering operations going on in the vessel right now. We have Coast Guard assets from Coast Guard stations Elizabeth City, Portsmouth, Virginia, as well as local assets from the Virginia Beach Police Department. We're going to be disembarking all the passengers on board this vessel and take them to a nearby ferry landing away from the vessel.
COLLINS: Anything you can tell us about who owns this ship or what you know about the company?
EVANSON: The only thing I know about the company, it's a Seattle-based company and they were on a 10-day cruise from Alexandria, Virginia, to Charleston, South Carolina. Now, the Coast Guard was notified shortly after 6:00 a.m. that this vessel had run aground and had began taking on water. We've been responding since then, and right now our number one priority is to ensure the safety and security of everyone on board. And we're going to take them ashore as soon as we can.
COLLINS: Yes. And maybe put it in perspective for us a little bit, if you could. When you see a ship this size run aground, I don't know, you kind of think about maybe weather issues or navigational problems or something.
Any idea at this point to how it could have happened?
EVANSON: Well, I can't speculate on how the ship began taking on water. There's going to be a thorough investigation into that. But the most important mission for us right now is to ensure the safety and security of the members on board, and we're going to disembark everyone on board and take them ashore.
COLLINS: OK. Is 66 people quite a few people to evacuate? How exactly will that take place?
EVANSON: There will be an investigation conducted shortly after everyone is off the vessel.
COLLINS: Right. But how will they go about getting them off the vessel safely?
EVANSON: Oh, we're going to disembark them from -- using a ladder on board the main ship, or we're going to put them on small boats and take them to a nearby ferry landing.
COLLINS: OK. Several different dinghies that we're looking at here that will be taking them off.
Where will they go exactly did you say? I'm trying to look at sort of the landscape around there. It looks very -- it looks like swampland.
EVANSON: Yes, ma'am. The Pungo region is kind of a country region of Virginia Beach. But there's the Pungo Ferry Landing that's nearby. They have a ferry that departs there each and every day. We're going to take them on the scene where medical personnel will be there to evaluate if there is anybody seeking that, but they will be safe and sound once we deliver them there.
COLLINS: OK. I assume you're in constant contact with the people who are running that operation and then also with the ship's captain.
Anybody complaining of any medical issues?
EVANSON: We have no reports of any injuries thus far.
COLLINS: OK. Very good.
We appreciate the update very much. Petty Officer Evanson, thanks again.
EVANSON: Thank you.
HARRIS: Also, developing this hour, Wall Street and your wallet. The opening bell less than 30 minutes away now. We will watch which way the markets go after the Dow's 360-point plunge yesterday.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Another toy recall. Stores are pulling Aqua Dots from their shelves today. And get the reason -- they're coated in a chemical that converts to the date rape drug, Rohypnol. Remember that? Children swallowing the beads can fall into a coma or even worse.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is here now with more on this.
Boy, oh, boy. I mean, this is shocking.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is about as strange as they come, I think.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Talking about the particular chemical on these dots which, by the way, are like one of the most popular toys apparently this holiday season...
COLLINS: Really?
GUPTA: ... for children over the age of 4, which in and of itself is part of the problem here, because children around the age of 2 actually swallow these dots. They get into their system and they appear to be -- metabolize, as you say, into GHB, gamma hydroxyl butyrate, the date rape drug, Fantasy, all these names given to it. This is potentially dangerous stuff, especially with a small child.
We know now, Heidi, about two cases here in the United States. One child actually ingested a dozen of these beads, got lightheaded, threw them up, and then fell into a coma. So obviously very dangerous. That child fully recovered.
Another child was hospitalized for five days. And we're still waiting for some updates on that child's progress. Three children in Australia also affected by this.
GHB is a substance, Heidi, that in low doses can cause euphoria. It's an illicit drug. But in higher doses it can cause something known as hypotonia, where all your muscles just become flaccid. It can also cause amnesia, which is why it was the date rape drug. People didn't remember anything that was about to happen to them.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: But it can also cause comas, seizures and death. We haven't heard of any deaths specifically related to these Aqua Dots, but this is -- this is a bizarre story.
COLLINS: Well, I'm just a little confused because I'm not familiar with these. And I have a guy who is, you know, 6.
GUPTA: Right.
COLLINS: So he is over that 4 that you're talking about. They're not little candies, right? They're beads that you're supposed to play with?
GUPTA: You're supposed to play with them.
COLLINS: They look very edible.
GUPTA: They look edible. And that's why -- you know, I have a 2-year-old, and this is something she would put in her mouth. So this is not something that -- you know, that's a problem in and of itself.
It's designed for children over the age of 4, but you spray a little water on them and you can actually build things for them. They are for people to build things. It's a very good toy. It's a creative sort of toy for a lot of kids.
COLLINS: Dexterity.
GUPTA: Yes. But the problem is that they're swallowing them and this particular chemical is getting converted into the date rape drug.
COLLINS: That's so weird. How could something like that happen?
GUPTA: Well, it appears to be completely unintentional, first of all. I mean, a lot of people said, was this some sort of sick thing somebody did? That doesn't appear to be the case.
An Australian biochemist has actually been studying this and found that this particular chemical that's coated on these dots, if you get it into your system, it gets converted into GHB. It's bizarre, like we say. It's just something -- it's even hard to anticipate. Obviously those toys are no longer on the shelves.
HARRIS: Boy.
COLLINS: Some sort of weird chemical property. And important to point out, too, because some of these things that we've seen recalled are still on store shelves. So be careful if it's still there. It doesn't mean it's OK.
GUPTA: Very good point. Aqua Dots in the United States, Bindeez Beads is what they are called in Australia.
So pay attention to that.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. Wow. Crazy.
Thank you so much.
CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Thanks.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Happening right now, a small cruise ship stranded and taking on water. A Coast Guard rescue is actually under way as we speak. Want to show you these live pictures now.
The ship ran into trouble in the Intercoastal Waterway in Virginia Beach. The Coast Guard says there are 66 people on board. Evacuations are going to begin shortly.
We have just spoken with the petty officer who is overseeing all of this, Evanson, and he tells us they will begin those evacuations shortly. Going to be loading people into the dinghies that you may see surrounding it.
This is some new video just into us now. A Coast Guard gentleman going up and down through the helicopter there.
We don't believe that the people on board will be evacuated in this manner. We were told that they would be put on to the dinghies that you will see in a moment here surrounding this ship.
Again, the Spirit of Nantucket apparently called for help around 6:00 a.m. this morning. It was in trouble and had run aground apparently. So now it's taking on water and they're needing to get people off.
We also understand that the passengers will be taken obviously on land. They will be assessed for the medical conditions. But at this point, no one has made a call of medical distress.
So, again, we will watch those live pictures for you coming out of Virginia Beach. HARRIS: O.J. Simpson is due back in a Las Vegas courtroom today. A judge will decide if there is enough evidence to try him on armed robbery charges.
CNN's Ted Rowlands spoke with the prosecution's key witness.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case...
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If the armed robbery and kidnapping case against O.J. Simpson goes to trial, prosecutors will be counting on this man to help them put Simpson in jail.
BRUCE FROMONG, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: I don't care if he was my friend or not. Nobody is above the law.
ROWLANDS: Bruce Fromong was in the room at the Palace Station Hotel when the alleged crime happened. Simpson denies the charges. Fromong says even though Simpson is an old friend, he wants him to pay for what he says happened that night.
FROMONG: And all of a sudden, the door burst open and in come, you know, four people and then O.J. And, you know, they had guns drawn.
ROWLANDS: Fromong says an audio recording of what happened obtained by TMZ.com seems accurate. In it, a voice that appears to be Simpson's can be heard yelling and giving orders.
O.J. SIMPSON, ACCUSED OF ALLEGED ARMED ROBBERY: Don't let nobody out of here.
ROWLANDS: Fromong claims Simpson and the other men took tens of thousands of dollars of memorabilia, carting it out in boxes and pillowcases.
FROMONG: They took everything. And the last item that was taken -- because the last man out of the room was O.J. Simpson, and he took my cell phone.
ROWLANDS: A few days later, Bruce Fromong suffered a heart attack, which he partially blames on stress from that night. Fromong says he's known Simpson for years and even supported him after the former football star was accused of murdering his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman. In fact, Fromong testified on Simpson's behalf during the civil trial.
FROMONG: O.J. was a very good friend. I mean, and I knew him for 17 years.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Do you want him to go to jail?
FROMONG: I think that jail may be the answer to O.J.'s problems. ROWLANDS (voice over): But Bruce Fromong as a witness may have some problems as well. Listen closely to the TMZ.com audio recording after Simpson left the hotel room.
FROMONG: I helped him set up his (EXPLETIVE DELETED) offshore accounts. Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me.
ROWLANDS: Fromong seems to say he helped Simpson set up an offshore bank account which could be used to help shield income from the Goldman and Brown families.
FROMONG: At the time I was extremely mad, you know, and I said a lot of things that night. But it will be explained later on, and people will understand. I think even the -- you know the Goldmans.
ROWLANDS: Fromong says while he is still a little weak from his heart attack, he is ready to testify this week against his old friend.
FROMONG: This is the right thing to do. And that is the only reason. I mean, it saddens me that I have to -- you know, I might be the one that puts O.J. in jail.
ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The U.S. House says no discriminating against gays in the workplace, but President Bush is promising a veto.
CNN's Jessica Yellin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT voice over): Supporters call it a question of basic civil rights for gays and lesbians and insist it sends an important message.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: To tell millions of Americans who are gay and lesbian that they are not bad people, that it is not legitimate to fire them simply because of who they are...
YELLIN: The Employment Nondiscrimination Act would make it illegal to hire, fire or determine pay and promotions based on an employee's sexual orientation. Thirty states do not have laws banning employment discrimination against gays and lesbians, and supporters say that's why a federal law is essential.
REP. GEORGE MILLER (D), CALIFORNIA: In those 30 states, employers can fire, refuse to hire, demote, and refuse to promote employees on the basis of sexual orientation alone.
YELLIN: But angry critics claim the bill will force some religious businesses to employ gays and lesbians.
REP. HOWARD "BUCK" MCKEON (R), CALIFORNIA: I think it's a disaster for Christian bookstores, at least 85 percent of whom would fall under this, all sorts of Christian colleges.
YELLIN: And, they claim, it opens the door to gay marriage.
REP. JOSEPH PITTS (R), PENNSYLVANIA: India is merely a building block for efforts to overturn traditional marriage laws and to impose same-sex marriage on states.
YELLIN: Backers say those claims are misleading. They say the bill makes clear it would not legalize gay marriage and that religious organizations are exempt.
(on camera): The bill passed with a solid majority, and Speaker Pelosi said she's not worried about any political attacks Democrats might face over this vote.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Also want to let you know we are watching this story happening in Virginia Beach, as we look at the Spirit of Nantucket. Kind of a hazy shot now.
You can see it way, way down there, but there is a ship that has taken on water. This is not the shot we were looking at before, but I will tell you what is happening anyway.
There's a Coast Guard rescue going on right now of 66 people on board the vessel Spirit of Nantucket. It was a cruise ship that was traveling just for recreation and, apparently, that ship has taken on water and now the people are needing to evacuate.
And there we go. We're about to see the outside there of the ship. Anyway, we're watching this. The Coast Guard is there, and we will be back with more on that situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
OK. Here we go. The opening bell is about to ring on Wall Street. Fingers crossed.
Heads were spinning yesterday as the Dow industrials dropped 360 points. It was the fifth biggest loss of the year.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES) COLLINS: Breaking news right now that we are following. A small cruise ship stranded and taking on water. A Coast Guard rescue is underway. You see it's happening, in the Virginia Beach area. Ran into trouble in the Intercoastal Waterway, actually in Virginia Beach. The Coast Guard says there are 66 people on board and evacuations will begin shortly. A live shot from WAVY. The ship is the Spirit of Nantucket. It was on a 10-day cruise between Alexandria, Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina.
HARRIS: Dangerous toy alert to tell you about. Aqua Dots, made in China -- You know of this toy here? If you have children who play with these things, get rid of them. Incredibly, a chemical in those tiny beads converts to the date rape drug, GHB. At least five children have been hospitalized in the United States and Australia. None has died. Children who swallow the beads can become violently ill, experience seizures and even slip into a coma. Find out more about this toxic toy at CNN.com under "latest news."
OK, where's the love? Give a friend a hug, can now get you in trouble. What is going on in an Illinois school district.
CNN's Randi Kaye is keeping them honest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At just 13, Megan Coulter is a bit of a celebrity. Her phone is ringing off the hook, people offering their support.
MEGAN COULTER, 8TH GRADER: I love you, mama.
KAYE: What's all the fuss? Her Maskuta (ph) Middle School put her in detention two days for, get this, hugging. It was two hugs, in fact, given to two friends -- one boy and one girl. After administrators say she had been warned.
COULTER: I gave them a hug. It was just a simple across the shoulder, nothing, no body pressed up against each other or anything.
KAYE: Megan says it was the same squeeze she has given her parents and friends before. But this time, the hugs landed her in hot water.
(on camera): It turns out there's a written policy against public displays of affection at Megan's school. A student handbook given to every family spells out policy and punishment. It's been in place for over a decade, approved by the board of education. Administrators tell us Megan was not the first to get detention this school year under this policy.
(voice-over): The policy reads: "Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved. First offenders will be warned. Second offenders will serve a detention and a parent conference will be held. Third offenders will serve in-school suspension." Why was Megan considered a second offender? Because she gave two hugs. Keeping them honest, we asked the superintendent of schools, isn't this a bit extreme?
SAM MCGOWEN, SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS: You know, hugs lead to other things, and when they get to the point to where they're leading to other things, then they are in violation of our policy.
KAYE: Superintendent Sam McGowan went on to say he doesn't want the 600 or so students, quote, "distracted."
MELISSA COULTER. MEGAN'S MOTHER: I think it's ridiculous. Most children are naturally affectionate creatures.
KAYE: Megan's mom, Melissa Coulter, agrees too much affection is not a good thing for impressionable kids, but she insists this rule goes too far. She and her husband plan to push the school board to reword the policy and be more specific about what constitutes a public display of affection.
MEGAN COULTER: It's very confusing to me, because i've always been taught like, you know, when you see your friends, you hug. When someone is having a bad day, you hug. Even in sixth grade, at the same middle school I go to now, we had a DARE program, and the mountain tow was hugs, not drugs. At one point they're telling us to hug each other, and at one point, they're not.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: It's a good thing we don't have opinions here in the NEWSROOM, because imagine what we would say?
HARRIS: Well, I was watching. What are you thinking?
COLLINS: I think it's ridiculous.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: And still to come, students protest, well, it turns violent. Take a look. A demonstration for preservation in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.
Justice served or justice thwarted?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were victims of poor representation, poor resources, and a community that was already on track to convict somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Remember this story? Three men convicted for gruesome killings. Could new evidence set them free? The story in two minutes, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A U.S. military helicopter crashes in northern Italy. It's a story we've been following for more than an hour now. Italian news agencies say the Blackhawk went down in northeastern Italy. Local police report five people killed. Five officials report four killed. It is unclear whether those killed were soldiers, crew members or passengers. The helicopter had taken off from Aviano Airbase with as many as 10 people on board. No word yet what caused the crash. We, of course, will bring you any updates just as soon we get them.
HARRIS: Big protest on campus. Things got heated, that's for sure. Demonstration at the University of California, Santa Cruz turns violent. Protesters gathered in a forest where the college plans to put up a new building and parking lot. Some protesters climbed redwoods. The crowd grew into the hundreds, and police used pepper spray and batons to restore order to the campus and the location there. Several arrests were made.
COLLINS: The case shocked a community -- three boys murdered in an apparent satanic ritual. Three teens went to prison. But 14 years later, new evidence now may help free them.
CNN's David Mattingly with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What happened in these woods shook even hardened cops. It was a crime so terrible, families from miles around lived in fear. And, at the time juries had no doubt, three West Memphis, Arkansas, teenagers were guilty in the satanic ritual murders of three 8-year-old boys.
But, a decade-and-a-half later, many now believe it was a case of justice gone bad.
(on camera): The police, the prosecutor, the judge, the jury, all of them got it wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In our opinion, yes.
MATTINGLY: Reexamining old evidence and using DNA testing not available at the time of the murders, defense attorneys say the belief in a satanic ritual of sexual assault and mutilation was a fantasy, a satanic panic that they say sent three innocent teenagers to prison.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we are saying is that there's no credible evidence that links any of these defendants to the crime.
MATTINGLY: The bodies of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore and Steven Branch were discovered bound, naked and submerged in a muddy ditch.
In a petition filed in federal court, defense attorneys say their experts today find no evidence of sexual assault and no evidence of a satanic cult.
And the evidence that horrified juries, signs of ritualistic torture and mutilation, may have actually come from animals attacking the bodies after the boys were killed.
(on camera): When we asked for a comment about the old case, Arkansas prosecutors turned us down. But, in an earlier statement, a spokesman for the state attorney general said that Arkansas will look at the new findings objectively. But they stand behind the old convictions and do not believe that the courts will change anything.
(voice-over): The oldest defendant at the time, 18-year-old Damien Echols, was sent to death row. Sixteen-year-old Jason Baldwin and 17-year-old Jessie Misskelley got life in prison.
RON LAX, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: They were victims of poor representation, poor resources, and a community that was already on track to convict somebody.
MATTINGLY: I returned to the scene of the crime with Ron Lax, a private investigator for the defense in 1993. Back then, he made this video of the woods where the three boys went to play, never to be seen alive again.
Today, defense attorneys say they can find no DNA traces on evidence taken from those woods to show the convicted teenagers were ever there at all.
(on camera): Is this a crime that three teenagers could pull off and leave no trace of their existence out here?
LAX: It sounds pretty remarkable if they did.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The woods were recently cut down and cleared way. But plenty of questions remain. If it's true the teens were not in these woods to commit these murders, then who was?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Two men, not those convicted, have been linked by evidence to the crime scene. We're going to be hearing from one of them. Our story returns in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rescue right now to tell you about. There is the live shot for you. A small cruise ship runs aground. We're going to have more live coverage in just a moment.
HARRIS: Three boys brutally murdered, three teens convicted. Before the we told you about the West Memphis Three and new evidence that could overturn their verdicts. David Mattingly now with the rest of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): To many, they have become known as the West Memphis three. Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were all teenagers sent to prison for the gruesome satanic ritual murders of three 8-year-old buys.
And, 14 years after the crime, proving their innocence may depend on two human hairs recovered at the scene.
THOMAS FEDOR, FORENSIC EXPERT: None of the defendants could have been the source of that hair. None of the victims could have been the source of either hair. None of the DNA evidence from the crime scene connects any of the defendants to the scene of the crime.
MATTINGLY: So, who could the hairs belong to? A defense petition in federal court says the DNA from one hair is consistent with that of Terry Hobbs. Hobbs is the former stepfather of victim Steve Branch.
(on camera): Mr. Hobbs, do you feel like that the attorneys are accusing you of this crime?
ROSS SAMPSON, HOBBS'S ATTORNEY: The answer to that would be no.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Hobbs agreed to go in front of our cameras while his attorney did the talking. And through most of my questions, Hobbs remained silent.
(on camera) Is it possible, Mr. Hobbs, that that was your hair?
SAMPSON: Sure. It was his son, Stephen Branch, who was murdered, and he's had to deal with this for the last 15 years.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Defense attorneys say a second hair found at the scene is consistent with the DNA of Hobbs's friend, David Jacoby, and that the two were together in the hours before and after the victims disappeared.
Jacoby did not return our calls, but he did volunteer DNA samples to the defense. Authorities say they stand by the old convictions. West Memphis police have no plans to question anyone.
(on camera) Is there anything that you feel comfortable telling me?
TERRY HOBBS, FORMER STEPFATHER OF VICTIM: You live with this every day. And then, to have your friends and neighbors look at you and think, is there something else there? That's -- that hurts.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): After 14 years, the rampant fears of devil worshipers and murdered children have subsided, replaced by a new wave of emotion, demanding a reopening of the case of the West Memphis Three. Now in their 30s, their entire adult lives spent behind bars, three grown men greet the DNA findings with hope, wondering if this latest twist will one day set them free.
David Mattingly, CNN, West Memphis, Arkansas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Catching a nap may be OK at home, but not in the cockpit. Too tired to fly. Alarming admission from some of those who put our lives in their hands.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, one story in the podcast today. One story and one -- Heidi, are you listening? One story only. The fire last night here just outside of Atlanta in the lumber yard. I'm not kidding you. I sat there and watched those pictures on television. I was like in a coma just watching the pictures. I was mesmerized. It was just amazing. Oh, we'll put some other stories in there. Stuff that maybe we can't fit into the action-packed three hours here in the CNN NEWSROOM. What you do is you go to CNN.com and download the CNN daily NEWSROOM podcast. It is available to you 24/7. Do it today and download it right onto your iPod.
COLLINS: If you wonder about getting older, you might think about losing your hearing or maybe even your eyesight but what about the sense of smell? Here now, Judy Fortin with this week's 30-40-50.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Imagine not being able to smell a rose, or the pungent aroma of a cup of coffee. As we age our sense of smell diminishes, in some cases as much as 60 percent as we reach the so-called golden years.
DR. BEVERLY COWART, MONELL CHEMICAL SENSES CTR.: You're not talking about complete loss of smell, just diminutions and function.
FORTIN: In our early 30s our smell peaks to its full potential. From then on, it's a gradual decline. In our 40s and 50s, our receptors for smell become weaker, and the holes in the base of our nose bone that allow those nerves to connect to the brain begin to narrow, making it difficult to pick up certain smells.
COWART: It looks like a honeycomb. Turns out the holes in the bone get smaller as you get older.
FORTIN: And as we age, our smelling mechanisms become more vulnerable to viruses. Susan Linker was in her late 40s when she came down with a cold. Her nose became stuffed up and she couldn't smell. When her sense of smell didn't come back in a few days she became worried.
SUSAN LINKER, ANOSMIA PATIENT: It's not coming back. Something is wrong. Something is wrong. FORTIN: Susan was diagnosed with a condition known as anosmia, or the complete loss of the ability to smell. Some women develop the condition in their 40s, after suffering a serious sinus infection. It's caused by a virus. And although some men contract it, middle- aged women are more susceptible.
COWART: In some cases, the viruses that cause the colds seem to actually attack the olfactory nerve cells, which are in the upper part of the naval cavity, so they're vulnerable to damage from a lot of sources, and in some cases possibly changes in the immune function associated with menopause.
FORTIN: For Susan, the lack of smell has taken away her joy of eating, because she can't identify food.
LINKER: I love fresh vegetables, asparagus and lobster and all of those good things. And he's like texture is all I taste now.
FORTIN: She takes vitamins rich in antioxidants hoping to regain her smell. Doctors say it's possible, but it could take a long time, and even then, her smell will never be completely restored. Susan says it's a sense she never thought about until she lost it.
LINKER: You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone.
FORTIN: Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, the bridge is OK, the ship, not so much. After a collision in San Francisco Bay a container ship bumped into a tower supporting the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge yesterday, officials say there was no damage to the bridge, but the collision tore a gash in the ship. Crews spent the night cleaning up fuel that filled from the cargo ship.
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