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Deadly Toxin Found in Las Vegas Hotel Room; Texas Voters Concerned about Economy; Chinese Fugitive Captured in Georgia; Diplomat's Family Shares Story of Coping with Iraq War
Aired February 29, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: An extremely deadly poison turns up in a Vegas motel room, and the cops can't question the guest. He's in a coma.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators are about to tell us what they do know, and you'll see their news conference live moments from now.
Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And as we await that press conference from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, I want to tell you about one person who came into contact with that Ricin, was believed -- believed to be deadly Ricin. He is reportedly in a coma. The Associated Press cites police in Las Vegas, where last night, hazardous material experts moved on a motel where the poison was found.
A tiny amount is all it takes to kill. We heard that from our medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, just moments ago.
In the meantime, joining us, until we wait for that press conference to get started, CNN's Kara Finnstrom. She has the latest on the investigation.
Kara, what do you know?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm waiting, actually, outside of the metropolitan police department here in Las Vegas for that press conference, expected to begin any moment now.
And we're hoping to hear whether these preliminary tests have been confirmed by the further testing they did. They believe, from those preliminary tests, that the powder found in this hotel room is Ricin, but they were waiting for these further tests to definitely confirm that.
In the meantime, they've been taking all kind of precautions, decontaminating everyone who may have come into contact with it and launching a full-scale FBI investigation.
The reason for such alarm here is exactly what you mentioned: Ricin, government agents say, is so powerful that an amount the size of a pinhead can kill an adult within three to five days.
This is an poison that has also been linked to extremist groups during investigations in a number of countries. But at this point, the FBI and local police have stressed that the powder does not appear to be related to terrorism, only they're saying so far that it appears to be criminal in nature.
Now, you referred to an AP report of one person in a coma. We have been unable to get anyone here to confirm that to CNN. They're saying they're holding off on making any further statements until this preference conference gets under way. But the Associated Press reporting that one person is in critical condition, the person that was in that room, along with that powder.
One other point: Ricin does have some limited medical uses. It can kill cancer cells, but those are very specific and limited uses.
So the question here is, if this is, indeed, found to be Ricin and it's not related to terrorism, what the use for it was and exactly who brought it into this hotel room. And those are all questions that we hope to get at least a few more answers to within the next few moments here.
LEMON: Yes. And the person -- maybe, you know, the answer lies with the person who's in a coma. So Kara, that's going to be interesting to watch, to see if they know anything about how it got in there.
Kara Finnstrom standing by. Kara's going to attend that press conference and bring us all the information just as soon as it gets underway. We're watching here reporters and producers get ready at the press conference. As soon as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police show up and they start it, we're going to bring it to you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: And as we wait for that press conference, let's bring in medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
So what happens if you become exposed to Ricin? And in which way might you become exposed to Ricin?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. There are three different ways that you can get exposed to Ricin. Let's say there was some Ricin right here between us. We might breathe it in. We might put our fingers on it, put our fingers in our mouth. We've then ingested it. Or, if someone is out to get you, you might get injected with it. So ingestion, inhalation, or inhaling it, all three are ways that can get you sick from Ricin.
And the symptoms that you're going to have from Ricin exposure is going to depend on how you were exposed to it. So we can talk about some of those.
People might start having difficulty breathing if they inhaled it. Or they might start feeling nauseous if they ingested it. And in the beginning it might just seem like, wow, this is weird, why all of a sudden do I feel sick? And you know, I feel nauseous. Why is this happening?
But really, pretty quickly, within hours, it's clear that it's not just another case of the flu. I mean, your -- your lungs filled up with fluid. Your organs start failing one by one. It happens pretty quickly.
KEILAR: Now in this case in Las Vegas, we're hearing from authorities it's not terrorism-related. We just heard Kara Finnstrom say yes, there are some limited medical uses. But what type of profession might someone be in where they could have access to Ricin? Are there any?
COHEN: I mean, doctors certainly sometimes use it, as Kara said, very limited use when fighting cancer. And some industrial processes, for example, when you make castor oil, Ricin might become one of the by-products. But you know, they know how to deal with it and get rid of it. It's very, very limited areas.
You could -- you could try to make Ricin yourself. I mean, I'm a little befuddled, to tell you the truth, as to why Ricin would be in a hotel room. I mean, there's no good reason for it to be in a hotel room. And you wouldn't be making anything in a hotel room. You certainly wouldn't be curing cancer in a hotel room. I can't figure it out.
KEILAR: And would it -- so would it be a very controlled substance or not so much in the case where it's like a by-product of castor being -- manufacturing or whatever?
COHEN: It's a substance you don't find everywhere. I mean, it's a substance that only exists if someone is trying to do something bad for nefarious reasons.
KEILAR: OK.
COHEN: Or for these very limited legitimate uses. But those legitimate uses are very limited.
KEILAR: OK. So not terrorism-related, but seriously, a question of if there is some sort of nefarious intent here, of course?
COHEN: And the people we talked to, nobody can think a good reason for Ricin being in a hotel room.
KEILAR: OK. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent, shedding light on that.
And also coming up here at about 2 -- well, it's 2:00 p.m. now, so any minute now, we're awaiting a press conference. You can see preparations getting underway in Las Vegas. We are waiting to hear from Las Vegas police, who are heading up this investigation. As soon as they start talking, we're going to go to this.
LEMON: Clinton versus Obama, McCain versus Huckabee. We're just four days away from the presidential primaries that could settle everything. And we have an extra day to cover it all. It's our special leap-day coverage of the race for the White House, a chance to bring you even more from our reporters, from the voters and from the candidates themselves.
No one covers the campaign like CNN, with the best political team on television. We're blanketing Texas and Ohio, the two biggest prizes in Tuesday's primaries. Our teams are hard at work in our New York, Washington and Atlanta newsrooms.
And leading our political ticker, a fabulous February for Hillary Clinton, money-wise, anyway. The Clinton campaign says it raised $35 million this month alone. That's double the take in January.
There's also good news for Clinton in our Ohio poll of polls. She's leading Barack Obama by eight points ahead of Tuesday's primary.
But in Texas, the other big March 4 primary state, our poll of polls show -- shows Obama leading Clinton 49 percent to 44 percent. The Illinois senator is working the state hard. He has three events on his calendar today, including this town hall meeting in Houston.
Republican frontrunner John McCain still lags behind his Democratic rivals -- his Democratic rivals in fundraising. Two McCain campaign sources tell CNN's John King the Arizona senator raised a little over $12 million this month. Clinton raised almost three times that. Obama's February figures haven't been released yet.
We continue our leap-day extra political coverage with CNN's Ali Velshi. He's also in Texas, talking politics and pocketbooks with voters in San Antonio.
Ali Velshi, there you are. Howdy, partner.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Afternoon, D.L. They use a lot of initials around here.
I heard you saying you're going to that presser in Las Vegas about that Ricin, so I think -- are you killing time with me or did you want me to actually...
LEMON: No, we want you to talk, sir. We will -- we'll tell you when we want to get there. Ali Velshi, you're the star of the show.
VELSHI: No, I hear you.
LEMON: Go ahead. Of course, with that big hat, you're taking up a lot of space, so go ahead.
VELSHI: The hat, the sun is burning bright here in San Antonio. We've got the CNN Election Express here in San Antonio, the Alamo over here. Hillary Clinton is actually going to be here tonight with a rally. Barack Obama is going to be somewhere around here, not too far from San Antonio.
But what we're talking to people about, we're not actually here for those rallies. We're actually here to hear what people think about the economy and what they think about the election and how it's going to affect their pocketbooks.
We were talking to people about inflation, about the fact that President Bush said we're not in a recession, but we know that inflation is high. We've got another record on oil prices; it hit $103 overnight. Stock markets taking a big hit right now.
Here's what a couple people told us in San Antonio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE BRYAN, TEXAS VOTER: All you've got to do is go to the grocery store and see that things are 50 cents, $1 more than they were just, you know, a few months ago. And so something's got to be done about that.
SAM DUDLEY, TEXAS VOTER: We're in a hell a fix, economy-wise, because everything is downhill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: You know, it's kind of interesting, because after President Bush talked about whether we are or aren't in a recession -- and he's right, as of the end of the 2007, according to the numbers, the measure of the economy, we weren't. The economy grew slowly, but not recessionary.
But the fact is, around here, people don't talk recession. And I think at most people's kitchen tables, they don't talk recession. They just know that they're paying more for their bread, their milk, their cheese, their gasoline. Certainly, if you're in parts of the country where you heat with heating oil.
Texas is the biggest exporter of any state in the United States, mainly because it's oil, so there are many people in West Texas and in the cities and Houston, who make a lot of money off of oil.
But the people we've been speaking to say even the benefit to Texas, because of all the oil that they have, doesn't outweigh the extra expense that they're seeing. Whether they're truckers paying $3.50 cents for diesel; farmers or ranchers who have to pay for fuel for their machinery; or ordinary Texans driving around -- a lot of trucks in this state -- having to pay more for gasoline, Don.
So it's definitely at the top of mind for everybody in Texas, the economy.
LEMON: All right. Ali Velshi, we appreciate that. Thank you, sir.
We've got a lot more political news coming up this leap day. Next hour, we'll take you to Mansfield, Ohio, where former President Clinton speaks at a rally. Later, we'll go live to Waco, Texas, where Hillary Clinton is campaigning this afternoon.
Also, we'll hear from what Barack Obama had to say in Houston. And we'll hear from John McCain at a town-hall meeting in Round Rock, Texas. We'll also check in with our political roundtable to talk about all the latest developments here.
KEILAR: Murder suspect Nai Yin Xue is set to appear this afternoon in a Georgia courtroom, the Chinese fugitive wanted in New Zealand in the death of his wife; also in Australia for the abandonment of his small child at a train station.
He was captured last night in suburban Atlanta after more than five months on the run. But it's really how he was caught that is the real story. And CNN's Rusty Dornin joining us now with that.
Hi, Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really an amazing story, Brianna. In fact, the folks who did catch him just went inside. They've sort of been celebrating a little bit today, talking to a lot of the international press.
And the reason they were able to apprehend him is this picture that was in these Chinese (AUDIO GAP) that shows -- that shows Nai Yin Xue in sort of a kung fu stance.
Now, this particular thing did -- was in the newspaper just about a week ago, and the folks here saw it. And when they did, they tried to lure him back.
Let's listen to the local Chamblee police captain tell us what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. DAVID PERKINS, CHAMBLEE POLICE: He was here in January, late January, for a couple of nights, and he had come back late February. And the news article which featured the photograph had been published on the 23rd of February. And that's when they realized who this individual was, once they saw the photograph.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: But the most amazing part of this story is they lured him back to the apartment. And they actually re-enacted how they captured him. They had him inside. They grabbed him. There were six people there. They wrestled him to the ground. They actually took his pants and tied his legs with his own pants and then took belts and hog-tied him.
And when the police arrived, the suspect was held completely (AUDIO GAP). And people here were pointing at this picture. This is where it's a little confused. They had to go out to their car -- they had to go to their car to find out who the suspect was.
But apparently, he is going to be deported back to New Zealand, and they're basically celebrating the fact that they were able to catch him -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, Rusty Dornin live for us there. And those folks obviously very proud of what they accomplished. Thanks, Rusty. Really interesting story.
LEMON: And our developing news here in the CNN NEWSROOM today. You see them getting ready there in Las Vegas for a press conference. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police expected to hold a press conference shortly. I was listening in a little bit, and they said the person who is holding the press conference is in a meeting, trying to get all of the information together before she came out -- before she comes out to address the press.
But, again, this is because of that deadly -- very deadly Ricin that was found in a Las Vegas motel room. Some of our affiliates, as well as the Associated Press, reporting that one person is in a coma and several others had to be treated because of this.
But again, we do know, we do know, according to police there, that the deadly Ricin chemical was found. And so as soon as we get more information, as soon as that press conference starts, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: And our breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM, deadly Ricin found in a Las Vegas motel. How did it get there? The Associated Press is reporting that one person is actually in a coma because of this and several other people had to be treated.
Police are about to hold a press conference. As soon as it gets under way, we'll bring it to you right here in the NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: Professionals dedicated to duty. Families split by war. You know, normally, that is a military sentiment. But we're starting a series here on CNN on the challenges facing America's diplomatic corps.
Embassy staffers -- these are consulate types -- they work in all of the world's hot zones, often alone, even sometimes against their wishes.
CNN's Zain Verjee hooked up with a newly reunited foreign service family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anne Aguilera is back at home in suburban Washington, D.C. It's a world away from her last assignment at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
ANNE AGUILERA, WORKED IN U.S. EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD: I wanted to be one of those people who stepped up to the plate and did the right thing at the right time.
VERJEE: Stepping up meant stepping away from her sons and husband, Rolando, who couldn't accompany her to a danger zone.
ROLANDO AGUILERA, ANNE AGUILERA'S HUSBAND: The day she left, I came back to the house, this place was completely -- just like being alone in the desert.
VERJEE: Father and sons supported each other through the long year.
R. AGUILERA: How's homework?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Done.
R. AGUILERA: Done?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
R. AGUILERA: OK.
DAVID AGUILERA, ANNE AGUILERA'S SON: My mom, I have a good relationship with her. I feel like I can talk to her. And when she was gone it was kind of hard.
VERJEE: She had her own blog, Baghdad Anne. And with e-mails and web cams, she showed David and James the tiny trailer fortified with sandbags in the opulent former Saddam Hussein, now serving as the U.S. embassy.
Sometimes, too much information.
JAMES AGUILERA, ANNE AGUILERA'S SON: I remember she was showing me a picture on her Web site of where two people got killed, and that kind of worried me.
VERJEE: Occasionally on the phone, the family could even tell when the embassy came under attack.
A. AGUILERA: Incoming would be hitting the international zone, and we would have to take refuge. And I don't want to downplay the security. It is dangerous...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: All right. We're going to take you now to Las Vegas, breaking out of our package. This is a press conference by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police about deadly Ricin found in a Las Vegas motel room. Let's listen in.
DEPUTY CHIEF KATHY SUEY, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: ... the armor unit, which is our all-hazard regional multi-operations and response unit, responded there to analyze the substance. We did receive an initial positive test for Ricin at that time. We immediately began procedures to contain and secure that location.
Our first step, or our first concern, was mainly for the health and safety of the public. At that time, we contained the location. We discovered the possible locations of other areas that could have been contaminated. We sealed those areas, as well.
During our investigation, we did find that there was a subject who had been a previous occupant of that hotel room who is currently hospitalized in critical condition here locally, as a possible result of exposure to Ricin.
We are continuing with the investigation now to determine if there is anything criminal that we'll need follow up on. There is no information to lead us to believe that this is the result of a terrorist activity or related to any possible terrorist activity.
We have had several people that have been transported to local area hospitals to be checked out. So far, we do not have anyone else that has exhibited any signs of being affected by this Ricin.
Right now, as I said, our investigation is continuing. We don't have a lot of specific information. Our main concern last night was to contain this and clean up the Ricin so that there was no other exposure.
QUESTION: To clarify, the person that is currently in critical condition is not the person who reported it, the manager?
SUEY: No, it's not.
QUESTION: Where was this person found in critical condition?
SUEY: Originally, he called in and was asked -- asked to be transported to the hospital because he was in some respiratory distress.
QUESTION: From other residence?
SUEY: From that location.
QUESTION: Can you tell us where that is?
SUEY: At the Extended Stay America at 7242 South Valley View.
QUESTION: The same place?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: What time did he make that call?
SUEY: This was on -- around February 14.
QUESTION: It was in the same room, though?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: The day before? When did that happen, he made the phone call?
SUEY: No, he called on February 14. And the information that we have is that he was having a hard time -- difficulty breathing. And he was transported to the hospital on that date.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
QUESTION: What do you know about this guy? SUEY: We don't know an awful lot right now. That is part of the investigation that we're looking into.
QUESTION: Does he have family in the area?
SUEY: We don't know.
QUESTION: Is he conscious?
SUEY: Well, right now, we don't know. We know that he is in critical condition, and he's unable to speak with us right now.
QUESTION: So how long?
QUESTION: ... a time line.
SUEY: I'm sorry. Can we take one question at a time?
QUESTION: Do you have a time line? I'm confused. This was a fellow who was in the room that you found the Ricin in later, as a guest. Two weeks earlier, he went to the hospital with symptoms of distress. Was the room unoccupied in the last few weeks then?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: And then some new person came along to check into that room and found it?
SUEY: We were called by a relative or a friend who had found some substance in the room.
QUESTION: So the person who reported it to the manager is an acquaintance of the person who's currently in the hospital?
SUEY: We haven't determined if he is a relative or a friend at this time.
QUESTION: So the man who is in critical condition was in the room, was found in the room? Or was he found at a house somewhere else?
SUEY: No, he called from that room and was transported from that location.
QUESTION: And he's in the hospital.
QUESTION: And he's now staying in the hospital?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Since February 14?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: In critical condition that whole time?
SUEY: We don't know that.
QUESTION: Seven people found -- seven people were treated yesterday?
SUEY: Those people would include the apartment management and some of our officers that could have been exposed.
QUESTION: And the police didn't go into the room to -- in the last few weeks to see what the cause of illness?
SUEY: No, it was just regular respiratory distress. If you couldn't breathe and you called an ambulance, there was no reason at that time to believe that there was anything other than he was having a medical condition.
QUESTION: So why did this man have the Ricin?
SUEY: We don't know yet. That's part of the investigation that we're looking into.
QUESTION: How can you say it's not terrorism? What as he intending to do with it?
SUEY: We -- at this time, we don't have any reason to believe that that was -- and we don't even know that it was him that was in possession of the Ricin.
QUESTION: Does the man have a medical background or any reason to -- was he a chemist?
SUEY: We don't know that yet.
QUESTION: Is he a local man? Why was he at that address (ph)?
SUEY: We don't know that yet either.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
SUEY: That, we don't have any information on yet.
QUESTION: I heard that some of the beans that you make Ricin from were found in the room. Is that true?
SUEY: We did find some beans.
QUESTION: Are the people treated yesterday, do they remain in the hospital?
SUEY: No.
QUESTION: All seven have been released?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: What about the initial responders? Have they been -- that picked up the man on the 14th, have they experienced any problems?
SUEY: No one else has experienced any signs or symptoms of any type of exposure.
QUESTION: He didn't mention, when he was taken to the hospital, "I've been messing around with Ricin"?
SUEY: No, there was no mention of that.
QUESTION: Have you been able to speak with this man?
SUEY: No, we have not.
QUESTION: Was the room registered to him?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: And how long has it been registered?
SUEY: I don't have that information.
QUESTION: Do we know his hometown?
SUEY: No, not at this time.
QUESTION: Do we know his age?
SUEY: I believe somewhere in his 40s or 50s.
QUESTION: Was he of European descent (ph)?
SUEY: I don't know.
QUESTION: Do you know long his stay was?
SUEY: No, I don't have that information right now.
QUESTION: You know this is a fellow who was there, and he's in the hospital. You have his name, but you don't know any other information about him?
SUEY: I will tell you that, for the last 12 hours, our efforts have been on the containment and cleanup of the area and areas where there could have been exposure. At this point, we have all those areas cleaned. We are now going forward with an investigation.
Once we do find some information, we'll come back and give you more information. But at this point, our entire effort was focused on the public safety and containment of those areas.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
SUEY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: The substance is Ricin?
QUESTION: Is that confirmed?
SUEY: We did get a positive result from both the public health office and our civil support team that it did come back positive as Ricin.
QUESTION: The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) told us that they...
SUEY: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
SUEY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: Is it in another lab locally? Still testing?
SUEY: I don't know if we -- Dr. Sands (ph), do you know if we sent anything to the CDC or if they had done it? Just the public health laboratory locally.
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) You're waiting for the results?
SUEY: We did get the results back as positive for Ricin.
QUESTION: The person that found it -- the person that found it two weeks later, were they related at all to them, or was it just a person who checked into the hotel and say, "Hey, you've got some Ricin"?
SUEY: He claimed to be a relative. We haven't confirmed that yet, whether he is a relative or friend.
QUESTION: Were there evidence of manufacturing devices, evidence of what you would need to make it?
SUEY: Yes, we can't release any evidentiary information at this time, because our investigation is continuing.
QUESTION: ... help you identify any sort of intent, whether it was to hurt himself or hurt others?
SUEY: In our initial interview with him, he did not reveal any information that would lead us to believe that he had that intent.
QUESTION: This man, do you know his background?
SUEY: No.
QUESTION: ... that room still being rented by the man in the hospital?
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Do you know who he is?
SUEY: Yes, we do.
QUESTION: Are you speaking with friends, relatives of the person, speaking with them?
SUEY: We will be, yes.
QUESTION: Has he responded with any -- does he have (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
SUEY: Not that we know of at this time.
(CROSSTALK)
SUEY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: ... the Ricin left there. Do you believe that you have all of the Ricin that was in that room?
SUEY: We do believe that. We don't have any reason to believe that any of it left. That -- now, we do know that it left the room and went into the apartment manager's office. We don't believe that -- we don't have any reason to believe that any of that left the property.
QUESTION: Was it true that it was in a vial, in a plastic bag at the time that it was brought to the apartment manager's office?
SUEY: We did have several vials, and it was contained in the plastic bag.
QUESTION: How much was there?
SUEY: I don't know.
QUESTION: How did it get to the apartment manager's office?
SUEY: The friend or the person who claimed to be the relative brought it from the room to the apartment manager.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: How did he -- how did he get in?
SUEY: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: How did that man get into the room?
SUEY: I don't know that yet.
QUESTION: What else is the same size (ph)?
SUEY: I don't know that.
QUESTION: The size, was it a size of a pen?
SUEY: I wouldn't be able to tell you that. QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
SUEY: I don't have that information either.
QUESTION: Does the man who turned this material in know that it was Ricin?
SUEY: No, I don't believe so.
QUESTION: Presumably it was not labeled?
SUEY: No, he knew that we had a concern and brought it to our attention. But until we were able to respond and do a presumptive test -- and let me -- let me give you a little bit of background about our all-hazard unit.
Obviously, you know the Department of Homeland Security funds police agencies and fire with homeland security dollars. Through those dollars, we've been able to purchase equipment that allows us to test hazardous materials, substance, powder, suspicious -- anything suspicious that we receive calls on.
And we receive many, many calls like this constantly. White powder. Someone calls and says there's a white powder on their car. There's a white powder on their doorstep, things like that.
We've utilize those homeland security dollars to be able to form this team, to purchase equipment to allows us to rapidly respond and identify a substance.
Normally, we respond, and that substance is baby powder or corn starch or Butter Buds or something like that. This is the type of incident when those dollars are so critical that have come to Nevada, that allows us to go out and quickly determine what a substance is, contain the situation, ensure the public health and quickly get that substance cleaned up.
If we did not have those -- that equipment and those dollars coming into Nevada that allowed us to procure that -- the equipment and the detection abilities, then we would not have been able to respond so quickly and provided the safety for the citizens. We...
QUESTION: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
SUEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Have police ever had any contact with this sick man?
SUEY: Not that I'm aware of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, he has a misdemeanor arrest several years in the past.
QUESTION: In Las Vegas?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know whether it was Las Vegas. But it was a misdeameanor arrest..
QUESTION: In Nevada?
CAPT. JOSEPH LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE: No.
QUESTION: You don't know his age? You looked up the arrest record?
LOMBARDO: Just a little clarification, this is a continuing investigation. Like we said, we don't know if the guy manufactured the Ricin or not. And we -- that's our concern. So until the investigation is completed, or reached to a point where we can disclose that information, we wish not to do that.
QUESTION: What was his arrest for? What his misdeameanor for?
LOMBARDO: He's not a suspect at this point, so I can't disclose that criminal history information.
QUESTION: Do you have reason to believe that he was an intended target, or that he was intending to use this on somebody else?
SUEY: We don't have any information like that right now. We have no information as to why that material was in his room at this point.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Is it actually a crime to manufacture Ricin?
SUEY: Yes, it would be.
QUESTION: OK. So, but he's still not a suspect?
SUEY: But we don't know if he is -- at this point, we haven't done the testing that we need to do determine who it was that was in possession of that material.
QUESTION: So might he be a victim?
SUEY: That's possible.
QUESTION: And the person that found him, a friend or family member? What's their background?
SUEY: No one found him. He called and was transported on his own.
QUESTION: OK. What's -- the person who found the substance, what's his background?
SUEY: As -- we don't know.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) ... sequence of events. So yesterday --
SUEY: Yes. QUESTION: Somebody walked into that room. Did they rent that room?
SUEY: No. That room was being -- the person who is -- has been in the hospital since the 14th -- obviously the bill hasn't been paid. We all know that when your bill's not paid, the apartment management goes through eviction procedures. Part of that eviction procedure is to get the items out. The man was a friend. He was coming to get some of the items and found the substance and called us.
QUESTION: This is in this a hotel or ...
SUEY: It's an extended stay hotel. A daily, weekly, monthly rental.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Dr. Sands, could you come to the podium and explain a little bit about Ricin and what we're dealing with here?
DR. LAWRENCE SANDS, SOUTHERN NEVADA HEALTH DISTRICT: Right. Ricin is, you know, a fairly stable substance. It's something that, you know, we are concerned about as something that could be used as a, you know, as a terrorist agent. It's a poison and it's part of the waste that's left over from processing castor beans that when you process -- manufacture -- make castor oil.
And -- what's left over in the mash is the Ricin. And so, it really would take a very deliberate act for someone to manufacture Ricin. In other words, it's just something that, you know, is just not produced on a regular basis. It is something, though, that does has some medical uses say for -- bone marrow transplants and some cancer treatments.
But the main way that Ricin works, or can harm people, is that it disrupts -- protein synthesis, the manufacture of protein in cells. And so that's what -- if were someone would ingest it or inhale or have it injected, basically what it ultimately leads to is -- it disrupts multiple organs in the body and that's what leads to people's death.
QUESTION: Would you say considering the person's condition, the one in the hospital, that he probably inhaled it or?
SANDS: I don't have enough -- I don't have any information about his current medical condition. Certainly, from, at least from what the officers are saying -- that he called in about respiratory distress. That certainly could be an early sign of Ricin exposure. Certainly inhalation, that's usually a prominent symptom in that case. But, again, I don't have enough information about that medical condition?
QUESTION: Is the theory (ph) on presentation now that he's been poisoned by Ricin?
SANDS: I have no information about that. QUESTION: When somebody comes to a hospital with respiratory distress and knows that they may have been exposed to Ricin and they say so, is there anything that the doctors can do? Is it better for you to say that?
SANDS: There are some things that you can do. Certainly, that's important health information to know, also for you cure and treatment. There isn't any kind of specific treatment. There isn't an antidote towards it.
QUESTION: There isn't?
SANDS: There isn't. It's basically supportive treatment, making sure that -- helping them with their respiratory function, making sure they get enough oxygen, fluids and so forth. There are some tests that can be done to identify whether the metabolite (ph) for Ricin is present which can give you an idea whether -- confirm whether that person had been exposed.
QUESTION: Has that been done?
SANDS: But that -- I have no -- no information about the medical condition.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: It's been two weeks already ...
SANDS: Right.
QUESTION: -- That this person has been in the hospital. Does it appear that he possibly might live?
SANDS: At this point, again, I don't have enough information about their medical condition and what their workup has shown. Generally, people who have had significant exposures of Ricin, usually, if they don't get cure -- appropriate cure, oftentimes, they will die -- quickly, within 36 to 72 hours.
Usually, if they survive like the first three to five days, they usually do fine. They do tend to recover. But I really kind of -- again, I can't speak to this specific case because I don't have any of their medical information.
SUEY: OK. We're going to wrap this up.
QUESTION: Why would someone make that?
SANDS: Pardon?
QUESTION: Why would someone make Ricin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Possible reasons someone would make ...
SUEY: You know, there are any number of reasons why someone might -- it could be experimental, just to see if they can. It could be any number of reasons. But we're going to wrap this up. I will tell you that we are continuing the investigation.
As I said before, we are in the very beginning, preliminary steps of this investigation. We had, I can't even tell you how many officers there during the initial containment and cleanup. And that was our -- that was our priority up until just the last few hours. Obviously, the investigators that were out there needed to get a little bit of sleep so they can come back and start with the investigation.
That's where we are now. When we have some more information, we will be getting that out to you.
(CROSSTALK)
SUEY: Yes, we are right now.
QUESTION: I have another question for Dr. Sands.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) is this a criminal investigation?
SUEY: At this point, is it -- we're in the preliminary stages. If we find that there's some criminal information, then we'll go with that.
(CROSSTALK)
QUESTION: Can you tell me if there were any pets in the room and if so, what is their condition?
SUEY: I can tell you that there were pets in the room at the time. But, two of those pets are fine. One of the pets was in there for about a week and is deceased and -- or was put down.
QUESTION: Because of the Ricin?
SUEY: We don't have any information to determine that. The dog that was in there was without food and water for a week. So at this time we don't know. But thank you anyway.
QUESTION: Dr. Sands, can say if there is a continuing threat to the public from this Ricin report?
SUEY: Thank you.
SANDS: From my understanding, the cleanup has been done. There should not be a threat to anybody at this time.
QUESTION: How big of an evacuation ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. We appreciate your ...
KEILAR: So we are wrapping up this press conference here in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, also Nevada Health Department participating. But basically deadly Ricin discovered -- a very deadly poison discovered in a motel room there in Las Vegas. But we just found out that the time line of this incident stretches back all the way two weeks.
That a man who is is now in critical condition at a nearby hospital, who was in the room where the Ricin was found just recently, actually called for an ambulance about two weeks ago, on February 14th, complaining of respiratory distress is what police said. And then from that time, until now, the room was unoccupied, and the bill wasn't paid. The apartment manager for this extended stay motel went through an eviction process.
And then a person claiming to be a relative came to pick up some of this hospitalized man's belongings. And that is when the Ricin was discovered. It was also taken to the apartment manager's office. So a big cleanup effort that has happened there.
But I guess the question is, the prognosis. Two weeks it's been that this man that's been in the hospital, what might be the outlook for what's going happen here?
COHEN: That's actually -- this sounds sort of strange, but it's actually good news. Because if he stayed alive this long, there is a greater chance that he can survive, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and I'm reading right from their reports here.
"If death has not occurred in three to five days, usually, the victim recovers."
Now, emphasis here on the word usually. This man is in critical condition. We don't know what will happen, but the fact that he survived this long certainly is good news. Because, Brianna, people are usually dead or are often dead within like a day and a half to three days after breathing this stuff in. And he breathed it in or was exposed to it on Valentine's day. That was a while ago.
KEILAR: And you heard that it was -- he called February 14th for an ambulance. He was having trouble breathing. What does that maybe tell us about the way in which he was exposed to Ricin? Because there are different way that you explained before.
COHEN: Right. People who are calling in respiratory distress, chances are that they breathed it in. Because you could also ingest it or someone, if they were really a mean person, could inject you with it, but it sounds like he breathed it in.
Now, if we had Ricin on the head of this pin and you and I were sitting here breathing it in, we could be dead within a couple of days. That is all it takes. So, let's take a look at the symptoms -- actually what happens to your body if you breathe in Ricin.
People get a fever and a cough. They have difficulty breathing. They become nauseous. And then, fluid accumulates in the lungs. And then they go into organ failure.
And some of these symptoms, they can start really just within a matter of hours. And again, a day and a half to three days, after breathing this stuff in, many times, people are dead. KEILAR: Now, we heard in this press conference, one of the ways, I guess the way, really, that Ricin is produced, it's sort of a bi- product of turning castor beans into castor oil. And then Ricin is found in the mash. We heard from the police department, they don't think this is terrorism-related. But, something like producing Ricin, it doesn't happen accidentally, right?
COHEN: This is a deliberate act. Someone deliberately set out to make Ricin. This is not just a big goof. Ricin -- we just saw those castor beans there. As Brianna said, you take castor beans, you make castor oil. And sort of the bi-product is this mash which contains Ricin.
And certainly there are legitimate reasons to make castor oil. But you're not going to be making it in your hotel room. If you're making it your hotel room, chances are you're doing it for some terrible, terrible purpose.
So, what's important to say here, this is not a public health threat. The people of Las Vegas don't need to worry that they're sort of walking around in some Ricin-infested atmosphere. This is really just a problem for that one person in the hospital.
And there were other people in that room. And then we also heard that the Ricin was taken to the apartment manager's -- office.
KEILAR: By someone claiming to be a relative.
COHEN: Right, the relative said, hey, look over here. What's this? But, those people aren't sick yet. Nobody's showing symptoms. It appears to be just this man.
KEILAR: So police in Vegas saying they have cleaned up this situation, that was their main concern. So as you said, good to reiterate, not a public health threat at this point.
Medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
And also, we heard from police saying that they have cleaned up the contamination. At this point, the investigation is going to continue. We're going to continue to follow this as more details become available about may be who this man was and exactly what was going on here, Don?
LEMON: We're also following news on Wall Street. Today, it's a leap day. And on Wall Street, stocks are taking a big leap down. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the numbers for us.
Susan -- last check it was down 200 points or more.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, now you just add another 100. The Dow, at its low, was down about 307 points, which would be probably -- well, if it the closed at that level would be the second worst of the year.
Whatever. It's been a terrible year. It's a bad sell-off. You know, a lot of us were scratching our heads earlier this week because we got a lot of negative news this week. And stocks are rallying in spite of it. Well, we got more bad news today and stocks are, well, acting the way we expect them to do.
We got bad news from AIG, it's a Dow 30 stock. It's a big, big -- I mean, big on a global scale, insurance company. So already hard hit by the mortgage crisis, today, it's reporting quarterly losses of more than $5 billion. Those are losses in just three months. AIG insures, among other things, mortgage, it backs securities. And AIG shares right now are down more than seven percent. But for that matter, every Dow 30 stock is down.
Meanwhile, we got fresh concerns about inflation. Oil overnight traded at $103 per barrel. It's off that. But it's still at $102 a barrel. We did get consumer spending, inched up slightly more than expected. But after you adjust for inflation, spending is flat. We also got consumer confidence dropping to a level, that the University of Michigan, which conducts the study, says they've only seen during the most recent recessions.
So it's -- you know, just a recipe for a big selloff. And you see what the big board -- what the big board is doing. The Dow is down two-and-a-quarter percent. Nasdaq is down two percent. The S&P 500 is down two-and-a-half percent.
I just want to mention, Ben Bernanke was testifying this week, Don, as you know. We've been taking it live. And he mentioned four things, just very quickly, about why we're seeing this distress in the financial markets. One of them is investors who are so willing to take risks a few years ago, are running away from it.
Also, the difficulty in valuing these complex assets, which have been such a problem for everyone, starting with the housing market. And then the exposure to these big financial companies like AIG to it. And then finally the uncertainties about the overall economy. It's just playing over and over again. And that's why it's been such a rough year for the stock market in general and today in particular -- Don.
LEMON: Susan, don't go far. Because we're going to continue to watch if it may go down even more.
LISOVICZ: I'll be here.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much.
KEILAR: The Iraq war -- it's getting a lot of air time now in the presidential race. We'll find out why the renewed interest from our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have some breaking political news to tell you about. This just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. It involves Senator Barack Obama and a long time senator, Jay Rockefeller. He's the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He is endorsing Barack Obama today. Here's what's important. We heard former president Bill Clinton in the hours, or in the minutes just before this broadcast talk about Hillary Clinton's experience. And they've been talking a lot about what if we get this red -- red phone call that's of importance to the whole world and America and the whole world, what would Barack Obama do? Would he have the experience to know how to handle that.
Well, here's what Jay Rockefeller is saying. He said, "the indisputable fact is Barack Obama was right about Iraq when many of us were wrong. It was a tough call and the single greatest national security question and the mistake of our time. And today we remain a country at war and countless mistakes over the last six-and-a-half years have made us less safe. The stakes have never been higher. And that is why we must take a stand."
And that is why he says he is supporting Barack Obama. Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee coming out toady, endorsing Barack Obama.
We're going to talk more about that with our political round table coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: No rest for the weary. The presidential candidates are going nonstop with the next big round of contests just four days away. The two states everyone is watching, Texas and Ohio. We've got a lot of extra coverage on this leap day from the best political team on television.
LEMON: The war in Iraq, it trails the economy as the issue voters are more concerned about. But, it is a concern and it's getting more attention on the campaign trail.
Here's CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The Iraqi shoe is back. Obama said in Tuesday's debate ...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And if al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq, then we will have to act in way that secures the American homeland and our interests abroad.
SCHNEIDER: McCain sprang...
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Al Qaeda already has a base in Iraq. It's called al Qaeda in Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: Senator Obama ...
OBAMA: There was no such thing as al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.
SCHNEIDER: Senator McCain ...
MCCAIN: That's history. That's the past. That's talking about what happened before. What we should be talking about is what we're going to do now.
SCHNEIDER: The debate that's beginning to emerge is over which is the greater threat to U.S. security: for the U.S. to stay in Iraq ...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That I intend to bring to an end so that we can actually start going after al Qaeda in Afghanistan and in the hills of Pakistan, like we should have been doing in the first place.
SCHNEIDER: ...or for the U.S. to get out of Iraq?
MCCAIN: If we left Iraq, there's no doubt that al Qaeda would then gain control in Iraq and pose a threat to the United States of America.
SCHNEIDER: In two recent polls, Americans give McCain the edge over Obama on Iraq. Not because most Americans support the war, but because McCain is seen as having stronger national security credentials.
But Democrats have a new angle. They're linking the war with the economy.
OBAMA: We are bogged down in a war that John McCain now suggests might go on for another hundred years, spending $12 billion a month that could be invested in the kinds of programs that both Senator Clinton and I are talking about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: If it turns out to be a race between John McCain and Barack Obama, Iraq could be a stark choice between a staunch supporter of President Bush's troop build-up, and a consistent opponent of the war -- Brianna?
LEMON: Well, actually, it's Don.
SCHNEIDER: Oh, Don.
LEMON: That's OK, that's OK, she's nice to me sometimes, too (ph).
KEILAR: Yes, thanks, Bill.
LEMON: So, listen, I'm going to ask you would it be any different if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: I don't think so because she and Barack Obama have come out to more or less the same place on the issue of Iraq. They're both in favor of a quick withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. She has not been as consistent an opponent of the war as he has. And he made a big deal out of it and he continues do that in his campaign.
But they've come out -- they've ended up in more or less the same place, as staunch critics of the war committed to withdrawing American troops.
And I should add that the Democrats have a pretty powerful issue if most Americans believe the country is in recession. And they certainly are behaving that way. And if the Democrats can hammer home the point you just heard Barack Obama make -- made, that the United States is spending about $400 million a day on the war in Iraq.
LEMON: Yes, yes, and I don't have a crystal ball, Bill, but I wonder if things would have been different for her if she had voted no, initially, to send the troops into Iraq. I wonder if it would be different?
SCHNEIDER: Hypothetically, we really don't know. But it certainly would take one of Barack Obama's main arguments about her Iraq policy away.
LEMON: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: And they would have been more or less the same, as they've ended up right now.
LEMON: Yes, Bill Schneider, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: No problem.
KEILAR: America is No. 1, but this time, it is really nothing to be proud of. We're going to have a report on crime, punishment and the population behind bars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: We are four days away from the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4th. A big deal, and we're going have more on our leap day here about that, a political battle coming up at the top of the hour.
Also, more on a deadly Ricin scare in Las Vegas. Officials there saying it's no longer a health scare. But why would a man have the deadly poison in his motel room? We'll also be looking at that story at the top of the hour.
LEMON: An alleged gang member is under arrest in Los Angeles over Wednesday's shooting at a bus stop. Officers found 24-year-old Billy Ray Hines on the street less than half a mile from the site. Detectives say they recognized Hines from a surveillance video. Wednesday's attack apparently started with some kind of dispute between the gunman and two other people. Eight people wounded were innocent bystanders, including five children walking home from school.
KEILAR: A first in U.S. history, but it's really not a number to be proud of. More than one in every 100 American adults began this new year behind bars. A Pew Center study says 2.3 million Americans were in prison or jail at the start of 2008. That is more than any other nation. China even, with a much bigger population, had only 1.5 million in prison. The report also says corrections costs have more than quadrupled in the past 20 years. It recommends locking up fewer non-violent offenders. LEMON: Why some billboard advertising a chicken sandwich has one community crying fowl.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Marketing fowl in Pennsylvania and ruffling a few feathers in the process. The convenience store chain Sheetz has come under fire for its use of language in advertising a chick sandwich on billboards. It's the other "F" word you see between chicken and sandwich. The company defends the ad campaign, saying it's aimed at young adults and wasn't meant to offend anyone. The chicken signs are cooked anyway. Not from the communities' cries of fowl, the ad campaign is scheduled to end next week.
KEILAR: A hotel guest gets sick and then he gets sicker. Two weeks later, a friend finds deadly Ricin, a poison, in his room, and then the mystery begins.
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