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American Morning
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Calling on FARC to Release Other Hostages; Three Rescued American Hostages Will See Their Families Today; Price of Fuel has Boating Industry Taking on Water; Price of Gas Goes Up Again Overnight
Aired July 03, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was running for president of Colombia when members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, seized her.
INGRID BETANCOURT, RESCUED FARC HOSTAGE (through translator): I would not be here if it wasn't for all the commanders of the army that had to -- provides bravery to plan this extraordinary operation.
COOPER: The Americans -- Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes were military contractors employed by the U.S. government on a counter-narcotics mission in 2003 when their plane went down and they were taken hostage by FARC.
From time-to-time, FARC would release video of the men to prove they were alive. This one obtained by Colombian journalists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you and I'm just waiting to come home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our thoughts of our family carry us through the day. These are what we have.
COOPER: FARC has led a deadly campaign against Colombia, kidnapping hundreds, many still being held, but it appears that with U.S. help, the country is making gains against FARC. In one of the most stunning and successful raids in recent memory, a long ordeal is over and these three Americans are coming home.
Anderson Cooper, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning, we have extensive team coverage. CNN's Randi Kaye is here with us in New York with more. She's followed this story for years on exactly how this all of this went down.
We have Ed Lavandera in San Antonio, Texas, that's where the men are this morning, awaiting reuniting with their families.
Susan Candiotti live in Bogota, Colombia for us with reaction there. And Elizabeth Cohen at the CNN medical desk in Atlanta to talk a little bit about what some of these the freed hostages may be facing, medically speaking.
But we turn now to CNN's Randi Kaye.
And first of all, walk us through the drama of this rescue because, I mean, it was certainly daring and in the end, it all went off without a shot being fired.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's amazing how it worked out. It was a real bait and switch. Apparently, the Colombian military had infiltrated the FARC rebel group over the years. So, they came apparently acting as though they're going to transfer these hostages to another area in the jungle where the rebels also were.
So, they were loaded on to this helicopter. Now, that should have been the first clue because the FARC doesn't use the helicopters anymore. This helicopter was white and orange, came in blazing into the jungle, picked them up.
It wasn't until they were in safe territory that the men on board, who were transferring them, said you're safe, you're free, we are Colombian military. And, as Ingrid Betancourt describes it, they were jumping up and down on the helicopter so much that she said they could have brought it down. They were so excited. Imagine, just being told, you're being transferred and all of a sudden, you're free.
CHETRY: And that leads me to my next question about exactly what conditions they were living in. Apparently, this was common that they would be, you know, forced to get up and hiked miles through the jungle to go to other locations. At times, they were introduced to, what, the Red Cross and then taken away again.
KAYE: Right. And even when they were being rescued, even though they weren't realizing it at the time, they were all tied together and that's apparently how they lived.
One of the hostages, a policemen, had escaped last year and he told how they were living -- that they've been chained together at their necks, 24 hours a day. At some point, that was limited to 12 hours a day. But most of the time, it was 24 hours a day, chained together, sleeping together, eating together.
The proof of life tape that had come out did say that they were getting food, getting water, they weren't being abused but it certainly wasn't very good living conditions.
CHETRY: Well and what do we know about their health and what the next step is for them?
KAYE: Right now, they're at Brooke Medical Center. We know that one of the former hostages, Marc Gonsalves, has hepatitis. We learned that from that policeman as well. And the other two may have some type of parasitic disease. So, they'll be looked at there. They specialize there in tropical diseases. So, they'll be getting the help that they need, it appears.
CHETRY: All right. Randi Kaye, thank you.
KAYE: Thank you.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is now calling on FARC to release the other hostages being held deep in the South American jungles. With newly released Ingrid Betancourt by his side, Uribe urged FARC to seek peace with the government and he told those still in captivity not to lose hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. ALVARO URIBE, COLOMBIA (through translator): Of those who are still in captivity, you have our commitment. We will not forget them for a second, not until everybody has been brought to freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The three American hostages were the longest-held Americans ever in captivity. And this morning, they will begin the long process of medical tests and psychological evaluations.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is in San Antonio, Texas near the Brooke Army Medical Center for us with the very latest.
Good morning, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, officials here at Brooke Army Medical Center are planning a briefing for later on today. We expect, I guess, we're going to get a better sense of the physical testing, the medical testing, the psychological testing that these three men will undergo.
They arrived here in San Antonio not more than seven hours ago to great fanfare. So, this is really the first time that they have woken up on U.S. soil in more than five years. And we've heard, as you well know, John, that several family members beginning that process of coming here to San Antonio, to begin the process of reuniting with their loved ones.
But really, a lot of the attention right now is focusing on their well-being, these physical tests, these medical tests and psychological evaluations. They say it's a large part. They said they've learned a lot from other servicemen and women who had been held as POWs and they say that they will apply a lot of those tactics to getting these men reintegrated back into everyday life here in the U.S.
And even though it's an over joyous moment and everyone is incredibly excited at this moment, these men might face difficult days in the weeks and months and years ahead as they transition from being held hostage in the jungles of Colombia, transitioning back into everyday life.
John? ROBERTS: Anything more on their physical condition, Ed?
LAVANDERA: Well, you know, there are a lot of reports, several of them suffering some parasitic diseases, maybe even hepatitis. There's also -- we've heard from other hostage members that have been released several months ago about their condition, that several of them might still be suffering from physical injuries from the plane crash that led to their capture back in February of 2003. All of that needs to be extensively checked out and that will begin in earnest here this morning.
ROBERTS: Certainly, though, looking at the pictures of them coming off that C-17 and as well Ingrid Betancourt and the Colombian hostages, they all look in pretty good shape considering what they've been through.
Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, if you're looking to win big off the scratch-off lottery tickets, you might find the odds even longer than you thought. Impossible, in fact. No chance of winning the millions. Find out why.
Also, the Beijing Olympics are almost a month away, but ballroom dancing and checkers, not part of the competition.
Our Lola Ogunnaike takes a look at the new push to get new sports added to the Games
ROBERTS: A double whammy for the state of Hawaii. Families giving up on vacations due to the high cost of fuel and the rising cost of plane tickets means those who do show up have got less money to spend there in paradise. I have a look at those problems just ahead.
And you want to stay with CNN today. We are following all the details from the amazing rescue of the three Americans as well as their reunions with their families. That's all ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning. Three rescued American hostages will see their families today after more than five years in captivity in the jungle. There's the picture. Looks like Keith Stansell there coming off the C-17.
They brought them in from Bogot, on their way there to helicopter to take them to Brook Army Medical Center, which of course is familiar to a lot of people because that's a place where many injured Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans go for a lengthy medical treatment. Got a good tropical disease center there as well. A couple of them said to be suffering from some tropical diseases. So we'll keep following this for you this morning.
Ingrid Betancourt, who is a former Colombian presidential candidate who is held with them is expected to greet her family in Bogota at any moment and we will be there as the family arrives from France.
CHETRY: All right, a lot going on. And meanwhile, in just about 20 minutes, we're expecting to hear new job numbers. And Stephanie Elam "Minding Your Business" today with more on what we can expect.
I think I have a wild guess, unfortunately.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Unfortunately, your wildest guess is probably right. We're looking for some weaker numbers here. And I want to give you some perspective here of what we've been looking at. So far this year, we have lost, not including June, about 324,000 jobs from the economy.
And this doesn't even include some of those job losses that we heard yesterday, that some companies Starbucks saying that they're going to cut off 12,000 jobs. That's not even factored into these numbers. So just to give you an idea that we do know that more will be coming ahead of us.
So what I want to tell you is right now we're expecting somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs will have been lost from the economy in June. We'll get those, as Kiran was saying at 30 after the hour here. And we'll take a look for that.
June unemployment rate were expected to go to 5.4 percent. That would be a small tick downward from 5.5 percent in May. And you may think that's counter intuitive. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that a lot of teenagers came back from school, or looking for jobs, and by now, may have just given up. So that means that this number may not have included all the people that were really unemployed in the first place.
So we're looking for a number here that may not totally reflect all the people out of the market. At the same time, though, April's unemployment rate 5 percent. So it's not showing that anything is looking much better at this point.
ROBERTS: There you go. I wonder how long this is going to last. The price of oil is just driving so much of this.
ELAM: So much. And you know, some people also think the flooding in the Midwest may have played a part as well. That some people are filing for unemployment because of that in June. So that could play a part. So we'll have to keep our eye on it. This is the worst start that we've seen during the year since 2002.
So we'll be keeping our eyes on it to see exactly where these numbers come in. But the May number is revised, too. But, obviously, we need jobs created for the economy to keep growing. No matter how you cut it, if it's 5.4 percent, things are down.
CHETRY: And if you're out of work, you're feeling it.
ELAM: You know it. Right. CHETRY: You know, the other thing you talked about, you mentioned the Midwest floods. Also, the Salmonella scare and all the tomato farmers and as many of the people that were responsible for harvesting it.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes, it has been. Thanks a lot.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: We'll see you back here in a few minutes for all the rest of that.
ELAM: Great.
ROBERTS: Price of gas goes up again overnight. The national average now, $4.10 for a gallon of unleaded.
CHETRY: And it's not just the drivers that are feeling the pinch, boaters being forced to give up the ship for the shore. At least, throw out the anchor. John Zarrella takes a look.
John?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, on a sunny day in south Florida, you'd expect to see lots of boats out there. Not anymore. The price of fuel has the boating industry taking on water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Richard Velasco needed a new rod before his 4th of July weekend fishing trip. Five bucks a gallon for fuel isn't keeping him out of the water, but he's changed his habits.
RICHARD VELASCO, BOATER: It makes me think, you know, if you really -- how far you want to go, how many days you're going to stay out there.
ZARRELLA: With marine fuel running a dollar more than unleaded regular, boaters say they are slowing down, taking shorter trips and only going out when the seas are calm, all ways to burn less fuel. It still cost Oliver Wigonaide (ph), listen to this, nearly $800 to fill up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why the fish is very expensive.
ZARRELLA: At the Bass Pro-shops, GM Chuck Stevens has seen a big shift in sales.
CHUCK STEVENS, BASS PRO SHOPS: This is a 212 here, behind us. Customers that used to run 27 and 28 foot boats, that are now going down to the 23, 22 foot boats.
ZARRELLA (on camera): If you got to have that fix and you just can't afford it any longer, you can always come to the fishing hall of fame and virtual fish. It may not taste as good, but you won't have to clean it either.
(voice-over): In some cases, boaters will do whatever it takes.
BILL LAWLER, LAUDERDALE MARINA ASST. DOCKMASTER: We're starting to notice more people, two credit cards coming inside to pay for their fuel.
ZARRELLA: And manufacturers are moving quickly to plug the leaks in their sales.
CHRIS BAILEY, BOATINGBAY.COM: You're going to see a lot of innovations both in innovations being better fuel economy and engines innovation and engine technology, as you've seen already.
ZARRELLA: Like electricity, this electric boat putts along at 5 miles per hour but only cost $2 to run it for eight hours. Solar panels to keep it charge are optional. The boating industry will have to adjust experts say if it hopes to stay afloat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Of course, it's the average boater who's hurt the most. As one dock master put it, people who own boats like that one don't worry about the price of fuel.
Kiran?
John?
CHETRY: John Zarrella. All right. You know, if it costs 80 bucks to fill up your car, you know, if you have a bigger car --
ROBERTS: $800 for a lot of boats. Can you imagine?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: And they get what? Four gallons to the mile?
CHETRY: Not much.
Well, we're waiting for the reunion more than six years in the making this hour. Ingrid Betancourt's family expected to arrive in Bogota, Colombia, from France where they are going to finally meet up with her after years and years of holding out hope that she would be found alive and brought back from her hostage situation for six years.
ROBERTS: Unbelievable. What a reunion that's going to be today.
If you're feeling lucky this morning, you may want to think twice about buying a scratch-off. It turns out that some states are selling lottery tickets even though the top prize is already gone.
CHETRY: Our Rob Marciano is at the CNN weather center tracking a tropical depression in the Atlantic. You showed us this yesterday and said it could be growing. It's off the coast of Africa. What's going on? ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is growing. It's our second tropical depression of the year. It could become our second tropical storm of the year. The question is -- where is it going? And is it a U.S. threat? We'll tell you about it when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We're following breaking news this morning. As the three Americans rescued from Colombia in that dramatic rescue yesterday wake up on U.S. soil for the first time in more than five years. The former hostages expected to have a number of medical and psychological evaluations today at Brook Army Medical Center. That's in San Antonio, Texas.
And there is video new this morning of them arriving there in San Antonio in the wee hours of the morning, where they are heading to Brooke Army Medical Center for those tests.
John?
ROBERTS: And we'll keep following that story all day. But right now, take a look at this picture. One of Chile's largest and most active volcanoes is erupting again. About a dozen people had to be evacuated from the area. It's about 370 miles south of Santiago. And you could see there is a nighttime shot of that lava coming down the side of the volcano. The same volcano erupted for two weeks back in January.
Local official says the lava flow is now melting snow on the mountain. Back in January, the same problem caused a river to flood.
19 minutes after the hour, Rob Marciano is in the CNN weather center in Atlanta. And he's tracking weather today. We got fire danger out west and looks like you got some tropical stuff behind you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Looking for a whole dud hurricane season this year. Rob, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Speaking of weather, is it hot enough for you? A Dutch meteorologist says get used to it. He's predicting that by the end of the century, heat waves will be several degrees hotter than they are today. He says by 2100, heat waves could reach 110 degrees in say Atlanta. In Chicago, the mercury could top at 110 degrees and Los Angeles could broil at 117 degrees.
ROBERTS: A former hostage expected to greet her family for the first time in more than six years. Ingrid Betancourt, former hostage and former Colombian presidential candidate, rescued yesterday along with 14 others. Her family flying in from France this morning. We will be there live for the reunion.
CHETRY: And two of the freed American hostages may need treatment for a nasty tropical disease. Elizabeth Cohen investigates for us.
Sold out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have no shot to win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: It's not just the odds that are against you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't aware of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Jason Carroll looks into stale lotto tickets. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We are following breaking news this morning. Three American hostages back on U.S. soil following a daring rescue mission in Colombia. They'll soon be reunited with their families. And we're going to have the very latest on their ordeal and what's next.
That dramatic rescue redefines the word "miracle." That's how the niece of rescued American hostage, Thomas Howes, described the news of her uncle's freedom, after more than five years in captivity. We spoke with Amanda earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF AMANDA HOWES, NIECE OF HOSTAGE: Just telling him how much we love him and how thankful we are that they're returning to the states. And we watched the coverage last night. And we're just completely overjoyed with the way everything was handled. And we're so happy and honestly, we had hoped for five years, and it's such a miracle that he returned to us safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: CNN's Joe Johns tells us more about the hostage takers and their decades long battle with Bogota's government.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spring 2003, Colombia. A small plane flies low over rebel-held territory on an anti-drug surveillance mission. Four Americans are on board. Private contractors working for the U.S. government's drug eradication program. The plane goes down in the worst possible place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magic Worker (INAUDIBLE). We have lost engines. We are north at 020394. JOHNS: They are surrounded by gunmen, soldiers of the largest armed rebel force in the western hemisphere, a guerrilla group that goes by the name FARC. FARC controls huge areas of the Colombian jungle, earning money from the cocaine trade, waging war against the Colombian government. Its members kidnap and kill. And the U.S. government has branded FARC a terrorist organization.
In this October 2003 video, one of the Americans describes what happened.
KEITH STANSELL, HELD BY FARC FOR 5 YEARS: Bags of the aircraft, I looked, and I heard gunshots, and the FARC were on the ground. They were shooting into the air.
JOHNS: The plane's pilot, an American and a Colombian intelligence officer are taken away and shot dead execution style.
This never before seen footage of the crash site, taken by a Colombian recovery team, shows the wreckage and the bodies.
The three surviving Americans, Thomas Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves are taken to a FARC camp. They have been held ever since.
More exclusive footage obtained by CNN, taken by the Colombian army after a failed attempt to rescue the hostages. By the time the army got there, the men had been spirited away, out of sight, all but forgotten for the next three years.
May 2007, an incredible development. A Colombian police officer, part of a group of 60 hostages that includes the Americans, escapes and tells his story. Pinch says the Americans are alive, that he has seen them just weeks ago.
JOHN PINCHAO, ESCAPED FARC HOSTAGE (through translator): I hope they make it back soon one way or another. I know that some day they will see the light of liberty.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And at 27 minutes after the hour, here are some of the other top stories that we are following right now. Breaking news, oil climbing to new highs this morning, edging to $146 a barrel.
A French judge has reportedly ordered Continental Airlines and five people to stand trial for manslaughter. It's over the Air France Concord that went down in flames shortly after take off in Paris in 2000. The Associated Press reports that two Continental Airlines employees, two ex-Concord heads and a former chief in the French Civil Aviation Authority will stay in trial later on this year.
The Kroger company is expanding a recall of ground beef to stores in more than 20 states because of possible E. Coli contamination. Its beef products have been linked to E. Coli cases in Michigan and Ohio. The company says the nearly 500 pounds of beef was produced between May 16th and June 24th.
A tower at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Las Vegas will reopen today. It was closed on Monday after E. Coli bacteria was found in the water supply. Some 500 guests were relocated to other rooms or hotels in the strip. So far, there had been no reports of illnesses.
Well, the odds of winning it big on one of those scratch-off lottery tickets apparently is a long shot. But in a number of states, it may actually be so long that it's impossible.
CNN's Jason Carroll is here to tell us more about that.
What's going on?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the problem is, some say, with scratch-off lottery tickets like this one. This one happens to be from New Jersey. They say that in some cases, it's just not possible to win because they say top prize is already gone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Chances are you've seen the slogans. Add millions to your jackpot.
In New Jersey, for every dream there's a jackpot. The problem is the pot may not be quite as big as advertised. That's because some states are selling scratch off lottery tickets for top prizes even after those prizes have already been won.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, really? I wasn't aware of that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's terrible. That's not right.
CARROLL: Scott Hoover thinks it's wrong too.
SCOTT HOOVER, SUING VIRGINIA LOTTERY: I got duped into buying these things.
CARROLL: Last August, the business professor brought a $5 scratch-off ticket for a Virginia game called "Beginner's Luck." The grand prize, $75,000. He lost. Curious, he researched the odds of winning. Public records show someone had already won the top prize, one month before he played.
SCOTT HOOVER, SUING VIRGINIA LOTTER: We discovered that what the lottery was doing was leaving stale tickets on the shelves after the last grand prize winners had been claimed.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So he's suing the Virginia state lottery.
JOHN FISHWICK, HOOVER'S ATTORNEY: You know, it's one thing to say it's a long shot to win the $75,000. But it's another thing to say you have no shot to win it. CARROLL: "USA Today" estimates about half of the 42 states that have lotteries keep selling tickets after top prizes are claimed. Lotto officials for some states say the practice is fair because lesser prices are still available and they say tickets and lotto web sites make that clear. But it wasn't clear to some New Jersey lottery players who paid $20 a ticket, trying to win the $1 million explosion game. That top prize is gone. The most they can win, $10,000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost like false advertisement. People are expecting to win one thing and in reality, they will be presented, if they win, with something else.
CARROL: A spokesman for the New Jersey lottery told CNN the information on winning tickets is readily available on their web site but they're looking how to improve their procedures.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (on-camera): Okay. And back to the state of Virginia, Scott Hoover is actually suing the state for $85 million. He estimates that is the calculated total for every person in that state who bought what he calls a stale ticket.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: This is happening not just in Virginia, according to Hoover, but other organizations that found there are 42 states that had lotteries, about half of them had this problem?
CARROLL: Right. Some people saying that they experienced the same problems in places like Florida and Tennessee.
ROBERTS: Wow, incredible. Jason, thanks for that. Let's get a little bit more on this now. Why are states still selling these tickets when there's no chance to win the jackpot and are states doing enough to make it clear exactly how much players can win?
Paula Otto is the executive director of the Virginia Lottery. She was appointed to that post by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine in January. She joins us now from Virginia Lottery headquarters in Richmond. Miss Otto, you heard what Scott Hoover had to say. He believes that the Virginia Lottery Corporation owes players of the lotto $85 million for selling tickets that had no big prices left on them. What do you say?
PAULA OTTO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIRGINIA LOTTERY: Well, John, first of all, I'd like to say, thanks very much for having me on this morning and giving us a chance to tell our side of the story.
The Virginia Lottery stands by the integrity and the fairness of our games and the way that we sell our tickets. For many years now when the last top prize is won in a scratch ticket, we do end that game.
ROBERTS: But let me ask you this question, over the past five years, did Virginia sell tickets for which there were no top prices left? OTTO: Well, in a very few games, about 15 percent of our games, there may have been a reason why we wanted to re-stock those games, to order additional tickets, which means that we were actually putting more prizes back out there. It's that process -
ROBERTS: So the answer is, yes, then you were selling tickets for which there were no top prices left?
OTTO: Well, you know, I think that our players understand that with the scratch game, the odds are always changing. You never know when the last prices are going to be sold or where they're going to be sold. That's what makes it a lottery. When we were doing that restocking, which we haven't done in the last year, there was indeed a chance that at some point, there may be some tickets out there that didn't have a top prize. But that was something we've always told our players. That's been available on the web site. And the only reason that would happen is because we had more top prizes and new tickets going out to the stores.
ROBERTS: Well, let me ask you this question. The Virginia Lottery Corporation said it stopped the practice of restocking these tickets in July of 2007. It would appear that you knew there was a problem. Did you say anything about it?
OTTO: Well, actually, the reason that we haven't been doing it for the last year. And again, in the majority of the games, we did in fact end the game as soon as the last top prize was won. But there were a couple of business reasons, most having to do with technology and new bar code technology as well as a change in our instant ticket vendor. Again, in 85 percent of the games, we were ending them immediately and we felt that that was the better way to end the games.
ROBERTS: But again, Paula, you knew - it would appear that you knew that there was a problem, did you say anything about it?
OTTO: Well, I guess I would disagree with that. That we absolutely have always been very open and honest with our players about the way that our scratch tickets are distributed. You could go to the web site. We actually update the web site every single business day, and so, yes, there were times when there was a scratch game out there that might have said zero, in terms of the number of top prices but our players knew that.
ROBERTS: Right. I've got this New Jersey lottery ticket with me here that Jason Carroll gave me. I would assume that a Virginia lottery ticket probably has the similar disclaimer. It says prize availability subject to prior claims for top prizes, visit newjerseylottery.net. I'm sure you got a virginialottery.com to get the same sort of thing. But I mean, these are the very definition, are they not, of an impulse buy at a convenience store. How would a person have a chance to check this before they bought it and scratched it?
OTTO: Well, again, it's in a very small number of the tickets. And you know, I think the concentration, the focus has certainly been on the top prize. And I think it's important to remember, that only about three percent of the prizes in scratch tickets go to the top prize. 97 percent of that prize money is going to prizes from a dollar, up to tens of thousands of dollars. So, never is there a time that you have a ticket out at a retail outlet that doesn't have a chance of winning some prize.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll continue to follow this case, Paula Otto, from the Virginia Lottery Corporation. Thanks for being with us this morning.
OTTO: Thanks for having me.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Two of the three American hostages may need medical treatment for a disease that you get in the jungle. They are being examined today and Elizabeth Cohen is going to tell us what it is and how they get treated.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY:. Well, the news just in. And June job numbers are out now, our Stephanie Elam joins us with that. Stephanie, what do you know?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're taking a look at the numbers, Kiran. And actually, the unemployment rate stayed steady in June at 5.5 percent. That compares to the month before which was 5.5 percent. We actually sort of expected that there could be a small tic down. That did not happen. Now, as far as the number of jobs lost in June, that number 62,000 jobs left the economy last month. We were expecting somewhere between 50 and 60,000 to leave. The other interesting note here though is May. The numbers were revised. We had 49,000 jobs that left the economy. This number now revised to 62,000 jobs that actually left the economy. So if you take a look, that means, 399,000 jobs have been lost so far this year. Back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie, thanks.
Meanwhile, the rescued American hostages undergoing medical testing today. Two are said to need treatment for a tropical disease that they contracted during years in captivity in the jungle. CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta. It has a long name, leishmaniasis. But, really, is it some boils on the skin?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends what type you have. And let's talk about some of the basics of this disease. As you said, it's called leishmaniasis and it affects some two million people every year, in tropical areas like Colombia. It's very rarely seen here in the U.S.. Now as you mentioned, problems with the skin. If someone gets cutaneous leishmaniasis disease, it causes these horrible sores that can take months or even years to go away and sometimes people who have them actually end up having to have plastic surgery to correct the damage.
There's another type of leishmaniasis and we don't know which type these former hostages had. But the other type is called visceral leishmaniasis, and it attacks the internal organs and if it is left untreated, it can kill. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. So, you talked about what it is. So what type of treatment are they going to have to undergo if indeed they do have this?
COHEN: There are some great anti-parasitic drugs that work very well. There are very high cure rates. So if it is given in enough time, if the disease hasn't progressed too far, these drugs work really quite well.
CHETRY: All right. Well, hopefully we'll know a little bit more about their condition and whether or not they can get treatment quickly. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: The high price of fuel is causing families to take what we call around here stay-cations this summer. But Hawaii is working over time to see that you don't stay at home. We'll tell you what it's offering.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Card playing as an Olympic sport?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Do you have to work your fingers out? Do little mini push ups?
ROBERTS: Lola Ogunnaike talks to bridge players and ballroom dancers hoping to bring home the gold. you're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: "Viva La Vida" from Coldplay there this morning, the discus, the shot put, the tango? No, dancing is not going to be at the Beijing Olympics. But it as AMERICAN MORNING's Lola Ogunnaike shows us now, it is not stopping some fans of dance from trying to add more events to the games.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OGUNNAIKE (voice-over): Ballroom dancing has become hugely popular again, thanks to shows like "Dancing with the stars." But despite the athleticism it takes to perform these moves, you won't see ballroom dancing at this year's Olympic games. That's outraged professionals like Eugene and Maria Manusova.
MARIA MANUSOVA, NATIONAL LATIN DANCE CHAMPION: I think because of the level of commitment, dedication, athleticism that is involved in it, it's just like any other sport. So, I see no reason why it shouldn't be.
OGUNNAIKE: These 11-time national champions say people underestimate their skills. The lift, the twirls, the splits. Looks easy? I tried it. Definitely not easy.
MANUSOVA: Little figure 8s.
OGUNNAIKE: My figure 8 is a little bigger than yours.
MANUSOVA: It doesn't matter. We're getting into club dancing.
OGUNNAIKE: OK. Yes.
MANUSOVA: Too high.
OGUNNAIKE: Oops, sorry.
There are only 28 competitive categories at the games. And landing a spot on the list is nearly impossible. Rugby, karate, squash and golf have all lobbied unsuccessfully for spot. And then there's bridge. Bridge? An Olympic sport?
EDITH SHEVELOVA, BRIDGE PLAYER: You have to concentrate. You have to be able to count to 13. Which is very hard.
OGUNNAIKE: And you have to have the eye of the tiger, too, I hear. But card playing, I mean, do you have to work your fingers out? Do you do mini pushups with your thumbs to make sure that you move your cards quick enough?
MICHAEL POLOWAN, INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE PROFESSIONAL: It's not a timed event in that sense. So the manner in which you play your cards is not terribly relevant.
OGUNNAIKE: Before a sport can be added to a game, another has to be dropped. Doping accusations or lack of international appeal could get a sport cut. The lineup for the next three Olympics has already been decided. The committee meets again in 2013 to select the events for the 2020 games. Too late for Eugene and Maria, but perhaps just in time for these future champions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And Lola joins us now. Any chance for any of these sports to be in maybe not three Olympics from now but maybe four or five from now?
OGUNNAIKE: Yes. But chances are very slim. The Olympic committee really wants to keep the games tight. Only 28 sports allowed because they want smaller cities to be able to participate. If the games get too large and unwieldy, then only larger cities will be able to host. They don't want that to be the case at all.
ROBERTS: You say typically other sports have to be voted out for others to be voted in?
OGUNNAIKE: Baseball and softball were voted out a few years ago.
ROBERTS: Oh, Yes. They're not sports at all. OGUINNAKE: So the last time you will see them actually is at the Beijing games. They can reapply next year to be in the 2016 games but the last time you will get to see softball and baseball in this Olympics. Tune in.
ROBERTS: And what about Olympic bridge? Any chance we will ever see Olympic Bridge?
OGUINNAIKE: Not likely, you will probably see karate or squash before you see bridge. So, sorry.
ROBERTS: I don't know, 100-meter hurdles, competitive bridge. About the same level of physical activity.
OGUINNAIKE: That card playing is tough, really tough.
ROBERTS: Lola, interesting piece. Thanks.
OGUNNAIKE: Thanks.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away and Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kiran. Good morning to you and good morning everyone. Celebrating freedom in the NEWSROOM,. Three Americans undergoing medical tests, reuniting with family in Texas today, rescued after five years of captivity in Colombia.
The groundbreaking for the new Walter Reed Hospital today. President Bush will be there. Live coverage in the NEWSROOM. Flames licking at the town of Big Sur, California. Forcing new evacuations and homes also at risk to the south in Santa Barbara county.
New numbers just in on June unemployment as well. "Issue Number One" in the NEWSROOM. Top of the hour on CNN. Back to you.
CHETRY: Right. Thanks, Tony.
With soaring gas prices, it's no wonder mom, dad and the kids are staying home this summer. It's hurting Hawaii which relies heavily on tourism. Also, working hard to woo you back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Jeanne Moos on what it's like to track the candidates' every move.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Full report. Michelle and Barack Obama initials to say -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8:32 p.m., M.I.& B.O. flirt.
CHETRY: A rare look at the protective pool report. You're watching the most news in the morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: You got 20 reports of tornadoes.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Eight people were killed after severe weather.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it goes.
COLLINS: Crews are fighting fires on several fronts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAD SKYLAR AGOGLIA, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The most critical phase of a disaster is the first few days. That's when you have to find the people that are in desperate need of medical attention, food, water. If there is a building lying in the middle of the road. How do you get all those resources to those people? My name is Tad Skylar Agoglia. I provide hope and help to those in their greatest hour of need. I put together a crew that stays on the road 12 months of the year, responding to disasters all over America, free of charge.
Do you know where we can be of some help? Often times, I'm asked why I do this? I can't help but think why aren't more people doing this?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: July is the last month to nominate someone you know as a CNN hero for 2008. Go to cnn.com/heroes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Families are spending less on vacation, due to the high cost of gas. Flying isn't the answer either. And it's creating a double whammy for the island of Hawaii. They depend heavily on tourism. CNN's Chris Lawrence has more from Honolulu. Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the tourism industry has already starting to slip and officials here are spending millions to make sure it doesn't turn into a full-blown slide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Things aren't so perfect in paradise. Two airlines gone bust. Others are adding huge surcharges on flights to Hawaii. Cancellations are up at some hotels and the high cost of fuel is making an island vacation more expensive.
PETER KIM, OWN'S RESTAURANT CHAIN: Does it mean we lose 20 percent of our business? That remains to be seen.
LAWRENCE: Peter Kim owns dozens of restaurants and he's sure some of them will take a hit.
KIM: Without the tourism, our business are going to go down.
LAWRENCE: Tourism officials are spending millions to convince Americans they can still afford Hawaii.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save when you book your vacation right now.
LAWRENCE: Hotels and restaurants are offering discounts to make the overall trip less expensive. And so far, compared to April of last year, people are staying longer and spending more money.
MARSHA WIENERT, STATE TOURISM LIAISON: Total visitors to the islands were down seven percent. Well, that's not a crisis.
LAWRENCE: But it doesn't tell the whole story. Visitors from the west coast dropped 15 percent from a year ago. That's Hawaii's single biggest market.
PROF. IRA RONTER, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII: I don't see that people will continue to come to Hawaii. It's too expensive.
LAWRENCE: For years, Professor Ira Ronter has been encouraging officials to diversify, promoting smaller localized eco-friendly tours and break the dependence on mass tourism.
RONTER: If the 30 year economy is linked to outsiders coming here and paying for things, what happens when they stop coming?
LAWRENCE: Peter Kim is wondering the same thing. He's paying more to import his ingredients while facing pressure to discount his menu to attract tourists.
KIM: But how can you reduce the price when you're paying more money for the raw materials. So, I think it will get very messy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: The one thing that everyone agrees on the days of cheap fuel and cheaper flights are done and tourism officials are going to have to learn to live with this new reality for quite a while. John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Wow, how did he get that assignment?
CHETRY: I know, we don't need any convincing. We'll go.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Tomorrow.
CHETRY: We'd love to.
ROBERTS: A lovely place to spend Independence day.
Barack Obama took a break from the campaign trail to be a soccer dad. But unlike most soccer dad, this one has an entire press corps recording his every move. Ahead Jeanne Moos gives us the play by play.
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ROBERTS: When you are running for president, is there no escaping the media spotlight.
CHETRY: Barack Obama just wanted to be a dad and watch his daughter's soccer game. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. The cameras caught his every move. Here's the most news in the morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to seem presidential when you're wandering around, looking for a spot to set up your portable seat so you can watch your kid's soccer game on a warm night in Chicago, full of summer sound. And bugs that don't care if it's Barack Obama they're buzzing. Occasionally someone tapped his shoulder, looking to shake his hand. But for the most part, daddy Obama was just a guy with his wife, rooting for their daughter. But even the thrill of the game couldn't overcome the sleep deficit for someone who's been going, going, going for months. Watching the candidate's every move almost has a whiff of spying to it. But there's a name for this, called the protective pool report also known as body watch.
A single reporter acts as the eyes and ears for the rest of the press, following the candidate everywhere, from a barber shop for a haircut to an upscale restaurant. They file a written pool report with a decidedly informal tone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michelle looks slamming' in a hot in a black cocktail dress with a severe slit down the back.
MOOS: Actually, a woman wrote that pool report. Once in a while, a pool reporter gets it wrong. The other day, it was reported that a kid put out his first for a first pound and Obama refused. It turns out the kid asked Obama to sign his hand, not fist pounded.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course, mom may not be happy when she comes home. Plus, what's the dirt in your hand?
MOOS: Much of what's in a pool report is useless but fun trivia. For instance, back at the soccer game when husband and wife had a mock fight. The pool report used Michelle and Barack Obama's initials to say -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 8:32 p.m., M.O. and B.O. flirt. M.O. hits B.O. playfully multiple times in a row.
MOOS: During a break in the game, the parents high-five their daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Obama stood up and demonstrated proper kicking form.
MOOS: When it was time for the candidate to go back to work, he gave his youngest daughter a kiss as she hung on his leg. One of our favorite moments, the pool report missed is when dad started reading his blackberry and mom gave him a sharp nudge, back the blackberry went in its holster, bury that blackberry. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Everybody's watching everything.
CHETRY: That's right. They look a nice normal couple, though, right? You know what I mean?
ROBERTS: The Secret Service hovering just off to the side.
CHETRY: Exactly. Right. Can't even take in a soccer game. Poor thing.
ROBERTS: That's going to do it for us today. We will see you bright and early tomorrow on the fourth of July. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Fourth of July tomorrow, huh? We'll be here bright and early. Right. Independence day. Right now, here's CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
