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Woman Survives Bear Attack; Paying Kids to Learn; Anthrax Case Suicide; Experimental Aircraft Display

Aired August 02, 2008 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Most people would go into shock and not remember a thing. But she remembers everything especially getting very upset that that bear spit her teeth out. Her dogs were there to help her out. They weren't seriously injured but they've been credited with potentially saving her life. Officials say they are still searching for the bear.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hope they find it.

MARCIANO: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, the news is unfolding live on this Saturday morning, the 2nd day of August. Good morning, I'm Rob Marciano in today for T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. Anthrax investigation under the microscope. Could it happen again?

MARCIANO: A tiny leak in a U.S. nuclear sub. CNN has an exclusive report.

NGUYEN: Paying kids to learn. Does it really work? You're in the CNN NEWSROOM and we'll find out. Up first though, still many unanswered questions this morning after the suicide of a former army scientist said to have emerged as the main suspect in the deadly anthrax attacks that jolted America seven years ago. Was Bruce Ivins really responsible for the anthrax laced letters sent to congressional offices and to news organizations? And if so, why did he do it? CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from Ft. Detrick in Maryland. Have you gotten any closer to answering the question why?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Betty, there are some suspicions. They are coming from some sources we have but no official reports coming out from the U.S. government as to the case they had against Bruce Ivins. But a U.S. official familiar with the investigation said that it was a genetic technology that actually identified the specific type of anthrax used in the 2001 attack and that then led them back here to Ft. Detrick to the bio defense lab here where Ivins had worked for decades trying in part during that time to figure out an anthrax vaccine. Now Ivins lived just down the street from here. Early on Sunday morning, last Sunday morning, police say that someone probably his wife they say called 911. The fire department responded. They found Ivins unresponsive in his home. On Tuesday a few days later he died in a local hospital in this area. Neighbors here just shocked, saddened by the death and development in the case and they say though it was obvious to them the government had been keeping an eye on Ivins for some time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE DUGGAN, NEIGHBOR: We started noticing the surveillance probably a year ago. It was -- I guess the reason we noticed it as much as anything was because of the inconvenience. They would often be parked in front of our house when we would need to park our car there.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The U.S. government has not made details of the case against Ivins public. We don't even know what they were going to be charging him with but a U.S. official familiar with the investigation says that authorities are looking into the possibility that perhaps Ivins released anthrax to actually test to see if his anthrax vaccine that he was working on did work. Now Ivins had learned a short while ago that he was going to be indicted. Prosecutors were going to be seeking the death penalty against him and Ivins' lawyer says that it was really the stress of this investigation that prompted him to kill himself. Not that he was actually guilty of the 2001 attacks. But other signs we've been seeing, we've heard about that Ivins was very troubled. At the time of his death there was a temporary restraining order against him, this was from a female therapist who accused him of stalking, harassing and also threatening violence against her. She was actually scheduled to testify against Ivins yesterday on Friday before a federal grand jury in Washington. That testimony was canceled though in light of his death. Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. Brianna, take us back for just a minute. Because investigators were initially focused on another person in this anthrax case, another researcher, what ever happened to that person?

KEILAR: Steven Hatfill, a civilian researcher who worked in the very same bio defense lab here at Ft. Detrick. He was very much the center of this investigation post-2001. Last month he actually settled a lawsuit against the federal government for millions of dollars. He claimed they violated his privacy and apparently that appears to be the case because there was certainly a settlement but at this point a lot of people in light of how this investigation has gone on and how it points it's been misguided, a lot of people want to know about these official facts against Ivins in this case.

NGUYEN: All right, CNN's Brianna Keilar joining us live in Maryland. Thank you Brianna.

MARCIANO: It's been almost seven years since the anthrax attacks. You may remember letters laced with deadly bacteria arrived at congressional offices and news organizations just weeks after the September 11th attacks. The letters killed five people including two postal workers. 17 people became seriously ill. Early in the investigation officials identified researcher Steven Hatfill as a person of interest. He denied involvement and sued the government. Hatfill recently settled for a one-time payment of almost $3 million plus $150,000 a year for life. No arrests were made in the case.

NGUYEN: After those 2001 anthrax attacks new precautions were put in place aimed at heading off similar attacks in the future. CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctors and nurses are better trained to recognize the effects of a biological attack. The number of laboratories and technicians capable of identifying biological agents has grown. Bio surveillance systems which can detect outbreaks of illness are now deployed. The federal government's stockpile of medicines and vaccines is larger and state and local governments have practiced distributing medicine in a crisis.

BRIAN JACKSON, RAND CORP.: Those general purpose investments are situations where we can get a benefit every day even if we're not attacked which is attractive from the perspective of getting the most benefit for our money that we're investing.

MESERVE: But experts say there is further to go and some government programs are met with skepticism. Critics say increased security around laboratories and people who deal with biological agents could stifle important research and they point out the rules don't apply overseas.

TOM INGLESBY, CENTER FOR BIOSECURITY: You could make a large supply of anthrax or other kinds of biological pathogens elsewhere in the world and bring them across borders without protection. There's no way that we're going to be able to stop these kinds of things from coming across the border.

MESERVE: The postal service has biohazard detection devices in its processing and distribution centers and eradiates mail to some Washington zip codes. But its effectiveness has been minimized. A new report says some government agencies bypass the process by having their mail delivered elsewhere.

(On camera): The government has deployed sensors to detect biological agents but they are deployed in only 30 cities, sniff out a limited number of pathogens and are slow. A new generation is in the works. Though our protections are far from cryptic, it might be enough to deter an attack with biological weapons. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Drama on the hill this week. Renegade republicans take over the house floor. They were angry democrats adjourned for summer break before holding votes to expand offshore oil drilling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't shut down free speech in this house.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Democrats unplugged the TV lights and sound system before they left but one congressman shot this video with his cell phone and put it on YouTube. Staffers and tourists were pulled into the chamber to fill the seats. The noisy spectacle went on for six hours and it ended with a rousing chorus of "God bless America." How about that.

NGUYEN: Homeowners in north central Washington State are on alert this morning. A wildfire may prompt evacuation orders around the town of Omak. 1,000 acres have burned and several dozen homes may be in the line of fire. Smoke is so bad that a lot of people are leaving on their own and a second fire in nearby Grand Cooley has forced people to flee at least five homes.

Now, to California, that wildfire near Yosemite National Park we've been covering all week, well it's now 60 percent contained. 45 families are still waiting to go home and 21 families won't have homes to go home to.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Have you heard about the nuclear sub that had a leak? Well it is a CNN exclusive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: A CNN exclusive now. A nuclear sub leaks radioactive water in Hawaii and perhaps two other pacific stops. One sailor was exposed and here's senior pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CNN has learned that two weeks ago the fast attack submarine "USS Houston" was found to be leaking a tiny amount of radioactive water after it pulled into Hawaii for routine maintenance. The navy confirms a sailor's leg was doused with the water which officials insist contained an extremely low level of radiation, when a leaky valve allowed about a gallon of the liquid to gather in a discharge pipe. Tests on the sailor revealed no measurable exposure but navy policy requires any unusual event involving nuclear reactors to be fully reported. And because the Houston may have been leaking when it stopped in both Japan and Guam before going to Hawaii, all three ports were notified of the potential problem. In Japan the issue is particularly sensitive because Tokyo only recently agreed to ease its ban on nuclear ships to allow the U.S. aircraft carrier George Washington" to be based in (INAUDIBLE) beginning next month.

Already U.S. navy officials have had to assure the Japanese government that strict accountability was being enforced finally a fire on the GW back in May, that did not involve the nuclear power plant. The 12-hour blaze caused by unauthorized smoking near improperly stored flammable materials did $70 million damage. Both the ship's captain and executive officer were sacked. The relatively minor leak on the "USS Houston" probably would have attracted little notice except it follows a number of embarrassing lapses in the U.S. air force. In one case, nuclear fuses were inadvertently shipped to Taiwan and in another, six nuclear tipped cruise missiles were mistakenly flown cross country aboard a B-52 from Minot Air Force base. And just this week an unarmed minuteman booster rocket was involved in an accident at the same base when heavy rains apparently caused a road to give way under a truck transporting it to a lawn site.

(On camera): Navy officials insist the amount of radiation that leaked was so tiny it posed no risk. Measuring at about one half a micro curie(ph). Less than would be given off by a 50 pound bag of common garden fertilizer. Still the navy says when it comes to nuclear safety, no standard is too high. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: A record number of Iraqi refugees are now calling the U.S. home. The state department says more than 2,300 refugees arrived last month and that shattered the previous record of more than 1,700 in Hune. The influx of Iraqi refugees puts the Bush administration on pace to meet its goal of accepting 12,000 refugees by September but critics say the U.S. has a moral obligation to do more. They say the 12,000 target is far lower than the number of refugees other countries have taken in and just a fraction of the two million Iraqis that have fled to neighboring countries.

MARCIANO: Our ground breaking special report "Black in America" included a stunning statistics. About half of the one million people living with HIV or AIDS are black. This week's CNN hero is trying to change that. Bambi Gaddist is battling on the front line of the AIDS epidemic in the Deep South.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BAMBI GADDIST, MEDICAL MARVEL: Here in South Carolina HIV is a problem particularly among African-Americans. After 27 years of AIDS we are still combating a mentality of fear and shame. I'm Bambi Gaddist and I'm fighting to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in South Carolina. Our organization has the only HIV testing mobile unit in the state. Our goal is to be in the community testing at a nightclub. We're there when young folks are out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was my first time. Very, very first time. I'm glad I did it. She takes time to explain things. Actually break it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When people that are scared see a place like this, it may make them want to go in and get tested.

GADDIST: We had a very good night. We had quite a few people decide to find out their status. We also had positives.

When we get a positive, it validates why we need to keep doing the work. I joke about being a 70-year-old woman giving out condoms to the children. When it's my time I want my obituaries to say that I made a difference for someone and that I saved someone's life.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO: We'll honor the most inspiring CNN Heroes during an all star tribute thanksgiving night right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: Will students make better grades if they're paid to go to class?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Paying students to learn. One Georgia school system recently tried it in an attempt to boost those sagging grades.

MARCIANO: Now the experiment is over and Josh Levs who first reported on the program when it started is here to tell us the result. Getting paid to go to class, sounds like a pretty good deal.

JOSHUA LEVS: You guys remember this in Fairburn, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, right? The big controversy here was that they weren't paid for performance. It wasn't like you get an A you get some money. Just for showing up four hours a week you get eight bucks an hour to be tutored in math and science. This money was all private from a private foundation. It was not taxpayer money. We have just gotten the results. Here they are, let's take a look. In math students grades went down in this program but other similar students who were not in the program had an even bigger drop in their math grades. So maybe it helped. In science the kids in this program, their grades went up while other similar kids their grades went down. The report, independent analysis says this, "While the financial incentives served to attract students to the program, the rewards associated with success and positive support from others were more important in keeping students engaged." Short version, it wasn't all about the money in the end to these kids who took part.

MARCIANO: What's the end result with the whole controversy, the complaints?

LEVS: It doesn't go away.

NGUYEN: I was going to say, especially if some of the scores didn't actually go up.

LEVS: Right, that's part of it. They're going to say, look, it wasn't as huge a success as some people thought it might be. Also, if you think about what some of these big arguments were, some people said it's not fair to kids who aren't paid. Well that still stays the same. And as one expert told us it could make kids less interested in learning later on when they're not paid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALFIE KOHN, AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR: Rewards aren't just ineffective. They're counterproductive and we've seen this over and over again.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: One student in the program told me the money helped get him more interested in learning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAILYN, BROWN, 8TH GRADE: It do help. It motivates me to come and drive to learn. That's part of it. Then the other part, my motivation one, learn and show my mom good grades. It's all kind of maybe I would do it if money wasn't involved.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right, so that's as much as we know for now. But guys the real reality check will come next year. Because we're going to follow these kids, see if they keep pursuing learning, do they start to give up? What's the long-term effect? That will actually tell us more.

NGUYEN: Any chance they will tweak it so that they'll make it reward based? If you get an A then you actually get the money or more money than those who didn't?

LEVS: The organizers say that's one thing they'll consider based on this but so far they haven't actually made that change. We have to see if the same private group wants to fund it again next year. They might keep it the same.

MARCIANO: What about fear based? That worked for me.

NGUYEN: If you don't get an A, no television. Talking to your friends. No life. Thank you.

A plea deal. This (INAUDIBLE) of fast food. Two preteens must write I will not vandalize other people's property one million times. Its part of a deal worked out between Chick-Fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy and the parents of 11 and 12 year old girls. Here's what happened. They're accused of trashing Cathy's Florida home to the tune of $30,000 in damages. In their defense the girls said we were bored. Kathy says he won't file charges can you believe it. If the girls complete their writing assignment plus they're banned from watching television and playing video games and they must read a book. I think Rob some folks would say that's better punishment than actually charging them a fine because it does teach them a lesson.

MARCIANO: Reading a book is certainly torture for kids sometimes.

Thieves found something a little bit more valuable than gas to steal from your car. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Welcome back, its 48 minutes after the hour. Here's what's happening now across the country. There's a new accusation against a man accused of killing three swimmers at a lake in northern Wisconsin. A 24-year-old woman is accusing the same man of rape the night before the assault on the swimmers. Investigators remain tight lipped also about the death of former army scientist Bruce Ivins. Sources say Ivins killed himself after learning he was going to be indicted for the 2001 anthrax attacks. So far the justice department is saying only that there's been substantial progress in the investigation and more information may soon be released.

NGUYEN: The lawyer who was representing Bruce Ivins insists his client was innocent. CNN's Brian Todd takes a closer look at what the scientists' friends and neighbors are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (associate producer: From home where his widow spoke to police but no one else, to his church where friends say he was a good keyboard player, a portrait emerges of Bruce Ivins as an awkward unassuming man who was under enormous strain in the final months of his life. Norman Cuvert, former spokesman at Fort Detrick says he knew Ivins for 15 years. He doesn't believe federal officials had the right suspect in the anthrax attacks.

NORMAN COVERT, FMR. FORT DETRICK SPOKESMAN: I never heard Bruce say anything political, ever. He always talked about science and that was what was on his brain, he was a brilliant man.

TODD: Brilliant and intense according to Covert, who says Ivins could be abrupt when grilled about his science. But his intensity also came through in his kindness. Neighbor Bonnie Duggan recalls one time when she needed help cutting down trees in her yard.

BONNIE DUGGAN, NEIGHBOR OF BRUCE IVINS: We asked Bruce if we could borrow his chainsaw and instead of loaning it to us he came down and cut them, wearing his full protective gear, the helmet, the eye protection, the ear protection.

TODD: But near the end Bruce Ivins seemed emotionally tortured. His attorney and a doctor who worked with him tells CNN they believe the pressure of the federal anthrax investigation broke Ivins. The FBI has no comment on that.

CNN also obtained a copy of a restraining order sought by a woman who'd recently accused Ivins, who was married with two grown children, of stalking her, harassment, making threats of violence. The woman told the court that Ivins had spent time at a mental facility and said she was scheduled to testify to a federal grand jury about him on Friday. But right now Norman Covert simply wants to remember the positive aspects of Bruce Ivins' life.

NORMAN COVERT: Remember the work that he did protecting our troops. He did a lot of work on vaccine development and finding the causes of disease and helping us find protective materials to give the soldiers to protect them in desert storm and Afghanistan and Bosnia or to Covina.

TODD (on camera): Even that carries a contradiction. A U.S. official with knowledge of the investigation tells CNN authorities were looking into whether Ivins might have released anthrax to test his vaccines. Brian Todd, CNN, Frederick, Maryland.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Take a look at the weather outside today. Some folks are going to get plenty of rain. Others, too much heat.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: The economic slump, its issue number one and its leading people to find creative ways to make a buck. Some of them illegal. Here's CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's precious metal in this auto part. A catalytic converter that's become appealing to thieves since precious metal prices have soared. Long Island Cares, a food bank charity that sells donated cars, got hit recently. Catalytic converters stolen from 32 vehicles.

VERN RASMUSSEN, LONG ISLAND CARES VEHICLE DONATIONS: They tore the heart out of all of us. There's nothing else that we could have done but to put our heads down and try not to cry about it.

CHERNOFF: Such robberies have been happening around the country at commuter parking lots, even auto dealerships. Catalytic converters contain just a few grams of precious metals, platinum, palladium, radium, that help filter emissions. Thieves can get up to $150 for a converter and they typically steal many at a time.

RASMUSSEN: The individuals that happened to rob us that night, they probably walked out of here with about $10,000 worth of materials.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Thieves will typically just slide right under the vehicle and chop the catalytic converter here and here. And if you've got an SUV that's high off the ground, it's that much easier for them. Suffolk County, New York is seeing a dramatic increase in catalytic converter thefts as the economy has stumbled.

CHIEF BOB MOORE, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK POLICE: A larger number of people become more desperate. People who are risk takers are becoming more willing to take greater risks.

CHERNOFF: Repairing the damage can cost well over $1,000 so Suffolk County has just approved a law requiring scrap metal dealers to keep detailed records on sellers of catalytic converters.

STEVE LEVY, SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK EXECUTIVE: If we believe that it was probable cause that it was stolen, we can put a hold on that being sold off again by the scrap metal dealer and we can track it back from whence it came.

MOORE: Two dozen states have passed similar lawyers this year hoping to crack down on what's becoming an all too common crime. Allan Chernoff, CNN, Bedford, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO: What's the long-term solution to America's energy problem? Find out what John McCain and Barack Obama had to say on that issue when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Saturday on the campaign trail, democrat Barack Obama is meeting voters in Florida. Obama holding a town hall meeting this morning is opening the door just a bit on more offshore oil drilling. That's a big issue in Florida. Obama says he still doesn't like some parts of an energy bill but he'll consider a compromise if other proposals move the country closer to energy independence. And John McCain has also been in Florida. Here he is with Governor Charlie Crist one of the names that just keeps popping up on that VP list. Today McCain is away from cameras holding strategy meetings at campaign headquarters in D.C.

To help you make an informed choice in the presidential election from now until November we are going to play more of what the candidates are saying in their own words. Here's Senator Barack Obama talking about what he would do to bring down gas prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to bring down gas prices but first of all we've got to provide relief to families. That's why I've said that I'm going to provide an energy rebate right now putting money into the pockets of Americans, hundreds of dollars that will offset the rising price of gas just to help you get through the next several months. [ Applause ] You won't have to trust the oil companies to pass on the savings to you because you're going to get these rebates directly. We also need to crack down on speculators who manipulate the market. It's time to close the loopholes that allow them to game the system. It's time to make sure that Washington works for the American people and not the special interests and we can crack down on those speculators right now to help bring down gas prices. We also -- let me just say this. We do need to increase domestic production where we can. And as president I will. Right now oil companies have 68 million acres in leases that they are not using. Instead of giving oil companies more leases when they're not 68 million acres that we've already given them, I would say let's have them use those leases and start producing more oil and if they use all those up, then maybe we can start talking about giving them more leases but we're not going to be having them -- [ applause ] getting sweetheart deals now and they're not doing what they need to do. We need to give them a choice. Use those leases or you lose them. [ Applause ]

If we drill in the 68 million acres already made available, we can double our domestic oil production, increase our natural gas production by up to 75 percent. Now, let me just make one last point on this drilling business. If I thought that we could solve all of our problems by opening up areas for drilling outside of the existing moratorium, I would be for it because I know how bad folks are suffering. I've met people who can't go on a job search after they lost their job because they can't fill up the gas tank. I met teachers who were teaching at a school they loved but because it was an hour away they had to quit their job because they couldn't afford filling up the gas tank. I know families that are having to cut back on food for their family because of the new cost of a commute. So I know how hard people are hurting. If I thought that drilling outside of the existing moratorium would help give them relief, I would be for it. But the truth is we can't drill our way out of this problem.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Senator John McCain has a much different take on offshore drilling. He outlined some of his energy plan for a crowd of supporters in Racine, Wisconsin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama says that he wants energy independence but he's opposed to new drilling at home. He's opposed to nuclear power. He's opposed to innovation cries for electric cars. My friends, we must begin immediately in drilling offshore so we can get some of the oil that's off our own coasts. We have to begin that drilling and Senator Obama opposes it. He said that the high cost of gasoline doesn't bother him only that it rose too quickly. Yesterday he suggested we put air in our tires to save on gas. My friends, let's do that but do you think that's enough to break our dependence on Middle Eastern oil? Most importantly, and you know this, but it's the compelling argument. We can't keep sending $700 billion a year to foreign countries that don't like us. We got to the moon in a shorter time than was predicted. We can do these things. America is capable of doing it and those who say we can't, I say you don't know America like I know America. So we can do this together.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Race also becoming an issue on the campaign trail. Senator McCain accuses Obama of playing that race card after Obama accused republicans of planning to point out that "he doesn't look like those other presidents on the dollar bills."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: His comments were clearly the race card because of what he said. Everybody can read his remarks and in fact his campaign retracted those remarks so I think it's very clear. I was very disappointed at his comments. So his campaign retracted those remarks. Let's move on. I've supported legislation time after time that would provide equal opportunities for all Americans. I've supported lower taxes. I've supported increases in educational benefits. I have supported hundreds of pieces of legislation which would help Americans obtain an equal opportunity in America. I'm proud of that record. From fighting for the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday in my state to sponsoring specific legislation that would prevent discrimination in any shape or form in America today and I'm proud of that fight. I would be glad to give you the legislative record of my efforts. Michael? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The accusation that Senator Obama played the race card had the effect of putting race front and center in the presidential debate. Was that the intent at all?

MCCAIN: I didn't bring up the issue. I didn't bring up the issue. Senator Obama did three times in one day. His campaign later retracted it. I think it's pretty obvious that at least they acknowledge that. So he brought up the issue of race. I responded to it because I'm disappointed and I don't want that issue to be part of this campaign. And since his campaign retracted it, I'm ready to move on. I think we should move on.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: You can hear Barack Obama's response to McCain's race card issue next hour in the NEWSROOM. Plus more from John McCain and remember for the very latest in the presidential race log on to the website cnnpolitics.com 24/7 it's the most politics on the web.

NGUYEN: Well, the Olympic Games, they're about to begin in Beijing. So, here's a question. Would you cheat to win the gold?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Disgraced and stripped of Olympic gold. The 2000 U.S. men's relay team is being told to return its gold medals. The international Olympic committee made the decision after one of the members admitted using a steroid and a human growth hormone before, during and after the 2000 games. He had never failed a drug test.

NGUYEN: With so much to lose, why would any athlete risk cheating? We asked both athletes and experts and got some really revealing answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARION JONES: I truly hope that people will learn from my mistake.

NGUYEN (voice-over): With those words disgraced Olympic track star Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison for lying to federal authorities investigating performance enhancing drugs. Jones won three gold medals and two bronze at the 2000 Sidney games and with that came instant celebrity.

MIKE WISE, WASHINGTON POST: Most big-time athletes especially in America are going to come down on the fame side because it means everything. It means money. It means sponsorships. It means a Wheaties box.

NGUYEN: Psychologists say it's that shot at fame and fortune that prompt some to risk it all.

DR. STEVE EPSTEIN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: There are other people whose entire identity is wrapped up with success and it can be devastating to lose or not achieve at a high level. NGUYEN: Dominique Dawes is an Olympic gold medal winning gymnast. She says the pressure to perform is intense and the temptation to take shortcuts is real.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The outside sources, it's the people that you surround yourself with feeding this information into their minds.

NGUYEN: Dawes' post Olympic life includes everything from coaching to motivational speaking and she says whether it's at the Olympics, in school or on the job, it's important to be able to look at one's self in the mirror and be happy with what you see.

DOMINIQUE DAWES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: There are a few of us that do lie and don't do things the right way. I think it eventually comes back to bite those individuals. Either they get caught or it just eats away at their conscience.

NGUYEN: So, is there a formula for achieving success on the up and up?

DAWES: When you were young your parents instill certain values in you about commitment and sacrifice. Don't cheat, work hard and things like that. We all as adults need to stay true to those core values.

NGUYEN: Olympic officials are counting on those core values when the Beijing games start. But others say the problem lies with the message society sends.

WISE: Don't finish second. Don't be number two. Be number one, and that's a powerful drug.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: By the way, your guide to all things Olympics is just a few clicks away. So check out cnn.com/fanzone. Not only will you be able to access quizzes, interactive games and in-depth reports, you will also be able to tell us how you plan to follow the Olympic action.

MARCIANO: Good stuff on the website. NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Richard Lui.

RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you guys. I have a lot of stuff at the top of the hour. Betty, Rob, we will be in our legal roundup looking at the anthrax case, we'll be digging into the issues. What happens now that Bruce Ivins is dead? And where does it leave the government's case now?

Plus, how the economy is affecting Fido and Precious. Your pets getting the squeeze at these penny pinches times at the top of the hour. Do you guys have pets?

NGUYEN: No. I can barely take care of myself. No pet. I can't even keep plants alive, so no.

MARCIANO: We'll look for that at the top of the hour. Thanks Richard.

Flying high in Oshkosh. We'll check in with Miles O'Brien when we come back.

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MARCIANO: Check this out. This just in. A German farmer appears to be the first medical patient to have a double arm transplant. Check this out. Doctors say they've given the 54-year- old two brand new arms. He lost them in an accident. Doctors believe it's the first double arm transplant. The surgery took 15 hours, a team of 40 doctors, nurses and technicians.

NGUYEN: All right so here's the deal. The patient can't move his new arms just yet and may not be ale to for years. That's because the network of nerves will have to grow into place. Doctors say the patient is doing well, though, and everything so far is going according to script. That's amazing though.

MARCIANO: Yes, medical technology.

NGUYEN: Wow. Yeah exactly.

Longtime CNN viewers know our Miles O'Brien is just passionate about anything that flies. Just look, well -- there's the video, right behind me.

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MILES O'BRIEN: Give it a whirl. Here I go. Oh, boy. Oh, boy! Woo-hoo!

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MARCIANO: That's buffalo Miles walking on air this week at the world famous air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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Couple of rolls.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): That's air show superstar Patty Wagstaff on a roll over Oshkosh. Mecca for pilots, planes and those who love both for one week every summer.

PATTY WAGSTAFF, AIRSHOW PERFORMER: My favorite show on the earth.

O'BRIEN: More than 600,000 people and 10,000 aircraft of all shapes, sizes, speeds and vintages will drop in at the experimental aircraft association's air venture. For a day or two, the control tower will be busier than Atlanta or O'Hare.

WANDA ADELMAN, OSHKOSH AIR CONTROL MANAGER: They call it the super bowl of air traffic.

O'BRIEN: It's also like Woodstock, except the high is all about altitude. Many people camp out right beside the runway.

CINDY ROUSSEAU, OSHKOSH CAMPER: We see these people in our group once a year at this event. Everybody gets together and it's like family but better.

RINKER BUCK, AUTHOR, "FLIGHT OF PASSAGE": People come here and they think it's about flying airplanes and air shows. It's sort of a travel meeting of the aviation community. But really it's about life.

O'BRIEN: Air venture began 55 years ago with 50 airplanes.

TOM POBEREZNY, PRES., EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSN.: People come here to see the latest and greatest total spectrum of general aviation and beyond.

O'BRIEN: Beyond indeed. This year a science fiction dream took the show by storm. The first practical, available jet pack. The inventors Glenn and Vanessa Martin even let me fly it live on CNN.

Here we go. Here we go. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. I'm going up.

If you want a quieter ride, try the electraflyer. Randall Fisher is the builder.

RANDALL FISHMAN, ELECTRAFLYER.COM: But for sport aviation guy wants to fly and have a little fun.

O'BRIEN: Air venture is also a celebration of the past. Among the cherry vintage birds, a gorgeous 1928 Boeing 40C airliner lovingly restored by Addison Pemberton and his family over eight years.

ADDISON PEMBERTON, AIRPLANE RESTORER: This is love, it's a passion in history. History, passion, love. You hit all the words right there.

O'BRIEN: Which brings us full circle if you will, right, Patty?

WAGSTAFF: Probably the most inspirational place I could ever tell as an aviator.

O'BRIEN: When she cut the ribbon with her plane, low, fast and inverted, I was right there, inspired and also perspired. Miles O'Brien, CNN, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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NGUYEN: That was pretty cool.

MARCIANO: That looks pretty good on Miles.

NGUYEN: He wears it well.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Richard Lui in for Fredricka Whitfield.

MARCIANO: Hey Richard. LUI: Hey, how's it going? Miles gets paid for that too, guys. Imagine that.

NGUYEN: Exactly.

LUI: Good stuff.

All right Rob and Betty, thank you so much.

The chief suspect this hour in the 7-year-old anthrax investigation kills himself just as investigators close in. The government is deciding whether to close this case. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports for us.

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KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Bruce Ivins killed himself, the net was closing fast.

DALE WATSON, FMR. FBI COUNTERTERORRISM OFFICIAL: On the 27th we received a call to assist fire board at 622 Military Road for an unconscious subject in the bathroom at that residence.

ARENA: The government has released no details of its case, but sources say at the time of his suicide, the government was set to indict Ivins and seek the death penalty. His neighbors say he'd been under suspicion for months.

BONNIE DUGGAN, NEIGHBOR: We started noticing the surveillance probably a year ago.

ARENA: What led investigators to Ivins? Sources say a scientific examination showed the anthrax used in the 2001 attacks originated here at the Fort Detrick army lab in Maryland where Ivins worked for more than three decades. The twisted irony here is that Ivins was a top microbiologist who was developing an anthrax vaccine. Officials say the FBI was looking into whether Ivins released the anthrax as a way to test his vaccine. His lawyers say it was stress, not guilt.