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Major Milestone in Iraq War; Salmonella Outbreak; A Question of Faith

Aired August 21, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, The uproar over building a proposed Islamic center blocks from ground zero shows no signs of easing up.

Some New York-area construction workers say they won't build it because they feel too strongly about 9/11. Susan Candiotti hit the streets of Manhattan to get the pulse of the public.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's set the scene. About halfway down the block, that is the site of the proposed center. See the sign that says "Dakota Roadhouse"? Just in front of it is where the proposed Islamic center would go as well a mosque.

But if you look two blocks away down the corner, careful of traffic here, you see the cranes down there? That is Ground Zero. Again, two blocks from where we are standing.

Back here, we're going to show you the site of the Islamic center and we can tell you that earlier this day, it was pretty busy there because there was a small group of demonstrators who were favor of this proposal and in favor of religious freedom.

Many people may not know it, but for a long time there's been no problem in the neighborhood while people have been worshiping inside the site. It was especially busy today, as we said, because it is Friday and it is the holy month of Ramadan.

However, a lot of construction workers that we spoke with do not like the idea of working at the site if a union job was offered. Take a look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as I'm concerned it's not American to do that.

CANDIOTTI: Not American?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. It's the wrong place. Some place else. I wouldn't work on that job.

CANDIOTTI: Why not?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The obvious reason. Ground zero and what happened. Plain and simple. CANDIOTTI: I don't know whether you are aware that they are already using it as a mosque. Did you know that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I know is you asked me a question. I won't work on it, period.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I totally disagree.

CANDIOTTI: Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they don't like American people. That's what I disagree.

CANDIOTTI: They don't like American people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't like it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the feeling on the site. Nobody's going to take a job over there.

CANDIOTI: Continuing with, of course, our unscientific survey we talked to someone, a union worker, who said he has no issue. He said -- to work on this site.

He said, you know, jobs are kind of tight right now and if he was offered one, he'd take it. With all the controversy, would you consider taking a job if that place was built?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would take a job. It's a freedom of everybody. Everybody has their own religion.

CANDIOTTI: I made a number of phone calls to the sheet metal workers, labor councils, but we got no comment. Not one union leader would come to the phone to talk about it. One person who didn't want to be identified said we are not going to make a public comment until we absolutely have to.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime a poll shows one in five Americans thinks the president of the United States is a Muslim. This hour, we'll talk to a reporter who conducted the definitive interview, some say, with President Obama when he was running for the U.S. Senate seat about his religious beliefs and she'll elaborate on that.

Remember "G.I. Jane"? Well, this Navy commander just shattered one of the military's glass ceilings. And we'll scratch below the surface of that bedbug epidemic. How to battle these pest ifs they come to a bed near you.

All right. It is the symbolic end to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Here is the ceremony this morning in Kuwait as the final U.S. combat brigade marked their pullout from Iraq. This is the long honored casing of the colors flag ceremony. In the next few days these soldiers will be heading home to the U.S.. 52,000 U.S. troops are still in Iraq. And 2,000 more will leave between now and September 1.

That's when Operation Iraqi Freedom officially ends and Operation New Dawn begins. CNN's Arwa Damon is covering this historic transition and she has this report from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The U.S. military is very close to achieving the White House goal of having troop levels down to 50,000 by the end of the month which we'll also be seeing a shift or change in America's mission here. The remaining 50,000 troops will be in what is officially called a non-combat role.

This does not mean that American soldiers will be able to cast aside their weapons or their flak jackets, but they will be in an advise and assist mission. Their primary focus will be training up the Iraqi security forces, the Army and the police. The U.S. does believe that with this residual force of 50,000, the Iraqi security forces will be able to hold onto the current levels of violence.

Bearing in mind that it does run at an average of around 300 to 400 Iraqis killed a month. And for the Iraqi population, that is not acceptable. Iraqis who we have been talking though they say they never wanted America to stay forever and some are happy to see U.S. forces leaving, do also mention that they are still in a heightened state of fear and anxiety, especially in Baghdad.

Many Iraqis we have been talking to speak of an increase in violence, of gangs that are running around the capitol using guns with silencers and an increase in assassinations. They say they don't know what the future holds.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And onto Pakistan now. A rising death toll from three weeks of flooding. Officials now say more than 1,500 people have lost their lives in the disaster. At least four million are homeless. 20 million are in need of food, shelter and emergency care. And with filthy living conditions, there is big concern about the spread of diseases. Diarrhea, measles, malaria and acute respiratory infections are among the most serious threats.

Our Sara Sidner is in southern part of Pakistan where the flood waters are high and so many are in need of so much.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flooding in Pakistan is still so expansive it's difficult to tell where the water ends and the sky begins. Search and rescue missions continue daily. This one by the Pakistani military.

Suddenly, on a tiny sliver of land, flood victims appear. They wade through flood waters, their eyes fixed on the Pak marine hovercraft as it arrives. These mostly women and children have been marooned here for two weeks now. They need everything from food to medicine. "Look at our children, they are sick, where can we go? We can't go anywhere. There is water all around us," grandmother Bachul Kalhoro pleads. The other women in her clan chime in, spilling out their many woes.

The Pak Navy Special Services group tries to accommodate with a small bit of supplies they have. It's not enough. But the main thing on offer, a ride to safety, these villagers refuse to take. They tell us they will not leave their land for fear their enemies in a neighboring village will snatch it. So the craft pushes off, a single flood victim aboard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thinking that if they leave this area, they will not be allowed to come back. That's also one of the reason.

SIDNER (on camera): The Pak marines say they have rescued about 25,000 people in 110-square-kilometer area here in Sukkur. For those who are left behind, there isn't much help for them.

(voice-over): In all, more than 200,000 people have fled or been rescued from this area. Some end up in government camps. Others have made their own shelters atop the officially dam with little help, fearing the predicted next wave of waters officials say is rushing down from the north.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Sukkur, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The CDC says the massive national egg recall is now about to get bigger. And every day more brands are actually being added to the list. We'll tell you which ones to watch out for.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The government says most of the oil from the BP oil disaster has been collected, dispersed or accounted for. But many people are still confused about what happened to it, especially with new revelations this week about a 22-mile-long plume floating somewhere below the surface.

CNN's Kate Bolduan looks at that debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So how much oil is still out there? Well, it seems that depends on who's talking. According to the government, about three-quarters of the oil is effectively gone.

ADM. THAD ALLEN, NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: What is left is 26 percent of the 4.9 million barrels. Now, is that completely accurate? No. It is based on the estimates as defined in the oil budget as a purpose to establish a baseline to try and get a better estimate moving forward. BOLDUAN: But some scientists have reached far different conclusions. Is the Obama administration painting too rosy a picture? Researchers from the University of Georgia released a report estimating up to 79 percent of the oil, "has not been recovered and remains a threat to the ecosystem."

Then there's the team from the University of South Florida who concluded dispersants have pushed oil to the ocean floor, reaching further east than previously suspected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where we found the sedimentary oil.

BOLDUAN: And just Thursday, scientists at the Woods hole Oceanographic Institution said back in June, they detected a plume at least 22 miles long, more than 3,000 feet below the surface.

(on camera): What is the most important aspect of the report?

CHRIS REDDY, WOOD HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION: I was surprised to see not only the extent of it, the width of it, the thickness of it.

BOLDUAN (voice-over): The government's point man for the oil disaster - Retired Admiral Thad Allen, defends the government's findings but acknowledged its data may not be the only accurate estimate out there.

ALLEN: If you create a different set of assumptions that gives you a different body of oil that was released, the denominator changes and the results are different, but it's all important.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Ed Markey, a leading critic said the government hasn't shown proof to back up its claims or let outside experts in to check the science.

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Here's the thing, doctor. You shouldn't have released it until you knew it was right because so much is going to depend upon that release. If you are not confident that it is right, then it should not have been released.

BOLDUAN (on camera): In search of some final answers, Admiral Allen says he is now trying to put together a metaphorical MRI of the gulf, unified monitoring efforts down there, pulling together data gathered from the various federal, academic and private scientific institutions, all in the hope they can finally get a full picture of just how much oil is still out there and where it is.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that Salmonella scare intensifies in the U.S. more than a half billion eggs have now been recalled. Two large-scale Iowa egg producers, Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg, are recalling more eggs because of potential contamination. The recall includes the brands that you see right here including Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Kemps and Mountain Dairy, just to name a few.

So how can you avoid getting sick? Well, earlier I asked Dr. Carlos del Rio from the Emory University School of Medicine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EMORY UNIVERSITY, ROLLINS SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: If you have any of the eggs that have been recalled, discard them or return them. Any time you buy eggs, it's better keep them in the refrigerator. When you're eating eggs, it's better to cook them as opposed to eating them raw. And it's very important that if you make an omelet or make eggs then afterwards, you put them rapidly in the refrigerator, any leftovers. Don't leave them on the counter.

WHITFIELD: So why do we want to potentially throw some out if it is as simple as cooking the eggs thoroughly.

DEL RIO: Well, because there is always a chance that you're not going to be able to cook them thoroughly. And I think if you know that there is a potential risk, you may as well take care of it. I want to say that in most cases of Salmonella we see, you know, in this country we have about 40,000 cases of Salmonella every year. Most cases are mild. People don't get terribly ill. You get diarrhea, you get fever and you get better most of time, usually without antibiotics. But people who are the elderly, the very young and people who have some sort of an immune deficiency like patients with AIDS or people with who received a transplant are particularly high risk of dying from a Salmonella infection.

One thing very important for people to know is a lot of people say, "oh, I'm going to make a milkshake, and put a raw egg in there and give it to my kid, not a good idea.

WHITFIELD: Right. OK and perhaps refrain from using those eggs even in cake batter or cookie dough because sometimes those things aren't cooked so thoroughly?

DEL RIO: As long as you cook them, if you put them in the oven, the Salmonella is going to die. I think that's not a problem. The big problem is if you're making a salad and you decide to put in a raw egg in there. You're making Hollandaise sauce -

WHITFIELD: Like a Caesar salad.

DEL RIO: Yes. Those kinds of things -

As I said, I worry many times when people make a milkshake. Remember that movie "Rocky," and Rocky would eat a couple of raw eggs as his morning breakfast.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DEL RIO: I wouldn't do that. That's not a good idea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: At least not right now. So for more information and a complete list of recalled eggs just go to cnn.com/health. All right. Three very different comedies hit the silver screen this weekend. Our film critic will tell you which is worth your money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps you're in the mood to laugh. Three comedies are actually hitting the big screen this weekend. Pete Hammond is a film critic from "Box Office Magazine." He's joining us now from Los Angeles. Good to see you.

PETE HAMMOND, FILM CRITIC, "BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE": Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Cool. One of the first movies we're going to talk about "Nanny McPhee Returns." This is Emma Thompson's movie and this is kind of a sequel. Let's take a little peak of her transformation. This is the anti Mary Poppins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it happen downstairs. But I'm in charge here. I don't need some nanny to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My sister and I aren't even part of this family. So whoever you have come to look after, certainly it isn't us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen to me very carefully. I am going to explain to you the way I work. When you need me but do not want me then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Hmm. OK. Do you like? Kind of cute?

HAMMOND: You know what, I give this a C, strictly for children. When she says "if you need me, if you want me, I have to go," I wish she would go. You know, there was no need for a sequel to Nanny McPhee. It was charming the first time. But it was kind of a rehash this time. The animals are funny though, especially the elephant and the pigs.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, the animal lovers might like this flick.

All right. Let's move on to the "The Lottery Ticket." This is somebody who is going to, what he has to survive during a three-day weekend after his neighbors find out he has got the winning lottery ticket. So this should be pretty funny. Let's take a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just an ordinary guy. Man, say something to her. Get it.

I was just wondering -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you throw this away. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were supposed to get the number, not doo-doo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I played those numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to play the lottery? The machine broke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean it broke?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm joking. (INAUDIBLE) play the numbers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The winning numbers, 42, 33, 4, 32, 45 and 21.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grandma!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You OK, boy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We won the lottery! We won!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: I guess everybody wishes they had this problem of having that winning ticket and trying to keep it secret. What do you think?

HAMMOND: Yes. Well, $370 million. You know, this movie is fun. It reminded me of an older film "It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world" where it's a theme of greed and all of these people are trying to get after this ticket. In this case, for three days he has to try to hang onto this. You can imagine the complications. A terrific African- American cast. Bow-wow. Ice cube has a very good supporting role in it. It's a lot of fun. A little violent in parts, but I give it a solid B. And I think audiences will enjoy it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, a B. OK, that's good. Everybody likes to laugh. And you know, you want to make sure that you go to a comedy that's actually going to make you laugh out loud.

So how about "The Switch." This is with Jennifer Aniston. It has gotten a lot of publicity already. And Jason Bateman. This is about a woman in her 40s who wants to have a baby, but there is no significant other and so she's going the nontraditional way, which is kind of becoming the more traditional route these days, isn't? Let's take a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, here is a big surprise. Are you ready for the best duck in the whole wide world?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Do you know what they feed ducks at water fowl farms? First, seven pounds of food a day through a plastic tube in their throats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pre-ordered them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will hate you if you do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's not say "hate."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can have rice with soy sauce.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Great. Rice with soy sauce. He likes you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're kidding, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, that's like for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Pete, Jason Bateman is actually getting a lot of attention on this that he is just so adorable in this movie. Did you find both these leading characters to be that?

HAMMOND: This is your choice this weekend.

WHITFIELD: Yes?

HAMMOND: Of the five new movies that are actually opening, this is a terrific comedy. It's from the producers of "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine." It's smart. It's got heart. Jennifer Aniston, who has made a string of bad comedies quite frankly in the last two years, really strikes home this time. This is a perfect film for her, but it's really Jason's movie. And it's about a guy coming to terms with himself, an irresponsible guy and he is wonderful in this move. And Jeff Goldblum's great in a supporting role, too.

WHITFIELD: Oh, everybody always likes seeing Jeff Goldblum. All right. So what's your grade on this one?

HAMMOND: A minus.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

HAMMOND: I highly recommend it. It's a surprise coming at the end of the summer. But I think audiences are going to have a great time at this movie.

WHITFIELD: Wow, we got an A minus, a B, a C. That's pretty good. Averaging very nicely there on these comedies hitting the big screen.

HAMMOND: Sure. Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Pete Hammond, thanks so much. Appreciate it. And you know, everybody likes an excuse to laugh. And you know, so often it's kind of like one comedy that comes out with a flood of other dramas. But it's nice that we got a few funny things to choose from.

HAMMOND: I think people are going to have a good time at the movies this weekend at least. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good. I hope I finally find time to get to a flick. All right. Pete Hammond, thank you so much, joining us from Los Angeles. Good to see you. All right. Well, the tropics, yes, they're heating up again. It's the season and meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking what could become the next tropical storm system.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: When the president of the United States said they have a right to build that Muslim mosque in New York, more questions arose about his faith. Is he Muslim or Christian? He maintains he's a committed Christian and has said so repeatedly over the years. Yet a recent Pew Research Center poll reveals more Americans believe he's a Muslim. 18 percent now versus just 11 percent more than a year ago. That's roughly one in five Americans.

Well, I want to bring in religion columnist for the "Chicago Sun Times," Cathleen Falsani in Chicago. So back in 2004, Cathleen, you sat down with then about to be Senator Barack Obama and you talked to him about his faith. And you asked him right off the top about his faith. And he said this, after you asked what do you believe? He said "I am a Christian. So I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith. On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of Eastern influences. I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10. My father was from Kenya and although he was probably most accurately labeled as agnostic, his father was Muslim. And I'd say probably intellectually I have drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith."

He goes on to say, "So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place and that is a belief that there is a higher power. A belief that we are connected as people, that there are values that transcend race, culture, that move us forward that there is an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values live."

It's a very long quote, but right from the top of the bat you believe he offered some real clarity on his position on religion?

CATHLEEN FALSANI, RELIGION COLUMNIST: Well, he was very genuine, an authentic and he didn't hesitate in answering any of the questions I asked him back then. He came alone to the interview. He didn't have any notes with him. He didn't have any handlers with him. And he gave me as much clarity as I think somebody whose mind and spirit work the way his do could. He didn't give easy answers. He didn't give label-related answers. He even went back to clarify a few things that, if left alone, might have made his spiritual biography, if you will, easier for some people to understand and get their minds around.

But that's not how he actually is. To me, it was a marvelous portrait of this man of a really humble faith.

WHITFIELD: Why do you suppose he was so willing, if not eager to do this?

FALSANI: I don't know if he was eager, but at the time I was doing a series of these spiritual profiles of politicians and I was interviewing him and Jack Ryan, who was then running against him in the Senate race and our sitting senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin and then later Alan Keyes, who came in after Jack dropped out.

And I remember asking all of them - and there was a lot of hesitancy amongst some of them. And Barack was the first one to say yes and seemed to have no problem talking about it, and knew what he believed and knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

WHITFIELD: And then you even asked him and this is pulling from your original interview. You didn't run the whole interview in its entirety -

FALSANI: Not in the paper.

WHITFIELD: Right. We have since gotten access to how that interview went word for word. And you say, "have you always been a Christian?" And he replied saying, "I was raised more by my mother and my mother was Christian." You say any particular flavor?" He said "No. My grandparents were from small towns in Kansas. My grandmother was Methodist. My grandfather was Baptist. This was at a time when I think the Methodists felt slightly superior to the Baptists. By the time, I was born, they were I think, my grandparents had joined the universalists church. So my mother who I think had as much influence on my values as anybody was not somebody who wore her religion on her sleeve, we'd go to church for Easter. She wasn't a church lady." However, he says, you know, I guess being a public person he -

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: "So, my mother, who I think had as much influence on my values as anybody was not someone who wore her religion on her sleeve. We'd go to church for Easter. She wasn't a church lady."

"However," he says, "I guess being a public person he does feel a little conflicted about how public he needs to make his faith or his religion known, yet at the same time, he's constantly asked over and over again."

CATHLEEN FALSANI, RELIGION COLUMNIST: Mm-hmm.

WHITFIELD: Was he rather prophetic in that?

FALSANI: Oh, yes, indeed. He certainly was. I think at the time his faith, or religiosity, or how he expresses faith was not as much of an issue as it's become in the last few years and during the presidential race. Where there was a litmus test for how he was going to talk about his Christian faith, and whether people were going to believe him or not. That hadn't happened then, and I think he was looking to a time when maybe it would. It certainly has. But in terms of --

WHITFIELD: So -- go ahead.

FALSANI: I'm sorry. Go ahead?

How he expressed himself, he came back to the theme a few times in the conversation we had he talking about how uncomfortable with the notion, or any kind of idea, that a public figure, a political or otherwise, could somehow talk about faith in a way that would give people the impression that they had divine imprimatur for their policy, their platform, their behavior, their art, whatever it is. He's very uncomfortable with that. I think he thinks it's intellectually dishonest and spiritually dishonest. I think that's something that's has-at least in my point of view, has stayed with him during the campaign and during his presidency so far.

WHITFIELD: So as questioned continued to bubble up, I guess fewer Americans, according to some polling seem to believe that he is Christian. Instead question whether he is Muslim. When you reflect on this interview, and the clarity he tried to bring, the thoughtfulness, I suppose, he brought to this interview, do you feel that people have him wrong? Or are they reading him right? What do you suppose when you hear about the questions about his faith and who he is, and what his history is?

FALSANI: You know, this interview, more than any other I have done- and I have been a religion reporter and journalist for 15 years. I have done lots of conversations with famous people about their faith. This one more than any other has been fascinating in that it is like a mirror. Depending on who you hold it in front of they see something different.

I sat across from the man and heard him say these things. And I came away with one very distinct, very clear impression. And somebody else will read it and have the polar opposite impression of what he means in what he said. I hope that people will go back and look it. I wish I had the audio so people could hear the inflection in his voice.

It's a very interesting thing, if somebody says they're a Christian, or somebody says their Jewish, or somebody says they're Muslim, I think by virtue of understanding that a spiritual relationship with God is between that person and God, and we are not really privy to what's going on in their heart, it is hard to judge. I think we need to take some of that at their word. And there is absolutely nothing he has ever said, publically, that I know of and certainly not to me in that interview, that would give an indication that he ever considered himself Muslim. I don't think he thinks his father considered himself to be Muslim.

The only thing he's ever said -- and I see him saying it consistently- is that he's a Christian. It might not be -- he may not express his Christian faith in a way that every Christian out there is comfortable with, but he does it in a very consistent way, and in a authentic way, the same way he did six years ago. That hasn't changed at all. WHITFIELD: It's a fascinating transcription. Perhaps more relevant now than ever before and some pretty fascinating reading. Are you planning to, in its entirety, publish this or have it posted on "The Chicago Sun-Times"?

FALSANI: I already have.

WHITFIELD: You have?

FALSANI: I'm actually not with "The Chicago Sun-Times" anymore. I'm with Religion News Service in Washington. But it is available on my own Web site, in its entirety and has been for a number of years. And a longer version was also printed in my book "The God Factor", which came out in 2006 and is available. So, it's there. If you Google it and you will find it.

WHITFIELD: Cathleen Falsani, thank you very much. Formerly a columnist with "The Chicago Sun-Times" at the time of 2004, conducting this interview which is some really fascinating reading, the interview with then -- I guess, U.S. Senator-to-be Barack Obama. Thank so much, Cathleen. Appreciate it.

FALSANI: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: President Obama and his family, by the way, they are settling in to their ten-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. The president was spotted briefly yesterday leaving a bookstore. Of course, for a president a vacation is seldom truly a vacation. More like a working vacation. The problems of the world always need to be dealt with. Here now is White House Correspondent Dan Lothian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It may have looked like a vacation -- swimming, bike riding, golf, and ice cream. But by the dictionary definition, freedom from work, President Obama has never been on holiday.

KENNETH WALSH, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": When a president goes away, he can't really escape the job. Not only does he have briefings and so on, but it has to be in his mind the sense that something could erupt at any moment.

LOTHIAN: And it does. President Obama's Hawaii Christmas getaway was interrupted almost before it began, by the so-called underwear bomber.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are learning more as the night goes on about what the White House is calling an attempted act of terrorism.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people should be assured that we are doing everything in our power to keep you and your family safe and secure during this busy holiday season.

DENIS MCDONOUGH, CHIEF OF STAFF, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: My BlackBerry started to go off quite vigorously. While I tried to ignore the first couple, I wasn't able to ignore it for long. So, we went right to work on this.

LOTHIAN: Denis McDonough, a top national security adviser traveling with the president managed the flow of intelligence information, linking Hawaii to the White House situation room.

MCDONOUGH: Arranging for the phone calls, making sure that General Jones was in regular touch with the president. John Brennan was in regular touch with the president. To make sure we are doing everything we can to stop the immediate threat.

LOTHIAN: It isn't always a national crisis. While the first family was on Martha's Vineyard last year Senator Ted Kennedy died, and the White House announced the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: If you have been in the pool on either Martha's Vineyard or in Hawaii I think you could attest to the fact that the notion of a presidential vacation is one sit-room call away from becoming a --

LOTHIAN: Well, from becoming just another day at the White House. Correspondent Ann Compton, who covered seven presidents for ABC News, has seen her share of disrupted presidential vacations, but none more than while traveling with George Herbert Walker Bush.

ANN COMPTON, ABC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait. President Gorbachev, of Russia, is subject to a coup and held hostage. Every single time the president got to Kennebunkport all heck would break loose somewhere around the world.

LOTHIAN: A vacation may mean freedom from work, but rarely for the president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. White House Correspondent Dan Lothian, who has been traveling with the president there on Martha's Vineyard, is with us now.

So, what's the first family up to today, if they so choose to make that public?

LOTHIAN: Well, yes, they have made it public, but we have not seen them on camera. They went to a secret location, the southern part of the island to a secluded beach where they have been having a picnic all day.

But yesterday we did see the president come out in public for just a bit with the first daughters. He went to a book shop just down the street from where I'm standing, bought some books, signed some autographs. When he walked out the street was just backed up, a lot of people had gathered to wave at the president, and they applauded as he walked out. He also took in a round of golf.

So, the president, the first family, really trying to get a little rest and relaxation as White House aides like to say the president is trying to recharge his batteries, but as I pointed out in that piece for a president, even on vacation it really is a working vacation.

WHITFIELD: OK, so they are in Vineyard Haven. Last time, were they in Oak's Bluff?

LOTHIAN: Well, actually, they are staying a few miles out of town. It's on this farm. It is called the Blue Heron Farm. They came in to Vineyard Haven. They did come in to Oak Bluffs last year. We expect that perhaps sometime over the few days that they'll be here they will also make the trip there. Their stop, though, their first public stop was right here in Vineyard Haven.

WHITFIELD: Well, it doesn't matter what part. All parts of Martha's Vineyard are just simply gorgeous.

LOTHIAN: That's right. It is a very small island.

WHITFIELD: Do you get to hang out in this working vacation for ten days, too?

LOTHIAN: It's a working vacation for us. We work much harder on these vacations than we do when we are standing out in front of the White House.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll keep telling ourselves that. That's good. Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

LOTHIAN: We really do.

WHITFIELD: I believe you. Thanks so much, Dan. Go back to all the work you're doing. Appreciate it.

LOTHIAN: OK. Will do.

WHITFIELD: Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras. This just in, remember earlier we talked about this tropical disturbance somewhere out there. Now you have new info.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Here we go.

WHITFIELD: Here we go again.

JERAS: It's official, just in, literally about two minutes ago, Fredricka. From the National Hurricane Center. So fresh I didn't have time to make a track map for it.

But I can tell you where I think this thing is going to and why. This is Tropical Depression No. 6. This is an area of low pressure now with tropical characteristics its about 500 miles away from the Cape Verde Islands. Moving in a westerly direction, maximum winds about 30 miles per hour. Got to get up there to 39 before it is a named storm. We think that could happen, maybe even in the next 24 hours.

All of the models bring it up to being a Tropical Storm Danielle, within 48 hours. So, intensification is expected. The winds are very light out ahead of the system and conditions are very conducive for this to continue to strengthen throughout the period.

Now, most of the computer models are developing a weakness in the ridge. We have a Bermuda high sitting across the Central Atlantic. This is what tends to steer storms depending where that high is. Well, right now the models are predicting down the line that there is a weakness. So we are thinking it could be taking more of a northerly turn, which could be great news for the U.S. Now, its way too early to say because we are talking days and days away before this happens.

This is a significant system and something we'll have to be watching very closely in the next couple of days. This started out as a wave. A little disturbance that came off the Coast of Africa and it is developing. And this is what we'd call now officially Cape Verde season. We see the computer models developing more of these waves coming off the coast of Africa. This is a big signal now that the hurricane season is really starting to kick in. I know it has been quiet so far. You heard the prediction that it is going to be a busy season. You're like, where are the storms?

WHITFIELD: No complaints.

JERAS: Right? Well, here it comes. Yes, no complaints, right? But here come all the storms. We'll be watching things. We expect them to be very active in the upcoming weeks, Fredricka. TD No. 6, and it looks like Danielle will finally be getting a named.

WHITFIELD: OK. Thanks so much. Just moseying right along, here, down the alphabet. Thank you, appreciate it.

The battle against those bedbugs -- yuck. With infestations on the rise, what can you do to protect yourself against a bite?

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WHITFIELD: Talk about a nasty horror movie. A movie theater in New York Times Square is the latest business to shut down temporarily to battle a bedbug infestation. Yeah. The AMC Empire 25 was shut down overnight this week to exterminate those pests. A spokesman said the closure was part of a two-week follow-up treatment after bedbugs were detected on theater seats earlier in the month. So, no doubt about it, New York has been battling a bedbug infestation this summer.

Bedbugs have been reported in apartment buildings, office, retail outlets, including Abercrombie & Fitch and Victoria's Secret. This is starting to make me itch right now.

The rise in bedbug cases is not exclusive to New York, by the way. Last year at a bedbug conference -- yeah, they really do exist -- the Federal Environment Protection Agency said the incidence of infestation in the United States has tripled since 2005.

So what can you do to protect yourself, your home, all that? Dr. Bill Lloyd is back with us from San Francisco. This is giving me the heebie-jeebies now.

DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON AND PATHOLOGIST: Abercrombie & Fitch? They don't wear any cloths at Abercrombie & Fitch, how could the get bedbugs. I'm confused.

WHITFIELD: I'm confused, too. I'm also confused as to why there is such an increase of these bedbug infestations? What is causing this? Is it people are transient? Traveling, what is it?

LLOYD: Well, you know, up to a generation ago there was liberal use of DDT everywhere. And bedbugs weren't a problem in the United States until about 15 years ago. Add to that, of course, global travel and unawareness about these bedbugs. And you need to know that one adult bedbug will create 400 more bedbugs over the course of its own life. So this explains the proliferation of bedbugs in New York and everywhere else.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK, so we all love to travel. We put our the bags down. You've got to do something. What can you do to protect yourself to make sure that some little bug doesn't get in your luggage and you bring it home?

LLOYD: I have given this lots of thought.

Yes, there is no pesticide that you can use. But I have figured this out. You go up to the attic you get that Snuggie that you got for Christmas. Everybody got a Snuggie last Christmas.

WHITFIELD: OK?

LLOYD: That is what you are going to need. You are going to need a body bag when you're in the hotel room because the bugs get on your exposed skin. You could also wear pajamas, be sure you wear socks as well. The smart thing you do is when you check into the room, get rid of the bedspread. Put it in the closet. Don't come in contact with it. Strip the sheets. Look along the ribbing of the mattress, look in the bed frame, look in any holes and carvings in the furniture.

WHITFIELD: These things are big enough to see? All of them?

LLOYD: They're about the size of an apple seed. They are only about two millimeters. You can see them with the naked eye and they are usually are in clusters.

WHITFIELD: Ew. Oh!

LLOYD: If they have bitten somebody recently, they are actually red. Look in the ribbing of the mattress along the edges. That's where they like to hide the most.

WHITFIELD: Oh, Lord.

LLOYD: Now, Fredricka, bedbugs don't like hard, smooth surfaces.

WHITFIELD: This is really kind of dragging the whole vacationing thing. You have to take off all the sheets and everything.

LLOYD: They don't like hard smooth surfaces, Fredricka. So make sure you put your luggage in the bathroom when you're staying at a hotel. When you get home, be sure you vacuum it out. You don't want to bring those bedbugs back home with you.

WHITFIELD: OK. That's when you're at the hotel. But come on, you go to a movie theater, you're sitting there. You are comfy in the nice little cushion seats and now come to find out you start to itch. Bedbugs in the movie theater?

LLOYD: You've got another-yes.

WHITFIELD: How do you protect yourself against that?

LLOYD: Movie theater seats these days are upholstered just like the chairs you find in a hotel room. Bedbugs love textured surfaces. So, if you're going to a movie theater look for the kind that have the hard plastic seats. You will be less likely to come in contact with a bedbug. That's true anywhere in a hotel, or anywhere where there is a large gathering of people. Convention centers etc cetera. Because world travelers are picking up these bedbugs. They are in their luggage, they are in and out of their luggage and the clothes that are packed in those suitcases. Then they go to other events. Then you have a nice padded chair, bingo. The bedbug finds a new home and before you know it, you're bit. The good news is, we don't know of any communicable, infectious diseases that are transmitted by those bedbugs.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Are there other public places we need to be concerned about now?

LLOYD: I think the door is wide open now, Fredricka. Restaurants, hotels, if there is a seat where clothing can be coming in contact with it, then there is a chance a bedbug is going along for a free ride.

WHITFIELD: Gosh. We all have to live in a bubble, just stay home, I guess. Got to stay put. This really stinks.

OK, let's talk about something else that kind of stinks these days. We are talking about-we are really transitioning here. We are talking about the hearing loss, apparently, that a lot of young people are experiencing. Some are starting to blame the iPods, the ear buds and everything electronic that means putting some sort of headphones on your ears. So, it means young people, teens are suffering from some kind of hearing loss these days, right? This according to the national health data that many doctors such as yourself are consulting?

LLOYD: You're right, Fredricka. Here's the study right here. It showed that over a 20-year period there's been a rise in the number of teenagers that have high-frequency hearing loss. Now the number has jumped from about 14 percent to 20 percent. Here's what's important to know. In this population survey though, they only looked at about 300 kids. They think it is statistically powerful enough that we can translate that information, extrapolate it for the whole country.

What it really means, though, is that these adolescents are at risk for life-long hearing problems.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my.

LLOYD: Where is it coming from? The study didn't look at that, Fredricka. It's like climate data. It's hot today. Why is it hot? We didn't study that.

Same thing here. Teenagers don't hear as well as they used to. We don't know why. We just have the data. Everybody wants to point a finger at musical devices and listening to loud music, but researchers showed that the hearing was only in one ear. The hearing problem was only in one ear more often than both ears. So that kind of -

(CROSS TALK)

WHITFIELD: So we are talking about phone use?

LLOYD: Could be an earphone issue, yeah.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, OK. So what do we do? So all of us are relying, you know, whether we are young, old, in the middle, we are all relying on electronic devices.

LLOYD: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Cell phones, etc cetera. We all are putting stuff in our ears like never before. So what do we do to protect ourselves, if anything?

LLOYD: Right. It's all about reducing your exposure to loud noises. The intensity, the volume of that sound, as well as the duration of that sound. If you have a little adjustable knob on your device, or on your earphone cord, turn it down to between two-thirds and 80 percent. So, jack it all the way up and then back it down 20 percent. You can stay there and it will probably be safe for you.

But throughout the day listening to music in the car, for example, or at work, or in many restaurants, there is so much noise around. This is what's important to know, Fredricka. We think of temperature, linear. If you go from 50 to 60 degrees that's a 20 percent jump. Sound is log rhythmic. So, if you go from 50 to 60 decibels, that's a double in the amount of noise someone is hearing. That could be very dangerous to the ears. We're talking about jumps now from 50, which is normal conversation, to 110 to 120, which is many, many multiples of excessive volume. This is what causes that high frequency hearing loss.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Lloyd, next time we have to think of something fun. Because you know, bedbugs, I'm itching now. Now I can't hear. I mean, come on.

(LAUGHTER)

Where are the highlights in medical news these days?

LLOYD: We have football season coming.

WHITFIELD: OK, good. LLOYD: We have football season coming. Brett Favre, tomorrow night, we'll talk about him.

WHITFIELD: OK, that sounds good. Jacqui will be excited to talk about that, too. She is a huge fan. Doctor Bill Lloyd, good to see you.

LLOYD: All right, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: We'll have some top stories for you right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Let's take a last look at our top stories now.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, a hostage situation in a luxury hotel ended with one person dead and four police officers wounded in a shoot out. Policemen say gunman ran into the hotel and took dozens of people hostage. The hostages were released after negotiations. Police believe the gunmen have drug dealing connections. Ten people, in all, were arrested.

In flood-stricken Pakistan, relief supplies trickle in. The U.S. military says it has delivered more than 1 million pounds of relief supplies so far. Other countries are also helping but the pace is viewed, by many, as simply being too slow to meet the soaring needs. To date, floods have left more than 20 million people in need of food and shelter.

Some welcome news for Louisiana crabbers. Another section of the state's waterways near the Mississippi River, which had been closed by the Gulf oil disaster is now open. The FDA has tested the crabs and says they are safe to eat. Large areas of Louisiana's commercial fishing waters remain off limits.

So tomorrow, I hope you will join us in the 2:00 o'clock Eastern hour. We have hot gadgets. We love this segment all the time. Also in the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour an amazing archaeological find in Georgia, from the civil war. I will be talking to a professor and a grad student who are in on that dig.

Coming up next hour with Don Lemon, a Muslim employee is suing Disney for the right to wear her head scarf. Don Lemon's coming up next. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Have a great day. See you tomorrow.

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