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New Day

Blue Rhino Propane Plant Explosion; New Mideast Peace Talks Begin; Weiner Falls to Fourth in NYC Mayoral Race; Interview with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn; Manning Verdict Expected Today; Smoking Task Force Recommends Annual CT Scans

Aired July 30, 2013 - 08:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're waiting to make sure that it's not going to burn into another area but there's no way I can predict that.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, huge explosions at a propane plant in Florida lighting up the night sky. Tanks launched into the air like rockets. All caught on tape. We have the latest.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Outbreak. That mysterious stomach illness now spreading. Hundreds sickened in 15 states and no one knows where it's coming from. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with the latest.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Real trouble. Two stars of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" charged with tax fraud now facing decades behind bars. Could prison handle this?

CUOMO: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: What you need to know --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grabbing women in your office is not OK and you need to go.

ANNOUNCER: What you just have to see.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Between going to 75 weddings and being in 12, I've probably spent at least $10,000.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Good morning and welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody. It is Tuesday, July 30th, 8:00 in the east. I'm Kate Bolduan.

CUOMO: And I'm Chris Cuomo, here along with our news anchor, Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Good morning. CUOMO: Coming up this half hour, we have Anthony Weiner. I know, I know, you're going to roll your eyes, but we can't let it go. And there's two good reasons: one, Eliot Spitzer is weighing in. What's that about?

And there's a real race with real people with real names. So, Kate this morning going to talk to the main opponent, the leader of the race at this time, Christine Quinn.

BOLDUAN: We're going to talk about that coming up.

And also we're going to look at a potential verdict today in Bradley Manning's case. You remember that name. He's the soldier accused of leaking top secret government files to WikiLeaks. We have a live report on what his future looks like.

PEREIRA: And we're going to have fun with one of our colleagues, a CNN producer -- get this -- she's been to more than 70 weddings. She's been a bridesmaid in 12 of them. She blogged about her wedding experience, it's gone viral. She will have her very hilarious and, you know, cautionary tale, perhaps.

CUOMO: Bridesmaid 12 times, she's been married 58?

PEREIRA: Oh, attended 70. She stopped counting at 74.

CUOMO: Quite a story.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: All right.

But, first, some of the top news. Breaking news we're following from central Florida this morning.

Eight people hospitalized this morning after a series of huge propane gas explosions at the Blue Rhino plant in Florida. The flames lighting up the night skies, as you see there. This is a live look this morning at the plant.

Adriana Hauser is live at the scene with more. Good morning, Adriana.

ADRIANA HAUSER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. And the scene here today is nothing like the dramatic scene we saw more or less around 11:00 p.m. last night. The fire has been put out, but we still see the smoke and we still smell the smoke. It's still going on, and there's still some firefighters in the scene.

We know that eight people were injured. Some of them were transported by helicopter to local hospitals, and we don't know the extent of their injuries. We also know that about 20 EMS workers responded to the scene, 60 firefighters, none of them injured. And this we know, Kate, through a presser that Richard Keith, the fire chief of Tavares, just gave.

But let's take a look at what happened after the first explosions took place last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see that?

HAUSER (voice-over): One after another, after another, explosions so big and so loud, they could be seen and heard and felt for miles.

The raging inferno lighting up the night sky just after 11:00 p.m. over the Blue Rhino propane plant in Tavares, Florida, northwest of Orlando.

The danger so great, officials forced to evacuate residents a mile away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are just shooting off like missiles right now.

HAUSER: This video captures what looks like propane tanks shooting up into the sky, fires burning out of control just feet away from three large propane tanks. Dozens of emergency responders racing to the scene to treat the injured while firefighters fought to put down the flames.

Plant officials have accounted for the two dozen employees working at the time. At least seven were taken to area hospitals. Miraculously, no fatalities.

JOHN HARRELL, LAKE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: There were propane cylinders stored in various parts of the property, 53,000 20-pound cylinders.

HAUSER: This plant explosion happened on the heels of a deadly one at a fertilizer plant just three months ago that rocked the small town of West, Texas. Fifteen people died, most of them first responders. The devastation there spanned a five block radius. The cause of that deadly blast is still under investigation.

The investigation here in Florida is just beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAUSER: Chris, Kate, and also we know from this presser that we just heard that the cause -- they don't think it was sabotage, they are thinking possibly, possibly equipment failure or human error. But then again, we're waiting for more conclusive investigation.

Back to you.

CUOMO: All right. Adriana Hauser, thank you very much.

Now, we go from Florida to Washington, where this morning, Middle East peace talks get under way. Last night, Secretary of State John Kerry hosted a meal between Israeli and Palestinian diplomats. It's the first time they've held face-to-face meetings in three years.

Brianna Keilar is following developments for us from the White House. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Chris. Last night was the kickoff here in Washington of this process. Really, though, starting to lay the groundwork for how negotiations are going to proceed from here. Not at this point as of yet tackling the really big issues. For instance, what to do with refugees, should Israel stop settlements in contested areas like the West Bank, and also the borders, what's the starting point in negotiations that both sides will have to agree on?

This is a process expected to take several months, nine months as is the opening concession by Israel. The release of Palestinian prisoners, more than 100 of them, some have been in jail for decades, convicted of killing Israelis.

You know, it's just sort of something that struck me there, Chris. Yesterday I just happened to be walking the mall and I heard a motorcade coming by. It was the Palestinian delegation, and I was looking at it and thought this is either the beginning of something that is very historic or this is the beginning of what is going to be another disappointment.

So, I think it's sort of a time here as this is kicking off where there's some hope, but there's also some skepticism about what can be accomplished.

CUOMO: Hopefully, everybody's going into it with optimism. Appreciate the reporting, Brianna.

BOLDUAN: All right. Anthony Weiner's poll numbers, falling fast. Weiner has dropped down to fourth place in the New York City mayoral race.

The latest blow: he won't be getting former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's vote.

We're going to talk to his -- Anthony Weiner's opponent Christine Quinn in just moments.

But, first, let's get to CNN's Rosa Flores who's been following the campaign for us. Hi there, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning.

You know the saying there's no such thing as bad publicity? It may not apply in this position, because despite his efforts to talk about the issues that are important to the middle class, like jobs, his message is being drowned out by questions about his online sexting spree.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE SAMPSON STEPHENS, NEW YORK VOTER: As a candidate, you should have moral values and right now, I think that his moral values are shot. FLORES (voice-over): Harsh words and even a harsher reality for embattled mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner. His poll numbers plummeting from first to fourth in a new Quinnipiac University poll, the survey conducted after a new round of lewd Internet chats were revealed.

Take a look, the former congressman's support dropping 10 percentage points in just five days, from 26 percent to 16 percent.

ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to leave this to the people of the city of New York to decide, period, end of conversation.

FLORES: His vow to stay in the race angering the Clintons. A source close to the political power couple tells CNN they are livid with Weiner personally because they care about Huma.

Adding salt to the wound, Democratic candidate for comptroller, Eliot Spitzer, trying to resurrect his own career after his own sex scandal is turning his back on Weiner.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC: You're not going to vote for Anthony Weiner. Can you just say that now? You don't think he should be mayor of New York?

ELIOT SPITZER (D), NEW YORK COMPTROLLER CANDIDATE: Fair point. That is correct.

WEINER: I'm interested in what pundits say. I'm interested in what other politicians say, but not that much.

FLORES: Despite all, he continues campaigning across the city and finding supporters at every stop -- wooing voters in Queens with a little Mandarin. Making it clear he's fighting for every vote he can get.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And he'll be looking for those votes starting in about an hour and continuing late into the evening. Now, we'll see if his strategy outpaces a scandal that is already gone viral -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Rosa, thanks so much.

With just 42 days to go until the Democratic primary in New York's mayoral race, it's beginning to look doubtful that Anthony Weiner can even make that runoff that so many people have been talking about. Well, the front-runner in the race is Christine Quinn. She's the speaker of New York City Council and she's joining me now this morning.

Good morning, thanks so much for coming in.

CHRISTINE QUINN, (D) CANDDIATE FOR NYC MAYOR: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Of course. So I've looked back at some of the statements you've said recently. You called Anthony Weiner reckless, irresponsible, disqualified to be mayor of New York City, but you have stopped short of calling for him to drop out of the race. At this point, why?

QUINN: Well, look, I think it's a little cheeky, quite frankly, for opponents to tell each other to get in and out of races. This is now a decision for the voters. The former Congressman was on the ballot and the voters are going to make a decision come September 10th.

Now that said, I'm really confident that they are going to elect me the next mayor of the City of New York because what voters care about their future, not the past mistakes of others. What they care about is is there going to be housing for their children when they graduate from school? Will there be good jobs for them and their children that get them into and keep them in the middle class? Will their neighborhood school get better? Will there be more topnotch high schools for their children to apply to? And will our streets stay safe?

These are the issues -- and these are the issues that I have a record on, you know. I put out a plan yesterday to put out 40,000 new middle income housing units when I'm mayor of the City of New York. That builds on top of work I've done protecting New York's renters. Now in New York, if you're being harassed by a band landlord, you can go to court and sue them for harassment. That's because of a law we passed in the Council. That's real results and that's what New Yorkers care about, is results.

BOLDUAN: You're absolutely right, that people care about their futures, not necessarily the past. But if you also look at the poll numbers most recently, once the scandal broke about Anthony Weiner, his poll numbers dropped by nine points and they've dropped even further. So do you -- can see you're benefiting from the scandal?

QUINN: I think, of course, the scandal had an impact in voters' minds, because they know for the future to be the best possible, you need a mayor who has a level of maturity and responsibility, and you see that in me through all the work that I've done. When New Yorkers look at my record over the past eight years as speaker, eight budgets balanced on time. When there was a threat of 4,100 teachers being laid off, I didn't just have press conferences, say, "This can't happen". I stopped it by bringing the teacher's union and the Department of Education into a room and staying in that room until we got concessions.

BOLDUAN: So do you think when big-name New Yorkers, like the former governor Eliot Spitzer, when he jumps in and he says his piece, that he's not going to vote for Anthony Weiner, does that help or hurt? What's going on?

QUINN: You know, I think whatever Eliot Spitzer says is not so relevant to the mayor's race, at all. I think the mayor's race, the voices that matter are the New Yorkers who are going to vote. And trust me, every day out there, they're asking me what I can do to make their lives better. And then because they're New Yorkers, they say, "Yes, yes, that's a promise. Tell me what you did." And when I tell them the record of having delivered, you can tell they get confident that, together -- us working together, me and New Yorkers -- we can make this city a better place.

Because, look, at the end of the day, you hear a lot of talk on the campaign trail. New Yorkers are smart. They know talk is cheap. But when you look at the records, in my time as Speaker, during the recession, we added high-tech and manufacturing jobs in the city. Most cities were hemorrhaging those jobs. That's what we need to do more of, build good jobs like that that give people opportunities to get into the middle class.

And that's -- notwithstanding the media circus that some have brought, Eliot and Anthony, to these races -- that, at the end of the day, when you're talking to voters on the street, they cut to those issues because that's what they care about.

BOLDUAN: And there's no question that a local race is about local issues. That goes far beyond New York City. But also this race has now gotten national attention because of what's been going on with Anthony Weiner. Makes me wonder --

QUINN: To some degree. So this is New York City and everybody cares about New York City, because we're the greatest city in the world. And when we pass laws like the antismoking ban that I sponsored in the Council, you don't just see other states replicating it, you see other countries in the world replicating it, so we matter because we're New York.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask you this, and I wonder this as a woman, myself. You're the only woman in this mayoral race. Do you think that if a woman had been caught up in a similar scandal, that she would be given a second or third chance at this point?

QUINN: You know, there's been a lot of discussion about second chances in this race from former Congressman Weiner and the former governor. Look, for me the question is, let's give us the first chance. If I'm elected mayor, when I'm elected mayor, I'll be the first woman and the first openly gay mayor of the City of New York. Let's not have a conversation about second chances; let's have a conversation about the potential of first chances and history and what that could mean for the greatest city in the world.

And to me that's exciting. You know, I don't wake up every day and say, oh, I'm running to be the first woman mayor, but then you're out there, I'm at a subway, and I have a mom brings a little girl up to me. And she bends down and says, "Sweetie, this is the woman I told you might be mayor," and you see something click in that little girl's mind, and that's exciting and it's energizing, because what this city should be is a place where everybody, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, their race, their religion, can have their wildest dreams come true. That's what it was for my grandparents when they came here from Ireland and that's what I'm going to make sure it remains for all of those children.

BOLDUAN: You brought it up and it made me just wonder just now. It's been a big headline today, as you said, you're the first openly gay speaker of the City Council, you'd be the first openly gay mayor of New York. You're also a Catholic.

QUINN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What did you make when you heard the comments that Pope Francis had made when he -- about homosexuality, that he says, "Who am I to be the judge?"

QUINN: I thought they were terrific. I think the Pope deserves so much credit for making those statements. They were enormously positive statements from any significant religious leader, but from the Pope himself to make a statement like that, it is enormous progress.

Now look, there's more we want, changes we want in the Catholic Church, let me be clear. It's not everything, but that is a step forward, and I very much thank the Pope for what he has said and also thank him for his focus on the poor and his focus on getting the papacy out there more to touch people and more down on the level of everyday Catholics across the world.

BOLDUAN: Speaker Quinn, great to meet you. Thank you for coming in this morning. We'll be watching closely, the primary is in September.

QUINN: September 10th, put it in your book.

BOLDUAN: It's already there, I promise you. Nice to meet you.

QUINN: Nice to meet you.

BOLDUAN: Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Kate. We want to bring you the latest now on Flossie. It's been downgraded to a tropical depression, but that is still a real threat. Make no mistake, Hawaii could still take a very serious beating from the weakening storm. Forecasters are predicting some areas could get up to 15 inches of rain. Indra Petersons is tracking Flossie for us. What do you see in the future?

INDRA PETERSONS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We're still looking, like you mentioned, the depression here. Kind of actually hard to see, but actually, the eye of this is just north of the islands, the convection here a little bit farther to the south, and we're still dealing with heavy rain and strong winds as it kind of narrows in on Hawaii.

Now, pass that about 72 hours, we do expect it to dissipate. So, that is the good news there. But yes, anywhere from 10, even 15 inches of rain still in the forecast there. Speaking of heavy rain and flooding, take a look at Kansas yesterday. I mean, seven inches of record breaking rain in the area.

That same system is very slow moving is now pushing off to the east, so the Mississippi Valley today looking for anywhere from two to four inches of heavy rain really into the area. But I do want to point out some good news, high pressure in the northeast, beautiful weather out here, but it's also doing something else, it's cooling us down. All that cool air from Canada is dropping down to the south and look at the relief it's bringing. We're talking about temperatures well below normal, 76 in Chicago today, normal about 83. And that is so nice to see, I mean, especially after we saw temperatures. About a few weeks ago, there were like 100, 115 heat indexes. I think 75 feels pretty good and actually feels like summer around here and some all the rain -- what is up with the summer? June, July was literally just drenched.

BOLDUAN: You're the one that's supposed to know, not me.

PETERSONS: You're actually right.

(LAUGHTER)

PETERSONS: I'll take that back.

BOLDUAN: All right. Indra.

CUOMO: You're the one saying heat indexes, you have to know the answer.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Indra.

There's a lot of news happening right now, so let's get straight to Michaela for the headlines.

PEREIRA: All right. Good morning, guys. Good morning, everyone at home. Here we go.

The European Union's top diplomat says deposed Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, is doing well. Katherine Ashton (ph) met with Morsi for about two hours Monday. She is the first high level diplomat to see him since he was removed from office by the Egyptian military last month.

Ashton says Morsi is closely following developments in Egypt through newspaper and television reports and the location where he's being held was kept secret even from her.

More information about the NSA surveillance programs could be declassified as soon as today. A senior U.S. official says revelations not only include reports on surveillance programs, but also previously undisclosed information about the secret foreign intelligence surveillance court. On "AC 360," NSA leaker, Edward Snowden's father slammed people who focus on his son rather than the questionable acts he revealed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LON SNOWDEN, EDWARD SNOWDEN'S FATHER: He's not living a very comfortable life at this point. He said he's an American, he loves his country. I know my son. I know he loves his country. You know, what he believed is that this information the American people needed to be aware of what their government was doing to them, spying upon them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: When asked if he thought his son would get a fair trial in the U.S., Lon Snowden said absolutely not.

Former army intelligence analyst, Bradley Manning, finding out his fate in less than five hours' time. He's charged with aiding the enemy for the largest leak of classified information in the U.S. history. Barbara Starr has the very latest for us live at the Pentagon -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Twenty-five-year-old Bradley Manning will find out today if he spends the rest of his life in jail for leaking tens of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website. Let's take a quick look at the charges he is facing. Aiding the enemy, first up, that is the one if convicted that could get him life in prison.

Also, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet, transmitting national defense information, theft of public property or records. Manning has already pled guilty to some lesser charges that could get him 20 years in jail, but about five hours from now, we will find out exactly what the military judge has in mind -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Of course, that's something we'll be following here on CNN. Barbara Starr, thanks so very much for that.

A 58-year-old woman is charged with vandalizing the Washington National Cathedral. Police say Tian Jamel (ph) was found holding cans of green paint after they discovered green paint splattered in two of the church's chapels. The National Cathedral is the fourth Washington landmark to be defaced by green pain in recent days. Police aren't saying if the case is maybe connected.

A Pennsylvania teenager trapped in her wrecked SUV right there for over 18 hours. Police say Brooke Spence's (ph) vehicle tumbled into a culver Saturday night, pinning her inside. The SUV flipped over onto its roof, stayed there until a man spotted it the next day. Officials say thick brush made it difficult to see the SUV from the road.

I know you've often asked yourself, can a flamingo do the flamenco?

CUOMO: Everyday.

PEREIRA: Well, come on, people. A new video right here has gone viral. This is Panky (ph). She's 15 years old. She's a Chilean flamingo who makes her home at Busch Gardens Florida, entertaining visitors with her spirited dance step. The original version apparently featured just Panky (ph) and her stomping feet.

This is the remix, folks. We took it to a new level. Now, you know if somebody asked you, Michaela, can the flamingo do the flamenco. You got an answer.

BOLDUAN: You get that question? PEREIRA: All the time.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: And knees bend backwards. They were meant to dance.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

PEREIRA: Is that something you wish you have?

CUOMO: Everybody knows that.

PEREIRA: Bending backwards knees.

CUOMO: On occasion, my knees have been backwards. That's why I'm now doing this job and no longer carrying a ball.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right. Moving on here this morning, one of the real housewives of New Jersey is in real trouble this morning along with her husband. Prosecutors say Teresa and Joe Giudice included false information on their 2009 bankruptcy filing and other important paperwork, including loan applications.

They're due in court today to face a 39-count indictment. Nischelle Turner is here with the details. Could be looking at, what, 50 years?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It seems that way if all is proven to be true, that bankruptcy fraud that you were talking about. They're also talking about mail and wire fraud, bank and loan application fraud. All of this laid out in the 39-count indictment. For these reality stars, it's getting real.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (voice-over): It's a real-life legal saga for two stars of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New Jersey," a reality series that's famous for bringing the drama.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

TURNER: A U.S. district court has indicted table flipping housewife, Teresa Giudice, and her husband, Joe, on 39 counts of fraud and tax charges. The Giudices are accused of exaggerating their income while applying for loans before housewives debuted in 2009, then hiding their fortunes in a bankruptcy filing after the first season aired.

The federal indictment alleges the Giudices lied to the bankruptcy court, to the IRS, and to a number of banks. The pair faces pretty stiff penalties on the most serious charges up to 30 years in prison and a million dollar fine if convicted. Joe Giudice was also charged with failure to file tax returns between 2004 and 2008, a time when he earned nearly $1 million, adding to an already checkered legal past.

MAGGIE FURLONG, WEST COAST EDITOR, HUFFPOSTTV: We've been hearing rumblings of in the news for years now, and it's all kind of come to a head with these latest charges.

TURNER: Joe's lawyer did not immediately respond to request for comment. However, Teresa's attorney told CNN she will plead not guilty, releasing a statement saying she supports her husband and adding, quote, "I am committed to my family and intend to maintain our lives in the best way possible, which includes continuing my career. As a result, I am hopeful that we will resolve this matter with the government as quickly as possible."

With the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" in its fifth season on Bravo, Teresa's future with the show is potentially in jeopardy.

FURLONG: You can't really shoot the level of glamour behind bars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TURNER (on-camera): Now, of course, we reached out to Bravo, they had no comment. Joe and Teresa Giudice are scheduled to make their initial court appearance at 10:00 a.m. this morning eastern time before U.S magistrate judge in federal court in New Jersey.

Keep in mind also, Joe has yet another case pending that he fraudulently obtained a driver's license also in New Jersey, and in April, he turned down a plea in that case that would have sent him to prison for four years.

BOLDUAN: All right. Thanks so much, Nischelle.

TURNER: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: All right. Coming up next on NEW DAY, sexual harassment charges mounting against San Diego mayor, Bob Filner. We're going to tell you about the extreme measures being considered to get him out of office.

CUOMO: Plus, a seriously bad bug is turning stomachs across the nation. Our doctor, Sanjay Gupta, is making a house call to tell you what you need to know. Stay with us.

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CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY, everybody. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is back with us. We've got two important very topics to discuss with him, the source of a mysterious stomach bug that's made more than 350 people sick in 15 states and a new recommendation on how frequently to screen lung cancer in long-term smokers. Very important both. let's get to it.

Sanjay, first up, great to have you, always a pleasure to see you on NEW DAY. You know that, my brother. But what do we need to know about the stomach bug that seems to be actually spreading more quickly than we thought?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, give it a name, cyclospora is the name. It's not a bacteria, it's not a virus, this is a parasite. As you mentioned, 353 people have been sickened. That's it, by the way, the pesky little bugger causes the type of symptoms we don't talk about much on morning television, but you get the idea, Chris, that G.I. sort of stuff.

It's usually a miserable few days for people, but there have been 21 people hospitalized, as well. So, they're keeping -- they have pretty close eye on this, Chris.

CUOMO: Where's it coming from?

GUPTA: They don't know yet. And that's a little bit surprising, because we're talking about now since mid-June this has been going on. It's hard to figure this stuff out, basically asking people what they ate in the last few days, few weeks. I don't know about you, Chris, but you probably don't know what you had for breakfast yesterday.

That makes a challenging to figure this out. They think it's vegetables. They think it does not spread from person to person. So, people within households need not worry about that part of it and they say the best advice is to really wash your vegetables and fruit well. Wash it, dry it, if you can peel the skin off, even better, because that's where this parasite apparently likes to live.

CUOMO: And be aware, because if you're sensing these symptoms, it seem worse than a virus, go to your doctor, because there is treatment, right? And by the way -- go ahead, doc.

GUPTA: Very easy treatment. Good point. It's an antibiotic. Again, even though this is not a bacteria, the antibiotic Bactrim seems to be very effective.

CUOMO: All right. I actually had four whole chickens for breakfast yesterday, doc, if you want to know. Let's turn the corner --

GUPTA: I believe it looking at you, Chris.

CUOMO: Yes, yes. For the first time, a government advisory group is recommending that some people should be screened for lung cancer. So, tell us, what is this new information, who and why?

GUPTA: This is a big deal. I mean, you talk about screenings, anything about colonoscopy, mammograms. You can add the CT scan, low dose CT scan for high-risk smokers now, people they consider high risk for lung cancer. It's very interesting, and this is a step over the departure in terms of screenings, but they say lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer out there.

They've been looking for a way to screen for this for some time and they think people between the ages of 55 and 79 who smoked a pack a day for 30 years, these are heavy risk smokers here, high smokers, they are the most at risk. Even if you quit within the last 15 years, you would still qualify for this.

So someone like your old colleague, Chris, Peter Jennings, for example. He commented on his own smoking, he quit for awhile, returned to it. He may have been somebody who would qualify for a screening like this, and the goal of lung cancer is to catch it early, because the reason it's so deadly is because it spreads before people often develop symptoms.

CUOMO: So just because you quit doesn't mean that the risk is gone. How do you balance the benefit of having the test with the concerns about having CT scan because of the radiation?

GUPTA: Yes, it's a legitimate concern and I think part of the reason this has been a long time coming, they are lower dose CT scans than in the past. That can help with that risk. And you've got to get one of these scans every year.

There's also the question if you find something, it's not cancer, but now you've got to biopsy it and go through that whole process, that was also a concern. And that's not cheap. We're talking about a few hundred dollars for these people to get screened. So there is a cost involved as well.

This was not an easy decision, I hink, for the task force, but this is sort of where they stand on lung cancer.

CUOMO: All right, Sanjay, thank you for the information about the bug and about the screening. Appreciate it, as always.

GUPTA: You got it, Chris, any time.

CUOMO: Kate, back to you.

BOLDUAN: All right, thanks, Chris. Coming up next on NEW DAY, San Diego's mayor is accused of harassing several women. Now, he wants taxpayers to foot his legal bills. The growing outrage coming up.

Also this, this little puppy was a lost cause, they say, born and never able to sit up. What it took and what was done for him, that's why Mick the dog is the good stuff. His story coming up.

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