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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Edwards Poverty Tour; Senator in Trouble; New Orleans Murders; Murder on Campus; TB Patient Speaks: Surgery Tomorrow; Reviving the Gulf
Aired July 16, 2007 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone.
We are back in New Orleans tonight, "Keeping them Honest," continuing our commitment to report on government failure and incompetence.
Tonight, the crime wave that is sweeping this city, more than 100 murders so far this year. Coming up, the mayor responds.
Plus, how ordinary citizens are doing what the government has so far failed to do here, rebuild New Orleans in Saint Bernard Parish one house at a time.
Presidential Candidate John Edwards has also in New Orleans. It's the first stop on his Road to One America Tour, an attempt to call attention to poverty in his campaign. We'll have much more on that ahead.
Also, a change in treatment for the lawyer who set off of a global health scare. Andrew Speaker will undergo surgery after all. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the exclusive interview with him ahead.
And new developments in the campus murder mystery we have been following. Three people, including the university's president, have now lost their jobs. All that ahead.
But we start right here in Saint Bernard Parish, just outside New Orleans. There has been some progress to be sure, but so much still needs to be done. And so many people still cannot come home.
Katrina exposed the deep poverty that has long been a problem here, especially in the city's Lower Ninth Ward, where we caught up today with Democratic Presidential Candidate John Edwards.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): John Edwards is walking through the Lower Ninth Ward. There are not many voters here, but for him the pictures speak loudly. New Orleans is what he says his campaign is all about, a glaring symbol of presidential failure and governmental neglect.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's infuriating.
COOPER: Infuriating? J. EDWARDS: Just the idea that -- that people are still living like this and nothing's being done, when billions of dollars have been appropriated. Where is the money? Stuck in some bureaucrat's desk somewhere? I mean, where is it?
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF JOHN EDWARDS: So, I had this idea when we were in there. And that is, you put a FEMA trailer on the grounds of the White House, and we told the president he can live there until Winnie (ph), who is in here, gets to move back into her house.
COOPER (voice-over): We joined John and Elizabeth Edwards for the opening leg of their three day-day, eight-state tour, spotlighting his signature issue, poverty in America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two and three.
COOPER: It's a political photo-op and a political risk. In these times of war and uncertainty, it's unclear the plight of the poor will resonate with voters.
Emphasizing poverty, however, sets Edwards apart from his higher- profile, better-funded opponents.
(on camera): Do you think the other Democratic candidates are doing enough to focus attention on New Orleans, on the Gulf Coast?
J. EDWARDS: I think that -- that the truth of the matter is, America is not paying enough attention, I would say.
COOPER (voice-over): Edwards insists this is not a campaign swing.
J. EDWARDS: Hey, how are you?
COOPER: There are no rallies, no cheering crowds. A small gaggle of reporters follows him from stop to stop as he struggles for traction.
How much time are you on the phone trying to actually raise money?
J. EDWARDS: Almost (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Except for the fact that you're in the car now, I would be on the phone right now.
COOPER: Really?
J. EDWARDS: Yes. Oh, yes. In every car ride, every car ride.
COOPER: That's -- that's incredible.
COOPER: Edwards is used to the fundraising and the constant campaigning. He's been doing it in some form for nearly six years.
(on camera): Your campaign, you raised $9 million this quarter, down from the first quarter. You're running third in the polls. Why aren't you doing better?
J. EDWARDS: Well, I would -- I would gently argue with you about some of that. And, at least for now, I appear to be ahead in Iowa, very competitive in the early states. But that's all politics.
I think, at the end of the day, what will matter to voters in those early states, who are paying very close attention, is, are you seasoned and experienced enough to be a good candidate for president? And, secondly, for the Democrats, they want to win. So, they want to have a candidate that they know can win the general election.
COOPER (voice-over): With him much of the time, his wife, Elizabeth, a celebrity in her own right, fighting a personal and public battle with cancer. She's a top adviser and her husband's chief defender.
(on camera): How angry do you get when you read, you know, about his $400 haircut or criticism of the house you guys are building?
E. EDWARDS: If somebody hears about the haircut and focuses on that, then they're not focusing on the real issues, where he can change -- change this country. So that angers me. It angers me that, you know, that it's used as a political poking stick by our opposition.
COOPER (voice-over): On the road again, another van, another plane, off to Mississippi now, then Arkansas and Tennessee. All along the way, they're talking with small groups of working poor, far away from the states that matter, at least in the campaign game.
J. EDWARDS: I hope that America sees that what they saw in New Orleans is not just in New Orleans. It's in rural areas in the South. It's in big cities in the North. And it is still a pervasive -- poverty is still a pervasive issue in America.
COOPER: A candidate hoping to be lifted by a cause.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (on camera): More now on poverty and the race in New Orleans. Here's the "Raw Data."
Before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, just over half the population here was white. A little more than a third was African-American. After the storms, the percentage of white residents shot up to 68 percent of the population, African-Americans now just 21 percent.
The family poverty rate stood at 14 percent before the storms, fell to 8.5 percent afterward, mostly because wealthier residents were able to stay.
John Edwards wasn't the only politician facing cameras today. Louisiana Senator David Vitter broke his silence today at a press conference in the New Orleans suburb where he lives. A week ago, you will remember, he admitted to making calls to an alleged prostitution operation in Washington. Today, with his wife at his side, the father of four apologized.
CNN's Susan Roesgen joins me now.
Susan, he didn't quit, as some thought he might.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: No, he didn't quit. in fact, just the opposite. He said that he's going to be back at work in Washington tomorrow. Today, he apologized for what he called his past actions.
And then his wife, Wendy, got up to the podium, and she said she had forgiven him.
COOPER: Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DAVID VITTER (R), LOUISIANA: I want to, again, offer my deep, sincere apologies to all those I have let down and disappointed with these actions from my past. I am completely responsible. And I am so very, very sorry.
WENDY VITTER, WIFE OF DAVID VITTER: In most any other marriage, this would have been a private issue between a husband and a wife -- very private. Obviously, it is not here.
Like all marriages, ours is not perfect. None of us are. But we choose to work together as a family. When David and I dealt with this privately years ago, I forgave David. I made the decision to love him and to recommit to our marriage.
You know, to forgive is not always the easy choice, but it was and is the right choice for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Senator Vitter admitted to some past allegations, denying some others.
ROESGEN: There have been these recent allegations that Senator Vitter had relations with prostitutes here in Louisiana. He took time in that press conference today, Anderson, to say that his long-term enemies had put out what he called falsehoods, and that any recent allegations that have been printed in the local paper, or talked about in the last week, are absolutely not true.
COOPER: Susan Roesgen, appreciate the reporting. Thanks very much.
The people of New Orleans have heard of a lot of promises over the last 23 months. We all know that. Mayor Ray Nagin promised to make crime a top priority.
But, since January, more than 100 people have been killed in New Orleans, making it one of the most dangerous cities in the country. For a lot of tourists who come here, they get no sense of this, of course. Lots of areas are safe.
Of course, it's not the only large city facing a deadly crime wave. We recently reported from Chicago, where dozens of schoolchildren have been killed this year. But a promise is a promise.
"Keeping them Honest" for us tonight, CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The floodwaters long gone, New Orleans is drowning in murder.
(on camera): Do you feel safe here in this city now?
JEANNETTE KELLY (ph), BOYFRIEND WAS SHOT AND KILLED: Not really.
KAYE: Jeannette Kelly's (ph) boyfriend, Christopher Roberts, was shot and killed just last month on Father's Day. Police say someone stole his motorcycle and Roberts took a bullet to the chest. His killer, like too many here, got away.
KELLY: I think that some people have lost their humanity, have no appreciation for life. And I don't know. It's a really sad reflection on our society.
KAYE: The couple had evacuated for Katrina and moved back last December with their new baby girl. They wanted to help rebuild, just like their neighbor, Filmmaker Helen Hill, who was shot to death in January by an intruder who was never caught.
After her murder, Kelly says she and her boyfriend put bars on their windows and bought a gun. They thought that would keep them safe.
The week Helen Hill died, there were 11 other murders, prompting New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to make this promise.
RAY NAGIN (D), MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: We will put all of our resources to focus on murders and violent crimes -- everything we have.
KAYE: "Keeping Them Honest," we ran the numbers. In the six months since the mayor promised to make murder a priority, more than 90 people have been killed in his city. The police force is still down 300 officers. And the justice system is a mess. Witnesses are either missing or unwilling to cooperate.
Last year, nearly half the murder suspects walked free because by law, prosecutors have just 60 days to make their case before a judge. Time is simply running out.
(on camera): What's actively being done at this point to try and repair the justice system, so the killing will stop?
NAGIN: Everything. Everything's being done, from more resources, more dollars, more manpower, more police officers. We have got the federal government involved.
KAYE: Why, then, is the number of homicides going up, instead of down? Who should be held accountable? Everyone's pointing fingers. Police blame the district attorney for not prosecuting cases quickly enough. The district attorney blames police for holding onto case files and letting witnesses slip away. And the mayor, he accuses the district attorney of encouraging lawlessness and dropping charges against dangerous criminals.
(voice-over): Like this guy, Michael Anderson, who says he's innocent.
District Attorney Eddie Jordan just last week dropped five counts of first-degree murder against him for the deaths of five teenagers. Jordan's office claimed it couldn't find a key witness. So, how did police manage to the next day?
(on camera): Certainly, a lot of people are pointing fingers at your office. Who do you think is at fault here?
EDDIE JORDAN, ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, let me say, first of all, that I am not going it take the blame for all of the sins of the criminal justice system. Certainly, we have our shortcomings, but we're working on our shortcomings.
KAYE (voice-over): Jordan, who plans to reinstate charges against Anderson, refused to play the blame game and dismissed the notion of infighting. He says he's working closely with police and has successfully prosecuted dozens of criminals.
(on camera): Is New Orleans safe?
JORDAN: Yes, I do believe it's safe.
KAYE: More than 100 murders this year, and you still say the city's safe?
JORDAN: A hundred murders is -- is totally unacceptable, but it is not -- it is not the murder capital of the world, in my opinion.
KAYE (voice-over): Still, the FBI says the city is on track this year to rank among the nation's most murderous.
The mayor promises he's trying every crime-fighting technique used around the country.
(on camera): Does that sound like crime-fighting is a top priority to you?
KELLY: You know, I wouldn't -- like I said, I wouldn't presume to know what -- what they're doing. But it does seem out of control.
KAYE (voice-over): People here wonder how long it will take, how many will have to die, before Mayor Nagin makes good on his promise.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: It's strange, because, when you're in the French Quarter, you know, as many -- that's where most of the tourists go -- it does seem safe. You see a lot of police around. It's clean. You know, it's well- lit. It seems protected. And that seems to be the message that the mayor wants to be getting out.
KAYE (on camera): Absolutely, the mayor and police, but, really, the mayor says that it is mostly the black-on-black crime that's taking place here, the gang members and drug dealers that are dying and killing each other.
The police are trying to spin it that it's -- certainly, the city is safe for tourists.
But what is happening is, they're very, very frustrated with the fact that a lot of these criminals are cycling through the court system, and ending up back on the street, and they're having to make these arrests over and over again.
We talked to one judge recently who told us that he expects 7,000 violent and nonviolent criminals to end back on the street this year.
COOPER: Seven thousand?
KAYE: Seven thousand. It was 3,000 last year, so that's more than double. So, clearly, the justice system still needs fixing.
COOPER: And they're all still pointing fingers at one another?
KAYE: There's a lot of infighting going on, no matter what the district attorney says. Everybody is trying to talk nicely on camera, but what's going on behind the scenes is pretty ugly.
COOPER: Yes. Not a lot of communication, no matter what the district attorney claims.
Randi Kaye, appreciate it, "Keeping them Honest," tonight.
Two years ago, in the days after Katrina, when the Convention Center was overflowing with desperate people, a 45-year-old African- American man was killed by police. The officer said he was gunned down in self-defense. They have stuck to that story.
But now CNN's Drew Griffin has uncovered some new details that appear to challenge their version of what happened.
Here's his report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: According to the police report, a black man came out of nowhere from the Convention Center. He had something shiny in his right hand and was waving as police -- as they approached in the patrol car.
When they came up, the man actually jumped on the windshield and was trying to swing what turned out to be a pair of scissors in his right hand at the officer in this seat. That officer pulled out a shotgun and shot Danny Brumfield, killing him.
For two years now, that has been the only story we have gotten from the police.
CNN sued for the autopsy results of Danny Brumfield. And it turns out, Danny Brumfield did die of a single gunshot wound -- to his back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: You can see Drew's full report tomorrow on 360.
Still ahead tonight, on this special edition of 360 from Saint Bernard Parish, some raw facts about campaign cash and which party is seeing more green.
Also ahead, these stories:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): New information about the man at the center of an international health scare.
ANDREW SPEAKER, TUBERCULOSIS PATIENT: We didn't think that anything they were telling us conveyed that we were a threat to anyone.
COOPER: Last week, he demanded an apology from the CDC. Tonight, he's revealing new details about his condition only to 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.
Also ahead, murder on campus.
BOB DICKINSON, FATHER OF LAURA DICKINSON: A very healthy 22- year-old girl just doesn't die.
COOPER: She didn't, but the school lied to her parents. They demanded answers. We kept the school honest. The details ahead on 360.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER (on camera): New developments tonight in a story we first investigated here on 360.
A young woman was found dead in her dorm room. At first, school officials told students that no foul play was suspected. They said the same thing to her family, even though some of them knew she was raped and murdered. It happened at Eastern Michigan University seven months ago.
Today, three university administrators, including the president, are out of jobs. What took so long?
Once again, here's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Last December, Laura Dickinson, a healthy, athletic 22-year-old, was found dead in her dorm room.
BOB DICKINSON, FATHER OF LAURA DICKINSON: A very healthy 22- year-old girl just doesn't die.
KAYE: And, yet, he says, school officials led them to believe she died of natural causes. And though skeptical, Laura's family would bury their daughter, unaware officials at Eastern Michigan University had actually been burying the truth.
(on camera): Do you remember having some conversations with university officials at all about how your daughter died? And do you remember what they told you?
DEB DICKINSON, MOTHER OF LAURA DICKINSON: The only thing they said was, there was no evidence of foul play.
KAYE (voice-over): The university stuck to that story for more than two months -- no foul play. But, in fact, campus police were investigating Laura's death as a murder, even though no one told Bob and Deb Dickinson or students still on campus.
What they didn't know was that Laura had been found on the floor of her room, naked from the waist down, legs spread, a pillow over her face, semen on her leg.
The medical examiner scene report obtained by CNN clearly states foul play suspected. And this lab report from the state police suggests murder.
So, why weren't the Dickinsons told what really happened?
(on camera): Do you think, as her parents, you had a right to know...
D. DICKINSON: Yes.
KAYE: ...that she may have been murdered?
D. DICKINSON: Yes.
KAYE: If campus police were investigating this as a murder, why wouldn't the university warn students and faculty? Instead, the day after Laura's body was discovered, university officials posted this message on the school's Web site.
It reads, in part: "At this point, there is no reason to suspect foul play. We are fully confident in the safety and security of our campus environment." In the more than two months that passed between the body being discovered and a suspect being arrested, this message was never updated.
(voice-over): It turns out, police had identified their suspect within three days of finding the body -- 20-year-old Orange Taylor (ph), a student at the school. Incredibly, university and campus police kept silent.
It wasn't until Taylor was arrested February 23 that her family and students heard the truth. Laura died from asphyxiation. Taylor is charged with murder and rape. He denies the charges.
These are pictures of him entering her dorm about 4:30 a.m. the day she was killed. Here, he's in the stairwell just across the hall from her room about 90 minutes later. Police now admit, his DNA matches the semen on her leg.
After the arrest, students demanded answers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't know for sure, then don't say. Or, if you do know, don't lie.
KAYE: The school started damage control.
JOHN FALLON, PRESIDENT, EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: I feel pretty good about the way the university handled this.
KAYE: That was EMU President John Fallon five months ago. Today, it was announced his contract has been terminated. "Keeping them Honest," we spoke to Thomas Sidlik, the president of the school's board of regents, who told us it was time to move on, that they wanted a new vision for the school.
THOMAS SIDLIK, CHAIRMAN, EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS: There's no question about it. It's going to hurt the reputation. But we want to make the university stronger.
KAYE: And the fallout did not stop there.
Earlier this year, the school's board of regents ordered an independent investigation.
It found the school violated federal law because it failed to timely and properly warn the campus community. It also found both the university and campus police may have made a conscientious decision to label the investigation as a death investigation, not a homicide.
And it was because of this report, Sidlik says, that the school's vice president of student affairs and the head of public safety also left their jobs under a mutual agreement.
(on camera): Do you feel, Deb, that you were -- that you were lied to and misled?
D. DICKINSON: I'm sure they don't think that I was lied to, because they may say that I didn't ask all the questions. But they knew that they told us nothing. To find out this horrible thing that happened to our daughter, how could they just think that was OK, to not tell us?
KAYE (voice-over): It wasn't OK. But even the family admits, not knowing their daughter had been murdered was easier to handle than the truth.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Ypsilanti, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Unbelievable they did not tell that family.
Still ahead, "Raw Politics" and a YouTube debate preview, answering the question, why do we vote on Tuesday?
And crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a boat made of Popsicle sticks? What are they thinking?
All that is straight ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: This is the scene in the Spotted Cat, one of our new favorite bars in the Marigny in New Orleans. Every Monday and Friday night, you can find a jazz band there playing, just local neighbors coming by playing. Some people are dancing. It's always a great scene there at the Spotted Cat.
Here's some music to the Democrats' ears. They seem to be hearing the sweet sound of ka-ching a lot more than Republicans these days.
With that, Tom Foreman has tonight's "Raw Politics."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, the presidential candidates better strap on their bike helmets, because this is turning into one very rough election cycle, and the most expensive one ever.
(voice-over): Le tour de finance.
In the uphill climb to raise money, the Democrats are rocketing away from the Republicans. The top three Dems have pulled in a record $135 million this year, their GOP counterparts only $93 million. The "raw" read, this is tres bad for the Republicans, because in most elections they run far, far ahead.
On the downhill spending run, however, Republican Mitt Romney leads everyone. He's dropped $32 million, much of it just to get his name out -- a new ad hitting the air even now.
I spent $22 million to run for president, and all I got was this T-shirt. Much of John McCain's press staff has now resigned. The campaign says it is retrenching. McCain says he will still take New Hampshire, just like last time.
Democrats hope Republicans will pay a political price for the war. They're planning to roll cots into the capital and stage a round-the-clock debate over their latest proposals to end the fighting, although they don't have the votes to pass any of them.
And on the red carpet, the latest financial reports show some big names are tossing money at the presidential contenders.
Examples -- the Hill got about $7,000; John Edwards, $5,000 from Ben Stiller. The Obamarama, about $5,000 from Will Smith. Rudy took a cool K. from Tony Sirico. That's Paulie Walnuts to you. And Mike Gravel got a check from Mark Ruffalo for $700.
(on camera): Mark Ruffalo?
Well, sure, he's not much of a celebrity, but judging from the polls, Gravel hasn't been much of a candidate either.
That's "Raw Politics" -- Anderson.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Oh, come on, Tom. He's a good actor.
Coming up just a week from tonight, the CNN/YouTube debate. That is when Democratic candidates are going to be answering viewer questions. And that means you have got a week to get in a question of your own on video. Here's a sample. It's from a group that is on a mission to boost voter turnout.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACOB SOBOROFF (ph), WHY TUESDAY?: Hi. My name is Jacob Soboroff (ph) for the group Why Tuesday?
Last year, we drove across the country talking about America's low level of voter participation. And we started by asking a straightforward question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you happen to know why it is that we vote on Tuesdays?
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you happen to know why we do vote on Tuesday?
SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R), INDIANA: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the reason that we vote on Tuesday?
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Uh... UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know why we vote on Tuesday?
REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CALIFORNIA: No.
SOBOROFF (ph): The U.S. lags behind 80 percent of the nations in the world in voter turnout. Do you believe our voting system is broken? What do you plan to do about it?
And do you know why we vote on Tuesday?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, I did a little research. I didn't know. Seems the tradition dates back to the early 1800s when there was actually a good reason, convenience. Back then, it could take a full day to get to the polling place. Most voters couldn't travel on Sunday because of church. So Monday for the trek, Tuesday to cast your vote.
Why November? To give farmers a chance to bring in the harvest without the interruption of having to make that long journey to the ballot box.
Thanks very much. You can submit your viewer -- your YouTube -- just go to the YouTube.com home page. You have a week to submit questions. All you need to go -- need to do is go to YouTube.com. The debate, of course, is next Monday, this time, this channel, July 23.
Catching up on some other major stories we're following. Here's Erica Hill with the "360 Bulletin" -- Erica.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, "HEADLINE NEWS" ANCHOR: Anderson, we begin with deadly earthquakes rocking northwest Japan. At least seven people killed. Hundreds hurt. Thousands evacuated to government shelters. The most damage came from a 6.8 magnitude quake. It also caused a leak of radioactive water in a nuclear plant. Officials say there appears to be no health risk from the spill.
In Denver, an armed man shot dead today outside the Colorado governor's office. Before he was shot, the gunman reportedly declared: I am the emperor, and I'm here it take over state government. The state Senator tells CNN the metal detectors in the state house had been removed. Governor Ritter was unhurt.
And there is definitely something to be said for treating your customers well. A 20-year-old Indiana waitress gets a $10,000 tip from a family of regulars.
Jessica Osborne told the family she'd had to drop out of college twice because she just didn't have enough money, but that she really wanted to continue her education. Well, the family stopped in one day, said they were moving out of town, but before they left, they had something for her. It was a $10,000 check -- Anderson.
Isn't that amazing?
COOPER: Wow. That's really cool.
HILL: It is. It is.
COOPER: There you go.
HILL: It's good stuff. So she's going to use that to go to school.
Now for the "what were they thinking" part of our show? This one from the Netherlands really, I think, fits the bill quite well.
A 50-foot Viking ship. Check this out. It's made entirely of recycled ice cream sticks -- 15 million of them. Can you imagine if you had to count 15 million?
COOPER: Wow.
HILL: Yes. Glued together by a work crew of kids that you see here, but this ship has already proved it is sea-worthy. The builder is an American-born stunt man named Robert McDonald (ph).
COOPER: What? Really?
HILL: Yes. Apparently, it was actually sailed on a lake. But next, he wants to sail it across the Atlantic. If he makes it, McDonald (ph) says he's going to donate all the proceeds. He's raising money to do this. And that if he auctions off the ship, he's going to put that money towards helping children in hospitals and danger zones. But first he needs a few hearty souls willing to crew for him.
COOPER: Wow.
HILL: I mean, maybe you're available to sail across the ocean blue. I don't know.
COOPER: Yes. I don't know. That is what the Vikings used, I understand, to make their ships.
HILL: Popsicle sticks?
COOPER: They were big popsicle eaters, apparently, the Vikings.
HILL: Well, you know, it's sort of cold there where the Vikings were.
COOPER: Yes.
HILL: So of course you need a lot of...
COOPER: Arr -- a hardy popsicle for the Vikings. There you go.
Erica, thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I think that's more pirate, not really a Viking.
Anyway, here's Kiran Chetry with what's coming up tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Thanks, Anderson.
Tomorrow we'll bring you the most news in the morning, including the latest information from the National Intelligence Estimate. Could terrorists be exploiting a loophole in the U.S. visa program? We're going to see why a lot of people are so worried about that.
Wake up to the most news in the morning. It's right here on CNN.
Anderson, back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Next on 360, the man at the center of the international TB scare shares new details about his health, exclusively with 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta.
Plus, a young couple came here to St. Bernard Parish. Couldn't believe what they saw. And you may be surprised by what they did next. A story about reviving the gulf, next on this special edition of 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: He's probably the most well-known TB patient in recent history. Andrew Speaker set off an international health scare when he traveled to Europe on commercial aircraft, knowing that he had one of the deadliest forms of tuberculosis. When he got back, he was put under federal quarantine.
Now, just last week a new twist. Testing by the CDC in the hospital where Speaker's being treated shows he's actually infected with Multiple Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, not Extensively Drug Resistant.
And now there's another dramatic development in the case. 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta is with Andrew Speaker tonight at Jewish Hospital in Denver -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Anderson.
We are outside National Jewish Hospital. A new twist in all of this that you've been hearing about. Andrew Speaker just told us a little while ago he is planning on having surgery tomorrow morning. He's going to have surgery tomorrow morning. He's also going to give us an exclusive look at what happens during that operation.
Andrew, thanks for joining us. ANDREW SPEAKER, TB PATIENT: My pleasure. Thank you, Dr. Gupta.
GUPTA: How are you doing?
SPEAKER: I feel great.
GUPTA: Why did you decide to have surgery?
SPEAKER: Anytime you have TB, if it becomes active, if you're developing TB, even after your treatment it can come back. With the amount of treatment I'm going to be on, the doctor said, if you go ahead and have the surgery, you don't have to worry 10 years from now or 20 years from now or 30 years now if it's ever going to come back. And that's worth the peace of mind to me.
Before, it was a necessity to save my life. Now it's, do you want to worry about this the rest of your life or not?
GUPTA: Will you be cured of it then?
SPEAKER: I'll be -- by the time I'm done with the treatment, I'll be cured of the TB, from what I understand. It doesn't mean that 10, 20 years from now it couldn't come back. Whereas, if they go in with the surgery and they just take it all out, then I don't have to worry about that.
GUPTA: So what is the operation tomorrow that they're going to be doing?
SPEAKER: Basically, you're -- you know better than I, but the right lung is in three parts. And the upper right part is where everything is. And so they're basically going to go in and just take that upper right lobe out. They're going to tie it off and take it out.
GUPTA: And it's worth pointing out, they're going to do this with video assistance. So it's going to be through some tubes and instruments through the chest wall?
SPEAKER: Right. It's -- when all of this kind of came out as we talked about, the doctor -- the surgeon that does it here, there's very few in the world that even know how to do this and do it this way and do it safely. And this is a pretty good opportunity to educate people on just how it's done and a little more education on TB.
GUPTA: Have they told you how risky this might be? What are your concerns about it?
SPEAKER: Riskiness has to do a lot with who's doing it and the quality of the surgeon. Luckily, whereas most doctors may do one of these a year, if they do them, Dr. Mitchell does 60 or 70. So when it comes to this type of procedure, he's -- he's the person you want to be -- kneeling over you.
GUPTA: Right, right. To be clear now, because there's been a lot of reporting about this. They originally said that, if you had XDR, which is the Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, you might need surgery. Your diagnosis has now changed from XDR to MDR, which is Multiple Drug- Resistant, but you're still having surgery.
So just make sure to explain that to us again. Why is that?
SPEAKER: Sure, and again, that's -- that's a problem with the timeline, because that's not really correct.
Before I left for Europe, the CDC had their independent test, and Georgia had their independent test, which both said that I had MDR TB, and that was before I sat down before my trip.
And we sat down. We discussed coming out to National Jewish. We discussed the possibility of surgery. All of this was known before I left, and it was very clear that it would take a couple of weeks to get me out here to start treatment.
And this was the same meeting, after it was very clear, that, yes, I have this. But that I still wasn't a threat to anyone. I still wasn't contagious. I still was able to go home and be around my family for the three weeks until they could set up a bed out here. If that makes sense.
GUPTA: And I want to be clear on something. Mitch Cohen, who you've been watching all the press conferences like us, from the CDC said, if we were aware of a person with MDR, multiple drug resistance, we would have recommend the same steps that they do not travel, because they would have been potentially able to expose individuals on the plane.
So it's a little confusing. So did you hear this before you flew? Did you hear that you might potentially expose people?
SPEAKER: Well, the problem is that the story keeps changing. On -- on May 18, as we talked about, they said -- or I'm sorry -- on June 3, they said in front of the Senate, they didn't know about this until May 18, when they found out it was XDR. And that's why they had to act how they did.
The problem is that it's come out about their hidden tests that were done, the first part of May. They were communicated to my doctors before -- that all of this was actually known before I left. And so...
(CROSSTALK)
SPEAKER: Right. That it was clear that I had MDR. It was made clear. My whole family was reassured that I still wasn't a threat to anyone. I wasn't contagious.
And so the problem is, once they got out and said they did what they did because they knew I had XDR, and they would have done it if I had MDR, now that the tests have come out showing that they did know, now they've got to try and change it.
GUPTA: That's a crucial point. That there was a test May 9 that showed you had MDR.
SPEAKER: There were two tests. There's the one on the CDC Web site from the Georgia lab and then there's the one that they've been hiding and haven't talked about that they did in their labs May 4 through the 7th.
GUPTA: OK.
SPEAKER: It was a DNA test that they've -- I believe they said it's -- it's not -- they didn't want to rely upon it. But, you know, it's based on science. It's over 95 percent accurate. They looked at the DNA gene. And it said I had MDR and not XDR. That was told to my doctors on May 9.
GUPTA: There's a lawsuit, as you know.
SPEAKER: Yes, sir.
GUPTA: A class action lawsuit out of Canada. Patients who flew with -- or I should say passengers you flew with into Montreal. Have you been officially contacted? What do you think about this lawsuit?
SPEAKER: I've seen it in the paper. Again, this is a problem from the start. This should have been approached from an educational standpoint. Instead, it was -- it was a fear and scare tactic from the start.
The first message out for all these people should have been there's never been a single reported case of active TB transported on an airplane -- ever in history. And that should have been the first thing to calm these people's fears.
Then they should have talked about the fact I'm asymptomatic, that I'm -- you know. As far as anyone knew before I left, I was no threat.
And then one of the people on the plane that's actually suing me got back a positive test result, from what I've been told, six days after the flight, which means that he had TB before he got on the airplane.
And again, it's just -- it's a matter of education.
SPEAKER: What you're referring is it takes two week for a test to come back and there has never been a case of TB being transmitted on a plane.
Good luck tomorrow. We're going to be there in the operating room with you. You're giving us an exclusive look, hopefully educate some people.
Anderson, what we're going to report that, obviously, tomorrow night while it happens. But new developments, as you just heard, in the case of Andrew Speaker.
COOPER: Sanjay, thanks very much for that.
Coming up, taking action to fix New Orleans. You're going to meet a remarkable couple who have quit their jobs to move here as volunteers.
And a different type of activism spotlighted in our "Shot of the Day." Why this guy took a dive into below freezing water. That's ahead on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Those are the Jazz Vipers playing at the Spotted Cat every Monday and Friday night. One of the small bars that makes New Orleans New Orleans.
Over the last 23 months we've reported story after story about the government dropping the ball in New Orleans. Well, the good news is that ordinary Americans are picking up the slack.
Much of the rebuilding that has happened in the devastated gulf in Mississippi, here in New Orleans, the result of church groups, of charities, and individuals standing up and stepping in where the government simply hasn't. They are literally reviving the gulf, and you're about to meet two true heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): For Liz McCartney and Zach Rosenburg, February 2006 was the tipping point.
LIZ MCCARTNEY, CO-FOUNDER, "ST. BERNARD PROJECT": I cried for the first three days that I was here. I couldn't believe six months after the storm, it was the U.S.
COOPER: The young couple came to the Gulf Coast to help with rebuilding. The visit changed their lives.
ZACH ROSENBURG, CO-FOUNDER, "ST. BERNARD PROJECT": We were struck by how bad things were. I mean, it looked like a bomb had hit.
COOPER: Back home in Washington, D.C., they'd heard the promises the government made to fix the Gulf Coast, but half a year after Katrina, the work had barely begun.
MCCARTNEY: Back home, I had imagined it being a place where there'd be a lot of work trucks and cranes, and all sorts of signs of construction in progress. And it wasn't anything close to that.
ROSENBURG: And so we said we had to do something. And we thought about what would we want someone to do for us if this was our family? And we'd want people to help. And so that's what we decided to do.
COOPER: What happened next is remarkable. The couple quit their jobs in Washington. She was a teacher. He was a lawyer. They moved to New Orleans. With the help of United Way and others, they formed the St. Bernard Project, a nonprofit that got off of the ground last August.
MCCARTNEY: We want it to look like a professional job.
COOPER: The group says that with just $10,000 in building materials and volunteer labor, they can make a gutted house livable in just eight to 10 weeks.
MCCARTNEY: It's not really difficult. Just get people in to do the work, and the house will become livable again.
COOPER: Zach and Liz say 3,000 volunteers from more than 30 countries have provided free labor to help people like Joe Urbeso, a disabled single father of two.
Since the storm, Urbeso says he's been living in Houston and drowning in red tape, trying to claim federal grant money to cover his losses.
JOE URBESO, DISPLACED HOMEOWNER: I just felt helpless. I felt like, you know, I had to wait on the government to try to get my house fixed. Like I had -- I had no control over it.
COOPER: Urbeso might still be waiting if it weren't for the St. Bernard Project.
URBESO: Zach and Liz, you know, they're great. They're like -- you know, they're like angels or something.
COOPER: So far, the St. Bernard Project has rebuilt more than 40 homes and worked on 80 others.
ROSENBURG: Let me see. Let me see. This house looks absolutely incredible.
MCCARTNEY: We're excited.
COOPER: Thanks to the vision of one couple and thousands of volunteers, Les Scharfenstein now has a place to live. So does Melanie Gonzalez (ph). So does 77-year-old Red Falls (ph). And soon, so will Joe Urbeso.
URBESO: I just, you know, it's just, you know, words can't describe it. It's just, you know, it's just a great feeling to be able to know I'm going to be able to come back and get in my house.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Words can't describe it. Liz McCartney joins me now, along with Les Scharfenstein, who lives here in St. Bernard Parish.
Les, this is your house behind you that they've helped rebuild. You're still waiting on federal money from that so-called long road on, that Road Home program... LES SCHARFENSTEIN, ST. BERNARD PARISH RESIDENT: That's right. We've been waiting quite a while.
COOPER: When will you be able to move in?
SCHARFENSTEIN: Hopefully within the next two or three weeks.
COOPER: What do you think of what she's doing?
SCHARFENSTEIN: We think they're terrific. This whole crew from St. Bernard Project has just been unbelievably helpful. They're just -- we could not have been here without them.
COOPER: What -- what made you come here? I mean, you're -- you're -- this is -- you're not getting paid for this.
MCCARTNEY: I -- I came down here about a year and a half ago, and I met people, like Mr. Scharfenstein, people who worked their whole lives, who owned their homes. You know, he worked in education for almost 30 years. Good people who are just in a really tough spot. And it's just the right thing to do.
COOPER: For $10,000 you say people can do this.
MCCARTNEY: Yes, for $10,000 and about eight to 12 weeks, we can get a family back home.
COOPER: Amazing. What's the Web site?
MCCARTNEY: StBernardProject.org.
COOPER: StBernardProject.org.
MCCARTNEY: Yes.
COOPER: Thank you so much for what you're doing.
MCCARTNEY: Yes. Yes, thank you.
COOPER: We really appreciate it.
Coming up, multiple suicide bombings. Dozens killed and it's not even happening in Baghdad. Erica Hill has the story and some of the day's other top headlines.
Plus, a true polar bear swim. You won't believe where this guy chose to jump into the water and you won't believe how cold that water is. Find out in the "Shot of the Day," next on 360.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Just ahead, the "Shot of the Day." This is a cold one. You won't believe where this guy is swimming, and why he's doing it.
But first Erica Hill from "HEADLINE NEWS" joins us with the "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Erica. HILL: Anderson, multiple bombings marked a brutal day in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where at least 80 people are dead, 170 wounded, after a suicide truck bomber attacked a market. Shortly after the strike, U.S. and Iraqi forces found and defused another vehicle rigged with explosives near Kirkuk's main hospital. Later, another car bomb hit a police patrol, killing one officer.
Here in the U.S., President Bush says the Middle East is in a moment of choice. Today, Mr. Bush called for an international conference, headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, aimed at restarting talks to create a Palestinian state. The president also announced the U.S. is contributing $190 million to help the Palestinian territories.
In Los Angeles, a judge has approved a $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic archdiocese and more than 500 alleged victims of sexual abuse by priests. The agreement is the largest payout by any diocese since the abuse scandal emerged five years ago. Confidential records and personnel files of accused clergy members will also be released.
And on Wall Street, another record close for the Dow, inching it closer to that 14,000 mark. It rose 43 points to end the day at 13,950. But no such luck for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500. The NASDAQ falling nine points. The S&P lost nearly 3 -- Anderson.
COOPER: Erica, time now for "The Shot." This one is, to say the least, chilling. Take a look at these pictures. This guy, Lewis Gordon Pugh (ph), is a Britain endurance swimmer. Yesterday, he went for a swim at the North Pole. There he goes. The water temperature was below freezing -- 29 degrees.
HILL: Woo!
COOPER: That didn't stop him from swimming for nearly 19 minutes. He traveled a kilometer, I'm told. He said it was the most hostile environment he's ever swum, but he did it to make a statement. He hopes world leaders will see if it's possible to swim at the North Pole, then the Arctic really needs protection on global warming.
HILL: Oh, my gosh. Look at that.
COOPER: Yes.
HILL: Not exactly refreshing in the summer months, though, in Antarctica. Downright chilly.
But I'll see your Arctic -- Arctic swimmer, and I'll raise you.
I'll raise you a scuba diving Easter egg hunt. That's right. Just keep watching here. There's the bunny. There's the basket of eggs. It's from 2006.
COOPER: Wow.
HILL: We found it on -- I think it was ScubaDiving.com. But I think it worked.
What do you think? This year...
COOPER: You're just trying to top me -- so you decided to just try to top me with some sort of other water-related swimming story?
HILL: Yes, that's the only relation there is between the two. There's water and there's swimming.
COOPER: I see. Right.
HILL: I mean, there's absolutely no other connection. But who doesn't like an Easter bunny scuba diving for eggs?
COOPER: Who'd a thunk it?
HILL: There you go. Or thunk it.
COOPER: I appreciate you topping that.
HILL: Yes.
COOPER: Yes, exactly.
We want you to send us your "Shot" ideas, your swimming rabbits, whatever you may find. If you see some videos, tell us about it at CNN.com/360. Maybe we'll put some of the clips on the air.
If you want to look at "The Shot" or get the day's headlines, check out the 360 daily podcast. You can watch it at CNN.com/AC360Podcast or get it off iTunes, where it's a top download.
Just ahead, what you have to say about the news. We read your e- mails and play one of your v-mail responses, when 360 continues from New Orleans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: "On the Radar" tonight, a couple of responses to a story we had last week about hospitals allegedly dumping homeless patients on L.A.'s Skid Row.
Barbara in Las Vegas writes: It is so hard to believe that this is still going on, especially in the same area. If they are still dumping patients where there are video cameras, imagine how many others are being dumped in other areas.
Another viewer, Kathleen, sees it a different way. She writes: I have worked in several mental health units and never heard of "dumping" a patient on the street. If that is true, then the responsible parties need to be held accountable. Patients often leave the hospital against medical advice and if they are not a danger to themselves or society there's nothing that can be done.
Finally, an answer to our v-mail question. We asked whether you thought the troop increase in Iraq was working. Carl, from Tennessee, gave us this answer. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL: The troop surge definitely isn't working. Whenever you take (UNINTELLIGIBLE) troops and you surround a city with it and use your troops as a barrier, you end up just keeping al Qaeda from attacking you or just keeping them from reaching the inner city, instead of going after the training camps and where the al Qaeda members come from. So instead of fighting the insurgents from the root of the problem, they're just fighting the tentacles of the octopus without going for the head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: One viewer's opinion. And we're looking for more v- mails, so please send those and your comments our way at CNN.com/360blog.
For our international viewers, "CNN TODAY" is coming up next. Here in America, "LARRY KING" is coming up.
Thanks for watching. I'll see you tomorrow night.
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