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Suspicious Packages at Transportation Department; TB Patient Arrives in Denver for Treatment; Russian Spy Blames Britain

Aired May 31, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone.
I'm Kyra Phillips, live at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in for Don Lemon. He's on assignment.

Well, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colorado, is Andrew Speaker's home now. At least for the foreseeable future. It promises cutting-edge treatment for his dangerous strand of tuberculosis.

PHILLIPS: And we're going to get more on the medical specifics directly from the head of the hospital.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We want to get straight to Kathleen Koch now, live in Washington. She's been following those live pictures over at the Department of Transportation.

Kathleen, up to four suspicious packages. What do we know?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there were four suspicious packages at the Department of Transportation. At least one at the Department of Energy. These discovered early on in the 11:00 hour. So this whole drama going on for nearly three hours. Both government buildings shut down. The news is they have both been given the all-clear.

We still don't know what exactly the packages were. But according to Allen Edder (ph), who's a spokesman for the Washington, D.C., Fire Department -- there you see the employees going back into the Department of Transportation.

I spoke with a spokesman there, Brian Tremale (ph). He said only about 1,500 employees are still in that building that normally houses 5,000. Most of them have moved to a new headquarters building. So all the essential functions of the Department of Transportation and also the Department of Energy were ongoing during this scare this afternoon.

But basically all the buildings are reopened. The streets, as you can see, in front of the buildings that were also shut down for some of them up to several hours, they've been reopened as well. So, the all-clear. And again, we're still waiting to find out just what these packages were -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Good. Glad there's an all-clear.

Kathleen Koch, appreciate it.

KOCH: You bet.

MARCIANO: Well, it's a medical alert nationwide. Worldwide, in fact. A man infected with a particularly nasty form of tuberculosis exposed dozens, maybe hundreds of people to the disease. And now he's identified.

Health officials finally got 31-year-old Andrew Speaker into isolation, and today they sent him to a specialty hospital in Denver, Colorado.

That's where CNN's Ed Lavandera is now with the latest on this case -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rob.

Andrew Speaker arrived here shortly before 8:00 this morning Mountain Time, and he was quickly taken into an isolated hospital room here in Denver, where he has begun a battery of tests. And just in the initial phase of the testing that he will undergo here.

We understand that he will receive a CT scan and some lung tests. Doctors are also checking out his lungs and kidneys and liver, just doing the basic assessment, the initial assessment to begin measuring his progress.

We also understand that he's been put on two antibiotics. Of course, all of this will likely change in the days ahead as doctors get a better handle as to what medications will work in treating Andrew Speaker at this point, but right now he's in an isolated room.

And just how long he will be here in Denver is hard to say. But it is safe to say that he will be here for quite a long time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM ALLSTETTER, NATIONAL JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER: No. You know, patients like this often, typically, I would say, weeks to months, you know. It's really going to depend the extent of his disease and how well we can treat it.

The treatment is, primarily you are trying to look for medications that -- that he can respond to or that kill the bug essentially. And then it's also a majority of our multi drug- resistant patients also get surgery to cut out diseased tissue, because you remove a large number of the organisms. There are fewer there and you have a little better chance at fighting it. But that's to be decided still.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LAVANDERA: Now, Andrew Speaker is in a specialized room to prevent the spread of this infection. It's a room that is basically -- has a special air filtration system that doesn't allow air that is being breathed into the room to get back in the rest of the hospital.

Of course, any hospital official or any doctor that comes into contact with him will be -- will have to wear this specialized mask, a little bit different from your standard surgical mask. But this is a little bit more heavy-duty version.

Andrew Speaker will be allowed to leave his room for a short while when he undergoes a few of the tests this afternoon. He'll wear just a standard surgical mask. As I mentioned, this is what other people who come in contact with him will be wearing as they treat Andrew Speaker here in the weeks ahead.

Rob, back to you.

MARCIANO: Ed, as much as we've covered this case and as fascinating as it is, were you a little bit surprised when they came out with those masks and said this is pretty much all we need in order to protect our staff from this disease?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, we just got a hold of these just a short while ago. So, you know, they seemed very confident and very secure with what these masks would be able to do.

They say as far as Andrew Speaker is concerned, really what you just need to be able to prevent is, whenever -- if he were to speak or anything, any kind of spit or whatever that kind of comes out of his mouth, you know, would get trapped in here, so that's really what you want to be able to control. And from my understanding, this goes a long way in preventing that from happening.

MARCIANO: OK.

Ed Lavandera live for us in Denver, Colorado.

Thanks, Ed.

PHILLIPS: Well, doctors who saw Andrew Speaker this morning in Denver say he walked into the hospital on his own. And he said he felt just fine.

Dr. Michael Salem is the president and CEO of National Jewish Hospital in Denver. He joins us now live.

Doctor, thanks for being with us.

DR. MICHAEL SALEM, PRESIDENT, CEO, NATIONAL JEWISH MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's begin with his treatment. Can you sort of give me a play-by-play on how you are handling him and what exactly -- what type of tests you are doing, and what his day is like as he wakes up each morning? SALEM: Well, he just arrived here. And so the team taking care of him is going to be going through a number of important diagnostic tests to get a real baseline on where his disease is. At the same time, in the laboratories -- is growing a sample in order to be able to really characterize what antibiotics, if any, this bug is sensitive to in order that we can give him the best possible treatment.

So, over the next short period of time, he'll be going through a number of diagnostic tests. He'll be seen by the entire team in terms of being examined. And he'll get on a fairly aggressive course of therapy.

PHILLIPS: So what you know right now -- from what you know right now with regard to previous x-rays and appointments with doctors -- because obviously he has seen a number of them and this has become quite a huge story here in the United States and overseas -- what do doctors think about his condition at this point? Does it look like you're going to be able to find the right type of antibiotic? Or is it going to be a tough match?

SALEM: Yes. Without giving away any excessive patient information, he does have a very drug -- multi drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is a very serious organism that we have to treat. And we have to provide a course of therapy for him that's personalized to what he's going through and then move forward with the treatment process.

PHILLIPS: A lot of us have been asking as well, he's not in quarantine. He's in isolation. We want to know...

SALEM: That's right.

PHILLIPS: ... how long could he be in isolation, Doctor? Is this somebody that could be isolated the rest of his life if you can't find the right type of antibiotic? And if you do find the right type of antibiotic, can he live a normal life? Can he mingle with people and not be a threat?

SALEM: That's a very good question. I don't think that he will be isolated for the rest of his life. We've had experience with a number of these cases, and with an aggressive course of therapy, we've seen the ability to cure about half of these cases that we've seen. So, I think that there is a really good chance that we can provide effective therapy for him so that he could go on to lead a normal life.

PHILLIPS: So, you say about 50 percent of these types of cases, this form of TB, you've been able to cure. When you say cure, does that mean completely wipe out any sign or trace of TB in someone's body?

SALEM: Yes. What it is, is it's a course of therapy that is sort of multiple types of therapies. So there's antibiotics, and a number of antibiotics oftentimes need to be used.

And in a number of cases, that needs to be combined with some surgical therapy in order to remove part of the diseased lung. So oftentimes, if antibiotics don't work in and of themselves, there's a combination of therapies that are utilized.

PHILLIPS: And just real quickly, are you going to be looking after his wife as well?

SALEM: Well, one of the things we pride ourselves on at National Jewish is taking care of not only the patient, but the entire family. And we just want to provide the best care possible for the entire family.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Salem, any idea where he might have gotten the TB? Any idea at this point?

SALEM: No. I really can't comment on that.

PHILLIPS: OK. That's part of the investigation that we're continuing to follow as well.

Dr. Michael Salem, president and CEO there at the National Jewish Hospital in Denver, Colorado.

Really appreciate your time, sir.

SALEM: Thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: And we're expecting a live news conference about 3:30 Eastern time there with the Denver doctors. We'll take that live as soon as it happens.

Now, this TB case has raised all kinds of issues related to ethics and health care. And our CNN.com "QuickVote" that we're asking, what you think.

Here's the question: Is the United States prepared to deal with a deadly infectious disease outbreak? Right now, eight percent of you say yes, 92 percent of you say no.

You can click on to CNN.com and cast your "QuickVote". We'll tally it.

MARCIANO: Want to bring you some pictures now from the Billy Graham Library dedication. Mr. Graham himself has arrived, made an appearance there with some big-time dignitaries -- former President Clinton, former President Bush. Former President Carter is supposed to be there. I think I see him right there.

The dedication today. Eighty-eight-year-old Billy Graham in frail condition but was able to show up for this dedication. His son Franklin heading up the project. It will be free to the public. A cost of $27 million, and it is said to be just a few miles from where Mr. Graham grew up.

Well, the current president of the United States, the president of Iraq, the two of them are getting together, and there's no shortage of issues to talk about. They are getting their chance this afternoon at the White House.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is in the United States for a few weeks, and this is a file video from Talabani's trip to the U.S. last fall. The Iraqi leader is taking care of some health issues along the political way on his trip.

PHILLIPS: Ambush and air strike after a U.S. helicopter goes gown in Afghanistan. Preliminary reports indicate that the Chinook was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade.

All seven of them men on board were killed, including five Americans and a British soldier. It happened in the southern Helmand province where NATO and Afghan forces are fighting the Taliban. NATO officials say that rescuers were ambushed on their way to the scene, forcing them to call in an air strike.

No word of any casualties from that attack.

MARCIANO: And a former spy turns the tables on his accuser. Andrei Lugovoi says the British government had more reason to kill former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko than he did. And he didn't stop there.

CNN's Ralitsa Vassileva has more on this dramatic news conference held today in Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He promised explosive revelations about the murder of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, and he delivered. At a Moscow press conference, Andrei Lugovoi, the man Britain accused of poisoning ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko pointed the finger of blame back at London.

ANDREI LUGOVOI, LITVINENKO MURDER SUSPECT (through translator): It is difficult to abandon the idea that Litvinenko had become an agent of the British special services who got out of hand and was then eliminated. If not by the special services themselves, then under their control, or their connivance.

VASSILEVA: Lugovoi offered no evidence of Britain's involvement, but claimed the British Secret Service had tried to recruit him to collect compromising intelligence on Russian president Vladimir Putin. The British government says it considers the case a criminal matter that has nothing to do with Britain's intelligence services.

Lugovoi insisted he was innocent and had no reason to kill former fellow spy Litvinenko. He said the man who was probably behind the murder was Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, granted political asylum by Britain. Lugovoi claims Litvinenko had documents on how Berezovsky gained British political asylum that would have jeopardized his status as a political refugee.

LUGOVOI (through translator): And if some of these documents, particularly related to those related to how Berezovsky obtained his status as a political refugee were made public, said Litvinenko, then Berezovsky would have enormous problems

VASSILEVA: Lugovoi also said the Russian mafia could have been involved. But British authorities say they have solid evidence to prove Lugovoi did it.

Litvinenko fell gravely ill hours after he met Lugovoi at the Millennium Hotel in London last November. British investigators found a trail of Polonium-210, which caused Litvinenko's slow, agonizing death, in various places Lugovoi had visited.

The ex-spy's accusations are likely to further strain relations between Moscow and London, already on a collision course over Moscow's refusal to extradite Lugovoi to Britain, offering to try him in Russia instead, something Britain refuses to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VASSILEVA: So, where we stand, Rob, right now is that we have been given several theories as to who might have had a motive to kill Litvinenko, but the answer to the big question, who actually killed him, remains a mystery.

MARCIANO: I guess like most spy stories, this one is ever confusing, isn't it?

Thanks, Ralitsa, live from...

VASSILEVA: Absolutely.

MARCIANO: Thank you, Ralitsa, live from Moscow.

PHILLIPS: Live pictures now.

He prayed with U.S. presidents for decades. Now prayers and well-wishers from three former presidents attending the dedication of a new library in honor of Billy Graham.

Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll tell you about all the dignitaries there, the life of this televangelist, and all about his new library.

MARCIANO: And words to the wise. We're checking in at the National Spelling Bee for the semifinal buzz. Our reappearance is proximate.

That means we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: It is 17 minutes past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The TB patient who flew to Europe despite public health concerns has been identified as Andrew Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta lawyer. He's been admitted to the Denver hospital -- a specialty hospital for further treatment. And off the Pacific coast of Mexico, Tropical Storm Barbara has weakened. Forecasters say it's now unlikely for Barbara to become a hurricane but it could cause some flooding in Mexico and Guatemala.

And NASA is set to make an announcement this hour about whether it will go ahead with plans for a June 8th shuttle launch.

All about weather now. Let's go to Bonnie Schneider.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, word to the wise. We're checking in at the National Spelling Bee for some semifinal buzz. Our reappearance is proximate -- p-r-o-x-i -- they know how to spell it, right?

MARCIANO: You're correct. You're halfway there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, a new report confirms the nation's economy is slamming on the brakes, and it's worse than the government first thought.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the numbers.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, it just gets a little more interesting and actually a little bit more complicated. Of course, creates more questions, and we're talking about the patient that we have recently named Andrew Speaker, the 31-year-old lawyer here from Atlanta, Georgia.

He is the one that has tuberculosis. He is the one that flew on those two transatlantic flights and has created quite a scare throughout the United States and overseas about who has TB and who doesn't.

He, as you know, has been flown to a special hospital in Denver, where he is going under special tests starting today. But here is the latest twist.

We are now finding out that his father-in-law actually works for the CDC. He works in the tuberculosis area of the CDC. He's a researcher on tuberculosis at the Centers for Disease Control based in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is a picture of him, Bob Cooksey. And according to WSB, a local station here in Atlanta, Georgia, Andrew's father-in-law, this man, Bob Cooksey, said that he gave his son-in-law fatherly advise when he learned that he had contracted the disease.

As you know, Andrew Speaker has this rare and dangerous form of tuberculosis. It's proved to be resistant to drugs. That's why he's been flown to that hospital in Denver.

And then we're learning more about the Cooksey family, his father-in-law. We actually were able to get a picture of Andrew Speaker and his new bride, Sara Spence (ph).

We're going to go to another Web site that actually has their engagement picture. This is Sara Spence (ph). This is the woman that Andrew Speaker just married.

As you know, they had a May wedding in Santorini, Greece. That is what he was desperately trying to get to once he found out that he had TB. Then they had an extended honeymoon in Europe, and this is what created all the back and forth and all the various flights until doctors were able to locate him and his new bride and bring them back here to Atlanta, Georgia.

So, the latest twist in this, the patient with TB, Andrew Speaker, that we have now found out his name and from here in Atlanta, Georgia, a lawyer, his father-in-law actually works for the CDC, Bob Cooksey. He's a researcher on tuberculosis and actually advised his new son-in-law about his disease.

We're going to continue to follow all the interesting twists in this story and continue to update you on all the investigations that are still ongoing.

MARCIANO: Well, he's prayed with U.S. presidents for decades. Now prayers and well-wishes from three former presidents attending the dedication of a new library in honor of Billy Graham.

That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano in for Don Lemon, he is on assignment.

Well, a well equipped place for a dangerous case. How will doctors treat Andrew Speaker's extreme strain of TB?

PHILLIPS: A live news conference from the National Jewish Medical Research Center in Denver. You're live, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

MARCIANO: New information now coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM that at the very least, is making this TB case a little bit more interesting. The identity of the patient, Andrew Speaker, revealed a few hours ago but we're now learning from our affiliate, WSB that Mr. Speaker's father-in-law, Bob Cooksey, actually works at the CDC.

He's a microbiologist at the CDC and he said when he found out about his son-in-law's contraction of the disease, he gave fatherly advice to him and he was not speaking on the behalf of the CDC itself. He also said, Mr. Cooksey, father-in-law of Mr. Speaker, that had he known his daughter was at any risk, he would not have allowed her to travel. Again, he's a microbiologist at the CDC. But this does not mean that we know where Mr. Speaker contracted it. But that's just that his father -- his father-in-law works at the CDC.

We also have a picture of a wedding announcement that was made on a local Web site a few weeks back with Mr. Speaker and his now wife, Sara Spence. There it is. The May wedding took place in Santorini, Greece, and then the journey as you know, eventually made it back to the states. And Mr. Speaker has found his way, not only to Atlanta, but also -- now to Denver in that specialty hospital where he's being treated for his extremely rare, extremely dangerous strain of tuberculosis.

Here's part of what the health officials are most concerned about. Andrew Speaker, as I said, flew over to Europe, across the Atlantic twice. Not only aware that he was infected with tuberculosis, at the time at least, he didn't think he had that extreme case of it. But now -- then he was urged not to travel for fear of spreading the disease. The two young people from -- the two young people from -- they took this -- two young people took the long flight earlier who were on CNN and described what they were going through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: What have the doctors told you about your risk of infection and the risk to people who are around you, as well?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they told me that if I do test positive, that I'm not contagious and it's just the infection which can be treated. It doesn't become the full-blown disease until it's not treated. So if I test positive, then I'm okay for now, and then if I test negative, then in two months I'll go back and be tested again.

PHILLIPS: All right, so Sanjay, what does all of that mean?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's still a lot of confusion here, you know. Because people -- some people are very panicked about this. Doctors even, who are immediately saying, well maybe people should be quarantined, not be quarantined. The reality is, if someone is not sick and if they are not having any of the bacteria in their sputum, they are not infectious, they are not contagious.

They are not contagious to us, right now, shaking their hands or doing anything is not going to spread the illness. But it doesn't take away some of the panic that some of people are experiencing.

PHILLIPS: Did you hear that, mom? Hopefully she heard that. So, also there's an incubation period that maybe we should maybe mention.

GUPTA: Yes, so the testing is pretty good. Once you get tested you'll know within a few days whether or not you are positive or not. But as far as symptoms go, that can take a long time to develop. So someone never got tested, for example, then years later started to get sick, it could have been from an exposure many years before.

PHILLIPS: Alright. Have they placed you guys on any kind of travel restrictions or anything?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. No.

GUPTA: You had an interesting experience on the hospital, yesterday. What happened?

JASON VIK, PASSENGER ON FLIGHT WITH SPEAKER: Well, you know I go to a military hospital. I grew up with military parents so most people go to the health department and they get their shot and then ten minutes, 15 minutes they are in and out.

Well, I went to a military hospital where I was used to in Ft. Jackson. And when I walked in, they were very alarmed, like you guys were saying. They sure what was -- if I was contagious, so they gave me a mask and they put me in an isolation room where my doctor was getting in touch with the CDC and the Department of Health and the -- the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Trying to figure out what they should do and how to handle the situation. So I was there for about six hours and I went through chest x-rays and then eventually the tuberculosis skin test, where I should be back on Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Health officials are still trying to track down all the people possibly exposed to tuberculosis on one of the two long flights taken by Andrew Speaker.

PHILLIPS: Billy Graham's religious crusades have spanned the globe for generations and now a new multimillion dollar library will carry on his work. Dedication ceremonies are underway right now in Charlotte, North Carolina, you see right there, Billy Graham actually made an appearance.

Former presidents Jimmy Carter is there, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, they are attending and honoring the Reverend Graham. Graham is 88 years old now and he ended his crusades, two years ago because of his failing health.

MARCIANO: Words to the wise, we're checking in on the National Spelling Bee for some semifinal thoughts. We've got to find another word for we'll be right back. Proximate is what we've been using and now I'll never forget it. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Milidosis?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Millie what?

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: I'm with him, too. Millie what? The competition is heating up at the 80th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The semifinalists finished just a short time ago. The championship round to be televised tonight, our Brianna Keilar is live in Washington where the excitement is mounting. Hi, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra. And the field has been whited down from 286 to 14 for this evening. And, you know, what's so interesting about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is that it's become so popular. People watch it on TV and there are really these water cooler moments that come out of it. One, that we have seen -- a few that we have seen really, come from a competitor from New Zealand whose accent has stumped judges more than once in the last couple of days.

KATE WEIR, SPELLING BEE CONTESTANT: Gardiniarh? G-a-r-d-i-n-i- a-r-h? Gardiniarh?

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: This is very tough on the judges right now. It's so hard to tell which letter she said because of that New Zealand accent. They had this problem with her yesterday. And I don't think they are sure ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Very tricky there for the judges. You saw that judge there with that hand on his forehead and the judges had to confer. That was Kate Weir from New Zealand and she admitted to me that to an American ear, you know, her I's and her E's sound kind of like A's. So that was tricky for them but unfortunately, she's now out of the competition. I'm sure you that you've heard many of these youngsters, they spent so much time preparing for this spelling bee. Some of them memorized tens of thousands of words. They are looking at root words, they are learning different languages, anything really, to give them an edge. I asked Kate what she did to get ready.

WEIR: Not as much as some, I suppose. Mom was a little bit against me spelling out the time, because it gets to the point where sometimes it's all you think about.

KEILAR: And Kate said, mum keeps it real and obviously that's some good news, Kyra, because as you can imagine, this is an extremely competitive environment for these kids.

PHILLIPS: Alright, there had have been a word that you learned, maybe one that stumped you, one that you had to take a double take. I know you, Brianna. You ask all these questions.

KEILAR: Yes. OK, this is the good word. This is the best word, I think that defines the whole event. Sardoodildom. And it's actually spelled the way that you would think it would be spelled. S- a-r-d-o-o-d-l-e-d-o-m, and it means an overly mellow dramatic play, which kind of fits. Doesn't it?

PHILLIPS: Yes, it does. It fits our NEWSROOM, right?

KEILAR: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Brianna, thanks so much. We'll be looking and waiting for that winner. Appreciate it.

MARCIANO: Have you ever heard of spell check? I don't know what they are killing themselves for.

What would you -- here's A.J. Hammer.

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Alright, Rob. I'm going to tell you what's really going on as Paris Hilton gets ready for lockdown and prison officials prepare. That's coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Well, there's a new theme park in the works aiming to become its own Magic Kingdom and Lindsay Lohan just can't keep out of the news. And an L.a. prison is getting ready for Paris Hilton. "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is here to tell us all about what's going on. A.J., tell us what's happening with Paris.

HAMMER: Well, Rob, on "Showbiz Tonight," we're calling it her countdown to lockdown and as it continues, there are all of these internet reports flying around about Paris Hilton's upcoming prison term. The web, as we all know, not the most reliable of sources. But some stories do gain a life of their own and we figured we'd take this moment and knock at least one of these stories down for you.

The socialite does have to start her 23-day prison term by June 5th. Now, tmz.com has been reporting that prison officials hand picked a cell mate for her and that story got picked up by a couple of different outlets along the way.

So, we took it upon ourselves to speak with a prison spokesman, he tells us, that report is false. No roomie has selected for Paris, in fact, she may not even have to share a cell with anyone else to begin with. The facility is ready for Paris to turn herself in at any time over the next few days. And it is possible that she will start her sentence early.

Now Rob, considering that the web and the gossip pages are really what made Paris famous in the first place, they do certainly seem to be enjoying detailing every moment of her downfall, whether they are getting it right or wrong.

MARCIANO: Well, that's the nature of the business, isn't it?

HAMMER: Sure is.

MARCIANO: Her party buddy, Lindsay Lohan, some driving issues. I mean, she may end up in the big house, too.

HAMMER: Yes, and you would think that once Lindsay Lohan went into rehab, which happened a couple of days ago, we would sort of tone down on talking about her for awhile. But there's plenty of Lindsay news to know. So, let's start with her father. Now, he told E Online that his Lindsay is hooked on, not just booze, but also the pain- killer, Oxycontin.

I'm just certain that revelation thrilled his daughter. But at least she still has a job waiting for her when she does get out of rehab. She was scheduled to begin shooting the movie "Poor Things" over the next couple of days, obviously, she's not going to be able to do that. But the producers of the film did release a statement yesterday, they are saying they are rearranging their shooting schedule so Lindsay can work on the film after she finishes up with her rehabilitation.

Another Lohan note, her bust may result in a crackdown on some trendy L.A. clubs. There is apparently an investigation going on to see if the underage actress was served alcohol at any of the clubs she was at before she got into her accident. And, Rob, it's a well-known fact that a lot of underage stars get to drink at a lot of L.A. clubs.

MARCIANO: No, come one. I don't believe it. Let's stop talking about the trouble makers, how about some money makers? Harry Potter back in the news?

HAMMER: Yes, I like this story, I think a lot of people will, too. Harry Potter getting his own amusement park. The new Florida park's going to be a joint venture between our sister company Warner Brothers and Universal Orlando Resort. The last book in the Potter series, out this summer. Also the last installment of the movie franchise is coming out and since the Potter phenomenon has already made literally billions of dollars, it just only makes sense that they continue to milk this very big cash cow. And you can sign me up for the Hogwarts Express.

Now, coming up tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," as I just told you, a movie studio is waiting for Lindsay Lohan to come out of rehab. Also, a record studio is waiting for Paris Hilton to get out of jail. Is Hollywood so forgiving or is it so enabling?

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" investigates the truth and the truth might just shock you! That's why they call us TV's most provocative entertainment news show. It's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," we will see you at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, tonight on CNN Headline News.

MARCIANO: I'll be tuning in. Thanks, A.J.

PHILLIPS: Well, the airways proved to be a lifeline for a North Carolina disc jockey on Memorial Day. He suffered a seizure live on the air and wasn't able to call 911, so some of his listeners did.

Lisa Reyes from our affiliate News 4 team has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM BIGGERSTAFF, DISC JOCKEY: I appreciate you all very much. Welcome to the family.

LISA REYES, NEWS 4 REPORTER (voice-over): Tim Biggerstaff has been on the air for 30 years. He has thousands of faithful listeners that stretch from Cleveland County to Lincoln County. And during his Monday morning radio show, Biggerstaff says he felt sick.

BIGGERSTAFF: I knew something was going to happen, and I lost focus.

REYES: Biggerstaff has struggled with his health for years, something he was candid about on the radio and this time he felt a seizure about to strike. Unable to use the phone, he turned to his audience for help.

BIGGERSTAFF: So, the next best vehicle I had at my disposal, obviously, was the microphone. So, I just turned to the microphone and said, hey, guys I'm a little sick, I need some help out here.

REYES: Longtime listener Gerald Weathers was close by, grabbing breakfast.

GERALD WEATHERS, LONGTIME LISTENER: And I noticed there was a lot of static on the radio.

REYES: He turned up the volume and heard Biggerstaff's plea.

WEATHERS: I faintly heard Tim say somebody might ought to check on me.

REYES: Weathers raced to the WOHS studios and called 911.

VOICE OF WEATHERS: I'm out here at WOHS radio station. I had the radio on and I heard this boy broadcasting and it sounded like he might have gotten sick on the air.

REYES: An employee was called in to unlock the door and Biggerstaff was found unconscious. At the hospital, he learned he suffered a seizure and was dehydrated.

BIGGERSTAFF: It's quite frankly just a bloody miracle that I'm here at all.

REYES: A grateful Biggerstaff returned to work Wednesday ...

BIGGERSTAFF: ...fortunately, my great listeners came to my rescue ...

REYES: ...and for that he says thank you.

In Shelby, North Carolina, Lisa Reyes for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, calling out the president. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says promises have been broken in his city on the mend. We'll tell you about it, straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF SCOTT ROHMER, ASHLAND, MASS. POLICE DEPT.: This indicates the Bank of America here. You can see this is a bomb. This is like a sundial with time ticking down. Which would be very alarming for anyone to receive. So, it's very concerning and they did the right thing by, in fact, calling us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: An internal bank fax accidentally set off a mild panic in Ashland, Massachusetts. A technical glitch is blamed for not transmitting the entire image, which would have showed it was a small business promotion. Instead, well, you saw this.

It was an ominous picture of a bomb and it was enough to cause a three-hour evacuation of nearby businesses, including a daycare center. It didn't help an unidentified package arrived at the bank at about the same time, which later turned out to be a box of documents. Note, to graphic designers -- from now on, don't use pictures of bombs.

MARCIANO: No, not a good idea.

PHILLIPS: Well, you might notice less spam in your e-mail today. That's because a man believed to be one of the world's top ten spammers is under arrest in Seattle. Twenty-seven year-old Robert Sollaway (ph) is accused of sending out millions of junk e-mails. He pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.

MARCIANO: Accusations of broken promises and with the start of hurricane season looming, the mayor of New Orleans lashes out in his first State of the City Speech since Katrina.

Here's CNN's Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: This is the mayor's prepared State of the City Speech. In this speech, the mayor touted things like cleaner streets since Hurricane Katrina, less trash in the city's famous French quarter, higher pay for police recruits. The mayor also in his State of the City Speech blamed state bureaucracy for holding up federal money that this city desperately needs to recover. And the mayor blamed the federal government, President Bush by name, for not living up to promises of help for this city.

That was all in the prepared speech. Then, the mayor went off the speech and really got going.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Most of the $100 billion that has been allocated for the Gulf Coast recovery has not reached local municipalities like New Orleans. President Bush promised at Jackson Square to do whatever it takes to heal New Orleans. Because this funding hat not reached the affected areas and the people who need it the most, that promise is largely unfulfilled. ROESGEN: That really got the audience fired up. Almost all of them were invited guests of the mayor. But a couple people after the speech told me that the mayor should do less blaming and more fixing. The mayor will unveil the city's hurricane plan just one day before the start of the hurricane season.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: That season for the Atlantic begins tomorrow. Bonnie Schneider, you've got some things tropical to speak of, don't you?

(WEATHER REPORT)

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