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Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan; Mia Farrow Contradicts Naomi Campbell; Preparing for the Primaries
Aired August 09, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kate Bolduan in for Tony Harris today. Top of the hour in the CNN "newsroom," where anything can happen.
Here are some of the people behind today's top stories. American aid workers killed in Afghanistan. This hour, we learn more about their mission from the loved ones they left behind.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheryl is like her parents, you know. They just have servants' hearts, and so she loved God, she loved people. And, you know, she just wanted to help people.
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BOLDUAN: And deadly smoke and smog blanketing one of the world's largest cities.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm finding it very difficult to breathe. Couple that with the 100-degree-plus temperatures and you've got the making of what I would define as hell.
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BOLDUAN: You're online right now, and so are we. Ines Ferre is following the top stories trending on the internet. What do you have, Ines?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, from CNN.com, lights going out more and more in the U.S. Taking a look at why there's been an increase in blackouts in the country.
Also, you may have used it many a time, Skype. Well, now soon you'll be able to buy their shares, as they're planning an IPO -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks, Ines.
Let's get started with our lead story today, shall we?
Three desperados on the run from the law. Tracy Province and John McCluskey escaped from an Arizona prison 10 days ago. Police say McCluskey's fiance and cousin, Casslyn Welch, helped bust them out. One of the men, convicted of murder. The other, attempted murder. Their escape may have led to the deaths of a couple from Oklahoma. Their remains found in their burned-out camper in New Mexico. Police say forensic evidence links the killings to at least one of the fugitives.
The stepfather of one of the men didn't sugarcoat his feelings of disgust.
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JACK WASHBURN, ESCAPEE'S STEPFATHER: I know what you guys have done. You think you're Bonnie and Clyde. You're not. No comparison. You're scum.
I told the U.S. Marshals, I haven't got that long to live. But if I could ever see you, what you did, I will shoot you in front of them and serve my time.
John McCluskey, if you're watching this, give yourself up. It's a matter of time. You'll never realize what you've done to me and your mother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: All of this drama began July 30th, when a total of three men escaped from a medium security prison in Tucson. Two days later, one escapee was caught in northeastern Colorado, leaving two on the run. Last Wednesday, August 4tth, the bodies of the Oklahoma couple were found in New Mexico. Tips then led federal agents to focus their search on Yellowstone National Park.
Now a federal marshal is telling CNN the two escapees may have actually split up at this point. He talked with CNN's Kyra Phillips a bit earlier.
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FIDENCIA RIVERA, CHIEF DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: The latest information is that Province has moved eastbound towards the Wyoming area, outside of Yellowstone National Park. We have been receiving numerous tips on him, and we're hopeful that hopefully, you know, any time soon he'll be apprehended.
But we believe he's left the Yellowstone National Park area at this point in time. We still are working very aggressively. In addition, we are aggressively trying to pursue John McCluskey and Welch.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now, McCluskey -- you believe McCluskey could still be at Yellowstone National Park, hiding out in the park?
RIVERA: At this point in time, you know, unfortunately, the last information we have on McCluskey was about 48 hours ago. He was -- information indicated that he was in the Yellowstone National Park, in the northern part of the park near -- in the portions of the park within Montana. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: The feds say the longer these two fugitives are out there, the more dangerous and desperate they will become.
Turning now to the execution-style killings of the 10 medical aid workers in Afghanistan, six of them Americans. Their bodies today being handed over to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Most of the victims have been identified.
They had driven about 100 miles into the mountains of one of the poorest areas in Afghanistan. Gunmen stopped them on the road, took their belongings, and then shot the Americans, ,two Afghans, a Britain, and a German. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, but one of the aid organizations involved the in the mission questions that claim.
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RON FLAMING, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM DIR., MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE: We don't know actually who killed these people. And there's conflicting reports about that. And so it's not clear what happened.
But it is a horrific event in whatever way you look at it. And we're committed to working at trying to build a more peaceful world. And we know that that, at times, does mean there's risks involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: The leader of that medical team was American Tom Little. He had been working in Afghanistan for decades.
CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff has his story.
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PASTOR STAN KEY, LOUDONVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH: Tom Little stood right here four Sundays ago and he told us about this trip. And then we were here and he said please pray, there's dangers.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Optometrist Tom Little knew he was living a life of danger, but it was to do God's work, he passionately believed.
KEY: A lot of us talk the gospel. A few people live the gospel. And Tom lived it.
CHERNOFF: For 33 years, he lived it. He and his wife Libby raised their three daughters in Afghanistan so Tom could provide eye care to the Afghans for free.
LIBBY LITTLE, WIFE OF SLAIN AID WORKER: There was danger. There's been danger at times, rogues, you know, along the way. But it really was what we thought God wanted us to do and we -- I felt it was a privilege to -- and it was a joy to be doing what we were supposed to do. CHERNOFF: To provide eye care in Afghanistan, where it is badly needed, the Littles endured rocket attacks during war time and numerous hospital encounters.
LITTLE: We've often just stopped everything when they've held us sort of hostage, saying, well, we're not going to let you go any further. And we'll do eye care on them or serve them. That's OK. And then they'd let us go.
CHERNOFF: But after surviving close calls for three decades, tom Little was shot and killed Thursday along with nine other aid workers. An attack for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility.
KEY: It was an act of evil in its rawest, ugliest form.
CHERNOFF: Even in the face of such brutality, Libby and her friends say Tom's murder was not in vain.
TOM HALE, FRIEND OF SLAIN AID WORKER: I think it is going to inspire more people, more people who are on the fence, more people who realize that, you know, staying in a nice comfortable situation in America is perhaps not what God wants me to do.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Tom's wife Libby happens to be in the United States, because the couple has been expecting their first grandchild.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: An investigation team has been sent to the scene of the massacre.
CNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jill Dougherty, she's covering the killings from Kabul.
Jill, any word, any idea on any motive for these killings?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, you know, that really is the question.
Today, we were at a briefing, a press conference by the International Assistance Mission, which is the international organization for which these people, the doctors, Tom Little and others, worked. And they said, number one, that they are not planning on pulling out. And the executive director said that one of the main reasons, they had been here for 44 years. But another reason is that there are these conflicting reports that you just heard about a couple of minutes ago.
Two scenarios. Two possible scenarios. Were they directly targeted by the Taliban? In other words, did the Taliban really know who they were, did they think, as they say, that they were spies for NATO? Or was this a robbery, perhaps, because in this area there are a lot of very bad groups and people hiding in this forest? Was it a robbery for which the Taliban took responsibility? There are two, and there could be other scenarios. So, until it's established, exactly what happened, this international organization and others are saying that they are not really going to change that much. They are very concerned, obviously, about what happened, but they are not pulling out until they find out what the message, I guess you would have to say, is from this sad occasion.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And that was actually one thing I wanted to ask you about, how other organizations are responding, reacting to these killings.
I mean, are they modifying where they are moving, how they're moving? Are they stepping up security?
DOUGHERTY: Well, a lot of them have taken care already to try to be as secure as they could be. They get advice from other organizations in terms of where they can go. They're certainly up on the security situation around the country.
But that said, they do have a mission that they want to carry out. And it's going to have to be a balance. Can they actually carry it out? Is it so dangerous that they can't and they would have to pull out?
And don't forget, you know, it's a big country, so that there are some areas that are kind of no-go areas. There are others where they can go rather freely.
So, I think a lot of these people, based on the ones that I've been speaking to, will be looking very carefully at what exactly happened in those mountains and why it happened, and then during their own conclusions.
BOLDUAN: All right.
Jill Dougherty in Kabul for us.
Thanks so much, Jill. We'll talk to you soon.
Dirty diamonds delivered in the dead of night. Who are they from? Mia Farrow takes the stand at a war crimes tribunal.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
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BOLDUAN: Maybe sharks are getting a little chummier. Maybe they're just trying to be a little nicer to everyone.
Take a look at our "Random Moment of the Day." It's some great video.
There you're going to see the telltale sign of danger slicing through the water off the coast of New Jersey, a shark coming ashore. This young swimmer popped up on the beach perhaps, I don't know, lured by the scent of hair gel, maybe?
What am I talking about? The MTV reality series "Jersey Shore" was shooting right nearby.
Thinking better of his beach cameo, obviously hearing the screams of the people around, the shark then turned around and vanished into the water after just 10 seconds, lingering just long enough to become our "Random Moment of the Day."
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BOLDUAN: The dictator, the supermodel, now an actress. Mia Farrow was a witness today in the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor. Last week, it was Naomi Campbell that was on the stand.
Our Phil Black has been monitoring every word and this very strange tale from London.
Hey there, Phil. So what did Mia Farrow have to say?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Mia Farrow contradicted Naomi Campbell significantly. It's in the detail, but the points are very much important.
Naomi Campbell told the court just last week she admitted that she had, following a dinner at Nelson Mandela's place 13 years ago, received a gift in the middle of the night. She described them as dirty-looking stones. She said she didn't know who they were from.
It turns out they were rough-cut diamonds.
Now, Mia Farrow, who was also at that dinner the night before, says the next morning the supermodel told her that, yes, it was one large diamond. She knew it was a diamond, and the gifts had, in fact, come from Charles Taylor.
So some direct contradictions there, some key differences. And there were differences that Taylor's defense lawyer picked up over the course of the proceedings, and gave Mia Farrow a little bit of a hard time about during cross-examination.
Take a look.
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MIA FARROW, ACTRESS: I don't know how many diamonds they were or what state they were in because I didn't see them. I can only tell you -- and I swear on the Bible, as I have, to this court and beyond, that is what Naomi Campbell said that morning at breakfast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is your recollection of what Naomi Campbell said?
FARROW: That is my best recollection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: So, Farrow says she is a little hazy on some memories from that night, from that time, but on that point, on what Naomi Campbell said to her the morning after, as she arrived for breakfast, she said she is absolutely clear, because that story was, in her words, unforgettable -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: And Naomi Campbell's agent also there, also being questioned. What did Campbell's agent have to say in court?
BLACK: Well, yet more contradiction of Naomi Campbell, this time from Carole White, the woman who was her modeling agent for 17 years. And she was with her in South Africa, on that night at Nelson Mandela's home back in 1997.
And Campbell said in her evidence last week that she never spoke to Charles Taylor over dinner, the accused war criminal who happened to be a guest at Mandela's dinner table that night. Never spoke to him directly.
Well, Carole White tells a different story again. She says that Campbell was, in her words, "mildly flirting, being friendly, charming, laughing a lot" in the company of Charles Taylor. And it was at that point that the promise of a gift of diamonds was made from Charles Taylor to Naomi Campbell. It was made very publicly.
Naomi Campbell knew the diamonds would be coming to her room later that night. And, in fact, Carole White says she waited up with the model, waiting for the delivery to come. And in the end, when those diamonds were handed over in what she said was a scrappy piece of paper, she said they were both a bit disappointed because they looked like no diamonds they had ever seen. Neither of them had seen rough- cut diamonds before, and they were expecting a little more from the gift promised by the then Liberian president -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Strange, to say the least, having celebrities, models all involved in a war crimes trial. Very interesting.
Phil Black from London for us.
Thanks, Phil.
A frightening weekend across the upper plains. One tornado after another tornado touching down. Listen here.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no! Oh, no, no, no, no! Oh, no.
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BOLDUAN: That was a farmhouse in western Minnesota. The man clearly lost for words seeing that sight. You just saw the tornado -- you just saw that farmhouse ripped apart. No one was hurt, fortunately. The house was empty.
The National Weather Service estimates the twister was at least an EF- 3 with winds up to 165 miles per hour. And can you imagine air so thick, you can barely see just a few feet in front of your face, and you don't want to go outside without a mask?
What are we talking about? We'll tell you what's causing all of these problems in Moscow.
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BOLDUAN: A shakeup in the boardroom. This woman's allegations help to bring down a top executive in Silicon Valley.
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BOLDUAN: Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is on the campaign trail right now. She is in Atlanta, stumping for Karen Handel, who faces former congressman Nathan Deal in a Republican runoff for governor of Georgia.
You're looking at some live pictures of the event. You see Palin there, standing there. Her appearance is drawing a big crowd at the Intercontinental Hotel.
CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is covering all of tomorrow's primaries. He's joining us from Denver.
Let's get to Palin in a second, Paul, but let's start with some of the primaries that are happening in several states. In Colorado specifically, where you are, tell us about that race. And why are people describing this as an Obama-Clinton rematch?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, it's really fascinating.
You know, Kate, when we last spoke over the weekend, we were in Utah. But we've got the CNN Election Express behind me. We pulled into Denver.
As you said, this contest here on the Democratic side for the Senate nomination, you've got the sitting senator, Michael Bennet. He was just named to the seat about a year-and-a-half ago. And he is endorsed, of course, and backed by the national party, and, of course, by President Barack Obama, who is helping campaign for Bennet out here.
The challenger, a guy called Andrew Romanoff, the former state house speaker in that building right behind me there, he is backed by former president Bill Clinton. And that's the interesting dynamic there, Obama versus Clinton in this race.
You've also got on the other side a very competitive battle for the Republican Senate nominee between a guy called Ken Buck, who's a county prosecutor out here, and Jane Norton, the former lieutenant governor. Both contests -- both of these have gotten pretty bitter, Kate, over the last couple weeks. And the commercials out here that people in Colorado are seeing on the airwaves, pretty nasty stuff. All these candidates really trying to run against Washington.
One more thing. They vote by mail out here, mostly. And tomorrow they have to get all their ballots in by mail by tomorrow -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: By tomorrow.
Well, let's get back also to Sarah Palin here in Atlanta.
What is the significance of having Sarah Palin come to Atlanta to campaign? We're seeing she has taken to the podium. What's the significance? What does that mean for a candidate like Karen Handel?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, in a Republican primary it's a big deal. Palin is still considered a rock star among Republican voters, and if she endorses somebody, and especially if she goes and campaigns with that person, that really does help.
She has had a lot of success with her endorsements. Those candidates have done quite well, most of them, in the statewide contests this year. Palin very popular among Republican voters -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right. Our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser.
Enjoy the bus, Paul. We'll see you when we get back. We'll talk to you soon.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks.
BOLDUAN: All right.
So, less than 100 feet to drill to intercept that ruptured oil well once and for all in the Gulf, and crews are hoping to do it by week's end. But the man in charge of the government response to this disaster says they may have to deal with some stormy seas while they're at it. Then they can seal it for good.
The government's also reopening some of the waters in the Gulf to commercial fishing. How safe is the catch? Many people are asking. Well, here's an endorsement.
President Obama served Gulf seafood at his birthday barbecue yesterday. And at the same time, master chefs were not hesitant about using it at the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans.
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PAUL PRUDHOMME, CHEF: I don't know of anything that I wouldn't try to serve myself, my family, or my customers.
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DR. JIMMY GUIDRY, LOUISIANA DEPT. OF HEALTH & HOSPITALS: What we're seeing is that the seafood that's gone to market has been really safe; that the bad image is from daily messaging from the media of the oiled bird who's covered in oil. That is not the image of the seafood and that's not what's showing up in our testing.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: At the moment, regional, state and industry officials say the seafood from the Gulf is the most tested in the world.
So how America's housing crisis is changing the face of the homeless. In this era of the foreclosure crisis that continues on and on, more and more parents and their kids are ending up in shelters.
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BOLDUAN: This just in. We're getting details we wanted to get to you. The House Ethics Committee released a report today detailing the actual counts, three counts coming out against Congresswoman Maxine Waters. A Democrat from California. We talked about this already. We knew that she was accused of alleged violations of House rules tied to her attempt to seek federal assistance for a bank and financial -- for a bank and financial ties with her husband -- that there were financial ties to her and her husband.
The committee rejected Waters' request that the charges be dismissed. We're learning more about these charges and these counts, but we do know that there are three counts now against Congresswoman Maxine Waters. We'll have more on that as we get the details.
But at the moment, let's move to the economy. We've got cnnmoney.com. That's where you're going to get all of your CNN financial headlines, all of the money headlines that you need today, as well as the big board. It is looking like we are up, up 30 points into the positive trading upward. Good news still this morning.
And also the weak economy has many Americans strapped these days. That's no surprise. But for some, there's no longer a place even to call home. Poppy Harlow is joining us from New York with that.
Poppy, it seems the face of homelessness is changing.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: No question about it. You know, we've been talking about the housing crisis, people losing their homes, losing their jobs. But, Kate, what we found is a woman named Damita. She is not the homeless person that you may have imagined that many of us think homelessness really looks like. She has four children. They live in a shelter in Connecticut. They've been there since May. She has a job. She's going to nursing school, but she simply can't afford anywhere to live. Here's her story.
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DAMITA, CAREWAYS SHELTER OCCUPANT: I'm juggling school, work, the kids -- 14, 5, 3 and 11 months. Most of time they're in Miss Cleo's (ph) little classroom. MISS CLEO (ph): Sometimes the kids come in here with their moms and they play. This is paradise for them, yes.
DAMITA: Yes, paradise.
Trying to find housing, and hopefully a full-time job. I had to dip into the savings just to get the laptop so that way I don't have to flunk class. Most of the time I'm in here making dinner or breakfast for the kids.
KELLYANN DAY, EXEC. DIR., NEW HAVEN HOME RECOVERY: We tracked the number of people who have been turned away, so to speak, from our shelter because of lack of space. And that's gone up 105 percent just since January.
DAMITA: You don't have to have that image of looking disgusting, smelling. You can actually look good, have a job, but it's just that your job is just not enough.
I'll see you later.
Ooh, it's going to rain. Off to work.
It's not easy, but, you know, if it's what I have to do for my kids so that they can see me not being depressed or whatever, that's what I have to keep my smile on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And you know, Kate, Damita's not alone here. What we know is that the number of families that are living in homeless shelters has risen 30 percent since 2007. Simply really since the beginning of the recession. As for Damita, she's getting her nursing degree. She hopes in five years she'll have that degree, have a good paying, full-time job. And she says her one hope, Kate, take her kids on vacation. So that's the beginning of her story. You can see the rest right here on cnnmoney.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right. That's a good story. Thanks so much, Poppy Harlow. Great to be -- we should be talking more about this stuff.
Poppy Harlow in New York.
Thanks, Poppy.
The Toyota recall leads to one man being released from prison. We'll tell you why in our top stories.
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BOLDUAN: Let's get a check of our top stories now.
One of the few positive developments in the Toyota recall debacle. A man has been exonerated because of it. Koua Fong Lee spent three years in prison after being convicted of criminal vehicular homicide. His 1996 Camry suddenly accelerated, crashing and killing three people.
Oscar-winning actress Patricia Neal has died. She was 84 years old. She won an Academy Award in 1964 for the movie "Hud." No official cause of death has been confirmed.
And a grim day at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. The bodies of six American medical aid workers killed by the Taliban arrived there today. They were part of a multinational medical team ambush and killed execution style.
Those killings -- the killings of those aid workers are really now raising some new questions about the safety of other non-governmental agencies in the war zone. With thousands of people, including many Americans in Afghanistan, to help, are they facing growing danger? It's a big question and one I know that we've been talking about and a lot of people are asking. Josh Levs is here with some answers to that.
Hey there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there to you, Kate.
Yes, I'll tell you, first of all, big picture. You've got approximately 1,300 national NGOs and another 300 international NGOs and then a handful of other U.N. agencies as well that are in Afghanistan operating at all times, according to a group that oversees them that's called AKBAR (ph). So when we look at this, we're talking about huge numbers of people that are in Afghanistan and there are tremendous risks to them.
Look at this. The biggest risk currently to NGO workers in Afghanistan is actually abductions. According to the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, there was an unprecedented 11 abductions of NGO workers just in July alone.
And what we have here is a map of Afghanistan. I want you to see this because when they talk about where these took place, it's taken place all over the country. It's pretty geographically spread out. You have four different provinces they mention there, Farga (ph), Wardok (ph), Faglon (ph) and Herot (ph). So it's not like there's one specific area they can go to or avoid to avoid the dangers that exist there.
So abductions currently the biggest threat. All of them ultimately were resolved, though, via local community intervention. Kind of playing along the lines that these NGOs have in the first place, creating relationships with people locally.
Let's come back to me for a second, because it's not just about abductions, it's also here. And there are other kinds of risks. This group talks about erroneous targeting of NGOs as they're transiting. They need to watch out for that. They warn NGOs to be careful. And there was an NGO guard killed amid an operation on July 27th according to this same group.
So we look at all this. We look at the dangers. We look at these killings now and the big question for us, is the threat going up right now to these people who are out there risking their lives to help those in need? Well, it turns out, the man who oversees this group, the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, actually told our "American Morning" today that the threat has dropped a little.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC LEE, DIR., AFGHANISTAN NGO SAFETY OFFICE (voice-over): Generally, attacks on NGOs and humanitarians have actually been in decline. We've been monitoring attacks on aid agencies since 2002. And our latest data for 2010 actually showed an overall drop off of about 35 percent compared to the same period of last year. A lot of this is down to better security protocols on behalf of the NGOs, people who have restricted road movement, they've moved out of more dangerous areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: I've been looking at these numbers as well and it's interesting to see -- you don't have to understand the complexities behind me, but zoom in on this for a second. I find this really interesting. This is from the same group that's talking about the threats to NGO workers. And, look, boom, boom, boom, giant spike here in mid 2008, which is the worst threats that they've seen so far. And you do see that according to this threat chart that this group follows, it actually has gone down a bit. They also track killings specifically here. And if you look at the green marks here, they're looking at 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, you are seeing a reduction overall in what this group tabulates for being the threats to NGO workers.
Now, none of this is going to make anyone feel better when they're looking at this horror and what's happened to these 10 workers now inside Afghanistan. And none of it means that everything is now safe or that this threat -- trend of things going down will continue. What we all need to watch for is what happens in the coming weeks, in the coming months. Amid everything that's in flux there in Afghanistan, do these dangers decrease or does this signal a turn for the worse? Kate, that, right now, is what we're all going to be watching out for in the coming months.
BOLDUAN: And also, how do these NGOs respond to this situation? We'll definitely be wanting to know more about that.
LEVS: Exactly.
BOLDUAN: All right, Josh, thanks for that.
LEVS: You got it. Sure.
BOLDUAN: Trusting but verifying your doctor's diagnosis. Sometimes it's necessary to second guess your health professionals. Our Elizabeth Cohen is joining us -- will be joining us to talk about why it's good sometimes to be a bad patient.
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BOLDUAN: You may think being a good patient will help you in medical situations. That's pretty logical. You listen to your doctors. You do what you're told. But our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen says maybe you need to change the way you're thinking about -- when it comes to your next doctor's visit. You have a book coming out really about this called "The Empowered Patient." What do you mean it's good to be a bad patients sometimes?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kate, I think this is true of a lot of people, but I must say particularly women, that sometimes we think we have to be nice and we think we shouldn't be pushy. And we think that when someone in authority tells us something, we should nod our heads. So one of the messages of my book is that sometimes you need to be bad, meaning sometimes you will annoy your doctor and that that is OK if it's all in the effort to make you a healthier person.
So I have a couple of tips here about how to be a bad patient, because you know it's not easy being bad. I think most of us are nice people, right?
BOLDUAN: Right. Yes, let's get along, you know?
COHEN: Right, exactly. Exactly. So here's how to be bad.
Feel free to ask lots of questions. You know doctors these days are rushed and you might find your doc is like halfway out the door, oh, one last question. Ask that one last question. Don't stop because you get the feeling he or she wants to move on to the next patient.
Also, don't worry about being liked. I know a lot of people who are worried that their doctor is going to get angry at them and not like them. Don't -- that's not the primary thing you should be worried about. You should primarily be worried about whether you're getting the best care.
Also, if you are dissatisfied, switch doctors. And I think this is so important. I know people -- a friend of mine, for example, who's a lawyer. She is so tough in the courtroom. She just, you know, gets people. But when she has a doctor who she's dissatisfied with, for some reason she has a hard time --
BOLDUAN: Puts up with it.
COHEN: Yes, she puts up with it. And I think there are probably all sorts of complicated psychological reasons why that's true. But I think the reality is, that it is true and that it's OK. This is, in many ways, a business relationship.
BOLDUAN: Right.
COHEN: And if you're not happy, you should move on.
BOLDUAN: The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
COHEN: Sometimes that is true. That's right.
BOLDUAN: So on the web, we talk about this all the time. You can get so much information, especially when it comes to medical, you know, your health. You can get so much information on the web. But doctors don't all the time like that. Is it good to use the information from the web? How can you use it to your advantage?
COHEN: I think this is what happens. This is what I hear from people. Let's say you're the doctor and I'm the patient, OK. The patient comes in and says, here, doc, 300 pages of Internet printout. Could you take a look? I know we only have 10 minutes. And so doctors don't like that.
So, on the one hand, you want to bring in Internet information because it's important. You've learned something on the Internet. On the other hand, there are good and bad ways to do it.
So, first of all, go to good websites. Do not bring your doctor information from Joestoefungus.com.
BOLDUAN: Right .Right.
COHEN: OK, I mean, let's be serious. Go to the Mayo Clinic. Go to cnnhealth.com. Go to websites that are trustworthy.
And, second of all, don't hand him this thick stack of printouts. What you want to do is summarize your findings. So think of the three questions that you have based on what you found out on the Internet. Do that and maybe print out one site. So boil it down and maybe print out a page, not 300 pages. And I think that will help doctors and patients get along better, because this is a huge source of tension between doctors and patients.
BOLDUAN: And use it to educate yourself. Don't -- it's not like you're trying to test the knowledge of the doctor, right?
COHEN: Right. Exactly. You can say doctor, I learned this, what do you think about this?
BOLDUAN: I'm hearing this, what does this mean, right?
COHEN: What does this mean, exactly.
BOLDUAN: So along this exact front, so many people have so many questions about all things medical. You're bringing back "Empower Me Friday" to help viewers -- to answer viewer questions. Where can they send their questions? Where should they be going?
COHEN: Right, "Empower Me Friday" is a great tradition that we've revived, which is where people write to us with questions they have about their health care and we try to answer them. And the questions go to empoweredpatient@cnn.com, and we'll be picking a few to answer this Friday.
BOLDUAN: Perfect. There it is. There you go. Get in there. Ask your questions.
All right, Elizabeth, thank you so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
BOLDUAN: Your book is coming out, not Friday, tomorrow. COHEN: Tomorrow, yes.
BOLDUAN: "The Empowered Patient."
COHEN: "The Empowered Patient," that's right.
BOLDUAN: Exactly. All right. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. We'll talk to you soon.
COHEN: Thanks.
BOLDUAN: So one man held San Francisco -- one man held San Francisco hostage for 12 days. It's one of the trending stories online, and we'll plug you in after the break.
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BOLDUAN: "What's Hot." He refused to crack until he had a personal visit from the mayor, and also then you have the CEO of HP's walk of shame.
Ines Ferre, you're watching everything that's trending. What do you have?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right.
Well, let's start out with, first, with San Francisco. Because there was a gentleman in San Francisco that was accused of basically hijacking the network of San Francisco back in 2008. It was in lockdown for 12 days because he didn't want to give up the keys, the passwords to the network, because he didn't think that anybody else really could do -- handle the job that he had done. So, anyhow, he got four years in jail. He has been serving some time, though. So it's estimated that he'll serve another six months in jail for holding those passwords hostage. And you'll know that also -- that Mayor Gavin and Newsome had actually paid him a visit in jail to say, please give up the passwords. He finally did.
BOLDUAN: So this is a case of a disgruntled employee?
FERRE: It was a case of an employee that just said, you know what, I am the one who --
BOLDUAN: You don't appreciate me?
FERRE: Well, he had been fired and then he said no one else should have the password.
BOLDUAN: There you go.
FERRE: Anyhow, he was protecting the city's passwords.
BOLDUAN: So what else?
FERRE: So the next one is HP. And you will know that the CEO of HP resigned over a claim of sexual harassment, but the company had found that he actually -- there was no evidence of sexual harassment, but there had been discrepancies with some -- with some of the financial --
BOLDUAN: Expense reports, uh-huh.
FERRE: Expense reports, exactly. So -- and the person that actually has come forward is the actress, Jodie Fisher. Not to be confused with Jodie Foster. Jodie Fisher. She's an actress and she's a former contractor of the company. And she said that she's very saddened by this, that he lost his job over this and that they had actually settled this privately -- the claim privately. So she was saddened by it.
BOLDUAN: A lot of fallout from that now. Very public.
FERRE: Yes, and they're looking for a new CEO now.
BOLDUAN: Yes. So, if anyone's available. Ines? She's got a good job. She doesn't need it. She doesn't need it.
Thanks, Ines.
FERRE: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: All right. So a British hiker makes history in the Amazon. We have this incredible story next.
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BOLDUAN: He is the first person to walk the entire Amazon River. Talk about an overachiever. And this morning, British hiker Ed Stafford completed his historic trek. Stafford began this treacherous journey two years ago and has hiked over 4,000 miles. Along the way he endured thousands of bug bites and worked very hard to avoid the very dangerous snakes and spiders there. Stafford had been on a mission to raise awareness about the disappearing rain forest and also to raise money for charities. He and a friend finished in Brazil today. Fionnuala Sweeney has been following this amazing journey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED STAFFORD, BRITISH EXPLORER: I have to say, I feel quite emotional. And after planning this trip since January 2007, and it's now March the 30, 2008, I'm standing at the Pacific Ocean. The starting point of where we're going to do our trip. Unbelievable.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stafford and his friend, Luke Collyer, from England, began the trip together with high hopes on April 2, 2008 in Camana, Peru, the true source of the Amazon River. Luke dropped out three months later. And while hundreds of people have walked with Ed along the way, Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera became his expedition partner. He is a Peruvian forestry worker who was only supposed to walk with Ed a few days.
STAFFORD: Cho only agreed to walk for five days, because no one would walk with me through the terrorist area, the red zone in Peru. He wasn't scared of going in at all. And so he said he'll come in with me for five days. I can't believe he made it through that area and he hasn't been home since.
SWEENEY: The rules were simple. Ed must walk the entire way, unaided by machinery. They followed the general course of the rivers that make up the Amazon. Where water crossings were necessary due to flooding or geography, Ed and Cho waded across, or used inflatable pack rafts. The team always returned to the perpendicular point back on land to avoid any forward progress by boat.
The challenges were many. The dangers real. Ed and Cho faced hunger, insect bites, venomous snakes and gigantic anacondas. Along the journey, Ed contracted cutaneous leishmaniasis, it's a skin disfiguring disease, and has had to remove a botfly embedded in his skull. Cho suffered from migraines, piranha bites and a machete slice, but nothing worse.
The trip has been physically grueling and mentally challenging.
STAFFORD: There's only so many times in a day that you can fall over and not lose your sense of humor.
SWEENEY: Despite the many difficulties, Stafford insists there was never any thought of giving up. Stafford said that encounters with the people in Brazil are among the highlights they will take with them.
STAFFORD: The girl above me, just there --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
STAFFORD: Has just given us a plate of corn on the cob. How nice is that?
SWEENEY: Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: That is all for me today. But don't worry, I'm leaving you in very good hands. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with my friend Ali Velshi.
