Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Former Egyptian Bank Executive Assaulted Maid; 2012 White House Bids; U.S. Military Response to Cyber Attacks; Karzai Angry Over Civilian Deaths; Powerful Waterspouts Caught on Tape; More than Eight Hundred People Stung by Jellyfish; Royal Couple to Visit California; Arpaio May Run for Senate; Egypt Under Fire for Virginity Tests; Rep. Weiner: "I Was Hacked"; Dancers Arrested at Jefferson Memorial; Paying To Play "Call Of Duty"
Aired May 31, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just about 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast; 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips. Good morning to you.
Nearly two years after an Air France jet liner crashed off the coast of Brazil, crews have recovered the remains of 75 more victims. The bulk of the wreckage was found earlier this year. All 228 people aboard the flight were killed.
For the second time this month, a banking figure is accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. New York police say the 74-year-old Egyptian attacked the woman when she delivered items to his room.
This could be a decisive week for former vice presidential candidate John Edwards. A grand jury is investigating whether he illegally used campaign funds to cover up an extramarital affair. Sources say the Justice Department is preparing to indict Edwards unless he strikes a deal with prosecutors.
I should hum music for you. The 2012 race for the White House is taking shape. More GOP contenders are jumping in, or at least dipping a toe in the water.
As this morning, two maybes made it clear that if and when they announce, they are competing against President Obama, not one another.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: He's been one of the most ineffective presidents at the job at hand that I've ever seen. The number one issue he faced walking out of the door was an economy that was in fast decline. He didn't cause that, but he made things worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Overall, give me a grade on his presidency. How's he done?
ROMNEY: Well, it's failed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An "F"? ROMNEY: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Mitt Romney leads the pack right now, and he's expected to formally announce his bid in a couple of days. And then there's Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, who says she will make an announcement next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the one thing that sets you apart from Sarah Palin?
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: Well, again, I compare myself to Barack Obama, not to any of the other Republican candidates. First of all, I want to say that I like Sarah Palin a lot. We're friends. I don't consider her a competitor. I consider her a friend, but my comparison ultimately is to Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And that brings us to Sarah Palin, now riding cross country on her one nation bus tour. There are times when she sounds like a presidential candidate, but she refuses to call her tour anything, but a campaign for America's constitution.
Palin and her family visited some historical landmarks around Washington, D.C., and then the bus continued on to Pennsylvania. Of course, there's some confusion about where exactly her bus is heading at times because she won't tell the so-called mainstream media where exactly the bus is headed.
Jim Acosta is in Gettysburg. Have you found the bus?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From what we understand, Carol, the bus has left Gettysburg. We've done everything but put a low jack on the one nation bus, and it is difficult to keep tabs on the former Alaska governor. A lot of that is by design.
Her staff is releasing details about her movements at the very last second, only giving brief details as to what she is doing at any given moment. She was out here at Gettysburg. Just a few moments ago, we had a chance to catch up with her and ask her about whether or not this is a game of cat and mouse she's playing with the news media.
She denied that, but yesterday evening in a brief question and answer session with reporters where she was peppered with questions about whether or not she's running for president, she did tell the media that, if she does make a run for the White House, to expect the unexpected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: It would definitely be unconventional and non-traditional, yes. Knowing us, yes, it would have to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are the odds you might run?
PALIN: I don't know. I honestly don't know. It's still a matter of considering much. There truly is a lot to consider before you throw yourself out there in the name of service to the public because it's so all-consuming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And she is expected to head to Philadelphia later today, and by the end of this week, end up in New Hampshire. But the details of how she's going to get there, when she's going to get there, all of that is being kept very close to the vest.
As we reported yesterday and earlier this morning, she is also expected to take this one nation bus tour to Iowa. That will, of course, further speculation that she is mounting some kind of bid for the White House.
And if not mounting a bid for the White House, just generating a lot of attention for herself and the industry that has become Sarah Palin in the next several weeks. Carol --
COSTELLO: Jim Acosta, live in Gettysburg. For all the latest on the Palin bus tour and everything else happening in the world of politics, visit our website, the address, cnn.com/politics.
New housing numbers just in. Boy, they're not good. The price of an existing home continues to sink, perhaps to an all-time low. Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange. Tell us what these numbers mean.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, you know what, it means that we're here, that this is the double dip in housing that everybody's been talking about. The S&P analyst who puts out this study is saying it that way.
And what the study shows is that home prices fell 4.2 percent in the first three months of this year. You know where that puts us? We're now below the level we thought was the bottom that was hit in 2009 after the bust. Also listen to other recent housing reports, they're jiving with this as well.
Look, pending home sales plunged in April. New home sales, they're close to record lows and you look at the home ownership rates, they're at the lowest levels we haven't seen since 1998. And then you go ahead and listen to some things analysts are saying.
Realty Track is saying the housing recovery is a long way off. S&P saying there's no relief in sight and you know what? Americans are agreeing with this. They're pessimistic too. A couple of studies showing that 54 percent of Americans saying the housing market won't recover until 2014 or later.
You know what? These negative reports, they can wind up being a self- fulfilling prophecy. People don't buy because they believe prices will drop even more. That pushes prices down causing people to wait even longer. Carol, this cycle begins again. Carol --
COSTELLO: It does. Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange, thank you.
It's been nearly 10 years since the 9/11 attacks. The next strike may be launched from a computer keyboard. A cyber-attack could leave much of the country without electricity or clean water or even turn a nuclear plant into a ticking time bomb.
"The Wall Street Journal" says the threat is so real the Pentagon has decided that such computer sabotage could be considered an act of war. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Explain this to us, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, actually, when you look at it, it wouldn't be the Pentagon deciding that it's an act of war. What happens is the Pentagon develops a strategy, and I think that's what "The Wall Street Journal" is talking about.
The Pentagon coming up with a formal military strategy to deal with cyber-attacks. But it's the policy that really dictates the strategy, and the policy is coming from the White House. That was outlined about two weeks ago by President Obama's National Security team.
We heard from Secretary Clinton. We heard from counterterrorism adviser John Brenan. In that, it lays out all of this, including -- let me read this just a little bit to you. "We reserve all the rights to use all necessary means diplomatic, military, and economic to deal with these sorts of attacks."
It is basically saying that, if the U.S. is attacked by a cyber- attack, and it causes enough damage that it would be comparable to a conventional attack, the U.S. will respond with military means as a last resort. Carol --
COSTELLO: Interesting. Chris Lawrence, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is warning today that any future NATO air strikes that kill civilians will be considered attacks against the Afghan people.
Zain Verjee joins us from London. Zain, I know this warning comes after a weekend strike killed 14 civilians so what does this mean for the coalition in Afghanistan?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It means it's worrying, that Karzai is turning up the heat. This could make things a lot harder for the coalition forces from the U.S. operating in Afghanistan.
Tensions have been growing with Hamid Karzai, and this is definitely going to make things worse. Don't forget too, the U.S. also needs Afghanistan for its operations in Pakistan. The one thing, though, to remember here too, Carol, is that Karzai is also talking to a domestic Afghan audience who are really upset with him over the whole thing too.
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee live in London. Thank you.
Coming up, an incredible revelation stemming from the pro-democracy protests in Egypt where women claim they were subjected to virginity checks.
Look at this eye catching scene off the coast of Australia. Just ahead, meteorologist Rob Marciano will explain the water spout phenomenon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: As you know, it's been a record-setting year for tornados in this country, and we're not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Look at this video of a powerful water spout off the coast of Sydney, Australia. This one towered about 2,000 feet in the air. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us to explain. Is this a form of tornado? Is that what it is?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's basically a tornado that's over water. Instead of the debris flying around, the dirt and trees and houses and things like that, it's just water. It's a lot nicer to look at, that's for sure, but it's certainly fascinating.
Look at this close-up view. Thing I want you to notice when we eventually get back to the close-up view is just how clear it is from top to bottom. The cloud base is up there around 2,000 feet. This is a relatively high base. It's also moving really quick. Notice this, OK?
It's spinning -- well, I mean, it's spinning the wrong way. It's down there in Australia. It spins the opposite way. That, as a weather geek, is fairly fascinating. We had three of these things. There's one, two, and there's one over there on the other side of the scene here. That's another thing that makes water spouts interesting is because they typically -- they don't form with a big super cell typically.
These are a little more of a coastal phenomenon. The setup is a little bit different. You've got winds coming from different angles, and you get a little storm that pops up along the coastline, and you get that rotation. This particular one is moving pretty fast as well off towards the -- there's that close-up look again.
It looks like a dust devil. That's water being sprayed around and sucked up in it. This is all part of a larger system that is pounding much of Sydney with heavy rain and flash floods. A lot of times over the tropics, they'll just sit and spin like over Florida.
Florida will get these a lot, especially during the summertime, because they have what's called the sea breeze front, and that sea breeze front in the afternoon comes this way. If you have a stalled front or something like that, you'll get winds coming from a different direction.
If you live in Florida, vacation in Florida, you'll see these quite often. Typically, they're harmless unless you're on a boat, carol. Then you don't want to be going through that sucker. It will bang you up. This one had winds that were estimated to be close to or over 100 miles an hour. That's enough to do damage. Obviously, if it comes onshore, that's when things get dangerous as well.
COSTELLO: But they rarely do that, right?
MARCIANO: In an ideal situation, yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Checking stories cross country now. Speaking of Florida, in Brevard Country, Memorial Day became a war against jelly fish. Brevard County Ocean Rescue says more than 800 people were stung from Cocoa Beach to Cape Canaveral.
The royal newlyweds will spend three days in Los Angeles as part of their first North American tour. Will and Kate, the duke and duchess of Cambridge will spend eight days touring Canada before ending their visit in L.A. July 8, 9th, and 10th. The palace spokesman calls it a working visit. They'll raise money for charity.
And in Maricopa, Arizona, the man who bills himself as America's toughest sheriff will run for the U.S. Senate. Joe Arpaio says he's already raised $5 million, in his words, without even thinking about it.
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: It's something I'm looking at, and it comes up all the time. So I'm not going to make my decision yet. I'll make it pretty soon. I don't have to be a U.S. senator to get a little press in Washington, D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Arpaio could run for John Kyle's seat in 2012. Kyle is retiring.
There is growing outrage this morning over the treatment of several women arrested during protests in Egypt's Tahrir Square back in March.
An Egyptian general now admitting they underwent virginity checks. Zain Verjee joins us from London. This just sounds so disturbing. Why do they do this?
VERJEE: I know they can call it so-called virginity tests, Carol, but it is sexual assault. These women, there were 17 of them. They were demonstrating in Tahrir Square around March the 9th, and they were dragged off by the Egyptian military. Here's what the women say happened to them. They say they were beaten. They were given electric shocks. They were threatened with prostitution charges. And then they were given these so-called virginity tests after being strip searched as well. Listen to what woman had to say, Carol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SALWA HOSSEINI, SAYS SHE UNDERWENT "VIRGINITY CHECK" (through translator): They made us sign statements declaring whether or not we are virgins. During the test, no one was standing except for a woman and a male doctor. Six soldiers were standing behind us and watching the back side of the bed. I think they were there to be witnesses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: The outrage too is over the warp logic that the army is giving here. They're saying they basically did these so-called virginity tests just to make sure these women were virgins because that would mean the army had not sexually assaulted them.
That's what they're saying, and it's a situation where there's so much outrage and it's unclear what the legal recourse could be because the army's running Egypt right now and has no one else to turn to, Carol.
COSTELLO: Is this routine? Do they do this all the time?
VERJEE: Well, initially, they were accused of this, and then they denied it, and now they're admitting it. If this had happened with these 17 women and there are other women that step forward and say that they have been brutally treated and sexually assaulted in this way too, that may happen.
This could be the tip of the iceberg or it could be isolated incidents. But Amnesty International, which is looking into this, will have more answers. Let's see if more women step forward too.
COSTELLO: Brave women. Zane Verjee live from London, thank you.
Back here in the United States, Congressman Anthony Wiener is talking about a naughty picture sent from his Twitter account. Weiner says he was hacked. It does happen. We'll find out what the woman who got the picture is saying.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner says he was hacked, and that's how a 21-year-old woman in Seattle got a lewd picture from his Twitter account. Dana Bash has this CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It came from Congressman Anthony Weiner's Twitter account over the weekend, a photo of an anonymous man's bulging underwear. The lewd picture immediately deleted from Weiner's account was sent to this 21-year-old Seattle college student, but also available to the public to view on Twitter.
Outside his New York home Monday, Weiner, an outspoken liberal Democrat, insisted to CNN it was the work of a hacker.
REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I was hacked. It happens to people. You move on.
BASH: It's not clear who sent it. Weiner tried to brush it off as a prank and a distraction.
WEINER: This is a prank. Not a terribly creative one and it's a distraction. Look, you know, you've got the Republicans who are playing games with the debt limit.
You've got a Supreme Court justice who is refusing to recuse himself despite conflicts of interest. You have a health care act that is under siege. You know, this is a distraction.
BASH: Gennette Cordova is the Seattle college student the tweet was allegedly addressed to. The 21-year-old issued a lengthy statement to the "New York Daily News" admitting Weiner did follow her on Twitter, but insisting that she never met him.
"There have never been any inappropriate exchanges between Anthony Weiner and myself, including the tweet/picture in question, which had apparently been deleted before it reached me," said Cordova.
She blamed an anonymous person for harassing here, quote, "many times after the Congressman followed me on Twitter a month or so ago. After she sent a tweet saying, quote, "I wonder what my boyfriend at Rep Weiner is up to."
As for the Twitter account Weiner said was hacked, he's still using it. He tried to downplay the swirling story with tweets like this, more Weiner jokes for all my guests, hashtag hacked. Trademark Weiner humor.
WEINER: I use vote for Weiner, he'll be frank. Vote for Weiner, he's on a roll. Vote for Weiner, he'll relish your votes.
BASH: But questions surrounding the lewd photo quickly became the subject of a serious internet war, between liberal blogs suggesting it's a right wing conspiracy and conservative blogs questioning Weiner's hacking claim.
Andrew Brightbart, a conservative blogger whose biggovernment.com first reported the story suggested to CNN there should be a, quote, "forensic analysis to determine the veracity of Weiner's hacking allegation, which certainly bears criminal implications."
(on camera): In fact, spokesmen for both the Capitol police and the FBI tell CNN they're not yet investigating this alleged hacking of a member of Congress's Twitter account. Weiner's spokesman tells CNN he's hired a lawyer to quote, "Explore the proper next step and get advice on what civil or criminal actions could be taken."
Again, his office is downplaying this as a prank and insisting they are, quote, "loathed to treat it as more." Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: If you are planning to visit any federal monuments this summer in Washington, D.C., just remember, do not dance. Not even quietly because you can't dance there. It's banned. Check out this video from Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Five people were protesting that dancing ban by getting a little footloose inside the Jefferson Memorial in D.C. look at that a U.S. Park police officer having none of it. There is now an investigation under way as to whether the officer used excessive force.
We'll run the story by our political buzz panel in a few minutes and we'll ask them what Thomas Jefferson might think about all of this. Would he mind silent dancing? I don't know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In New York, police have arrested another rich and prominent businessman and accused him of sexually abusing a hotel maid. The 74-year-old Egyptian man is the former chairman of a major bank in Egypt.
It's the second such case this month of a foreign banking figure accused of preying on a powerless hotel worker. Deb Feyerick is in New York with more details. Hi, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, well, you know, hotels really do train housekeepers what to do in order to avoid dicey situations. That may suggest it happens more frequently than any of us really knows.
But yes, a second incident, this one involving an Egyptian businessman, somebody who was head of the Bank of Alexandria for more than 15 years. Now according to police, the man apparently called up for a housekeeper to bring a box of tissues to his room.
Once she arrived and stepped inside, he was able to lock the door behind her, apparently, and that's when the alleged sexual attack occurred. Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar is being charged with sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching, as well as harassment.
Now unlike in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, the housekeeper in this particular incident waited about 17 hours to report this alleged assault. It happened on Sunday evening. She didn't report it until the following Monday. However, police did find her story credible.
That's why the gentleman was arrested. He is scheduled to be arraigned, his first appearance sometime in court later today. Details on this just emerging now, but again, striking similarities to the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, except this gentleman is not running for political office. Carol --
COSTELLO: Deb Feyerick reporting live from New York, thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Checking our top stories now, Sarah Palin's one nation bus tour pulled into Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, late yesterday. Hundreds of people waited for a glimpse of the potential presidential candidate, but she was a no show on the historic battlefield, and she's not saying if she's going to run for office.
More evidence this is a rotten time to put your house on the market. First quarter home prices have dropped more than 4 percent. Prices have not been this low in one national index in nine years.
And summer bummer. Budget cuts forcing cities from New York to Sacramento to shut down their community pools. By doing so, the cities say they're able to save tens of thousands of dollars on insurance, operations, and maintenance costs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Time now for our political buzz, a quick look at the hottest political topics of the day. Each of our brilliant political observers get 20 seconds to answer three probing questions.
Robert Zimmerman is a member of the Democratic National Committee. John Ridley is editor of that minoritything.com and CNN senior contributor Will Cain is a conservative political analyst.
Welcome to all of you. Let's get to the first question. She is not a presidential candidate, and she told the mainstream media they'd have to work to figure out what her tour really means. So why is the media following Sarah Palin? Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR: Most columnists will tell you, if you put the name Palin in any headline, you'll get more hits than any other subject. The issue is Sarah Palin has it, and it leads to emotional attachment. Emotional attachment leads to attention, which leads to ratings. That is why she's being covered.
COSTELLO: Robert?
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The media's in a bit of a bind. Snooki's filming in Italy, and in fact, Sarah Palin has become the Donald Trump summer replacement series. She's unpredictable. Facts never get in her way. Hopefully, the media is going to focus on the serious Republican candidates who have real positions on issues.
COSTELLO: John?
JOHN RIDLEY, EDITOR, MINORITYTHING.COM: They've got to write about something. They've written Herman Cain to death. I mean, to me the media is sort of like that obsessive boyfriend that absolutely won't let go. I mean, I get that. I understand it. For me, she'll always be a quitter. Not interested.
COSTELLO: Question number two, a group of powerful aisle of Republican donors are traveling to New Jersey to convince Governor Chris Christie to run. Pondents say Iowa Republics are hungry for an alpha politician. So what does this say about the Republican field? Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: Well, first of all, let's throw away the Democratic talking points about this election. The reality is any Republican who can reach independent voters makes it a 50-50 race. Governors Pawlenty and Governor Romney have proven they can do that. The national polls that we're fixating on fascinate political pundents has no basis in political reality. The primaries and caucuses will predict - will choose the nominee.
COSTELLO: John?
RIDLEY: No, I think it actually says more about the Iowa caucus than it does about the Republican Party. I mean, look, they're older, more rule, more white, more conservative in other voters, not voters, they're caucus stores (ph). A lot of people looking to South Carolina. How do you get your mojo back to get? Do they get this guy, and all of a sudden, they're relevant again.
COSTELLO: Will.
CAIN: Robert, deal. Let's do away with those democratic talking points for this election. I love that. Here's the issue. You can -- many people read this. You can separate Republican field into two groups, fixers versus fighters. Fighters are people like Bachmann and Palin and Newt. Fixers are people like Pawlenty and Romney. What we really like is someone that can be both. The name we keep coming back to is Christie. He can be both.
COSTELLO: All right. Question number three, a group of young people dared to dance at the Jefferson Memorial. That would be illegal. You can't dance at national monuments. They were busted by the U.S. park police. We reached out to the park police, got no response, so far, but the question today is, should busting the move be covered by the First Amendment? Will.
CAIN: This is really tough, Carol. Although, I think it's busting a move, not busting the move.
(LAUGHTER)
CAIN: But, you know, it's not a good image seeing park police throw people down. No one wants to see that, but there are limits on free speech. It's hard to be an absolutist. It's easy --
COSTELLO: Oh, sorry. We only have ten seconds on that one, and our clock was running, and you busted me, and I'm sorry. We just screwed you up totally. Sorry, Will. John.
RIDLEY: You know, I get where they're coming from, but if you're young, you're energetic, you want to make an impact, go teach at a troubled school. Don't dance at a memorial.
COSTELLO: Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: I don't know. I can't imagine how that could be unconstitutional, but considering what the Robert court has done to the First Amendment, we'd better get a legal defense fund for these dancers.
COSTELLO: I think they see it as a form of protest, but it's just crazy to see those poor silent dancing people arrested. Thanks to all of you for playing "Political Buzz," fun as always. "Political Buzz" will be back tomorrow.
A new report says the scandal surrounding Jim Tressel is deeper than first believed. We'll get into the revelation surrounding the Ohio state coach who suddenly resigned. We'll have that for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking stories across the country now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Four people died when a tour bus run off I-95 and rolled over in Caroline County, Virginia early today. Investigators aren't sure what caused the crash. It shut down the northbound lanes off the interstate for a few hours.
Rough weather in Hastings, Nebraska. Hail pelted parts of the state. Some of the hail large as baseballs. The National Weather Service also reporting tornado sightings near Atkinson.
And a tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri, elephants are helping remove heavy debris. The Piccadilly Circus came to town and offered the huge animals so they could drag away everything from huge beams to mangled cars.
An E. coli outbreak in Germany has killed at least 11 people and sickened hundreds more. The ministry of health traced the outbreak to raw vegetables. They've warned people especially in Northern Germany not to eat raw tomatoes, cucumbers, or lettuce.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (on-camera): Some doctors don't have enough medicine for their patients. CNNs Mary Snow tells us how a shortage of vital drugs has some hospitals in the United States scrambling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Westchester Medical Center, chief medical officer, Renee Garrick, says the staff now gets daily alerts about which drugs are in short supply, and she says most people aren't aware of the shortages hospitals are facing.
DR. RENEE GARRICK, WESTCHESTER MEDICAL CENTER: If you have a gasoline shortage, the whole world knows in about 30 seconds. So, we have drug shortages that can affect the ability to get the drug to the bedside, and someone who's had a heart attack, someone who blood pressure support, someone needs antibiotics, and I think public awareness of that is not what it should be.
SNOW: Each hospital is different. In Phoenix, for example, Shamim Tejani, a pharmacist at Maricopa Medical Center, said earlier this month the hospital had to reserve a supply of a hard to get drug to treat leukemia and lymphoma.
SHAMIM TEJANI, MARICOPA MEDICAL CENTER: We've had to reserve our supply. We had to turn patients away. Sometimes we, in order to treat more patients, we've had to reduce the dosages of that drug.
SNOW: While shortages may not be a new problem, those who monitor them for the American Society of health System Pharmacists counted 211 drugs in short supply last year and say it's not getting any better.
ERIN FOX, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: It is getting worse, because so far, in 2011, if you look at just the first three months of the year, so the first 90 days of the year, we tracked 89 brand new shortages. So, that's almost, if you think about it, a new shortage a day.
SNOW: So, what is behind the shortages? The FDA says manufacturing problems and delays are the main reasons as well as drugs being discontinued. In a statement, the agency told us most shortages involve older drugs made by fewer firms, and says, these drugs often get discontinued by companies and replaced by more profitable, newer drugs.
FDA continues to do all we can within our authority to resolve these shortages. But in the meantime, Dr. Garrick says hospitals are scrambling for alternatives with shortages of some chemotherapy drugs a particular concern.
GARRICK: You delay treatment until the drug is available or you seek an alternative drug. But the alternative drug may not have been tested as part of that regimen. So, you won't really know what the outcome will be. So, that's why the chemotherapy shortage has become such a national concern.
SNOW: And lawmakers have gotten involved. Legislation was introduced that would require manufacturers to give the Food and Drug Administration six months' notice if a drug is being discontinued or if they're going to be interruptions. As for drug research companies, a trade group for them says there are a number of factors contributing to shortages, listing anything from natural disasters to shortages in raw supplies. It also says that it's committed to good manufacturing practices and to working closely with the FDA.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Video gamers beware. If you're ready to play the latest "Call of Duty" game online, then you're going to need more than a rocket launcher and a grenade or a lightning like thumbs. Bring your wallet as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: If you got a video gamer in the house, they'll want to hear this. The next "Call of Duty" game, modern warfare 3, is going to offer enhanced features for an extra fee. Alison Kosik joins us from New York. So, for all of us non-gamers, explain this enhanced fee stuff to us.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK. For those of us who don't understand how it is to feel, you know, big and bad on that virtual battlefield, you know, we can all certainly understand the fees. You know, we pay fees when we check our bags at the airport. You know, we pay fees when we take out money at the ATM. So, now, what ActiVision is doing, ActiVision Blizzard is planning to release a new feature for its "Call of Duty" franchise, and, yes, it comes with a fee.
It's called call of duty elite. And the company says it's going to include premium membership. Now, there aren't any exact details on the pricing, but you know what, ActiVision says, all this extra content is going to be worth it because, guess what, Carol? It's going to include a personal online coach who tracks your score and tells you how you can improve your game. How about that?
COSTELLO: Wow, that's awesome. Wish I didn't have to pay for it, though. I mean, is this a game changer for the entire industry?
KOSIK: You know what, it really could be because "Call of Duty," Carol, is actually the most popular video game franchise out there. And if it's successful, others could follow suit as well. Also, you know, the videogame industry is growing real fast with $20 billion in annual revenue, and that means companies, they're constantly looking for new ways to make money to maintain that strong pace of growth as well.
And analysts still say this new fee structure could wind up being a risk especially since you already have to pay $60 or so to buy the basic game. But, you know, this really could work because these gamers, I'll tell you what, it's like a cult following here. They're serious people. The average "Call of Duty" player spends about an hour each day playing against someone else remotely. Does anybody work anymore?
COSTELLO: Or actually exercise. Play anything physical. I don't know, but that's amazing. Alison Kosik, thank you. Still ahead, we return to the town where U.S. commandos killed Osama Bin Laden. It's not a warm welcome for Americans visiting there. We'll show you how they were treated and offer a peek into the life of the Bin Laden family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's look ahead and see what's making news later today in Washington. House members hold a hearing at 2:00 eastern on the global perspectives of autism. The subcommittee on Africa Global Health and Human Rights is meeting in the Rayburn House Office Building.
At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the space shuttle, "Atlantis," will begin moving to its launch pad beginning at 8:00 eastern. "Atlantis'" last flight is set for July 8th.
And in Miami, the Heat and the Dallas Mavericks begin the best of seven series on the road to the NBA championship, tip-off 9:00 eastern.
The shuttle, "Endeavour," lands early tomorrow. Commander Mark Kelly spoke with our own John King for one of his last interviews from space. Here's a look at today's primetime preview. John asked Kelly what will happen when the shuttle program ends later this year?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK KELLY, SHUTTLE COMMANDER: I don't think the adventure will be lost. I think what's always at risk is, as we transition to a new program and a new vehicle, there's going to be a period of time when Americans aren't flying on U.S. spacecraft. So, that's a challenge. You know, people leave. You know, engineers and operations people will move on and do other things.
So, it's the corporate memory that I think I'm most worried about as people go, but, you know, over time, we'll get the right mix of people, and NASA has an incredible work force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You can catch the entire interview on "John King USA." That's tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern.
How safe is your cell phone? An announcement on whether or not it can be linked to cancer expected at 12:00 p.m. eastern.
Plus, cyber-war fare. The U.S. says that computer sabotage from another country can be considered an act of war. We'll have a live report from the Pentagon. That's coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It has been a month since U.S. forces killed Osama Bin Laden, and we're now learning more about his family life. CNN's Stan Grant ventured back to the Pakistani town where Bin Laden lived and died, and he found a hostile reception.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One month on, killing Osama Bin Laden has not won America too many friends here. This shopkeeper lives less than 200 meters from where Bin Laden lived and died. He has more sympathy for the slain al Qaeda leader than foreigners, swearing at us, calling us pigs.
Are Muslims terrorists everywhere, he says? Actually, America is the biggest terrorist.
Others, though, are friendlier. This boy, Zarah (ph), approaches us with a story to tell. He and his sister, Asa (ph), befriended Bin Laden's youngest children and grandchildren. They say there were two boys, one girl, seven, four, and three years old. Zarah (ph) relives the cricket games he played with them. That's the white Bin Laden house you can see behind us. Contradicting reports that no outsiders breached the Bin Laden security, Zarah (ph) says he actually played inside the compound itself, getting a close look at a secret world.
Despite being neighbors, the brother and sister didn't know the Bin Laden children's names. The children told them their father was the family courier they called Nadeen. Only now do they know who their playmates really were. My grandmother asked in Pashtu, who is your father? Asa (ph) says, they said Nadeen. They always said Nadeen.
Through this brother and sister, we get to piece together daily life in the Bin Laden compound. Rather than speaking the local language, the Bin Ladens preferred Pashtu, the language of the Afghanistan- Pakistan border. They were a normal family, friendly, the children say. They never saw Osama Bin Laden. He remained well hidden. They did meet the Bin Laden wives.
There were two aunties standing in the house, Zarah (ph) says. They asked me, how was I? Where did I live? What did my mother do? I told them my mother was a housewife. They wore ordinary Pakistani clothes. Zarah (ph) says he noticed the women were different from other mothers in the neighborhood. They spoke in a strange language, he says, very poor Urdu, then I thought, probably, they were Arabic.
And the children were different, too. Even in this Muslim community, they were especially devout. They were very religious, Zarah (ph) says. Whenever I went there to play, they asked me to wait until afternoon prayer, then they would stop playing later for evening prayer. Asa (ph) shows us pet rabbits, a gift from the Bin Laden family. After everything, she says she misses her friends. They were young. They were beautiful. I really miss them. They were the only children we played with.
Zarah and Asa's father is a government official in the justice department, yet, Osama Bin Laden lived right next door, and no one knew. The Bin Ladens lived this way for years in the heart of Abbottabad, a military city in the mountains, two hours' drive north from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Now, the area is in lockdown. In recent days, it's been open for the CIA to collect material and information, but no such access for us. As we try to get close, this is what happens.
Hello.
Police say they're under instructions to smash our cameras. We get it back, but we won't be going any further.
GRANT (on-camera): Well, this is clearly as far as we're going to go. We're not going to get any closer to the Bin Laden compound. Here, life continues as normal. Beyond here, though, 200 meters or so away, is the Bin Laden house, still holding in so many of the secrets of his life here in Abbottabad.
OK. We're finished. Thank you very much. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And Stan Grant, we just saw you on tape. Stan Grant now joins us live. Were you surprised by the hostility because it's not like you haven't been there before?
GRANT: No, Caro. I really can't say that I was surprised. You know, the anti-western feeling, the anti-American feeling, is running so high here at the moment. They're angry about the way the raid was carried out, the fact that Pakistan government was not informed about this. People feel insulted that this took place on Pakistan's soil. So, yes, there is a lot of anger. A lot of feeling they want America out of the region, that they are getting a lot of the blow back from the terrorist attacks, and that they're the ones caught in the middle.
So, not surprised, but once again, a reminder of just how vehement this anti-American feeling is here at the moment. People simply don't want to know about us, simply don't want to talk to us. And we're abuse the and insulted wherever we go. As for the security around the Bin Laden compound, also, not a surprise. They do not want anyone getting close to it, Carol.
COSTELLO: Stan Grant reporting. Thanks so much.
In the world of sports, there are new revelations about wrongdoing within the Ohio State University football program under Coach Jim Tressel. As you know, Tressel resigned yesterday. He'd been caught up in a scandal surrounding several of his players selling memorabilia, something he knew about and didn't tell anyone for months.
Now a new "Sports Illustrated" investigation says as many as 28 players allegedly broke NCAA rules. "SI" senior writer, George Dohrmann, wrote about the investigation, which is the cover story in this week's "Sports Illustrated" issue. He joins us via Skype from San Francisco. welcome, George.
GEORGE DOHRMANN, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SENIOR WRITER: Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: So, we know about players trading memorabilia to get tattoos, free tattoos, but is there more to this scandal? DOHRMANN: Yes. We write -- one of the things we write is about players trading memorabilia, autographs for marijuana, including one player who bought a pound or traded for a pound of marijuana. We write about allegations -- we write allegations that Jim Tressel violated NCAA rules when he was an assistant coach at Ohio state in the 1980s, and then just the scope.
You know, the school has said there was a very narrow scope of violations whereas we write that it's been going on since 2002, and that, you know, there were many more players involved than the school says.
COSTELLO: Jim Tressel finally admitted that he knew about the trading of memorabilia for tattoos, but the rest of it, does he still claim he didn't know that stuff was going on?
DOHRMANN: Yes. It's sort of been a pattern throughout his career that things have gone wrong. The NCAA's gotten involved with his star players. Cheating has been found, but Jim Tressel just never knew. And, you know, he's maintained that he did not know about this stuff until tipped off, you know, in April of 2010.
You know, that may be true, but what we found was simply that it was so widespread that it's really hard to believe that people at Ohio state didn't know, or if they didn't know, clearly, they were choosing not to know.
COSTELLO: OK: Let's talk about the university itself because some people might say surely Ohio State University had to know that this kind of stuff was going on because it was so widespread.
DOHRMANN: Yes. You know, one of the more interesting things we write, I think, is we write about one player, Terrelle Pryor, who, our source said, took as much as 20 items, you know, from the equipment room and brought it to this tattoo parlor. We're talking about game worn pants, shoulder pads, jerseys, helmets. You know, easy question to ask, if I was Ohio State, is, you know, who's monitoring the equipment room?
How is it possible that this guy could take out this much stuff? And I think it's a good example of, you know, you can really raise a question about what Ohio State knew, what they were interested in knowing, and sort of the lack of control that the university showed.
COSTELLO: And quickly now, what could happen to the university itself?
DOHRMANN: The NCAA Committee on Infractions will hear their case in August and then announce their findings a few weeks later. You know, they're going to get hit with some penalties. Certainly, I would guess, a loss of scholarships over the next few years. If the NCAA finds that there was a lack of institutional control, we could see bans, postseason bans, things like that. I think that Ohio State believes it's just a Jim Tressel problem. Unfortunately, I think the NCAA is going to view it differently. COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see. And keep following this. It's an excellent article in "Sports Illustrated." You can also find it online. George Dohrmann, thank you so much for joining us live this morning.
I'm going to toss it over to Suzanne Malveaux, but I'll be back with you shortly to talk about Sarah Palin and ask people what they think she's up to.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Nobody knows yet.
COSTELLO: We've got a lot of comments already.
MALVEAUX: All right. Great. Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
