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NATO Protesters Charged with Domestic Terrorism; Blind Chinese Activist Heads to U.S.; Iran Threatens to Sue Google; HIV Homes Tests

Aired May 19, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with some sudden severe weather off the Carolina Coast that forecasters are saying could develop into a tropical storm.

Let's bring in Bonnie Schneider in the Severe Weather Center. This taking place just -- less than two weeks shy of hurricane season actually beginning?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Fredricka, and it's not that uncommon to see tropical activity flare up before hurricane season officially begins, which is on June 1st for this part of the world. So the area -- I highlighted it here -- is just off the coast of South Carolina. It's a pretty concentrated area but it has been rapidly developing. And that's why the National Hurricane Center is keeping a close eye on it.

Their latest advisory is this. That this could develop possibly into an area, a tropical depression, maybe even a tropical storm as early as Sunday. Possibly even later tonight as we see we've had a lot of convection, meaning thunderstorm activity developing with it and it's been enhanced here. You can see the areas here in red and yellow. Those are the higher topped thunderstorms.

So it's something to keep watch on and the first name of the season is Alberto. So we'll keep a close look at this already active season that hasn't officially begun for 2012.

WHITFIELD: And so this potentially could get a name if it were to intensify even before the season begins?

SCHNEIDER: If it becomes -- absolutely. If it becomes a tropical storm it would get a name.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted, Bonnie. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. On to Chicago now where domestic terrorism charges brought against three anti-NATO protesters have taken place. Chicago authorities announcing felony charges moments ago. This comes on a weekend when the U.S. is playing host to world leaders in two critical world summits. Let's get right to CNN's Paul Vercammen in Chicago.

So, Paul, what led to these arrests and these pretty severe charges there in Chicago?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Fredricka, according to authorities here, they basically infiltrated a group called the Black Bloc who are terrorists aimed at disrupting the NATO summit, in this case, that's what they say. After a while they determined that this group, these three men, were planning serious, serious destruction and mayhem in Chicago during the summit, including possible attacks on the headquarters, the campaign headquarters of Barack Obama, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's residence, and at least four police stations.

They said part of their plan -- again, these are what authorities are alleging -- was to disrupt the rest of the -- undermine the rest of the police officers' efforts while they carried out these attacks.

Now these three young men's defense attorneys say that these charges were basically a setup. That the infiltrators were the ones who bought Molotov cocktail-making equipment. So very serious charges right now. All of this just developing at the time, but what started as, well, perhaps these terrorists had beer-making equipment, now comes down to they have Molotov cocktails, other weapons, a mortar and more -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And what more do we know about these suspects?

VERCAMMEN: All three of them are from out of state. From Florida, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Apparently, according to prosecutors, they started their journey in Florida and they are all members of this Black Bloc group. And basically, they were in court today. They were all young men. They did not speak out. They've been held on $1.5 million bond, by the way. But their defense attorneys again saying, no, they came here peacefully. And the authorities saying no way. This wasn't just beer-making equipment. These guys were up to serious no good.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul Vercammen, thanks so much for that update coming out of Chicago.

Now on to Maryland. The place of the other summit, high-profile summit taking place. Camp David. President Obama is playing host to that second critical summit. The G-8. The big focus of this meeting, Europe's financial crisis and how it could impact the U.S. recovery.

Under pressure here, Germany, which backs austerity measures across the eurozone. President Obama is pushing for growth and less belt tightening.

And a dramatic development in the saga of the Chinese blind activist Chen Guangcheng. Chen -- seen here in a wheelchair at the Beijing airport -- and his family are scheduled to arrive in New York in matter of hours today. Chen ignited a political firestorm when he escaped house arrest in China and then sought refuge at the U.S. embassy. China Aid, a U.S. based human rights organization, says Chinese authorities told Chen and his family today they needed to pack up and leave right away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB FU, CHINA AID ASSOCIATION: And I talked with him for six times before he boarded his flight today. He sounded very upbeat and although he -- I can tell he's very concerned about his other extended family members that he will leave behind who are facing some real serious retribution by the local authorities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Chen ultimately received his passport and visa to leave China and come to the U.S. after an invitation was extended by New York University to be a fellow.

All right. A bombing outside a school in Brindisi, Italy, killing one teen and wounding at least six others. Take a look at the crime scene. There are children's notebooks, backpacks just lying around in the street there. Investigators say they found three gas cylinders near the school entrance that had been detonated with a remote control. Officials say it's not clear why the school was targeted, or who may have been targeted.

All right. Canadian police want to know why a jilted boyfriend strapped on explosives and blew up his ex-girlfriend's home. That happened earlier today, and then he also killed himself. The standoff with police lasted nearly seven hours in a small town northeast of Vancouver. Negotiators got him to release the girlfriend. The woman's new boyfriend and four children, well, they escaped earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOANNE JOANES, EYEWITNESS AND NEIGHBOR: And then I heard the children screaming. So I came to the front window and saw the two girls running out of the house, quite hysterical and crying. So I ran to the front door. And as I got to the front door another man I've not seen with a smaller child came running out screaming at the girls to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Police say the man apparently died in the explosion and fire, but they have not yet found his body.

All right. John Edwards heads back to a North Carolina courtroom Monday. He is waiting for a verdict in his campaign corruption trial. Jurors ended their first day of deliberations without reaching a decision.

The former presidential candidate is charged with illegally using nearly $1 million in campaign funds to hide his affair with Rielle Hunter. A special correspondent who's been covering the case says it won't be easy to prove.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DIANE DIMOND, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, NEWSWEEK/DAILY BEAST: I'll tell you, the prosecution has a very high bar to cross here. They have to prove after all is said and done that John Edwards knowingly and willfully broke the campaign finance law. Now, you know, they have to prove that he knew what the law was, and that, oh, well, I'm going to go ahead and break it anyway. That's pretty tough to prove.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Deliberations resume Monday.

The family of disco queen Donna Summer says the singer died of lung cancer, but they want to be clear. She was not a smoker. In a statement, a family representative said, "Numerous factors can be attributed to the cause of cancer in general, but any details regarding the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of Miss Summer's case remain between her family and a team of doctors.

Summer was 63 years old when she died Thursday.

The Iranian government is threatening to sue Google. It says the search giant is guilty of a mischievous act on its popular maps.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Iran is taking on one of the world's Internet giants. The Iranian government is threatening to sue Google over something that's not on its maps.

Josh Levs is here to explain.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: So something is missing in its view?

LEVS: Yes. The way that Iran sees it. Let me show you. Let's zoom right in. If you search for Persian Gulf on Google maps it takes you to the Persian Gulf area. I searched for it. That's why there's an A there. But it doesn't actually name this body of water, and it does name the bodies of water nearby like the Gulf of Amman down here. It doesn't name the Persian Gulf.

Now who cares? Why is this a big deal? Well, because Iran and actually a lot of Iranians around the world have been fighting for it to be called the Persian Gulf in as many places as possible. That is how a lot of us know it. But some call it the Arabian Gulf. In fact, the U.S. Navy's official rule is that it is to be called the Arabian Gulf.

And some experts in the region have been telling me that names connote ownership. Iran wants the world to see this critical waterway centrally as its waterway and Persian would refer to Iran. So on state-run media, here's something Iran said. They put this out just the other day. They said, "Toying with modern technologies and political issues is among the new measures by the enemies against Iran," then they went on to say that Google is being used as a plaything by enemies of Iran.

Now I spoke with Google and they told me they never labeled this in the first place and they're not saying why. They said they don't label some sites and they're not giving other examples. But an expert I talked to said what Google is doing is really smart because they're trying to avoid controversy.

Now, Fred, this is the latest step in a battle that's going on for decades. A lot of people don't realize how important this is to a lot of Iranians around the world. At one point Iran banned a British publication for just calling it the Gulf and at one point they launched protest against the Louvre in Paris for doing the same thing.

Now ultimately, this could blow over. It's not clear Iran could or would actually sue Google, but they are dangling that threat and bringing this debate back to the forefront all to make that point -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. This seems highly unusual.

LEVS: Right.

WHITFIELD: But have there been other battles just like this, whether it be against Google or other mapmakers about some sites that should or were removed from the maps?

LEVS: It's interesting what happens, because Google is so powerful. There was once a dispute involving where Google put the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It became a big deal between fighting organizations down there.

And outside of Google, there are similar wars of words in other places. One example is the Asian nation, a lot of the world calls Myanmar. In the United States our government doesn't. We call it Burma out of support for the democratic opposition. That's an official stance.

You have dispute in Israel. Some of the Israeli officials refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, those are biblical references to highlight Jewish history on the land and sometimes to suggest it should be part of modern Israel.

And one more interesting one. And the Falklands, a lot of the Latin America called those islands the Malvinas because Argentina is continuing to press its claim on that land.

I got a lot more information up for you in my pages. That's Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. And you can weigh in on it as well.

So, Fred, we'll see what happens with this Google debate.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: In the meantime, Iran has brought it back to the forefront.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's fascinating stuff. LEVS: OK. Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for brining it to us.

LEVS: You got it.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it, Josh.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. When a Kentucky K-Mart store was going out of business, one man bought everything on the shelves, and then gave it all away. They call him the summer Santa.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Christmas came early in Clark County, Kentucky. A Rankin Paynter heard the local K-Mart store was closing. So he bought everything on the shelves. $200,000 worth of stuff and then he gave it all away to the needy. They call him the summer Santa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANKIN PAYNTER, BUSINESSMAN: It will mean the needy this fall will not go cold. And they won't go hungry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: His shopping spree tied up four registers for 6.5 hours. Paynter says he grew up poor and he wants to give back and help others, and he just did.

All right, HIV testing in your own home. A new kit could be coming to a store near you soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In today's "Health For Her" key developments this week in the fight against HIV. An advisory panel that works with the FDA has preapproved an in-home oral HIV test. It's called OraQuick. And if approved by the FDA this test would be available to consumers over the counter.

Dr. Sujatha Reddy is a physician at Premiere Care for Women in Atlanta.

So, Doctor, good to see you. This is pretty extraordinary. Why is it such an incredible breakthrough that this would get pre-approval? It doesn't have complete red -- or a green light from the FDA, but close?

DR. SUJATHA REDDY, PREMIER CARE FOR WOMEN: It is. The Advisory Committee recommended that the FDA approve this test. And why this is exciting is about 20 percent, or about almost a quarter million people of the 1.2 million people in the U.S., who have HIV don't know they have it, and by not knowing, that's how we think most new cases of HIV are being spread. So being able to get tested in the privacy of your own home is hopefully going to increase testing and that's awesome.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And how does it work?

REDDY: It's a very simple test. It's exactly the same test that been used in doctors' offices and hospitals since 2002. It's very accurate. And all you do is you take this thing and you swab it on the inside of your upper gum, inside of your lower gum. You place it in this solution. And just like a pregnancy test, which a lot of people read at home, you're going to see two lines for positive, one line for negative, in about 20 minutes. It's very fast, it's very accurate and very easy.

WHITFIELD: So you already said that a lot of doctors feel like it's accurate just like the test that you would take, or blood test or even saliva test that you'd take at your doctor's office. However, you know, a lot of folks might be reluctant to take the next step. While they may -- be reluctant to go into a doctor's office, they can do this at home, but then it is incumbent upon you if you get a positive test to take it to the next level. You do have to reach out for assistance?

REDDY: Definitely. If you get a positive test, there's a 24-hour hotline a company has that you have counselors that can talk to you. But for sure, you need to go to your health care provider for a confirmatory test and also for treatment. Because one thing is, if you diagnose this early, your odds of surviving this are much greater. So really it's incumbent on the person. It's in their best interests to go get treatment. Also then you can take precautions to decrease the risk of transferring it to others.

WHITFIELD: And would it be recommended if you -- when you get that kit, you know, if indeed it hits the market, that you do it more than once? Because what if, you know, that initial positive or negative is not right?

REDDY: You are absolutely correct. That's a really important point. There's a window that's known there when you get exposed to HIV. So someone got exposed yesterday. You're correct. Their test might be negative today but it can be positive within three to six months. So it's very important if you think you could be exposed to repeat the test at timely intervals.

The CDC does recommend that adults 13 to 64 get a test at some point and there are high risk groups, they recommend the test on a more regular basis. So really knowing when to get tested is going to be key.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And then once you take this test, I mean, counseling it seems like it really ought to be pretty imperative because to hear that you did test positive, even if you did this in the comfort of your own home, that a, you know, tough pill to swallow.

REDDY: Counseling is going to be key. And the company has a hotline. There are community agencies that have counseling available. So definitely, if you get a positive test result, it's -- you know, the thing to do is find out what is your next step, which is going to be go see your health care provider for a confirmatory test and to get started on treatment early, because that's the key to survival.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And when do we think this might be on the market or available?

(LAUGHTER)

REDDY: It's a good question. The FDA usually takes their advisory committee's advice. So it should get passed, should get approval. The cost is going to be anywhere around $60. We talked to the company and got some information from them. And they're very excited about this obviously. They think it is going to help a lot of people.

I did a little homework, too. And you can walk into any lab test place and get a blood draw for about $49. So the test is comparably priced. It's going to be available at retail pharmacies.

WHITFIELD: It's just -- the difference is, for some people, they feel more comfortable knowing they can do it at home as opposed to going to a doctor's office and sometimes being rather public about what they're about to embark on.

REDDY: The privacy in your home. The idea is to encourage more people to get tested because that's going to be how we're going to stop the spread of HIV.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Sujatha Reddy, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

REDDY: Nice to be with you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Space may be the final frontier, but getting there can be rather tricky. Why the dawn of a new era of commercial space flight won't be today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: SpaceX aborted its first attempt to launch a private spacecraft to the International Space Station.

SpaceX and NASA officials say chamber pressure in engine five was high causing the shut down. The mission is designed to establish whether SpaceX can deliver cargo to the ISS. The next launch attempt could come as soon as Tuesday at Cape Canaveral.

All right. You know Prince Harry is the third in line to the throne, but he's also a soldier and he's been his brother's wingman. Our special, "The Fighting Prince" has a lot more details that's coming up in a few minutes.

And then 3:00 Eastern Time, we hope you'll join us. She had to fight for her right to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. But a transgender contestant, this one right there, says she is in it to win it. I'll see you at 3:00 Eastern Time. Right now our special with Prince Harry.

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