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Western Wildfires Raging; 28,000 Acres Burn In Washington State; Mosquito-Borne Danger Grows; New Hope For 1.7M Illegal Immigrants; Biden's "Back In Chains" Remark; Powerball Jackpot: Estimate $320M And Growing; Syria: Bomb On Diesel Truck Explodes; Four Million Baby Seats Recalled; Planes Collide At Airport; "A Bolder Strategy" For Homeowners; Drought Uncovers Wrecked Steamboats

Aired August 15, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM, the path to being in the U.S. legally begins today for many undocumented children. A new White House policy could help them avoid deportation for two years.

A summertime threat growing across the country. Many states now spraying for West Nile virus. The mosquito-spread virus has already killed more than two dozen nationwide and affected hundreds more.

And violence in Syria, a bomb explodes outside a hotel housing U.N. monitors and Syria civil was claimed dozens of more lives today. The NEWSROOM begins right now.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello this morning. We begin with major wildfires burning across several western states, the worst in Central Washington State.

Flames have swept across more than 40 square miles. Dozens of home are already lost and many more are in danger as residents race to evacuate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know where the fire is. You can't even see through the trees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an explosive dangerous situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's get the latest now on this rapidly developing story. Rick Price is a reporter for KIRO. That's our affiliate in the Seattle area. He's joining us, however right now from Ellensburg, Washington. So what's the situation?

RICK PRICE, KIRO TV: Well, Fredricka, I want to give you a sense how fast this fire has been ripping through some of these areas. As we were driving around overnight, we found this van and we're told.

The fire moved through here so fast, the driver who briefly parked this to get a closer look came back to find it burning. This happened in just the past couple of days.

Now take a look at your scene. This is what the fire looked like around 3:00 a.m. in the area called Hidden Valley. Though the road is closed we were able to get an escort in for a short trip in an area on Highway 97. This is a little road called Bettes Road and this is a valley that runs down quite far below.

The firefighters tell us the fire has been lying down overnight. It's been a little cooler, not quite so much wind and that gives them a bit of a break. Still it is actively burning and it is very smoky.

Now let's come back to live pictures. We thought we'd give you another look at what this fire has been doing. It ripped through here sometime in the last two days. The bushes that are around me right now are charcoal and the ground here is absolutely scoured.

Again, light fuel so the fire moves fast and the areas that are wooded, it establishes and burns much longer, but between the two of them, it's kind of a one-two punch.

We still don't know what the weather is going to do. It could spread this fire a lot more rapidly. So we're watching over the next few days.

WHITFIELD: Rick, I would imagine that resources are running very thin at this point especially since at any one time, more than 60 wildfires are taking place in, you know, the western half of the country.

So for the firefighters there in Washington State, are they receiving any help from outside from other states or even military involvement?

PRICE: Yes. Now, this was very difficult for the county here because in the first 48 hours of the fire or so, they were handling it more or less alone. But the state got involved yesterday at about 8:00 a.m.

And state resources have been pouring into this area. We've seen trucks from the Seattle area that had come over here under a state plan. We understand as well the state and National Guard is also mobilizing to help with this fire to make sure that there are plenty of people.

And the folks just don't get too exhausted as they're trying to fight the fire, but we have seen crews changing out throughout the night as they go in and out of this area that's close right now.

WHITFIELD: All right, all the best to those fighting this fire. Rick Price, thanks so much from our affiliate, KIRO.

All right, now let's turn to a growing health risk blanketing most of the United States. Take a look at this map of the lower 48. All of those states in the red are reporting activity of the West Nile virus.

Mosquitoes carry the disease and it can be as mild as flu-like symptoms or it can cause fatal swelling of the brain. Twenty eight people have died so far and more than half of those victims have been in Texas. It's on track for the worst year ever.

Public health officials are using planes and trucks as you see there to spray insecticide and kill the teaming mosquito population. Warm winters and heavy summer rains are being blamed for creating the widespread breeding grounds.

And at the bottom of the hour, we'll be talking to a doctor who is an expert on infectious diseases and what might be next in the battle against the West Nile virus.

All right, now let's focus on a story that is both politically charged yet steeped in raw human emotion. Immigration officials are bracing for a flood of people who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

Under a controversial new program launching today, young illegal immigrants can come forward and avoid being deported at least for now. It means hope, but also some risk, not just for the immigrants, but for President Barack Obama.

Critics say this is an election year stunt to win Latino votes. Zoraida Sambolin of CNN's "EARLY START" joining us now with a closer look about this, about the risks and why many people are also celebrating this new privilege.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CO-ANCHOR, CNN'S "EARLY START": All right, thank you, Fredricka. Well, today young illegal immigrants will begin their quest for a temporary reprieve from deportation. They can apply for a two-year deferral under program put in place by the Obama administration.

Immigration officials are expecting a flood of applications. We spoke with a student here in New York City about the reprieve and how it could change his life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN (voice-over): For much of Antonio Alarcon's life, his parents have been missing.

ANTONIO ALARCON, MEXICAN NATIOANL: I've gone most of my life without them.

SAMBOLIN: They left him in Mexico at the age of 6 to work illegally in the United States. They brought him across the desert in the United States at 11, but then they were forced to go back for good.

ALARCON: I think I have a better future and education in the United States.

SAMBOLIN: On this day he feels like he made the right decision. Now at 17, he's one of as many as 1.7 million illegal immigrants who today became eligible for a two-year break from prosecution that's according to the Pew Hispanic Research Center.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is not amnesty. This is not immunity. This is not a path to citizenship. It's not a permanent fix.

SAMBOLIN: The election year executive order helping the so- called Dream Act kids came even as the Obama administration deported record numbers of immigrants.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama has deported more people than any other president in this country's history.

SAMBOLIN: Even as he is under attacked from conservatives for being too soft.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because an executive order is, of course, the short term matter. It can be reversed by subsequent presidents.

SAMBOLIN: The new immigration rules also allow the students to apply for U.S. work permits.

DAN STEIN, FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION: We have profound unemployment levels, structural problems in the labor market and now all of a sudden right before the elect, he's claiming this newfound authority to allow virtually limitless numbers of people to come in.

SAMBOLIN (on camera): Why do you deserve to be here?

ALARCON: Well, I mean, I'm going to pay taxes next year so I think that I'm part of this country too.

SAMBOLIN: Once his papers are processed and approved, Alarcon can visit his parents in Mexico.

(on camera): What do you miss about your mom and your dad?

ALARCON: For my high school graduation they weren't here for me. I was part of the student government and they weren't here to see me be one of the best students in the city.

SAMBOLIN: The next time he sees them, he will be just starting college.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAMBOLIN: Well, to be eligible for the deferral, students must have entered the United States before they turned 16 and stayed here for at least five years. They must be studying or have the equivalent of a high school degree or military service.

Anyone convicted of a serious misdemeanor crime or who is over 30 is ineligible. Forms are available on the U.S. Government Citizenship and Immigration Service web site as well -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: And so apparently there's a cost, too, for each applicant.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, there's a cost to the applicant and there's a cost to the government. So here's how it breaks down. Immigration Services expecting over 1 million applications.

So the application fee is $465 per person and the government estimates that the cost to process those applications could add up to $585 million. So that means depending on how many people apply, taxpayers could see a net gain of $16 million or a loss of $101 million.

And Fredricka, there's one more thing that I wanted to point out. You know yesterday while I was at this not-for-profit organization here, you see a lot of hope in these kids' eyes, because they really want this to work.

But I talked to an immigration lawyer who said this is not without risk. So I'm cautioning these kids go to the not-for-profit organizations because they have people onboard to help them go through the process.

It's not easy application to understand or to fill out. The lawyer can best explain to these kids what, you know, the consequences are.

WHITFIELD: All right, Zoraida Sambolin, thanks so much. Appreciate that for bringing us that look.

All right, meanwhile, let's go to the campaign trail. More mudslinging there. Mitt Romney is pushing back this morning after Joe Biden pushed the envelope yesterday first.

Let's listen to what the vice president had to say to an audience in Virginia, which included African-Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He said in the first 100 days, he's going to let the big banks once again rewrite their own rules, unchain Wall Street. They're going to put you all back in chains.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Romney fired back this morning on CBS. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I think the American people had the same reaction, which is they listened to the vice president and they thought, again, an unfounded charge and a metaphor, which is not uplifting, not uniting, but one which once again is a divisive attack. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Romney also went on to say that he believes the president is running just to hang onto power.

All right, so here's the question for you. Everyone kind of fantasizes about what they would do. What would do you with $320 million?

There's lottery fever in the air. The current Powerball jackpot is the fourth highest in the game's history and the next drawing is tonight.

Joining me now, CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll getting an earful from people who are fantasizing about what they would do if they were to win.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that drawing happening tonight at 10:59 p.m. Have you thought it about, Fredricka? What would you do?

WHITFIELD: I am now.

CARROLL: With $320 million, would you still be sitting in that chair?

WHITFIELD: I would actually. I would continue to work.

CARROLL: Would you?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CARROLL: You know, I would too. I would keep my gig if they would still have me, but I would. I would keep my gig and I keep working. But, you know, we spoke to a lot of people about what they would do with the money, you know, if they won the $320 million.

We heard a whole host of things. Some people saying they'd pay off bills, pay off their mortgage, and you know, maybe help with college tuition, things like. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are so many great places to eat in New York. I would have to visit them all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd drive my gold golf cart out to get my mail and they'd say that's the guy who won the lottery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd buy a house for my kids and take a vacation. But I'd put a trust fund for all my grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So here at the 7-11 in Times Square, Fredricka, we've seen a steady stream of people coming in throughout the day buying a Powerball ticket.

However, they might have a chance if they either lived in Wisconsin or Indiana. Those are the two luckiest states. We've heard about that right, 46 winners in Indiana and 41 in Wisconsin.

But still, if you don't play, you can't win. So a lot are coming out, trying to cash in on their dreams.

WHITFIELD: That's right. I don't think you're discouraging anybody though even with that information. You know, having to be in those other states because people are still going to play and they hope, you know, that they'll get lucky because that's what it's all about, the stroke of luck, right?

CARROLL: Yes. I mean, look, the way this works is your chances are one in something like 32 of winning something. It might just be $4. The odds of winning -- the major jackpot I think is like 175 million to one.

But, you know, there's only that one a bit of a chance that you might be in there and you might be able to win. It's enough especially in this economy to bring people out and to buy a ticket.

WHITFIELD: I would imagine so. All right, thanks so much, Jason Carroll. Appreciate that. Maybe I'd feel a little generous. If I win a little something, knowing how hard you worked today in bringing this report, maybe I'll share. Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

All right, homeowners in crisis with millions facing the threat of losing their homes. How one U.S. senator hopes to get Washington involved in the fight against foreclosures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories. Rebels in Syria target a military compound near a hotel housing U.N. monitors in Damascus. The explosion happened after state-run TV said, quote, "an armed terrorist group attached a bomb to a diesel tanker." Three people were wounded in that blast.

And 4 million baby seats are now the subject of a recall. The seats are made by Bumbo International. At least 80 children have fallen out of the seats and were hurt in the past five years. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging parents to stop using the recalled chairs until a free repair kit is made available.

And it's fender bender for a couple of planes. They collided Tuesday afternoon at the Nashville International Airport. The larger plane was being towed when it broke free and then ran into a smaller plane. Thankfully no one was hurt.

And this morning some 13 million Americans are waking up in a home that is worth less than they owe. It's what many call being under water and economists say since the housing bubble burst nearly six years ago, more than 4 million have lost their homes.

While another 3.5 million are in the process of foreclosure or at risk of it due to delinquent mortgage payments. The Obama administration has tried several initiatives to help the nation's homeowners.

But my next guest says it's time for a, quote, "bolder strategy." Joining me right now from Portland, Oregon is Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley.

Senator, good to see you. Take me through this bolder strategy.

SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY (D), OREGON: Well, basically of those 13 million folks, only 170,000 who under water have been able to refinance, and so we have millions of families that not only haven't been able to use the current program, the HARP program.

But millions more who don't even qualify because they don't have a Fannie or Freddie loan so we need to make refinancing available to people who are current on their loan. They're good credit risks, but they can't get refinanced under the current mortgage rules.

WHITFIELD: So how do you go about making change because that is kind of the obstacle that so many face? They need some help. They're anticipating it's going to be a long road for them unless there are some kinds of reprieve, but then their bank says, no, not until you're in default by so many months.

MERKLEY: We take a page out of the Franklin Roosevelt program called the homeownership loan corporation. Basically you set up a trust, you issue mortgages at 2 percent above the cost of money. That margin pays for the defaults that occur.

And the defaults would be modest because these are families who have been making their payments through good times and bad times and so they would benefit enormously from that lower payment.

That makes them much lower risk for default. And in addition, they'd have a lot more spending money, this which is good for everything else going on in the economy.

So it's a win at every level and the great thing is that the money raised from the mortgages comes from the private bondholders. So private money creates the capital to invest and it returns a profit to the taxpayer.

WHITFIELD: So you spoke with some leading economists when formulating this plan and what did they have to say was actually the biggest barrier to trying to stop foreclosures?

MERKLEY: Well, the biggest barrier right now is that the only program available for under water families is to go through the HARP program. The HARP program is essentially set up so you have to go to your current mortgage holder who doesn't want to refinance your loan. Because if you're making payments at a high interest rate, they want to keep you tied into that high interest rate. So it's set up in a way that basically is at the will of the mortgage company rather than being something set up to basically address the needs of the homeowner.

So that's why by changing this and making people eligible who do not have Fannie and Freddie mortgages and those who do, they would be eligible as well and it would create a competition among mortgage originators so the family's not at the mercy of the bank, if you will.

WHITFIELD: All right, Senator Jeff Merkley, thanks for your time and perspective from Portland, Oregon this morning.

MERKLEY: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: A unique discovery in the Mississippi River, a wreckage from a steamboat that sank nearly 130 years ago. The drought in the Midwest is so bad it's actually drying up rivers and exposing relics like this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the drought that is sucking all the moisture out of the Midwest is also uncovering the wreckage of several sunken ships.

We take you now to St. Charles, Missouri where the Missouri River meets the Mississippi. Here's George Sells from our affiliate KTVI.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE SELLS, KTVI (voice-over): It's a river that holds plenty of secrets.

(on camera): A lot of mysteries in this river.

STEVE DASOVICH, LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY: It's amazing to see what happens when the water gets low.

SELLS: And with the Missouri achieving nearly record low points this summer, things have emerged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sunk over there.

SELLS: Little pieces of history, some known.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's a track back there.

SELLS: Some long forgotten.

DASOVICH: We don't know anything about this.

SELLS: This unnamed unknown wreck is one of at least five that hugs the shore of old St. Charles. But another of these mystery ships does have a story to tell.

From the air you can see it best, the hulking frame of the Montana, a wooden steamboat that was the largest to ever travel to the Missouri.

DASOVICH: It essentially would cover an entire football field.

SELLS: It hit a snag back in 1884, a tree underwater. It drew photographers and made big news at the time. It has been built with ballrooms to please the rich and a cargo capacity to fight the encroaching railroads. Now every once in a while when the river's down, it makes treasure seekers look to the water and wonder.

DASOVICH: If there's anything left on it, people obviously want to go and check it out. There's a few odds and ends in things that show up every once in a while, but with the nature of the river it might actually be from something else because stuff rolls on down the river.

SELLS: This little piece of river history has merited its own book, but it's a subject that rarely comes up unless the river is down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, you know water levels on the mighty Mississippi are reaching historic lows this year. Meteorologist Rob Marciano joining us now with more on this. So big mystery, kind of, drought.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The drought, yes, no rain, not a whole lot of snow and the record heat and all the rivers that feed into the Mississippi including the Missouri, the Ohio as well.

They are all in this area that has seen not only extreme but what we consider to be exceptional drought so that's creating some serious problems in places like Indiana, that entire state under 100 percent drought.

Sixty percent of it under 59 percent drought for that area. So let's talk more about the Mississippi, give you an idea what it looked like in April 29. It was completely flooded, near record floods last year.

When you compare that to this spring, I mean, nearly the entire river basin has dried up, so that includes some of the other rivers that feed into them. This is our correspondent Marty Savidge. He was just outside of Memphis last week.

That is the river bottom of the Mississippi, which would be over his head this time last year. So that gives you a good visual of just how low the Mississippi River is.

As far as the river gauges are concerned, here's where it is now at minus seven feet and as far as where it was last year was up over 50 feet. That's incredible stuff.

Then what we compare this drought to quite often is to the droughts of the 30s and the heat of the 30s. Back in 1937, February, we hit the record high level of the Mississippi. So we went from extreme drought in the '30s.

Maybe we'll turn things over like we did back then and start to see a little bit of rainfall, but we don't see that. It will get cooler, Fredricka, over the next few days, but not a whole lot of rainfall expected.

WHITFIELD: Mother nature, often cyclical. Thanks so much, Rob. Appreciate it.

All right, the West Nile virus spreading across the U.S. That's a big problem right now. More cases in more places. We'll talk to an expert about why there's so much activity and what you can do to protect yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, checking our "Top Stories" right now.

Dozens of wildfires are raging right now across many parts of the western United States. This fire in California has already burned 7,000 acres. And across the region, hundreds of thousands of acres have gone up in flames.

And today we're watching Facebook's stock. That's because the company's so-called lock-up agreement with many shareholders is over and they now have the option to sell off about 271 million shares for the first time. Facebook's stock had lost nearly half its value since its debut in May.

And we're getting some pretty amazing images from Mars. NASA is releasing this color-enhanced image of the Red Plant. It was taken by the Mars reconnaissance orbiter. That blue area that you see, sort of kind of blue, that is the site of the new Mars rover "Curiosity". NASA said "Curiosity" could go for a test -- there is that blue right there -- could go for a test drive sometime later on next week.

All right, the West Nile virus is spiking across the U.S. with more deaths and illnesses than last year. The mosquito-borne disease has been blamed for 28 deaths now nationwide. There have been nearly 700 reported cases, and this map shows the extent of the virus. All of the states in red have West Nile virus activity. More than half of the deaths have occurred in Texas.

Joining us to talk more about the disease, Dr. Jesse Jacob; Dr. Jacob is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Infectious Diseases division of Emory University School of Medicine. Good to see you, doctor.

DR. JESSE JACOB, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: Ok you hear West Nile virus and you know that it's carried by mosquitoes but there's a correlation between mosquitoes and birds as to why this is spreading.

JACOB: Right. So mosquitoes bite infected birds and then bite humans and that's how the disease is transmitted.

WHITFIELD: Why is it spreading? Why are we seeing such a huge number right now of cases?

JACOB: Well, it's a complicated question it probably has to do with an interplay of several different factors. One is weather conditions. So we've been experiencing drought and now it's summertime this is when mosquitoes breed and there's been a lot of rain. So the mosquitoes are now breeding in stagnant pools of water. And there have been changes over the last several years of how much West Nile we've been seeing in terms of disease.

WHITFIELD: All right.

I have a lot of mosquito bites just like everybody else who spends a little time outdoors but then how will I know whether I have been exposed to a mosquito that's carrying West Nile virus?

JACOB: The interesting thing is that most people don't know that they've been infected by the West Nile virus. About -- only about 20 percent of people who get infected with the West Nile develop symptoms and those symptoms can range from fever to swollen glands to fatigue and only a very small proportion develop disease that affects the nervous system.

WHITFIELD: And there's no real way for a layman to identify. You know they see a mosquito, they slap it. You can't really know whether this is one that's infected, can you?

JACOB: No, there's no way of knowing. And if you're having symptoms that last longer than a few days or you're concerned, you should see your physician.

WHITFIELD: Ok so flu-like symptoms, something that you might get a few days later for example?

JACOB: Right. It can happen as early as three days but it can be up to 14 days after a mosquito bite that you can develop symptoms.

WHITFIELD: And what do you do? How do you know whether, you know, maybe you're not getting a flu-like symptoms but you may have the other, I guess, extreme of that exposure? There may be some brain swelling? How would you know? What -- does it -- is it associated with headaches? How would you know that it's time to go to a doctor?

JACOB: Sure, so the red flag symptoms would be things like headaches that are more severe than usual, or lasting for a longer period of time, confusion, weakness, tingling. All of those would be symptoms that should prompt you to seek medical attention sooner than later.

WHITFIELD: Eradication, is that an option or is it just too widespread at this point? JACOB: Well, I think that there are -- a lot -- have been a lot of efforts at the local level to control mosquitoes since they are the -- they are the agent of transmitting between birds and humans. And so efforts that killing the mosquitoes will decrease transmission of West Nile virus, at least that's the theory.

WHITFIELD: And then, and I guess cooler weather is ultimately going to be the best remedy.

JACOB: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Jesse Jacob. Thanks so much for your time. I appreciate it.

JACOB: Thanks for talking to me.

WHITFIELD: All right, grab your gloves now. Lady Gaga and PETA are ready for round two. What ended their truce?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right.

Lady Gaga and PETA are back at it again despite the truce. Nischelle Turner is joining us again from Los Angeles with details. What happened?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN SHOWBIZ ENTERTAINMENT: Well, let's call them frenemies, ok? Because they seem to have this back-and-forth all the time, Fred. PETA is calling Lady Gaga a turncoat for wearing a fur coat. In an open letter, a PETA official -- excuse me in an open letter, a PETA official is chastising Gaga for publicly saying that she hates fur while wearing what looks like real fur coats in public.

Now on the post on the official PETA blog they say quote, "By wearing those dumb furs in the heat wave you're making yourself a target just like the mindless Kim Kardashian".

Now for her part, ouch, Gaga doesn't appreciate this flack. And she recently tweeted "For those press and such who were writing about whether or not my fur is actually real, please don't forget to credit the designer Hermes. Thank you. Love Gaga."

So she doesn't acknowledge if it's a fur coat or a faux fur not to mention who knows why she was wearing a fur coat on the hottest summer on record. But that's a whole another story. But a collection of her fans you know have reacted on Twitter for slamming -- and slammed her for wearing fur but considering that she's got more than 28 million Twitter followers, a number of people complaining really doesn't seem to be that significant.

So the moral to this story is Fred --

WHITFIELD: What?

TURNER: We don't know if the fur is real fur or faux fur. And it's just all a big faux fight.

WHITFIELD: Yes that's what I'm going to say. So if it were faux, if it were faux, then is everybody happy or no? It's the image of?

TURNER: I mean, basically it's -- it's -- right. It's the image of. And I guess because Gaga is keeping her lip zipped about whether it is, then PETA is upset about it. But you know if it's faux fur they usually don't have an issue. So --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: All right, all righty. Well, thanks so much. The fur is flying in many different directions. Nischelle Turner I appreciate it.

TURNER: Yes exactly. Thanks Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. All right, there are a few things about Hillary Clinton that you may not know uncovered by a travel editor who spent nine days with her on a trip to Asia. He shares details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Syrian rebels are claiming responsibility for a strike deep in the heart of the capital today. The bombing targeted a military complex in Damascus but was also near a hotel housing U.N. observes monitoring the civil war.

Our Nick Paton Walsh is following the story from Beirut. He is joining us right now by phone. So Nick, was there -- was this intent to strike that hotel or was this unintentional?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): According to the Syrian rebels, no, not at all. The U.N. were not their target and U.N. says they actually their staff was safe. One U.S. official I spoke to said in fact, actually have heard the blast went very close to the window of the room where she normally stays, but nobody harmed.

Yet it's not clear the U.N. were, of course, not their target. Saying that they aimed that blast at an HAM meeting in a defense ministry building in that particular area.

Of course, the blast in a secure place like that right in the heart of the regime's hotbed in the capital city is going to make many people in the regime less comfortable. Consider themselves vulnerable and, of course, evoke memories a month ago of a similar blast inside the National Security building which killed four very senior officials.

So again, today the Syrian rebel movement making their presence felt inside the capital a place which the Syrian government has to retain full control over and also seeing it as some sort of functional grip on the country as a whole and certainly I think we'll be seeing reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as the day has progressed. But further clashes in different neighborhoods around the capital. Hard to confirm independently but the rebels are claiming, oppositional forces are claiming they were able to use rocket- propelled grenades on buildings like the new Iranian Embassy and also the prime minister's office.

It's hard to confirm but reporters in the capital have heard further explosions as the day has progressed. So signs I think that the guerilla tactic used by the rebel movement are trying to make their presence felt inside the capital. Clashes reported over the weekend as well and a clear bid here by the Free Syrian Army who are trying so that they have some degree of free of movement within the capital, eroding that idea of a government still fully in control.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much from Beirut.

All right. Checking some of the other top stories right now.

A deadly outbreak of the West Nile virus killing 28 people in the U.S., 16 of the deaths are in Texas. Take a look at this map of the lower 48; the states in red showing West Nile activity. Mosquitoes carry the disease which can be as mild as flu-like symptoms or it can cause a fatal swelling of the brain.

With a jackpot of $320 million, Powerball fever is in the air and it's growing. 42 states plus D.C. participate in the lottery. The drawing is tonight.

And in Colorado, a horrifying car crash caught on camera -- amazing. The driver and the passenger actually survive. This happened during the Pike's Peak International Climb. It's a race to the summit and has strict requirements for cars including roll cages and harnesses.

And if you were in the media spotlight in the desert heat and meeting leaders, you would likely be dripping in sweat but not Hillary Clinton. It sounds like folklore but one travel magazine editor spent nine days with her on the trip to Asia in May. And you might remember during that fall out when a Chinese dissident fled to the U.S. embassy during her appearance at an economic conference.

Well, Kevin Doyle wrote "Hillary Clinton does not sweat literally. She does not even glow." This is in the latest issue of the "Conde Nast Traveler". It hits stands nationwide on Tuesday.

And joining us right now from New York, Kevin Doyle, the deputy editor of "Conde Nast Traveler". Good to see you.

KEVIN DOYLE, DEPUTY EDITOR, "CONDE NAST TRAVELER": Hi. Thanks. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So you spent nine days with her, traveled 19,000 miles. So pull back the curtain for us, you know. She's as cool as a cucumber, cool under pressure, unguarded? What? DOYLE: Well, you never do see her sweat. The truth is that she never stops. As I wrote in the story following the Secretary of State is like trying to follow a woman shot out of a cannon with rocket boosters trapped to her pant suit. Her days are scheduled really down in five-minute intervals.

And she just -- it's extraordinary to see her go. You know, she also -- she's unaffected really by time zone changes. She doesn't seem to be affected by jet lag. She can sleep on command. She doesn't take any sleeping medications.

And her, you know, her accommodations on the plane are pretty Spartan. She's basically in a 6 x 12-foot room and her bed is a pullout sofa. She doesn't have a shower. And she has the same kind of airplane toilet that all of us use.

WHITFIELD: So, in a thumbnail sketch, she is superwoman. That's what it sounds like.

DOYLE: You know, she's a pretty remarkable person, I have to say. You know, she just -- she does not tire. The interesting thing is that when she could have some spare time, some time to decompress, maybe to enjoy the 13-room suite she's staying in, in Delhi, she actually takes that time -- she uses her rock star status to draw the spotlight to causes that are important to her.

You know, those would be primarily women and children. So in Calcutta, for instance, we went to an event. Sex trafficking is a huge problem in Asia and we went to an event where women who had been sold into sex trafficking from as young as age 9 were being rehabilitated. And there were performances and, you know, women spoke to her about their experiences and the organizations involved, talked about their work.

And the extraordinary thing is that, you know, you really got to see the impact her presence had. It really -- it bolstered them. It validated them. The women lit up and they thanked her for being there. They said that they really -- you know, that it really made a difference in their lives. And you could see that it did. So she doesn't stop even when she can.

WHITFIELD: And it looks like she really has a knack for assimilating. I mean you talk about being able to relate to women but in male-dominated cultures and countries, she still seems to very at ease and relaxed. And it seems as though many of these heads of state in these male-dominated places really do treat her as an equal.

DOYLE: Oh, yes, she's treated as an equal. But the interesting thing is that I'm not sure -- I'm not sure that everyone is aware but, you know, she's very warm and she's actually charming, kind of disarming in person. And I think that that -- you know, I think that that helps her too.

So she has the respect of her foreign counter parts but, you know, she has a warmth that also works to her advantage. WHITFIELD: Kevin Doyle, this seems like a real, you know, eye- opening experience for you and real love fest. I think she ooh going to like the article in "Conde Nast Traveler", huh?

DOYLE: I hope so. Yes. I mean it was quite a journey.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DOYLE: It's 19,000 miles, nine days --

WHITFIELD: Wow.

DOYLE: -- and you know. But she sees travel the way we do, you know.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

DOYLE: Not just as beautiful beaches, although we love those, but a way to lift people out of poverty and a way to increase understanding between cultures, so we hope that gets through.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kevin -- awesome.

Kevin Doyle, thanks so much, "Conde Nast Traveler", we appreciate.

DOYLE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. For many young people, the path to living in the United States legally could begin by standing in line. But the possibility of avoiding deportation comes with an added risk.

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WHITFIELD: Today young illegal immigrants can start to try to work and live in the U.S. legally. This morning many of them are already in line to get a special form. You're looking at a live picture right now from Los Angeles. The shift in U.S. policy could help many avoid deportation for two years.

CNN senior Latin America affairs editor, Rafael Romo, back with me now. So let's talk about this program. To some it's controversial; to others they say it comes with great risk. They're not sure they want to jump in feet first just yet.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICA AFFAIRS EDITOR: And to be sure, Fred, it's not easy. Take a look at the actual form here. It is six pages long. Just to begin. The instructions for it to fill out this form is nine pages.

WHITFIELD: Just like an SAT.

ROMO: Yes, exactly. That's just to begin. You have to show that you've been in country before the age of 16. You have to show that you went to school, either a high school diploma or GED certificate or that you're enrolled in school. And the most important thing here is to demonstrate that you have not committed a serious crime. Even if you committed three misdemeanors, you're not eligible for this.

Those who served in the military also can qualify for this. So a lot of different questions.

WHITFIELD: And so while we saw the line in Los Angeles -- it looks very long. A lot of, you know, young people who are very eager about this. There are so many that are reticent and reluctant because they're afraid that this might ultimately target their families.

ROMO: Exactly. And just to clarify, the lines that are forming the consulates -- in this case it's Mexican consulate, because some of these kids have never had any way of identifying themselves and so immigration attorneys are advising them to get a passport from their country of origin. And that's what they're doing right now. And that's exactly right. This has a two-year expiration. If nothing happens, if Congress doesn't enact a law similar to the Dream Act before August 2014, then it's over. And nobody really knows what's going to happen to these kids. So that's a very difficult question.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So potentially something just to enjoy for those two years. Who knows what happens after that.

ROMO: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

ROMO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. It is a medical condition that can have dire effects. In our "Daily Dose", we'll give you a wake-up call on sleep apnea and why it should never be ignored.

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WHITFIELD: It could lead to high blood pressure and diabetes and can be life-threatening and it's often ignored. We're talking about sleep apnea, and it's the subject of our "Daily Dose".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED DOCTOR: Sleep apnea leads to repetitive intrusions into your sleep. Sleep apnea is very dangerous for people over the course of their life. Because of that awakening response and because of the drops in oxygen during the night it actually is one of the causes of hypertension. And we think it makes -- it has a major role to play in things like diabetes, type 2 diabetes, obesity.

Turns out it not only makes things difficult to remember but it makes it harder for you to learn. So children and adolescents and anyone who's trying to learn something new really need sleep in order to put down that memory.

If you have sleep apnea, one of the things you can do is get it treated. It's absolutely reversible. There are therapy devices called positive airway pressure devices that can add pressure to the upper airway and that reduces and eliminates upper airway closures caused by apnea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Much more of the "NEWSROOM" straight ahead. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks so much for joining us today. The "NEWSROOM" continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.