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NATO Chopper Crashes In Afghanistan; Two L.A. Deputies Killed, Two Others Wounded; Ryan Hits The Trail; Arizona Governor's New Immigration Controversy; GOP Pounces On Biden For "Chains" Gaffe; 70 Plus Wildfires Raging In The West; Drinking Water Warning In Louisiana; New Ad Slams Obama for Bin Laden Leaks; Police Can Track Cell Phones; Violent Fighting in Syria; West Nile Virus Cases Soaring; Singer Accuses Obama of Colorado Massacre

Aired August 16, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Carol Costello is off this morning.

We're following breaking news out of Afghanistan this morning. A NATO Blackhawk helicopter crashed killing at least 11 people. Seven of them are U.S. service members. This was in southern Afghanistan just northeast of Kandahar.

Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon with more on this. This Blackhawk go down, was it shot down?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, that's what the Taliban is claiming, that they shot it down. But they have made claims like that before that turned out not to be true.

We know that this was a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol in addition to the seven American troops that were killed in the crash. Three Afghan troops and their interpreter were also killed, as well.

Again, the Taliban has made claims of shooting down American aircraft. Not to say they have not done so in the past, back in August of last year, they shot down a Chinook, a larger transport aircraft.

Thirty eight people were killed in that crash including 25 Special Forces. The area where this crash happened is north of Kandahar City, actually embedded with the U.S. Army there just a couple of years ago.

It's an insurgent hotbed and also one of the key supply routes through Southern Afghanistan -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks so much from the Pentagon.

We have other breaking news that we're continuing to follow. This state side in Louisiana, two people are now in custody near New Orleans following a deadly shooting involving four sheriff's deputies. Two of the deputies were killed. The shooting happened at a steel plant in Laplace, Louisiana. Just outside of New Orleans. Officials say those deputies were on traffic duty when the incident occurred around 5:00 a.m. local time.

Melissa Matey with the Louisiana State Police joining us now by phone. Melissa, first of all, we want to extend our condolences to those two deputies that were shot and killed, two others who were shot and injured. You have two in custody. But apparently, you're still looking for one more suspect?

MELISSA MATEY, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE (via telephone): That is correct. We are looking for one more suspect. We have numerous SWAT elements that are in St. John the Baptist Parish right now looking for that third suspect.

WHITFIELD: So can you tell me what you believe happened? Apparently, these four deputies were on traffic patrol near the Bayou steel plant. They were in the parking lot, is that correct, off Highway 3217 and then what?

MATEY: That is correct. There were two deputies that were in an off- duty capacity. Those two deputies were involved. There were two on- duty deputies that were also involved.

We're still in the preliminary stages of the investigation. The Louisiana State Police is handling the shooting investigation. And again, we're in the early stages of everything.

WHITFIELD: Earlier, it was reported that the deputies were ambushed. Is that the language in the activity you are sticking with?

MATEY: Right now we're going to say that they had an encounter. We're not exactly sure if they were ambushed. Again, we're still in the preliminary stages of the investigation.

We just have crime scene that is getting to this location right now to start processing the scene to kind of help us out and tell us a little bit more about how exactly this occurred.

WHITFIELD: So this happening during a traffic stop, does that mean you have a host of witnesses?

MATEY: At this point in time, I don't know how many witnesses that we have. I can't even tell you that it was involving a traffic stop. I can say that it was an encounter at this point in time. Again, we're very in the early stages of the investigation.

WHITFIELD: All right, Melissa Matey of Louisiana State Police, thanks so much for that information. Keep us posted as your investigation unwinds. Thank you.

All right, let's talk U.S. politics now. Paul Ryan continuing his solo turn on the campaign trail. He's about to speak at an event in Ohio right there, live pictures at New Canton.

It had been a very busy few days for Ryan since becoming Mitt Romney's running mate. The announcement taking place this past weekend beginning Monday at the Iowa State Fair and then it was on to Colorado, Ryan is finishing up a two-day stint in Ohio before heading to Virginia.

Then he rounds out his first week this weekend in the swing state of Florida. Let's bring in CNN political director, Mark Preston. All right, so, Mark, Ryan is criss-crossing the country. What is the significance of these stops, particularly solo?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, certainly, you know, I think we heard Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan say it in their first couple of interviews when he was first announced as the running mate is that it's no longer two on one, it is now two on two.

You know, for the longest time now we had Mitt Romney out there by himself. He wasn't able to raise money and campaign. Meanwhile, you had President Obama and Vice President Biden who were able to do that.

So what it allows you to do is really split up your resources. And as you said, he has been crisscrossing the country not only at these campaign stops, but he's also been helping to raise money, which is going to be crucial as we head into November to pay for those advertisements in the very key battleground states.

WHITFIELD: So, Ryan is the new name on the ticket. I wonder, you know, just listening to Mitt Romney trying to defend it, it's my policy, you know, that I'm backing.

Is he being also put in a position where there are kind of these duelling approaches to whether it be the budget plan or whether it be other issues that the Romney camp wants to put out front, but perhaps Ryan is getting attention on a different direction on those same issues?

PRESTON: Well, I think when we heard that Ryan was selected as the running mate, the campaign really changed from this idea that it was going to be entirely a referendum on President Obama and it was now going to be also about Paul Ryan's budget plan, which included very tough cuts here in Washington, D.C.

As well as changing the whole way of Medicare is done here in the United States. So now it has become a referendum in some ways on Paul Ryan's idea of Medicare.

Now, Mitt Romney has been very careful to say that, in fact, it is going to be his policies that are put forward, not Paul Ryan's. Paul Ryan has said the same thing.

But it has put a little bit of a damper on the announcement that Paul Ryan was joining the ticket because now they have to answer questions on that -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, one instant while the Romney said, you know, it's my policy, but that we share a vision. So it sounds like it's going to be a very interesting, you know, I guess, avenue of dialogue that will continue leading up to November. Mark Preston, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

PRESTON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, President Obama's program to help young illegal immigrants avoid deportation is facing a new hurdle. That program is now being challenged by Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer.

The governor is issuing her own executive order stopping Arizona from giving these undocumented children, teens and young adult, drivers' licenses and public benefits.

Eight thousand people could be affected by her ruling. As you can imagine, not everyone is happy about that decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What Jan Brewer did today, it's bullying. She's bullying the voiceless. She's bullying children that can't defend themselves and she's bullying immigrant youth that don't have a voice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a Hispanic, as an undocumented person, I don't -- I don't know what else to do. I feel I live in fear. My life -- I can't go forward or backwards. I just -- we need an opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Brewer claims the president's program will cost the state money. The program allows undocumented young people who apply to get a work permit and not be deported while their application is under review.

President Barack Obama is now standing behind Joe Biden after his latest campaign trail gaffe. Biden told an audience Romney's bank deregulation plan will, quote, "put you all back in chains," end quote.

Republicans used it as an opportunity to slam the vice president for what some consider a poor choice of words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

SARAH PALIN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: There weren't enough groans and boos when he said such a disgusting comment, really especially to a demographic there that was -- includes about 48 percent of the community being black Americans.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I've never seen a vice president that has made as many mistakes, said as many stupid things. I mean, there's a real fear if God forbid he ever had to be entrusted with the presidency. Whether he has the mental capacity to handle it, this guy just isn't bright. He's never been bright. He isn't bright. People just think, well, he talks too much actually, he's just not very smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Obama campaign stands behind Biden's comments and insists it was about bank deregulation, not about slavery. Obama addressed the controversy telling "Entertainment Tonight."

Quote, "we don't spend a lot of time worrying about the chatter and the noise and this and that. The country isn't as divided with gaffes or some stray remarks as Washington is. Most folks know that's just sort of a WWF wrestling part of politics. It doesn't mean anything. Just fills up a lot of airtime," end quote.

That is from the president telling "Entertainment Tonight."

All right, now, to an emergency going on right now in the western U.S., a busy fire season is turning even uglier this morning. Wildfires are sweeping across 13 states, from California to the Mississippi River.

The situation is so urgent even U.S. military troops are being deployed to join in the fight. Let's get the latest now on this rapidly developing story.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in Central Washington in the town of Cle Elum where some 60 homes have already burned. Is that right?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's been a frantic couple of days, Fredricka. Sparks flew at a construction site Monday night. The flames were blown and driven by winds, 30, 40 miles an hour, which is isn't a typical around here.

This is an area just east of the Cascade Mountains where there's little a gap where the winds just shoot right through almost every day during the summertime. For that reason they fear fire because this is what can happen.

The pictures are frightening and certainly heartbreaking when you see this many homes go up in flames. Many of which are primary home, both in town and outskirts of town as well and because of that some farmland as well. Livestock and other animals had to flee.

We've got 450 families that have been evacuated. No word on when they will be able to go back in. A little bit of a bright spot. The winds died down yesterday. So they got up to 25 percent containment on this 23,000-acre fire.

The heat is building. This is a wide spread problem across the west, not just this state but other states, including California, where a number of large fires from San Diego through near San Bernardino, up through Lake County, up north of Napa.

But that heat now building into the northeast. Take a look at some of these numbers as far as what kind of heat warnings we have for Western Oregon and Western Washington.

These are areas typically have high temperature, 75, 80 degrees. Today and tomorrow they will be up near 100 degrees. And now we'll drop levels of humidity in the fire zone as well.

So firefighters are going to have to contend with that today and tomorrow and over the weekend, a threat foreseeing some thunderstorms that could cause some erratic winds and maybe spark more on the way of fires.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, hopefully those, you know, rain showers would not bring lightning that would spark more problems. All right, thanks so much, Rob Marciano in Cle Elum, Washington.

All right, new information on the shooting at the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. We'll have a live update.

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WHITFIELD: All right, checking our top stories we're following breaking news out of Afghanistan this morning. A NATO Blackhawk helicopter similar to the one seen here crashed, killing at least 11 people. Seven are U.S. service members. Three are Afghan troops and one is an interpreter. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

And there's something in the water, that's what Louisiana officials are warning residents in southeast parts of that state. Dry weather has dropped river levels so low that there's a danger of too much saltwater mixing in with the freshwater.

Amazing rescue caught on camera. On Sunday, this young boy's head was stuck in a guardrail hole in China. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to help expand the hole while another firefighter protected the boy from falling debris. The boy was freed and unhurt and reunited with a relative even though teary-eyed there.

All right, back in this country. D.C. police this morning are calling a wounded security guard a hero. He subdued a gunman who opened fire at the Family Research Council.

The 28-year-old Floyd Lee Corkins is charged in the shooting at the conservative policy group's headquarters. Police are looking into whether Corkins may have had a political motive.

CNN's Sandra Endo is outside the council's offices in Washington. What more do we know about how this unfolded and the motive?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are learning more, Fredricka, about this incident yesterday and we know from the Family Research Council that they have confirmed the identity of the victim.

The security guard who was wounded in yesterday's shooting, they confirm his identity as Leo Johnson. We are also learning more about this suspect in this case, 28-year-old Floyd Corkins.

We know that he graduated with a masters degree in 2006 from George Mason College of Education and Human Development. Law enforcement sources say they retrieved a .9-millimeter handgun they believed was purchased legally by Corkins at a nearby Virginia gun shop fairly recently.

We also know they retrieved a backpack that they believe belongs to the suspect and have searched his vehicle that was parked at a nearby metro station in Virginia.

Of course, the investigation is ongoing, but we are learning more about this suspect, including that he volunteered at the D.C. Center of the LGBT Community and we know from the executive director in a statement that they are outraged that somebody who volunteered at their center could perform such an act of violence -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Sandra, there at the scene now, is it back to business, people reporting back to work, or what is happening there?

ENDO: Yes, we have seen employees come in reporting to work. Earlier this morning when we got here, there was still blood splatter we could see visibly in the lobby. That has since been cleaned up.

And earlier this morning, we also saw an armed security guard wearing a bullet proof vest enter the building. As of right now, police have not confirmed or given us details as to if Johnson was actually armed yesterday or not.

But we did speak to his friend who works at a nearby building who knows Johnson. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I met him through going to get my breakfast in the morning time. He's a very friendly guy. He goes by Leo. For the last maybe year or two, we would meet and go have coffee and just, you know, talk generally, just about life or anything, but he was a very -- he is a very nice person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: And his friend, Miss Brooks, says she has never seen him armed with a gun. Of course, police hailing the security guard a hero for wrestling the suspect to the floor -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sandra Endo, thanks so much in Washington.

Overseas, another deadly day in Syria, more violent attacks by rebels. Regime forces with no signs of the situation getting any better.

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WHITFIELD: Facebook's Wall Street start hasn't worked out the way Mark Zuckerberg perhaps planned. Today looks like the most painful one yet for the company's CEO. Flashback to Facebook's IPO, May 18th, remember that? High hopes with that debut.

But then since then its stock value has dropped by nearly half. Today it really could tank. CNN's Maribel Aber joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange.

Maribel, explain what's happening with the Facebook shares. Why is it continuing to go down?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka. Today officially ends one of Facebook's lock-up periods. So what does that mean? It means investors who got in on the IPO can now sell their shares.

People like COO Sheryl Sandberg and the big investment banks like Goldman Sachs. That's what we're talking about here. The lock-up period is normal for any company that goes public. It requires some shareholders to hang on to their shares, usually between 90 or -- 100- day lock-up period.

The goal is pretty simple, it's stability. It prevents the market from being flooded with shares immediately after the IPO. In most cases, the stock would tank since millions of shares would flood the market all at one time.

Instead the lock-up period helps to boost the company's value. Today, more than 270 million shares are free to be sold. Facebook has a tier block system. So this will happen a few more times this year. Facebook is down about 45 percent since its IPO. Shares right now are down about 6.5 percent -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow. So down nearly 7 percent today alone, then. You know, how can a company survive or is it an issue of a company surviving, the CEO, you know, being able to rise above what's taking place here?

ABER: The thing is the drop that we're seeing -- right now it's actually pretty normal. Shares of let's say, LinkedIn and Groupon, they also sold off when their lock-up was over. So it's not necessarily a huge concern.

Some investors are confident. There's an analyst at SMT Capital, he actually raised his rating on Facebook to a buy. And billionaire George Soros, he recently bought in Facebook thinking its profit reported strong revenue growth last quarter.

But others here, Fredricka, they are worried about Facebook's business model. Obviously user growth is slowing because frankly everyone is already on Facebook.

And, of course, there are those ongoing worries about how it's going to make money off of mobile users. Fredricka, Facebook has now turned into any other stock. Investors just want to know how is it going to make money.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, Maribel, thanks so much. Appreciate that. I know you will be watching it all day long. We're really just getting started today, aren't we?

All right, court rules police can now track the GPS signal on your cellphone and that's without a warrant. We'll talk with a legal expert about what this means for you.

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WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now. Seven U.S. troops are dead after their Blackhawk helicopter crashed this morning in Southern Afghanistan. Three Afghan soldiers and a civilian interpreter were also killed. The Taliban says it shot down the chopper because -- but the cause of the crash is still unknown.

And back here at home, two suspects are in custody but a manhunt continues following a deadly shooting involving four sheriffs deputies near New Orleans. It happened at a steel plant in Laplace, Louisiana.

Two deputies were killed in the incident. Moments ago, I spoke with Louisiana State Police Trooper Melissa Matey about where things stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATEY: Looking for one more suspect. We have numerous SWAT elements that are in St. John the Baptist Parish right now looking for that third suspect.

In fact, there were two deputies that were in an off-duty capacity. Those two deputies were involved. There were two on-duty deputies also involved. We're still in the preliminary stages of the investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Two other deputies are hospitalized.

And more than 70 large wildfires are burning in 13 states out west, from California to the Mississippi. And blistering hot temperatures and hilly terrain are hampering the efforts. Fire crews are calling in re-enforcements now. U.S. military flight crews will join the fight by air.

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is facing a new opponent, former Navy SEALs. A 22-minute long web video paid for by the Group Special Operations Opsec Education Fund accuses Obama of leaking sensitive military information and putting the lives of U.S. troops at risk.

CNN's Brian Todd joining us now from Washington. So, Brian, what else do we know about this ad.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, it kind of harkens back to 2004. You know, many of us remember that swift boat campaign in 2004 which blistered John Kerry standing as a Vietnam War hero. Well now many are wondering whether President Obama is being swift boated over the bin Laden raid and, of course, the controversy over the intelligence leaks this year.

The President has mentioned the bin Laden raid at several campaign events this year. He's taken out a political ad featuring Bill Clinton who praises his courage for ordering the raid. Well now, a group of former Navy Seals, Special Forces soldiers, other military veterans and intelligence officers is on the offensive. The group is called OPSEC for Operational Security and it just unveiled a 22-minute video online, slamming the Obama administration for allowing classified information about the bin Laden raid and other top security operations to become public. And it blasts the President for taking credit for the raid.

Here's a clip of former Navy Seal Ben Smith in the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN SMITH, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden. America did. The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, the Obama campaign is responding strongly to this video, saying the Republicans are resorting to swift boat tactics here. The Obama team is again strongly denying taking part in any leaks.

And on the charge that the President is taking too much credit for the bin Laden raid, the Obama campaign points out that the commander of the raid, Admiral William McRaven recently told our Wolf Blitzer that the President deserved credit. Here's a quote from McRaven "At the end of the day", he said, "make no mistake about it, it was the President of the United States that shouldered the burden for this operation, that made the hard decisions" -- Fredricka.

So the Obama team pushing back hard on this video.

WHITFIELD: So Brian, what more do we know about the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund? What kind of political motivation or even partisan ties might there be, if any?

TODD: Well, that's the big question here. You know the group says it's non-partisan but we've checked into that. The group's president, a former SEAL named Scott Taylor who is in the video has run as a Republican for Congress in Virginia. The group spokesman has worked in a similar capacity for the Bush administration.

Others in the video have told us they're Republicans. And we found out also that OPSEC shares an office space with two Republican political consulting firms in Alexandria, Virginia. So there are at least some implications -- strong implication that they are tied with the Republicans.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Todd, thanks so much for bringing us that report. I appreciate that.

All right, now, continuing on the campaign trail. Paul Ryan, now the Republican vice presidential pick, he is continuing to stump this week, this time making a stop in North Canton, Ohio. We're going to continue to monitor his comments there with a pretty sizable crowd. And of course, we'll bring that to you as we learn it. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A cell phone is a must have device these days you likely have one. So you need to hear this. A federal appeals court says police can now track the GPS signal on your phone without a warrant. It's a ruling that could have long-lasting implications.

Paul Callan is a CNN legal contributor. So Paul, this is an important privacy case, but does it apply to everybody?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think it does. And you know, the courts are struggling with this whole thing that technology is causing in the United States. Everybody has got a smart phone and a computer. And these devices give law enforcement authorities an ability to track where American citizens go, what kinds of things they're doing, what movies they're going to, that sort of thing.

And the question is, when you're looking for a bad guy and this access is easily available, do you have to go and get a search warrant or can you just rely on public information? And this case is about throw- away, pay as you go cell phones that people buy in department stores and what not. And no warrant was used. And the cops used it to track a drug dealer. And they caught him. So that's the background.

WHITFIELD: So is this likely -- is this likely to be a U.S. Supreme Court kind of case?

CALLAN: Oh, I think it's definitely going to be a U.S. Supreme Court case because the issue here is, you know, did the founding fathers when they drafted the Constitution word it in such a way that it would include something like this? You know, when the Constitution said you have the right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure, they were talking about houses and papers at that time.

Now the question is if you have a cell phone and the cell phone will tell the police where you travel to, is it an unreasonable search and seizure? It really hasn't been decided in any clear way. And the Supreme Court kind of waits until the lower courts decide these cases and then they make a decision for the whole country. This is a limited decision that applies only to a few states in the United States.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And so far you said you know this -- this kind of case also applies to those who are using kind of the throw away, pay -- pay as you go kind of phone. But clearly the law wouldn't protect just those kinds of phones. It really would mean that any kind of cell phone, if the argument is being made, any kind of cell phone could be used as a tracking device, that means if you have an Android, an iPhone, a Blackberry, et cetera, then everyone would be subject to this kind of search.

CALLAN: Yes. Everyone would be. It doesn't matter that's a throw away phone if you have GPS tracking capability in your phone. And by the way, virtually every phone today does. All the smart phones do. And the police are investigating you. The question is do they need a search warrant to get this information from the phone companies. Now, privacy advocates say, of course they do, that this is a gross invasion of personal privacy. And by the way, the implication -- a lot of people say, well, you know, I don't really care what the police do. I'm not doing anything wrong.

But if you think about how it could play out, let's say you have a device that gives you the location of a local movie theater. We all have one, Fandango does it, other ones do that and the police later on say, well, you know, statistically, people who go to a lot of horror movies are more inclined to commit violent crimes.

So let's see who saw a local horror movie because we're investigating a violent crime. Well, all of a sudden now your television or your movie viewing habits could make you the subject of a criminal investigation. So that's why these things affect ordinary people, not just the bad guys.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CALLAN: And the courts have to look carefully as to whether warrants are required under the circumstances.

WHITFIELD: Paul Callan, thanks so much and for that food for thought. Ok, we're all thinking now.

CALLAN: Ok thank you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right.

CALLAN: All right.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're also getting a new look at the fighting going on in Syria right now. This YouTube video comes from Homs, a rebel group posting this video showing their attempt to stop regime forces from entering their neighborhood. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video.

Meanwhile, the U.N. says the need for aid is growing. As many as two and a half million people need some sort of assistance. So the fighting in Syria is not just limited to the streets. Hospitals are also being hit hard.

Ben Wedeman shows us. But first, we have to warn you that this video is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For almost an hour a Syrian government jet bombed and strafed the area twice striking the clearly marked hospital. Out of view, rebels fired back fruitlessly at the plane.

In an entrance way across the street from the hospital, the blood is still wet where Mohammed wounded took cover. Nerves still on edge of the possibility the plane will strike yet again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN international correspondent Ben Wedeman joining me now from northern Syria. Dangerous for the people who live there, dangerous for those of you who are reporting on this conflict as well. What more can you tell us about the conflict and whether there is any end whatsoever in sight.

WEDEMAN: Now, there appears to be no end in sight, Fredricka. What we've seen in Aleppo is the government seems to have changed tactics. A week ago it looked like it was trying to gain -- regain control of Aleppo neighborhood by neighborhood.

Now they've switched, it seems that they are just randomly shelling all parts of the city controlled by the rebels. I've seen I don't know how many houses that were completely inhabited by civilians. No fighters anywhere near them, but they were hit by artillery rounds, mortar rounds. We saw this aircraft strafing a hospital.

And in fact, the aircraft came back again today, strafed the same hospital and apparently started to fire. It seems to be a mercifulness war where the civilians are caught in the middle. And neither side seems to be very concerned about their welfare. People are fleeing Aleppo, I think, by the thousands every day, going anywhere they can go that's just a little bit safer -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben Wedeman, stay safe there.

Now, we'll have much more of the NEWSROOM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. 15 minutes before the hour. A check on your top stories now.

A four-star general faces possible demotion. The Pentagon's inspector general is investigating whether General William Kent Ward used hundreds of thousands of dollars for inappropriate travel expenses. Ward was the first four-star general to command U.S. military operations in Africa.

The founder of WikiLeaks is being offered asylum in Ecuador. Julian Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy in London for two months. Assange is accused of sexual assault in Sweden which he denied. British police have been waiting outside to arrest him and the Ecuadorian foreign minister says in a letter the British have threatened to storm the embassy and arrest Assange.

A bomb threat forces an air flight from New York to Moscow to divert to Iceland. The plane with 253 people on board landed safely. Crews have been searching the passengers' luggage.

An unmanned experimental U.S. aircraft has failed. A problem with the tail fin caused the hyper sonic plane to spiral out of control before researchers destroyed it. The X-51A Wave Rider was supposed to fly for 300 seconds reaching a speed of 4600 miles-per-hour. It only flew for 31 seconds. And swimmer Diana Nyad will attempt to swim between Cuba and Florida again on Sunday. Last year in August the endurance swimmer abandoned the 103-mile journey at about the halfway point. This is her third attempt to become the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a shark cage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIE KRIEGER, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: First of all, simply cooking food at home from scratch is a running start. Because we get about 70 percent of our sodium just from processed and prepared foods. Then when you're cooking at home, use these other wonderful healthy seasonings to amp up flavor and just use a little salt to tie them together.

So I love to use lots of fresh herbs, for example. Citrus and vinegar which actually take the place of salt a little bit on your tongue. Also get great flavor from ground spices like chills, cumin, curry, cinnamon -- so much flavor and also have their own unique health benefits. So it's easy to have lots of flavor with just the right amount of salt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Sounds pretty alarming, 693 cases in 32 states and at least 26 dead. So far it's the worse summer ever for the West Nile virus in the United States. Texas has been the state hardest hit with at least 16 deaths reported there. Dallas County is under a state of emergency declared just last week.

Joining me now CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with me now. So why? What's the explanation as to why so many cases? Why so wide spread?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you remember the warm winter we had last winter?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: Ok. That didn't kill a lot of mosquitoes. And so now they're here and that's one of the reasons perhaps why we're seeing this.

WHITFIELD: And they're migrating and they're spreading.

COHEN: Right, exactly. They did -- they're supposed to die over the winter --

WHITFIELD: Right.

COHEN: -- and not enough of them did.

WHITFIELD: So how do people know? I mean when you get a mosquito bite, is your bite going to look different if it's infected with -- no? COHEN: No.

WHITFIELD: You have to wait for the symptoms.

COHEN: Right, exactly. And what's really crazy is that 80 percent of the people who get West Nile don't even know it. They're perfectly fine. They don't get any symptoms. There's not a problem. For the other 20 percent, you know, they do get symptoms. It's basically sort of flu-ish. It's a fever, sometimes they get a rash. That's a little bit different. Swollen lymph nodes, that kind of thing.

And then one out of 150 will get this neuro-invasive form of West Nile that can kill much more likely for that to happen to older people.

WHITFIELD: And this is not instantaneous. This is over a matter of days so you have to be paying attention to your body, reading the signs.

COHEN: Right, exactly. So you can get -- you can get bitten by a mosquito and it can take days for these symptoms to show up.

WHITFIELD: And then what do you do, if you do get any of these symptoms, you go to your doctor and what are going to be the remedies or what are the real healing properties that could be applied?

COHEN: There are no remedies. They can help you sort of feel better but there's no cure for this, per se. I mean what they're going to do, especially if you're older, if you're immune compromised, they're going to watch you very carefully.

But I want to say for most of us you get West Nile and you're going to be fine. But they're going to keep a special eye on people who might have problems to begin with.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. It is alarming and frightening. And to see that there are so many cities that are carrying out kind of aerial sprays, there are some concerns among many people that come with that. But at the same time, you talk to and hear from victims who say whatever it takes because it's miserable to get it.

COHEN: And it, of course, is terrible to die from it. So that's why they're doing the spraying. I mean you never want to be spraying unless you need to.

But a couple of points about the spraying. Number one, they're using a very low dose. Number two, this is actually relatively common thing to spray for this. I mean the kind of spray that they're using is used quite often. And it's approved for residential areas by the EPA. So this is not so unusual.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible. All right. Thanks so much. Keep us posted. You know, a lot of folks are very alarmed and very concerned. When you see that map and see a good majority of the lower 48.

COHEN: How widespread it is -- I know. I know.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate that.

All right. Here are some other things to keep in mind when trying to prevent, you know, some of those mosquito bites, too.

All right. We're going to have much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A wild accusation from the lead singer of a rock band called Megadeth. The lead singer says the President of the United States staged the massacre in Colorado for his political agenda. Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner, joining me now from Los Angeles.

Nischelle, why is the President being accused of this tragedy and why, by this lead singer?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, that's actually a really good question, Fred. You know, we should first say that Megadeth singer Dave Mustaine has never been a fan of the President. And these days he seems to be a big conspiracy buff.

He was performing in Singapore on august 7th when he accused the president of staging both the Aurora shooting and Sikh temple shooting so he would be able to pass a gun ban. That's what he thinks.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE MUSTAINE, MEGADETH: My president who is trying to pass a gun ban, so he's staging all of these murders like the "Fast and Furious" thing down at the border and Aurora, Colorado, all the people killed there. And now the beautiful people at the Sikh temple.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: Ok. So in the past Mustaine has publicly also said that he believes President Obama was born in Kenya. He told the crowd he doesn't know where he's going to live now because he thinks America could become Nazi-America. So he said he might move to Singapore.

I would just have him keep two things in mind before he fills that visa application out. Singapore is actually controlled by the Socialist People's Action Party. So not sure if he would like their politics and they also have pretty strict gun laws on the books over there.

Now CNN has reached out to Mustaine to see if he'd like to explain his comments but Fred, we haven't heard anything back yet.

WHITFIELD: And you could just hear some of the people in the audience who were in disagreement.

TURNER: Yes. WHITFIELD: So I wonder, you know, what kind of response he's getting directly maybe from his fan base because you could hear some of those voices.

All right. Well, let's move on to somebody that a whole lot of people love and adore and watch and we're talking --

TURNER: And rooting for --

WHITFIELD: -- yes and always rooting for -- Michael J. Fox and he's returning to television. Although we kind of have seen him in a lot of different programs along the way. But what's going on now?

TURNER: We had -- but what's being discussed now is the fact that he'll come back to television full time. And "New York" magazine's Vulture column broke the news. Fox is developing a comedy series with Sony which is expected to debut next year. Now, details right now about the plot line are kind of sketchy. But multiple reports say the show will actually be inspired by his life.

Now, the report goes on to say that all four major networks are scrambling to get this show. We reached out, of course, to his reps in Sony but they haven't gotten back to us to yet. This will be exciting though for him to see him back in a starring role again. We haven't seen that since "Spin City".

WHITFIELD: No. Everybody loves Michael J. Fox. All right.

TURNER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Nischelle Turner. Appreciate that.

All right. Much more of the "NEWSROOM" straight ahead. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Ashleigh Banfield is up next from New York.