Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
Hurricane Emily Gains Strength; Police Release Names of Four London Bombers; More E-mails Surface in CIA Leak Investigation; Harry Potter Mania; London Web Site Says 'We're Not Afraid'
Aired July 16, 2005 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want anybody to go to hell. And the Bible says if people use sorcery and witchcraft, that they will go to hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GERRI WILLIS, ANCHOR: The Harry Potter backlash. Some religious groups argue the boy wizard is a force of evil. Even as fans buy the book that's now on sale.
Twisting in the wind, this tornado made thousands of Florida residents do a double-take. We're going to talk to the photographer who caught those striking images on tape.
And rescue 911. We're on the scene as police race to save the life of a man on the edge.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Gerri Willis. All that and more after this check of the headlines.
Hurricane Emily gaining more strength. It's now an extremely dangerous storm. Emily's winds are 155 miles an hour, making it capable of doing catastrophic damage. Right now the storm is focused on Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, but it could be headed for the U.S. by Tuesday. A live update in just a moment.
A blast rocked a resort town in western Turkey today, killing at least four people. More than a dozen others were wounded. The bomb was on a mini bus. A British woman and an Irish woman are among the dead.
And in Iraq, a massive explosion south of Baghdad today. At least 58 people were killed; some 86 others were wounded. A fuel tanker detonated near a Shiite mosque and market. Police are calling it an attack. They say the blast destroyed a nearby apartment complex. We will have a live report coming up in about two minutes.
And in southern Iraq three British soldiers were killed in hostile action today. Two other British soldiers were injured. They're being treated in the nearby town of Basra.
ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters. WILLIS: First this hour, Hurricane Emily. As we've said, Emily today has intensified into a tropical monster. So let's go quickly to the weather center with CNN's Rob Marciano -- Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Gerri, up to 155 mile an hour sustained winds, an impressive storm. That is right on the brink of becoming a Category 5 storm. This is historically the most intense July hurricane that we've ever seen. Before that one, Dennis was the most intense.
Luckily, right now it's not doing a whole lot of damage, because it's in the middle of the Caribbean. It's about 295 miles away from -- or just that -- from Jamaica. But getting a little bit closer in its latest pass. So they're experiencing some tropical storm force winds.
But you see the eye quite vividly. It's moving this to the west- northwest at almost 20 miles an hour. And that direction and speed is expected to continue.
If it were to go one mile an hour more in sustained winds , it would be a Category 5. And that is not good. Anything over 155, which is where it is right now, would mean, like you said, catastrophic damage. Right now it's Cat 4, with 155 winds.
And here's the projected path from the National Hurricane Center, bringing it to the coastline of Cozumel and Cancun late in the day Sunday, Sunday night, likely at a Category 4 storm. So not weakening a whole lot. When if it hits the Yucatan Peninsula it will weaken, yes. But then it gets into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and the latest projections of the National Hurricane Center do bring it onshore near the U.S. as a Category 3 storm with 120 mile an hour winds. Likely, though, Gerri, in northern Mexico.
We'll see how far south it goes. If it goes any further north, Brownsville and Corpus Christi could be in big trouble. So that's what we're watching, closely, over this weekend.
Back to you.
WILLIS: Well, I'm sure you'll be watching it. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes.
ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.
WILLIS: In Iraq today, a deadly explosion of a fuel tanker. Police believe the blast south of Baghdad was an attack. At least 58 people were killed and 86 wounded.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Gerri, good afternoon.
We're getting more information of what exactly took place in this massive explosion south of the capital city in the town of Musaib (ph). Police are now saying a suicide bomber detonated himself adjacent to a propane fuel tank that was parked at a gas station.
The casualty numbers we have now are that at least 60 people were killed, upwards of 100 wounded. Police are saying that this tanker was checked as it entered the city at various checkpoints. But they are also calling this a coordinated attack, suggesting perhaps that the driver of the fuel tank was part of this operation.
Now, the large number of casualties are due to the incredibly high number of people that would have been immediately adjacent to this explosion, first at the gas station. Gas is a rare commodity in Iraq. There would have been a large number of people parked outside, ready to spend the night waiting to get gas. That, coupled with the fact that apartment buildings, as well as homes, were so close that they were essentially completely destroyed, contributed as well to this high number.
It is a predominantly Shia town, we're told. The mosque, which was close by, was damaged, to what extent we do not know yet.
Musaib (ph), though, Gerri, falls in between the capital city and the Shia holy towns of Najaf and Karbala. It is part of what is called the Triangle of Death, an area that is essentially lawless. No real security falls there. There have been a large number of both kidnappings and killings, both as part of the insurgency, but also sort of vigilante criminality that is taking place within that area.
This will, though, obviously raise questions about security, not just in the capital city but in these smaller areas of Iraq throughout the country. And it really puts the impetus on the security forces to make sure that as much as they secure the capital, insurgents will find weak spots elsewhere, and they have to be prepared -- Gerri.
WILLIS: Aneesh Raman, thank you for that report.
Investigators in the London bombings keep casting a wider net, from Britain to Egypt to Pakistan and beyond.
Scotland Yard has now confirmed the identities of all four suspected bombers. Police in Egypt are questioning a British biochemist. And the international push goes on to find all the angles, all the suspects in the terror plot.
CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is in London -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Gerri.
And the focus of this investigation continues to shift from the forensic teams continuing their work here in London, trying to gather as much evidence as they can, to the various security forces around the world that are assisting the British police with their investigation.
At the same time, there's been a number of developments out of London. Some security camera pictures have been released showing all four of those suspected of carrying out the bombings together at the Luton train station 7:20 a.m. in the morning on the day of the bombings, Thursday the 7th.
Also from Scotland Yard, confirmation of all the names of those suspects as well, from 18-year-old Hasib Hussain, the youngest of the bombers, believed to be responsible for bombing the bus in Tavistock Square, just a short distance from here.
Shahzad Tanweer, age 22, from Leeds in the north of England, linked to the Aldgate bombings to the east of London.
Then Mohammad Sadique Khan, a primary schoolteacher, married with an 8-month-old child, now linked, according to police, to the Edgware Road attack to the west of where we're standing right now in central London.
And then the fourth bomber named to us today, as well, by -- confirmed, his identity, to us by Scotland Yard, Jermaine Lindsay, Jamaican born, linked according to British police, with the most deadly of the attacks between King's Cross from where I'm talking to you now and Russell Square a short distance away, 22 people killed in that attack.
As the investigation continues, though, forensic teams on the ground are continuing their work. The bus bombing a short distance from here, forensic teams have been moving finally away from that site, actually taking the wrecked carcass of that bus away from there, police having gleaned as much information as they can from that site.
They're expecting, though, work to continue at the other bomb sites across central London, and as we mentioned, the international reach of this investigation to continue.
Back to you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Matthew Chance, thank you for that report.
Now to a very different and politically charged investigation here in the U.S. involving the leak of a CIA agent's name. Prosecutors reportedly have gathered e-mail evidence that sheds even more light on conversations between the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, and reporters.
Let's go to CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Gerri.
It was two years ago, around this time two years ago, that a CIA operative's identity was revealed in the media. And as the investigation continues into who may have leaked her name, there are new details emerging about communications that Karl Rove, the president's political adviser, had around that same time.
Now, the latest is that the Associated Press is reporting an e- mail was sent from Rove to the now national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, in July of 2003, describing a conversation Rove had with "TIME" magazine reporter Matt Cooper. How a lawyer familiar with the investigation, who's sympathetic to Rove's version of events, confirms to CNN that the e-mail is authentic.
According to the Associated Press, Rove told Hadley, quote, "Matt Cooper called to give me a heads-up that he's got a welfare reform story coming."
Then said, "When he finished his brief heads-up, he immediately launched into Niger. Isn't this damaging? Hasn't the president been hurt? I didn't take the bait, but I said if I were him, I wouldn't Get 'TIME' far out in front on this."
Now Rove was referring to an op-ed piece by the operative's husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson, a piece that was critical of the Bush administration's use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Republicans are arguing that those communications by Rove show he was simply trying to steer a reporter, in this case Matt Cooper, away from an inaccuracy in a report.
Now, all of this has had Democrats calling for Rove's resignation. They say that this is a troubling picture that's been painted. But of course, still a lot of unanswered questions in the story. That investigation continues.
WILLIS: Elaine Quijano, we're going to let you take cover in the storm.
QUIJANO: Thanks.
WILLIS: Thank you so much for the report.
Stay with CNN for "TIME" magazine reporter Matt Cooper's first cable news interview since his grand jury testimony. He'll appear in a special one-hour edition of "RELIABLE SOURCE" Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern.
And we have some amazing images for you just ahead: a tornado that touched down in Florida. I'll be speaking with the photographer who shot this video in just a moment.
More incredible video out of Pennsylvania. What was this teenager thinking? Hear his story.
And if that doesn't scare you, this will, a disturbing new study that will make you think twice before your next visit to the hospital.
You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: Wow, take a look at that. That sure is scary. But as things turned out, a spectacular show of nature and, thankfully, little more. A funnel cloud that formed off Punta Gorda, Florida, came ashore twice, but the worst thing it did was to tear up some chain-link fencing. Thousands of people sought to take it in, including our next guest, news photographer Howie Grace of CNN affiliate WBBH. He took these pictures and he joins us now by phone from his home in Punta Gorda, Florida.
Howie, welcome. Oh, my goodness. These pictures are so scary. How did you keep your head while you were shooting this?
HOWIE GRACE, NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER, WBBH: Well, it actually -- it was weird, because I wasn't scared looking at it.
WILLIS: Really?
GRACE: I couldn't believe my fortune. Because I was standing in my driveway. And being a news photographer, you think, how many times does something like that come through your -- come through your front yard in your lifetime? With Hurricane Charley last year I mean, I figured the...
WILLIS: You figured the worst was over, right?
GRACE: I figured the worst was over. The biggest news story of my life had already come and gone. And I couldn't believe how beautiful that looked. I mean, to me, I was flabbergasted. I looked at it and thought it was absolutely gorgeous.
WILLIS: Gorgeous and scary. Now, were you just standing at the window, and you happened to see it approach? Or how did you come to know that this was going on outside?
GRACE: I was actually sitting inside, having a discussion with my girlfriend, and my phone rang three or four times. And I couldn't -- I got aggravated and I got and up and I answered it.
He said, "You better come outside."
And I walked out front and I about dropped to my knees, because that's what I was looking at, just this massive funnel cloud. I've never seen anything that perfect. I've seen -- I've seen plenty of images of tornados and waterspouts. And it just -- I thought, you know what, I'm going to do this. And I'm going to do it right.
I've seen -- everything I've ever seen shot like that was always off the shoulder and shaky. So I grabbed the tripod and set it up, and I wanted to get some pretty shots of it. I think it was just...
WILLIS: Awesome pictures. Absolutely awesome pictures. But what about the audio? I always hear that these sound like freight trains. As a matter of fact, I've actually been about this close to a tornado before. And they can be pretty darn noisy.
GRACE: And it was actually quite quiet.
WILLIS: Really?
GRACE: And again, what I've been told, it started out as a waterspout. So I don't know -- I mean, I lived in the Midwest. I heard tornados before, and they did sound a lot like freight trains. But that, it had no audio. I mean, I could talk real clearly to the people standing next to me.
WILLIS: How close did this get to you, Howie?
GRACE: It looks like it got within about a mile. And it was coming straight at us when it dissipated. So we were actually getting prepared to tear down and move when I saw the bottom end of it just dissipate. And that's breathing a big sigh of relief right there.
WILLIS: Howie Grace, beautiful pictures. And we really appreciate you sharing them with us. Thank you so much.
GRACE: Absolutely.
WILLIS: Thousands of children across America are spending the day devouring the latest Harry Potter book. And some people say that's just not good. The full report on a modern-day book burning is just ahead.
And images of inspiration and humor on an anti-terror web site. Jeanne Moos shows us the highlights in just a few minutes.
You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: In news across America, a Florida man is dead after being attacked by this 12'2" alligator. Officials say the 41-year-old man was swimming in a canal in Port Charlotte when the alligator attacked him. Wildlife officials later caught and killed the alligator.
Police outside Los Angeles say two men stole this huge big rig, then led officers on a four-hour chase on numerous highways and surface roads. Police say the men surrendered only after one of the truck tires was punctured by a spike strip. They're being charged with grand theft and felony evasion.
And in Philadelphia, a fire truck on its way to investigate a gas leak got into a deadly accident. Fire officials say the truck crashed on top of a car, which sent both vehicles careening into a store front. That person in the car was killed; eight others were hurt.
A student in Pittsburgh is defending his decision to perform dangerous stunts on a highway, stunts he had a friend videotape. What he didn't know when he was making the tape was an off-duty police officer was watching and charged him with reckless endangerment.
Jodine Costanzo from CNN affiliate WPXI has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JODINE COSTANZO, WPXI REPORTER (voice-over): It's video that would make just about anyone shudder with fear. But not 20-year-old Brian Crawford, who stars in the home video shot in this moving car in heavy traffic on I-279.
(on camera) Were you scared when you did this?
BRIAN CRAWFORD, ARRESTED FOR HIGHWAY STUNT: Yes, but that's what makes it fun. I mean, I just don't -- it's enjoyable because it's scary, because of the fear, because of the adrenaline rush.
COSTANZO (voice-over): It may have been a rush for Crawford and his three friends in the car, but police are calling this stunt criminal. Here's a good look why.
CRAWFORD: I hang on the side of my car, I ski on the outside, I do superman where I hang vertically beside the car about a foot off the ground.
COSTANZO: Crawford and two of his friends are students at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. With a video recorder Crawford borrowed from the school, his plan was to include the car surfing on a tape he's hoping to use to get into stunt school in Australia.
(on camera) Going 55, 60 miles an hour on a major interstate, cars all around you, you're not afraid of flying off your car?
CRAWFORD: Aren't the police afraid of being shot when they're, you know, on the north side chasing somebody? I mean, it's the same thing.
COSTANZO: They're trained. They have bullet proof vests on. You have no protection.
CRAWFORD: My body weight holds me up. I know, if the car's going to shift or jerk, I know which way I need to lean or go. I practice ways to tumble.
COSTANZO (voice-over): The president of the Art Institute is calling this stunt foolish and shocking and says it's a violation of the use of school equipment, which may result in disciplinary action as severe as expulsion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two huge issues are, you cannot use equipment unlawfully. And you cannot use equipment that puts people in harm's way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: Surprise, surprise at St. Andrews. After two superb rounds at the British Open, Tiger Woods played like a mortal today. Now he's in for a fight.
CNN's Don Riddell is standing by live at St. Andrews ahead of tomorrow's finale -- Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much.
You know, it's already been a memorable Open championship here with the retirement of the great Jack Nicklaus on Friday. But I suspect the best is yet to come.
Tiger Woods didn't have the best of rounds today, at 1 under 71. He actually had the worst round of the top seven in the leader board. And he may meet his match tomorrow in Retief Goosen, the South African who's won the U.S. Open twice and in fact just missed out this year. He's the form playing at the moment, having shot a six under 66 today.
But Tiger Woods does still hold the lead by two strokes, despite not having the best day. But he's still very much looking forward to the final round tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: I just wade my way around the golf course. Had some good up and downs, a great save on eight to keep the momentum going, buried seven. And I just kind of hit a good shot there on nine, ended up in the bush -- in a bush again, had to take an unplayable. So I kind of stubbed myself on the foot again. But this held it together. And I made some key putts, and I think that's what enabled me to shoot the score I shot.
RETIEF GOOSEN, TWO-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: It's pretty much every major, everybody's trying to beat Tiger. You know, you feel like if you finish ahead of him, you're going to win the tournament. And that's how it is in the majors. And it's the same again this week. You know, you've got to just keep playing, keep trying. When Nicklaus was in his prime, everybody was just trying to finish ahead of him to try and win a major. You know, it's the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIDDELL: Well, you know, it's going to be a fascinating day's play here on Sunday. Five of the players in the top eight have already won majors. Tiger included, of course.
Jose Maria Olazabal, the 1992 Masters champion, is in second place on 10 under par, two strokes behind Tiger. It could be an interesting fight from Jose Maria. They have already played together, Tiger and he, the Spaniard, in the first two rounds. So they'll know each other's games pretty.
And Colin Montgomery, the Scotsman, is also in with the shell (ph).
Back to you.
WILLIS: Fascinating story. Don Riddell, thank you.
If your vacation plans include the Gulf of Mexico, stay tuned. Hurricane Emily is pounding Jamaica now. We'll have the latest forecast track in a moment.
And dramatic dash cam video of a police officer trying to stop a jumper from leaping off a bridge into oncoming traffic. We'll show you how this played out.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: Here's what's happening now in the news.
Hurricane Emily is now an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm with winds of 155 miles an hour. That's almost Category 5. It's south of Jamaica right now, moving west towards the Cayman Islands. Emily could threaten the Mexican mainland and the Gulf Coast of Texas late Tuesday.
Iraqi police say a suicide bomber caused a huge explosion today that has destroyed an entire apartment complex south of Baghdad. Police say 60 people were killed when the bomber detonated himself near a propane fuel tanker that was parked near a gas station. As many as 100 others were wounded.
And Scotland Yard has confirmed the identities of the remaining two suspects in the London terrorist bombings. 30-year-old Mohammad Khan and 19-year-old Jermaine Lindsay. Police believe the men carried out two of the train bombings. British police tell CNN the death toll has risen to 55 after an injured victim died overnight.
And in other news, children around the world are spending this Saturday reading. And not just any book either. Last night at one minute after midnight, the sixth Harry Potter book went on sale. Fans young and old packed bookstores to get their hands on a copy of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
Some children who couldn't be there in person were not left out. A foundation that helps kids with life threatening illnesses delivered copies of the book today to hospitalized children in Washington, New Jersey, and Minnesota.
The excitement surrounding the new Harry Potter book is nowhere near over, either. Publishers expect ten million copies to be sold today alone, and many more after that. But what was the scene like last night, when die-hard fans jamming into stores to get one of the first copies? Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Five, four, three, two, one!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carlotta is the lucky person to have the first in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a really big fan of Harry Potter. And when I heard about it, I was just so excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish I were Hermione, personally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Or go to Hogwarts at least.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter how old you are, if you're a fan of really good stories it's just very captivating. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kids asked me about my costume, where I got this. So I told them, you're not going to believe this, but I got this from graduating college.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the -- what do you call it -- the Dementors. Yeah, they were pretty interesting. They looked like they had socks stuck on their heads. That was weird.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you guys to tell me what it is you like about Harry Potter and why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because that he's cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he has a magic wand that can turn anybody into what he wants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he's in the best house. The Gryffindor House.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he doesn't have --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he has magical powers and he's cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harry Potter!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love staying up late.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: Amazing. Well, Harry Potter's popularity is undeniable. The books aren't loved by everyone. Some religious groups say the sorcery and witchcraft that are in both the Harry Potter books and the movies go against Christian principles. For more on that, here's CNN's Kyra Phillips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Father, help us to do the right thing.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The right thing, a difficult choice in a complicated world. At the Jesus Nondenominational Church in Greenville, Michigan, Pastor Tommy Turner and his followers are fighting off evil, one page-turner at a time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, I don't want anybody to go to hell. And the Bible says, if people use sorcery and witchcraft, that they will go to hell.
PHILLIPS: And the tricks of this evil trade, according to this group and others like it worldwide, are being pushed on children through the antics and adventures of J.K. Rowling's bespectacled character, Harry Potter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. PHILLIPS: When young Harry came onto the scene seven years ago, the world was charmed by the colorful characters and fanciful plots that filled the books. But as the popularity of the books and movies grew, so too did the concerns of some religious groups.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've read the content. It's filled with witchcraft, sorcery, black magic, vengeance, rebellion. I don't think this is appropriate literature, and I don't think it's a good movie for a child to see.
PHILLIPS: A small but growing movement against the positive portrayal of witchcraft in the Potter stories has been going on for several years. However, it wasn't until just this week we learned that a somewhat higher authority had already weighed in.
In a 2003 correspondence with German author Gabriela Kuby, who authored the book "Harry Potter: Good or Evil?" the pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, wrote, "It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions which act unnoticed, and by this, deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly."
But Harry Potter fans disagree. They contend the boy, his school, and his adventures are simply high-flying fictional fantasy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to your first flying lesson. Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick.
PHILLIPS: Supporters point out that this young wizard's popularity gets children reading more books, and at the same time, opens up their minds to creative thinking, whether it be human or wizardly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love them all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Standard Book of Spells, chapter seven.
PHILLIPS: But many people believe Harry Potter is just the latest hero, fighting the same old fight that has been fought throughout the years, the age-old battle between good and evil.
Kyra Phillips, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: We'll have the woman that illustrated the Harry Potter series on at six, so you'll definitely want to stay tuned for that.
Let's get the latest on Hurricane Emily. That monster storm passing now just south of Jamaica. Standing by live in the weather center, CNN's Rob Marciano. Rob?
MARCIANO: Gerri, we're looking at this storm, it's got winds of 155 miles an hour. It looks really small on the satellite picture. But the wind field of this thing has the hurricane force winds going out about 70 miles from the center. So that right there, the hurricane force wind field is bigger than Dennis. And the tropical storm force wind field goes out quite a ways as well. So even though it's not slamming into Jamaica in a direct fashion, certainly they're getting tropical storm force winds and maybe even gusts over 50 miles an hour and some heavy rain with this last pulse of convection that's clipping -- especially the southern side of the island.
Grand Caymans are definitely under a hurricane warning for the next 12 to 24 hours. And then we're still watching it as it approaches the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and watching to see if it gets even stronger. Right now, it's a category 4 storm. But the winds of 155 miles an hour, you can see that is right at the upper crust or upper limit of category 4 status. Huge storm surge and that kind of wind will breed widespread destruction.
So what does the National Hurricane Center think? This is as of 11:00 this morning. It will be updated in about a half an hour. So we'll watch for that. But it gives you an idea of what we're expecting. Maybe some weakening, we would certainly hope that, especially folks who are in Mexico right now. Late Sunday is when we expect it to go somewhere around Cozumel and the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Weakening and -- torrential rains across this part of Mexico as well. Getting into the Gulf of Mexico, maybe strengthening a little bit further. And now the official forecast track has it going south of Brownsville. Brownsville and Corpus Christi still in this cone of uncertainty that we talk about. And certainly that cone is pretty wide the farther out you get, it gets a little bit more narrow the closer in we get. So certainly tomorrow we'll be looking at this more closely to see exactly where it will go. Right now, the official forecast track has it going into northern Mexico.
What happened with Dennis? Well if you live anywhere east of the Mississippi River, you've been tasting it for a good several days now. Look how the showers pop up here during the afternoon hours. Pretty much the entire eastern third of the country just covered with convection. And even in the morning, really soupy, some fog, a lot of humidity in the air. So that's what we had from Dennis. That's still hanging around. Ninety-three ree degrees expected for high temperature tomorrow in Chicago. It'll be 93 in St. Louis, and 117 in Phoenix. So Dennis, in some capacity, Gerri, still hanging around. And now all eyes, as far as another damaging storm potentially, go down to Emily. So we'll watch that.
WILLIS: Well, thank you for that report, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
WILLIS: Some disturbing new statistics on hospital infections. Hear what causes thousands of preventable deaths, and what you can do to stay safe. Up next, Dr. Bill Lloyd joins me to talk about what could be your most powerful weapon in warding off hospital acquired infections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: Finished with round two, Vice President Dick Cheney has completed a second set of medical tests for his annual physical. Today, he underwent a colonoscopy, which was normal. His office says other tests revealed the vice president has a mild case of inflammation and swelling of the esophagus. And a vascular screening test uncovered small segments of the arteries behind both knees are dilated. Cheney is awaiting final recommendations from his medical team.
In our living well segment today, staying healthy in the hospital. Pennsylvania officials made headlines this week as the first state to release figures about hospital-acquired infections. Now, in 2004 nearly 12,000 people in the state developed infections during their hospital stays. It cost an extra $2 billion to care for them. And there were at least 15 hundred preventable deaths. Hospital infections are regarded as one of the most troubling problems of modern medicine. But how do you avoid getting one? Joining me now from New York, Dr. Bill Lloyd, he's a surgeon with the University of California Davis Medical Center. Welcome, doctor. Boy, this is a terrible problem. How common is it?
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: It's an enormous problem and that study out of Pennsylvania just sheds more light on it. They predict $50 billion in U.S. health care costs are attributed exclusively to these infectious problems. And there's so much that we can do to help prevent them. Maybe 100 Americans a year, excuse me, 100 Americans a day, die from these hospital-acquired infections.
WILLIS: That's just unbelievable. Why does it happen?
LLOYD: Well, it happens for a variety of reasons. First of all, some people actually bring the germs with them right into the hospital. Infections can occur from instrumentation or procedures that are done in the hospital. Here's the big one, care givers and family members can transfer germs from one person to the other. So it doesn't matter if you're in a private room or a room for four. If somebody comes over with germs on their fingers and contacts you, you could get one of these hospital-acquired infections. And then finally, people who don't get around too much, people with a broken hip or have poor mobility and can't get out of bed, are more prone to infections because they're not breathing enough and expanding their lungs and they're a set-up for getting a dangerous case of pneumonia.
WILLIS: Well what can consumers do? It seems like you have very little control or power in this situation.
LLOYD: Well this is one of the great things about it, Gerri. Unlike cancer or heart attacks where once you have it you can't really do much, you rely on the doctors, these hospital-acquired infections are something that the individual patient and their family members can play an active role in. And the first thing is, following instructions. Do exactly what your doctors say before, during, and after the procedures. Make sure you take your medications. And make sure you get up and get around. Frequent hand washing. Make sure anybody who comes near the bedside has already washed their hands. So that means challenge the care givers. They won't get insulted when you say, hey, did you wash your hands before you touched me? And do everything you can to improve your health while you're in the hospital so you can get out of the hospital, because that will greatly reduce the chances that you'll get one of those hospital infections.
WILLIS: Well, Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks for the great advice and the time. We appreciate it.
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
WILLIS: Fredricka Whitfield is sitting in for Carol Lin this weekend, and she's here's a preview of what's to come. Fredricka?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you, Gerri, always, in person especially. Well coming up at 6:00, you recall that shortly after the London terror attack bombings, the police mentioned they didn't want to blockade the use of cell phones, because they wanted people to be able to use them to reach their loved ones, et cetera. Well, now here in the states, some municipalities are exploring whether, indeed, cell phone blockage is something they want to consider here. Mainly because many terrorist groups are starting to use cell phones to detonate their explosives.
And then later on at 10:00, Djimon Hounsou, you remember seeing him in "Amistad", "Gladiator." Well he's coming out with in a movie called "The Island." We talk to him about that at 10:00. In addition to the fact that he was part of the G-8 summit, talking to many of the leaders, he's from Benin, West Africa, and he has a very personal interest in the kind of aid being committed to Africa. He says for the first time, he feels like he is doing something meaningful after having been to the G-8 and lobbying those G-8 leaders.
And of course we'll keeping a close eye on Hurricane Emily throughout the evening, now brushing Jamaica.
WILLIS: Fredricka, we'll be looking forward to that, thank you.
Now a real-life police drama on a bridge in Virginia where an officer proved he takes his oath to serve and protect very seriously. Jeremy Crider of CNN affiliate WSLS in Roanoke shows us a rescue operation in action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY CRIDER, WSLS REPORTER (voice over): Roanoke city police officer J.A. Crotts is used to buckling in and staying busy. But during his drive Friday night --
SGT. MAC BABB, ROANOKE CITY POLICE: We received a call of a man that was getting ready to jump off a bridge.
CRIDER: So Crotts and city police took off for the Elm Avenue bridge. They showed up to this. The man on the left of your screen sitting on the side of the bridge, threatening to throw himself off. The drop, more than 20 feet here on the interstate 581. A busy road full of weekend traffic.
BABB: His intent was to hurt himself, but it certainly could have hurt other people at the same time.
CRIDER: The officers tried to talk him down. It didn't work.
BABB: He said, goodbye fellas.
CRIDER (on camera): Now watch, the other officers distract the man as Crotts comes running in behind him, he wraps his arms around his waste just as the man leans forward to fall.
BABB: He had just reached the breaking point and he's had enough.
CRIDER: Enough to throw himself into traffic. Watch it again in slow motion. Officer Crotts grabs the man just in the nick of time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the subject in custody.
CRIDER: Other officers help pull the man on to the bridge. He's handcuffed and on his way to the hospital.
BABB: He was a little angry with me that we did save him. But, you know, I said -- I just told him it's not going to happen if I can intervene.
CRIDER: The third time officer Crotts has helped prevent an attempted suicide on a Roanoke bridge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: Officer Andy Crotts joins us now on the phone from Roanoke to talk about the would-be bridge jumpers whose lives he's saved. Officer, you are a hero.
OFC. ANDY CROTTS, ROANOKE CITY POLICE: Well, thank you very much.
WILLIS: But I don't understand. This hasn't happened once, it's happened three times in the same location. Why?
CROTTS: I've just -- I feel very fortunate I've just been able to be there to help. I really don't have an answer as to why I've been able to be there all three times. It hasn't actually been the same bridge, but they're all within just a few blocks of each other.
WILLIS: Now are you trained what to do in these situations? It seems like it takes a quick response time. What else do you have to know to make sure you're doing the right thing at the right time?
CROTTS: Well, two of the times it just -- it was just luck of the draw. One other -- the other man, he had actually jumped. We were able to pull him back up. But this one and the one earlier that I spoke of, it's just -- I just knew someone else had distracted him enough that he didn't know I was coming up behind him, and I was able to grab him.
WILLIS: So it's partly teamwork, then, with your fellow officers? CROTTS: Oh, yes, it's most certainly teamwork. We couldn't have done it without that. You know all I can say, I was just glad I was there at the time. It just worked out perfectly.
WILLIS: Now I understand that you keep up with some of these people whose lives you have saved. Do you talk to them? Do you, you know, telephone them every once in a while? How do you keep track of them?
CROTTS: I just -- I haven't actually spoken to them. Because I really didn't want them to know that anybody was keeping tabs on them. I just use our computer system at work. And I just noticed that they've been involved in a couple of other things. And just kind of keep tabs on them. I do know that they are still alive, which is good. I just kind of keep little tidbits on them just to make sure they're still around.
WILLIS: Well I don't know if anybody's celebrating you there in Roanoke, but, Andy Crotts, congratulations on a job well done. We really appreciate your work.
CROTTS: Well, thank you very much.
WILLIS: Well, if terrorists don't scare you, you may want to check out this web site. Here you'll find like-winded people with inspiring and often funny images. Meet the man behind werenotafraid.com, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: Giving terrorists a piece of your mind. It's the latest sensation on the Web. And the London man has created the site werenotafraid.com. It's a place to go where you can vent your feelings and maybe get a little peace of mind in return. Our Jeanne Moos has a take on its defiant mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Want to tell terrorists that you're not afraid? Not afraid at all? Pah, so not afraid. Let your toes do the talking. Spell it out with alphabet soup.
ALFIE DENNEN, CREATOR WERENOTAFRAID.COM: It's such a simple way of getting the message across that's quite a deep message.
MOOS: Londoner Alfie Dennen dreamed up the web site werenotafraid.com right after the bombings. Since then, over 11,000 photos have been submitted from all over the world. A rush of photos from Mt. Rushmore to Hollywood.
DENNEN: I did it at first because it was a really personal kind of effect on me. You know my friend was involved.
MOOS: This friend, who took his own picture fleeing one of the underground bombings, Dennen reacted by posting this photo of himself. And look where it went from there, from home-made signs to elaborate graphic design.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That just sums it up, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrorist Advisory. We're not afraid.
MOOS: The sky's the limit. Photos pour in, sometimes at a rate of five or six a minute. Baby pictures are big, but not any bigger than pets. It seems as if the entire animal kingdom is free from fear, from fluffy, to super squirrel. Do I look afraid? Do I look afraid? Do we look afraid? New Yorker Richard Ghazarian doctored his driver's license to reach out to London the way London reached out to New York after 9/11.
RICHARD GHAZARIAN: What a better way to show who you are and where you're from than your driver's license.
MOOS: Pregnant women are not afraid. Even fetuses are showing remarkable courage. Middle fingers seem to be getting a lot of exercise, even the littlest of middle fingers. Dennen and a dozen of his friends manage the site. Editing out anti-Muslim hate e-mail. Does he think his site makes a difference to the terrorists?
DENNEN: No. No. I think it makes a difference to us.
MOOS: Dennen even quit his job at a streaming video company to devote himself to the site. It's identical in concept to another web site. Remember sorry everybody, when those who voted against George Bush apologized after his re-election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says sorry world, we tried.
MOOS: The creator of that site contacted Dennen.
DENNEN: You know he e-mailed me and said, you biting my style? I said, yes, you were a total inspiration.
MOOS: Many use humor to defy terrorists.
DENNEN: The Scared-O-Meter. Terrorists, squirrels, paper bags, flying, spiders.
MOOS: Remember the Iraqi information minister who told the opposite of truth. You have my word, they are all very, very afraid. despite Dennen's sign, he's frightened by his own web site.
DENNEN: It's frightened me because it's the huge amount of attention.
MOOS: But I'm afraid. Afraid that's all we have time for except for one final photograph.
DENNEN: He was in the carriage which had a bomb in it.
MOOS: In the middle of the night, this photo of someone named Mark arrived.
DENNEN: He sent in an image with stitches on his head, sutures on his head, just with we're not afraid.
MOOS: Mark and Dennen ended up talking.
DENNEN: I told him that he was the bravest person I'd ever spoken to and he just went off kind of laughing.
MOOS: Laughing away terror seems to help. The contents of our diapers are scarier than you. Take that, terrorists!
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: For the latest update from the Hurricane Center, let's go to Rob Marciano. Rob?
MARCIANO: Hi, Gerri. There's a 5:00 numbers, and that also coupled with the official forecast which is only updated every six hours. So nothing's changed as far as how strong this thing is. Still has winds of 155 miles an hour. That makes it an extremely strong category four storm. It is to the south of the southern coastline of Jamaica by about 100 miles. So they're getting some heavy weather right now. As far as the track of this thing is concerned, it is still expected to hit the Yucatan Peninsula looks like late tomorrow. Likely still as a category four storm. So a lot of the resorts down there across the eastern-northern Yucatan Peninsula, Cozumel, Cancun included, are really going to get pummelled by this thing.
And then into the Bay of Campeche, the southern Gulf of Mexico, trying to see if this has changed much. I got to kind of go over the Latin longs here, but it looks like, with this automated map that updates for us, that the track may have shifted a little bit down to the south. But not much. So the cone of uncertainty still brings it Tuesday late, potentially, into the southern parts of Texas. As a 120 mile an hour major hurricane. So not a whole lot changes here as of the 5:00 update, Gerri. Still a category four storm, still expected to hit Mexico as that, and then potentially South Texas by late Tuesday night. We'll continue to keep you updated throughout the weekend. Back to you.
WILLIS: Rob Marciano, thanks for that.
That's all for this hour of CNN live Saturday. Straight ahead, people in the news and a profile of Lance Armstrong. He overcame the odds to beat cancer and go for an unprecedented seventh Tour De France title. At 6:00 Eastern, Fredricka Whitfield will have the latest from Baghdad on the bombing there today that left dozens dead. And I'll be back in just a few minutes with the hour's headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
