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CNN Live Saturday

Preliminary Tests: Powder at University of Texas Dorm is Ricin; Last Weekend of Mardi Gras Celebrations Before Fat Tuesday; Curfew in Place in Baghdad Until Monday Morning

Aired February 25, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities in Austin, Texas, await further test results after a substance believed to be the deadly poison ricin is found in a University of Texas dorm. We'll take you there live.
Also, New Orleans is in Mardi Gras celebrations. Our Chris Lawrence is standing by on Bourbon Street.

And haven't we all taken a wrong turn here and there? In traffic, that is. Meet the lady who made other motorists and police hit the brakes.

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All that and more after this check of the headlines.

Ricin fears hit a college campus. Preliminary tests are being done, and now two students are also being evaluated for possible exposure. The latest on the investigation from Austin.

A curfew fails to quell violence in Iraq. Dozens die in attacks today, including 11 members of one family. One sign of progress, top Iraqi leaders met today in hopes of defusing tension that's threatening to plunge the country into civil war.

And Saudi Arabia vows to keep the oil flowing. The promise coming a day after a foiled al Qaeda attack on one the world's largest oil processing facilities.

Much more on the oil plot straight ahead.

A possible break in Britain's big cash heist. Police today arrested two men in connection with Wednesday's brazen holdup. The robbers may have taken as much as $87 million. That would make it the biggest cash heist in British history.

The threat of rain causes a postponement or two, but it's not dampening the spirits overall at Mardi Gras. Revelers hit the streets for the glitzy parties and parades. And we'll take you to the celebrations.

Up first this hour, a roll of quarters, a suspicious powder and a frightening test result. They're all part of a mystery at the University of Texas. The FBI and local authorities are trying to determine whether students were exposed to a potentially deadly poison.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Austin and he joins us by phone.

Ed, what are they finding?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, we just arrived here at the scene of the Moore-Hill dormitory, which if you're familiar with the University of Texas campus, is basically right next door to the football stadium here on the campus. And it is surrounded by dozens of hazardous materials teams who have been going inside the dorm. And we understand what they're trying to do right now is to remove some of the coin machines and perhaps the washers and dryers.

This incident happened in the laundry room of the dorm which houses about 390 students. The students are being allowed back inside the dorm right now, and while the officials continue to work in the cordoned-off area the laundry room. So they continue to do that.

We've just been told also by a county medical official here in Austin who says that only one of the three preliminary tests or evaluations that they had done on this substance came back positive. But clearly enough of a perhaps scary situation to get those two students evaluated, the one student who unrolled the roll of quarters and her roommate, who had been evaluated by medical teams here in Austin.

We don't have much more information on their condition, but from what we understand, they haven't shown any signs of being exposed to this deadly poison. But the teams continue to work inside there, and also the hazardous material teams and all of the people working on this investigation I also understand, have sent off this material to a lab in Maryland to continue further testing.

But the thinking here on the ground is that this might turn out to be, or could very well possibly be a false positive test. And they're hoping that they don't have any kind of ricin on their hands here.

WHITFIELD: And that would be good if that indeed were the case.

Meantime, Ed, are they giving you any indication as to how long it will be before those other test results are returned?

LAVANDERA: It could take as long as a day. The initial tests that were done on this ricin took almost 24 hours. This incident actually happened Thursday afternoon, and it wasn't until last night about 8:00 that the -- those results came back and officials here in Austin decided to evacuate the dormitory.

So it's taken a while, and we suspect that it could take perhaps another day before they really know for sure.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ed, of all of those students who have been evacuated from that dormitory and now have been placed into another one, any indication as to whether those students are nervous, are they fearful? LAVANDERA: You know, it's kind of the typical college campus scene here. You know, a lot of fire trucks and ambulances and police cars. Plus, some of the streets have been block off. So I think there's just a lot of general interest. But as students walk by -- but it's a rainy Saturday afternoon here, and most people seem to be kind of walking by and taking care of their own business.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Lavandera joining us from Austin. Thank you so much.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Well, ricin can be incredibly harmful regardless of how it enters the human body. The powder is extracted from castor beans. It's poisonous if inhaled, ingested or injected. And there is no known antidote.

Here are some of the symptoms of exposure.

If inhaled, ricin could cause chest tightness, difficulty breathing, fever, cough and nausea. Heavy sweating might follow. And fluid could build up in the lungs, leading to low blood pressure and respiratory failure. If swallowed, ricin could cause vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dehydration and low blood pressure.

CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned for CNN for the latest information day and night.

"We're winging it." That's how one Mardi Gras parade member put it, with rain threatening to douse celebrations in New Orleans this weekend. Some critics say the devastated city should spare their frivolity. Others say residents need a break from rebuilding and the outside world needs to know the welcome mat is out.

Our Chris Lawrence is on Bourbon Street in the middle of it all.

And Chris, it seems, at least with the numbers that are shown there, people are really excited about this Mardi Gras. They feel like they needed this.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, it depends who you ask, you know, really, Fredricka. I mean, you've got over 100,000 people living here, and everybody's got their own way on what's the best way to recover.

Some people have told us, you know, they should have skipped this Mardi Gras and used that money directly for reconstruction. A lot of folks down here say, you know, they need it to see their friends, they needed to come back out to the parades.

You know, Bourbon Street is mostly tourists. A lot of the actual folks who live in New Orleans kind of stay away from this area, kind of smirk at it a little bit. But it's the parades and things like that really get them to come out, and that's what a lot of them are excited about. WHITFIELD: So how optimistic are a lot of the folks, the locals that you have spoken to? How optimistic that the kind of economic boost they might enjoy from Mardi Gras will actually help go toward any kind of rebuilding efforts?

LAWRENCE: I -- from what I've heard, a lot of people are feeling like the economic boost isn't going to be all that great, that it was more emotional than economic. You know, the bars on Bourbon Street, you know, they're packed. The clubs, the restaurants, like that.

But you go a couple of blocks over, the little antique shops, the art galleries, we walked through those for a couple of hours. One customer, maybe. I talked to business owners who say sales are down 70 percent and they're really hurting.

But again, emotionally, you know, people are trying, I guess, you know, get over Katrina, get out of that six-month bump. I can hold this shirt up and kind of let you see how they're doing that.

You know, this is one of the shirts that they're selling here. "I stayed in New Orleans for Katrina and all I got was this lousy T- shirt, a new Cadillac and a plasma TV."

WHITFIELD: Oh boy.

LAWRENCE: Obviously a play on some of the looting that went on here. So, you know, I think some people are trying to make fun of it a little bit.

WHITFIELD: Right. Well, still on a serious note, there were a lot of dissenters leading up to Mardi Gras, a lot of people who said, wait a minute, we're hurting too much, we still don't have homes, we don't have jobs, we don't have schools to put our kids in, we don't want to see Mardi Gras. So, now that Mardi Gras is here, what are a lot of those people saying about this?

LAWRENCE: Well, I think they're just staying away. You know, Mardi Gras' a voluntary thing. You know, a lot of people who are normally involved in the parades, some of them are out there. But you've got other parades like, say, the Zulu parade, which is one of the two biggest parades here on Mardi Gras, and many of its members don't have homes, they've got a much smaller crew than normal.

So, even there, you don't have as many people in the past. And the celebration is probably not going to be what it was, say, last year or in years past.

WHITFIELD: Where in the past, they say they've always been able to enjoy $300 million from Mardi Gras over past year. This year they're saying they're hoping for at least half that.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much, from Bourbon Street.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Well, is it too soon to party? A CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup Poll asked Americans that very question, how New Orleans should handle the annual carnival. And 33 percent say it should indeed go on just like in the past. Thirty-nine percent say the city should scale back the festivities, as they have. And 22 percent say the city should have canceled the whole event altogether.

CNN's reporters are back "ON THE STORY" with a special look at covering the aftermath of Katrina. It's been almost six months since Katrina devastated New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast. Well, don't miss a brand news edition of "ON THE STORY" tonight at 7:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

Well, it's not all about the return of Mardi Gras after Katrina. Want to invite you on a trip to Waveland, Mississippi. See why almost six months after Katrina the town hasn't seen much of an improvement at all.

And deserted streets in Baghdad and still more attacks today. What is the Iraqi government doing to stop the surge in violence?

Also, with al Qaeda claiming responsibility for the attack on Saudi Arabia's biggest oil facility, how safe is the world's oil supply? And will you end up paying more at the pump?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: These days Baghdad seems more like a ghost town than a bustling capital. A curfew kept people off of the streets for most of the day, and cars won't be able to enter or leave the city tomorrow. But the violence that's gripped Iraq since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine persists.

CNN's Aneesh Raman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Extreme measures for a desperate situation. The ministers of interior and defense announcing Baghdad will be under extended curfew for 34 hours, Saturday night through Monday morning. But despite curfews, despite cleric calls for an end to the attacks, the country is far from calm.

In Karbala, where no curfew had been imposed, a remotely-detonated car bomb killed at least five, wounding some 30 others.

In Baghdad, the funeral of "Al Arabiya" reporter Awar Baja (ph), killed in Samarra on Wednesday, came under attack. Gunmen fired on the procession which was being escorted by Iraqi police. At least two security officers were killed.

In Baquba, a snapshot of sectarian strife. Eleven members of a Shia family were gunned down after armed men stormed their home.

And on Baghdad TV, a Sunni channel, video of what they say are Sunni sites targeted in the aftermath of Wednesday's attack on the sacred Shia mosque in Samarra. Some 140 sites nationwide, say Sunni politicians, have been targeted. Close to 20 mosques destroyed.

As the violence continues, there are small signs of progress. Leaders working feverishly to try to find a solution for a problem the defense minister says has long been brewing.

SAADOUN DULAIMI, IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): What is happening in Iraq is not the reaction to a single incident. It's an expression of a culmination of what Iraqis have gone through over two years.

RAMAN: And another important image. Senior Sunni and Shia clerics hold hands, announcing an agreement to not attack religious sites.

The biggest threat now, analysts say, are Shia militias. They're angry, on the offensive, not heeding the calls for calm. And with the country's fledgling security forces unable to reign them in, if the militias decide that enough is enough, civil war would be near impossible to avert.

Tensions in Iraq have now hit a new level as the country tries desperately to avert the worst case scenario.

(on camera): While many Iraqis are calling for unity, tensions here remain incredibly high. An opportunity for any number of extreme groups to exploit the situation and send things spinning out control.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: With so much at stake, President Bush is reaching out to try to diffuse the tensions. He made a round of phone calls today to Iraqi leaders of all sects to encourage them to work together.

A National Security Council spokesman says the president condemned the bombing of the mosque in Samarra. And one of the Iraqi leaders receiving a call says Mr. Bush expressed U.S. support in rebuilding that shrine.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, concerns of a different kind. Al Qaeda is threatening more attacks on Saudi oil facilities one day after a failed strike. The close call is raising all sorts of serious questions.

Here's CNN's Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It didn't turn out to be the nightmare scenario, but al Qaeda's attack on the Abqaiq oil processing terminal was the first direct attack on a Saudi oil facility, one that processes two thirds of the country's petroleum exports. ADRIAN BRINKS, PETROLEUM ANALYST: If they had gone to the right place, they could have done very significant damage and badly affected Saudi oil production.

ROBERTSON: At least two explosive packed cars cleared the outer ring of the plant's defenses, possibly disguised as company vehicles. But before the attackers could go further, the Saudis say, they were confronted by special forces troops that guard every major petroleum facility. Their vehicles, said to be packed with explosives for a suicide attack exploded a mile-and-a-half from the main gate.

NAWAF OBAID, SAUDI NATIONAL SECURITY CONSULTANT: His is a complete vindication of what the Saudi security forces and the authorities have been saying over the last three years, that if you're going to attack the Saudi oil industry, the main facilities are so well protected that the would-be attackers would not come close to the main facility.

ROBERTSON: When we visited what could be another prime target, the Saudi oil refinery in port of Ras Tanura 18 months ago, we saw some of the security arrangements in place -- multiple checkpoints, double fencing, some of the 5,000 police that patrol, along with the army, refineries spread out over vast amounts of open ground.

But despite the defenses, one analyst worries that the billions the Saudis say they're spending upgrading security might not stop the next attack.

BRINKS: They're attacking these -- this very important facility, it's going to make the oil market extremely nervous.

ROBERTSON: The attack didn't succeed and the oil kept flowing. But oil prices still jumped more than $2 a barrel, the biggest increase in months.

With al Qaeda's leaders still calling for attacks on Saudi oil, the nightmare scenario remains a frightening possibility.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Belgrade, Serbia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Waveland or wasteland? Why this Mississippi town still looks more like a war zone than anything else almost six months after Katrina.

Also ahead, how an unusual way to spend spring break can make a difference to college students and to Katrina victims.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Months after Hurricane Katrina struck, cleanup operations are at a standstill in many towns along the Gulf Coast. Take, for instance, Waveland, Mississippi. Debris piles, full of plywood, trees, garbage as far as the eye can see.

CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a look at what's behind the holdup. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In waveland, nearly six months after Katrina, there are signs of progress. But for the people living here, the pace is far too slow. Block after block, acre after acre, debris remains piled up.

(on camera): And this area, which is south of the railroad, who's supposed to clean this up?

MAYOR TOMMY LONGO, WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI: This area is being done by the Corps of Engineers.

COOPER: By the federal government?

LONGO: By the federal government, yes.

COOPER (voice over): That's Waveland's mayor, Tommy Longo.

LONGO: Well, it's been extremely frustrating. And we had a meeting last week with my -- my board. And the big term, you know, has been is that they're "ramping up." That's the terminology that's used.

And so I understand people being overwhelmed. But, you know, 60 days after the event, you should be ramped up. You should be getting the job done. Not six months.

COOPER: So far, the Army Corps of Engineers have removed nearly 300,000 cubic yards of debris from the southern part of Waveland. But Mayor Longo points out private contractors he hired to remove debris in the northern part of town have removed some 600,000 cubic yards, more than twice the amount of debris cleaned up by the federal government.

LONGO: With the private contractors, they work for us. The city has control. They work seven days a week. They work from dusk to down. They're -- they're getting the job done.

COOPER: The Army Corps of Engineers' spokesman told us essentially they're doing the best they can.

SGT. 1ST CLASS CARL CHILDS, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: The only thing that we can do is just band together as a team and, you know, try to remove as much debris as possible, as quickly as possible.

COOPER: Mayor Longo wishes he had the resources to hire more private contractors and is especially grateful for the hundreds of volunteers who've come to Waveland, rebuilding parks. And in the case of these Amish carpenters, building new homes.

LONGO: I don't think there has ever been a coming together of so many diverse faith-based organizations. And they're all there working for one common goal, and that's to get people's lives back in order.

COOPER: Amazingly, Mayor Longo says the Army Corps of Engineers has actually stopped volunteers from removing debris. LONGO: We have volunteers from around the country that come with whatever they can afford, and they'll be stopped and told that they -- they don't believe they're volunteers.

COOPER (on camera): So volunteers are actually stopped by the Army Corps of Engineers from helping to clean up?

LONGO: It's happened quite often.

COOPER: Why would they do that?

LONGO: I guess there's value -- a value on debris.

COOPER (voice over): The Army Corps of Engineers insists they encourage volunteers, and when informed of the mayor's statement, they told us they'd investigate.

(on camera): When you see all this stuff still sitting out here, what do you think?

LONGO: I get angry about it and I get frustrated because I have a very resilient community, and they're wonderful, wonderful folks. But emotionally, you know, they're getting fragile.

COOPER: Anderson Cooper, CNN, Waveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's not too often you hear spring break and volunteerism in the same sentence, but it is happening, thanks to MTV and the United Way of America. The two organizations have put together the Alternative Spring Break to help the recovery effort along the Gulf Coast.

Here now to tell us more about the project is United Way's Randy Punley.

Randy, good to see you.

RANDY PUNLEY, UNITED WAY OF AMERICA: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Well, where did this idea come from?

PUNLEY: Actually, the most -- as most good ideas, it has no lack of parents. But I first heard about the idea from our president, Brian Gallegher, who came back and shared it with us and said, "See what you can do." And so, we went to our friends at MTV, and they were also excited about the idea.

But essentially, it's -- the idea is to inspire young people to get involved in the Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts, to roll up their sleeves and to go down and experience what is happening on the Gulf Coast, which you just showed on your prior segment, to actually understand more about problems that are down there, and to then take that experience back and share it with their peers, their families, their college classmates and their communities. WHITFIELD: So it was one thing to come up with idea, and then you had to convey this idea to the very people you're trying to attract. You came up with some rather clever PSAs. Let's take a quick look right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hurricane Katrina may have seemed like a long time ago, but for millions of Americas it's still here every day. Make a difference by taking an Alternative Spring Break. Join Storm Corps and travel with MTV and the United Way to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. Go to think.mtv.com to apply now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the word is out. You've asked all of these young people, mostly college-aged kids, to get involved, get their hands dirty.

Do you have any takers?

PUNLEY: Oh, yes. We've had nearly 2,000 applicants, and we're now in the process of screening those applicants and selecting the 100 young people who are going to go down there.

WHITFIELD: How will you pick them?

PUNLEY: Well, it's a process of -- it's a very difficult process, because what's -- there's just so much depth of talent and passion and commitment and, frankly, experience amongst the young people who've applied. It's rather surprising and a bit humbling to see how much energy and passion they have to go down there.

WHITFIELD: What are some of the things that these students are going to do once they get to these, you know, respective places?

PUNLEY: They'll be in Mississippi working on some houses to de-mold them. And in -- and also in Mississippi, to work on helping rebuild the social service infrastructure in that community.

And in Alabama, actually, they'll be working on some houses that were damaged by Hurricane Ivan last year. Again, reemphasizing the critical nature of rebuilding that goes on for years to come after a storm like this has hit.

WHITFIELD: And when does this work begin? Spring break, you know, can be anywhere between, you know, February and March, for that matter, and April. So when do they pack up their bags and start getting their hands dirty?

PUNLEY: Well, we'll be meeting up in the Gulf Coast the 11th through the 17th of March.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right.

Randy Punley of the United Way. Thanks so much, and good luck on -- this is a pretty colossal effort.

PUNLEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: A look at what's happening right now.

The FBI is investigating the presence of a potentially deadly toxin at the University of Texas. Preliminary tests found the substance to be ricin. Two students are being treated, but neither have shown symptoms of poisoning.

Cloudy skies today for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Friendly weather is forecast as the celebration nears its climax. New Orleans is begging on Mardi Gras to jumpstart its spirits and its economy, both battered by Hurricane Katrina.

And more than a dozen people were killed today in a building collapse in Bangladesh. The multi-story building crashed on to tin roof shanties in the capital city of Dhaka.

Curfews in parts of Iraq again today amid fevered efforts to contain the surge of violence that exploded this week. Iraq's feuding political leaders held a dramatic unity meeting, and President Bush even worked the phone to demonstrate U.S. support. Still, reports from around the country say renewed killing has claimed dozens of lives.

And al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the failed attack on a key Saudi oil installation. The attempted suicide attack was thwarted by guards who opened fire Friday on explosive-Laden cars at one of the world's biggest petroleum processing plants.

Mardi Gras is not just for New Orleanians. There are celebrations in Biloxi, Mississippi, as well and the parading there also comes with big smiles and hopes for desperately needed business in the future.

And wind versus water. What caused Katrina victims to lose everything? And how are American's biggest insurance companies using this argument to avoid paying what victims say is rightfully theirs? (

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, despite the hard knocks from Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi residents are putting on a few beads today as well. Many eager for a chance to smile are enjoying Mardi Gras celebrations. And the locals are hoping it will bring in some much-needed business. CNN's Kathleen Koch looks at what has been a very slow recovery process for one business in particular in Gulfport.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This may look like a scene from August. It's not. This is how the Fast-Trac Convenient store still looks today. NORMAN BARRENTINE, FAST-TRAC CHAIN MANAGER: Yep. Time is standing still but we're going forward.

KOCH: Norman Barrentine manages a chain of stores in Mississippi. Two were flattened. This one in Gulfport, he insists, despite appearances, can be restored.

(on camera): So this is the store that looks good?

BARRENTINE: This is the one that looks good. It's the one that looks good.

KOCH (voice-over): Barrentine says the reason this Fast-Trac is on such a slow road to recovery is simple. Not battles with the insurance company, getting somebody to do the work.

BARRENTINE: You know all your construction people are just swamped. Pluming people, electrician, everyone's got more work than they can do.

KOCH: Barrentine hopes in the next 30 days the rotting food and other goods strewn through the store will finally be removed and that his 10 former employees will by years end, some 16 months after the hurricane, be able to return to their jobs.

BARRENTINE: It takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. Storm take you out over night but it'll take you a little while to come back. So we'll rebuild it. It'll be a better store, a nicer store. A more modern store.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Gulfport, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Six months after Hurricane Katrina and many of the victims are still waiting for compensations. It's become a bitter battle. On one side, homeowners and local officials, many of whom have lost almost everything, on the other, some the country's biggest insurance companies. CNN's Sean Callebs reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at the punishing storm surge from Hurricane Katrina that rolled through the heart of Biloxi, Mississippi.

Mayor A.J. Holloway watched the devastation from this vantage point at city hall.

MAYOR A.J. HOLLOWAY, BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI: I'll never forget it, I guarantee you. I never want to see it again, either. I never in the world thought anything would come like this.

CALLEBS: Biloxi's Chamber of Commerce was here.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: I want to interrupt that program and take you straight to Austin, Texas, where we're listening now to Commander Mike Elliott in relation to the University of Texas, Austin, finding of a powdery substance, which preliminary test came back as ricin.

COMMANDER MIKE ELLIOTT: One preliminary test came back as ricin but we've had subsequent tests have shown -- have not shown it to be ricin. So right now we really don't know what we have are dealing with. We're taking every precaution that it could be so we're going to err on the side of conservatism.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ].

ELLIOTT: What she did is when she opened up her roll of quarters, she found a substantial amount of a whitish brown powder in there which is unusual. That -- she brought that to the attention of the university of police department. We have standards within the city of Austin to respond to those types of things and that incident did happen. It was taken to the state lab for analysis. Their preliminary tests showed up with ricin and, hence, we're not taking any chances until we know definitely when it is or is not ricin.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: No one has shown any signs and symptoms at all. With ricin, we should have seen some symptomology if there was actual exposure to the individuals and nobody's shown anything over this period of time.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: It will depend on the route of exposure, if it's something that you breathed in or inhaled in, you're going to have shortness of breath. They're going to have chest pain chest tightness and you may start coughing up some blood.

If it's gone in through the mouth or the nose and nasal routes, it's ingested or something like that, you're going to get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. Could be some bloody diarrhea. Could be some bloody vomitus. You're always going to have fever. You're always going to have general malaise. So it's hard to tell. Initially you're just going to feel bad, you think do I have the flu or the cold or down here in Texas, allergies?

The roll of quarters came from her mom. She gave them to her at the beginning of last semester to use in the laundry room and that is exactly what she was doing. She happened to open them up and found that powder in there.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: The powder that in question is relatively heavy. It's relatively coarse. And we're not -- and the concern is not of an -- we don't think it was an intentional act where somebody would make something very fine. Very aerosolized. They didn't put it by an air- handling system. It wasn't put in a spot that would one would think that would it be meant to harm anybody and kick it around throughout this system. If the victim who physically handled it doesn't have any symptomology, the risk to anybody else is extremely, extremely small.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: The material that was taken originally has been sent off or is going to be sent off today over to CDC and I also heard reports that it might be going up to Fort Deitrich as well for analysis. This will follow that same path.

It will start to the state health services lab for preliminary testing. And then it, too, will follow that path up to the CDC for confirmatory --

QUESTION: [ inaudible ] --

ELLIOTT: Day or two days, yes. Depending on how the feds can get it over there and all of that.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: All we're doing right now is we're accessing the washateria (ph), the washer and dryer. Actually accessing the coins and the route they went through the mechanism to get the material that they can actually take some samples from.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: Yes, those are the only test results we have are from the state lab here in Austin.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: Yes, they are -- they have worked with ricin. They have test kits to test for ricin and they've experimented with it before.

QUESTION: [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: I don't know exactly the false positives of frequency on -- for ricin. I don't know that information.

QUESTION: Can you describe exactly how much [ inaudible ]

ELLIOTT: The reports that I heard were it was originally reported to be a couple of grams. And when we further questioned the person on how much a gram of material actually is, it came down to be less than a half a gram of material. So you can think of that as a Sweet and Low package is about a gram. So thinking about half of a Sweet and Low package of material wrapped up in the quarters.

WHITFIELD: You've been listening to Austin's Travis County Commander Mike Elliott talk about preliminary tests have been conducted on the powdery substance that a student at the University of Texas, Austin, found. And those preliminary tests are positive but now subsequent tests, he is saying, two other subsequent tests are showing negative. However further testing is to be taken place.

And meantime, they're looking now into the Washateria there that a lot of the students would use. Particularly because of this powdery substance was found in a roll of coins and the students received this roll of coins from her parent for laundry and now investigators are looking into the machines to see if there is any traces of anything like ricin. Of course we'll bring you more as we get it.

Meantime, spring is getting closer and with it comes allergy season. Why does it make millions of you just so miserable? Our Dr. Bill Lloyd has some key answers on how to get through it all in one piece. Hello, Dr. Bill. See you in a little bit.

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WHITFIELD: It won't be long before spring has sprung and unfortunately allergy season comes with it. But do you have itchy, runny eyes without pets or even pollen? The cause could be very common household items. In our "Living Well" segment today, we focus on secret allergies.

Joining us now to uncover some of those secrets is Dr. Bill Lloyd. Good to see you. So no longer should we be associating allergies mostly with just Spring. But there are a lot of other reasons why we have allergies.

DR. BILL LLOYD, UNIV. OF CALIF.-DAVIS MED. CTR.: Allergy season is year round it appears because we're surrounded by things that make us itchy. Take care the usual suspect, the dust and the dust mites but your house is loaded with lots of other things that people don't think about that makes them allergic.

WHITFIELD: So, how do we pinpoint some of these allergies?

LLOYD: Well you might want to keep a diary. When you get allergic to something you might think about what was I doing before this happened? Many people wake up allergic way stuffy nose. You can bet that whatever is making you allergic is just a few inches away from your face.

So it may be a detergent your laundry. It may be new laundry. Be sure you wash those sheets before you make that bed with brand new linen.

WHITFIELD: And what's it make of this cross reactivity, what is that?

LLOYD: It means if you're allergic to one thing you may be allergic something to it. People who are allergic to melons for example, shouldn't eat avocados. People who have a strong poison ivy reaction need to stay away from the tropical fruit mango because the same allergen in poison ivy is also in mango.

WHITFIELD: Wow and what's the relationship between allergies and asthma, because there is one right?

LLOYD: They're linked with what is called irritants. Individual chemicals that may be around the house that could trigger the same inflammatory response that you get with an allergy that could go to full-blown asthma. Things like fireplace smoke. If you're burning wood in your house, you're filling your house with all kind of irritants.

Fresh cut flowers. Hold up on the romance. Maybe it's not your pet but your neighbor's pet is crossing up with your doggie and bringing that dander into the house. Abrupt changes in temperature from cold weather to warm weather can also be a powerful irritant.

WHITFIELD: And once folks have kept their diaries and they think they've figured it all out, do they need to think of over-the-counter type of remedies or just stay away from these things altogether?

LLOYD: Well, if you are in trouble, you might talk to your doctor about what may be the best remedy, but one more thing that you can do is remove the load of irritants on your body when you go to bed. It's bedtime when the allergies strike most. So take a shower before you go to bed. No soap, no shampoos, just plain water, dry yourself off and hop in the bed and you'll sleep sounder.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and know these things that can happen all year- round, it really doesn't always have to do with what's blooming outside.

LLOYD: You're right. Allergy season is 12 months out of year. Hey, I have to go to my Mardi Gras party.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. All right, well, he was just one of the grand hopes for gold for the U.S. Olympic ski team but it didn't happen. Why? What were many U.S. athletes up against at the Winter Olympics in Torino?

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WHITFIELD: An elderly driver in North Carolina says she didn't mean any harm. Eighty year old Margaret Riley was finally pulled over on an interstate after driving the wrong direction for 14 miles. She says she noticed motorists honking but it never seemed to hit her that they were trying to get her attention. Riley wasn't arrested. But authorities placed her driving privileges under review. She did use her blinker when the cop pulled her over. She thought she was law- abiding.

Another tough outing for the U.S. Olympic ski team today in Torino. One-time favorite, Bode Miller straddled a gate near the start of a slalom run, he never finished the race and will leave the Olympics without a medal. Larry Smith reports from Torino. America's ballyhooed Olympic skiers haven't lived up to their hype.

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LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the self- proclaimed best in the world. It's written right there under media guide. The U.S. Olympic ski team, 19 skiers with 31 World Cup victories among them. And what do they have to show for their trip to Torino? Just two medals from Olympic rookies Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso.

TIM LAYDEN, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: It's two 21-year-olds. So all a sudden right before our eyes maybe we're looking at a changing of the guard on the whole team and I don't know that they expected that. It turns out the younger people are helping them save face.

PHIL HERSH, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: I think maybe some of those coaches are already look for the classified ads because they certainly didn't get the skiers READY to perform at their highest level here.

SMITH: Bode Miller and company have certainly been the biggest disappointment in a Winter Games filled with disappointment are for the U.S. and it's not just losing, it's how they're losing. Missed gates, skiing off course and simply failing to live up to expectations.

HERSH: They've done miserably. I watched a couple of races and Lindsey Kildow skied off and Bode skied off and there's no excuse for the way they've done. They just have not skied well.

CHRIS KLUG, 2002 OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALIST: The Olympics is another race in the season. Granted it's the biggest race every four years. It's the Super Bowl of skiing and snowboarding and the one time every four years that the international spotlight's on our sports.

LAYDEN: They set a goal of eight medals here and I think if Bode Miller and Daryn Rawls had skied up to their World Cup level, eight medals is a very reasonable expectation.

SMITH: Tumbling downward ahead of the rest has been Miller, the reigning World Cup champ who some thought could grab as many as five medals of his own. The outspoken Miller has always said that winning isn't nearly as important as some make it out to be. Apparently, he's finding that out on the biggest stage.

HERSH: Bode said a year ago that he was concerned that winning a couple gold medals would make him too famous to live a normal life. Well, Bode doesn't have to worry about that anymore.

SMITH: Even the snowboarders haven't been immune, Providing perhaps the most embarrassing U.S. moment when Lindsey Jacobellis threw away a certain gold medal with a hot dog move 50 yards from finish in the women's snowboard cross.

LINDSAY JACOBELLIS, 2005 SILVER MEDALIST: It's definitely a fluke. I don't expect myself to ever do something like this again. And I will go away with a smile on my face because I'm a medalist.

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SMITH: The difference is that nearly one-third of the medals the U.S. has won have come from the snowboarders. Proving themselves as the most valuable Americans and at least living up to their billing as truly the best in the world. Larry Smith, CNN, Torino.

WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN. Carol Lin is up next with more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

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