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Pirates Off Yemeni Coast; Shark Attack; West Nile Virus

Aired June 09, 2005 - 13:30   ET

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

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


WHITFIELD: And Susan, what's this talk about turmoil at insurance giant AIG?
LISOVICZ: Well, it's continuing turmoil really, Fred. Hank Greenberg has resigned from the board of American International Group. That the company he built into one of the world's largest insurers. His resignation comes after months of scandal there. Earlier this year, the company's board forced the 80-year-old Greenberg to relinquish his post as president and CEO after the government filed a lawsuit against him and other executives, alleging they were part of an accounting scheme. AIG shares have tumbled since then, but they're slightly higher today. And that's pretty much how we could describe the overall market.

It was very choppy in the morning. It seem like investors couldn't figure out what the Fed chief was saying. But we've got a modest uptick here. Dow Industrials up 13 1/2 points. The Nasdaq adding 9 1/2 or a half a percent.

That's latest from Wall Street. More LIVE FROM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in. CNN has learned kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni was released today. Cantoni spent more than four weeks in captivity in Afghanistan.

A Wisconsin teen goes to Capitol Hill to lobby for stronger laws to protect children from juvenile sexual predators. Amie Zyla was assaulted by a 14-year-old when she was just 8. She's lobbying for an bill called "Amie's Law," allowing local authorities to release the names of juvenile sex offenders. Much more on this story coming up next hour.

Howard Dean goes to the Hill as well today for a meeting with Senate Democratic leadership of the party's agenda. Dean also answered criticism about his harsh criticism about the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: I think a lot of this is exactly what the Republicans want as a diversion. The truth is that we need to focus on exactly the issues that Harry Reid just talked about, and we're going to. We hardly had any discussions about what's going on in the media circus and all that stuff in the last two weeks. What we're focused on is how have a decent Social Security system, how to have strong national defense, how to have jobs in America again, how to deal with incredibly high gas prices and get a decent energy bill which actually will do something about gas prices. That's what our agenda is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A look now at a fast-growing and competitive industry that, on the surface, looks like a benefit for everyone involved: the commercial air ambulance, helicopters serving rural America day or night, a 911 call away. But there's a cautious side to the business of human safety, a side many say is being overlooked. CNN's Drew Griffin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bob Arnesson Jr. is no softy. He builds motorcycles, operates heavy machinery for a living -- not a guy to break down in the middle of his kitchen, unless you get him talking about his father.

BOB ARNESSON, SON OF VICTIM: Everything I know, he taught me. I mean, when I was an apprentice, he was a journeyman. We used to go to union meetings together. Everything that I am, he helped mold me.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Here is in the...

ARNESSON: Marine Corps.

GRIFFIN: Marine Corps, huh?

ARNESSON: That's just before he shipped out to Korea.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The tough Marine who fought and survived in Korea was in a serious car accident in February, rolling over his SUV in rural Arkansas. But the accident isn't what killed him.

ARNESSON: He was combative. He was alert. He didn't want the neck brace on or the backboard or any of that.

GRIFFIN: Arnesson's father was a 45-minute drive from the nearest hospital. So, paramedics called for an air ambulance. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Arnesson was loaded in a medical helicopter operated by the private company Air- Evac Lifeteam. The chopper rose to 100 feet, began to spin, and dropped, with all three crew members on board seriously injured. Bob Arnesson Sr. was killed.

ARNESSON: When I heard the helicopter crashed, I thought they were to save lives, not take lives.

GRIFFIN: Arnesson is not alone. Last July, a patient and three crew members died in South Carolina when a Med-Trans helicopter crashed into trees. In April of last year, another Air-Evac helicopter crashed in Indiana. The patient died after being ejected from the helicopter. In September 2002, four people, including a patient, died when a CareFlight air ambulance when down in South Dakota. And the number of crashes is increasing. Nineteen accidents killed 18 people last year, compared to just five accidents a decade ago.

But with 47 million Americans living at least one hour form a serious trauma center, the air ambulance business is booming. And private companies are now competing for patients and the 5- to $10,000 transport fees insurance companies will pay.

TOM JUDGE, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF AIR MEDICAL SERVICES: The increase in the number of accidents has drawn people's attention.

GRIFFIN: Tom Judge runs LifeFlight of Maine, a nonprofit company, and is president of the industry trade group, the Association of Air Medical Services.

JUDGE: We don't know if the rate of accidents has actually increased or not, because there's a lot more helicopters flying a lot more patients.

GRIFFIN: Judge's group doesn't keep records on how many times these helicopters are flying. But what he does know is, the number of helicopters is skyrocketing, from just 119 in 1985 to more than 650 today.

The association estimates, those helicopters will fly 350,000 patients this year. Some paramedics, hospital administrators and doctors say that is just too many. One recent study looked at 37,000 patients transported by helicopter and found that nearly two-thirds had only minor injuries; 25 percent of them were actually released from the hospital within 24 hours.

Judge points to other studies, like one that found one in four patients flown by air might have died without a helicopter rescue. But he says there is always a risk, which is why he says companies should onto fly when absolutely necessary.

JUDGE: The call is made for life- or limb-saving intervention. That's at the heart of every kind of call, that there's something that's a life threat or a limb threat.

GRIFFIN: That is why the next part of this story may surprise you. The company Air-Evac Lifeteam is actively recruiting patients, selling low-cost memberships in towns across the Midwest, towns like Hermann, Missouri, telling customers, if they have a medical problem, just call us. We're free to members.

Elliott and Marion Chamberlain paid Air-Evac's $45 membership this year.

ELLIOTT CHAMBERLAIN, AIR-EVAC MEMBER: In essence, it's $45 and it's good insurance.

MARION CHAMBERLAIN, AIR-EVAC MEMBER: Yes, because...

GRIFFIN (on camera): Peace of mind.

E. CHAMBERLAIN: Peace of mind, yes.

M. CHAMBERLAIN: Yes, because...

GRIFFIN: You know you can get there.

And, in Hermann, Missouri, where the closest major hospitals are a half-hour to an hour away, emergency officials here say it's hard not to buy into that sales pitch and join up. But, they say, there's only a tiny fraction of people who will ever need air ambulance service. What they're finding is people calling helicopters now for minor problems.

CLIFF ROST, MORRISON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Small stuff. They have got the number. You know, it's an extremely rural area.

And for $50, they can call and they will fly a helicopter.

GRIFFIN: What are we talking about, broken arms, pain in the stomach?

ROST: Yes. Yes.

GRIFFIN: Really? ROST: Pretty much. Pretty much anything. You got the number. Call.

GRIFFIN: And they call the helicopter first before they call EMS.

ROST: Right. Right.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Air-Evac says it will only transport patients for life- or limb-threatening emergencies. And it says that just 2 percent of calls come directly from its members.

But, to Doug Clark, who runs the local ambulance service here in Hermann, the whole idea of air helicopter memberships is unnecessary. If anybody needs to be evacuated by air, he says they will be, whether they have a membership or not. He's concerned about the increased risks to all those people who call for helicopters that he says they don't need.

DOUG CLARK, HERMANN AMBULANCE SERVICE: I don't think it's the best policy to leave to the patient whether they need the helicopter or not, to call specifically and say, hey, send the helicopter out here to my house. And, one, it's expensive. And, two, it's not safe.

GRIFFIN: Air-Evac declined to talk on camera with CNN, but, in a written response, said it has recently changed its membership program and now encourages members to call 911 first, adding that nothing is more important than the safety of their patients and crew. Still, Air-Evac's own recent accidents highlight the risks involved in air ambulances. Its helicopters have crashed three times in just the last 14 months. Two of them were fatal. The most recent was the crash that killed Bob Arnesson's father. He now plans to sue Air-Evac. His father, he says, wouldn't want it any other way.

ARNESSON: He would want me to make things right to where nobody else had to die unnecessarily.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: The first named storm of the season is tooting around in the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast, coming up next.

Also ahead, experts say it was a baby great white shark that took a bite out of this New Jersey teenager. Hear what happened. And get the bizarre link between the incident and a blockbuster movie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, a 17-year-old New Jersey surfer is recuperating from getting in that warm water. And recuperating from a shark attack, mostly, in waters off Ocean County. And experts say it could have been the bite of a young great white. If it is, it would be the first documented great white attack in these waters in 30 years. Hey, wait a minute. This also happens to be the 30th anniversary of....

(MUSIC FROM "JAWS" FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

WHITFIELD: Ooh, the sound sends chills. Coincidence? Maybe not. Well, you just think about while Jeff Rossen from New York affiliate WABC tells us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN HORTON, SHARK BITE VICTIM: It felt like a baseball bat had whacked my foot. And then I looked over at it and it was just a huge chunk missing.

JEFF ROSSEN, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): He's so matter of fact about it. This is Ryan Horton, only 17 years old. He was bleeding in the water. With only one useful leg, he paddled to shore, hoping the shark wouldn't come back.

HORTON: I runned from here to there and then there's a little one that goes underneath the ankle bone there.

ROSSEN: Down to the bone?

HORTON: This one's down to the bone. This one's just like a little cut. ROSSEN (voice-over): This is the wound itself and it's deep. Ryan's mother e-mailed this picture to a shark expert in Florida, who confirmed this is a shark bite. Most likely, he says a young great white, about six feet long.

HORTON: They're more scared of us than we are of them. The only reason I think that it had got me because maybe I was disturbing its territory. I saw two perfect Vs that could have been shark teeth. And the expert from Florida, he's seen three. So that's how I definitely knew it was a shark.

ROSSEN: It's nothing new. Sharks swim off the Jersey shore, always have. But attacks are rare. This is the first in New Jersey in 30 years. There have been only 16 attacks in state history. And so today we checked the beach. In the exact spot of the attack, people are back in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's only one case in 30 years, you know? You have to live your life. You can't be worrying about all these little things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'll let her go in, but I'll keep a close eye on her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ahh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right?

ROSSEN: Ryan's leg is all bandaged up. He'll need crutches for a few weeks, then physical therapy. He'll walk again, but doctors can't promise a full recovery.

(on camera): Do you want to surf again?

HORTON: Maybe next year. I'll think about it next year. But not this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOTCOM NEWSDESK (on camera): As the first day of summer draws near, the warmer weather means buzzing mosquitoes and the threat of West Nile Virus. CNN.com has all the information you need to stay safe this summer.

(voice over): The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1937, but wasn't documented in the U.S. until 1999. It spreads via mosquitoes that become carriers when they feed on infected birds. This gallery details how the virus originates and is transmitted from animals to humans, the probability that you will be infected and how common it is compared to other illnesses. This interactive shows how the virus spread since it was first detected in New York six years ago. Also, see how your state has been affected.

The most deadly outbreak of the virus in the U.S. was in 2002 -- 284 people died. Check out this gallery to find out what symptoms to look for and how to distinguish between mild and severe cases. Also, get some prevention tips, including the best insect repellents and gadgets to keep mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus at bay.

And you can find it all online at CNN.com/WestNile. From the DotCom Newsdesk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A little travel tip for you: when sailing around the world, watch out for pirates -- yes, pirates. An adventurous American couple found this -- found that there really are pirates, and they found out the hard way. CNN's John Vause has their story.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They're safe now: Jay Barry and Carol Martini, their boat "Gandalf" moored in the southern Israeli port of Ashkelon, 1300 miles away from the heavily- armed modern-day pirates whom they say attacked them on the open seas.

CAROL MARTINI, VICTIM OF PIRATES: I think they were triing to kill us.

VAUSE: March 6, they left Salalah, Oman, traveling with another sailboat. Three days later, they reached the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen -- a dangerous stretch of water known as Pirate's Alley. The sun was setting and Carol was on watch.

MARTINI: I saw two boats ahead of us that weren't in a position to be fishing or anything that looked like it was something normal that they would be doing.

JAY BARRY, VICTIM OF PIRATES: We closed ranks with our friend's boat. As soon as this was noticed, both of the pirate boats throttled up -- you could tell from the black smoke from the exhaust -- and came straight at us -- one attack boat for each of the sailboats, and then began firing.

VAUSE: The pirates, they say, were armed and firing semiautomatic weapons. Firing so close, Jay later found the casing from one of at least 14 bullets which he says hit his boat.

BARRY: Took one bullet to the deck.

VAUSE: Most of the holes have been patched. Under fire, and about to be boarded, he went on the offensive.

BARRY: ...and then turned around to board us on this side of the boat. When they turned, they were just far enough off that gave me enough time, in the turning circle of the boat, to be able to turn the boat very, very quickly into them, with the momentum we had.

VAUSE: "Gandalf's" steel hull still bears the damage from where it smashed into the small wooden pirate boat, hoisting it out of the water.

BARRY: One boat turned right up sideways on the front of "Gandalf," stayed there for a little while, which was getting a little concerned. We finally threw it in reverse, and with the sea state and the waves, backed off. It's the only opportunity I had -- one of the few times in your life when you actually did what you thought you should do at the right time and it worked.

VAUSE: At the same time, though, the pirates apparently gave up on the other sailboat. That skipper was armed and opened fire. So the second boat of pirates tried to board "Gandalf" from the stern.

MARTINI: I could see gunmen standing above Jay's head trying to board the back our boat from where I was down below on the radio. And I thought that was it.

VAUSE: According to Carol, the friendly skipper shot the two gunmen. It's not known if they're wounded or killed. Regardless, she says, it was their chance to make for safer waters. What's next?

BARRY: Next plan is to go to Cyprus.

VAUSE: And then?

BARRY: Turkey.

VAUSE: In the last five year, they've sailed two-thirds around the world and plan to keep going until their money and perhaps their luck as well, run out.

John Vause, CNN, Ashkelon, Israel.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END

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Aired June 9, 2005 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WHITFIELD: And Susan, what's this talk about turmoil at insurance giant AIG?
LISOVICZ: Well, it's continuing turmoil really, Fred. Hank Greenberg has resigned from the board of American International Group. That the company he built into one of the world's largest insurers. His resignation comes after months of scandal there. Earlier this year, the company's board forced the 80-year-old Greenberg to relinquish his post as president and CEO after the government filed a lawsuit against him and other executives, alleging they were part of an accounting scheme. AIG shares have tumbled since then, but they're slightly higher today. And that's pretty much how we could describe the overall market.

It was very choppy in the morning. It seem like investors couldn't figure out what the Fed chief was saying. But we've got a modest uptick here. Dow Industrials up 13 1/2 points. The Nasdaq adding 9 1/2 or a half a percent.

That's latest from Wall Street. More LIVE FROM after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This just in. CNN has learned kidnapped Italian aid worker Clementina Cantoni was released today. Cantoni spent more than four weeks in captivity in Afghanistan.

A Wisconsin teen goes to Capitol Hill to lobby for stronger laws to protect children from juvenile sexual predators. Amie Zyla was assaulted by a 14-year-old when she was just 8. She's lobbying for an bill called "Amie's Law," allowing local authorities to release the names of juvenile sex offenders. Much more on this story coming up next hour.

Howard Dean goes to the Hill as well today for a meeting with Senate Democratic leadership of the party's agenda. Dean also answered criticism about his harsh criticism about the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: I think a lot of this is exactly what the Republicans want as a diversion. The truth is that we need to focus on exactly the issues that Harry Reid just talked about, and we're going to. We hardly had any discussions about what's going on in the media circus and all that stuff in the last two weeks. What we're focused on is how have a decent Social Security system, how to have strong national defense, how to have jobs in America again, how to deal with incredibly high gas prices and get a decent energy bill which actually will do something about gas prices. That's what our agenda is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A look now at a fast-growing and competitive industry that, on the surface, looks like a benefit for everyone involved: the commercial air ambulance, helicopters serving rural America day or night, a 911 call away. But there's a cautious side to the business of human safety, a side many say is being overlooked. CNN's Drew Griffin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bob Arnesson Jr. is no softy. He builds motorcycles, operates heavy machinery for a living -- not a guy to break down in the middle of his kitchen, unless you get him talking about his father.

BOB ARNESSON, SON OF VICTIM: Everything I know, he taught me. I mean, when I was an apprentice, he was a journeyman. We used to go to union meetings together. Everything that I am, he helped mold me.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Here is in the...

ARNESSON: Marine Corps.

GRIFFIN: Marine Corps, huh?

ARNESSON: That's just before he shipped out to Korea.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The tough Marine who fought and survived in Korea was in a serious car accident in February, rolling over his SUV in rural Arkansas. But the accident isn't what killed him.

ARNESSON: He was combative. He was alert. He didn't want the neck brace on or the backboard or any of that.

GRIFFIN: Arnesson's father was a 45-minute drive from the nearest hospital. So, paramedics called for an air ambulance. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Arnesson was loaded in a medical helicopter operated by the private company Air- Evac Lifeteam. The chopper rose to 100 feet, began to spin, and dropped, with all three crew members on board seriously injured. Bob Arnesson Sr. was killed.

ARNESSON: When I heard the helicopter crashed, I thought they were to save lives, not take lives.

GRIFFIN: Arnesson is not alone. Last July, a patient and three crew members died in South Carolina when a Med-Trans helicopter crashed into trees. In April of last year, another Air-Evac helicopter crashed in Indiana. The patient died after being ejected from the helicopter. In September 2002, four people, including a patient, died when a CareFlight air ambulance when down in South Dakota. And the number of crashes is increasing. Nineteen accidents killed 18 people last year, compared to just five accidents a decade ago.

But with 47 million Americans living at least one hour form a serious trauma center, the air ambulance business is booming. And private companies are now competing for patients and the 5- to $10,000 transport fees insurance companies will pay.

TOM JUDGE, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF AIR MEDICAL SERVICES: The increase in the number of accidents has drawn people's attention.

GRIFFIN: Tom Judge runs LifeFlight of Maine, a nonprofit company, and is president of the industry trade group, the Association of Air Medical Services.

JUDGE: We don't know if the rate of accidents has actually increased or not, because there's a lot more helicopters flying a lot more patients.

GRIFFIN: Judge's group doesn't keep records on how many times these helicopters are flying. But what he does know is, the number of helicopters is skyrocketing, from just 119 in 1985 to more than 650 today.

The association estimates, those helicopters will fly 350,000 patients this year. Some paramedics, hospital administrators and doctors say that is just too many. One recent study looked at 37,000 patients transported by helicopter and found that nearly two-thirds had only minor injuries; 25 percent of them were actually released from the hospital within 24 hours.

Judge points to other studies, like one that found one in four patients flown by air might have died without a helicopter rescue. But he says there is always a risk, which is why he says companies should onto fly when absolutely necessary.

JUDGE: The call is made for life- or limb-saving intervention. That's at the heart of every kind of call, that there's something that's a life threat or a limb threat.

GRIFFIN: That is why the next part of this story may surprise you. The company Air-Evac Lifeteam is actively recruiting patients, selling low-cost memberships in towns across the Midwest, towns like Hermann, Missouri, telling customers, if they have a medical problem, just call us. We're free to members.

Elliott and Marion Chamberlain paid Air-Evac's $45 membership this year.

ELLIOTT CHAMBERLAIN, AIR-EVAC MEMBER: In essence, it's $45 and it's good insurance.

MARION CHAMBERLAIN, AIR-EVAC MEMBER: Yes, because...

GRIFFIN (on camera): Peace of mind.

E. CHAMBERLAIN: Peace of mind, yes.

M. CHAMBERLAIN: Yes, because...

GRIFFIN: You know you can get there.

And, in Hermann, Missouri, where the closest major hospitals are a half-hour to an hour away, emergency officials here say it's hard not to buy into that sales pitch and join up. But, they say, there's only a tiny fraction of people who will ever need air ambulance service. What they're finding is people calling helicopters now for minor problems.

CLIFF ROST, MORRISON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Small stuff. They have got the number. You know, it's an extremely rural area.

And for $50, they can call and they will fly a helicopter.

GRIFFIN: What are we talking about, broken arms, pain in the stomach?

ROST: Yes. Yes.

GRIFFIN: Really? ROST: Pretty much. Pretty much anything. You got the number. Call.

GRIFFIN: And they call the helicopter first before they call EMS.

ROST: Right. Right.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Air-Evac says it will only transport patients for life- or limb-threatening emergencies. And it says that just 2 percent of calls come directly from its members.

But, to Doug Clark, who runs the local ambulance service here in Hermann, the whole idea of air helicopter memberships is unnecessary. If anybody needs to be evacuated by air, he says they will be, whether they have a membership or not. He's concerned about the increased risks to all those people who call for helicopters that he says they don't need.

DOUG CLARK, HERMANN AMBULANCE SERVICE: I don't think it's the best policy to leave to the patient whether they need the helicopter or not, to call specifically and say, hey, send the helicopter out here to my house. And, one, it's expensive. And, two, it's not safe.

GRIFFIN: Air-Evac declined to talk on camera with CNN, but, in a written response, said it has recently changed its membership program and now encourages members to call 911 first, adding that nothing is more important than the safety of their patients and crew. Still, Air-Evac's own recent accidents highlight the risks involved in air ambulances. Its helicopters have crashed three times in just the last 14 months. Two of them were fatal. The most recent was the crash that killed Bob Arnesson's father. He now plans to sue Air-Evac. His father, he says, wouldn't want it any other way.

ARNESSON: He would want me to make things right to where nobody else had to die unnecessarily.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: The first named storm of the season is tooting around in the Gulf of Mexico. The forecast, coming up next.

Also ahead, experts say it was a baby great white shark that took a bite out of this New Jersey teenager. Hear what happened. And get the bizarre link between the incident and a blockbuster movie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, a 17-year-old New Jersey surfer is recuperating from getting in that warm water. And recuperating from a shark attack, mostly, in waters off Ocean County. And experts say it could have been the bite of a young great white. If it is, it would be the first documented great white attack in these waters in 30 years. Hey, wait a minute. This also happens to be the 30th anniversary of....

(MUSIC FROM "JAWS" FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

WHITFIELD: Ooh, the sound sends chills. Coincidence? Maybe not. Well, you just think about while Jeff Rossen from New York affiliate WABC tells us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN HORTON, SHARK BITE VICTIM: It felt like a baseball bat had whacked my foot. And then I looked over at it and it was just a huge chunk missing.

JEFF ROSSEN, WABC REPORTER (voice-over): He's so matter of fact about it. This is Ryan Horton, only 17 years old. He was bleeding in the water. With only one useful leg, he paddled to shore, hoping the shark wouldn't come back.

HORTON: I runned from here to there and then there's a little one that goes underneath the ankle bone there.

ROSSEN: Down to the bone?

HORTON: This one's down to the bone. This one's just like a little cut. ROSSEN (voice-over): This is the wound itself and it's deep. Ryan's mother e-mailed this picture to a shark expert in Florida, who confirmed this is a shark bite. Most likely, he says a young great white, about six feet long.

HORTON: They're more scared of us than we are of them. The only reason I think that it had got me because maybe I was disturbing its territory. I saw two perfect Vs that could have been shark teeth. And the expert from Florida, he's seen three. So that's how I definitely knew it was a shark.

ROSSEN: It's nothing new. Sharks swim off the Jersey shore, always have. But attacks are rare. This is the first in New Jersey in 30 years. There have been only 16 attacks in state history. And so today we checked the beach. In the exact spot of the attack, people are back in the water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's only one case in 30 years, you know? You have to live your life. You can't be worrying about all these little things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'll let her go in, but I'll keep a close eye on her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ahh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right?

ROSSEN: Ryan's leg is all bandaged up. He'll need crutches for a few weeks, then physical therapy. He'll walk again, but doctors can't promise a full recovery.

(on camera): Do you want to surf again?

HORTON: Maybe next year. I'll think about it next year. But not this year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOTCOM NEWSDESK (on camera): As the first day of summer draws near, the warmer weather means buzzing mosquitoes and the threat of West Nile Virus. CNN.com has all the information you need to stay safe this summer.

(voice over): The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1937, but wasn't documented in the U.S. until 1999. It spreads via mosquitoes that become carriers when they feed on infected birds. This gallery details how the virus originates and is transmitted from animals to humans, the probability that you will be infected and how common it is compared to other illnesses. This interactive shows how the virus spread since it was first detected in New York six years ago. Also, see how your state has been affected.

The most deadly outbreak of the virus in the U.S. was in 2002 -- 284 people died. Check out this gallery to find out what symptoms to look for and how to distinguish between mild and severe cases. Also, get some prevention tips, including the best insect repellents and gadgets to keep mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus at bay.

And you can find it all online at CNN.com/WestNile. From the DotCom Newsdesk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A little travel tip for you: when sailing around the world, watch out for pirates -- yes, pirates. An adventurous American couple found this -- found that there really are pirates, and they found out the hard way. CNN's John Vause has their story.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They're safe now: Jay Barry and Carol Martini, their boat "Gandalf" moored in the southern Israeli port of Ashkelon, 1300 miles away from the heavily- armed modern-day pirates whom they say attacked them on the open seas.

CAROL MARTINI, VICTIM OF PIRATES: I think they were triing to kill us.

VAUSE: March 6, they left Salalah, Oman, traveling with another sailboat. Three days later, they reached the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen -- a dangerous stretch of water known as Pirate's Alley. The sun was setting and Carol was on watch.

MARTINI: I saw two boats ahead of us that weren't in a position to be fishing or anything that looked like it was something normal that they would be doing.

JAY BARRY, VICTIM OF PIRATES: We closed ranks with our friend's boat. As soon as this was noticed, both of the pirate boats throttled up -- you could tell from the black smoke from the exhaust -- and came straight at us -- one attack boat for each of the sailboats, and then began firing.

VAUSE: The pirates, they say, were armed and firing semiautomatic weapons. Firing so close, Jay later found the casing from one of at least 14 bullets which he says hit his boat.

BARRY: Took one bullet to the deck.

VAUSE: Most of the holes have been patched. Under fire, and about to be boarded, he went on the offensive.

BARRY: ...and then turned around to board us on this side of the boat. When they turned, they were just far enough off that gave me enough time, in the turning circle of the boat, to be able to turn the boat very, very quickly into them, with the momentum we had.

VAUSE: "Gandalf's" steel hull still bears the damage from where it smashed into the small wooden pirate boat, hoisting it out of the water.

BARRY: One boat turned right up sideways on the front of "Gandalf," stayed there for a little while, which was getting a little concerned. We finally threw it in reverse, and with the sea state and the waves, backed off. It's the only opportunity I had -- one of the few times in your life when you actually did what you thought you should do at the right time and it worked.

VAUSE: At the same time, though, the pirates apparently gave up on the other sailboat. That skipper was armed and opened fire. So the second boat of pirates tried to board "Gandalf" from the stern.

MARTINI: I could see gunmen standing above Jay's head trying to board the back our boat from where I was down below on the radio. And I thought that was it.

VAUSE: According to Carol, the friendly skipper shot the two gunmen. It's not known if they're wounded or killed. Regardless, she says, it was their chance to make for safer waters. What's next?

BARRY: Next plan is to go to Cyprus.

VAUSE: And then?

BARRY: Turkey.

VAUSE: In the last five year, they've sailed two-thirds around the world and plan to keep going until their money and perhaps their luck as well, run out.

John Vause, CNN, Ashkelon, Israel.

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