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Pentagon Says Eight Marines, Two Members of Air Force Killed in Helicopter Crash; McDonald's Facing Lawsuits After Voluntarily Disclosing Fries Contain Milk and Wheat Gluten

Aired February 20, 2006 - 08:32   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: The Pentagon says eight Marines and two members of the Air Force that were killed in a crash -- let me start that over, please. The Pentagon says eight Marines and two members of the Air Force were killed in the crash of two Sea Stallion helicopters. The two choppers went down Friday in the Gulf of Aden, near the coast of Dijbouti. The victims' bodies are expected back in the states today.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is covering this story for us.

Barbara, good morning.

What do you know today?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Rob, very sad news for so many military families again. The remains of those service members now on their way back to the United States, being returned to their hometowns all across the country. There were eight Marines and two members of the U.S. Air Force on those two CH-53 helicopters that crashed Friday in the Gulf of Aden, the Horn of Africa off the coast of Dijbouti. You see some still pictures here of the very desperate rescue effort that went on. They were able to recover two members of the crew alive. They are in hospital and said to be in stable condition.

This is a crash that really got to be a little bit personal. This is a unit that I flew with last month when CNN was in Dijbouti. They flew us around. They really are a bunch of great guys.

What they do out there is officially defined as counter- terrorism, but let's be clear, the 1,400 U.S. troops that are in the Horn of Africa conduct humanitarian relief missions to try and forestall any movement of terrorism into the horn. It's just like what's going on in the Philippines, U.S. troops trying to lend a hand in humanitarian relief efforts when and where they can -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Barbara, speaking of that, what are those Marines in the Philippines up against with the help of looking for survivors in the mudslide.

That is a, by all accounts, as Hugh Riminton has been reporting, a very desperate mission also at this time. There are about 150 U.S. troops on that mountainside in the Philippines. We've seen the pictures earlier today. U.S. troops trying to help with the Philippines, literally moving rubble with their hands. They are setting up a U.S. military base camp, so they can bring in even more troops and be self-sufficient and try and lend a hand.

But the situation there is so fragile, Rob, that now a no-fly zone has been instituted over the mountain. They don't even want to fly helicopters. They're afraid of mudslides down the mountain.

And one other very disturbing note, the U.S. military is watching statements from communist rebels in the Philippines in that area. They are saying, these rebels, that they will allow the U.S. military to help in the humanitarian relief, but warning them not to stray outside the disaster zone. That is something the U.S. military is keeping a very close eye on -- Rob.

MARCIANO: A touchy situation. Thank you, Barbara. Barbara Starr live for us from the Pentagon -- Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A story we've been talking about all morning. Would you like a little wheat gluten with your french fries? McDonald's is now facing lawsuits in three states after voluntarily disclosing that its fries contain milk and the wheat protein called gluten. In two of the suits, people with intolerance to gluten claim they got very sick after eating the french fries.

Just how serious is the health risk from gluten? Nutritionist Heidi Skolnik joins us. She's in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida this morning.

Hey, Heidi, nice to see you, as always.

HEIDI SKOLNIK, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: I know this is a painful disease, Celiac Disease, and so this is particularly difficult for people who suffer from Celiac Disease already.

So explain to me what the disease is exactly and who wheat gluten affects it.

SKOLNIK: Well, Celiac Disease is, in fact, a disease, an autoimmune disease, that affects the lower intestine. and what happens is those individuals are intolerant of wheat gluten, or gluten that -- it's the protein component that's in wheat, barley, rye, and perhaps even oats.

So when those foods are consumed, the stomach -- there is an inability to digest, and there can be bloating, severe abdominal pain.

O'BRIEN: How bad would it be -- one family has filed a lawsuit filing on behalf of their five-year-old daughter who has Celiac Disease. Describe for me what life is like for someone who's eating wheat protein, not realizing that they are taking it in if they have this disease?

SKOLNIK: Well, the symptoms can vary from individual to individual. And my understanding is this young girl also has some other complications. But with Ciliac Disease, it can range from bloating to severe bloating, severe abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, anemia, fatigue. Actually because of some of the repercussions, there is malnutrition that can occur. So even early osteoporosis. And for children, we're talking about failure to thrive, delayed growth, so it's very severe.

O'BRIEN: When you think about McDonald's french fries, which are absolutely delicious, but you think, OK, well, they're deep fried. They've got high fat, probably got a lot of calories. They're probably not particularly healthy for you. But you wouldn't think necessarily that the potatoes would have any kind of wheat protein involved.

SKOLNIK: Well, to my understanding, it's not the potato. To my understanding, we're talking about the food flavoring that's added to the oil. And in that, there are derivatives of wheat and milk, and it is -- the question is, is whether those derivatives still contain any gluten.

McDonald's is saying that research is going on, and in fact there are no -- it will be shown that there is no gluten in them.

O'BRIEN: Let's in fact read McDonald's statement while we're on that topic. They say this, "We're in the middle of conducting research to determine that our fries have no gluten. Preliminary testing did not detect any gluten protein in McDonald's fries, and additional testing is under way to confirm those results." That comes from a guy who's the senior vice president at McDonald's Corporation.

They have already had problems. I mean, at one point, they claimed that they had a certain amount of transfats in those same fries, and actually the real number was much higher. I guess that's less of a surprise to me than the whole gluten issue.

SKOLNIK: Well, because I think, at this point, it's been fairly well established that fast food french fries has transfat. The thing with transfat, is that's a public health issue. There is no lower limit of transfat. None of us need transfat, and our goal would be to go as close to zero as possible. So the fact that french fries has transfat, and now find out it has more transfat in it becomes a public health concern because of the amount of fries consumed each year, but people can choose something else other than fries to eat. McDonald's has plenty of other options on the menu. People just tend to like the taste.

O'BRIEN: Spoken like a true nutritionist. Heidi Skolnik, joining us. As always, nice to see you, Heidi. Thanks for being with us.

SKOLNIK: Thank you, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Coming up, a U.S. speedskater makes history at the Winter Olympics in Torino. We're going to have that. Plus, the all- might medal counts, all about the medal count. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.

MARCIANO: Also this morning, we're "Minding Your Business," Google has a threat in store -- threat -- treat, rather -- treat in store. For people who like "The Sopranos," threat is probably the right word, right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, you're probably right about that. We're going to tell you about this new feature that can help you catch up with your favorite mob family. That's just ahead this morning.

MARCIANO: They're about to star a new season.

And later, the airlines lost 10,000 bags a day last year. Besides carrying on, how can you make sure you get your bags, or if you lose them, how do you get them back? We're going to have some tips. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Ahead at the Olympics today, the U.S. up against Finland for the bronze in women's hockey. Defending champ Canada takes on Sweden for the gold. And the U.S. men's team lost to Slovakia 2-1, but still have a shot to advance to the medal round.

Also Sunday, American long track speedskater Johnny Davis became the first black man to take individual gold at the Winter Olympics. So the U.S. is tied for third today with Russian in the medal chase, beating Germany and Norway. So far the U.S. take, seven gold, four silver and two bronze.

And there's no doubt Olympics inspire people to do incredible things, and not just the athletes.

Alessio Vinci has a remarkable story of a very special spectator at the Winter Games.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sometimes it's not what you see, but how you see it that matters. Just ask diehard Olympic fan Giovanni Guzzi.

GIOVANNI GUZZI, OLYMPICS FANS: Yes, I imagine those counts (ph) are very, very tired. And they pass very fast.

VINCI: Giovanni has never seen a cross country skier in his life, because he has been blind since he was three months old.

Now when heard the Winter Games were coming to Italy, the college student swore he'd be there, and bought $2,000 worth of tickets.

GUZZI: It's important for me, because Olympic passion is here.

VINCI: Giovanni ignored those who told him he would be better off listening to the Olympics on the radio. On this day, he left his home in Torino before daybreak to reach the cross country venue up in the mountains on time, walked 10 minutes to the station, took an hour- long train line, and finally reached the course at Tragalada (ph) by bus, with a group of Finnish fans.

He did it alone, with the occasional Olympic volunteer helping out where necessary.

GUZZI: It's better here. At home, yes, happy. But it's possible to root on my team. I cannot shout.

VINCI: To follow the race, Giovanni listens to the announcer and gets minute-by-minute updates from fellow spectators, or in this case, from me.

(on camera): Italy is four seconds behind.

(voice-over): The cheering crowd does the rest for him. The skiers are passing by, but you cannot see them. Is it the same thing for you.

GUZZI: Yes, it's emotional, important emotionally, because people are happy, and are shouting for their athletes.

VINCI: Italy grabbed its third gold medal in this race. And Giovanni is leading the victory to the fullest.

GUZZI: To see a great party in Italy. Great supporters. They're singers, are excited. A very, very, very good party today.

VINCI (on camera): Giovanni's heroes may be the athletes here winning medals, but in everyone else's eyes, he is the true inspiration, having overcome hurdles many would have considered insurmountable. in order to get here to savor the games from start-to- finish.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, at the Olympics in Tragalada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: What a great story on that guy. That was terrific.

(MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The airlines we've been mentioning all morning lost 10,000 bags every day last year. If you're a passenger who's lost some luggage, we've got tips to keep it from happening to you again.

Later this morning, we've also got someone to help you manage your health care in a way that a company might manage your money. It's called a personal health coach. We'll talk about whether it's worth the cost.

Those stories are ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. A short break. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MARCIANO: You know the joke. You're flying from Chicago to New York and your luggage ends up in Bermuda somewhere. Well, for too many people, it's not a joke, it's reality. It happens. And there's one way you can avoid the problem. Probably many ways. We're going to get to those answer.

David Lahuta is assistant editor at the "Budget Travel" magazine. He joins us live this morning. Good morning.

DAVID LAHUTA, "BUDGET TRAVEL" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Let's set one thing straight about "Budget Travel" magazine.

LAHUTA: Sure.

MARCIANO: If you get that magazine, it doesn't mean you're cheap, does it?

LAHUTA: Absolutely not. What we try to promote is value. You know, it's right there on our cover. Our tagline is "Vacations for Real People." So it's folks who don't mind spending money, but they want to get the great value out of their dollar.

MARCIANO: Because somebody somehow subscribed me to it, so I just want to make sure I wasn't -- they're cheap. Listen, 10,000 bags a day are lost or mishandled? It's up, a 26 percent increase? Why are the airlines mishandling bags?

LAHUTA: Well, you know, I would definitely say it's a surge of passengers. There have been far more passengers that flew last year than the year before. Also, budget cuts across the board can definitely be blamed on that. But what's important is that, you know, although people think that the bags are lost, they're not lost for good. In 98 percent of lost luggage situations, bags are found normally within the first 24 to 48 hours. So if you're within that one to two day window, then you'll definitely be OK.

MARCIANO: What about all these discount carriers? I mean, are they putting the heat on the biggies to lay off some folks? Is that one of the reasons?

LAHUTA: There's no question low cost carriers are doing a great job. They're offering great value, again, for the customer. And so when the legacy carriers like U.S. Air, for example, can't deliver on those fares, they sort of skimp in other places.

MARCIANO: Let's go over some tips.

LAHUTA: OK, great.

MARCIANO: The obvious one is don't check your bag.

LAHUTA: Well, that's right. The best way to assure that your bag makes it to your final destination is to actually bring it on the airplane yourself and put it in the overhead bin. But if carrying on is not an option, there are some things that you can do to help, if the situation does arise.

For example, putting your name both on the inside and the outside of your bag, in case your luggage tags become lost in transit. Another good tip is to take a photo of your suitcase before you travel. You'll find that having an actual picture of your bag will be far more helpful than to actually describe what your bag looks like to the claims agent.

MARCIANO: Maybe having a bag that's another color than black?

LAHUTA: Absolutely. Mine is bright royal blue. So I know when -- you know, every time it's on the carousel, which bag is mine.

MARCIANO: Now is there some sort of -- is there an etiquette -- before we get to that -- layovers, you want to make nonstop flights as much as possible?

LAHUTA: Well, non-stop flights are always the best, but if have you to lay over, you want to avoid short layovers at all costs. No one likes to sit in the airport waiting for their next flight. But you need to allow enough time for both and you your bags to get off the first plane and onto the next one. A good rule of thumb is to allow at least an hour between flights.

MARCIANO: And what happen -- what if your bag is lost and you don't get it back?

LAHUTA: Well, if your bag is lost, it's important to file a report within 24 hours upon your arrival, or else your claim could be dismissed altogether. Also, the airlines are going to want to know what's inside your bag. They're going to want you to make a list of everything that's inside. So why not have that list prepared before you fly? It's very analogous to...

MARCIANO: Filing insurance.

LAHUTA: Exactly. An insurance form in case -- if your home is ever burglarized.

MARCIANO: How much will they pay?

LAHUTA: Twenty-eight hundred dollars per person.

MARCIANO: Wow.

LAHUTA: But, you know, policies are going to differ from airline-to-airline. So you're going to want to check your carrier before you fly. Many will not reimburse you if your jewelry or camera gear or even medications are lost, which is another good reason why you should keep those things in your carry-on bags.

MARCIANO: Excellent advice. Dave Lahuta...

LAHUTA: Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: ... from "Budget Travel" magazine. Label them, Soledad, carry them on when you can without upsetting too many of your fellow passengers.

O'BRIEN: I'm writing it all down, you got it. Absolutely.

Thanks, Rob.

Coming up in just a moment, think the healthcare system is too complicated? Well, what if you had a personal health coach to guide you through? This morning, we take a look at a pretty pricey option that some businesses are actually offering.

And later, emotional interview with the ex-FEMA chief Mike Brown. We're going to talk to the filmmaker behind this candid documentary. Those stories are all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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