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American Morning
Tornado Tears Through Springfield, Massachusetts; Congressman Weiner's Twitter Controversy; Downbeat Reports Send Stocks Tumbling; Shaq Retires after 19 Years; Mitt Romney Heads to New Hampshire; Is "Natural" Medicine Safer?; Deadly E. Coli Outbreak in Europe; Fake Gaga Doesn't Fool Students
Aired June 02, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, far from Tornado Alley, at least two tornadoes tore up parts of Massachusetts. Four people are dead. The national guardsmen called in. One resident says it looks like King Kong took a walk through there. A live report in a moment.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It was brother against sister, explosive testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial. Lee Anthony telling a packed courtroom how he ultimately found out his 2-year-old niece was gone.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And New York Congressman Anthony Weiner flatly denying that he sent a lewd photo to a young female student in Seattle. But wait until you see his response when our Wolf Blitzer asked if it's him in that photo.
ROMANS: Plus, Donald Trump on what it's like to share a pizza with Sarah Palin on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A lot going on this AMERICAN MORNING. Another freak storm hits. This one far away from Tornado Alley. We're live on the ground with a look at the destruction in Springfield, Massachusetts, this morning.
VELSHI: A June (INAUDIBLE). I'm Ali Velshi. Stocks end sharply lower after some dismal data has investors fearing that the economy may be slowing down.
ROMANS: And what a difference a day makes. I'm Christine Romans.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner finally answered questions about a lewd Twitter picture. He says he's not the one who posted it, but he can't say it's not him in the picture. Hear what he's saying now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Thursday, June 2nd. And boy, yesterday was really a tough day on the stock market.
VELSHI: Yes. Really a difficult day and we're going to get down into the details about why. ROMANS: Right. About your house, your investments --
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- and also your job. But up first, the National Guard moving in to help with search and rescue this morning after at least two tornadoes ripped through parts of Massachusetts. Video from a local TV tower cam captured the moment a tornado formed over Springfield, tossing debris on live TV, tearing up the river and right into town.
VELSHI: And take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Bleep) I'm so happy doing this right now. (Bleep) Damn, the ceiling, look. Oh, my God. (Bleep).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: A very close call when the twister shot from inside a car with an iPhone. The roof flies off a building. A tree flies across the road. The car was battered by hail and debris.
CHETRY: Some scary, scary moments caught on tape here. These storms killed at least four people and also leaving a path of destruction some 40 miles long.
Our Jason Carroll is live for us in West Springfield this morning. You know, we've been saying far away from Tornado Alley but was there any warning?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not for the people here. And we want to bring up an important point. The video that you watched there, Kiran, was actually shot right here in the street that I'm on. It's Central Street. The guys were coming down this particular street when one of the tornadoes hit.
You can see what some of the devastation has done here. This brick building here, the roof completely torn off the top. And then if you look over here down the street where I am, you can just see its destruction as far as the eye can see. The home here literally lifted off its foundation and pushed on to its side. That is what we have been experiencing as we've been driving through this area of Springfield, pockets of destruction like this one.
You know, it was up to four tornadoes now, meteorologists are saying, that touched down in western Massachusetts, jumping across 40-mile stretch of land, destroying homes, destroying neighborhoods in its path. At least we're hearing now four people have been killed. That is the latest number that we're getting. More than a dozen communities at this point reporting severe damage where they are.
Search and rescue teams, Kiran, we've seen some of them out here. They have been working through the night looking for survivors. Also, looking for the structural integrity of some of the buildings that are out here. The people that we've spoken to, many of whom are completely unfamiliar with tornadoes, still trying to come to terms with exactly what happened out here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started seeing like debris. So I told my son, I grabbed my son and the animals and I headed right downstairs. As soon as we hit the stairs, it hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said we got to get in the basement. And we went in the basement and the air conditioner went someplace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's flying someplace.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That tree snapped in half. And I just want to know where my daughter is right now because they just left about 15 minutes before this hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And you can see there are some search and rescue teams that are still out here on Central Street, working to the process of checking these structural integrity of some of the buildings. Also, obviously out here looking for survivors. Some of the people who may still be trapped in some of these buildings who've been unable to call for help, so that's what they've been doing all night long. We've had firefighters coming also in from Vermont, from Connecticut, from New Hampshire. Also coming in to help in the effort here as well.
Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Jason, do they believe people are missing or unaccounted for at this point?
CARROLL: Well, they just don't know. I mean, that's why they're out here and they're doing the searching. I mean, so much of this happened so late for some of the people out here. You know, communication went down. People were trying to use cell phones. Some of their cell phones weren't working, trying to reach loved ones. So it's just a matter of checking to make sure that, you know, those people who are, in fact, missing are -- they can account for them in some way, shape or form. So it's a matter of finding pockets of destruction like these, going through the buildings, calling out, seeing what they can get in there to find out if anyone might be inside any of these buildings. It's a lengthy, lengthy process that will be going on throughout the day -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jason Carroll for us this morning, thanks.
ROMANS: So let's check in with Rob Marciano now in the extreme weather center. And wow, I mean, western Massachusetts, rare to have a 40-mile path of destruction from tornadoes there.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And extremely rare to get -- at least two tornadoes touching down pretty much in the same area. This is what's extraordinary about this event. Not only the location but to have basically a training of cells. We've seen that a number of times. It really produces flooding. But to see cells train like this, meaning one coming after the other, and to have a couple of tornadoes, at least two are being produced by this is certainly remarkable.
So let's take you back and show you on the radar and obviously, the brighter the colors the worse the deal is. You know that drill.
Springfield, the actual Springfield proper is just below where we have it marked there. 3:00 yesterday afternoon, here's the squall line coming through. And then boom. There's the source. There's the second cell that likely produced the second tornado. And then a cluster of less severe thunderstorms rolling through about 7:00, 8:00 at night. So not one, not two, but three clusters of severe storms rolling through western Mass and Springfield proper over about 3 1/2 to 4-hour period. So that's certainly is what is extraordinary about that event.
We'll have more on this, guys, and the threat for seeing severe weather later on today. And, I mean, if you're scratching your head and saying this is completely unusual and unheard of, well, it's not quite unheard of but, you know, two every two or three years, you'll get a tornado in the northeast in either western Mass or southeast New York and local communities. And it's just one of those things where all the right conditions come together. And the Storms Prediction Center put out a tornado watch for this yesterday afternoon. So things develop rapidly but there was warning. But folks who live in this area aren't used to getting a tornado warning, are they?
Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks. Thanks, Rob.
VELSHI: Also this morning, a day after stonewalling reporters about a lewd picture sent from his Twitter account, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is finally answering questions about it. He denies sending the picture to a female college student but he still won't say for certain that the waist-down photo of a man in his underwear isn't him. Weiner sat down with our own Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Look at the picture. I'm sure you've seen it by now. Is this you?
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I can tell you this. We have a firm that we've hired. I've seen it. I've seen it. A firm that we hired to try to get to the bottom of it. It certainly doesn't look familiar to me but I don't want to say with certitude.
BLITZER: Have you ever taken a picture like this of yourself?
WEINER: I can tell you this that there are -- I have photographs, I don't know what photographs are out there in the world of me. I don't know what things have been manipulated and doctored. And we're going to try to find out what happened. But the most important reason I want to find out what happened is to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Obviously someone got access to my account. That's bad. They sent a picture that makes fun of the name Weiner.
I get it. You know, touche. Dr. Moriarty, you got me. At the time it happened, I tweeted right away that I got the joke and I continued on with my life. And I think that -- frankly, that's what I would encourage everyone to do.
BLITZER: You didn't send that photo to that woman in Washington State?
WEINER: I did not send to it that woman in Washington State.
BLITZER: But you're not 100 percent sure whether the photo is actually you?
WEINER: What I am going to say is that we're doing everything we can to try to answer that question. But we're doing an investigation.
I just want to caution you that, you know, photographs can be doctored. Photographs can be manipulated, can be taken from one place and put in in another. And so, you know, that's -- and I want to make it clear. This is, in my view, not a federal case. In my view, this is not an international conspiracy. This is a hoax. And I think that people should treat it that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: It's puzzling.
VELSHI: Puzzling.
CHETRY: That he said -- know for a fact I didn't send it.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: But I don't know for a fact it wasn't me.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: CNN congressional correspondent Kate Bolduan is following the congressman's Twitter troubles. She is live in Washington this morning.
You know, a lot of people are just saying that the series of interviews he did yesterday actually seems to raise more questions.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, there, guys. The strange controversy, and I think we can all agree it has become quite strange. It seems to -- not over quite yet. And that's not probably what the congressman wants to hear.
So you played that part of the interview with Wolf Blitzer and -- after a few days of not answering questions to reporters and not answering questions directly, he's finally giving some direct answers but those direct answers, as you mentioned, Kiran, seem to only be creating a few more questions. He says very definitively that he did not send that lewd photo that is in question here from his Twitter account, but he can't say with certainly that that photo is not of him, whether or not that photo is of him which seems to be leaving many to wonder really what's next.
And at the very same time, while he does say that he believes he's been hacked and this is part of a prank, he doesn't see that law enforcement needs to be involved here which also has some people wondering why and Wolf Blitzer asked him a little bit more about that. Listen to that part of the interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Have you asked Capitol Hill police, New York police, FBI, or any law enforcement authority to investigate?
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: Have I called -- have I called the cops or the FBI because someone sent spam? No. However, I did get a firm, a law firm who specializes in these things, who specializes in white collar crime. I've got someone who is -- and they're going to get someone who's a security expert to try to get to the bottom of how we secure my accounts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: So, and despite this strange controversy as I like to call it, Congressman Weiner, it may surprise you, he's not shying away from Twitter -- really what's at the center of all this. He actually tweeted just last night, you guys, an apology to his now 57,000 Twitter followers saying, quote, "I'm sorry for all the unwanted attention on pound Weiner, yes." Follows, "I didn't mean to make you famous." And he ends with collateral damage.
So at the very same time as this episode is unfolding, it seems to be making many other members of Congress at least reassess their Twitter presence. Like Twitter's D.C. office has been inundated apparently with questions and had to send out an e-mail about security procedures to many members of Congress who are on Twitter, talk about how to keep their account safe.
CHETRY: All right. Kate Bolduan for us this morning. Thank you.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, guys.
ROMANS: OK. The economic recovery has been fragile. It's so fragile that any hint at maybe running out of steam can really spook investors and that's exactly what happened yesterday.
A slew of downbeat reports sent the Dow tumbling more than 279 points. That's more than two percent. That makes it the biggest one-day drop in nearly a year for stocks.
The Nasdaq was down 66 points, its worst performance in more than four months. And the S&P 500 was down more than 30 points. That's the worst decline for the S&P since August of last year. So, what was the triple dose of bad news that sent stocks sharply lower, Ali?
VELSHI: What happened to the Dow yesterday was a reaction to bad news in three key areas. First of all, housing, that was earlier in the week, Tuesday. The S&P Case-Shiller housing index showed home prices in America hitting another new low in the first quarter of this year. Down more than five percent just in that quarter.
But more ominous, take a look at this housing chart. Look at this. There is a bit of a trough in housing and then we started to see a recovery. This is from 2006 to now. But then look at the end of that chart. We start to see another dip again. Some people calling that a double dip.
Number two thing that drove the markets lower, investments. Here's a look at the S&P 500 over the last five years. OK. That big dip in the middle you all know what that is. That's your 401(k). That is when the financial crisis hit its worst back in March of '09.
But look at that steady rebound we had. We had a little setback last year, but it's been pretty steady. Now take a look again. Right at the end of the chart, another downturn. Now, look, that's not serious. But May was the worst month as we discussed for the S&P since August of last year.
And number three, this is the most important one. It's more important than housing. It's more important to your investments. It's jobs.
Take a look at this. This is the last year. The blue bars are jobs that we've added. The red ones are jobs that we've lost. You can see after some strong job gains last spring, we had a rough time in the summer but then we started to see job gains again all the way through February, May -- February, March and April. Those have been pretty strong. We've been added more than 100,000 jobs every month for the past six months. June's numbers are -- May's numbers are about to come out. They're going to come out on Friday and we are expecting that that might be a bit of a problem.
So that's why we're looking at such difficult times on the stock market in the last few days. We'll see how this week ends up with those job numbers and whether or not we actually get a gain and a substantial gain in jobs.
CHETRY: All right, Ali. Thanks so much.
Other stories new this morning. There is word of an arrest this morning out of Afghanistan. Coalition forces capturing an Osama bin Laden associate. Coalition officials would not identify the man but they say that he was with bin Laden in Afghanistan in 2001 and that he most recently was planning attacks out of Pakistan.
Federal officials are now saying that they had planned to shut down the Sky Express bus company days before that deadly crash in Virginia this week. The company was given an extra 10 days by the Transportation Department to appeal the decision for repeated safety violations. Four people died when the bus flipped over on I-95 near Richmond, Virginia, early Tuesday morning. Police say driver fatigue may have been to blame.
Some very tense moments on a charter flight last night for the Los Angeles Angels baseball team. They had to make an emergency landing at LAX because of a possible hydraulic problem. We're told the pilot was not sure that he'd be able to stop the plane after touching down, but he did. All 51 people onboard landed safely.
ROMANS: Next up, Shaquille O'Neal, the basketball hall of fame. Shaq tweeted to his friends yesterday that he's hanging up his size 23 sneakers after a 19-year long career.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, NBA PLAYER: We did it. Nineteen years, baby. I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The big fellow -- he brought a unique combination of size, skill and personality to the NBA. He won three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. One with the Miami Heat. He was a 15-time NBA All-Star.
Wow. Shaq will formally announce the retirement at a press conference.
CHETRY: He's been playing for the Celtics but he only played about 37 games this year because he was felled by injuries and he had an Achilles problem. And he just said it's too bad, you know, for me, to continue. I don't want to bring the team down. But I mean, wow, he had an amazing career.
ROMANS: That's right. I remember my brother used to have like, free throw camps, and they call them, you know, you be on the Shaq group or --
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Or you be on the Jordan group, and the Shaq group was the group that he had a lot of work on free throws. But 19-year career, that's pretty awesome.
VELSHI: Switch to politics now. Republicans are flocking to New Hampshire today. Mitt Romney is making a big announcement there. He could get upstaged. I will tell you about that.
CHETRY: And could it be Sarah Palin upstaging him? We're going to tell you why she may be headed to New Hampshire as well.
And also, Donald Trump. Remember they went out for pizza? Well, he's talking about exactly what it was like.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour. Not to take anything away from Mitt Romney, but this was sort of not unexpected, right?
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: He's announcing he's going to run for president. Well, he's making it official today.
The former Massachusetts governor is expected to announce his decision that he is indeed running for the ticket in 2012. He'll be doing it on a 300-acre family farm in New Hampshire.
Romney's Web site says that he picked the farm because it represents the kind of ingenuity and hard work that he admires. He'll follow up the big announcement with his first town hall meeting of the campaign.
VELSHI: New Hampshire could get a little crowded today. Mitt Romney might just get upstaged. Overnight the Sarah Palin One Nation bus tour stopped in Boston. Given the trajectory of that tour there is some inclination that it might make its way to New Hampshire this evening for a clam bake on the beach.
Meanwhile, New Yorkers are still buzzing about Palin's visit to the Big Apple and her high-profile pizza summit with Donald Trump. The Donald talked about their meeting with CNN's Piers Morgan last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: It was a very interesting evening. And I actually asked her, I said, you know, Sarah, are you going to be running? And I don't think she's made up her mind. I think in her own mind she's just not sure yet. But she's certainly got a following and people like her and I like her.
And she's really a woman that loves this country beyond everything. And she did mention to me that, you know, since -- and there's a whole vast array of reasons but since I got out, nobody's bringing up some of the most important issues that I was hitting on hard.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: -- Romney are not going to be the only GOP hopefuls in New Hampshire today. It really is going to get crowded. Rudy Giuliani is going to be there attending a Republican fundraiser in Concord tonight.
ROMANS: A Florida governor, Rick Scott, said it's unfair for taxpayers to subsidize addiction. He signed a bill that will force people applying for welfare to submit to a drug test.
Democrats are slamming this law saying the tests are an invasion of privacy. One critic said it was about smearing people who are on welfare.
CHETRY: And the ACLU apparently going to --
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: -- take them to task for this, filing a lawsuit. So what do you think? So our question of the day. Drug tests welfare recipients, good idea or not?
Let us know what you think, send us an e-mail, a tweet, or tell us on Facebook. Here's how you can get in touch with us. And we'll read some of your thoughts a little bit later in the hour.
We are going to be right back. Twenty-one minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 24 minutes past the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Markets overseas picking up where Wall Street left off, red arrows stretch from Europe to Asia.
After a triple dose of bad news sent stocks sharply lower yesterday, the Dow and S&P 500 posted their steepest losses in nearly a year.
Also rattling the market, the auto industry posted first significant setback in more than 18 months. GM and Ford reported U.S. sales fell in May. Chrysler, one of the few auto makers, though, to post an increase.
The Obama administration expects taxpayers will lose about $14 billion from the $80 billion auto bailout. The administration says while it's a serious hit the bailout was worth it saving or creating 20,000 jobs.
An Illinois court ordering American Airlines to put its fares back on Orbitz. You'll remember the airlines pulled its information from that Web site last year after Orbitz refused to adopt American's new technology that would let consumers price their trips based on other factors besides just straight fares.
A new report revealing some interesting details about who is on Twitter. Among adults who go online, 13 percent use Twitter. It's also more popular with men than women. And the most popular age group on Twitter users between the ages of 18 and 29.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after the break with whether herbal supplements could actually be dangerous.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Top stories now. Buildings down. Search and rescue operations under way right now after tornadoes tore through parts of southern Massachusetts, killing at least four people.
The governor calling in a thousand National Guard troops to assist in the search and cleanup.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner trying to douse the media firestorm over a lewd picture sent from his Twitter account to a college student. Weiner denies tweeting the photo but he can't say for sure if the shot of a man in his underwear is not him. And stocks starting the month off on a sour note after some weak economic reports. The Dow and Nasdaq posting their steepest losses in nearly a year. The Dow was off more than 279 points or 2 percent.
CHETRY: Now we're talking a little bit about the politics of Medicare. The GOP swept into power in the House last November. And they said it was a mandate from Americans to clean up the country's financial books. And number one on the to-do list was to reform Medicare.
Well, there are some indications this morning that the fight over Medicare may actually be taking a toll on Republicans in Congress. We have a new CNN/Opinion Research poll showing that Americans don't like what they are doing. If you take a look, GOP's plan to change Medicare, only 35 percent of those asked favor it, or 58 percent oppose it.
And if you take a deeper look at those numbers more Americans feel that the country would actually be worse off under the GOP Medicare plan -- 38 percent feel they would be better off, 50 percent worse off if the Medicare plan put forth by the GOP went into effect.
Here's another question. It looks like Americans are not very happy with how Republicans are working with the president to find a solution to the budget problems. Asked: is the GOP Congress doing enough to cooperate with President Obama? And overwhelming 68 percent said, no, they are not.
And all of this could spell trouble for Republicans in the House. For the first time since they took control of the House, the number of Americans who say Republican control is a good thing, which is now at 48 percent, has dropped below the 50 percent mark. You see up in January, 50 percent felt that it was good thing the GOP had control of the House -- Christine.
ROMANS: OK. Thanks, Kiran.
Explosive testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial from the suspect's own brother. Lee Anthony took the stand yesterday in an Orlando courtroom recalling the summer day in 2008 when he confronted his sister and demanded to know where her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S BROTHER: Nothing was making sense to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's not making sense to you?
ANTHONY: Why couldn't we or anybody just go get Caylee and bring her home? There is no reason to fight with, you know, mom at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you asked your sister, "Why won't you allow us to see Caylee," what do you recall her saying? What did you say? What did you tell Detective Edwards that she said?
ANTHONY: I told Detective Edwards that she said -- I'm paraphrasing, because maybe I'm a spiteful (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Take a look at the scene yesterday outside the Orlando courthouse. People racing to get in line for a chance to get a seat inside that courtroom.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: Unbelievable.
VELSHI: All right. The two New York City hotels where maids were allegedly sexually assaulted will provide their housekeeping staff with panic buttons. The devices are going to be handed out to staff at the Pierre Hotel and the Sofitel. Panic buttons are modeled after medical alert buttons for the elderly, allowing staff to quickly alert security if there's a problem.
CHETRY: Well, it says natural, so it must be good for you. Well, maybe not. Herbs, vitamins and other supplements can actually be harmful, especially if you are mixing them with prescription medication.
ROMANS: Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is going in- depth on what to watch for. She's in Atlanta.
Elizabeth, do we immediate to head home and empty out our medicine cabinets so everything that claims to be natural and herbal? What should we -- what should we make of this?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not. I mean, as you can see, this is a small sample that I have here next to me of all the different things that you can get at a natural food store. And many of them are quite wonderful. I mean, there's real science that shows that many of these can do great things for your health.
But the issue is that people don't always use them properly. And these days, you know, doctors are getting much better at mowing what mixes well and doesn't mix well. Tell your doctor what you are taking and so that you make sure you're not mixing things that shouldn't be mixed or mixing them with prescription drugs that they shouldn't be mixed with.
VELSHI: The problem, Elizabeth, is that many doctors just don't subscribe to the idea of herbal or natural stuff. So -- might pooh- pooh them where you may think, you know, this is good for me. I've read articles. I've read things that say it's good for me.
So, how do you -- how do you know not to make a mistake?
COHEN: Right. That's true. There is still a subset of doctors and I think it might be doctors who are a little older perhaps who really pooh-pooh had stuff. So, what you want to do is if you are interested in taking supplements you should just ask your doctor, you know, what do you think about this stuff, doc? Do you believe in these things? And if you get sort of the eye -- what I call the eye roll, you know, then you need to go find a new doctor. If this is something you are interested in doing and taking things like this, you need to find a doctor who knows what they are doing. And there are plenty of doctors like that out there. So, that's first of all that you want to remember.
Now, second of all, what you hear is what you want to think about. Here are some of the mistakes that people make with natural -- so- called natural medicines. First of all, people think that if a little bit is good, a lot must be better. And so, they take too high of a dose.
Also, people take certain supplements before surgery. This is really crucial. Before you go into surgery, tell your doctor what you're taking. Certain things can really mess up your surgery and you don't want that to happen.
Also, people just fail to inform their doctor in general about what they are taking. And then the doctor can't take that into consideration when they prescribe prescription drugs.
CHETRY: Well, we also get a lot because -- I mean, a lot of these -- these herbs are not regulated by the FDA, right? The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate herbs.
So, you ask your doctor something like, well, I heard taking glucosamine chondroitin may be good for arthritis. They say, well, it can't hurt you. But you don't really get a definite answer on whether it's a good thing or not a good thing. I know that my dad is a diabetic, the same thing with fish oil pills and other things like that.
COHEN: Right. That's true. As I said, sometimes doctors really don't know much about this stuff but it is possible and if you go to CNN.com/EmpoweredPatient, I can show you a Web site where we lead you to doctors who know something about supplemental medicine. It is possible to find doctors who really do believe that these things work and can help you figure out what will work for you.
It will take some work on your part. You can't just show up to any doctor and figure they will know it, but there are doctors who do know this stuff, who appreciate it. And, again, CNN.com/EmpoweredPatient.
ROMANS: Elizabeth Cohen -- thank you, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
VELSHI: We have seen cameramen be attacked before when covering a story, but not like this one. Check this out. This guy was shooting a video before a horse race in Ireland. Look at the back. Look over this guy's shoulder. Oh, kicks him right in the head!
I'll show it to you again. Look at that. Watch the guy to the right. Wow! Hit head or the camera?
ROMANS: It looks like the camera.
CHETRY: But either way, the camera then knocked him in the head. I'm sure.
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: That did not look -- and that horse really --
VELSHI: That guy, that horse had a bone to pick with this guy. The photographer is still standing. That's a good part. We are told everybody is OK, including the horse.
CHETRY: Look at that.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: That's a crazy kick.
CHETRY: He is lucky he is OK.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING: health officials are baffled as a deadly strain of E. coli sweeps through parts of Europe. We're live in London with the latest on that.
CHETRY: Also, teacher in trouble for trying to pass off an imposter as a true original. What? Lady Gaga? What? We'll have more on the Lady Gaga scandal, coming up.
Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: OK. He's got Octomom Nadia Suleiman on his resume. But now, the fertility doctor who helped her give birth to eight children is losing his license. California State Medical Board ruled Dr. Michael Kamrava committed gross negligence by implanting 12 embryos in Suleiman, six times the normal amount for a woman her age. His license is revoked effective July 1st. Suleiman is a single mother and has 14 children conceived through repeated in vitro treatments.
CHETRY: Remember balloon boy and the hoax?
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, now, you can own that flying saucer that fooled the nation. Balloon boy's dad, Richard Heene, who -- in -- eventually lying to authorities about their son floating away in that helium balloon, says he's auctioning off his creation to raise money for the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. His wife Mayumi was born in Japan.
VELSHI: Would you pay much for that?
ROMANS: No. CHETRY: Somebody will buy it. Somebody will. At least if it's going to a good cause.
VELSHI: Yes, that's good point.
All right. And if somebody is managing to make sure that he's -- that the money is actually going to Japan.
ROMANS: But it goes to Japan, but he still gets himself a little bit
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: He gets his name repeated again.
VELSHI: All right. A deadly strain of E. coli bacteria is sweeping across Europe. And so far, the outbreak has been responsible for at least 12 deaths in Germany and Sweden. Now, officials there say they don't know where this comes from. And it could be months before it stops.
Zain Verjee is live in London with the latest.
Good morning, Zain. What's the story?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ali.
You know, the lack of clarity around this is what's really worrying a lot of people. There are so many fears now spreading right across Europe.
Here are some of the latest developments: Russia has basically said that they don't want any vegetables coming in from the European Union, which is a really big blow because the E.U. exports about a quarter of its vegetables to Russia. And the United Arab Emirates has come out and suspended vegetables too from parts of Europe.
So, what's been happening over the last 24 hours, the finger was first pointed at cucumbers, Spanish cucumbers, we are told that -- the people in Spain were told that their cucumbers were the problem because they were packaged -- they were grown in Spain and packaged in Germany. And then look at where they spread, places like Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg. And, of course, they were distributed in Spain as well.
And, then, all of a sudden, guys, today they said that -- the experts said, wait a minute, actually it is not Spain's fault. It's not cucumbers. And we don't know what it is.
So, that's part of the confusion surrounding all of this. And people just want clarity.
CHETRY: Yes, that's the -- it's even worse because then you don't know what's safe and what's not.
VERJEE: Right.
CHETRY: I mean, if they at least pinpoint it to perhaps one vegetable from one place.
VELSHI: Right. All right. Zain, thanks for that.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Go ahead.
VERJEE: Well, that's the issue. One of the things they are saying, too, is that the strain is one of the more lethal ones that they have seen before. And what's kind of weird is that it is affecting women more than men. And it's happening in adults where usually they have seen it happen in children. And that's a big mystery. They don't know why.
VELSHI: I didn't know it discriminates. That's very interesting.
CHETRY: All right. Zain, thanks so much.
And, also, you can watch Zain every morning, 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN.
ROMANS: OK. It is 42 minutes pas the hour. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us this morning.
Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.
Another remarkable afternoon yesterday with tornadoes touching down far away from tornado alley. We have fatalities across western Massachusetts and dramatic video coming to us from Springfield, Mass. Tower cam from one of the local affiliates there.
And look as it crosses the Connecticut River, swirling the water and sucking it up there, briefly becoming a water spout as it moves downriver and across towards the east. You see the brief line through the air as well.
Not sure how strong this tornado was. But judging from the damage, at least in F-1 or 2, possibly higher. They'll go up there later today and take a look at it more distinctly. But -- a rare, rare event.
And here's the other thing, guys -- not just one but two distinct tornadoes touching down within two hours apart in Springfield and then later on in Worcester County.
Let's go over to the area where we saw the tornadoes. There you go, line moving right across the Connecticut River, over towards eastern Massachusetts. There's Springfield. There's (INAUDIBLE) and then heading over towards to Worcester County as well.
As far as what it looked like on the radar, here's the first batch of thunderstorms that rolled through around at 4:30. And then look at this flare-up right here, just boom, right over Springfield at around 6:00, 6:20. And that was the second tornado. And then another batch of severe weather going through in the afternoon. Truly remarkable stuff. Not only that far from tornado alley, but to get it -- get a couple of those happening in a world-hour time period.
All right. Severe weather threat today is going to be across Upper Midwest. And maybe a little bit across parts of the Southeast as we get through the afternoon, kind of tail end of the front that we will be cruising through.
I want to touch briefly on what else is going on. Obviously, we have the heat that's going to be building across parts of the Southeast. And also, you know, this is day two of hurricane season. And we got a little something percolating in the Caribbean.
Over an hour delay expected in the New York metro. Boston will also see some of that front now pushing through. We will see cooler, drier, more quiet weather.
Slight chance of seeing this thing develop in the western Caribbean. That's the area of concern. And this is what we were watching yesterday streaming across parts of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico. It doesn't look like it's going to do a whole lot. But the heat is going to certainly do a whole lot. Temperatures in the mid to upper 90s across the southeast. Until further notice, New York and Chicago, you'll kind of seesaw from the comfortable 70s and to the uncomfortable upper 80s. Guys, back up to you.
ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano. And Rob, stick around for the next story because I know that you are a prankster and a devoted fan of Lady Gaga, so you're going to love this one.
MARCIANO: Bring it on.
ROMANS: OK. She had a good poker face, but she wasn't the real Lady Gaga. A New Jersey school employee is under fire for hiring a Lady Gaga impersonator to fill in for the pop star. This is video of the genuine Gaga.
School officials say the staff member claimed to have a personal relationship with her, and they arranged to have her speak to students via Skype about the dangers of bullying which sounds like a great idea, right, but Gaga backed out last minute, so a fake Lady Gaga filled in. Impersonator claimed her microphone wasn't working during the presentation, so she typed to students instead of speaking.
VELSHI: Do we think that -- the teacher really did know Lady Gaga, and Lady Gaga really did back out or the whole thing is a hoax?
ROMANS: It's unclear if the whole thing is hoax. We were told that it was the kids who actually called them out on this. Like, the whole thing --
VELSHI: Would you've been able to tell, Rob?
MARCIANO: No. I would have been completely fooled, but you can't fool these kids. CHETRY: Right. You know how they could have fooled the kids, Rob, is that they would have kept Lady Gaga in her egg, and she would have just typed from the egg.
MARCIANO: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: And nobody would have known. It could have been anybody in there.
MARCIANO: That's a much better idea, Kiran.
ROMANS: I'm not sure what the lesson about bullying that the students took home in the end was.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Talking about teachers maybe being more creative. I'm wondering whether this was more creative or this was just dumb.
ROMANS: I love it the kids called them out on it. I love it that was the kids that called them out on it.
CHETRY: You know for fans are so devoted, do you really think you can fool them? I mean, that's the strange thing.
VELSHI: But Rob, I don't know from one appearance to the next what Lady Gaga looks like. I couldn't pick her out of the line-up.
MARCIANO: Exactly. And you know, it's all part of the big publicity machine that we continue to generate.
VELSHI: The little monsters. All right. Rob, we'll catch you a little bit. Thank you.
MARCIANO: OK.
VELSHI: A paralyzed athlete is walking again. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to show you the medical advances that are creating miracles.
ROMANS: And the question of the day for you pegged to a new Florida law. A law that says drug tests -- you must drug test welfare recipients for them to get benefits. They have to pass a drug test. This is a good idea or not? Send us an e-mail or tweet. Tell us on Facebook. We're going to read some of your thoughts a bit later in the program.
VELSHI: For those of you who were fired up about this not being a good idea, you better send us a tweet about this, because right now, the people who think it is a good idea are way outweighing it.
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VELSHI: Forty-nine minutes after the hour. A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Twisters tear across Southern Massachusetts killing at least four people. One thousand National Guard troops called in to help with the search and rescue operation this morning.
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner in damage control mode, trying to explain a way of growing Twitter scandal. Weiner denied sending a lewd Twitter photo to a young woman, but he refuses to say if the picture of a man in his underwear is him.
Fears of an economic slowdown leading to Wall Street's worst day of the year so far. The Dow Jones is down more than 279 points, biggest drop since last August. the S&P and NASDAQ each fell 2.3 percent.
Mitt Romney is in New Hampshire where he's expected to announce today that he's running for president. Afterward, he'll be hosting the first town hall meeting of this campaign.
A charter flight carrying the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim forced to make an emergency landing at LAX last night. The pilot suspected a hydraulic problem. All 51 people onboard landed safely.
Shaquille O'Neal retiring. The future hall of famer tweeted the news to his fans first. He'll hold the news conference tomorrow. Shaq won four NBA titles in his 19-year career.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (on-camera): You're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this.
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CHETRY: Fifty-two minutes past the hour. You know, it used to be out of the question to believe that a person who was paralyzed by a spinal cord injury could ever walk again.
ROMANS: But advances in technology are now making it possible. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has today's "Human Factor."
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A lot of little boys, Matt Courson loves sports. So much that he eventually ended up as a pitcher with the University of Arkansas, but all that changed in April of 2006 when Matt decided to drive his four wheeler over to a friend's house. He never made it.
MATT COURSON, SPINAL CORD INJURY PATIENT: My four-wheeler went off a 20-foot embankment. Knocked me out. I had a little memory loss. And the next day, I was found by a car.
GUPTA: His backbone was shattered. His doctors said he would never walk again. But you know, Matt Courson was a young man who didn't understand the word "never."
COURSON: That doctor thinks I'm not going to walk again, I will walk again.
GUPTA: A year after his injury, Matt moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to work with specialists at the center for spinal cord injury at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. He began an extensive rehab regimen designed to help patients with chronic spinal cord injuries recover sensation and movement in their legs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, one big basis of our program is using modern technology to move someone who's paralyzed using their whole nervous system.
GUPTA: The therapy includes gait training, water therapy, along with functional electric stimulation known as FES. FES uses a computer to send electrical impulses to a patient's legs causing them to contract and relax while riding a bicycle. It does some of the work that the brain would normally do. As Matt's sessions progressed, so did his recovery.
He began to move his toes. He's been able to walk more than 300 feet with the use of leg braces and a walker. Matt also went back to school to finish his degree at the University of Maryland determined not to accept his diploma in a wheelchair.
COURSON: Things just don't happen. You have to make them happen.
GUPTA: So, on May 23rd of this year, Matt Courson walked across the stage of his graduation. Although, Matt has a long way to go before he can walk without assistance, his doctors and families believe he's going to do it. And no one believes it more than Matt Courson.
COURSON: One day, I'm going to play a game of catch with my son out in the yard. One day, I'm going to walk my daughter down the aisle. There's no doubt in my mind.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: I love stories like that. All right. This is our question of the day. In Florida, people are applying for welfare, people who are applying for welfare will now have to submit to a drug test. Republican Governor Rick Scott signed into law a requirement that says it's unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidies drug addiction. Democrats there and the ACLU are calling this a gross invasion of privacy.
So, what do you think? It's our question of the day. Drug tests welfare recipients, good idea or not?
ROMANS: Donna Macy Moody on Facebook says, "I love this. As a disabled person, I'm tired of losing out due to funding because some take advantage of welfare and Medicare. Enough already. Test away. Most of us have nothing to hide." CHETRY: And Henkvandongen writes on Twitter, "Companies do random drug tests, why not when you're, quote, "employed by the taxpayers?"
VELSHI: And Lurow writes, "What does the Florida governor plan to do with the people who fail the drug test? Rehab? Jail? What is his backup plan for these people?
CHETRY: Yes. A lot of people were asking because he said he didn't want to subsidize addiction.
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: So, what happens next? I mean, if you -- if you're doing this as a cost cutting measure and people truly did take (ph) the drugs, does the state then have to step in? I mean, is there a responsibility there?
ROMANS: One of the questions I have is about children. So, if you're getting an aid for dependent children or something or welfare benefit for a child, it turns out if you fail the drug test, you can designate another adult to receive the money for the child. So, that's how they would get around that.
CHETRY: All right. But again, as we said, the ACLU filed a challenge. They -- it's a first of what people say will be a number of challenges to this. We'll see what happens, but we'd like to keep hearing from you about it. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, or tell us on Facebook, and we'll read more of your thoughts in the next hour.
VELSHI: Coming up ahead while we're on the topic of drugs, there's a new report by world and industry leaders saying that we have lost the war globally on drugs. So -- is that logically mean that it's time to legalize pot and some other drugs as well? We'll talk about that on the other side.
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