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Next@CNN

Prairie Dogs Can Cause Health Problems; Smog Forecast; A Look at Modern-Day Panhandlers

Aired June 15, 2003 - 17:00   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: NEXT@CNN begins right now.
Welcome to NEXT@CNN for this Sunday, June 15. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And coming up in the next hour, cute little animals like prairie dogs can cause big problems for people's health. We'll talk with a man who says humans are asking for problems by messing around with Mother Nature.

We'll also give you a smog forecast, find out how dirty the air is likely to be in your city this summer.

And we'll show you where a lot of modern-day panhandlers go to bum a buck.

But first the mysterious journey of monkeypox from an African rat to prairie dogs to humans has alarmed and confounded us over the past couple weeks, but other diseases in recent years from AIDS to mad cow disease to West Nile virus also have animal-human connections. Does human activity play a part in these new illnesses? One renown expert says yes.

Joining us from Vancouver, geneticist, environmentalist and science broadcaster David Suzuki. All right, David, good to see you.

DAVID SUZUKI, SCIENCE BROADCASTER: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, you think that mankind is in part to blame for a lot of this just going rampant, isn't it?

SUZUKI: Well, of course, there have never been so many human beings on the planet, and we're now invading areas in which people lived in relative balance with the natural world. And now we're encountering organisms, which are carrying viruses, which can occasionally jump out and infect people. We've been stuck with this for a long time with influenza, for example. Most flues come out of the Orient, come out of China where people live closely with pigs, and ducks and geese. And viruses can jump out, mix in a pig, let's say, and then jump out into a human being.

In Canada right now, we're dealing with SARS, we're dealing with West Nile virus, which seems to be coming in, we're dealing with a case of mad cow disease. And in each case, human beings haven't had enough respect for the natural world. I mean, mad cow disease, here we have a case where herbivores, plant-eating animals, cows, are now being fed the products of animals. We're converting them into carnivores by eating animal products, and it shouldn't surprise us ...

WHITFIELD: So now in other parts of North America, we're talking about monkeypox, and this may be transmitted by folks getting a little too close to ...

SUZUKI: The Gambian rat.

WHITFIELD: There you go, which are infecting the prairie dogs.

SUZUKI: Prairie dogs and humans. We ought to have much more respect. With SARS, it may be a virus that came out of a civet cat, but because Chinese like to eat exotic animals, they come into close contact, boom. And we know, of course with HIV, which has been the really big killer, the chances are very high that this popped out of a chimpanzee. And there's a big trade in bush meat with animals that people are now consuming from the wild.

WHITFIELD: So, do you see in some cases that humans are being ignorant or they are being neglectful in helping to spread some of these what are now becoming familiar viruses and diseases?

SUZUKI: Well, I think we're not respectful of nature, and we are cutting down forests, we are pushing animals into closer proximity from which new viruses may emerge. And we really ought to be much more careful. We ought to stop destroying forests, was we are. We are a major contributor to global warming now, and that of course is leading to exotic creatures. They are coming into areas that have never had them before. But I'll tell you as a geneticist, what really concerns me, there's a great push on now to get more organs for human beings. Well, where are we going to get them? One of the places being proposed are pigs, so you engineer pigs so that their external antigens on the outside they look like human organs, so that we can transplant them into humans.

But what's going to happen to the many viruses that pigs now carry, suddenly put into a human host that can now leap out, and who knows what may result?

WHITFIELD: But the flipside to that that there are also ...

SUZUKI: We have to be much ...

WHITFIELD: There are also many who argue those perhaps those transplants, and even if you want to now bring in cloning into the equation, as well, there are many who argue that this is helping to prolong human life, and perhaps even helping scientists better understand diseases that humans are having to deal with.

SUZUKI: I don't think we can continue thinking every human life is so precious, we're going to use more and more heroic measures, without paying attention to boundaries that normally exist in humans. It simply, evolutionarily, you've never been able to take an organ from an organism like a pig and transplant it into a human being. And there are all kinds of attendant possibilities that may come out of that. Had there been an attempt to transplant chimpanzee organs into humans, it could very well have accelerated the rate at which something like HIV would have afflicted human beings.

WHITFIELD: All right. I'm sorry. I've got to cut you off because we're about to lose that satellite time, and that would be cutting you off even more rudely. All right, thanks a lot, David Suzuki.

SUZUKI: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

FBI investigators are hard at work at a pond in Frederick, Maryland. They are looking for evidence that may help them find those responsible for the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, which killed five people.

Patty Davis has more now from Washington. Hello to you Patty.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, the FBI has been back to this pond several times. Last December, sources say divers found a clear plastic container with holes in the side, much like you use in a lab to limit your exposure to a substance you're working with. They also found several vials in the pond, and tests on those items continue. While investigators are now back at the pond looking for evidence related to the anthrax investigation. This time they're draining it to see what's at the murky bottom, but how do they do that without disturbing the pond's natural state?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS (voice-over): It's a delicate balance. An aggressive investigation into the anthrax attacks has led the FBI to this pond in Frederick, Maryland, yet they must tread gently on the ecosystem. First officials had to figure out was the water dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the FBI said, they have tested the water many, many times, they tested the folks that have come in and out of the water, and the results show no anthrax.

DAVIS: Then, huge pumps were brought in. The FBI needed to drain the entire pond, nearly 1.5 million gallons of water. Maryland officials had worried the water pumped into these nearby ponds, already swollen by weeks of rain, might cause erosion and flood out roads. Luckily, that didn't happen. As the water was being drained, the pond's sunfish, trout and bass stocked there this spring were transferred. Another worry, agents searching the now empty pond for evidence are now being asked to steer clear of as many as five endangered plants, including this yellow-fringed orchid. The pond is only one of 12 spots in Maryland where it's found.

RAVIS BERMUDA, SIERRA CLUB: The spring will feed the pond again and they'll probably restock it with fish similar to what they took out. (END VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS: Maryland officials say the FBI has promised to restore the pond and its surrounding area to the natural state. The pond is actually manmade originally intended to be used to fight fires in Fredrick's municipal forests. Now the fight has turned to catching the person responsible for the deadly anthrax attacks, and Fredricka, there are no suspects and no arrests so far in those attacks.

WHITFIELD: And, Patty, still no real details on what, if anything, they're able to excavate from that area now that they've drained the pond.

DAVIS: That's right. FBI, we've put that question to them several times. Earlier in the week, we were told that they had so far found nothing of interest, but now they are just having no comment. They're not going to tell us if they found anything at all - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patty Davis, thank you very much for that update from that Fredrick pond in Maryland.

Coming up, on NEXT@CNN, a controversial pipeline that was the scene of a dramatic kidnapping this past week.

And pilots may be allowed to carry a non-lethal type of gun in the cockpit.

Those stories and more still to come right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): This is a 2,000-year-old scroll burnt beyond recognition, now easier to read. How did that happen? Scientists at Brigham Young University said they use multispectral imaging, the same technology NASA uses to study rocks on Mars. The ancient scrolls were excavated from the ruins of a villa in Pompeii, Italy, buried thousands of years ago under 100 feet of volcanic ash during a major eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The works of ancient Greek Philosophers like Aristotle and poets like Virgil could be contained on the scroll.

For years, it was almost impossible to tell the black paper from the black ink. With multispectral imaging, scientists subject the scrolls to infrared lights, frequency of light we can't see, but a type of light that is absorbed by the paper and reflected by the ink. A computer picks up and enhances that reflection, so what's left of the scrolls may be easier to read. The university is now creating a digital library of these and other ancient texts preserved for future generations to see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, earlier this week in Peru, 71 oil workers were released less than 36 hours after they were kidnapped by people said to be linked to the Shining Path guerrilla movement. The workers were in the process of building a massive natural gas pipeline, a project some say puts the nation's vital rainforests at risk.

Here's CNN's Gary Strieker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From wells deep inside the Amazon forest, stretching 700 kilometers over the Andes mountains to the Peruvian coast, the gas pipelines would bring cheap energy to the capital Lima, and huge export earnings from sales of liquid natural gas. The Camisea project is one of Peru's top economic priorities, the investment expected to exceed $4 billion. But some fear its environmental and cultural costs may be far too high.

ROBERTO KOMETTER, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND (through translator): The company should tell us what the impact will be from the project and what protective measures they are taking. We have to see if they're doing it right. That's what we want to know.

STRIEKER: Camisea's gas fields containing an estimated 13 trillion cubic feet of gas are located in what scientists describe as a critical natural habitat, a rainforest with some of the world's richest biological diversity, a reserve for uncontacted indigenous people living in voluntary isolation. According to critics, construction along the pipeline route has already caused major deforestation, erosion and contamination of rivers. In local villages, people fear the pipeline road will open their lands to uncontrolled migration, forcing them from their homes. Construction crews are accused of disturbing isolated tribes, infecting them with disease.

The main partners in the Camisea, two Argentine companies and Texas-based Hunt Oil say these accusations are either false or exaggerated, that they're following the highest international standards to build the project with minimum impact on the environment and local communities.

EDUARDO MAESTRI, PLUSPETROL: We are going to do a very good project in the jungle, without impact and positive impact with the people.

STRIEKER (on camera): Camisea critics say they're especially concerned about this project because it's the first major natural gas development in Peru, and how it handles its sensitive environmental and cultural impacts will set the standard for all future gas, oil and power projects in the entire region.

(voice-over): Sponsors of the project are asking for loan assistance from the U.S. government and the Inter-American Development Bank, but environmental and human rights groups are demanding the rejection of any loans without more protection for this pristine wilderness and its people.

Gary Strieker, CNN on the Urubamba River, Peru. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: When NEXT@CNN returns, high-flying politics at the Paris air show, anti-French feelings cause a low U.S. turnout at the world's largest aviation extravaganza.

And later in the show, panhandling in cyberspace of all places. Find out where to click if you feel the need to give away a spare buck or two. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, taking a look at some NEXT new headlines/

This week, the panel investigating the Columbia disaster discovered a problem that could have threatened the rest of the shuttle. It involves two huge bolts that come off when the solid rocket boosters are jettisoned soon after launch. There's a bolt catcher to trap them, but the panel says the bolt catchers are not strong enough for the job, and flying bolt fragments could do major damage to a shuttle. Radar images from Columbia's launch showed debris that investigators believe is from broken bolts. They don't think that is what caused the accident. They say the problem will be easy to fix on the other shuttles now that it has been spotted/

New supplies arrived at the international space station on Wednesday on board a Russian Progress spacecraft. The shipment included scientific equipment, food, water and oxygen for the two-man crew. Since the U.S. shuttle fleet is grounded, Russian spacecraft are the only way to get the supplies to the space station.

The transportation security administration has approved the idea of letting airline pilots carry stun guns, but the agency wants to get some rules in place before the non-lethal weapons actually appear in the cockpits. United Airlines and Mesa Air Group have asked the TSA for permission for their pilots to carry the stun guns.

The high-tech scooter called Segway got a high-level tryout this week at the Bush family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Yesterday, former President George Bush and his wife Barbara tried out the Segway, and did pretty good. But on Friday, their son, President George W. Bush, well, apparently he had a little trouble keeping his balance on the scooter. Oops. It relies on the system of gyroscopes to keep the rider vertical. And it just didn't work for the president there.

The Paris air show, the world's leading aviation trade conference, is under way at Le Bourget Airport. These are tough economic times for the aviation industry, and the ongoing political friction between the U.S. and France is causing some turbulence as well. But as they say, the show must go on.

CNN's Richard Quest has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Paris air show, home to the aerial acrobatics. This year, though, don't look for any U.S. top guns in the sky. The U.S. government decided not to take part, even banning their generals from turning up. Another open secret that no one will admit, and Washington denies, is that U.S. companies were pressured to scale back their presence. It has cut American participation here by at least a third, and left the Paris organizers turning some diplomatic cartwheels of their own.

YVES BONNET, ORGANIZER, PARIS AIR SHOW: The reason which as been given to us was only economic reasons, and no political. I have not to say my opinion about that.

QUEST: The problem is that the evidence is obvious. No top U.S. chief executive is here. Boeing, though, denies it's been nobbled (ph) by the government.

JIM ALBAUGH, BOEING INTL DEFENSE SYSTEMS: The reason our size is down this year is because most of our customers are not here. If our customers are not here from the Pentagon, we're not here.

QUEST: Cause and effect?

O'DONNELL: Cause and effect.

QUEST: The aviation industry is still in deep trouble, which makes this action by the American government all the more difficult to understand because ultimately, U.S. companies will feel the pinch.

KEIRAN DALY, FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL: You can't seriously say to a Lockheed Martin, or a Honeywell or somebody don't sell your equipment to the Europeans. Anybody can understand that's bad news for the U.S.

QUEST: All of this is likely to leave a sour taste in both mouths, and shows there's still much diplomatic repair work to be done.

(on camera): So perhaps there are now two sides to this conflict, those U.S. politicians that want to keep the anti-French feeling alive, and on the other side, the U.S. corporations that want to get back to business as normal. With the aviation industry in crisis, they need every contract they can get.

Richard Quest, CNN, at the Paris air show.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Lots of wine with the cheese out there.

Well, lots more to come in the next half hour of NEXT@CNN, including a different kind of weather forecast, a kind every breathing forecast, if you will. We'll tell you where the smog is likely to be, the worst this summer.

And later, a brother for the first cloned member of the equine family. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, NEXT@CNN continues in a moment, but first let's check the headlines at this hour.

A small plane crashed in Pennsylvania this afternoon, killing four of the five people on board. It's not clear what happened to the fifth person. The Cessna was taking off from the airport in Greensburg for skydiving operation, according to an FAA spokeswoman. The FAA is sending inspectors to the crash site.

The U.S. Coast Guard has given up on a search for two men missing off the Oregon coast after their boat capsized yesterday. They are now presumed dead. Nine other people died in the accident and were confirmed dead yesterday. There were eight survivors in all. The charter fishing boat capsized yesterday in high surf as it tried to slip through a narrow channel from Tillamook Bay in the ocean.

Eight Cuban migrants are in federal custody today after coming a shore on the Florida coast this morning. Under U.S. policy, they'll likely be allowed to stay in the country. A 19-foot motorboat dropped them off north of Miami. Border patrol investigators say they think the landing was part of an organized smuggling effort.

More news at the top of the hour. NEXT@CNN continues right now.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's only June, and already cities like Dallas are sizzling in the record high temperatures. And where there is heat, there's likely to be smog, not far behind, or at least above.

CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras explains why the hazy days of summer seem to be a magnet for smog.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they really are. In fact, we've seen those ozone levels increase quite a bit just in the last couple of weeks, and as we head into July and August, of course, that's going to continue to get worse. Our weather patterns become a little more stable, the air masses become a bit more stagnant and that ever so familiar brown haze becomes prominent across a few too many cities across the United States. But what exactly is smog?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS (voice-over): Welcome, to the coughing, wheezing, sneezing days of summer. Across the nation, millions of Americans live in cities where the air can literally make you sick. The reason? Ozone, the main ingredient in smog. Ozone is a gas that is odorless and colorless, but mixed with toxins like tailpipe emissions and smokestack pollution, and the scorching summer sun it bakes to create that golden brown sky familiar to so many Americans. The American Lung Association says six of the top ten smoggiest cities in the United states are in California. And with Texas and the Carolinas on the list, Americans are choking on dirty air from coast to smoggy coast.

Scientists say prolonged exposure to smog can irritate the airways, and over time can reduce lung function. Although it can affect anyone, smog is especially dangerous to the elderly, to children, and to people with asthma. Public health experts now estimate that about one third of all Americans are at high risk from ozone exposure.

(on camera): So how do you know if your city is at risk? While the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service issue an air quality forecast on a daily basis. This is the forecast for this afternoon and the evening. You just find your select city - we've got our legend down here. So you can check this every day. You can get on-line at www.EPA.gov/airnow, or you can look for this forecast throughout regular weather segments on CNN. If you have a green dot, that means low levels. Moderate is the yellow, as you head into the unhealthy for sensitive groups, that means young children under the age of two, the elderly or people who have asthma. It will be high or unhealthy for most people in the red level. And then if you see a purple diamond, that means very high. This is the kind of day where you don't want to go outside.

The good news is that today things look good for just about everybody, a little bit unhealthy for those sensitive groups into interior parts of California. Otherwise, it should be a good day. But you don't want to go outside when you see that red dot, the high or the very high, especially during rush-hour traffic, between about 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Make sure that you do your exercising a little bit earlier on in the day.

So what can you expect for the rest of the summer? Is this going to be a growing trend? Well, NOAA has issued their summer heat outlook, and anticipating to see most of the heat staying down in the southern tier of the country. We will have larger problems with the ozone buildup across the southwest, because their air systems tend to be a little bit more stable here. So, if you live in the interior of southern California, across southern Nevada into parts of New Mexico, also into Arizona, we'll have some pretty high levels there on and off, across the lower Mississippi River Valley, and then into parts of the southeast, including Florida, into Georgia, and into the Carolinas. We have a lot of problems up into the Smoky Mountains.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: So this is something you really want to watch, Fredricka, especially young children, the elderly, and people who have asthma. It is something we can check out and protect ourselves from every day.

WHITFIELD: All right, good advice. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

Let's talk some more about smog.

Joining us now to discuss the situation is Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the Clean Air Trust. And, Frank, good to see you.

FRANK O'DONNELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLEAN AIR TRUST: Thanks, Fredricka, nice to be here. WHITFIELD: Good. No surprise that California tops the list of the top ten cities -- many of the cities in California, rather, in that top ten list that Jacqui was telling us about. But what is a surprise is that state seems to have some of the best restrictions on air pollution, so does this send a message that really nothing can help clean up our air?

O'DONNELL: No, Jacqui, I think it's quite the contrary. One thing we have learned is that air pollution, dirty air is a national public health problem, not just in California, but as Jacqui's report pointed out, throughout the Southeast, mid-Atlantic states, the Northeast, the Midwest. The American Lung Association report that our colleagues there put out a couple weeks ago pointed out that nearly one person in two lives in areas with dirty air. So we are talking about children with asthma being sent to hospital emergency rooms, we're talking about senior citizens being trapped indoors on days with dirty air. And so it is a big problem.

We have made progress under the Clean Air Act. In California, it's made perhaps the most progress because of their extra-tough restrictions. Without the Clean Air Act, we would have had a lot dirtier air there. And our biggest concern right now, to be honest with you, is that the White House is pushing a plan that would weaken the Clean Air Act to allow the big dirty coal-fired electric power companies to pollute more than they would under current law.

WHITFIELD: Well, Frank, we know that cars are often to blame. We're seeing some video right now of some stacks at industrial plants. What are some of the other things to blame for dirtying up the air that we breathe?

O'DONNELL: Sure. Well, some of the biggest sources are the big coal-fired power plants that I mentioned. Cars and trucks, obviously. One of the sources that not many people know much about are things that are called big diesel construction equipment, things like bulldozers and tractors and earth-moving equipment. In an area like Atlanta or Washington, D.C., these constitute up to 25 percent of the total pollution for moving sources. And this is something that's been barely been touched in terms of controls, something we need to get on. Fortunately, the EPA has proposed a good plan to clean up these sources of pollution. We support it, and we think we ought to try to accelerate that and get to the problem sooner. But that is definitely a big source of solution that has barely been touched, and one where we could make a lot more progress.

WHITFIELD: Well, many of us are subjected to tougher emission tests, so for one, that's supposed to help keep our cars cleaner. But until there are any kind of legislative moves, what can we as individuals do to help keep the air clean for everybody?

O'DONNELL: Well, I think, first of all, we have to be aware as citizens when there's a threat to dirty air and be alert to this problem. And, again, I'm very concerned the White House is promoting a plan in conjunction with the power companies who are, by the way, ramping up a big lobbying blitz modeled on their efforts to modify the tax code, to rush through this plan, that it will allow them to pollute a lot more in the future than they would under current law. So people need to be aware of this dirty air plan. But other things people can do is just be sensible, I think. Carpool when you can, consolidate your trips, don't go out in the highest part of the smog, and be driving cars that aren't necessarily as dirty as some of the road hogs we have out there today. Some of this is common sense, some is common courtesy.

WHITFIELD: OK. Urging all of us to be vigilant. Thanks very much. Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust.

O'DONNELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up. No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, at least so far, but what about in Iran? A new report on that country's nuclear program is about to be released. Could the Iranians be hiding something?

And, later, we'll show you a newly discovered branch of the human family tree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, now a look at some of the headlines on our beat this week. Scientists say an intact skull found in Ethiopia, and two others found in pieces are the oldest evidence of humans ever found. They're calling the find a new branch of the human family tree. Researchers say the find confirms that humans evolved out of the Africa and that we are not related to Neanderthal man, as some once thought.

Archaeologists report serious damage to some ancient historical sites in Iraq since the war. Teams of researchers from the National Geographic Society visited several locations across the country. While many museums are now under heavy guard by U.S. forces, other sites are completely unprotected and are being looted by treasure seekers. Iraq, once known as Mesopotamia, is considered the cradle of civilization with more than 20,0000 valuable archaeological sites.

The ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti was known for her swan-like neck, and that has led a British Egyptologist to believe she may have found the long-lost mummy of the queen in a tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings. The mummy also has a double pierced ear lobe, a symbol of royalty. However, skeptics say x-ray analysis indicates the mummy is that of a 16-year-old girl. And Nefertiti is believed to have died in her 30s.

Authorities say an invasion of Mormon crickets sweeping Idaho, Nevada and Utah could be the worst in recent history. The bugs are devouring acres of crops and range land, as well as freaking a whole lot of folks out. Recent mild winters and the current drought have provided ideal conditions for the insects. The Mormon cricket was named for the infestation in Utah in the 1800s and is not really a cricket at all. In fact, it's closer to a grasshopper.

Well, they have done it again. The team that announced the world's first clone of a mule two weeks ago say a second clone has been born. This one is named Utah Pioneer. Both are males and both were cloned from a champion racing mule. The researchers from the University of Idaho and Utah State University say the second birth proves their cloning methods can be duplicated.

Well, the International Atomic Energy Agency will meet tomorrow in Vienna to discuss what to do next about Iran's nuclear program. Iran with Russia's help is nearing completion of its first nuclear power plant. And U.S. officials, however, say they are convinced that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, too.

Joining us now to talk more about what's going on in Iran is David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS for short. Good to see you, David.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, PRESIDENT, ISIS: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Iran says it wants to build the nuclear power plant, in fact, with Russia's assistance. And already they're building a big one in Bushehr, let's take a look at that. Why do you expect that Iran even needs or wants to have nuclear power plants?

ALBRIGHT: Well, this power reactor really dates back to almost the '60s and '70s when most wanted to have nuclear power plants. So it's not by itself very damning that Iran wants to finish the Bushehr reactor. It spend a lot of money on it. But what has alarmed people is that they want to be able to make the fuel for that reactor and build a lot more of those reactors. So it's the magnitude of their nuclear program that has alarmed people.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, last year, the Iranian opposition group made public of the presence of a massive uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. We've got pictures, a satellite image to look at there. And maybe you can help us understand what we are seeing. What, number one is uranium enrichment?

ALBRIGHT: Well, the fuel for the Bushehr reactor is what's called low-enriched uranium, and you process the uranium you find in the ground and you increase the fraction of one of the radioisotopes, uranium 235. Unfortunately, if you just do it a bit more and increase the fraction to maybe 90 percent, then you have the basic material you need to make nuclear weapons. And the same facility can make low- enriched uranium or it can make this weapon-grade uranium. And it can switch over from one to the other rapidly. So when countries get these kind of enrichment plans, it sets up a lot of concern, because the country is so close to the capability to make nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, the Iranians are saying it's because of powering -- or being able to provide power, but why do you suppose they really would want to build this kind of plant?

ALBRIGHT: Well, the suspicion is that they're trying to do two things. One is provide the fuel for Bushehr in case their supply of low enriched uranium is cut off. The other is to have the capability to make nuclear weapons. They were caught building this plant. And so you have to also wonder if they've had a nuclear weapons program all along, and you can't dismiss that. I mean, I don't agree with the U.S. assertions, they don't have the best evidence to say that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Most of their evidence is circumstantial, but I think everyone agrees that Iran did build facilities in secret. It did high things from the International Atomic Energy Agency. And so the inspection has to be significantly increased to make sure that Iran is transparent.

WHITFIELD: OK, we've got another image, and this one from February of this year. It looks as though there's been some progress made. How long just might it take to complete the building of this plant?

ALBRIGHT: Well, there's a pilot plant in the white-roofed buildings that's actually already has operating centrifuges. That's the tool or machine that enriches the uranium. And that plant will have about 1,000 machines operating at the end of this year, which means within two years after that it could have made enough material for Iran's first nuclear weapons. The other facility is huge. Instead of a thousand machines, that one is ultimately scheduled to have 50,000 operating centrifuges, which would give Iran just a massive capability to make the material for nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: Which now begs the question of what in detail the IAEA may be discussing this week. Of course their worries are very clear.

ALBRIGHT: That's right. Iran has not been adequately transparent with them, but at the same time, Iran has been revealing things, and that's really the test right now for Iran. Are they coming clean? In essence, turning a corner on their secret activities? Maybe they did have a nuclear weapons program and they are giving it up. Or are they just revealing things as they need to, because they're caught. And so the next couple months -- and this meeting is going to be a very important part of it, is to test Iran and figure out through the inspection process whether Iran is going to come clean and reveal all its activities, and hopefully move away from the capability to make nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: And quickly, what are your assessments? What is your prediction on why they actually need or want this?

ALBRIGHT: I think Iran does feel a need to have nuclear weapons. It's felt that for a long time, and I think that it's increased its nervousness as a result of the U.S. pressure. And so I do think that it's very important that the U.S. try to work with Iran and not try to isolate it. For example, if the United States moves to destabilize the Iranian government, it may not be able to do that before Iran gets nuclear weapons. And so I think it's very important that the United States focus on getting rid of Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions and its capabilities, regardless of what it thinks about the regime, which I think most people agree is not a nice or pleasant regime.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Albright, always good to see you. Thanks very much.

ALBRIGHT: Good to be here. Thanks. Still to come at NEXT@CNN, you'll meet a man who has created a career out of being unemployed. Odd Todd is his name. And he's coming up next. So don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All those images have something to do with our next story. We all remember those early dot-com billionaires, right? While those days may be long gone, a lot of creative folks are still discovering that their Internet dreams can still come true.

Our Jeanne Moos has more on how high cyberbegging can sometimes pay off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It used to be brother, can you spare me a dime? But now it's need money for driving lessons, $2,000 for artificial limbs, transsexual needs surgery to become a woman. At last check, the transsexual received $6. Panhandling used to be so personal, but now there is cyberbegging. Fat girl trying to get surgery to get skinny, seeking a gastric lap banding procedure.

VOICE OF ALISHA, CYBERBEGGAR: It's a little embarrassing, but if you want people to donate you have got to show them what they're donating to, so you've got to put pictures up.

MOOS: She needs almost 7,000 bucks. But after getting $18 from generous people the first week, she got zip weeks two and three. Others have raked in thousands.

TODD ROSENBERG, ODDTODD.COM: $1. Thank you. All of you guys for the dollars.

MOOS: Todd Rosenberg is better known from his web cartoons as Odd Todd.

ROSENBERG: Personal budget cuts have really started affecting my social life.

MOOS: Odd Todd was a dot-commer who lost his job. His witty cartoons about unemployment woes won him tips from strangers, $20,000 in tips. He's even publishing a book on things to do while unemployed.

ROSENBERG: For what it's worth, it beats freakin' working.

MOOS: Even a site called "Buy Me a Drink," where the next round is on you, says it has raked in over $140. Here's five bucks, I hope your liver explodes. Speaking of exploding, "Give Boobs.com" has reached its goal of $4500 for a breast implant procedure. A person going by the name Michele Wong showed a 34A photo and a simulated picture of what she could look like. If the boob fund grows so do the boobs, both apparently did. By now, according to an e-mail exchange, Michele should be the proud owner of implants. Her site was so entertaining, so amusing, we started to have doubts. Was this a snow job about a breast job? After repeated requests for a phone interview, Michele answered, oh, for God's sake, just forget it then. I carefully control my image and my words. This is one dot-com that didn't go bust, but we may never know if her story is as false as the implants.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, as you just saw, Todd Rosenberg used the Internet to share with the world his layoff experiences. His popular animations got him some contributions, plus even a book deal, and now face time on television.

Odd Todd joins us now from our New York bureau. Good to see you, Odd Todd. I like the name for one.

TODD ROSENBERG, "ODD TODD": Thank you, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, what inspired you to do this? Surely, this was a stab in the dark. You didn't really think you would get a lot of attention and actually contributions, too, did you?

ROSENBERG: No, actually not at all. To be honest, after I was laid off from a dot-com, I had this free time and I put together a cartoon. And a friend of mine suggested why not just put up a tip jar asking for dollars, or whatever. And I was like, that not a bad idea. So I put it up, and dollars started coming in, the cartoon started getting forwarded around from place to place. And it just kind of steam-rolled from there.

WHITFIELD: Wow, did you find that you were getting more positive feedback initially than the negative?

ROSENBERG: Yes, to be honest, even still, 99 percent of the e- mails I get are positive. Occasionally, I get like get a job loser type of e-mail, but for the most part, people are appreciative, because the cartoons really touch a nerve with people who are unemployed and in need of money and everything else. So it seems to work for people.

WHITFIELD: And so it sounds like really that was the key. You were giving something. You were giving a little bit of humor. You were giving a bit of a departure with your cartoon talents, and then come to find out, folks really wanted to give you something in return?

ROSENBERG: To be honest, I needed the money, too, so it worked out really well. For a while I was living strictly off the tip jar, and it came in when I needed it the most.

WHITFIELD: So how far do you suppose this is going to take you? We see you have a book deal. It's a very humorous, kind of fun, poking fun at yourself even book, and then what?

ROSENBERG: I'm trying to get this on to TV somewhere and make it into a TV show, but that's a long shot. At the very least, I am going to keep making cartoons for the site. I sell coffee cups and t-shirts and things like that, which people could do without laying out any money, as well. It's sort of like a side cyberbegging thing. And just keep going with the site. To be honest, I've been doing it for a year and a half, and I still don't kind of need to get a job, and I make cartoons. I'm just going to keep going until the lights go out.

WHITFIELD: And you are still looking for a job. Are you finding that, you know, people are really kind of intrigued with what you've come up with here? I like the voice, for one.

ROSENBERG: Oh, thanks. I think it also kind of like inspires some people. Before, I was doing what I'm doing now, I was a sales guy basically for dot-coms and things like that. So I've been able to kind of achieve, at least to some degree, kind of like a career relaunch. And I think a lot of people who are laid off right now and need alternatives in terms of what career to do next, know that it is possible that you can kind of make a shift and do something maybe closer to what you should have been doing when you weren't doing what you were going when you were doing what you were doing.

WHITFIELD: Its makes sense actually.

ROSENBERG: OK.

WHITFIELD: I know it's confusing to most folks. But, anyway, you really you do say in your book that you're appealing to so many people, from kids who are right out of college to others who have lost their jobs and to those who are simply bored or broke.

ROSENBERG: The book pretty much covers the whole lifestyle of what you could do when you have nothing to do and nowhere to go on a Tuesday afternoon. So page by page, it will take you through what you can do during the day when you have no money and nothing to do.

WHITFIELD: Very cool. All right, Todd Rosenberg or Odd Todd.

ROSENBERG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks very much for joining us, and good luck to you.

ROSENBERG: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's all we have time for right now. But before we go, here's a peek at what's coming up next week.

The incredible hulk may have no trouble beating the bad guys, but he's a lightweight when it comes to movie bootleggers. We'll look at how the hulk and other films end up on the Internet before they make it to the theaters. That story and much more coming up next week on NEXT@CNN. And I hope you'll join us for that.

Coming up next here on CNN, "CNN LIVE SUNDAY" with developments in the Catholic church's struggle with sexual misconduct among priests. That's followed by people in the news at 7:00, profiling the key players mapping the road to peace in the Middle East, including the Israelis and Palestinian prime ministers.

And at 8:00 Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS" "Seeds of War," a look at southeast Asia on the front lines on the war on terror.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Look at Modern-Day Panhandlers>


Aired June 15, 2003 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: NEXT@CNN begins right now.
Welcome to NEXT@CNN for this Sunday, June 15. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And coming up in the next hour, cute little animals like prairie dogs can cause big problems for people's health. We'll talk with a man who says humans are asking for problems by messing around with Mother Nature.

We'll also give you a smog forecast, find out how dirty the air is likely to be in your city this summer.

And we'll show you where a lot of modern-day panhandlers go to bum a buck.

But first the mysterious journey of monkeypox from an African rat to prairie dogs to humans has alarmed and confounded us over the past couple weeks, but other diseases in recent years from AIDS to mad cow disease to West Nile virus also have animal-human connections. Does human activity play a part in these new illnesses? One renown expert says yes.

Joining us from Vancouver, geneticist, environmentalist and science broadcaster David Suzuki. All right, David, good to see you.

DAVID SUZUKI, SCIENCE BROADCASTER: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right, you think that mankind is in part to blame for a lot of this just going rampant, isn't it?

SUZUKI: Well, of course, there have never been so many human beings on the planet, and we're now invading areas in which people lived in relative balance with the natural world. And now we're encountering organisms, which are carrying viruses, which can occasionally jump out and infect people. We've been stuck with this for a long time with influenza, for example. Most flues come out of the Orient, come out of China where people live closely with pigs, and ducks and geese. And viruses can jump out, mix in a pig, let's say, and then jump out into a human being.

In Canada right now, we're dealing with SARS, we're dealing with West Nile virus, which seems to be coming in, we're dealing with a case of mad cow disease. And in each case, human beings haven't had enough respect for the natural world. I mean, mad cow disease, here we have a case where herbivores, plant-eating animals, cows, are now being fed the products of animals. We're converting them into carnivores by eating animal products, and it shouldn't surprise us ...

WHITFIELD: So now in other parts of North America, we're talking about monkeypox, and this may be transmitted by folks getting a little too close to ...

SUZUKI: The Gambian rat.

WHITFIELD: There you go, which are infecting the prairie dogs.

SUZUKI: Prairie dogs and humans. We ought to have much more respect. With SARS, it may be a virus that came out of a civet cat, but because Chinese like to eat exotic animals, they come into close contact, boom. And we know, of course with HIV, which has been the really big killer, the chances are very high that this popped out of a chimpanzee. And there's a big trade in bush meat with animals that people are now consuming from the wild.

WHITFIELD: So, do you see in some cases that humans are being ignorant or they are being neglectful in helping to spread some of these what are now becoming familiar viruses and diseases?

SUZUKI: Well, I think we're not respectful of nature, and we are cutting down forests, we are pushing animals into closer proximity from which new viruses may emerge. And we really ought to be much more careful. We ought to stop destroying forests, was we are. We are a major contributor to global warming now, and that of course is leading to exotic creatures. They are coming into areas that have never had them before. But I'll tell you as a geneticist, what really concerns me, there's a great push on now to get more organs for human beings. Well, where are we going to get them? One of the places being proposed are pigs, so you engineer pigs so that their external antigens on the outside they look like human organs, so that we can transplant them into humans.

But what's going to happen to the many viruses that pigs now carry, suddenly put into a human host that can now leap out, and who knows what may result?

WHITFIELD: But the flipside to that that there are also ...

SUZUKI: We have to be much ...

WHITFIELD: There are also many who argue those perhaps those transplants, and even if you want to now bring in cloning into the equation, as well, there are many who argue that this is helping to prolong human life, and perhaps even helping scientists better understand diseases that humans are having to deal with.

SUZUKI: I don't think we can continue thinking every human life is so precious, we're going to use more and more heroic measures, without paying attention to boundaries that normally exist in humans. It simply, evolutionarily, you've never been able to take an organ from an organism like a pig and transplant it into a human being. And there are all kinds of attendant possibilities that may come out of that. Had there been an attempt to transplant chimpanzee organs into humans, it could very well have accelerated the rate at which something like HIV would have afflicted human beings.

WHITFIELD: All right. I'm sorry. I've got to cut you off because we're about to lose that satellite time, and that would be cutting you off even more rudely. All right, thanks a lot, David Suzuki.

SUZUKI: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

FBI investigators are hard at work at a pond in Frederick, Maryland. They are looking for evidence that may help them find those responsible for the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, which killed five people.

Patty Davis has more now from Washington. Hello to you Patty.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, the FBI has been back to this pond several times. Last December, sources say divers found a clear plastic container with holes in the side, much like you use in a lab to limit your exposure to a substance you're working with. They also found several vials in the pond, and tests on those items continue. While investigators are now back at the pond looking for evidence related to the anthrax investigation. This time they're draining it to see what's at the murky bottom, but how do they do that without disturbing the pond's natural state?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS (voice-over): It's a delicate balance. An aggressive investigation into the anthrax attacks has led the FBI to this pond in Frederick, Maryland, yet they must tread gently on the ecosystem. First officials had to figure out was the water dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the FBI said, they have tested the water many, many times, they tested the folks that have come in and out of the water, and the results show no anthrax.

DAVIS: Then, huge pumps were brought in. The FBI needed to drain the entire pond, nearly 1.5 million gallons of water. Maryland officials had worried the water pumped into these nearby ponds, already swollen by weeks of rain, might cause erosion and flood out roads. Luckily, that didn't happen. As the water was being drained, the pond's sunfish, trout and bass stocked there this spring were transferred. Another worry, agents searching the now empty pond for evidence are now being asked to steer clear of as many as five endangered plants, including this yellow-fringed orchid. The pond is only one of 12 spots in Maryland where it's found.

RAVIS BERMUDA, SIERRA CLUB: The spring will feed the pond again and they'll probably restock it with fish similar to what they took out. (END VIDEOTAPE)

DAVIS: Maryland officials say the FBI has promised to restore the pond and its surrounding area to the natural state. The pond is actually manmade originally intended to be used to fight fires in Fredrick's municipal forests. Now the fight has turned to catching the person responsible for the deadly anthrax attacks, and Fredricka, there are no suspects and no arrests so far in those attacks.

WHITFIELD: And, Patty, still no real details on what, if anything, they're able to excavate from that area now that they've drained the pond.

DAVIS: That's right. FBI, we've put that question to them several times. Earlier in the week, we were told that they had so far found nothing of interest, but now they are just having no comment. They're not going to tell us if they found anything at all - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Patty Davis, thank you very much for that update from that Fredrick pond in Maryland.

Coming up, on NEXT@CNN, a controversial pipeline that was the scene of a dramatic kidnapping this past week.

And pilots may be allowed to carry a non-lethal type of gun in the cockpit.

Those stories and more still to come right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): This is a 2,000-year-old scroll burnt beyond recognition, now easier to read. How did that happen? Scientists at Brigham Young University said they use multispectral imaging, the same technology NASA uses to study rocks on Mars. The ancient scrolls were excavated from the ruins of a villa in Pompeii, Italy, buried thousands of years ago under 100 feet of volcanic ash during a major eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The works of ancient Greek Philosophers like Aristotle and poets like Virgil could be contained on the scroll.

For years, it was almost impossible to tell the black paper from the black ink. With multispectral imaging, scientists subject the scrolls to infrared lights, frequency of light we can't see, but a type of light that is absorbed by the paper and reflected by the ink. A computer picks up and enhances that reflection, so what's left of the scrolls may be easier to read. The university is now creating a digital library of these and other ancient texts preserved for future generations to see.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, earlier this week in Peru, 71 oil workers were released less than 36 hours after they were kidnapped by people said to be linked to the Shining Path guerrilla movement. The workers were in the process of building a massive natural gas pipeline, a project some say puts the nation's vital rainforests at risk.

Here's CNN's Gary Strieker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY STRIEKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From wells deep inside the Amazon forest, stretching 700 kilometers over the Andes mountains to the Peruvian coast, the gas pipelines would bring cheap energy to the capital Lima, and huge export earnings from sales of liquid natural gas. The Camisea project is one of Peru's top economic priorities, the investment expected to exceed $4 billion. But some fear its environmental and cultural costs may be far too high.

ROBERTO KOMETTER, WORLD WILDLIFE FUND (through translator): The company should tell us what the impact will be from the project and what protective measures they are taking. We have to see if they're doing it right. That's what we want to know.

STRIEKER: Camisea's gas fields containing an estimated 13 trillion cubic feet of gas are located in what scientists describe as a critical natural habitat, a rainforest with some of the world's richest biological diversity, a reserve for uncontacted indigenous people living in voluntary isolation. According to critics, construction along the pipeline route has already caused major deforestation, erosion and contamination of rivers. In local villages, people fear the pipeline road will open their lands to uncontrolled migration, forcing them from their homes. Construction crews are accused of disturbing isolated tribes, infecting them with disease.

The main partners in the Camisea, two Argentine companies and Texas-based Hunt Oil say these accusations are either false or exaggerated, that they're following the highest international standards to build the project with minimum impact on the environment and local communities.

EDUARDO MAESTRI, PLUSPETROL: We are going to do a very good project in the jungle, without impact and positive impact with the people.

STRIEKER (on camera): Camisea critics say they're especially concerned about this project because it's the first major natural gas development in Peru, and how it handles its sensitive environmental and cultural impacts will set the standard for all future gas, oil and power projects in the entire region.

(voice-over): Sponsors of the project are asking for loan assistance from the U.S. government and the Inter-American Development Bank, but environmental and human rights groups are demanding the rejection of any loans without more protection for this pristine wilderness and its people.

Gary Strieker, CNN on the Urubamba River, Peru. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: When NEXT@CNN returns, high-flying politics at the Paris air show, anti-French feelings cause a low U.S. turnout at the world's largest aviation extravaganza.

And later in the show, panhandling in cyberspace of all places. Find out where to click if you feel the need to give away a spare buck or two. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, taking a look at some NEXT new headlines/

This week, the panel investigating the Columbia disaster discovered a problem that could have threatened the rest of the shuttle. It involves two huge bolts that come off when the solid rocket boosters are jettisoned soon after launch. There's a bolt catcher to trap them, but the panel says the bolt catchers are not strong enough for the job, and flying bolt fragments could do major damage to a shuttle. Radar images from Columbia's launch showed debris that investigators believe is from broken bolts. They don't think that is what caused the accident. They say the problem will be easy to fix on the other shuttles now that it has been spotted/

New supplies arrived at the international space station on Wednesday on board a Russian Progress spacecraft. The shipment included scientific equipment, food, water and oxygen for the two-man crew. Since the U.S. shuttle fleet is grounded, Russian spacecraft are the only way to get the supplies to the space station.

The transportation security administration has approved the idea of letting airline pilots carry stun guns, but the agency wants to get some rules in place before the non-lethal weapons actually appear in the cockpits. United Airlines and Mesa Air Group have asked the TSA for permission for their pilots to carry the stun guns.

The high-tech scooter called Segway got a high-level tryout this week at the Bush family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Yesterday, former President George Bush and his wife Barbara tried out the Segway, and did pretty good. But on Friday, their son, President George W. Bush, well, apparently he had a little trouble keeping his balance on the scooter. Oops. It relies on the system of gyroscopes to keep the rider vertical. And it just didn't work for the president there.

The Paris air show, the world's leading aviation trade conference, is under way at Le Bourget Airport. These are tough economic times for the aviation industry, and the ongoing political friction between the U.S. and France is causing some turbulence as well. But as they say, the show must go on.

CNN's Richard Quest has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Paris air show, home to the aerial acrobatics. This year, though, don't look for any U.S. top guns in the sky. The U.S. government decided not to take part, even banning their generals from turning up. Another open secret that no one will admit, and Washington denies, is that U.S. companies were pressured to scale back their presence. It has cut American participation here by at least a third, and left the Paris organizers turning some diplomatic cartwheels of their own.

YVES BONNET, ORGANIZER, PARIS AIR SHOW: The reason which as been given to us was only economic reasons, and no political. I have not to say my opinion about that.

QUEST: The problem is that the evidence is obvious. No top U.S. chief executive is here. Boeing, though, denies it's been nobbled (ph) by the government.

JIM ALBAUGH, BOEING INTL DEFENSE SYSTEMS: The reason our size is down this year is because most of our customers are not here. If our customers are not here from the Pentagon, we're not here.

QUEST: Cause and effect?

O'DONNELL: Cause and effect.

QUEST: The aviation industry is still in deep trouble, which makes this action by the American government all the more difficult to understand because ultimately, U.S. companies will feel the pinch.

KEIRAN DALY, FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL: You can't seriously say to a Lockheed Martin, or a Honeywell or somebody don't sell your equipment to the Europeans. Anybody can understand that's bad news for the U.S.

QUEST: All of this is likely to leave a sour taste in both mouths, and shows there's still much diplomatic repair work to be done.

(on camera): So perhaps there are now two sides to this conflict, those U.S. politicians that want to keep the anti-French feeling alive, and on the other side, the U.S. corporations that want to get back to business as normal. With the aviation industry in crisis, they need every contract they can get.

Richard Quest, CNN, at the Paris air show.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Lots of wine with the cheese out there.

Well, lots more to come in the next half hour of NEXT@CNN, including a different kind of weather forecast, a kind every breathing forecast, if you will. We'll tell you where the smog is likely to be, the worst this summer.

And later, a brother for the first cloned member of the equine family. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, NEXT@CNN continues in a moment, but first let's check the headlines at this hour.

A small plane crashed in Pennsylvania this afternoon, killing four of the five people on board. It's not clear what happened to the fifth person. The Cessna was taking off from the airport in Greensburg for skydiving operation, according to an FAA spokeswoman. The FAA is sending inspectors to the crash site.

The U.S. Coast Guard has given up on a search for two men missing off the Oregon coast after their boat capsized yesterday. They are now presumed dead. Nine other people died in the accident and were confirmed dead yesterday. There were eight survivors in all. The charter fishing boat capsized yesterday in high surf as it tried to slip through a narrow channel from Tillamook Bay in the ocean.

Eight Cuban migrants are in federal custody today after coming a shore on the Florida coast this morning. Under U.S. policy, they'll likely be allowed to stay in the country. A 19-foot motorboat dropped them off north of Miami. Border patrol investigators say they think the landing was part of an organized smuggling effort.

More news at the top of the hour. NEXT@CNN continues right now.

WHITFIELD: Well, it's only June, and already cities like Dallas are sizzling in the record high temperatures. And where there is heat, there's likely to be smog, not far behind, or at least above.

CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras explains why the hazy days of summer seem to be a magnet for smog.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they really are. In fact, we've seen those ozone levels increase quite a bit just in the last couple of weeks, and as we head into July and August, of course, that's going to continue to get worse. Our weather patterns become a little more stable, the air masses become a bit more stagnant and that ever so familiar brown haze becomes prominent across a few too many cities across the United States. But what exactly is smog?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS (voice-over): Welcome, to the coughing, wheezing, sneezing days of summer. Across the nation, millions of Americans live in cities where the air can literally make you sick. The reason? Ozone, the main ingredient in smog. Ozone is a gas that is odorless and colorless, but mixed with toxins like tailpipe emissions and smokestack pollution, and the scorching summer sun it bakes to create that golden brown sky familiar to so many Americans. The American Lung Association says six of the top ten smoggiest cities in the United states are in California. And with Texas and the Carolinas on the list, Americans are choking on dirty air from coast to smoggy coast.

Scientists say prolonged exposure to smog can irritate the airways, and over time can reduce lung function. Although it can affect anyone, smog is especially dangerous to the elderly, to children, and to people with asthma. Public health experts now estimate that about one third of all Americans are at high risk from ozone exposure.

(on camera): So how do you know if your city is at risk? While the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service issue an air quality forecast on a daily basis. This is the forecast for this afternoon and the evening. You just find your select city - we've got our legend down here. So you can check this every day. You can get on-line at www.EPA.gov/airnow, or you can look for this forecast throughout regular weather segments on CNN. If you have a green dot, that means low levels. Moderate is the yellow, as you head into the unhealthy for sensitive groups, that means young children under the age of two, the elderly or people who have asthma. It will be high or unhealthy for most people in the red level. And then if you see a purple diamond, that means very high. This is the kind of day where you don't want to go outside.

The good news is that today things look good for just about everybody, a little bit unhealthy for those sensitive groups into interior parts of California. Otherwise, it should be a good day. But you don't want to go outside when you see that red dot, the high or the very high, especially during rush-hour traffic, between about 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Make sure that you do your exercising a little bit earlier on in the day.

So what can you expect for the rest of the summer? Is this going to be a growing trend? Well, NOAA has issued their summer heat outlook, and anticipating to see most of the heat staying down in the southern tier of the country. We will have larger problems with the ozone buildup across the southwest, because their air systems tend to be a little bit more stable here. So, if you live in the interior of southern California, across southern Nevada into parts of New Mexico, also into Arizona, we'll have some pretty high levels there on and off, across the lower Mississippi River Valley, and then into parts of the southeast, including Florida, into Georgia, and into the Carolinas. We have a lot of problems up into the Smoky Mountains.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: So this is something you really want to watch, Fredricka, especially young children, the elderly, and people who have asthma. It is something we can check out and protect ourselves from every day.

WHITFIELD: All right, good advice. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

Let's talk some more about smog.

Joining us now to discuss the situation is Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the Clean Air Trust. And, Frank, good to see you.

FRANK O'DONNELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CLEAN AIR TRUST: Thanks, Fredricka, nice to be here. WHITFIELD: Good. No surprise that California tops the list of the top ten cities -- many of the cities in California, rather, in that top ten list that Jacqui was telling us about. But what is a surprise is that state seems to have some of the best restrictions on air pollution, so does this send a message that really nothing can help clean up our air?

O'DONNELL: No, Jacqui, I think it's quite the contrary. One thing we have learned is that air pollution, dirty air is a national public health problem, not just in California, but as Jacqui's report pointed out, throughout the Southeast, mid-Atlantic states, the Northeast, the Midwest. The American Lung Association report that our colleagues there put out a couple weeks ago pointed out that nearly one person in two lives in areas with dirty air. So we are talking about children with asthma being sent to hospital emergency rooms, we're talking about senior citizens being trapped indoors on days with dirty air. And so it is a big problem.

We have made progress under the Clean Air Act. In California, it's made perhaps the most progress because of their extra-tough restrictions. Without the Clean Air Act, we would have had a lot dirtier air there. And our biggest concern right now, to be honest with you, is that the White House is pushing a plan that would weaken the Clean Air Act to allow the big dirty coal-fired electric power companies to pollute more than they would under current law.

WHITFIELD: Well, Frank, we know that cars are often to blame. We're seeing some video right now of some stacks at industrial plants. What are some of the other things to blame for dirtying up the air that we breathe?

O'DONNELL: Sure. Well, some of the biggest sources are the big coal-fired power plants that I mentioned. Cars and trucks, obviously. One of the sources that not many people know much about are things that are called big diesel construction equipment, things like bulldozers and tractors and earth-moving equipment. In an area like Atlanta or Washington, D.C., these constitute up to 25 percent of the total pollution for moving sources. And this is something that's been barely been touched in terms of controls, something we need to get on. Fortunately, the EPA has proposed a good plan to clean up these sources of pollution. We support it, and we think we ought to try to accelerate that and get to the problem sooner. But that is definitely a big source of solution that has barely been touched, and one where we could make a lot more progress.

WHITFIELD: Well, many of us are subjected to tougher emission tests, so for one, that's supposed to help keep our cars cleaner. But until there are any kind of legislative moves, what can we as individuals do to help keep the air clean for everybody?

O'DONNELL: Well, I think, first of all, we have to be aware as citizens when there's a threat to dirty air and be alert to this problem. And, again, I'm very concerned the White House is promoting a plan in conjunction with the power companies who are, by the way, ramping up a big lobbying blitz modeled on their efforts to modify the tax code, to rush through this plan, that it will allow them to pollute a lot more in the future than they would under current law. So people need to be aware of this dirty air plan. But other things people can do is just be sensible, I think. Carpool when you can, consolidate your trips, don't go out in the highest part of the smog, and be driving cars that aren't necessarily as dirty as some of the road hogs we have out there today. Some of this is common sense, some is common courtesy.

WHITFIELD: OK. Urging all of us to be vigilant. Thanks very much. Frank O'Donnell of the Clean Air Trust.

O'DONNELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up. No weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, at least so far, but what about in Iran? A new report on that country's nuclear program is about to be released. Could the Iranians be hiding something?

And, later, we'll show you a newly discovered branch of the human family tree.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, now a look at some of the headlines on our beat this week. Scientists say an intact skull found in Ethiopia, and two others found in pieces are the oldest evidence of humans ever found. They're calling the find a new branch of the human family tree. Researchers say the find confirms that humans evolved out of the Africa and that we are not related to Neanderthal man, as some once thought.

Archaeologists report serious damage to some ancient historical sites in Iraq since the war. Teams of researchers from the National Geographic Society visited several locations across the country. While many museums are now under heavy guard by U.S. forces, other sites are completely unprotected and are being looted by treasure seekers. Iraq, once known as Mesopotamia, is considered the cradle of civilization with more than 20,0000 valuable archaeological sites.

The ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti was known for her swan-like neck, and that has led a British Egyptologist to believe she may have found the long-lost mummy of the queen in a tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings. The mummy also has a double pierced ear lobe, a symbol of royalty. However, skeptics say x-ray analysis indicates the mummy is that of a 16-year-old girl. And Nefertiti is believed to have died in her 30s.

Authorities say an invasion of Mormon crickets sweeping Idaho, Nevada and Utah could be the worst in recent history. The bugs are devouring acres of crops and range land, as well as freaking a whole lot of folks out. Recent mild winters and the current drought have provided ideal conditions for the insects. The Mormon cricket was named for the infestation in Utah in the 1800s and is not really a cricket at all. In fact, it's closer to a grasshopper.

Well, they have done it again. The team that announced the world's first clone of a mule two weeks ago say a second clone has been born. This one is named Utah Pioneer. Both are males and both were cloned from a champion racing mule. The researchers from the University of Idaho and Utah State University say the second birth proves their cloning methods can be duplicated.

Well, the International Atomic Energy Agency will meet tomorrow in Vienna to discuss what to do next about Iran's nuclear program. Iran with Russia's help is nearing completion of its first nuclear power plant. And U.S. officials, however, say they are convinced that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, too.

Joining us now to talk more about what's going on in Iran is David Albright, a physicist and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS for short. Good to see you, David.

DAVID ALBRIGHT, PRESIDENT, ISIS: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Iran says it wants to build the nuclear power plant, in fact, with Russia's assistance. And already they're building a big one in Bushehr, let's take a look at that. Why do you expect that Iran even needs or wants to have nuclear power plants?

ALBRIGHT: Well, this power reactor really dates back to almost the '60s and '70s when most wanted to have nuclear power plants. So it's not by itself very damning that Iran wants to finish the Bushehr reactor. It spend a lot of money on it. But what has alarmed people is that they want to be able to make the fuel for that reactor and build a lot more of those reactors. So it's the magnitude of their nuclear program that has alarmed people.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, last year, the Iranian opposition group made public of the presence of a massive uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. We've got pictures, a satellite image to look at there. And maybe you can help us understand what we are seeing. What, number one is uranium enrichment?

ALBRIGHT: Well, the fuel for the Bushehr reactor is what's called low-enriched uranium, and you process the uranium you find in the ground and you increase the fraction of one of the radioisotopes, uranium 235. Unfortunately, if you just do it a bit more and increase the fraction to maybe 90 percent, then you have the basic material you need to make nuclear weapons. And the same facility can make low- enriched uranium or it can make this weapon-grade uranium. And it can switch over from one to the other rapidly. So when countries get these kind of enrichment plans, it sets up a lot of concern, because the country is so close to the capability to make nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: And, of course, the Iranians are saying it's because of powering -- or being able to provide power, but why do you suppose they really would want to build this kind of plant?

ALBRIGHT: Well, the suspicion is that they're trying to do two things. One is provide the fuel for Bushehr in case their supply of low enriched uranium is cut off. The other is to have the capability to make nuclear weapons. They were caught building this plant. And so you have to also wonder if they've had a nuclear weapons program all along, and you can't dismiss that. I mean, I don't agree with the U.S. assertions, they don't have the best evidence to say that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. Most of their evidence is circumstantial, but I think everyone agrees that Iran did build facilities in secret. It did high things from the International Atomic Energy Agency. And so the inspection has to be significantly increased to make sure that Iran is transparent.

WHITFIELD: OK, we've got another image, and this one from February of this year. It looks as though there's been some progress made. How long just might it take to complete the building of this plant?

ALBRIGHT: Well, there's a pilot plant in the white-roofed buildings that's actually already has operating centrifuges. That's the tool or machine that enriches the uranium. And that plant will have about 1,000 machines operating at the end of this year, which means within two years after that it could have made enough material for Iran's first nuclear weapons. The other facility is huge. Instead of a thousand machines, that one is ultimately scheduled to have 50,000 operating centrifuges, which would give Iran just a massive capability to make the material for nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: Which now begs the question of what in detail the IAEA may be discussing this week. Of course their worries are very clear.

ALBRIGHT: That's right. Iran has not been adequately transparent with them, but at the same time, Iran has been revealing things, and that's really the test right now for Iran. Are they coming clean? In essence, turning a corner on their secret activities? Maybe they did have a nuclear weapons program and they are giving it up. Or are they just revealing things as they need to, because they're caught. And so the next couple months -- and this meeting is going to be a very important part of it, is to test Iran and figure out through the inspection process whether Iran is going to come clean and reveal all its activities, and hopefully move away from the capability to make nuclear weapons.

WHITFIELD: And quickly, what are your assessments? What is your prediction on why they actually need or want this?

ALBRIGHT: I think Iran does feel a need to have nuclear weapons. It's felt that for a long time, and I think that it's increased its nervousness as a result of the U.S. pressure. And so I do think that it's very important that the U.S. try to work with Iran and not try to isolate it. For example, if the United States moves to destabilize the Iranian government, it may not be able to do that before Iran gets nuclear weapons. And so I think it's very important that the United States focus on getting rid of Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions and its capabilities, regardless of what it thinks about the regime, which I think most people agree is not a nice or pleasant regime.

WHITFIELD: All right, David Albright, always good to see you. Thanks very much.

ALBRIGHT: Good to be here. Thanks. Still to come at NEXT@CNN, you'll meet a man who has created a career out of being unemployed. Odd Todd is his name. And he's coming up next. So don't go away.

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WHITFIELD: All those images have something to do with our next story. We all remember those early dot-com billionaires, right? While those days may be long gone, a lot of creative folks are still discovering that their Internet dreams can still come true.

Our Jeanne Moos has more on how high cyberbegging can sometimes pay off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It used to be brother, can you spare me a dime? But now it's need money for driving lessons, $2,000 for artificial limbs, transsexual needs surgery to become a woman. At last check, the transsexual received $6. Panhandling used to be so personal, but now there is cyberbegging. Fat girl trying to get surgery to get skinny, seeking a gastric lap banding procedure.

VOICE OF ALISHA, CYBERBEGGAR: It's a little embarrassing, but if you want people to donate you have got to show them what they're donating to, so you've got to put pictures up.

MOOS: She needs almost 7,000 bucks. But after getting $18 from generous people the first week, she got zip weeks two and three. Others have raked in thousands.

TODD ROSENBERG, ODDTODD.COM: $1. Thank you. All of you guys for the dollars.

MOOS: Todd Rosenberg is better known from his web cartoons as Odd Todd.

ROSENBERG: Personal budget cuts have really started affecting my social life.

MOOS: Odd Todd was a dot-commer who lost his job. His witty cartoons about unemployment woes won him tips from strangers, $20,000 in tips. He's even publishing a book on things to do while unemployed.

ROSENBERG: For what it's worth, it beats freakin' working.

MOOS: Even a site called "Buy Me a Drink," where the next round is on you, says it has raked in over $140. Here's five bucks, I hope your liver explodes. Speaking of exploding, "Give Boobs.com" has reached its goal of $4500 for a breast implant procedure. A person going by the name Michele Wong showed a 34A photo and a simulated picture of what she could look like. If the boob fund grows so do the boobs, both apparently did. By now, according to an e-mail exchange, Michele should be the proud owner of implants. Her site was so entertaining, so amusing, we started to have doubts. Was this a snow job about a breast job? After repeated requests for a phone interview, Michele answered, oh, for God's sake, just forget it then. I carefully control my image and my words. This is one dot-com that didn't go bust, but we may never know if her story is as false as the implants.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, as you just saw, Todd Rosenberg used the Internet to share with the world his layoff experiences. His popular animations got him some contributions, plus even a book deal, and now face time on television.

Odd Todd joins us now from our New York bureau. Good to see you, Odd Todd. I like the name for one.

TODD ROSENBERG, "ODD TODD": Thank you, thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, what inspired you to do this? Surely, this was a stab in the dark. You didn't really think you would get a lot of attention and actually contributions, too, did you?

ROSENBERG: No, actually not at all. To be honest, after I was laid off from a dot-com, I had this free time and I put together a cartoon. And a friend of mine suggested why not just put up a tip jar asking for dollars, or whatever. And I was like, that not a bad idea. So I put it up, and dollars started coming in, the cartoon started getting forwarded around from place to place. And it just kind of steam-rolled from there.

WHITFIELD: Wow, did you find that you were getting more positive feedback initially than the negative?

ROSENBERG: Yes, to be honest, even still, 99 percent of the e- mails I get are positive. Occasionally, I get like get a job loser type of e-mail, but for the most part, people are appreciative, because the cartoons really touch a nerve with people who are unemployed and in need of money and everything else. So it seems to work for people.

WHITFIELD: And so it sounds like really that was the key. You were giving something. You were giving a little bit of humor. You were giving a bit of a departure with your cartoon talents, and then come to find out, folks really wanted to give you something in return?

ROSENBERG: To be honest, I needed the money, too, so it worked out really well. For a while I was living strictly off the tip jar, and it came in when I needed it the most.

WHITFIELD: So how far do you suppose this is going to take you? We see you have a book deal. It's a very humorous, kind of fun, poking fun at yourself even book, and then what?

ROSENBERG: I'm trying to get this on to TV somewhere and make it into a TV show, but that's a long shot. At the very least, I am going to keep making cartoons for the site. I sell coffee cups and t-shirts and things like that, which people could do without laying out any money, as well. It's sort of like a side cyberbegging thing. And just keep going with the site. To be honest, I've been doing it for a year and a half, and I still don't kind of need to get a job, and I make cartoons. I'm just going to keep going until the lights go out.

WHITFIELD: And you are still looking for a job. Are you finding that, you know, people are really kind of intrigued with what you've come up with here? I like the voice, for one.

ROSENBERG: Oh, thanks. I think it also kind of like inspires some people. Before, I was doing what I'm doing now, I was a sales guy basically for dot-coms and things like that. So I've been able to kind of achieve, at least to some degree, kind of like a career relaunch. And I think a lot of people who are laid off right now and need alternatives in terms of what career to do next, know that it is possible that you can kind of make a shift and do something maybe closer to what you should have been doing when you weren't doing what you were going when you were doing what you were doing.

WHITFIELD: Its makes sense actually.

ROSENBERG: OK.

WHITFIELD: I know it's confusing to most folks. But, anyway, you really you do say in your book that you're appealing to so many people, from kids who are right out of college to others who have lost their jobs and to those who are simply bored or broke.

ROSENBERG: The book pretty much covers the whole lifestyle of what you could do when you have nothing to do and nowhere to go on a Tuesday afternoon. So page by page, it will take you through what you can do during the day when you have no money and nothing to do.

WHITFIELD: Very cool. All right, Todd Rosenberg or Odd Todd.

ROSENBERG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks very much for joining us, and good luck to you.

ROSENBERG: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's all we have time for right now. But before we go, here's a peek at what's coming up next week.

The incredible hulk may have no trouble beating the bad guys, but he's a lightweight when it comes to movie bootleggers. We'll look at how the hulk and other films end up on the Internet before they make it to the theaters. That story and much more coming up next week on NEXT@CNN. And I hope you'll join us for that.

Coming up next here on CNN, "CNN LIVE SUNDAY" with developments in the Catholic church's struggle with sexual misconduct among priests. That's followed by people in the news at 7:00, profiling the key players mapping the road to peace in the Middle East, including the Israelis and Palestinian prime ministers.

And at 8:00 Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS" "Seeds of War," a look at southeast Asia on the front lines on the war on terror.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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