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CNN Sunday Morning
Supplier in Egg Recall Has History of Violations; Pakistani Flood Victims Brace for Second Round of Misery; Tropical Depression Likely to Become Tropical Storm Today
Aired August 22, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning.
Days after the much-publicized last American combat brigade leaves Iraq, a reminder of the work still to be done, as we get word of a U.S. soldier killed there today.
Also, many of the half-billion recalled eggs came from a farm with a long history of safety violations.
Also, three weeks into the worst disaster in Pakistan's history, people are still on the run from floodwaters.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this August the 22nd. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
And also, a special good morning to our military men and women who are watching us right now around the world on the Armed Forces Network. We certainly thank you for being here.
Also coming up for you, over the next 90 minutes, a strong wind is blowing in the Central Atlantic. Could become a hurricane by tomorrow. But will it make landfall? If so, where? Our Reynolds Wolf will be along in just a moment.
Also, they're home from war, and a welcome filled with hugs, kisses and a few tears in there as well. At the half hour, we've got at what's next for many troops who are back from Iraq. And also, what's next for Iraq? We'll hear from a soldier-turned-statesman and from a long-serving veteran and his wife.
Also, it's just what the doctor ordered. At the push of a button, vending machines dispensing your meds. We'll show you where this latest medical trend is catching hold.
But we do want to get started with new details we're getting about the company at the center of the nationwide egg recall, which is now up to half a billion eggs and counting. Wright County Egg of Iowa has a history of complaints over the years. The DeCoster family runs the Wright Family - or, Wright County Egg. It's one of the largest egg-producing operations in this country.
The salmonella investigation started with them. Now, in the last two decades, the DeCoster family faced a series of reprimands, penalties and complaints targeting its operations in several states. It also has ties to Hillandale Farm. That's also in Iowa. And that's another company that's involved in this massive recall.
This June, the Wright County Farm family paid a $34,000 fine for animal-cruelty allegations at its 5 million bird operation up in Maine. Its problems started though back in 1992. Maryland filed a criminal complaint against its facility there for violating a salmonella-quarantine order.
Then in 1996, the family paid a $3.6 million fine for health and safety violations. 2002, OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fined the family's Maine operation $345,000 for a list of violations.
A "Washington Post" investigation uncovered most of the family's troubling history.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
VOICE OF ALEC MACGILLIS, "WASHINGTON POST": There's a remarkably long chain of - of events at these companies. And again, like I said, they - they - in recent years, they've had not so many actual food- safety violations. There's been no salmonella outbreaks at their - at their - at their companies. And in fact, in general, egg farming has - has seen a decline in salmonella - salmonella outbreaks in recent years.
So their violations have really been more having to do with employing illegal immigrations, environmental violations, animal- cruelty violations. Not so much what we're - what we're seeing now with this huge recall. This is really a - a big new problem for them.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey Alec, has the company responded at all? Have they commented on this?
MACGILLIS: We, of course, tried several times today to talk to them. They - they kind of hunkered right now, and they declined to comment beyond just saying that they're working on the recall and trying to figure out what happened in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Wright County Egg has also been hit with fines and allegations of sexual harassment and hiring illegal workers. We've reached out to the company; have yet to get a response. But the company's spokeswoman told the "Post," it knows consumers are concerned, and it's working with the FDA on this voluntary recall.
Well, the government estimates are about 2,000 people in 14 states have gotten sick from this latest outbreak of salmonella. That also includes Todd Danielson's family.
Renee Tessman, of our affiliate KARE, has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RENEE TESSMAN, KARE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Healthy enough now to bug his sister, Jackson Danielson (ph) never again wants the bad bug he got a couple of weeks ago.
JACKSON DANIELSON, ATE TAINTED EGG: Cramps in my stomach.
TESSMAN: It also sickened his sisters, mom and dad.
TODD DANIELSON, ATE TAINTED EGG: Everybody had diarrhea. That was kind of the first thing.
And then headaches. And then throwing up. And then it was body aches. I couldn't even move. You know, it was, like, in your joints. It hurt so bad. I mean, it was worse than any flu I've had.
BRITTANY DANIELSON, ATE TAINTED EGGS: We thought we had the flu. But then we saw the egg recall, and we figured that's what it was, because my dad read out the sentence from the computer, and all the symptoms were what we had.
TESSMAN: Symptoms of salmonella poisoning from tainted eggs.
But it wasn't until the recall was expanded on Friday that their suspicions were confirmed. The Hillandale eggs they bought at Walmart were recalled.
T. DANIELSON: I checked your website, and sure enough, here it is, P1663. And that's one of the processing plants that's on the recall note (ph).
KATHLEEN DANIELSON, ATE TAINTED EGGS: And when I did find out, I was angry. Very angry. You know, I mean, a virus is one thing. But when it can be prevented, it's a different story. You know, when you watch your children go through, that is horrible. It's horrible.
TESSMAN: They threw out their carton, but...
T. DANIELSON: I'm on the phone with a friend of mine, and he's checking his eggs from Hillandale, and sure enough, it's - it's up on the list as part of the recall.
TESSMAN: Friend Rob Strong (ph) is throwing away his recalled eggs despite the fact his family did not get sick.
ROB STRONG, PURCHASED TAINTED EGGS: No ailments from us. You know, because as I say, we cook them real good.
TESSMAN: Scrambled is the way they eat eggs. But the Danielsons used to eat their sunny-side up.
T. DANIELSON: And that's the way everybody likes them, to dip their toast in the egg yolk.
TESSMAN: They won't be cooking them that way anymore, and the good eggs still in the fridge not in the recall - well, they probably won't eat those either. T. DANIELSON: You know, everybody's kind of leery now about eating eggs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Let me give you some perspective here now.
According to the egg industry, their estimates say that 75 billion eggs are produced every year in the U.S. So the recalled eggs would account for less than one percent of all the eggs in the country per year.
Now, for most healthy people, the risk is low of salmonella poisoning. However, infants, older people and people with weak immune systems would be more susceptible.
The symptoms you would see: Fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea. The symptoms would start between 12 and 72 hours after eating the contaminated food, and that an illness would last some four to seven days.
Now, with eggs, the key is to cook them thoroughly. And that means until the egg white and the yolk are firm. Scrambled is OK, but not the runny scrambled. You need to cook them thoroughly if you're going to scramble there. Also, over medium, over easy, sunny-side up - that's not a good idea.
Don't forget, you also need to wash your hands and wash any utensils or cutting surfaces that possibly came in contact with the contaminated food.
So what do you think about this whole bad-egg thing? We want to hear from you. Also hear - possibly you have some of these eggs in your refrigerator, or, possibly, if you have unfortunately gotten sick, you think, because of these eggs, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter. You can find me at tjholmes, on Facebook and also @tjholmescnn on Twitter.
We were reading - I have it up right now. I'm logged in. Going to be reading your comments throughout the morning. So by all means, be a part of our conversation this morning.
I want to turn now to Pakistan, where the historic flooding levels are going down, but the misery and potential for disease remain for an estimated 20 million people.
CNN's Sara Sidner joining us now from a refugee camp in Multan, Pakistan.
Sara, for so long, the issue has been, and the question has been, where is the aid? Where is the money?
Is that still a big concern, that this money, this aid is not getting there quickly enough?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this point, no. There are a lot of efforts now being made to get help to people who desperately need it, and even to start rebuilding some of the very damaged parts of Pakistan.
For instance, yesterday, we were out with the Pakistan army. We watched them as they built a very important bridge that linked an area that has a refinery, an oil refinery, to allow trucks to bring that back into the country. It's been cut off for awhile.
We also saw a - a lot of people though who are housed, they have now found shelter in this area, Multan. We're inside right now a school. This is a high school normally. We're inside of a classroom. And instead of having classes right now, there are families living in each and every classroom - three, four, five families at a time.
But they are being provided food. They are getting clean water. And even there are teams of doctors coming through to check on particularly the children. There's been a lot of problems with diarrhea and vomiting. And just this heat is just intense here.
So - but there is help and we are starting to see that. Even everyday people - we talked to someone yesterday who was cooking for a family that they have - two families that they have left into their homes and provided relief for them just on a person-to-person basis - T.J.
HOLMES: You - you mentioned disease. You - you talked about some of the kids have been sick there, in particular. I know in other areas that may be more - or are having different issues than the one you're in - but give us an idea more so of just how widespread some of the disease you are seeing in your particular area.
SIDNER: I think that's the big concern with WHO. They are very, very concerned that the children are really going to have a hard time, because there are many people who are still dealing with flooded conditions, not having any clean water which - water-borne disease can wreak havoc on kids who are already weak.
We visited a hospital that is completely just chaotic inside. Every single kid in the ward - there are about 200 - had an IV drip because they had just simply gotten dehydrated from being so sick over a - a few days.
So yes, that is a concern and a big issue in this country. And you have to remember, if the numbers are correct, 20 million - we're talking about millions of children, many of those children - the families generally have three, four, five, sometimes even 10 children.
And so they are really having to deal with a lot of difficult conditions, not only not having that clean water and daily food in some areas, but the heat is - is really, really oppressive, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Sara Sidner for us today in Pakistan. Sara, we do appreciate you. Thank you so much.
Want to pass along to our viewers a note that I'm just getting here from our international desk, talking about the relief. There was a lot of talk and complaining even by some international leaders, including Ban Ki-moon, who is over at the U.N., saying that the international aid is not coming quickly enough. There hasn't been enough of a commitment made to the people of Pakistan. Had called for a pledge of some $460 million for the people of Pakistan. That was kind of in emergency aid.
All of that hasn't made it, no. Some of it is coming. But that was the initial estimate, the pledge that he wanted other countries to - to - to - to pledge money for.
But now, we're hearing from the Pakistani foreign minister that they have now received some $815 million to this point in commitments so far. That doesn't the money is in hand. But they have received now up to $815 million in commitments. We will see how quickly that money does get to Pakistan and to the people of Pakistan.
I want to turn now to a flooding problem - a big flooding problem as well in China. The Chinese state media reporting today that heavy rains caused the Yalu River on the border of China and North Korea to overflow its banks. That has forced an estimated 94,000 people to head for higher ground.
At least four people have been killed. Forty-four townships have been flooded. Recent mudslides have killed 1,400 people in China. Another 360 are missing.
If you'd like to help out, go to our "Impact Your World" website. You can get details there about what's happening in Pakistan as well as China and direct links to a number of legitimate organizations working to help the flood victims. Again, just go to CNN.com/impact.
With Iran's first nuclear plant now online, its military says it will unveil an important project today. State media says Iran has built a long-range drone capable of carrying out bombing missions. The concern for the West - you may see it here - can it even carry a nuclear bomb?
Iran says its new nuclear plant will only, however, produce energy. The U.S. and other countries remain unconvinced. Now, Russia provided the nuclear fuel for this plant, but Iran continues to enrich uranium on its own. The White House calls that unnecessary if Iran only has peaceful intentions.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq says Iran may want to see Iraq succeed. They may not want to, I should say. General Ray Odierno thinks Iraq is on track to be ready for next year's planned withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops.
He gives his assessment of Iraq's readiness in an interview that will air on this morning's "STATE OF THE UNION." But General Odierno tells CNN's Candy Crowley he's not so sure about Iran's intentions toward Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: So is that Iran's ambition, do you think, in Iraq? To keep it from becoming a functioning democracy?
GEN. RAY ODIERNO, U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: I think they don't want to see Iraq turn into a strong, democratic country. They'd rather see it become a weak governmental institution.
So they - they'll - they don't - they - they don't add more problems for...
(AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: ...this morning 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
Also, next hour, we're going to bring you some interesting perspectives on the winding down of the war in Iraq. We're going to be talking to retired General Mark Kimmitt. You're going to hear from a military couple as well. We're also going to speaking with reporters this morning about - including our Arwa Damon and our Chris Lawrence. Stick around for that.
Meanwhile, students across this country getting a hard lesson in today's cold economic climate. Schools are cutting back. You might not believe some of the things they're cutting back on.
Josh Levs will be along with that in just a few minutes.
Also, our Reynolds Wolf is tracking what could be a hurricane.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, Reynolds.
WOLF: Hard to believe, man. The tropics are waking up very slowly but surely. We've got Tropical Depression Six, and by the time the day is over, it may be a tropical storm, maybe even a hurricane as we move into next week.
I'll let you know if it's going to be a threat to the U.S. coming up in just a few moments.
You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Eighteen past the hour on this Sunday.
It is the season, and from everything I'm seeing and reading, it sounds like people are pretty sure this thing's going to become a hurricane.
WOLF: It certainly looks like that.
HOLMES: Is that fair to say?
WOLF: Absolutely. And the big question is, is it coming to make contact with the U.S.?
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: Is it going to make landfall? Right now, all signs are pointing to a definite no. But yes, strengthening, it looks like it's definitely going to happen.
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: OK.
Let's go right to it and we're going to show you what we've got. I'm going to hop, skip and jump - well, not literally hot - hop, skip and jump. I'm just going to get my - my rear end over here and show you what we got.
We've got this area shaded in this red box as a very high possibility that this is going to strengthen into something bigger. Right now, it is a tropical depression. It's Tropical Depression Six to be exact. They have a numerical system with it until it reaches 38 and then 30 miles an hour. And then they drop the Six, and then it will be Tropical Storm Danielle.
And Danielle out of head of it has wide-open water with that very little shear, which means very - it means strong winds aloft. It doesn't have a lot of those. It doesn't have a lot of cold water, but rather, very warm water ahead of it, which means this has got a very strong potential of strengthening.
And that's the latest that we have from the National Hurricane Center. As we get into Sunday afternoon, it should be a tropical storm. Danielle getting a bit stronger as we get into Monday morning.
By Tuesday at 2 a.m., the forecast has it becoming a Category 1 hurricane. Into Wednesday and Thursday, basically the same deal. By Wednesday, winds of 100 miles per hour, gusts to 120.
Keep in mind though that you've got the Eastern seaboard way over here, and you've got Bermuda right there. If you were to extrapolate this path - and in fact, just - just continue outward, it looks like it would be passing a little bit more to the east of Bermuda, out of harm's way for the U.S.
But let me tell you, the tropics are crazy. We're talking about a rotating storms on a spinning planet in a revolving universe. There is a lot of big changes that can take place with this path. So just keep that in mind.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, coming up, the drug-cartel violence in Mexico is creeping closer and closer to home - our home, the U.S. A deadly gun battle breaking out literally yards from the U.S.-Mexico border.
It's 20 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-four minutes past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Kids are heading back to school. And as you know, schools are strapped; states are strapped right now for cash. There have been a lot of cutbacks. So a lot of kids are going to see fewer teachers in the classrooms; they're going to see bigger classrooms, more students in some cases.
Those aren't the only things they're going to see that are a bit different. Something as simple as paper towels; something as simple as plastic forks. You can see changes to things like that.
Our Josh Levs giving us a look at some shocking reality, quite frankly, about what's going in the country's schools.
Good morning to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, good morning to you, T.J.
It's a very different story from anything we had when we were in school, and we keep seeing new stories every day about what's happening at schools around the country.
Let's go to the map first; I want to give you just a few examples of what's happening at some schools around this country.
We're starting off with one you see there. One St. Louis-area school district has actually stopped bus service altogether because no money.
Over in California, which we hear a lot about, Modesto City School District in California - you know, the average size for kindergarten had jumped from 20 up to 25. And actually, there's a neighboring district that's gone up to 34 students per class.
And in Queen Creek, Arizona, near Phoenix, parents now have to pay $200 a month to enroll their kids in full-time kindergarten classes.
So that's some of the big-picture stuff. Now down to the nitty- gritty - a lot of parents are being expected to provide your kids with all sorts of things you never had to buy in the past.
Take a look at this list "The New York Times" put together on, "The New School Supplies." There's a school in Honolulu telling kids there, bring your own toilet paper to school.
Over in Seattle, Washington, kids being told to bring their own plastic forks and stuff for when they're going to be eating lunch.
Printer paper - in Castle Rock, Colorado, there's a school saying, 'Please send your kids with the basic white paper for printing things out.'
Paper plates and cups in Joshua, Texas.
A couple more here. Construction paper - that was a basic growing up. The schools would have construction paper in elementary school. Look at this: Kids here in Nevada, Texas, being asked to bring their own.
And a few more things "The New York Times" points to: bringing paper towels, bringing garbage bags, bringing tissues - all these, the new school supplies that parents have been having to buy to send with their kids to school.
We have been asking you to send your stories. Here's how you can weigh in. We're hearing from you at the blog, and also at Facebook, joshlevscnn. And at Twitter, joshlevscnn.
And quickly, I'll show you here just a few of the examples that people have been sending us here. Take a look at what people have been sending us here.
Here's from my Facebook page: "I'm a teacher. We just our school pool and are having to ask kids to bring paper, tissues and more. These are our future CEOs. You would think education would be the very last thing to have money taken away."
One more - and this from Sandy, saying, "You know what? Classes are already overcrowded. Fifteen years ago, there would not enough seats in my son's high school classes. If you were not in early, you had to sit on the floor and the heaters."
And - let's get in a couple more here from Twitter.
"As a bus driver, I saw it all this week. Students bring toilet paper and paper towels at an elementary in Cincinnati."
And let's end with this one here: "Did anyone else have the atom splitter on their kid's back to school list? We did." That's Matt joking there about how parents now are expected to send so much stuff with their kids.
T.J., I got to say, it's nothing like it was 10, 15 years ago when we were back in that area of our lives. I'll tell you, parents now are under a new burden economically, and having to pack their kids' backpacks with new supplies every day.
HOLMES: Well, I assume it's just, you know, a sign of the times. And people - everybody's having to adjust. And a lot of people expecting - are hoping for some help from the government.
There are some - we're not - we're told how this money is going to be spent. But I don't know.
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: It's all this billions and millions and billions of dollars going towards the schools this year. LEVS: Yes. Well, you know, I followed the stimulus for weeks and weeks. The stimulus did give money to schools, but that money has dried up largely. And just recently, days ago, the president signed $10 billion to keep a lot of educators working. It could keep 140,000 working.
That said, experts are saying we might have 135,000 fewer educators in our schools this year than last year, purely because of money.
HOLMES: All right. Josh for us this morning. Josh, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
LEVS: You got it.
HOLMES: At 28 minutes past the hour.
Coming up, we were talking so much last week, from the middle of the week on, about the U.S. - the last U.S. combat brigade leaving Iraq. This morning, news that a U.S. soldier has been killed in Iraq, just days after that other news that a lot of people, quite frankly, were celebrating. A stark reminder of the dangers still there for our American men and women.
Got a live report in Baghdad. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL BREMER, FMR. U.S. ADMINISTRATOR IN IRAQ: Ladies and gentlemen, we got him.
(APPLAUSE, CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That was the day of celebration back in 2003, after Saddam Hussein was captured. Found literally in a hole in Iraq. You're seeing here getting a bit of an examination after he was captured by U.S. forces there.
Still remaining U.S. forces there is now preparing to switch to an advise-and-assist role in Iraq. But a deadly reminder of the danger they still face as one of their own killed this morning.
Our Arwa Damon joining us from Baghdad.
Arwa, hello to you once again. And nobody ever thought, of course, it's the safest place in the world now just because a combat brigade, the last one left. Nobody was so naive to think that, but at the same time this is a reminder of what's left behind.
ARWA DAMON, CNN IRAQ CORRESPONDENT: It most certainly is, T.J..
If anything it's a reminder that even though the mission is going to officially be shifting into a non-combat one this by no means is an indication that the war is over, or that U.S. troops are no longer going to be in harm's way. We did receive that press release from the U.S. military saying that a soldier had been killed in the southern city of Basra. The cause has not yet been disclosed. We do know, however, that there are regular mortar attacks and direct fire attacks against the U.S. military there.
Now, it is very much a harsh reminder of the fact that Iraq does remain a very unpredictable and dangerous place, not just for the U.S. military, but for Iraqi civilians as well. In Baghdad, for example, there were four roadside bombs in various neighborhoods, eight people were wounded in those attacks. And then there was a robbery where gunmen intercepted a vehicle that was carrying government salaries. It did have an armed escort with it. However, not a single shot was fired and the gunmen managed to make off with around $600,000. So there's still a lot of challenges that lie ahead here and this war really is not yet over, T.J.
HOLMES: One more thing to you, Arwa, we talk about sometimes here in cover, like you said that the robbery of some of the Iraqi government salaries, or particular bombings that get a lot of attention. But day in, day out, is this just the norm, quite frankly, in Iraq? You always see some kind of an incident, some kind of a little bombing no matter if we cover it, and tell our viewers about it and hear about it on a wide scale or not. Those things happen every day and that's normal life?
DAMON: They do, T.J. And it is tragically normal. And it's been accepted as normal. The Iraqi mind-set has shifted, and they have learned to live, because they don't have a choice, they've learned to live with the fact that the assassinations take place that, bombings take place.
We go out and we ask people, how is the situation? They'll say oh you know it's fine, there's bombings and there's, you know, killings but that's OK. We're used to it. So the barometer, the parameters for what people have grown to accept as being normal have most definitely shifted. And also they're not just dealing with violence with those fears and those concerns and the psychological impact that it really has on a society. They're also dealing with the fact that here in the peak of summer, it's swelteringly hot. They don't have regular power, don't have regular basic services. At this stage they don't have a functioning government, T.J.
HOLMES: It's I guess all relative but it is too bad that people have to relate to that reality just accepting it. Arwa Damon, we appreciate you as always and your perspective you're your reporting there in Baghdad. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you soon.
And we're not done talking about Iraq this morning. America's combat troops rolling out, leaving Iraq security to Iraqis, but did they expect too much from America? I talked to a retired brigadier general about that. You need hear his response. It's 35 past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: From the fall of Saddam Hussein in the spring of 2003, to the withdrawal this week of American combat troops, what is next for Iraq? One of the lessons we've learned, maybe some mistakes we've made in Iraq. And what's next for the American combat troops who are left in country. No longer called combat troops, they're there to assist and advise, that's the new name for them. A lot of questions here so here to talk about it is retired Army general and former assistant secretary of State Mark Kimmitt.
General, good to have you with us as always. Let me start by asking, were you bothered at all, how did you respond to the coverage you saw this week of the last, quote, "combat brigade" being pulled out? And did you have a concern that maybe the American public was going to see that, and maybe take it the wrong way?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. ARMY (RET.): No, I think the American public recognizes that this is only a milestone. The mission still goes on. There will still be fighting going on in Iraq. American troops are still in danger over there, but it was still good to celebrate this momentous occasion, this momentous milestone of the last combat troops leaving.
HOLMES: I guess maybe you can help us there with some perspective. I had so many of these conversations behind the scenes, people scratching their heads. What was the momentous occasion? What was the history here, in that we pulled out a brigade that we called a combat brigade, but we leave behind several combat brigades but just change their name?
KIMMITT: Again, it is an important event; the last American combat force is coming out. We've been doing this transition to the Iraqi security forces for a number of years. As recently as four years ago the Iraqi security forces were not very, very strong. But the milestone that occurred this week was that the entire combat mission, except for some select counter-terrorism missions, was handed over to the Iraqi security forces. Americans will no longer be responsible for conducting combat operations.
HOLMES: What changed-I know technically in the things you explained there, that is a real change, but what changed for day-to- day life for Iraqis this week? Anything?
KIMMITT: Well, primarily it will be absence of visible American presence going up and down the road. That has always been, especially in the large cities, a significant distraction. The convoys, the presence of American troops up and down the streets, for many Iraqis that was a comforting sight. But I think all of us would recognize after awhile the presence of foreign troops, the visible presence of foreign troops, is not in the long run helpful. So there will be a smaller American presence, a less visible American presence, but a very important American presence nonetheless.
HOLMES: What kind of Iraq are we leaving behind right now?
KIMMITT: The Iraq that I look forward to in the future that one that is free, it is independent. It has a representative government that represents all the different sects inside of Iraq. It is a friend to its neighbors. And it is no longer a threat to the United States or its interests.
HOLMES: Now, General Kimmitt, you said that's the one you're looking forward to in the future. What is the one we are leaving behind right now?
KIMMITT: Well, first we're not leaving anything behind. The last American combat force leaving does not mean we're leaving something behind.
HOLMES: Absolutely, good distinction to make.
KIMMITT: We have a very strong team there, and a new team going in. General Austin will be taking over General Odierno, Ambassador Jeffrey will be taking over for Ambassador Hill. So there will be a continuity of support. It will just be a different type of support, primarily civilian-led now, with a reduced American presence, but nonetheless a strong American presence for years to come.
HOLMES: Were expectations, some would say, were they so high, were they too high in that many Iraqis expected life to change in more of a dramatic way for them? It certainly changed in a dramatic way, but a lot of people would say for the worse. I found one quote from an Iraqi who actually said, "Freedom got me a beer and a coke." Essentially saying, yes, I have the right to do some of this stuff now, but my day-to-day life isn't that much better. Have we met expectations for the Iraqis? Were they too high?
KIMMITT: They absolutely were too high on the par of the Iraqis. They cannot understand, and still can't understand, how America could bring thousands of tanks and hundreds of thousands of troops into the country, depose Saddam, and then three, four, five, seven years later still having problems getting electricity. That is a problem with expectations, but the reality is the average Iraqi has a much better current situation. And much, much more promising future than they ever would have had under Saddam.
HOLMES: All right, and one last thing here, you said the expectations maybe were too high. Did we set them too high for the Iraqis? Did we give them those high expectations?
KIMMITT: Look, America throughout the world is known as the land of liberty, freedom, and has tremendous power. Any time that we go into a country we need to recognize that people expect a lot from Americans. And sometimes we come up short ourselves. We deal with reality. They deal with expectations. At the end of the day, though, America still remains the beacon of democracy and liberty for the world. And for that, the Iraqis should be proud because they now have that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You're hearing from General Kimmitt there.
Meanwhile, journalists going into a war zone, they have a story to tell as well. We're going to hear from three reporters about their experiences. What they learned in covering the war in Iraq. It's 44 minutes past the hour. Stay here with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good-bye, Saddam!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That was then. What is it like now? That was a celebratory day for a lot of Iraqis to see that statue fall back in 2003. But how is life there now? Joining me in this discussion about the draw-down of U.S. combat troops in Iraq, three journalists who have spent an extensive amount of time there and covering the story as well. CNN International Correspondent Arwa Damon joining us again live from Baghdad. Our Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence live with us in Washington and Deputy International Editor for "Time" magazine Bobby Ghosh, in New York.
Bobby, good to see you, once again. Thank you all for being here.
Arwa, let me start with you I think you were able to hear my interview with General Kimmitt just a moment ago. And oftentimes we hear how things are so much better now for the Iraqis. Do you get that sense that Iraqi day-to-day life, they are so much better off today than they were under Saddam Hussein?
DAMON: Well, T.J., it's really a very complicated question that doesn't necessarily have this definite yes or no answer to it. Look, no one's going to argue that under Saddam, life was incredibly difficult. He was a dictator.
Iraq back then was shrouded in a cloud of mystery. People were afraid to openly voice opinions because they never knew if the person they were talking to was perhaps an informant for the regime. And they would just disappear in the middle of the night. But what Iraqis will tell you under Saddam at least there were rules. You knew what to do to stay out of trouble.
Then came the U.S.-led invasion, jubilation, excitement for many people. And then the sectarian warfare broke out, Al Qaeda ended up controlling huge chunks of this country, and life disintegrated. So many Iraqis were killed in that period. They referred to it as the dark years, 2005 to 2007, 2008. This was a time when you didn't know what to do, or not to do, to protect yourself. People couldn't protect their families. People could barely leave their homes without being paralyzed by that fear and anxiety that they might not be coming back.
Every single good-bye with a loved one, with a friend, was done knowing that that might be the last one. Sure, the situation is better now, when we compare it to those years, but for most Iraqi it is nowhere near being good enough. HOLMES: Chris, would you agree with a lot of that as well. And it's a tough comparison even to try to make, under Saddam Hussein or now? But it sounded like there were different challenges, but the expectations were so high that things would be so much better.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I've got to tell you, T.J., I mean, I'll tell you a story I heard back when I was there during the, right after the invasion back in 2003.
We met a guy who was telling us a story of how he was at one of the soccer matches, and one of-Uday-Saddam's sons, sent a man over to him after the match saying, yeah, Uday would like your daughter to come to this party. His daughters were 13 and 11. And he knew what would happen at that party, so he refused. Well, a few days later I guess some other men came back to his home, and told him look, either you send your 13-year-old daughter, or we'll take both of your daughters. I mean, that father had to make a choice to voluntarily send his daughter to save the other daughter. I mean those are the kind of things that went on.
And I don't know if that was a story that ever even got on air, or just something we were talking with someone about. But it really brought home what people there were dealing with before the invasion.
HOLMES: Bobby, let me bring you in here now. Should this week, this, quote, "last combat brigade" that came out, should it be greeted with the kind of fanfare and celebratory mood in some circles, at least, but still be viewed as the momentous occasion that it is? How do you view it?
BOBBY, GHOSH, DEPUTY INT'L. EDITOR, "TIME": The question is where should it be greeted in that way, T.J.? Here in the U.S., it's completely understandable there's a sense of relief that comes with this. Even if, as you pointed out at the top of the hour, there's still plenty of Americans still in harms way in Iraq.
In Iraq, there's not a whole lot of jubilation. Arwa is there and probably going to address this question better, but I don't see Iraqis writing thank you cards to the American military, for all the work they did. Because the dark years, that Iraqis talk about, are not that far in the past. And there is a genuine concern that they could come again. There has been this year, this summer, every month has been worse than the previous one. I think I saw statistics saying about 450 people, Iraqis were killed last month in July because of terrorist attacks.
Those numbers are now beginning to creep back up to the levels, maybe not of 2007, which was really the worst year, but closer and closer, and that's the problem. All these gains the U.S. military has fought and given blood, and treasure, to achieve are very, very fragile. And lots of Iraqis, for very good reasons, worry that things may slip back.
HOLMES: To your point, Bobby, Arwa, let me bring you in. We know how it's being viewed here in the U.S. with some of the coverage we've seen. And it has been celebrated the last combat brigade is out of there. How are Iraqis taking that news, are they even aware of that particular momentous occasion?
DAMON: T.J., Iraqis are very aware that the U.S. military is drawing down, changing its mission. They feel as if-some of them feel as if America is just abandoning them because it's trying to fulfill the White House agenda.
When it comes to the attitude towards the U.S. military, look, no Iraqi wants the Americans to stay here forever. They are, after all, an occupying force. But there are concerns about a decreased U.S. footprint. Because of everything that this country has gone through, the U.S. military was largely perceived as being the only neutral force that could actually protect the people.
This specific drawdown we're seeing happening right now, this talk of the last convoy, that hasn't really resonated with that many Iraqis. They say-some of them say they're happy to see America leave, but they don't know what their future is going to hold. There are concerns about the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces. There's mixed opinion as to whether or not the U.S. should be staying here in greater numbers, than they are actually going to be.
But the bottom line is that free Iraqis, no matter which way you look at it, with America, without America, the future is still very uncertain and very bleak. We've been talking to our own staff quite a bit over the last few days. And I've never seen them at such levels of despair, grown men on the verge of tears, saying "Arwa, the situation in Baghdad is not OK."
HOLMES: That is very telling right there, Arwa. I want to get two more questions, one to you, Bobby, and also one to you, Chris.
Chris, to you first, if you could do this for me in about 20, 30 seconds, but tell me as long as you have been covering this war, what was it like for you to see that last combat brigade roll out? Was it a bit surreal for you to be hearing that news? How did you take it?
LAWRENCE: Yeah, just kind of brought me full circle. To me, really Iraq was the first big international story that I had ever covered, back in 2003. And you know at the time I remember being able to just go out in Baghdad. I'm sure Arwa can speak to that as well. The days when you could just travel around with no security, when U.S. troops would sit outside at the cafes and share coffee and tea with the Iraqis, and then how radically everything turned just about a year or two later. It's just amazing to see the ups and downs, you know, of the story.
HOLMES: And one more to you, here, Bobby, what is the next milestone we're going to look forward to in Iraq? What will we be talking about down the road as the next milestone?
GHOSH: The Iraqis, for a start, want to see a government. It's been months since the election was over and their political elite is still bickering and still unable to come to some sort of compromise that it will take to have an actual government. For the Iraqis that is the most important milestone. For the U.S., I guess, the next milestone is the end of 2011, when President Obama has promised that even more troops will come out. The thing is that the expectations continue to be very different. For the Iraqis, they want to see the promise of democracy that was given to them, actually delivered in a tangible way. For the U.S., at this point, we're distracted by other things and we want as little as possible to do with Iraq. Unfortunately, that seems to be the way things are going at this time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Again, thanks to our reporters for that perspective, also General Kimmitt, for chiming in as well.
Yes, a lot of people agree it was a moment to look at and celebrate last week, to see the U.S. last U.S. combat brigade. But do not forget, for a moment, we still have 50,000 plus troops still left in Iraq right now. Yes it's an advise and consent role sure, but at the same time they are combat ready and could be brought back into the fighting at any moment. Even though the last "combat" brigade is now out, we still got a reminder today-just today-of the dangers that were still left behind. That is because U.S. Soldier was, in fact, killed today. Again, haven't left behind Iraq, but right now an Iraq that is still a dangerous place for the Iraqi citizens and for our American men and women.
We're coming up on the top of the hour. Quick break, we're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good Sunday morning. Hold off on the breakfast. We told you about the half billion eggs recalled. Now learned many of them came from a farm with a history of violations.
Also, this morning, a spokesman for the Pakistani government announces the death toll from the floods has increased again. Now it is more than 1,500 people dead. While still many others are on the run from the floodwaters.
We are live from a refugee camp in Pakistan.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this August the 22nd. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
We do want to start this morning with new details about the company at the center of that nationwide egg recall which is now up to a half billion eggs and counting. Wright County Egg of Iowa has had a history of complaints over the years. The DeCoster family runs Wright County Egg. That is one of the 10 largest egg-producing operations in the country.
The salmonella investigation started there. And in the last two decades, the DeCosters faced a series of reprimands, penalties and complaints, targeting its operations in several U.S. states. It also has ties to Hillandale Farms, that's also in Iowa. That's another company involved in the recall.
This June, the DeCoster family paid a $34,000 fine for animal cruelty allegations at its 5 million-bird operation in Maine. Its problems started back in 1992. Maryland filed a criminal complaint against its facility there for violating a salmonella quarantine order. In 1996, DeCosters paid $3.6 million in fines for health and safety violations. And in 2002, OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fined DeCoster's main operation $345,000 for a list of violations.
A "Washington Post" investigation uncovered the troubling history. Our Don Lemon talked with the reporter on that story last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC MACGILLIS, WASHINGTON POST (via telephone): There's a remarkably long chain of events at these companies. And, again, like I said, they -- in recent years, they've not had so many actual food safety violations. There's been no big salmonella outbreaks at their -- at their companies. And, in fact, in general, egg farming has seen a decline in salmonella outbreaks in recent years. So, their violations have been more having to do with employing illegal immigrants, environmental violations, animal cruelty violations -- not so much what we're seeing now this huge recall. This is really a big, new problem for them.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Alec, has the company responded at all? Have they commented on this?
MACGILLIS: We, of course, tried several times to talk to them. They've kind of hunkered down right now and they declined to comment beyond just saying that they're working on the recall and trying to figure out what happened in this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The company has also been hit with fines and allegations of sexual harassment and hiring illegal workers. We have reached out to the company, but haven't gotten a response. A company spokeswoman told "The Post" it knows consumers are concerned and is working with the FDA on the voluntary recall.
I do want to give you a little perspective here, though. This is a huge number, 500 million eggs. But, at the same time, that represents just 1 percent, less than 1 percent of all the eggs produced in this country every single year. We're talking about 14 states affected.
So, yes, it's a lot of eggs. It's a serious problem. For the most part, salmonella is not going to really bother healthy persons for the most part, even though young and elderly and those with weak immune systems are susceptible. But again, for the most part, we're talking about just less than 1 percent of the eggs produced in this country every single year. We want to turn to Pakistan and the new death toll from Pakistan. More than 1,500 have died in flooding there. We're also getting word from the foreign minister that more than $815 million has been pledged for flood relief from other governments and international charities. All that money not in hand yet, but still, has upped the number that has been pledged at least.
CNN's Sara Sidner joins from us a refugee camp in Multan, Pakistan.
Sara, hello to you once again.
It's so hard to get around right now. The roads and bridges have been knocked out because of this flooding. Is that really proving one of the biggest problems or obstacles in trying to get aid to people?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, T.J. That is one of the main issues in trying to get aid to people and in trying -- and for people to sort of start their lives over again, many people can't make it back to their homes. Those that are in this camp even can't go home because the roads are covered in water and they just can't make it there. They don't even know what their homes look like at this point in time, but we should also mention that the Pakistan government has now said that 1 million homes have either been destroyed or damaged in these floods.
Now, there are also people who don't even have any kind of refuge -- no place to hide underneath, because they are stranded, surrounded by water, and they've been that way for about three weeks now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTPE)
SIDNER (voice-over): A desperate dash for food. Stranded villagers grab what's on offer as the Pakistan army helicopter arrives. But there are too many people and too few bags of wheat.
Three weeks after initial flooding affected a fifth of Pakistan, they are still cut off, but at least getting a bit of aid. They made the decision to stay and protect what is left.
In another part of southern Punjab, what looks like a massive set of Lego blocks, the final pieces each requires several soldiers to heave it into place.
(on camera): You can see how powerful the floodwaters were here, that used to be a general store. Now, the flooding has receded some, allowing the army to rebuild an important bridge that links two districts in southern Punjab.
CAPT. SHAZIM ALI, PAKISTAN ARMY: My people are working since last 36 hours without a break. They're just having their food and water on the side and they're just working.
SIDNER (voice-over): This is an important project because it will allow oil from a major refinery down the road to finally be trucked in to the rest of the country. For military might to the soft hands of a mother, help is being supplied now from several sources.
Khadija Zubair is preparing the evening meal for flood victims.
KHADIJA ZUBAIR, AIDING FLOOD VICTIMS: This is month of Ramadan. And (INAUDIBLE) really given us an opportunity to share our things with these people.
SIDNER: This isn't a camp. The Zubairs have opened their home to two families.
"Everything, including medicine, is supplied by the family's efforts alone. The government has done nothing for us. What we're getting is provided by them."
Their homes are still cut off by floodwaters, but at least, they don't have to fend for themselves -- unlike these families who have to wait for the next mercy military mission.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: Now, there are many international groups coming in to this particular area, and we should also mention that the United States announced that it is adding $3 million to its donation there, donating that to the Red Crescent -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Sara Sidner for us this morning in Pakistan -- Sara, we appreciate you as always.
If you out there would like to help out, you can go to our "Impact Your World" Web site. We got details about what's going on in Pakistan and direct links to a number of legitimate organizations working to help the flood victims. Again, CNN.com/Impact.
It seems like everything these days -- more and more things are becoming automated. Do you want an automated pharmacist? Now, in some places, you can actually get your drugs from a vending machine.
Good idea, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, man. I'm for human, face- to-face interaction. And we're going to give you face-to-face interaction with what's going to be happening in the tropics. The tropics are heating up. So, too, are some of the temperatures across the U.S. We're going to give you the full story coming up.
You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds here now.
This thing could change names. It's called tropical storm 6 -- tropical what?
WOLF: Yes, a very -- it's tropical depression 6.
HOLMES: See I've got the lingo crossed up.
WOLF: But everything goes at the wind speed. I mean, can you imagine if you're a kid and you go from T.J. and by the time you're able to run a certain speed, they call you "Speedy" instead? Well, that basically what happens with these storms. As soon as they get up to, say, 35 to 36, they cross over to 38 to 39, no longer a depression, it's a tropical storm, and will be Danielle.
But (INAUDIBLE) two and three with Danielle may be doing, right now, the storm is getting a little bit stronger, kind of hard to see. Here is the African coast. Hard to believe that this thing began just as a cluster of thunderstorms rolling off the African coast, moves out into the Atlantic. It's now gaining strength as we speak. And the question is now: where is it going to go?
Well, we've got one to show you where it's going to show and, well, the latest, according to the National Hurricane Center, indicates it might be moving a bit more to the west and eventually shifting off more to a northwesterly trajectory. And check out, going from a tropical storm expected to be a tropical storm by sometime this afternoon, Danielle, and then as we get into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, possibly category 1, then strengthening to a category 2 hurricane. That's bad news.
Good news is that the latest path brings it far to the east of the United States, possibly turning well to the north and to the east of Bermuda. That is some good news.
Meanwhile, back home, I wish you could say it was great news in terms of temperatures. But it is August and it's going to certainly feel like it in places like Kansas City, Minneapolis, southward into Dallas and Houston. Highs 100s and into the 90s, 104 in Las Vegas, 64 in San Francisco, 63 in Seattle, and 79 in New York.
New York and Boston, you're not only going to have cool temperatures, you're also going to have a chance of rain. We're seeing the heat, of course, in parts of the Southeast. But in the Northeast, as we wrap things up, the heavy rainfall, that's going to continue through a good part of the morning.
Anyone jogging through Central Park, around Boston Common, get ready for the rain. It's going to be with you throughout much of the day.
T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: Rennie, appreciate you as always.
We will turn to New York here in a moment. New York is apparently a pretty tasty people. Bedbugs are munching on 'em right now. We're going to hear how the city is now planning to fight back against the bedbug infestation.
Also, U.S. troops back from the warfront, home with their families, the images and the reunions. Look at that there.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Fifteen minutes past the hour now.
They're the type of images of war we like to see -- post-war I should say -- for a lot of U.S. soldiers. And now, someone is collecting image, putting them together in one place for us.
Josh Levs showing us this morning where you can find them.
Josh, good morning to you once again. Always love to see these and we're starting to see more and more as we wind down in Iraq.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly -- yes, with what's being called the drawdown. We're going to see tens of thousands of more situations just like this. Let's go straight to this video.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: You can keep watching this. I'm going to tell you what's going on here. It's a new Web site called Welcome Home Blog. It's a brainchild of a child named Chase Hoelfelder (ph). And what happens was he saw all these reunions going on around the country and he started gathering the videos and putting them up into one place online, and now all these families out there are taking their videos of their reunions, and sending them to him to contribute to the Web site. Let's watch this one.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And he also is recording that music. He wrote it. He recorded it.
Let's come to the screen behind me quickly. I'll just show you the basic idea behind this Web site. This is it right here, Welcome Home Blog. And you watch new videos at any time, any day. They keep posting new videos every day.
Here's one of the latest ones. Take a look here, a man surprising his wife when he arrived back at home. A lot of these cases are surprises.
And the next one I want to show you here, it's a marine meeting his baby son for the first time. Let's go to that one.
And before we go, we do have time for one more. Take a look at the next one here. Some of them are pretty funny. Here's a guy going down the escalator, watch what happens to him when he gets home. Tackling dad.
More and more videos like this of these reunions popping up every day, keep in mind, between Iraq and Afghanistan, we have had at various points more than 180,000 troops out there in the field. So many families have gone through so much and sacrificed so much. And when families get to have this moment, this long-awaited moment, it is such a beautiful thing.
And we can end on this one, dad surprising kids hiding in a box.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Daddy! You scared me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: She's saying, "Daddy, you scared me." (INAUDIBLE) reunion.
For more of these heart warming videos everyday, take a look, WelcomeHomeBlog.com. I know I will be.
And based on what we've been hearing from so many of you, you are, too. It really is beautiful to have so many of these videos, T.J., in one place for all of us to celebrate when the troops come home.
HOLMES: Love to see these -- no matter what, love to see these images. And hopefully, we'll see more and more. Josh, we appreciate you bringing that to us this morning.
Well, coming up here, vending machines as we know it. You get Cokes out of them. You get Twizzlers. You get Doritos. You get all that good stuff.
But how about getting your prescription medication? Never thought about that? We'll tell you where these things are now set up and dispensing -- yes -- your prescription drugs. We're taking a look.
Quick break here. Eighteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour now.
You know what you can get from a vending machine. You get candy, you get chips, you get soda. But what if you could get your prescription medications?
A new high-tech vending machine in the U.K. is dispensing drug refills and a similar machine lets you talk face-to-face with a pharmacist first? Some of them are already being tested here in the U.S. as well.
Our CNN editorial producer Nadia Bilchik is with me again. She joins us every weekend -- talk us through some stories happening overseas.
Walk me through this first one. Two different machines we're talking about.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Two different machines. HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: OK. So, the first is a drug company called Asteris (ph). It's actually not a drug company. Asteris has a machine, and it's not really a vending machine.
What it allows you to do is pick up your prescriptions. So, I mean, T.J., you've had a week -- every time I turn on CNN, you're there. If you had a prescription, would you have time to get to your pharmacy by 9:00 p.m. when they close?
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: So, what this allows you to do is pick up your prescription -- or your prescription refill from a machine. So, it's really a prescription kiosk. Put it that way.
So, you'd have to register. And you come up to this kiosk and you'd either use a thumb print or you would use your pen and I.D. So, let's say you're very ill and you need somebody else to pick up your medication, then you could do that.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: But you'd have to -- so basically, the pharmacist fills the machine, you arrive after hours, put in your PIN and prescription.
HOLMES: OK. That's very useful. Now, do they put those at the actual -- like right outside the pharmacy?
BILCHIK: Right. It could be outside a pharmacy, or some military bases, various other places.
HOLMES: OK. Now, this other one is a little more high-tech.
BILCHIK: It's really astounding because you've got a company called PharmaTrust and they come up with med centers, which is really like a pharmacy in a box. And what you do is you would get up to the med center and you would dial your pharmacist. So, it's exactly the same as going to pharmacy, except that your pharmacist is going to be on the screen.
So, you arrive there, you dial up, you talk to the pharmacist, you put through your prescription. And what's remarkable about this is the technology of the machine -- because it has such advanced robotic technology, it's the same technology as remote robotic surgery. So, the machine itself, once the virtual pharmacist approves your prescription, the actual machine does the pills.
Do you understand how sophisticated that is?
HOLMES: So, so it's just like when you go to the pharmacy --
BILCHIK: It's exactly the same.
HOLMES: -- and they go back there and they start chopping and doing what they have to do.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
HOLMES: But they can do it in a machine for you.
BILCHIK: And they can do it in a machine. So, this is very advanced.
But Peter Suma, who is the CEO of PharmaTrust, said this is going to be as "disruptive" is the word, not negatively disruptive. It means absolutely a game changer in the same way that the ATM was a game-changer for banks. There was a time, if you needed money, you had to go during banking hours. So, this is going to be a game- changer.
HOLMES: Can you see your pharmacist when you call in --
BILCHIK: It's not necessarily your pharmacist.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: OK. So, why it's so prolific in the U.K. rather than here is U.K. has a centralized government. So, for the U.S., you're going to have to get states approval.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: So, in the state of Georgia, you will have a pharmacist in the states of Georgia that appears on the screen.
HOLMES: OK. And are these coming? Is it possible we could see this here?
BILCHIK: Oh, yes. There's one going to be in Illinois --
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: -- one of the PharmaTrust med centers. And in the same way you get auto banks or ATMS that are specific to a bank, the same will happen. So, this is game-changing stuff.
HOLMES: Oh. Nadia, this is the kind of stuff Nadia is going to be bringing us every weekend, stuff that's a little off the radar you might not know about, but still, it's going to have an impact here at some point as well.
Nadia, great stuff this morning. Good to see you as always.
BILCHIK: And I'm so pleased you can finally get your prescription filled.
HOLMES: Yes, because I don't have time.
BILCHIK: Well, let's hope you don't need any.
HOLMES: No, but we don't -- you're right. Schedules like ours, we don't have time to get there at regular hours. This could be very helpful.
BILCHIK: And next week, I hope we get to South African media laws.
HOLMES: We are going to. No matter what, we're going to get that story. So stay tuned for Nadia next weekend as well.
Well, coming up here, let me tell you. New York, as you've been hearing probably, has been called the city that doesn't sleep. Well, there's a reason now, we understand, why they don't sleep. And you couldn't sleep either if you had bedbugs in your bed all night. They're all over the place. But now, they're moving out. They're branching out to other places, including movie theaters.
Twenty-three past the hour. Quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the problem of bedbugs is so bad in New York City -- listen to what they did. They had to create a bedbug advisory board to try to battle the problem. But they're actually running out of options.
Here now, how the woman who is in charge of that board described their situation on our show this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY GANGLOFF-KAUFMANN, CHAIR, N.Y. BEDBUG ADVISORY BOARD: I think the technologies are coming out right now, like heat and the use of bedbugs sniffing dogs. There are a lot of innovative techniques people are working on and trying. But as far as the bedbugs, us getting our hand on it, a handle on it, I don't know. I don't know. It's really growing rapidly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, a theater in New York's Times Square, the latest business to shut down to fight the bedbug infestation.
CNN's Susan Candiotti takes us inside one family's battle to try to keep the bedbugs from biting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first, Rahela Sachedina thought her son made a black pen mark on her newborn's white basinet.
RAHELA SACHEDINA, QUEENS RESIDENT: Darn, you know, I should do something about this. And I went closer, and I started moving, and I got freaked out.
CANDIOTTI: Who wouldn't be? Sachedina's husband knew exactly what it was.
R. SACHEDINA: It's a bedbug. And I was like, oh, my Lord! This can't be happening.
ALI SACHEDINA, QUEENS RESIDENT: They want to know that in fact you have them. So, this was our proof.
CANDIOTTI: The couple says they traced the infestation to the delivery of a brand new mattress from a well-known store. After being treated, the mattress is all wrapped up.
R. SACHEDINA: This is the bed bug cover. The bedbug cover -- it's like a case for the mattress, it's all sealed.
CANDIOTTI: Mom says she and her baby were bitten.
R. SACHEDINA: We found blood marks on the sheets.
CANDIOTTI: The Sachedinas' lives haven't been the same since.
A. SACHEDINA: We've spent at least $1,500.
CANDIOTTI: The family of four moved out and exterminator moved in, and after a month, they're not done cleaning everything. Their drawers and closets practically bare.
R. SACHEDINA: This was packed -- each hanger was packed with clothes, and I like clothes.
A. SACHEDINA: We took every piece of fabric and clothing in the entire house, and took it downstairs, dried it, folded it, sealed it, and then took it into storage.
CANDIOTTI: Cold also kills the critters. So, look what's in the freezer?
A. SACHEDINA: Such as one of my wife's purses, which we can't clean or dry clean or dry.
CANDIOTTI: Neighbors didn't know what to think.
A. SACHEDINA: They started asking questions, hey, you know, are you moving out? Is there something going on between you and your wife.
CANDIOTTI: It's hard not to feel stigmatized.
R. SACHEDINA: We just didn't want to tell anybody because it was, for me, I felt not so much dirty, but I felt tainted.
CANDIOTTI: Then there's that funny feeling that's hard to shake.
R. SACHEDINA: I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I have things crawling on me.
CANDIOTTI: A bedbugs parting gift.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, more top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
I don't ever have to worry about bedbugs. I've got a good doctor. His name's Sanjay Gupta.
