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American Morning
World Health Agencies Warn of Flu Pandemic
Aired December 07, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: With just four words changed in the 9/11 reform bill, a key congressional holdout comes around. Can the other powerful member of Congress be convinced?
America's vice president and defense secretary in Afghanistan for a milestone moment in that country's history.
A five alarm fire...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM RUBENS, ESCAPED FIRE: Everybody was trying to, you know, get out and stay low, covering up their mouths. But at one point it was almost impossible to breathe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Dozens of people hurt in a Chicago high rise fire. We'll talk with a survivor.
And the swing of fires in a Maryland subdivision -- is there an eco-terrorist at work on this AMERICAN MORNING?
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Bill Hemmer has the day off today. Miles is back with us this morning. Nice to have you again.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here.
Today could be a big day for intelligence reform -- word of a compromise in the House over the objections of Congressman James Sensenbrenner.
We'll hear from the congressman, himself. In just a few moments, we'll find out if he's still a sticking point to putting this to a vote today or tomorrow.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also this morning, there are serious concerns over the bird flu. Some experts believe it could kill millions of people in a global pandemic.
This morning we talk to the former director of the National Institutes of Health about the risk here in the U.S. and why a cure for this strain of the flu is so far off.
MILES O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty with us this morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
One of the things not addressed in this intelligence reform bill is the problem of illegal immigration. The borders of this country leak like a sieve. That's not taken up in the intel reform bill.
They say they may get around to it next year. We'll let you figure out how to solve it this morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Let's get right to the headlines with Heidi this morning.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. I can hardly see everybody.
Now in the news this morning.
President Bush heading to California at this hour to thank American troops for their service in Iraq -- the president departing the White House a short time ago.
He will speak at Camp Pendleton. That's near San Diego. Units from that marine base have suffered heavy casualties in Iraq.
In Afghanistan, a presidential inauguration, Hamid Karzai sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president less than six hours ago. In his inaugural speech, Karzai thanked the United States and repeated his promise to crack down on drugs, disarm militias and improve living standards.
Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were on hand for the ceremony.
Former U.S. Army sergeant, Charles Jenkins, now a free man after spending four decades in North Korea as a U.S. military deserter and then a month in a U.S. military prison. About an hour ago, he gave an emotional thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES JENKINS, U.S. ARMY DESERTER: As you know, I have made peace with the U.S. Army. And I have been shown great mercy and compassion.
I am thankful to the Japanese people for each day of my life I will now spend in freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Jenkins will live with his wife and two children on a remote island in Japan. He arrives there today. To health news now, we'll find out in the next few hours whether more flu vaccine is on the way. Government health officials expected to announce the purchase of as many as five million doses of the vaccine from U.S.-approved plants in Germany and Canada.
Health and human services secretary, Tommy Thompson, has scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the vaccine shortage. I am sure we will have that for you right here on CNN.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Heidi.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A congressional compromise now clears the way for a vote on the bill to overhaul the nation's intelligence community. Correspondent Ed Henry live for us this morning on Capitol Hill with the latest.
Hey, Ed. Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. The final details need to be worked out. But we're expecting passage today in the House and Wednesday or Thursday in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): More than three years after the 9/11 terror attacks, Congress has forged a deal to reshape the nation's intelligence community, the most radical shake-up in over 40 years.
The deal got a major shot in the arm when a key Republican holdout, Duncan Hunter, signed on to new language.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CHMN. ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: We have received a satisfactory provision that protects them, and so I will vote for the bill.
HENRY: Hunter had been concerned that a director of national intelligence would interfere with the military's chain of command. But a tweaking of four words in the bill appeased Hunter.
The director of national intelligence will now serve as quarterback of the nation's 15 spy agencies. The 9/11 commission said that was a key change to help prevent another terror attack.
The deal kept a frenetic day of lobbying that included a flurry of calls to the hill from Vice President Cheney and urgent calls from some 9/11 families, who held a vigil outside the White House.
ABE SCOTT, 9/11 FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE: I just want to say that President Bush, you need to step up to the plate and convince these congressmen to do the right thing.
HENRY: President Bush heard the call. And with some of his own political capital on the line, he prodded Congress to act. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I certainly hope the bill gets to my desk soon. I believe we have addressed the concerns of, by far, the majority of members of both the House and the Senate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Left out in the cold is the other Republican holdout, Congressman James Sensenbrenner. He wanted to attach tough immigration provisions, but now he will have to wait until next year -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us. Ed, thanks.
Congressman James Sensenbrenner, in fact, has been one of the bill's most vocal opponents. The strong immigration provisions that he wanted will most likely have to wait until next year.
Just a few moments ago, I spoke with the Wisconsin Republican about where he would stand if, in fact, the vote was taken today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: I think the compromise is incomplete. But they do have the signatures to bring the bill to the floor, and it will pass. So, the fight now is to make sure that we get a vote early next year on driver's license and asylum reform in order to complete the job.
I think Congress' job is to prevent a terrorist attack from happening rather than managing the consequences of it. And good intelligence is useless without good homeland security.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: When it comes to a vote, do you plan to vote against it?
SENSENBRENNER: I haven't made up my mind, yet. If I can get a commitment that we can get the driver's license and asylum stuff on the president's desk early next year, than I probably will vote in favor of it because we do need to have the reform of the intelligence system as well.
But if I can't get that commitment, which includes support by the president as well as a commitment by the Senate that they'll have a vote on giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens and stopping that practice, than I think that the bill should be rejected because it's defective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Congressman Sensenbrenner sharply critical of Senator Susan Collins. We're going to hear that, also get reaction from Senator Collins just ahead this morning -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: A fire in a Chicago skyscraper has left serious injuries and chaos in downtown Chicago. The city watched last night as flames shot out of the 29th floor of the LaSalle bank building.
Fire fighters attacked the blaze for more than five hours and then spent the night searching for hot spots.
Jonathan Freed is there now -- Jonathan?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
There is definitely a sense of relief here in Chicago because many felt that this could have been much worse than it actually turned out to be.
Rewind to last fall, in October, when a high rise fire killed six people from smoke inhalation trapped in a stairwell. At that time, it was blamed on inadequate safety standards for buildings and an inadequate response by firefighters.
This time, no deaths at all. Only -- there were 37 people who were injured, although most of those people were not injured seriously. Only four firefighters were seriously injured and still remain in the hospital at this time. But they are expected to recover fully.
Now Miles, this began around 06:30 last night, on the 29th floor of the LaSalle bank building. That building has got 43 stories. It's an art deco tower. And firefighters, one-third of Chicago's firefighters and one-third of the city's fire fighting equipment responded to this fire.
People began to evacuate the building. And this is what they started telling us as they hit the street downstairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBENS: We were all going down. And everybody was trying to, you know, get out and stay low, covering up their mouths. But at one point, it was almost impossible to breathe.
And they just kept screaming, keep going, keep going, and everybody kept going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREED: Now, Miles, just to give you a quick idea of how much the situation has changed since last night, last night they kept pushing us back quite frantically. This morning, literally just moments before we went live with you, we were told, you know, you can get a little closer if you want to.
So, a great sense of relief here this morning -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: And Jonathan, are they saying what workers should do this morning who work in that particular building?
FREED: There's no word yet, although as of last night, it was very clear that this office tower, which about 3,000 people usually work in -- that the majority of people work for the LaSalle bank.
They knew at that time that this building was going to be closed, although the bank was making very clear that its other 140 odd branches around the Chicago area were going to be open for business -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: Jonathan Freed in Chicago, thank you. At 07:30 Eastern, just about 20 minutes from now, we'll talk to someone who was trapped 10 floors above that fire. We'll ask her how she escaped.
Eco-terrorism suspected in the wake of fires at several homes at a new subdivision in the D.C. metro area last night. More than 40 homes in Charles County, Maryland under construction destroyed or damaged by fire yesterday.
Investigators immediately suspected arson. The loss estimated to be at least $10 million. Environmentalists have fought that project for five years. The homes were unoccupied and no one was hurt.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Dramatic pictures, though, really.
Let's get right to the forecast this morning. Rob Marciano at the CNN Center for us with the latest update.
What are you looking at this morning, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A couple storms, Soledad, one out West and the other one that's heading in through places like Chicago and Detroit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: That's the latest from here in Atlanta. Back to you guys in New York.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Rob, thanks. We'll check in with you, again, this morning.
Still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, a disease that is so lethal the secretary of health calls it a bomb that could impact the world. So, why no vaccine, yet.
MILES O'BRIEN: We'll ask that question.
Also, more on that Chicago high rise fire, what was it like on the 39th floor, last night, waiting to be rescued as the smoke kept pouring in? We'll talk to a survivor.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And a Supreme Court battle to let people buy wine over the Internet. Is it about protecting children, or is it really just about the bottom line?
Those stories all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MILES O'BRIEN: Departing health and human services secretary, Tommy Thompson, says $125 million has been budgeted to address a possible flu outbreak. One of his main concerns, however, is a lack of vaccine for the so-called bird flu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: There has been 40 individuals that have come down with Avian flu, and 30 have died. That is hugely lethality. No other -- no other disease has had that kind of lethality before.
And we do not have a vaccine. This is a really huge bomb out there that could adversely impact on the health care of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN: No human cases have been detected outside of Southeast Asia. The World Health Organization is sounding an alarm, though. It says bird flu will likely cause the next influenza pandemic.
And officials warn little is being done to prevent its potential devastation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. KLAUS STOHR, W.H.O. GLOBAL INFLUENZA PROGRAM: Even with the most best case scenarios, the most optimistic scenarios, the pandemic will cause a public health emergency. There are estimates which would put the number of death in the range of between two to seven million.
The number of people affected would go beyond the billions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN: So, just how serious a threat could we face from the bird flu? Dr. Bernadine Healy is a former director of the National Institutes of Health. She is now contributing editor to "U.S. News and World Report." She joins us from Washington.
Dr. Healy, good to see you.
DR. BERNADINE HEALY, FORMER NIH DIRECTOR: Good morning, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Is it a bomb, potential bomb, at least?
HEALY: Well, it certainly is. And I think that ever since this first appeared about a year ago, this Avian flu in poultry and then later in ducks, this has been a concern. And the World Health Organization, the C.D.C. and Department of Health and Human Services have been worried about it and working on it.
MILES O'BRIEN: Now, what about the transfer of this particular influenza strain from birds to humans? How common is that? HEALY: Well, that has not occurred. And that -- you put your finger on what the critical element in going from a poultry virus, something that's wiping out poultry in Asia to something that could wipe out humans. And that is the ability of that virus to go from human to human readily.
Right now, we know that humans can contact this from birds. But as Secretary Thompson said, it's roughly about 40 people in Vietnam and Thailand. But the moment that you can start having people, through sneezing or coughing or contaminated hands transmit that from one person to another, then you have the makings of a potential pandemic. And then things go into pandemic alert.
MILES O'BRIEN: And what you have to remember here is these viruses are kind of canny. They mutate, don't they?
HEALY: These are very clever viruses for all time. And we know that the worst of these was in this country and around the world, was in 1918, when 20 to 40 million people around the globe were killed, and in this country as many as a half a million.
And these bugs are mutating all the time, every year. That's why we need a new vaccine every year for the flu. So, this particular virus we know is extremely dangerous, and we also know that it has a history of mutating easily.
It has not yet got that magic mutation, from its point of view, where it can really spread among humans. Were that to happen in today's modern times, Miles, where we have rapid transportation, we have airline transportation, we have very congested places where people are living one on top of the other, we have a major, major risk for this occurring.
So, the secretary was right.
MILES O'BRIEN: So, you're saying in this day and age, it is possible to have a repeat of what the world endured in 1918, that tremendous influenza pandemic. With all the medicines, all the capabilities, all the vaccines we have, why aren't we more prepared against this?
HEALY: Well, we have to have a vaccine, and we also have to have an alert public, who understands how to prevent this. We also have to have an alert public health system that knows how to track it.
So things are better now because we do have vaccines, because we do have a world-wide public health system, and we do have the ability to track this nasty little bug in its course.
So yes, things are better. And we are not likely to see what we saw 100 years ago. However, we do not yet have a vaccine, Miles. There is one in development in two companies supported by the U.S. government.
We are aware of some limitations, in terms of anti-virals. Tamiflu is the only one that seems to work. And we are alerting the public.
You know, this current vaccine shortage problem may be a good healthy warning. People had better practice good health hygiene. You know, cover your mouth if you sneeze.
Don't sit around people who are using bad health habits. And wash those hands, Miles. That will help you this year, but it will also be almost the only thing that you can really, really do if we were threatened by a pandemic.
MILES O'BRIEN: Final thought, here. Could this be an instrument of terror in any way, do you think?
HEALY: Well, the influenza virus is notorious for mutating on its own. It can mutate in a laboratory. So yes, Miles, in the hands of a very clever and well supported terrorist, they could design a version of this particular pandemic flu.
However, it does take sophisticated technology. And it also means they had better have enough flu vaccine for their own population, or they could wipe out themselves as well as those people they are trying to terrorize so brutally.
MILES O'BRIEN: Good point. Hard to control once you unleash something like this.
Dr. Bernadine Healy, always a pleasure.
HEALY: Thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN: Tommy Thompson is expected to hold a news conference today regarding the flu and the importation of flu vaccines. We'll have that. That's in about three hours time, 10:30 Eastern.
Stay with CNN.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the 9/11 reform bill moves closer to approval thanks to a compromise. Four little words may have been key to that deal.
We're going to talk with one of the lead Senate negotiators just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A major acquisition is in the works for one of the nation's largest health care companies. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business," this morning, good morning.
ANDY SERWER, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
The "New York Times" is reporting that medical giant Johnson & Johnson is in advanced talks to buy a cardiovascular company called Guidan based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. This is a very big company. People don't know too much about these cardiovascular companies. There's others, like Medtronic and St. Jude, Boston Scientific.
But it's a very big business. But it's also a business that is ripe for consolidation, and that's why it's very possible that Johnson & Johnson is going to do this deal for about $24 billion.
Guidan makes stints, defibrillators and pacemakers. Johnson & Johnson, of course, makes everything from Band-Aids to drugs.
And this could really give a boost to the medical sector today in the market and probably the overall market, as well, because when there is a big deal like this, it shows that people are optimistic about the prospects of stocks in the stock market.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks. We'll continue to watch this.
SERWER: You're welcome.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: God bless you. We heard you sneeze there.
MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: Allergies?
SERWER: Or what?
MILES O'BRIEN: It's bird flu. Don't worry.
Jack Cafferty with the "Question of the Day" for you all.
CAFFERTY: The intelligence reform bill expected to pass in the Congress has left unresolved calls for tougher border security and immigration policies.
Congressman James Sensenbrenner was on the program here a few minutes ago, spearheaded efforts to include provisions in that bill that would stop states from giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
Gee, there's an idea that has some merit, maybe. Make it easier to deport illegal immigrants without judicial review, and limit the use of ID cards issued by foreign consulates as legal proof of identity.
The administration says the issue will be taken up in legislation next year. That's from one of those short books. The other one is, the check's in the mail. There are a couple of others I can't mention here on the morning TV program.
As it stands now, 11 states issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens. The question is this, how would you change America's immigration policies?
AM@CNN.COM SERWER: Wow, that's a wide open question.
CAFFERTY: You're familiar with that list of real short books, aren't you?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, I am. I was thinking of some of them. It's not me. It's not you, it's me, I think is one of those short books, too.
CAFFERTY: That's one of them.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN: It's cable, you can say it.
CAFFERTY: Oh, no.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, no.
He stopped. You keep stirring the pot. Stop.
MILES O'BRIEN: Stirring the pot, sure.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a U.S. soldier calls the war in Iraq illegal and makes a surprising move. We'll explain.
Plus a survivor story, what it was like to be trapped on the 39th floor of a burning skyscraper. We'll tell about one woman's ordeal as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at CNN.COM/AM.
Still to come, the 9/11 reform compromise and the four little words that may have changed everything. We'll talk to one of the lead negotiators on that deal. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer has got the day off. Miles is in for him and has been. We appreciate it.
MILES O'BRIEN: Great to be here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: In just a few moments, we're going to hear more from two of the key players in the intelligence reform debate. Senator Susan Collins is going to join us. She's one of the lead negotiators for the legislation.
Also, we'll have more of our interview with Congressman James Sensenbrenner. He's one of the holdouts in the House. MILES O'BRIEN: Also, we'll hear what it was like last night on the 39th floor when a fire tore through the LaSalle building in downtown Chicago, a few stories beneath. One survivor's story coming up in just a few moments.
And let's get the headlines now from Heidi Collins. Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: Good morning. And good morning to you, Soledad.
Good morning everybody.
Now in the news -- grim CIA assessments are raising serious questions about future prospects in Iraq. The "New York Times" reporting two senior agency officials issued candid warnings that Iraqi security is deteriorating and unlikely to get better any time soon.
The CIA reports go on to say there could be more violence unless the Iraqi government improves its ability to assert authority and to build the economy.
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Aired December 7, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: With just four words changed in the 9/11 reform bill, a key congressional holdout comes around. Can the other powerful member of Congress be convinced?
America's vice president and defense secretary in Afghanistan for a milestone moment in that country's history.
A five alarm fire...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM RUBENS, ESCAPED FIRE: Everybody was trying to, you know, get out and stay low, covering up their mouths. But at one point it was almost impossible to breathe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Dozens of people hurt in a Chicago high rise fire. We'll talk with a survivor.
And the swing of fires in a Maryland subdivision -- is there an eco-terrorist at work on this AMERICAN MORNING?
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Bill Hemmer has the day off today. Miles is back with us this morning. Nice to have you again.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good to be here.
Today could be a big day for intelligence reform -- word of a compromise in the House over the objections of Congressman James Sensenbrenner.
We'll hear from the congressman, himself. In just a few moments, we'll find out if he's still a sticking point to putting this to a vote today or tomorrow.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also this morning, there are serious concerns over the bird flu. Some experts believe it could kill millions of people in a global pandemic.
This morning we talk to the former director of the National Institutes of Health about the risk here in the U.S. and why a cure for this strain of the flu is so far off.
MILES O'BRIEN: Jack Cafferty with us this morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
One of the things not addressed in this intelligence reform bill is the problem of illegal immigration. The borders of this country leak like a sieve. That's not taken up in the intel reform bill.
They say they may get around to it next year. We'll let you figure out how to solve it this morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thank you, Jack. Let's get right to the headlines with Heidi this morning.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. I can hardly see everybody.
Now in the news this morning.
President Bush heading to California at this hour to thank American troops for their service in Iraq -- the president departing the White House a short time ago.
He will speak at Camp Pendleton. That's near San Diego. Units from that marine base have suffered heavy casualties in Iraq.
In Afghanistan, a presidential inauguration, Hamid Karzai sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president less than six hours ago. In his inaugural speech, Karzai thanked the United States and repeated his promise to crack down on drugs, disarm militias and improve living standards.
Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were on hand for the ceremony.
Former U.S. Army sergeant, Charles Jenkins, now a free man after spending four decades in North Korea as a U.S. military deserter and then a month in a U.S. military prison. About an hour ago, he gave an emotional thank you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES JENKINS, U.S. ARMY DESERTER: As you know, I have made peace with the U.S. Army. And I have been shown great mercy and compassion.
I am thankful to the Japanese people for each day of my life I will now spend in freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Jenkins will live with his wife and two children on a remote island in Japan. He arrives there today. To health news now, we'll find out in the next few hours whether more flu vaccine is on the way. Government health officials expected to announce the purchase of as many as five million doses of the vaccine from U.S.-approved plants in Germany and Canada.
Health and human services secretary, Tommy Thompson, has scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the vaccine shortage. I am sure we will have that for you right here on CNN.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much, Heidi.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A congressional compromise now clears the way for a vote on the bill to overhaul the nation's intelligence community. Correspondent Ed Henry live for us this morning on Capitol Hill with the latest.
Hey, Ed. Good morning.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. The final details need to be worked out. But we're expecting passage today in the House and Wednesday or Thursday in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): More than three years after the 9/11 terror attacks, Congress has forged a deal to reshape the nation's intelligence community, the most radical shake-up in over 40 years.
The deal got a major shot in the arm when a key Republican holdout, Duncan Hunter, signed on to new language.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CHMN. ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: We have received a satisfactory provision that protects them, and so I will vote for the bill.
HENRY: Hunter had been concerned that a director of national intelligence would interfere with the military's chain of command. But a tweaking of four words in the bill appeased Hunter.
The director of national intelligence will now serve as quarterback of the nation's 15 spy agencies. The 9/11 commission said that was a key change to help prevent another terror attack.
The deal kept a frenetic day of lobbying that included a flurry of calls to the hill from Vice President Cheney and urgent calls from some 9/11 families, who held a vigil outside the White House.
ABE SCOTT, 9/11 FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE: I just want to say that President Bush, you need to step up to the plate and convince these congressmen to do the right thing.
HENRY: President Bush heard the call. And with some of his own political capital on the line, he prodded Congress to act. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I certainly hope the bill gets to my desk soon. I believe we have addressed the concerns of, by far, the majority of members of both the House and the Senate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Left out in the cold is the other Republican holdout, Congressman James Sensenbrenner. He wanted to attach tough immigration provisions, but now he will have to wait until next year -- Soledad?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us. Ed, thanks.
Congressman James Sensenbrenner, in fact, has been one of the bill's most vocal opponents. The strong immigration provisions that he wanted will most likely have to wait until next year.
Just a few moments ago, I spoke with the Wisconsin Republican about where he would stand if, in fact, the vote was taken today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: I think the compromise is incomplete. But they do have the signatures to bring the bill to the floor, and it will pass. So, the fight now is to make sure that we get a vote early next year on driver's license and asylum reform in order to complete the job.
I think Congress' job is to prevent a terrorist attack from happening rather than managing the consequences of it. And good intelligence is useless without good homeland security.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: When it comes to a vote, do you plan to vote against it?
SENSENBRENNER: I haven't made up my mind, yet. If I can get a commitment that we can get the driver's license and asylum stuff on the president's desk early next year, than I probably will vote in favor of it because we do need to have the reform of the intelligence system as well.
But if I can't get that commitment, which includes support by the president as well as a commitment by the Senate that they'll have a vote on giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens and stopping that practice, than I think that the bill should be rejected because it's defective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Congressman Sensenbrenner sharply critical of Senator Susan Collins. We're going to hear that, also get reaction from Senator Collins just ahead this morning -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: A fire in a Chicago skyscraper has left serious injuries and chaos in downtown Chicago. The city watched last night as flames shot out of the 29th floor of the LaSalle bank building.
Fire fighters attacked the blaze for more than five hours and then spent the night searching for hot spots.
Jonathan Freed is there now -- Jonathan?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
There is definitely a sense of relief here in Chicago because many felt that this could have been much worse than it actually turned out to be.
Rewind to last fall, in October, when a high rise fire killed six people from smoke inhalation trapped in a stairwell. At that time, it was blamed on inadequate safety standards for buildings and an inadequate response by firefighters.
This time, no deaths at all. Only -- there were 37 people who were injured, although most of those people were not injured seriously. Only four firefighters were seriously injured and still remain in the hospital at this time. But they are expected to recover fully.
Now Miles, this began around 06:30 last night, on the 29th floor of the LaSalle bank building. That building has got 43 stories. It's an art deco tower. And firefighters, one-third of Chicago's firefighters and one-third of the city's fire fighting equipment responded to this fire.
People began to evacuate the building. And this is what they started telling us as they hit the street downstairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBENS: We were all going down. And everybody was trying to, you know, get out and stay low, covering up their mouths. But at one point, it was almost impossible to breathe.
And they just kept screaming, keep going, keep going, and everybody kept going.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREED: Now, Miles, just to give you a quick idea of how much the situation has changed since last night, last night they kept pushing us back quite frantically. This morning, literally just moments before we went live with you, we were told, you know, you can get a little closer if you want to.
So, a great sense of relief here this morning -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: And Jonathan, are they saying what workers should do this morning who work in that particular building?
FREED: There's no word yet, although as of last night, it was very clear that this office tower, which about 3,000 people usually work in -- that the majority of people work for the LaSalle bank.
They knew at that time that this building was going to be closed, although the bank was making very clear that its other 140 odd branches around the Chicago area were going to be open for business -- Miles?
MILES O'BRIEN: Jonathan Freed in Chicago, thank you. At 07:30 Eastern, just about 20 minutes from now, we'll talk to someone who was trapped 10 floors above that fire. We'll ask her how she escaped.
Eco-terrorism suspected in the wake of fires at several homes at a new subdivision in the D.C. metro area last night. More than 40 homes in Charles County, Maryland under construction destroyed or damaged by fire yesterday.
Investigators immediately suspected arson. The loss estimated to be at least $10 million. Environmentalists have fought that project for five years. The homes were unoccupied and no one was hurt.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Dramatic pictures, though, really.
Let's get right to the forecast this morning. Rob Marciano at the CNN Center for us with the latest update.
What are you looking at this morning, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A couple storms, Soledad, one out West and the other one that's heading in through places like Chicago and Detroit.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: That's the latest from here in Atlanta. Back to you guys in New York.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Rob, thanks. We'll check in with you, again, this morning.
Still to come this morning on AMERICAN MORNING, a disease that is so lethal the secretary of health calls it a bomb that could impact the world. So, why no vaccine, yet.
MILES O'BRIEN: We'll ask that question.
Also, more on that Chicago high rise fire, what was it like on the 39th floor, last night, waiting to be rescued as the smoke kept pouring in? We'll talk to a survivor.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And a Supreme Court battle to let people buy wine over the Internet. Is it about protecting children, or is it really just about the bottom line?
Those stories all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MILES O'BRIEN: Departing health and human services secretary, Tommy Thompson, says $125 million has been budgeted to address a possible flu outbreak. One of his main concerns, however, is a lack of vaccine for the so-called bird flu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMPSON: There has been 40 individuals that have come down with Avian flu, and 30 have died. That is hugely lethality. No other -- no other disease has had that kind of lethality before.
And we do not have a vaccine. This is a really huge bomb out there that could adversely impact on the health care of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN: No human cases have been detected outside of Southeast Asia. The World Health Organization is sounding an alarm, though. It says bird flu will likely cause the next influenza pandemic.
And officials warn little is being done to prevent its potential devastation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. KLAUS STOHR, W.H.O. GLOBAL INFLUENZA PROGRAM: Even with the most best case scenarios, the most optimistic scenarios, the pandemic will cause a public health emergency. There are estimates which would put the number of death in the range of between two to seven million.
The number of people affected would go beyond the billions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILES O'BRIEN: So, just how serious a threat could we face from the bird flu? Dr. Bernadine Healy is a former director of the National Institutes of Health. She is now contributing editor to "U.S. News and World Report." She joins us from Washington.
Dr. Healy, good to see you.
DR. BERNADINE HEALY, FORMER NIH DIRECTOR: Good morning, Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Is it a bomb, potential bomb, at least?
HEALY: Well, it certainly is. And I think that ever since this first appeared about a year ago, this Avian flu in poultry and then later in ducks, this has been a concern. And the World Health Organization, the C.D.C. and Department of Health and Human Services have been worried about it and working on it.
MILES O'BRIEN: Now, what about the transfer of this particular influenza strain from birds to humans? How common is that? HEALY: Well, that has not occurred. And that -- you put your finger on what the critical element in going from a poultry virus, something that's wiping out poultry in Asia to something that could wipe out humans. And that is the ability of that virus to go from human to human readily.
Right now, we know that humans can contact this from birds. But as Secretary Thompson said, it's roughly about 40 people in Vietnam and Thailand. But the moment that you can start having people, through sneezing or coughing or contaminated hands transmit that from one person to another, then you have the makings of a potential pandemic. And then things go into pandemic alert.
MILES O'BRIEN: And what you have to remember here is these viruses are kind of canny. They mutate, don't they?
HEALY: These are very clever viruses for all time. And we know that the worst of these was in this country and around the world, was in 1918, when 20 to 40 million people around the globe were killed, and in this country as many as a half a million.
And these bugs are mutating all the time, every year. That's why we need a new vaccine every year for the flu. So, this particular virus we know is extremely dangerous, and we also know that it has a history of mutating easily.
It has not yet got that magic mutation, from its point of view, where it can really spread among humans. Were that to happen in today's modern times, Miles, where we have rapid transportation, we have airline transportation, we have very congested places where people are living one on top of the other, we have a major, major risk for this occurring.
So, the secretary was right.
MILES O'BRIEN: So, you're saying in this day and age, it is possible to have a repeat of what the world endured in 1918, that tremendous influenza pandemic. With all the medicines, all the capabilities, all the vaccines we have, why aren't we more prepared against this?
HEALY: Well, we have to have a vaccine, and we also have to have an alert public, who understands how to prevent this. We also have to have an alert public health system that knows how to track it.
So things are better now because we do have vaccines, because we do have a world-wide public health system, and we do have the ability to track this nasty little bug in its course.
So yes, things are better. And we are not likely to see what we saw 100 years ago. However, we do not yet have a vaccine, Miles. There is one in development in two companies supported by the U.S. government.
We are aware of some limitations, in terms of anti-virals. Tamiflu is the only one that seems to work. And we are alerting the public.
You know, this current vaccine shortage problem may be a good healthy warning. People had better practice good health hygiene. You know, cover your mouth if you sneeze.
Don't sit around people who are using bad health habits. And wash those hands, Miles. That will help you this year, but it will also be almost the only thing that you can really, really do if we were threatened by a pandemic.
MILES O'BRIEN: Final thought, here. Could this be an instrument of terror in any way, do you think?
HEALY: Well, the influenza virus is notorious for mutating on its own. It can mutate in a laboratory. So yes, Miles, in the hands of a very clever and well supported terrorist, they could design a version of this particular pandemic flu.
However, it does take sophisticated technology. And it also means they had better have enough flu vaccine for their own population, or they could wipe out themselves as well as those people they are trying to terrorize so brutally.
MILES O'BRIEN: Good point. Hard to control once you unleash something like this.
Dr. Bernadine Healy, always a pleasure.
HEALY: Thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN: Tommy Thompson is expected to hold a news conference today regarding the flu and the importation of flu vaccines. We'll have that. That's in about three hours time, 10:30 Eastern.
Stay with CNN.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the 9/11 reform bill moves closer to approval thanks to a compromise. Four little words may have been key to that deal.
We're going to talk with one of the lead Senate negotiators just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A major acquisition is in the works for one of the nation's largest health care companies. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business," this morning, good morning.
ANDY SERWER, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
The "New York Times" is reporting that medical giant Johnson & Johnson is in advanced talks to buy a cardiovascular company called Guidan based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. This is a very big company. People don't know too much about these cardiovascular companies. There's others, like Medtronic and St. Jude, Boston Scientific.
But it's a very big business. But it's also a business that is ripe for consolidation, and that's why it's very possible that Johnson & Johnson is going to do this deal for about $24 billion.
Guidan makes stints, defibrillators and pacemakers. Johnson & Johnson, of course, makes everything from Band-Aids to drugs.
And this could really give a boost to the medical sector today in the market and probably the overall market, as well, because when there is a big deal like this, it shows that people are optimistic about the prospects of stocks in the stock market.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks. We'll continue to watch this.
SERWER: You're welcome.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: God bless you. We heard you sneeze there.
MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thank you very much.
CAFFERTY: Allergies?
SERWER: Or what?
MILES O'BRIEN: It's bird flu. Don't worry.
Jack Cafferty with the "Question of the Day" for you all.
CAFFERTY: The intelligence reform bill expected to pass in the Congress has left unresolved calls for tougher border security and immigration policies.
Congressman James Sensenbrenner was on the program here a few minutes ago, spearheaded efforts to include provisions in that bill that would stop states from giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
Gee, there's an idea that has some merit, maybe. Make it easier to deport illegal immigrants without judicial review, and limit the use of ID cards issued by foreign consulates as legal proof of identity.
The administration says the issue will be taken up in legislation next year. That's from one of those short books. The other one is, the check's in the mail. There are a couple of others I can't mention here on the morning TV program.
As it stands now, 11 states issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens. The question is this, how would you change America's immigration policies?
AM@CNN.COM SERWER: Wow, that's a wide open question.
CAFFERTY: You're familiar with that list of real short books, aren't you?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, I am. I was thinking of some of them. It's not me. It's not you, it's me, I think is one of those short books, too.
CAFFERTY: That's one of them.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thank you.
MILES O'BRIEN: It's cable, you can say it.
CAFFERTY: Oh, no.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: No, no.
He stopped. You keep stirring the pot. Stop.
MILES O'BRIEN: Stirring the pot, sure.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a U.S. soldier calls the war in Iraq illegal and makes a surprising move. We'll explain.
Plus a survivor story, what it was like to be trapped on the 39th floor of a burning skyscraper. We'll tell about one woman's ordeal as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING "Quick News" at CNN.COM/AM.
Still to come, the 9/11 reform compromise and the four little words that may have changed everything. We'll talk to one of the lead negotiators on that deal. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Bill Hemmer has got the day off. Miles is in for him and has been. We appreciate it.
MILES O'BRIEN: Great to be here.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: In just a few moments, we're going to hear more from two of the key players in the intelligence reform debate. Senator Susan Collins is going to join us. She's one of the lead negotiators for the legislation.
Also, we'll have more of our interview with Congressman James Sensenbrenner. He's one of the holdouts in the House. MILES O'BRIEN: Also, we'll hear what it was like last night on the 39th floor when a fire tore through the LaSalle building in downtown Chicago, a few stories beneath. One survivor's story coming up in just a few moments.
And let's get the headlines now from Heidi Collins. Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: Good morning. And good morning to you, Soledad.
Good morning everybody.
Now in the news -- grim CIA assessments are raising serious questions about future prospects in Iraq. The "New York Times" reporting two senior agency officials issued candid warnings that Iraqi security is deteriorating and unlikely to get better any time soon.
The CIA reports go on to say there could be more violence unless the Iraqi government improves its ability to assert authority and to build the economy.
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