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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview With Russell Simmons; Karl Rove To Appear Again Before Grand Jury; Flood Fears In Northeast; Flu Shot Worry

Aired October 14, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Chad will be along in a minute with your forecast.

Also coming up this half-hour, a million men again. We'll talk to media mogul and hip-hop star Russell Simmons about the reasons behind this decade's edition of the Million Man March.

And fighting the flu. We'll find out if there's enough vaccine in the pipeline to keep us out of the doctor's office.

But first, "Now in the News."

Early voting has already begun on Iraq's constitution. But the majority of the country heads to the polls tomorrow. Extra security is in place due to fears of possible violence aimed at disrupting the vote.

Russian forces are still looking for any remaining rebel soldiers who may be hiding in the Russian resort city of Nalchik. All hostages have now been freed after the 24-long siege north of Chechnya. Dozens of police, civilians and rebels were killed in those attacks.

One of Hollywood's worst-kept secrets will be revealed officially today. That's when British actor Daniel Craig is expected to be anointed as the new James Bond. The seventh Bond will star in "Casino Royale," which will be released sometime next year.

To the forecast center and Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I can't wait. Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: It was a radical idea that first played out in Washington, D.C. 10 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of African- American men gathered on the National Mall for what was known as the Million Man March. It was an effort to showcase a positive image of black men as responsible and contributing members of the community.

Now, a decade later, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and hip-hop producer Russell Simmons have teamed up to broaden the movement.

Russell Simmons joins us this morning from Washington to tell us more about the Millions More Movement.

Welcome.

RUSSELL SIMMONS, HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK: You're welcome. Thank you.

COSTELLO: The march will include women this year. Why?

SIMMONS: Well, let me say this first. There are a couple of hundred co-conveners. I'm one of them. And I think the idea was so special. In yoga, we have something called "sack song" (ph). And in all spiritual practice there is when you bring more people together, and you come for a common cause, it's a very uplifting experience. And...

COSTELLO: Well, tell us some of the names who are involved. Give us some names.

SIMMONS: Well, Will Smith, who was at the last two marches. There were two marches. Puffy and Kanye West. Music artists were involved. And then the NAACP's Kweisi Mfume and the members of the Urban League of Support, every member of Black Caucus. The Black Caucus is involved. It was endorsed by Bill Clinton.

I mean, there are many people involved in bringing these people together.

COSTELLO: The focus this year seems to be on poverty. And, of course, that problem was highlighted in the chaos after Katrina. I want to show you some pictures from that time, because when you look at those pictures today -- not exactly these pictures, but we remember all of the people outside of the Superdome begging for help to come. And it didn't come. People who were trapped there. What do you want people to take away from those images today?

SIMMONS: Well, today is about the uplifting of all poor people in America. I think that Katrina has taught us something. There is still a great divide in issues of race amongst Americans. And there needs to be more dialogue.

I hope that people will take away today one degree of greater spirituality. And I hope that they will come together with greater organization.

And if you remember the first march, it was proven that people went home and joined community organizations and invested more in their communities. You find the best way to uplift yourself is to uplift others.

And I think that these kinds of gatherings promote that and the best in the human spirit. So, we hope that that will be the case again. COSTELLO: You talk about an uplifting message. Kanye West -- as you said, he's also involved in this march -- said on national television that President Bush doesn't care about black people. Do you agree with that?

SIMMONS: Well, see, the perception that race relations have healed is one -- we have a very disturbing poll. I'm the chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding. And the results of that poll, I think, are going to come out in "The New York Times." And they're going to be then distributed everywhere.

We find that there is a great division in terms of what people think about race in this country. The encouraging results of our poll show us that young people have much more optimistic and tolerant views.

So, the fact is he expressed the viewpoint of many people. Do I believe that personally? Maybe not. But, in fact, I don't believe that. But I know a lot of black people do, according to our poll.

And the poets have a job. Their job is to express the views of the people. A lot of what rappers say is an expression of a lot of voiceless people. In fact, hip-hop is about people who come out of a tremendous amount of poverty and ignorance. They are locked out, and they need a voice. And they say things that we tend to ignore even if the signs are in front of our faces.

So, now the hip-hop community has such a big voice, they bring to you ideas that most times Americans lock out or the media doesn't talk about. So, it's very important you have a poet like Kanye West.

COSTELLO: Well, he certainly brought to the attention a lot of people the feelings of many young people in your community. The president made eight trips to the Gulf Coast region. The director of FEMA was fired. Do those things repair the rift between some in the black community and the president?

SIMMONS: Well, I am a fan of dialogue. I meet with Ken Melman (ph) quite regularly, and I've got a lot of good work done with the Republicans. And I think it's important that there's a balanced relationship between the black community and the Republican community. And I think that there's a lot that's been done for poor people in this country. But, of course, I believe there's a lot more we should still do.

And that's why I, you know, again, promote dialogue. And I think that there's a lot of repair that could be done and is being done.

COSTELLO: Russell Simmons, thank you for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Karl Rove, part four. The president's trusted adviser is scheduled to once again testify in front of a grand jury. It's part of the investigation into whether federal laws were broken in the so-called outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Actually, she's a CIA operative.

CNN national correspondent Bob Franken joins us live from Washington with more.

Good morning -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And, of course, she was the wife -- is the wife of Joe Wilson, who was the harsh administration critic whose complaints about weapons of mass destruction claims by the administration preceded the identification of Valerie Plame, the undercover CIA operative, his wife.

Karl Rove has been identified repeatedly as one of the sources of the leaks, although his attorney claims that he did not intentionally leak her name as an undercover operative, didn't even know she was one, which is an important consideration, because the law on this would require that he did know, that he did it intentionally.

Rove has testified three times before, as you pointed out, had volunteered to come back another time. Matthew Cooper of "TIME" magazine under the threat of jail testified in July about conversations he had with Rove. We're told by a variety of legal sources connected with this case that he talked about conversations that Rove had not testified to before the grand jury.

So, the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, has taken him up on his volunteering to come back. The lawyer says, however -- his lawyer, Rove, says that he has not been guaranteed that he won't be indicted.

The other focus of this investigation that has emerged is Louis "Scooter" Libby, who is the vice president's chief of staff.

So, they're watching this obviously very closely at the White House.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken reporting live from Washington this morning.

Miles O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning -- Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We should tell our viewers this is not coached or rehearsed, right?

COSTELLO: It's totally unscripted.

M. O'BRIEN: Totally unscripted. We are going to talk a little bit about that, about the orchestration, the coaching, the rehearsing -- whatever you want to call it -- that happened in advance of the president's teleconference with the troops yesterday. We'll have a writer from "TIME" magazine. Mike Allen (ph) is going to be joining us. And then, Carol, let's go through the names here. We're going to meet John, Jana, Jeremiah, Jedidiah,, Joshua, Jill, Jessa, Jinger or Yinger (ph), Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, all of them Duggars.

COSTELLO: Unbelievable.

M. O'BRIEN: Sixteen kids. With the parents, that's 18. That's two baseball teams and only two bathrooms. So, we've got questions. We've got questions, wouldn't you say?

COSTELLO: I guess so. Actually, the biggest question I have...

M. O'BRIEN: And they want more! They want more.

COSTELLO: Exactly. I was just going to say that they want more children. My goodness.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll see you in a bit, OK?

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks, Miles.

Many communities throughout the Northeast are bracing for the worst this morning once again. Constant rain has caused some area rivers to overflow their banks, and residents have been warned that they may need to leave at a moment's notice.

Marcus Solis of CNN affiliate WABC joins us now from Wayne, New Jersey.

Good morning.

MARCUS SOLIS, CNN AFFILIATE WABC REPORTER: Good morning, Carol.

The good news here is that it is not raining. The bad news is the damage has been done after almost a week of nonstop rain.

This is a flood-prone area surrounded by the Pompton and Passaic Rivers. But they are expecting even more flooding today as those rivers are expected to overflow their banks.

Many people, as you said, have already left this area. They are used to this drill a little bit, and they have evacuated. So, you can see many houses are empty.

In the background there -- I don't know if you can quite make it out -- but there are about two dozen ducks that are now floating around on the pond. That is Fayette Avenue here in Wayne. They have just been kind of cruising by. They have come in, but many of the folks have left.

And it's the same story throughout many northern New Jersey communities -- Lodi, Oakland, many of evacuations in those areas now. Some of those evacuations to the south, to the Jersey Shore communities as well.

In Howell, New Jersey, a senior center. Some residents there had to be evacuated because of flooding concerns.

Now, the state has activated its Office of Emergency Management. The state police are monitoring the situation. They've got some high- water vehicles ready to respond to residents who have decided not to leave.

Local police officials have been going door to door telling folks that they should get out now, because if they don't and the flooding becomes severe, the only way to get to them is by boat. And there's no timetable as to how quickly they can reach some of these people.

So, a lot of folks have heeded the warning. They have, indeed, evacuated.

To give you an idea, though, a good perspective of how much rain has fallen in the last week, at the start of the month in northern New Jersey, reservoir levels were at 40 percent. They were thinking of issuing water restrictions, because it was almost getting to drought stage. Well, a week later, we are now at 71 percent. Almost five billion gallons of water have fallen. And that's the bright spot here is that at least the reservoirs have started to fill up.

COSTELLO: Well, it's good to look at the glass half-full, so to speak. I suppose that's very fitting to say in these times. Chad says the rain will probably end on Saturday night. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Marcus Solis of CNN affiliate WABC joining us live this morning.

Coming up next, can we expect a repeat of last year's flu vaccine shortage? Some communities say they're not getting their vaccines fast enough.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A lot of people eager to get their flu shots out of the way are stuck waiting for the vaccine. Many doctors' offices and health clinics are reporting delays in vaccines being shipped to them. And there's concern high-risk people like the elderly and young children won't get their flu shots in time.

Talking to us live about that apparent uncertainty of the flu vaccine system is Dr. Nancy Bennett of the Monroe County Health Department in Rochester, New York.

Good morning, doctor.

DR. NANCY BENNETT, MONROE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Your organization is called the National Association of County and City Health Officials. And according to a St. Louis newspaper, a survey of 120 local health departments around the country last week found all but six were experiencing delays. Why? BENNETT: Well, what we have in the United States is a very complex distribution system for influenza vaccine. And what we are experiencing this year is now distribution of the vaccine.

COSTELLO: So, that means vaccines aren't getting there in time. Will they get there soon? What's the status?

BENNETT: Well, we think that the vaccine supply should increase markedly in the next several weeks. There are really two factors that contributed to this low distribution this year. One was that one of the major production companies held back their vaccine and released it in a phased approach so that we would be sure that we had enough vaccine before they released all of it.

The second problem was that another company just entered the market and has just begun to release vaccine to the market.

COSTELLO: So, basically what's happening is the larger cities are getting their supply of vaccines, but the smaller towns across the country may not get them until later.

BENNETT: It's actually not a difference between the size of the locality. It has more to do with the kinds of administrators. So, for example, many physicians are not getting their supplies. Also, many local health departments have not yet received their supplies.

However, some of the community vaccinators who do large, large numbers of vaccines have received their supplies.

So, there's a little bit of a disconnect. We're trying to reach the highest-priority people first, but our system doesn't necessarily support doing that.

COSTELLO: OK. So, should we worry?

BENNETT: I don't think people need to worry at this point. We're very encouraged that Chiron has come into the market this week. And our expectation is that there will be somewhere between 89 and 97 million doses of vaccine available.

What people do need to do is be patient. Their physicians may not have vaccine yet. Their local health departments may not have vaccine yet. But we expect that they will in the future.

COSTELLO: Oh, Nancy, that sounds so familiar, because you know what happened last year. I want to ask you about this, too, because there's an interesting article in the "Boston Herald" this morning. The governor of Massachusetts is asking people to buy extra groceries just in case there's a huge flu outbreak this year. Is that a good idea?

BENNETT: I think that might be a little premature.

COSTELLO: Why would he do such a thing?

BENNETT: Well, I think there's a great deal of concern about influenza right now. And there are really two streams of discussion. One is just what's going to happen this year with influenza. Will we have a bad year? Will we have a light year? Will we have enough vaccine?

And then the second concern, of course, is about pandemic influenza. And there's a lot of careful scrutiny of what's going on in Asia at this time.

COSTELLO: Dr. Nancy Bennett joining us live this morning. Thank you.

BENNETT: Thank you.

COSTELLO: More news coming up. And, of course, we'll give away a mug. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back. It's 6:53 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.

Relief efforts are under way in Pakistan this morning. The government plans to set up a tent village for tens of thousands of earthquake survivors. Officials say nearly 2.5 million people are without homes.

New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson, is returning to North Korea for nuclear talks. He hopes to convince the nation to give up its nuclear program. Richardson says he's not making the trip as an official envoy.

About $5 million worth of food reportedly never reached hurricane victims. "The Washington Post" is reporting that U.S. import laws have kept the emergency rations from Britain stacked up in a warehouse for more than a month. It cost taxpayers $16,000 a month to store that food.

Let's talk about something good now.

MYERS: Hey, it's my turn. I'll give away a mug, Carol.

COSTELLO: That's the "something good."

MYERS: That is the "something good."

Here are the questions and the answers. We didn't get them yesterday. It was the day before. What city has the highest rate of poverty? And that was Fresno, California. And if you're watching your weight, how many calories should you have in a snack? And they say snacking is now good as long as it's 250 calories or less in a snack that maybe stops you from eating such a big meal later on in the day.

The winner from Florida today, Orange Park, Florida, Dorothy Mason. You get the CNN DAYBREAK coffee mug. Now here's your chance. You have to answer them both. What year did the Million Man March take place? And number two, the CDC recommends high-risk patients receive a flu vaccination by what date?

Submit your answers to CNN.com/daybreak.

COSTELLO: Those are -- well, the first one is not so tough. But the second one is.

MYERS: We talked about it twice.

COSTELLO: We did.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: If you are traveling, Chad has news.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

Karl Rove is expected to be back in front of a grand jury today. The White House special adviser is once again being called to testify in the CIA leak investigation. Today's appearance will be Rove's fourth.

A Russian resort city north of Chechnya remains sealed off following yesterday's siege by gunmen. Russian officials say all hostages have been freed more than 24 hours after the attacks began. Dozens of attackers, police and civilians were killed in the violence.

Some residents in northern and central New Jersey are being warned that they may need to leave quickly. That's because constant rain has pushed several rivers to the breaking point. Some roads have already been closed this morning.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. We'll see you on "AMERICAN MORNING." It starts right now.

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