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American Morning

Stock Market Plunge: What's Next?; San Francisco Landslide; The Secret Behind 'The Secret'

Aired February 28, 2007 - 07:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Mad money. What's it going to look like on Wall Street this morning? We're watching the Asian markets. Still, U.S. markets reeling from those big losses and that strange computer glitch.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Shaky ground. New fears in San Francisco this morning after a landslide sends mud and boulders the size of cars into expensive homes.

S. O'BRIEN: And just the facts about HPV. Millions of Americans have it, but how much do we really know about the disease?

A closer look at the medicine, the marketing, and all the uproar.

We're live for you this morning from San Francisco, from Beijing, from Austin, Texas, and from Wall Street on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Wednesday, February 28th.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Thanks for being with us.

M. O'BRIEN: We begin with Wall Street. Wall Street is already taking in reports from overseas. The worldwide selloff now in a second day. We're all over the world as the markets open and close.

In Asia today, shares falling in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, but the Shanghai index bounced back. That was the trip wire for the dramatic day we watched yesterday.

Traders go back to work at the New York Stock Exchange this morning after the biggest one-day drop since the first day of trading after 9/11, a drop of 416 points.

We're watching Wall Street and the world markets closely all day long.

Ali Velshi is at the New York Stock Exchange. John Vause is in Beijing, where the trading day is done.

Let's start with Ali and see what's ahead.

Ali, you're down on the floor. I assume traders are beginning to come in. What is the mood there this morning?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Casual, relaxed. I've got to tell you, these folks have seen a lot of stuff, including obviously getting this place up and running after 9/11. So there is no panic on this floor at all, but they are starting to mill in here.

And John Thain, the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, just walked by a few moments ago, and I spoke to him. He confirms, in fact, what we've been sort of talking about, that there were two separate computer glitches yesterday afternoon.

One was at the Dow Jones. It was the counting, the tabulating error. The idea that the market was actually going down faster than it appeared to be going down, and then all of a sudden it looked like it went off a cliff.

In fact, it had been a tabulating error. The machines were backed up, and that was one error.

The second error was, in fact, a backup, a queuing system backup in the trading here at the New York Stock Exchange, and that is what the traders and specialists on the floor were talking about. A lot of people had speculated.

Look at that. Look at that market. Within six minutes, 100 points. Then by 1:32, 200 points. Then by 2:00, 200 points. Then 285.

And all of a sudden, it looked like that market just went off a cliff. It didn't, according to the Dow Jones. It just didn't calculate properly. And when they switched to a backup system it did.

Right now, Dow futures are looking positive. Why? Because overnight, while most of Asia was in negative territory, including their biggest markets, Shanghai, where this whole thing started, was actually up 4 percent, making up some of its losses.

Over to Europe, the losses were bigger at the open, but European markets are still trading and are pairing their losses. Coming into the United States, looks like futures are pointing to a good open.

At 8:30, within half an hour, we are going to get a report on GDP. If that thing says strong, if it is where it's supposed to be, we should have some sense if those futures are accurate.

Then we're going to hear from Alan Greenspan later on and get existing home sales -- new home sales numbers. We got existing home sales numbers and prices yesterday. They were a little disappointing. But for right now, these traders have their mind on everything, including the simple execution of business at the New York Stock Exchange, which certainly has been brought into question after yesterday afternoon's glitch -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Now, Ali, you mentioned Alan Greenspan. He was in the news yesterday talking about a recession, but it's interesting how people are still listening to him when he's out of office. VELSHI: You know, he made some comments on Monday, talking about a recession. The context in which he made those comments were such that nobody really thought it was a warning as such. But when the sort of perfect storm came together, all of a sudden every little element of it became important.

It's going to be an interesting day to sort of pair -- and I think you're going to be talking to somebody in a few minutes about this -- what part of it was important? Was it Shanghai? Was it the economic numbers yesterday? Was it Greenspan making a comment? Was it just momentum, or was it these trading glitches both at the Dow Jones and the New York Stock Exchange?

That is what this morning is going to answer. If this market opens up, as it is predicted to do, it means that most people at least have faith in the way the system is exercising, and there is no underlying economic problem here. But, you know, anything could change in a couple minutes. It did yesterday morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi. You'll be watching it. Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it sure did.

All right. Well, obviously, one market affects another, which is why everybody's paying close attention to Asia right now.

Let's get right to John Vause. He's in China for us.

John, the market made a small comeback today, didn't it?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Soledad. Some significant gains, actually, part of a dizzy roller-coaster ride here over the past 24 hours. The markets have closed, rebounded somewhat. In fact, closing up almost 4 percent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE (voice over): After the plummet, the comeback. China's share markets gained almost half of what they lost the day before. But still, among many small investors, unease. Like Mr. Lian, a retiree who is down about $1,000.

"I'm very nervous," he told me. "I don't know why there was such a sudden and sharp fall. It rarely happened before, and there is no official explanation yet."

The Shanghai sneeze, as it's now called, spread across the globe, sparking selloffs from Europe to New York amid concerns that China's roaring economy may have started to slow.

FRANCIS LUN, FULBRIGHT SECURITIES: China's economy is still growing, so there is fundamental support for the market. It's just that it's overbought and needs a correction.

VAUSE: There is no sign of China's boom ending any time soon, and some analysts warn there is no relationship between the value of shares and the health of the economy.

RICHARD MCGREGOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": People in global markets around the world could be using this as an indicator of something that's happening in the real economy is, to put it charitably, eccentric.

VAUSE: The last time China's stocks lost so much was on the day paramount leader Deng Xiaoping died 10 years ago. Back then, barely a glitch on the world markets. But Tuesday's selloff underlines China's newfound influence in the global economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: They say when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. Well, after this tumble on international markets, the world may now need to keep a close eye on China's temperature as well -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a global economy.

John Vause for us this morning.

Thank you, John -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The winds are calmer this morning in southern California after doing some serious damage yesterday. Wind gusts reaching 65 miles an hour. They ripped trees out of the ground in the Palm Springs area.

Take a look at that one. The roof of one home was blown right off, and numerous others in the desert community damaged.

To the north and San Francisco. It's usually a fear of earthquakes that keeps folks on edge there, but this morning a landslide has 120 folks out of their homes, right in some pricey real estate, Telegraph Hill, right in the middle of the city. And unfortunately, there is more rain in the forecast.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Chris Lawrence live from San Francisco with more.

Hello, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

We are just one block from Chinatown, and there's still some danger that those condos on top of the hill could collapse. But this morning officials are taking another look at areas prone to landslides all over the city.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice over): Hundreds of families built their homes on San Francisco's hilltops. They're living on the edge.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: There's still movement, and there's still the prospect of further damage being done. LAWRENCE: Mayor Gavin Newsom's office is warning property owners throughout the city, in areas that are prone to landslides. This particular hill is still unstable, with a patio protruding over the edge.

CARLA JOHNSON, DEPUTY BUILDING INSPECTOR: Our concern is that by being undermined, that it may still collapse.

LAWRENCE: A heavy rain soaked the city. About 3:00 a.m. Monday, the ground gave way.

PATRICK MCDONNAL, EVACUATED HOME: There was this big, huge roar. The building was shaking.

LAWRENCE: Patrick McDonnal lives on the bottom of the hill and watched rocks smash through his neighbor's kitchen.

MCDONNAL: I'm up on the third floor, and the rubble stopped about six feet below my bathroom window.

LAWRENCE: It's not the first landslide in California, nor the most destructive.

In 2005, a massive slide killed 10 people and sent families running for their lives in La Conchita. That same year, million- dollar homes were smashed to pieces in Laguna Beach.

Environmental engineer Nick Sitar says the rock mass naturally fractures. During an intense rain, those fractures fill with water. And when the pressure pops, the rock slides.

PROF. NICK SITAR: Then every time we get to the rainy season, we will -- we will see more of these slides.

FRED STUDER, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: Good hit. Ready?

LAWRENCE: Knowing that, people keep building homes in San Francisco. Families like this are fully aware they're living atop two major fault lines.

STUDER: We built in an impossible place, you know. The bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge was built so that people could go back and forth between these two impossible places. But the fact that the quality of life is just so spectacular, it just far outweighs the impossibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, some landslides just cannot be prevented, but about seven years ago, there was a landslide on the other side of that hill. The residents in charge of that side paid about $1 million to reinforce that hillside. The residents on this side of the hill did not decide to pay the money for that reinforcement -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ah, maybe -- I bet they're thinking they missed a chance, huh? LAWRENCE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence, San Francisco.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We've been focusing all morning on HPV, just the facts about the virus that can cause cervical cancer. Almost half of American women 20 to 24 are infected with HPV. This is according to his morning's "Journal of the American Medical Association."

More than 20 million Americans have HPV, and for most of them it's harmless, there are no symptoms. But for 3,700 women a year, HPV is a death sentence. They die of cervical cancer. That's caused by the virus.

There are so many questions, and we hope to answer a lot of them for you this morning.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta's going to help us explain what HPV is and how the new vaccine works.

Also, Alina Cho, she's kind of at the ground zero HPV vaccine uproar which is happening in Texas. We've been covering that for you.

And Ali Velshi's going to take you right behind the financial scenes at Merck, which created and aggressively promoted the vaccine.

Plus, we're going to answer your questions. You can send us an e-mail am@cnn.com -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: But first, Chad Myers watching some severe storms brewing in the South. He's next with that.

Also, a little more than an hour to go before the opening bell on Wall Street. We're going to talk to someone who knows the ins and outs of investing.

What are you supposed to do today? We'll get some advice, free advice for you.

So stay with us for that.

And many have discovered it, many swear by it. The question is, what is "The Secret"? This is "The Secret," the secret to end all secrets. Well, maybe.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning. Look at those red arrows.

So, are you a buyer, a seller, or a holder this morning? It's the day after on Wall Street, and you're probably wondering just what to do.

Sarat Sethi is a portfolio manager with Douglas C. Lane and Associates. He's here to give us some free advice.

We appreciate that.

Sarat, thanks for coming in.

The first thing an investor should do this morning is see how much risk they're exposed to, right? What do they do?

SARAT SETHI, FINANCIAL ANALYST: That's right. Look at your risk profile, your asset allocation. Now, that shouldn't have been decided yesterday. That's a long-term, five, 10-year issue as to where you are in life.

If you're close to retirement, if you're 35, look at what percentage of your assets should be in equities, which should be in cash, bonds, real estate. And history has told us -- I mean, just go back 10 years -- if you piled into technology, you probably got hurt. If you piled into real estate, you're going to get hurt shortly.

So if you were too much into merging markets, that probably hurt you yesterday. But if you're diversified across the asset classes, that's what keeps you from getting hurt, when one of these really comes down in a drastic way.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, the fact is, people chase these things. I'm still burned over that biotech thing I'm still waiting for.

SETHI: Right. Right.

M. O'BRIEN: People chase these things. And how do you -- you know, no matter how many times you tell them to do that, people tend to panic and follow the crowd.

SETHI: Right. You take the emotion out of investing. And you actually set the strategy and you say, this is what the allocation is. This is the percentage I'm going to put towards X, Y, Z.

So, say it's going to be, I want to put X percent toward emerging markets. Now, if that is 20 percent higher than it should be, well, cut it back and put it into areas that haven't done well. And that's -- that's when you don't follow the crowd and you kind of go against the wind.

That discipline -- and you shouldn't look at your portfolio every day. That's the issue that we have with a lot of people who try to time it. Timing takes away from long-term investing. And it's hard to do.

It's easy to say, but as a professional investor, that's our job. We do that. We look at portfolios. We look at the individual and really match what they should have, taking the emotion out of it.

M. O'BRIEN: So run it like a marathon. The question I guess a lot of people would have this morning is, is there going to be more bloodletting, and is that in any way kind of a canary in a coal mine for some real problems in the economy?

SETHI: Well, there are issues that I think yesterday highlighted to the forefront that we as investors have been talking about for the last few months. There is an issue with the consumer, especially when it comes to credit on the mortgage side. That, I think, is coming to the forefront.

The economy's definitely slowing, but we've known that over the last six months. We've had a great ride. It doesn't mean the stock market's going to come down in a fast way, because the market normally discounts a year in advance.

The issues to really face is, what area should you be invested? And I think the investor should stay away from certain areas, such as the mortgage subprime area and some of the retail side.

M. O'BRIEN: So, is today going to be an up day, do you think?

SETHI: I think the morning -- if we were going to play the morning, I think you might see a little flat-lining. I don't think you're going to see that big of a drastic selloff.

The markets overseas, China, was pretty flat to up last night. So I think a lot of that came out. But short term, who knows? There could be more volatility.

Nobody expected "the glitch" we had in the system yesterday, which was completely unexpected. And today you've got GDP numbers and you've got Mr. Bernanke speaking. So, there are a few things that could throw the market in a different direction.

M. O'BRIEN: I sure hope they've called the IT desk down at the New York Stock Exchange.

SETHI: I think they're probably working overnight to fix that.

M. O'BRIEN: I suppose so.

Sarat Sethi, thanks for dropping by.

SETHI: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: We appreciate the advice, too -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Just after quarter past the hour. Let's check in with Chad. He's at the CNN weather center watching lots of things for us.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, what's "The Secret"? We'll bring you wealth, health and happiness if you stay tuned. How's that for a bargain?

We'll check in on that.

Plus, the marketing behind the new HPV vaccine. Just what did the drug maker Merck do? Why did it push so hard to get states to make it mandatory?

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Would you like a new job? Would you like a big raise? Would you like to finally lose 15 pounds?

Well, the key to reaching all those goals may be knowing "The Secret". "The Secret," in fact, that's creating quite a stir.

AMERICAN MORNING'S faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher knows "The Secret".

Good morning. What is it?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

"The Secret" is about how to attract all those good things into your life. Three steps -- ask for it, believe you're going to get it, and you'll receive it.

Simple as that.

S. O'BRIEN: That sounds very simple.

GALLAGHER: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I guess the other secret is the marketing phenomenon behind the book "The Secret".

GALLAGHER: That's right. That's what they're saying.

This is old-time, new-age kind of thing. So, it's, you know, the old-time philosophy. In fact, it's biblical, ask and you shall receive.

It used to be called prayer. Now it's marketed in this kind of "Da Vinci Code" packaging with a seal on the book and called "The Secret". I mean, that's fabulous, because everybody wants to be in on a secret. But those three steps that I just gave you are the secret.

S. O'BRIEN: Is there a sense that this kind of self-help genre is going to -- that people are moving from organized religion to this kind of thing?

GALLAGHER: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: You think so?

GALLAGHER: That is the whole self-help phenomenon of our times. I mean, that's what new age is all about. That's why mainstream religion is losing some of its adherence, because you're getting the positive stuff that you would normally get by praying to god in organized religion, but you don't have any of the rules or the restrictions of organized religion. So people tend to gravitate towards that because it's easier.

S. O'BRIEN: I thought there was some odd things in this book. Oprah loves this book. and Ellen DeGeneres loves this book. They've been pitching it hard.

But there's -- this one talking about attracting abundance. "The only reason a person doesn't have money is because you're blocking money from coming to you with your thoughts." And then there's this woman who talked about how her cancer was cured.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY GOODMAN, CANCER SURVIVOR: On November 23rd, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I truly believed in my heart with my strong faith that I was already healed. During the day, all day long, I would just say, "Thank you for my healing." On and on and on I went, "Thank you for my healing."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: It seems to minimize the role of actual medical intervention, et cetera, in...

GALLAGHER: Yes. And it also says that you are responsible for the good things in your life, but you're also responsible for the bad things.

And so some people have a problem with that. But self-help will try to say, well, everything that comes into your life, good and bad, is meant to teach you, it's meant to show you a better way, and so on, and there is a way out of suffering.

But, you know, that's kind of the American way. We always want to be happy and healthy and perfect and not have these difficulties in our life. And people are always searching for that.

I thought it was interesting that there was a statistic after 9/11. The sales of self-help books went down drastically and stayed down for a period.

S. O'BRIEN: Really? I thought you were going to say up.

GALLAGHER: No. Isn't that interesting?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

GALLAGHER: And I think maybe it suggests something about when we're really in times of tragedy, when we're in life-and-death situations of the kind of basic things in life... S. O'BRIEN: Turn to organized religion.

GALLAGHER: Well, no, but people don't need as much this idea of, oh, I have to perfect myself and I have to improve myself and get things for myself. It becomes about community and it becomes about the really the sort of life-and-death matters, rather than just self perfection and individual search.

S. O'BRIEN: I truly believe that I -- that Powerball can come to me. What is it now, $289 -- Powerball can come to me. I believe that Powerball can come to me.

GALLAGHER: Well, it's a good thing to talk about. The stock market is down, so maybe people need to start practicing that.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, could be. Could be.

Delia Gallagher is our faith and values correspondent.

I believe that the Powerball will come to me -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You've got to play to win -- to know the secret.

All morning we've been looking at the HPV. That's the human papillomavirus, what it is and who gets it. But there is a big business side to all of this. It involves the HPV vaccine and the pharmaceutical giant pushing it.

Ali Velshi joining us from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with a closer look at Merck, the maker of that vaccine, Gardasil -- Ali.

VELSHI: Hey, Miles.

Merck really needed Gardasil, because it had been reeling from the whole Vioxx scandal and some big drugs that were coming off of their patent protection. So Merck really, really pushed it, but then this controversy caused the company to pull back a bit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Each year in the U.S., thousands of women learn they have cervical cancer. I could be one less.

VELSHI (voice over): It sounds like the easiest sell in history, a vaccine against cancer. Merck expected to earn more than $3 billion a year from Gardasil by the end of the decade. At least that was the goal.

DR. RICHARD HAUPT, MERCK: Our goal is cervical cancer prevention, and we don't want to be a distraction to that goal. And our perception is that we are a distraction to that goal.

VELSHI: The Gardasil distraction, a controversial lobbying effort to make the vaccine mandatory for preteen girls in 20 states. But Merck's problems don't end there. Remember Vioxx? Merck pulled the drug in 2004, instantly wiping out $2.5 billion a year in sales and a third of the stock's value.

Raymond Gilmartin, Merck's CEO at the time, resigned a few months later. And between victories and losses in the Vioxx cases, Merck is facing other challenges.

Its blockbuster cholesterol drug, Zocor, went up against generic competitors last summer. Sales will drop more than $1 billion this year as a result.

Merck loses its patent protection for osteoporosis drug Fosamax next year. Three billion dollars a year is at stake there.

So Merck really needed a new rainmaker. The company got more FDA approvals than anyone else last year and launched five new drugs, but the one that mattered most was Gardasil.

DR. CONNIE TRIMBLE, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: It's fantastic from a scientific standpoint. I mean, here's -- here's a vaccine which prevents, as I said, the second leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. I mean, what's -- what's not to like?

VELSHI: Gardasil remains on the market and Merck is still going to make a lot of money from it. Whether the controversy and Merck's decision to dial its lobbying efforts back will cost the company isn't clear yet. What is clear is that Gardasil has the support of a lot of doctors and a lot of investors.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: And Miles, not counting yesterday's rout on the stock market, Merck is right back where it was before the whole Vioxx situation happened, about $45. And just this morning Merck has reaffirmed its earnings, saying it's actually going to do quite well.

So investors are liking it. Remember, Gardasil remains a drug that is for sale and effective. So this chapter, the financial chapter of the story, remains to be played out -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi at the New York Stock Exchange.

Thank you.

More on the HPV story straight ahead. We're been taking your questions all morning long. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in the house. He's the man with the answers. We'll check in with him.

And we're just minutes away from some new numbers that could send another signal to Wall Street.

We're watching the markets around the world on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's the day after.

The most news in the morning on business and other things, right here on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: This morning we're looking in-depth at HPV, the virus that can cause cervical cancer. We're going to get to the medical side of that with in just a moment with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, going to answer questions, too, but we begin by investigating the uproar that broke out in Texas, when the governor there ordered all school girls to get the new HPV vaccine.

AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is in Austin, Texas with that side of the story.

Alina, good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad, good morning to you.

I think a lot of people want to say that the debate over this HPV vaccine is about right-wing conservatives fighting with left-wing liberals, but it's actually far more complicated than that. It's pitting Republicans against Republicans, pro-family groups against the governor. And in the center of this debate, the parents who say the governor has no right to manage the health of their children.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye, mom!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye, Morgan. See you later.

CHO (voice-over): Ten-year-old Morgan Waggoner has no idea she's at the center of a national debate over a vaccine for a virus that causes cervical cancer.

MORGAN WAGGONER, 4TH GRADER: It's a disease and you can get it from kissing and stuff like that.

CHO: And she has no idea the disease is sexually transmitted. But she could soon be required to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Texas Governor Rick Perry signed an executive order, mandating the vaccine for all girls entering the sixth grade. Morgan's parents are Republicans and voted for Perry twice, but say on this, the governor is wrong.

CHRIS WAGGONER, FATHER AGAINST REQUIRED HPV VACCINES: It's our decision as a family; it's not the state's decision to immunize my daughter.

CHO: The Texas Eagle Forum is leading the charge against the vaccine, saying it couldn't addicts the state's abstinence-only sex education policy, and questioning the drug's high cost. And last week the parents of five Texas school girls filed a lawsuit against the governor, saying "The school-aged girls of Texas are not guinea pigs." Morgan's mother believes the HPV vaccine, though FDA approved, has not been tested enough to be considered safe.

PAM WAGGONER, MOTHER AGAINST REQUIRED HPV VACCINES: There is no need for me to vaccinate my child at 12 years of age.

CHO: The vaccine, called Gardasil, is made by pharmaceutical giant Merck. One of its lead lobbyists in Texas is Perry's former chief of staff. But Perry says his decision was based solely on public health.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: This is safe, it's been tested, and it's available.

CHO: State Representative Garnett Coleman agreed, and says he wants his 11-year-old vaccinated.

GARNET COLEMAN, TEXAS STATE REP.: And because it's easily transmitted, that means we can protect children or women now.

CHO: Morgan Waggoner's parents say it's too soon to talk about sexually transmitted diseases with their daughter, and she thinks so, too.

M. WAGGONER: It feels weird.

CHO (on camera): Why?

m. WAGGONER: Because it feels like I'm really young, and they're talking about older stuff.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Now, if you're wondering why Texas is at the center of this debate, a couple of reasons. No. 1, Texas is the first state in the nation to mandate the vaccine. So that is significant. Also, 3,700 women in the United States die each year of cervical cancer -- 1/10 of all of those victims are here in Texas. That is part of the reason why the governor says it's important to act now.

While opponents say this Drug, Gardasil, Was approved by the FDA just eight months ago. Why the rush to mandate the vaccine? They say if the governor believed the issue was that important, he should have held public hearings and let the state legislature decide, Soledad, not issue a blanket mandate.

S. O'BRIEN: Alina Cho for us. We did try to reach the governor to talk about this this morning, and were unable to get through to him.

Thanks, Alina.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be answering your questions about HPV coming up in just a few moments. And you send us a quick e-mail if you want. Our address is AM@CNN.com if you've got any questions -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, another big storm, ready now to raise some havoc in the U.S. Also, what are the seven wonders of the world? The Egyptians are worried a contest to name them is a pyramid scheme to dishonor their amazing monuments.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: They are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but in Egypt, they are wondering why their beloved pyramids are being lumped together with some new contenders, which they believe don't, shall we say, stack up?

Aneesh Raman with our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It seems like a good idea, take the pyramids of Giza, the world's only surviving ancient wonder, and make them a finalist in a new contest that lets people vote online for the new seven wonders of the world.

But here's the problem: Among the sites competing for the pyramids are relative infants, like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal.

And worried that you're only as good as the company you keep, Egypt's director of antiquities wants out.

DR. ZAHI HAWASS, DIR. OF ANTIQUITIES: No, the pyramids has to be away from the list completely. The pyramids still exist until today as the symbol, the symbol of the genius of the ancient people, and we should not put them in any modern list.

RAMAN: Which is why Egypt refused to even meet with the contest organizers, who were greeted like here in Petra (ph), with fanfare virtually everywhere else. The pyramids of Egypt leave little doubt. Really from any angle they clearly are a wonder of the world. And from tourists here, they say the pyramids are in a league of their own.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first time I saw the pyramids here, I had a tear in my eye. I never had a tear in my eye when I saw the Statue of Liberty, and I never had a tear in my eye when I saw the Eiffel Tower.

RAMAN: Not all shed tears at the foot of the pyramids. But for the thousands of visitors to Giza every week, the pyramids always make the cut as one of the seven wonders, though not always at No. 1.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First one would be Grand Canyon. Second one, Sydney Opera House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously the pyramids, because we're here, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Third one the pyramids, fourth one the Amazon River.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taj Mahal, Pyramids, Great Wall of China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifth one, Rome, sixth one, London, seventh one, my home in Essex.

RAMAN: His home in Essex? that's not among the 21 finalist finalists. Others sites are, though, like Aingeor One (ph) in Cambodia. But the Egyptians are, well, heritage snobs.

HAWASS: You don't do it! You don't do it at all. No sites in the world can compete with the pyramids.

RAMAN: Aneesh Raman, CNN, Giza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: So what do you think? So far more than 24 million people have voted for the new seven wonders. You can participate. Go to www.new7wonders.com. Seven is not spelled out -- it's the digit. New7wonders.com. Check it out.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All morning long, we've been taking a look at HPV, the human papilloma virus, giving you just the facts. Now we're answering some of your questions that you've been e-mailing us about HPV and about the new vaccine as well.

We've asked Dr. Sanjay Gupta to come visit us in New York to help us out.

Let's get right to the e-mails, shall we?

Adrianna in Los Angeles writes this: "I want to know if the new vaccine only prevents you from getting HPV, or if it also helps with a cure of the virus. If one has the virus, should they bother with the new vaccine?"

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Two questions, two answers. First of all, it does not help you get rid of the strain of the virus if you already have it. It's a vaccine, so it prevents the body from actually having it take hold. But keep in mind, there are 30 different strains of the virus, and there are four that are the most common, the ones that are really worrisome. So it sort of depends which strain you've got. If you've got one of the strains, you might be able to take the vaccine and prevent another strain from entering your body, so it's yes and no, the answer to that question.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. So you'd be getting it if you had the virus already, but as a vaccine for others?

GUPTA: That's correct.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, can a man -- this is C in Dallas, Texas -- "Can a man tell if he's a carrier of the virus? if he had a blood test. For instance if he's not sure if he's had intercourse with an infected woman or not?" And there's a good chance you wouldn't be able to tell.

GUPTA: That's right. There is a test. It's not approved yet for men. It may get approved, and I think a lot of it is a lot of enthusiasm around this in terms of both vaccine and the testing for men. So it might get approved. The only way really to tell right now is if a man actually has symptoms, which in a man's case would be genital warts.

S. O'BRIEN: And that would the only way you'd have HPV?

GUPTA: That would tell you that you might have HPV. There is a test out there, but again, not approved for the masses.

S. O'BRIEN: But you could have it and the warts wouldn't be an indication of that certain strain, right?

GUPTA: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: So lots of guys are walking around not even knowing they have it.

GUPTA: Correct. And most people, again, in men and women alike, can have the virus and never even know they have it.

S. O'BRIEN: OK. "Why is there an age limit on the cervical cancer vaccine. I'm 31. And according to those commercials -- we've seen a million of them -- too old to get the vaccine? Is that true and why?"

GUPTA: This is interesting. And you know, it's funny, Soledad, just walking around the building today, so many people stopped me and asked me questions about this vaccine. That was one of them as well. It's approved for women 9 to 26. My guess is that it's probably going to be used off-label for women who are older than that as well. Why 9 to 26? Well, they find most of the women who are ever going to have the HPV virus are actually going to get exposed during that time frame. That's going to encompass the largest majority of women.

S. O'BRIEN: So it's a numbers game?

GUPTA: It's a numbers game, and it's also an insurance game, quite frankly, because it's covered by insurance if you fall within that certain age group.

S. O'BRIEN: If you fall outside -- she's 31 years old -- should you ask your doctor and get vaccinated?

GUPTA: You might ask your doctor. You might have to pay for it, but you could probably get the vaccine.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, this is from Laura in Marlboro, New Jersey -- "What are the long-term effects on young girls, or more specifically, does it have any negative impact on fertility? Has it been studied for an adequate period of time?"

GUPTA: You know, the question really is, what is an adequate period of time. We've learned so much about this, Soledad, over the years with medications like hormone replacement therapy, with Vioxx. They were thought to be great medications. It's been studied on average about 3.9 years. There were four trials, four placebo trials, two that were called phase-two trials and two phase-three trials. They all showed the same thing, they all showed that this was protective against getting this virus into your body.

Is an average of 3.9 years long enough to know whether there's going to be longer-term ramifications? Hard to say, and that's really the rub. What Merck has sort of agreed to is that we learned over the years with Vioxx, hormone replacement therapy, thought to be great medications, the studies average 3.9 years. There were four placebo trials, two phase two trials and two phase three trials. They all showed the same thing, that this was protective against getting this virus in your body. Is an average of 3.9 years long enough to know whether it has longer-term ramifications? Hard to say, and that's really the rub. What Merck has agreed to is that they'll continue studying the vaccine now that it's available in larger numbers for at least another six months to see if there's any further side effects.

S. O'BRIEN: You know what I thought was scary, that little girl, 10-years old, in Alina's piece, who wasn't sure if she could get HPV from kissing, and her parents say, well, we think she's too young to learn. You know, I think that's a red flag to me. She's 10. That's not 5, that's not 3 -- that's a growing girl.

GUPTA: It's a growing girl, and it's a tough age. It's a tough age. I mean, the question becomes, you know, do you have these discussions with the girls about why they're getting the vaccine or not, or do the kids just get vaccinated. And people who are advocates say, look, it prevents cancer, almost 100 percent of cervical cancers are caused by this virus. We know this.

S. O'BRIEN: But a 10-year-old who thinks you can get a sexually transmitted disease by kissing, that to me says your mother and father need to sit down with you and have a conversation with you. 10's old for that.

GUPTA: Yes, the fact that she's even asking specifically about the HPV virus at 10 is pretty remarkable.

S. O'BRIEN: Right, you know, if they say, if they start asking, then you've got to start having some answers, and no answer is not an answer.

GUPTA: That's correct. As parents, we know.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay. As always, thank you for helping us out all day. We appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots more information on HPV and the new vaccine right on our Web site. The address is CNN.com/am -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Kids have a way of rooting out those non answers, don't they?

S. O'BRIEN: They do.

M. O'BRIEN: "CNN NEWSROOM" is just moments away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center. He has a look ahead for us. Hello, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, there's that one word, why? But why?

M. O'BRIEN: It keeps coming, yes.

HARRIS: Well, we have got these stories are on the "NEWSROOM" rundown for you. Blue chips on sale. Bargain hunters expected to pick up deals on stocks today after Tuesday's 416-point Dow drop. Buckle up! We track the market through the morning, starting in 45 minutes.

Wounded Warrior Project.-- a veteran talks to us about the trauma of war. And how the Wounded Warriors Organization is helping troops and their families.

Big Mac attack! Fast food under assault by a British royal. How dare you call Prince Charles a Burger King! Sorry.

Heidi joins me in the "NEWSROOM," and we get started the top of the hour. After that crack, maybe not.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, sounds like a whopper of a story there, that's for sure. All right, thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: You never let us down!

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, show me the money! We'll meet a man trying to show his neighbors the path to financial freedom. He's a person you should know.

So stay tuned and you'll meet him, up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Now another person you should know. He is a man whose middle name is "Hope," and he is giving poor people just that, by showing them the path to financial security.

Here's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The L.A. riots in 1992 left much of America in despair. But there was one man with hope.

JOHN BRYANT, FOUNDER, OPERATION HOPE: You cannot have a rainbow without a storm first.

LAWRENCE: For John Bryant, whose middle name happens to be Hope, that rainbow came in the form of Operation Hope, a nonprofit organization he created to empower low-income Americans with financial literacy.

BRYANT: The average net worth of a middle class Hispanic is $7,700 today. The average net worth of a middle class back is $8,800 today. The average net worth of a middle class white is $88,000 today. And white folks are any -- are not any smarter than black or brown folks. Same education, same income level.

The difference is choices.

LAWRENCE: For 15 years, Bryant's Operation Hope has been turning renters into homeowners, check-cashers into account holders, and minimum wage workers into living wage workers.

BRYANT: We teach people, you know, checking, savings, credit, investment, the history of banking. We're giving them an opportunity to do for themselves and to take care of their family, to move them up and out of poverty by their own steam. That's really what we're teaching, is dignity.

LAWRENCE: Bryant believes if America's inner cities are taught how to make better financial decisions, it could mean a richer future for all.

BRYANT: I think that people might be shocked to hear this, but I believe that the inner cities of this country might actually save this economy. Latinos and blacks alone represent $1.2 billion a year in consumer spending power. That's a huge consumer spending force waiting to be born.

LAWRENCE: Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Here's a quick look at what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.

HARRIS: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM." All eyes on Wall Street. U.S. markets open in about 30 minutes. We track the Dow after Tuesday's 416-point drop.

The secretary of state confirming the U.S. will attend the conference on stabilizing Iraq. Iran will be there, too.

She went to renew her driver's license, but an elderly Florida woman crashes right into the DMV.

You're in the "NEWSROOM," 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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