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American Morning
Chinese Stock Market Rebounds Slightly After Yesterday's Losses
Aired February 28, 2007 - 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, AMERICAN MORNING: Worldwide slide: Asian markets signaling another nervous day for Wall Street, still reeling from record losses and a strange computer glitch. We're live from the New York Stock Exchange this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Shaky ground: Landslides wipe out pricey real estate in San Francisco. The threat isn't over.
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 from San Francisco, from Beijing, from Washington D.C., and from Wall Street on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome, everybody. It's Wednesday, February 28th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin on Wall Street, which is already taking in reports from overseas the worldwide sell off is now in a second day. We're all over the world for you this morning as markets open and close, too.
In Asia today shares falling Hong Kong, in Japan, and in Singapore. Bouncing back, though, in China which was the trip wire for Wall Street's dramatic day. Traders go back to work at the New York Stock Exchange this morning after the biggest one-day drop in the Dow since 9/11, 416 points.
We're watching Wall Street and the world markets very closely all day long for you. Ali Velshi is at the New York Stock Exchange. John Vause is in Beijing for us this morning. Let's start with John, in China.
Good morning to you, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. It's been a dizzy roller coaster ride here over the past 24 hours. The markets are now closed. They did rebound some today. Closing up almost 4 percentage points.
(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 this Mr. Lian, a retiree who is down about $1,000 U.S.
"I'm very nervous," he told me. "I don't know why there is such a sudden and sharp fall. It's rarely happened before, and there's no official explanation yet."
The Shanghai sneeze, as it's now called, spread across the globe sparking sell offs from Europe to New York, amid concerns that China's roaring economy may have started to slow.
FRANCIS LUN, FULLBRIGHT SECURITIES: China's economy is still growing so there is still fundamental support for the market. It's just that it's overbought and it needs a correction.
VAUSE: There's no sign of China's boom ending anytime soon. Some analysts warn there's 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 world markets. But Tuesday's sell off underlines China's newfound influence in the global economy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: They say when the United States sneezes, the world gets a cold, but after Tuesday's tumble on international markets, it may be that the world has to keep a close eye on China's temperature as well -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: John Vause for us this morning. Thank you, john.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's go to Ali Velshi now, he's live from the New York Stock Exchange this morning. Nobody is trading yet, but he is there ready for them.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Like John says, I think the science proves that when two people in close quarters sneeze, the other one gets a cold, and that's the problem. We are in close quarters with everybody in the world, so that sneeze went from China over to Europe to the United States. We ended up with that 545 point loss yesterday at one point. Closing 416 points lower.
The issue was, was that over? Was it done? Because at the end of trading yesterday we had traders who felt they couldn't execute their trades. There was some sense there was a backlog, and often when there's a backlog, it carries into the next morning. Then we watch Asian markets open overseas and pretty much all of them tracked what happened in the U.S.
Markets were down all across Asia, except for where john is, the Shanghai market, which started this whole thing, ended up higher. So we watched to see what happened in Europe. European markets, which are still open, traded lower for most of the day, overnight while we were sleeping. They're now trading closer to the break even point, and is this story going to end back in the United States?
So, 24 hours ago we knew it was going to be a rough day on the markets. We had no idea it was going to be this rough. Now we're looking at a day that is pointing to a positive open on the Dow. We're pointing to a 70 or 80 point futures trade that says that the Dow will open higher.
We also have a few things that we have to look at specifically this morning. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time we'll get a report on productivity, on gross domestic product, in the United States. If it is lower than expected, that will weigh on markets. At 10 o'clock we'll hear about existing home prices. And at 10 o'clock, we'll also hear from Ben Bernanke. Those things will affect traders.
Right now we're looking for a positive day, although traders here never know what to expect -- Miles, Soledad.
M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi, thank you. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Changing tactics to tell you about this morning, in the congressional fight to wind down the war in Iraq. House Democrats are now expected to green light the president's $93 billion war budget, on one condition. They want the White House to sign waivers any time troops are deployed with below average training, or equipment. Now, supporters say the waivers could embarrass President Bush into scaling back the mission in Iraq.
We're also watching a developing story for you in Baghdad this morning. At least 10 people are dead, dozens more injured after an early morning car bomb that exploded outside of a crowded market.
Happening in America this morning: In Washington, a reversal of fortune for the congressman who had all that cash in his freezer. Democrats have voted to put William Jefferson on the Homeland Security Committee. Eight months ago that Louisiana lawmaker was stripped of his post, on the powerful Ways & Means Committee, after federal investigators raided his home and office, as part of a bribery investigation. They found $90,000 in his freezer. So far, though, Jefferson hasn't been charged with a crime.
In San Diego they're praying for financial salvation. The Roman Catholic Diocese filing Chapter 11 in the wake of that sex abuse scandal. The diocese is facing 140 lawsuits alleging that priests abused children. Now the bankruptcy filing comes literally at the 11th hour, it comes on the eve of the first trial, and because it's been filed at this time, it automatically means the trial is halted. Big steroid bust to tell you about, over three states. Investigators are promising that some very well-known people may become public. Eight people arrested yesterday in Florida, New York, and in Texas. Charged with illegally supplying $10 million worth of steroids to some very big-name athletes, including a Major League baseball player, and an NFL team doctor -- 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 ripped trees out of the ground in the Palm Springs area Tuesday. Take a look at that. The roof of one home was blown off, and others in the desert community damaged.
To the north, in San Francisco, they're used to living on the precipice, but usually people are thinking about the threat of earthquakes when they talk about that. This morning, though, 120 families are out of their homes because of a mudslide. It happened on Telegraph Hill right in the heart of San Francisco; some pricey real estate becoming mud.
The forecast for today? More rain. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence, live from San Francisco with more.
Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
You said it. We are in the heart of the city, just one block from Chinatown. The condos on top of the hill have been evacuated, and the buildings on the bottom had boulders the sides of a Volkswagen crashing through their backsides.
(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 FRANSCISCO: There's still movement, and there's still 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 had soaked the city. About 3:00 a.m. Tuesday 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, U.C. BERKELEY ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER: Then every time we get a good rainy season, we will have -- we will see more of these slides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
FRED STUDER, SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENT: We built in an impossible place, you know? The bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, was built so people could go back and forth between these two impossible places. But the fact that the quality of life is so spectacular, just far outweighs the impossibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yeah. Now, some landslides cannot be stopped, but even the mayor says the city needs to reinforce its protocols to make sure when people move on to these slopes, the folks responsible are taking care of the hillsides -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Chris Lawrence in San Francisco.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: This morning we're taking an in-depth look at HPV, that's the virus that causes cervical cancer. And there are some new numbers showing just how widespread HPV really is.
It's almost half of women between the ages of 20 and 24 are infected -- half nearly. That's according to this morning's "Journal of the American Medical Association". More than 20 million Americans have HPV, which is transmitted through sexual contact, for the most part. It's harmless for them. There are no symptoms, but for 3,700 women every year it's a death sentence. They die of cervical cancer caused by HPV.
Well, this morning Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to explain just what HPV is, how the new vaccine works. Alina Cho will take a look, for us, at the uproar in Texas over the order that requires all the girls to get the vaccine there. And Ali Velshi will take us behind the scenes at Merck, the drug company that made, and has been aggressively promoting the Gardasil, which is the vaccine.
All the while, we're taking your questions. You can email us at am@cnn.com. We'll do our best to answer them for you, straight ahead -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a threat of severe weather in the South. Chad Myers will fill us in on who can expect trouble today.
Also, meeting with the enemy: We'll look at why the White House is changing its tune about the leaders of Iran and Syria.
And the Pyramids Giza are in line to receive a new honor, but folks in Egypt say it's a slap in the face. We'll explain that one ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning, right here on CNN.
Increasing jitters on Wall Street after that record stock plunge. Right now most European and Asian markets are down about 3 percent. China, the only exception.
An on-air surprise from Fidel Castro. He ailing Cuban leader calling in to a live radio show hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He says, he feels stronger.
About 15 minutes past the hour; Chad Myers feeling stronger, back after ailing a little bit. He is watching the weather for you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Well, President Bush once deemed them part of the axis of evil, and now the administration is calling on Iran, as well as Syria, to help become a focal point in stabilizing Iraq. So is the White House making a 180? CNN State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee is live for us in Washington, D.C. this morning.
Good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. The State Department says it's not a change in policy, but it is a change.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice over): Talking to the enemy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the United States will sit at the table with Iran and Syria to discuss how to improve the situation in Iraq.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Success in Iraq requires the positive support of Iraq's neighbors. This is one of the key findings, of course, of the Iraq Study Group.
VERJEE: That report recommends talking to Iran and Syria, rather than continuing to freeze them out. The Bush administration has been under pressure since then to engage its adversaries. U.S. officials have accused Iran of playing a destabilizing role in Iraq by arming militias. At the Senate hearing, Secretary Rice says she hopes Iran and Syria's participation in the conference will help.
RICE: We hope that all governments will seize this opportunity to improve their relationship with Iraq and to work for peace and stability in the region.
VERJEE: But, Iraq, not the United States, will host the conference next month for its neighbors, and will set the agenda. U.S. officials say this meeting is a discussion, not a negotiation.
But will there be one-on-one talks with Syria or Iran? A senior U.S. official tells CNN we're not ruling it out, but we're not ruling it in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: And officials, Soledad, acknowledge that U.S. support for this conference is also to satisfy the critics both at home and abroad. The Bush administration essentially wants to show that it is doing diplomacy and it is engaging -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, so the administration says, no, this is not a 180, yet everybody knows there's been a tremendous reluctance to engage Syria, and Iran, obviously, so why the splitting of hairs over this?
VERJEE: Well, the U.S. has been reluctant in the past essentially because, firstly, Iran and Syria have been branded state sponsors of terrorism.
Also, the U.S. accuses Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon. They want to pursue a nuclear bomb, is what the U.S. says. Iran denies that. Washington has said stop enriching uranium and then we'll talk anywhere, any place. Iran hasn't done that.
When it comes to Syria, the U.S. has said that it backs militant groups like Hezbollah. It's destabilizing a very fragile democracy in Lebanon. Those have been some of the reasons why the U.S. has been reluctant to talk to both Iran and Syria. But with this conference on Iraq's neighbors, that's going to be held in Baghdad, the focus of the U.S. says is not going to be any of those issues. It's going to be only Iraq, and experts, Soledad, have told us that they do see a diplomatic opportunity here.
S. O'BRIEN: Zain Verjee for us this morning. Thank you, Zain.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, all eyes, all over the world, are focused on those shell-shocked financial markets this morning. Ali Velshi is focused, as well. He's standing by at the New York Stock Exchange to give us the latest from there.
Also, how do the pyramids stack up compared with, say, the Statue of Liberty? The Egyptians say there is no comparison. They're a bit offended by a new list that lumps them together. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: They are one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, but in Egypt they're wondering, why they're 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 seemed 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 with the pyramids are relative infants like the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal. And worried that you are only as good as the company you keep, Egypt's director of antiquities wants out.
DR. ZAHI HAWASS, DIR. OF ANTIQUITIES, EGYPT: No. The pyramids have to be away from this list completely. The pyramids still exist until today, as a symbol -- the symbol -- of the genius of the ancient people. We should not put them on any modern list.
RAMAN: Which is why Egypt refused to even meet with the contest organizers who were greeted, like here in Petra, with fanfare virtually everywhere else.
(On camera): The Pyramids of Egypt leave any doubt, really from any angle, they clearly are a wonder of the world, and for the 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 of 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: I have seen the pyramids because we're here, yeah?
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 finalists. Other sites are, though, like Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. But the Egyptians are, well -- heritage snobs.
HAWASS: You don't do it. You don't do it, at all. No site in the world can compete with the pyramids.
RAMAN: Aneesh Raman, CNN, Giza.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: So far more than 24 million people have voted for the new Seven Wonders. You can participate. Weigh in at www.new7wonders.com. New is spelled out. Seven is the digit, and wonder is spelled out. New7wonders.com.
I'm going to vote for Donald Trump's hair. What do you think?
All eyes on Wall Street this morning as stocks are poised for maybe a rebound after yesterday's plunge. That's what the futures are telling us; 25 minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi has been looking at his crystal ball all morning.
What's it telling you?
VELSHI: Well, it's telling us that, in fact, we might be ready to open the stock market, at the Dow maybe 70, 80 points higher right off the start.
We are looking at what's happened around the world. Ever since yesterday's drop, we closed 461 points lower on the Dow, and we saw Asian markets catch on to that. We did see Shanghai, where this whole problem started, actually close about 4 percent higher; and European markets, which are still trading, were lower, and they're now they're not as low.
They're all in negative territory, but not as bad as they were earlier. So, it does seem like the situation is improving. Certainly if U.S. markets suffer today, they can't blame China for it.
What we are looking at is a recovery from tomorrow. We're looking at testimony by Fed chief Ben Bernanke, we're looking at numbers on existing housing sales coming out this morning, but at 8:30 we're also looking at a report on GDP. That's what our economy is doing. There's an estimate for that, and if it comes out lower than that estimate, that is going to weigh on markets.
Right now all that selling that was done yesterday, there are opportunities for professional traders, at least, to get in and buy. When you take it all together, it is not as big a drop as you would think since the market is going up for so long. And it hasn't had a pullback; those typical corrections as they call it.
So, a lot of folks are saying unusual that it happened all in one fell swoop yesterday, but it doesn't sound -- it's not as serious as it sounds. We talk about 400 and 500 points in a market that is over 12,000 points. Remember, that percentage drop, Miles, is the thing that we look at, and it's not as serious as it sounded.
Right now, people wandering into the New York Stock Exchange feeling a little more positive than they were at 4 o'clock yesterday.
M. O'BRIEN: Are you a buyer today, Ali?
VELSHI: If I were buying, if I had time to be doing it, I would be buying today. But that, you know, all depends on what your feeling is about risk.
M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi, thank you very much. Much more on the markets coming up. We're watching markets around the world for you. New York, China, Europe. We'll see how they shake out for you. What that will mean for the Dow this morning.
Plus, an update on the story of an eight-year-old boy who ways about 200 pounds. They had that custody hearing. We'll tell you the results, whether he can stay with his mom.
Plus, our in-depth look at HPV. Just the facts today. We'll go to the epicenter of that uproar over the HPV vaccine. Who is behind it all? Live from Texas next, on this AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Sell off: A second straight day of stock market losses overseas and it's raising some big concerns on Wall Street. We'll tell you what it means for your investments this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: New numbers, new concerns: Millions of people infected with cervical cancer -- uh, cervical cancer virus I should say. A closer look at HPV just ahead and we're just calling it just the facts.
S. O'BRIEN: And shaky ground. Landslides crash into pricey San Francisco homes. The threat may not be over on this AMERICAN MORNING. Welcome back everybody. It's Wednesday, February 28th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us. We begin with Wall Street's dramatic stock plunge yesterday. New concerns the red arrows could return again today or maybe not. Markets in Europe and Asia already posting losses for a second day, but they're still trading. Exchanges on the Pacific Rim, though, are done for the day. They did bounce back, but only slightly after those big tumbles which all began in Shanghai yesterday. In this country, the Dow's 416-point drop, the worst since the first day of trading after the 9/11 attacks. We'll have a live report from the New York Stock Exchange with Ali Velshi just ahead.
In San Francisco they're bracing for more landslides. Heavy rains triggered a massive landslide on Tuesday. Several homes around the city's famed Telegraph Hill area damaged. More than 100 residents evacuated this morning. Good news, though, no injuries.
Major diplomatic development in the fight for Iraq. Iraqi leaders now planning a regional conference, Iran and Syria on the guest list. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. will be there too. You might recall the Iraq Study Group urged the White House to reach out to Iran and Syria to help solve Iraq's problems. The White House has thus far resisted.
A change in tactics by House Democrats who want to wind down the Iraq war. They're now expected to green light the president's $93 billion war budget with one condition. They want White House to sign waivers any time troops are deployed with below average training or equipment. Now, supporters say the waivers could embarrass President Bush into scaling back the mission in Iraq.
More now on those tense -- the tense morning it is for the markets. Fears that what happened yesterday could happen again. Repercussions literally all around the world. John Vause is keeping a close watch on things for us from Beijing. Hello, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles. China's stock markets are now closed, rebounding somewhat today, up almost four percentage points. That's getting back about half of what was lost during Tuesday's big sell-off here. It's been a very volatile 24-hour period here and many of these first-time investors are wondering if this roller coaster ride has now come to a full and complete stop. They made some spectacular gains here.
Over the last 12 months alone, the share market has more than doubled in value and despite the sell-off on Tuesday, the market here remains in positive territory for the year overall so far. There is anecdotal evidence, though, to suggest that many of these first-time investors have been (INAUDIBLE) their houses, selling their cars, taking out loans to get into the share market believing that it would only go one way, and that was up. For them this roller coaster is really unchartered waters. The government had been warning that the market was overvalued, that a bubble was in the making. Analysts had warned that these investors were treating the market more like a casino. So it's still unclear right now whether Tuesday's sell-off was a dramatic but long overdue correction or whether there will be more volatility in the days to come. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: John Vause in Beijing watching it for us. Thank you. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: This morning we're taking an in-depth look at HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. We begin with the first-ever study that shows just how widespread HPV really is. Almost half of all women between the ages of 20 and 24 are infected. That's according to a report in this morning's "Journal of the American Medical Association." More than 20 million Americans have HPV. For many of them, it's harmless. There are no symptoms.
But for 3,700 women each year, it's a death sentence. They die of cervical cancer caused by HPV. This morning we're taking a look at just what HPV is from a medical point of view. Going to break it down with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, also going to hear from women who are living with HPV. We start by investigating all that uproar that broke out in Texas when the governor ordered school girls to get the new HPV vaccine. AMERICAN MORNING's" Alina Cho is in Austin, Texas, with more this morning. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Soledad. Good morning to you. I think a lot of people want to say the debate over this HPV vaccine is about right wing conservatives fighting with left-wing liberals, but it's actually much more complicated than that. It's pitting Republicans against Republicans, pro-family groups against the governor and in the center of it all the parents who say the governor has no right to manage the health of their children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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 Republican and voted for Perry twice, but say on this, the governor is wrong.
CHRIS WAGGONER, FATHER AGAINST REQUIRED HPV VACCINE: 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 contradicts the state's abstinence only sex education policies 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 VACCINE: There's no need for me to vaccinate my child at 12 years of age.
CHO: The vaccine, called Gardisil 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 Garnet Coleman agrees and says he wants his 11-year-old vaccinated.
GARNET COLEMAN, TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Because it's easily transmitted, that means we can protect children and women now. CHO: Morgan Waggoner's parents say it's too soon to talk about sexually transmitted diseases with their daughter. She thinks so too.
M. WAGGONER: It feels weird.
CHO: Why?
M. WAGGONER: Because it feels like I'm really young, and they're talking about older stuff.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now, if you are wondering why Texas is at the center of this debate, a couple of reasons. Number one, Texas is the first state in the nation to mandate the HPV vaccine, so that's significant. But also consider this, 3,700 women in the U.S. die each year of cervical cancer. A tenth of the victims are in Texas. That's exactly why the governor says it's important to act now. Opponents say this drug, Gardisil, was approved by the FDA just eight months ago. Why the rush to mandate? They say, Soledad, if this issue is that important, the governor should have held public hearings and let the people's representatives decide what to do about this, not issue a blanket mandate.
S. O'BRIEN: So there is the blanket mandate now. Is there any chance that that blanket mandate will be repealed and are there other bills that would maybe not mandate the vaccination, but make it free or do some things that other states have been looking into?
CHO: Right or perhaps make it voluntary. You know, a lot of people have talked about that. Right now the state legislature has introduced three separate bills. One has already passed a House committee. It could pass the full House, and then the Senate. Then it goes to the governor who, likely, will veto it, so there's a long fight ahead in the state capitol building right behind me, Soledad, and this debate is far from over.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. We're going to keep talking about it this morning as well. Alina Cho for us, thanks, Alina. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Some medical straight talk ahead on HPV, Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the house. Did you know men carry it as well? Why doesn't every woman infected with HPV get cervical cancer? That's another question he'll answer.
We're also watching stock markets all around the world, looking for hints for action in the Dow this morning. Which way is it headed? We're live on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Ali Velshi is there. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Most news in the morning right here on CNN. In Iraq, at least 10 are dead after an early morning car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market. We're watching your money this morning. Wall Street hoping for a rebound today after the market meltdown we saw yesterday.
Not a lot of help from overseas, most markets in Asia and Europe are posting losses as we speak. Exchanges in China generally saw some modest gains. You figure it out. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: More now on our special focus this morning, HPV, just the facts. HPV is the virus that causes cervical cancer, but there's a lot we don't know about this virus. We sat down with 39- year-old Paige Anderson. She's surviving cancer after she got a surprising HPV diagnosis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAIGE ANDERSON, CERVICAL CANCER SURVIVOR: I discovered I had cervical cancer about three years ago. I was diagnosed. In fact, it's going to be my third anniversary March 1st, 2004 I was diagnosed. Just about every one of our friends had a baby and as happy as you are, you just hope they appreciate it so much because when you can't do it, it is. It's a little -- it's probably the roughest part. There's probably a week that doesn't go by that, you know, I don't get a little choked up.
Yes, there is a stigma on cervical cancer, but the reality is you don't ever want anybody to have cancer, and if you can prevent your chances of cancer by just taking a small little shot for three times, whether you are 9 years old, 16 years old, 21 years old, go do it. You do not want to go through cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Paige is now cancer-free. She and her husband Mark are looking to adopt a child. Paige Anderson, cancer survivor in her own works, in her words rather. This morning we want to get to the truth, the medical truth, about HPV. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has come to New York to help break it all down for us. On one hand, we've been talking about HPV and Gardisil for the last several weeks. It's been in the news a lot. On the other hand, there are so many people who really don't understand what the virus is all about.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. It's amazing. You know, this is one of those few associations in medicine. You have a virus that can cause cancer. This is a pretty remarkable think because when you understood that in so many cases of cancer, we don't know exactly what causes it. Here you have a specific cause and you potentially try and prevent it as well with this vaccine. A lot of people understand this association.
There are about -- there are several different strains of cervical cancer. This vaccine protects against four and out of those strains of cervical cancer, they are responsible for about 70 percent of cancers and 90 percent of genital warts and this is sort of what is driving this whole thing. If you can somehow get the vaccine to people before they start having sex, before they actually become in contact with this virus, you can prevent the strains from ever taking hold.
S. O'BRIEN: Which is why they're targeting these sort of 12- year-old girls.
GUPTA: This was interesting to me as well. How do you decide when it's too young? And they basically said let's try and figure out who has this HPV vaccine? You got some numbers here, between the ages of 14 and 59, there's a certain percentage of women who have the HPV vaccine, about 26.8 percent. That's interesting in and of itself, Soledad. Let's break those numbers down now. At what age do people really start getting it? Between the ages of 14 and 19, almost 25 percent of the cases are between the ages of 14 and 19. That is saying something. That's saying at that age group you are already getting a quarter percent of these human papilloma virus infections taking hold. They said let's push it back to nine, so we can capture those people before they ever get infected.
S. O'BRIEN: If you get HPV, are you going to get cancer?
GUPTA: No. In fact, the vast majority of people won't. The vast majority of people who get an HPV infection will never know if they have it. Ninety percent of them will clear that within two years. There is a small percentage who will get it, and keep in mind as well, just because you get the vaccine doesn't insure that you're not going to get it.
S. O'BRIEN: Because there's a 30 percent that's not covered by the vaccine.
GUPTA: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: So for -- you said if you -- people don't necessarily know they have HPV. How do they first discover they have HPV? Is it because they get cervical cancer?
GUPTA: Well, a lot of times you might just find this on a pap smear. A pap smear is one of the most, one of the best preventative tests for actually looking to prevent cervical cancer and to actually diagnose sexually transmitted diseases, including human papilloma virus, before they can ever become a problem. That's the most common way. There are some genetic tests now as well. That's another whole issue. Who do you screen with this genetic test? But right now, it's the pap smear that does the best job.
S. O'BRIEN: How come they're not trying to vaccinate boys?
GUPTA: Again, we ask the same question. I think at some point we're going to be having a conversation --
S. O'BRIEN: In a lot of ways they're giving the virus to girls.
GUPTA: They're giving the virus to girls. They can potentially increase the risk of a woman getting cervical cancer and they can get genital warts themselves as well, so that's a really concern. Hasn't been tested enough in men, that's the big issue here. Once you get through the FDA testing, the phase three clinical trials, we might be having a conversation saying, yes, now it's been approved for men as well, recommending for boys and girls at a very young age. S. O'BRIEN: One quick question because they're giving me a hard wrap (ph), but people who have been opponents have said, listen, it's not tested enough, and I don't want my 12-year-old or my nine-year-old or my 10-year-old to be a guinea pig. Do they have a point that there's not been enough testing?
GUPTA: It's funny because as I was walking around the building today, everyone was asking that question. Should I get this for my little girl they were asking me. I said, will, I would. I would get this for my two little girls now when they're of the right age. This is always an issue. I think that once you get through phase three clinical trials and you have looked at the safety, you've looked at the efficacy. It's a pretty safe vaccine by all standards. Having said that, there are things that have come back that we found out to not be so safe, like Vioxx, for example. So people are going to wait a little bit longer. I think that they probably get vaccinated, because it could prevent you against cancer.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. We're going to have you come back because I've still got a million questions and we've also opened up questions to our audience as well. If you've got questions about HPV, any questions at all, just email us at am@cnn.com. Dr. Gupta is going to be back in just about an hour to answer all of our questions for us. Thanks Sanjay, appreciate it. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: About 47 minutes past the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center, severe weather in some parts of the country. Chad is looking at it for us. Hello, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles. A system a lot like last week. We have severe weather on one side and big-time snow on the north side where it's cold. You look at this map, and you go, oh, not here. No, it isn't here, and it may not even be here until almost after dark tonight when some of these storms begin to spin and right around 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and especially after midnight that spin could be dangerous because you can't see it and the storm spotters have a tough time seeing it. So we have to go with Doppler radar after that, but all the way through parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, down into Arkansas and Missouri, that's under the gun today, those areas under the gun today.
More rain for California, saw what some of that rain did to San Francisco. That big mud and landslide there and then down to the south, we are seeing the showers through the Florida straits into parts of the Bahamas, but other than that, the rest of the country doing very well, all airports acting very well this morning. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: You just cursed it.
MYERS: I just did.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you.
MYERS: I'll be back at 8:50 and tell you which one just went down.
M. O'BRIEN: It's just a matter of time. Thank you.
We're staying glued to the global markets this morning. Fears here in America of another drastic drop after a night of negatives in Asia, although the futures tell a little different story. Ali Velshi will interpret the numbers for us. That's not Ali. That's his cousin.
And what will become of this boy, this rather big boy. A decision in the case of a boy so obese that his mother was in danger of losing custody of him. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
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M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) taking a look at the candidates vying for the White House in 2008. The center of the Republican political universe these days is Spartansanburg, South Carolina. The top GOP contenders, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback there too, spending a lot of time. Why are they there? There's a county-wide straw poll tomorrow. We'll keep you posted.
I guess you could call it Concorde-gate. Over the weekend, burglars broke into the Democratic county party headquarters in Concorde, New Hampshire. No one will say what was stolen precisely. They are saying however private data on donors is safe. Police are treating it like any old break-in, as DC police did 35 years ago.
Barack Obama says he has nothing to prove to black leaders as he runs for president. The Illinois Democrat and presidential hopeful trying to explain why he is in such a close fight with Hillary Clinton for the black vote. Obama says it's simply because he is new to the national scene and, in fact, a new "Washington Post" poll has Obama edging out Clinton among some black voters.
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign is in some hot water with Asian voters. This after a group of local Chinese language journalists was barred from a fundraiser last week. They arrived after the cutoff time imposed by the Secret Service saying they never got an email warning them about that early deadline. The campaign is apologizing.
Of course, all the day's political news is available any time you need it. CNN political ticker can be found on your web browser cnn.com/ticker. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: That overweight eight-year-old boy from Britain is going to get to stay with his mother. She had to make a deal, though, with authorities who were trying to take custody of him. We're talking about eight-year old Connor McCready. He weighs about 200 pounds. There he is right there. At a hearing yesterday, his mother signed a formal agreement to safeguard and promote Connor's welfare. Apparently, she's agreed to begin a weight loss regimen for Connor. So disturbing to watch her puffing away on her cigarette while the little boy is sitting right there on the couch with her.
Ahead this morning, red arrows on Wall Street again today. We're watching the markets all over the globe from Asia to America. Ali Velshi's at the New York Stock Exchange. You're going to hear from him up next.
And will the bright lights of Vegas call Michael Jackson back to the stage? You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
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M. O'BRIEN: A few minutes before the top of the hour. We are minding your business for you. We got a lot to mind this morning, don't we? Which way will the wind blow on Wall Street today, we wonder. Will the market get Shanghaied again? When that market hemorrhage red inked yesterday, Shanghai, that is, the whole world got stung, losses in just about every market in every hemisphere. In the place where it began, the market did rebound today. Ali Velshi is at the New York Stock Exchange this morning. We're going to check in with him momentarily. The futures picture pretty good. Go figure.
Chrysler is mixing some greenbacks with its pink slips. Some employees will be reportedly offered as much as $100,000 to leave. The company plans to trim 13,000 jobs, 11,000 hourly, 2,000 salaried positions. Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Entertainment news we're watching for you this morning. The bright lights of Vegas could be in Michael Jackson's future. He is living there already. Now a spokesman says the king of pop is reviewing and evaluating several offers to perform in Vegas. The spokesman also says Jackson has quote no current plans for a rumored "American Idol" appearance.
75th birthday bash for Elizabeth Taylor. The movie star was greeted by paparazzi as she was wheeled on to the red carpet at a resort outside of Vegas last night. Among the guests, Debbie Reynolds and excuse me, Siegfried & Roy too. You can call her Dame Elizabeth now. Queen Elizabeth II bestowed the title on the British-born actress back in 2000.
And super model Naomi Campbell says she's sorry she hit that maid in the head with her cell phone.
M. O'BRIEN: You can call her Dame Naomi.
S. O'BRIEN: She told "The Extra" she feels very remorseful that she threw a phone at somebody who didn't deserve it. Campbell last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to community service. Also, ordered to attend an anger management program as well.
M. O'BRIEN: Who does deserve it, just out of curiosity?
S. O'BRIEN: Someone who threw a phone at you first.
M. O'BRIEN: There you go. Tit for tat. We're coming up at the top of the hour. Chad Myers at the CNN weather center. What's the big story of the morning Chad?
MYERS: Flu season in full bloom Miles and boy, is it. Look at all these states colored in red this morning. From local activity to regional and widespread and all of the states colored in red here, folks sniffling and sneezing and hopefully today staying home. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Mad money, what it will look like on Wall Street this morning. We're watching the Asian markets. Those U.S. markets reeling from those big losses and that strange computer glitch.
M. O'BRIEN: Shaky ground, new fears in San Francisco this morning
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