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American Morning
North Korea Launch; Conficker Computer Worm Set to Active Tomorrow; State Bills Seek Drug Tests for Jobless Checks, Food Stamps; TV Show First to Shoot at United Nations; China Denies Spying on Computer Globally; Pistachios Recalled
Aired March 31, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning and welcome. It's Tuesday, March 31st. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. A lot to tell you about this morning starting with, we'll bring you live pictures this morning from The Hague, where there is a large conference going on, on Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaking right now. A number of countries have gathered together to try to figure out what to do about Afghanistan going forward. Of course, the big headline out of this meeting is that Iran is attending. Iran was invited, said that it would be happy to come. The question is, will it be able to offer any concrete help in terms of dealing with Afghanistan? And even more importantly than that, could this be a foot in the door to direct talks between the United States and Tehran in the future?
A lot to cover for you this morning, and here are some of the other big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
President Obama in just a few hours heads to Europe, and he's got a tough week ahead of him trying to persuade other nations to following his lead on rescuing the economy. But will his popularity translate into results? We're traveling with the president.
The FDA is warning Americans not to eat any pistachio products until the source of possible salmonella contamination is found. A California company is recalling more than two million pounds of pistachio nuts. We have details on this developing story ahead for you.
And Congress set to unveil legislation that would eliminate all restrictions for Americans traveling to Cuba. A bipartisan group of senators is behind the landmark bill. We're covering the story from Havana to Washington this morning.
CHETRY: We're also counting down the hours until President Obama's first big appearance on the world stage. In just two hours, the president will leave the White House for London. More poll numbers show his approval ratings overseas are as high as they are here at home.
Being popular is certainly not a free pass. Behind the pomp and the circumstance of the G-20 summit and stops in four other nations, President Obama is expected to get an earful over the global financial crisis and his plans to kick-start the economy. Here's CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, President Obama hopes to signal a new way of doing things, to restore U.S. standing and credibility overseas during his first real test abroad.
Now he's going to be meeting with leaders from more than 40 countries and all of them feeling the pain of this economic downturn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): As candidate Barack Obama, he was a European sensation. Now as president, he rides in the midst of a full blown economic crisis.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The response that people have to our administration and the steps that we've taken are ones that are restoring a sense of confidence and the ability of the United States to assert global leadership.
MALVEAUX: First stop, London, England, for the G-20 summit where the leaders of 20 countries who together represent more than 85 percent of the global economy will tackle the worldwide economic meltdown.
STEVEN SCHRAGE, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ANALYST, CSIS: The fire has continued out of control and spread to hit most of the world. You've had, you know, devastating impacts on global trade. You've also seen scenes of potential instability with unemployment and protest raging from Lafayette (ph) to China.
MALVEAUX: Already in anticipation of the international gathering, protests are raging in many European streets, some of it squarely directed at the U.S.
SCHRAGE: There's a lot of anger at the United States, or that national actions or national unattention led to this crisis, even if in reality it was also international as well.
MALVEAUX: In London, President Obama will meet with Queen Elizabeth II, and the leaders of Britain, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India and South Korea. His message, the recovery of the U.S. economy is tied to the economies around the world.
OBAMA: All of us are going to have to take steps in order to lift the economy.
MALVEAUX: But just five months ago at the last G-20 summit held in Washington, D.C., most of those same leaders who fledged to fight protectionism and support free trade have broken their promises. So the question is whether this time will be any different.
SCHRAGE: The last statement was really a toothless tiger. Everyone ignored it and went ahead and acted protectionist measures, 17 out of the G-20.
MALVEAUX: Even President Obama is accused of backpedaling.
SCHRAGE: The administration said major commitments to open markets and free trade, but it allowed things like buy America to go forward. Are we walking away from those commitments? It's going to be a critical question for the world and it's making a lot of people nervous.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Mr. Obama's week-long trip will also take him to France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and a predominantly Muslim country, Turkey. The president is going to tackle many issues including climate change, energy, terrorism, nuclear threats, but to be sure the economy is going to be front and center -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us, thanks so much. You can follow President Obama throughout his trip to Europe. Suzanne Malveaux will be on twitter keeping you updated. You can follow her posts on AMFix.
And meantime, still wondering exactly what the G-20 is? Here is more now in an "AM Extra."
The G-20 consists of finance ministers and central bank governors from the European Union and 19 nations. They represent 90 percent of the world's gross domestic product. Topping this week's G-20 agenda is coming up with a global stimulus package. Also preventing protectionism by individual countries and helping developing nations that have been hit hard by the recession, also toughening some regulations on financial markets.
And with just hours before President Obama attends that summit, we have some brand new polls that you're seeing for the first time on what Americans think about how the president is perceived overseas.
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 72 percent of Americans polled believe that world leaders respect the president. That number is in sharp contrast with former President George W. Bush at the start of his presidency. Just 49 percent of Americans believed that foreign leaders respected the president.
ROBERTS: Another story developing right now, President Obama sending General Motors and Chrysler back to the drawing board to rework their plans for long-term survival. The White House wants sweeping concessions at all levels of the auto industry before committing to any long-term federal bailouts. And it's not ruling out bankruptcy for the Detroit automakers, either.
As an initial step, General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner was forced to resign. He won't go away empty-handed though. Reports say Wagoner will get a $20 million retirement package. The president telling CNN affiliate WDIV in Detroit why GM's CEO had to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: We're not just looking at Mr. Wagoner. You're seeing a change in the composition of the board of directors. Ultimately, they will set the long-term vision and the long-term goals of the company, but it was important, I think, to send a clear message that we're going to be looking forward and not backward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Our CNN iReporters are sounding off on this auto industry shakeup and the news that GM's corporate head was wronged (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NINO LA ROCCA, CNN IREPORTER: This is the first thing he should have done. You want the bailout money? You should have gotten rid of the CEOs from the beginning.
ADRIANA MAXWELL, CNN IREPORTER: He did not lead the company through the right twists and turns to make it a company of the 21st century. It maintained a structure of being the company in the 1950s, and with today's competition and worldwide economy, you can't maintain that pose. You have to move. You have to evolve. You have to change with the times.
DANIEL GRAY, CNN IREPORTER: You need to give the American people a real choice of vehicles that are fun to drive, and get great mileage. The fastest way to do that is the rapid adoption of clean diesel technology. Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz all have wonderful clean diesel engine vehicles here right now that drive like a dream and get great numbers on the highway.
LA ROCCA: At least Ford hasn't gotten any bailout money but you, GM and Chrysler, make some cars that have fuel efficiency. You can do it!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You know, La Rocca there certainly has his opinion. We want to hear more of your thoughts. Send us an iReports at CNN.com/amfix or give us a call on our hotline at 1-877-MY-AMFIX.
And it's something that's got folks talking this morning, the government's unprecedented foray into the auto industry. President Obama is now assuring you that Uncle Sam will back up the warranty claims of carmakers even if they go bankrupt.
Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business."
Jon Stewart had a great take on this last night. He said you can imagine that 3:00 a.m. phone call. Oh, yes, it's Jim from New Hampshire. My fee at Chrysler needs a jump. You better wake the president.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know the president as the ultimate car guy, right? Now suddenly he is right there in the auto industry and Uncle Sam basically guarantee this car warranties, folks.
The point here is the president said yesterday he wants to make sure that American consumers feel safe buying a Chrysler or GM car during this restructuring. So the government is going to guarantee the warranties on new cars sold during this restructuring.
Who's going to pay for it? A mix of taxpayer funds and carmaker money. The government is going to honor these warranties if the carmaker cannot.
So this is automatic. You don't have to do anything. If you buy one of these cars during this restructuring period, that warranty is going to be backed up.
And I have another very important piece of news about your money this morning.
ROBERTS: Yes, do tell.
ROMANS: Starting today, is it today or tomorrow, Wednesday? The White House has said that employers have to be ready to start putting that tax cut into people's paychecks. So very, very soon, folks, you're going to start getting maybe $15.00, $20.00, $25.00 extra in your paychecks depending on if you're paid every week or every two weeks.
It's $400 for single filers, $800 for people filing jointly. If you make $75,000 a year if you're single, that's a year of threshold that you make $150,000 married filing jointly, you're going to get a little bit of money in the paycheck.
This is what the president promised. It's coming. It's coming very, very soon.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much for that.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: All right. And meanwhile this morning, a warning about pistachios. A California food distributor is now recalling more than two million pounds of pistachio products that they say may have been contaminated with salmonella.
Right now, the Food and Drug Administration is advising Americans not to eat anything containing pistachios while they investigate.
And CNN's Alina Cho joins us now with more on this developing story. So nothing with pistachios.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right because primarily because this recall could widen. It's expected to widen. In fact, they're looking at lots of samples right now.
Kiran, good morning.
Two million pounds may sound like a lot, but it is expected to expand to other foods in the days ahead. Right now, though, the FDA is advising the public not to eat anything containing pistachios. Those salmonella strands were discovered during routine testing by Kraft Foods last week. The roasted pistachios came from Setton Farms in Terra Bella, California, one of the nation's largest suppliers of pistachios selling to about three dozen companies, including wholesalers who repackaged the nuts for use in products like ice cream and trail mix. So just think about how wide this could be.
The Setton plant is recalling up to two million pounds of roasted pistachio products, as we just mentioned. The FDA is advising people also not to throw away anything containing pistachios because you're going to have to look at those packages because those additional recalls are likely.
It is also urging consumers to go to their Web site fda.gov for updates. You will definitely want to do that. Now Dr. Jeff Farrar, the head of the California health department's Food and Drug says "this will be an ingredient in a lot of different products and that may possibly include things like ice cream and cake mixes." Can you imagine, guys? Roasting is supposed to kill salmonella, but in this case the pistachios may have come in contact with raw products after the roasting process.
Now the FDA says so far no illnesses have been linked to this case but keep in mind that two people did call the FDA complaining of gastrointestinal illness. So again, hundreds of samples are being looked at. The recall though for now done as a proactive move.
The pistachio recall, by the way, not related to last winter's peanut recall that sickened more than 500 people in 46 states, linked to eight deaths. Who could forget that? Of course, that's the first thing a lot of people thought of when we heard about this late last night. But guys, I mean, it could take weeks to figure out, if not months to figure out just how many products are affected. They're looking at hundreds upon hundreds of samples. They're literally, Setton Farms is literally turning around trucks in transit right now to bring those pistachios back to the plant.
CHETRY: All right. Hopefully they get to the bottom of it soon, though.
CHO: We hope.
CHETRY: In the meantime, better safe than sorry.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Thanks so much, Alina.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks.
Republicans and Democrats teaming up to lift the travel ban to Cuba. Could the Malecon be your next vacation destination?
And right now, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sitting across the table from Iran. But will the U.S. actually meet with Iran one on one? We'll take you to The Hague for details.
It's 11 1/2 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 14 minutes past the hour. Time to fast forward to some of the stories that will be making news later today.
More child advocacy groups right now piling on against Madonna's petition to adopt a 4-year-old girl from Malawi. There are new critics now accusing the singer of using her money and celebrity status to manipulate the adoption process. A court will decide Friday if Madonna can adopt the little girl whose mother died in childbirth.
New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress is scheduled to appear in court today in his gun possession case. Law enforcement officials are reportedly considering a plea deal that say that any agreement would require him to serve jail time. Burress, you may recall, accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unlicensed handgun in a Manhattan nightclub last fall.
And President Obama's second pick for health and human services secretary makes her Senate debut. The state's Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee will be holding a hearing on Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' nomination. Sebelius is expected to face some questions regarding her pro-abortion views -- John.
ROBERTS: All right, Kiran.
It's now about a year since Cuban leader Fidel Castro left the world stage and there is new momentum now in Washington for lifting the ban on travel to the communist nation for all Americans. A bipartisan group of senators set to announce a bill later on today that would do just that.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington for us. Jim, we'd mention before we should mention again that you are of Cuban heritage.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct.
ROBERTS: Your father left the island some time ago.
ACOSTA: That's right.
ROBERTS: And if this bill gets passed, many people will be able to go back.
ACOSTA: That's right, and he did that in 1962, John, just to show you how long we've all been watching this U.S. policy toward Cuba stay basically the same after all of these years. And for years, members of Congress have tried to change U.S. policy toward Cuba to no avail. But with President Obama in the White House, a key group of senators is giving it one more shot, taking aim at the travel restrictions that effectively stop nearly all Americans from stepping foot on the island. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Tessie Aral, the owner of this Miami travel agency that specializes in trips to Cuba, is in a good mood these days. Ever since Washington loosened the travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans visiting the island Aral says non-Cuban-Americans have been calling in, wondering when they can join the party.
TESSIE ARAL, ABC CHARTERS: I think most Americans are going to want to try to travel to Cuba because it's been the forbidden fruit for so long.
SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: We allow Americans to travel to China, to Vietnam, both communist countries.
ACOSTA: North Dakota Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan wants to do the same for Cuba, with the bill in Congress that would end all travel restrictions, yes, all of them for Americans visiting the communist nation, arguing the Cold War era policy aimed at the Castro government has failed.
DORGAN: It seems to me if something has failed for nearly five decades you might want to take a look at it again and see whether you should modify it.
ACOSTA: Dan Erikson, the author of the book "The Cuba War" says there's one problem with lifting the ban, the embargo, which stops U.S. companies from doing business in Cuba.
DAN ERIKSON, AUTHOR, "THE CUBA WARS": So you have American tourists traveling on to Cuba, to drive around on Chinese buses, stay in Spanish hotels, eat Canadian food.
ACOSTA: They wouldn't be able to stay at a Marriott, at a Hilton?
ERIKSON: No, there wouldn't be any Marriott.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: They wouldn't be able to use their Delta sky miles.
ERIKSON: And there's no Hilton, there's no miles. The only drive-through McDonald's ever seen in Cuba was in the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay.
ACOSTA: President Obama has hinted at changes in U.S. policy on Cuba, but never mentioned how much. On a trip to Chile, Vice President Joe Biden indicated support for the embargo, but added --
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We thought there is a need for a transition in our policy toward Cuba.
ACOSTA: That transition would have to get past Cuban-Americans in Congress like Senate Democrat Bob Menendez. SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: The government is pure and simple a brutal dictatorship. The average Cuban worker lives on an income of less than $1.00 a day.
ACOSTA: Travel agent Tessie Aral is one of a growing number of Cuban-Americans who say it's time to move on.
ARAL: For our country to tell us we're not free to choose where we want to travel to, I think that's just archaic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, supporters of the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act believe they can get this bill to the White House plus the measure has the support of Indiana's Republican Senator Richard Lugar, whose foreign policy views have had a big influence on the president.
And, John, as you mentioned earlier, they're going to unveil this up on Capitol Hill later today. We have seen this movie before. They have tried mightily upon Capitol Hill to deal with this travel ban over the years, you know, from all the way back to the Bay of Pigs to Elian Gonzalez to Raul Castro taking over in Cuba. Not much has changed there over the last 50 years, John.
ROBERTS: You know, Jim, if they were to lift the trade embargo, how long do you think it would be before the major American hotel chains went in there and built new properties?
ACOSTA: Well, that is the big question. The embargo stands in the way and really at this point, nobody is talking about the embargo. Even Byron Dorgan admitted that that's a stretch. They'd like to do that next after the travel ban. But as long as that embargo is in place, Americans who go down there are going to have to deal with foreign companies that are not American in their travel plans, but they're going to give it one more shot and they think this time they've got a White House that's receptive. We'll see.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see what happens. Jim Acosta for us this morning. Jim, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, also happening right now, Hillary Clinton saying the U.S. is backing a plan to hold talks with the Taliban. Is it possible to turn former enemies into friends?
Also, a virus may be lurking inside of your computer right now. Tomorrow could be d-day for the cyber worm. Find out what you can do to protect your hardware.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Today, President Obama is not the only one in his administration traveling overseas. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Netherlands for today's U.N. conference on Afghanistan. She spoke just moments ago. Secretary Clinton warned that the world cannot afford to turn its back on the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: As President Obama has pointed out, the world cannot afford the price that will come due if Afghanistan slides back into chaos. While there is great temptation to retreat inward in these difficult economic times, it is precisely at such moments that we must redouble our efforts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: CNN's State Department correspondent Jill Dougherty is traveling with the secretary of state.
And, Jill, Hillary Clinton is saying just moments ago that she also supports the Afghan government's plan to talk to the Taliban. Does the U.S. really think it's possible to turn former enemies into friends?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: You know what they're talking about, Kiran, really is that they believe that the Taliban are really divided into different groups, and some of them are die-hard ideological, and they'll never change. But that's a smaller percentage. What they're saying is roughly two-thirds, you could say, aren't those die-hards. They might even be, you know, local people in a community who don't have any money, and they do this because they are paid to be part of the Taliban.
So that's the idea that they would be able to peel them away from the ideological die-hards, but of course, they'd have to renounce violence. They'd have to accept the constitution, and they would certainly have to renounce any type of, let's say complicity with al Qaeda. That's the idea.
CHETRY: And also at this meeting, which could be very, very interesting and historical moment, the U.S. and Iran coming into the same room. Could that eventually lead to direct talks with Iran, something that we have not had, you know, as a nation since 1979?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, right. Well, they've been talking about this. You know, they want to engage. That's the word. So how do they do that?
Well, this is really the first place under this administration where you're going to get major leaders, Hillary Clinton, the secretary of state, and you also have the deputy foreign minister of Iran at this conference. Now, will they actually meet?
Hillary Clinton isn't saying that that necessarily will happen, but they could in some capacity talk, walk by each other or some type of engagement. It would be very interesting to watch but the main thing is, as Hillary Clinton said, the fact that they even showed up, the fact that they took the invitation to be here is an indication that they feel the Iranians, that they have a role to play and she wants to see what they think they can do.
CHETRY: It will be very interesting for sure. All eyes will be on that moment even if they just sort of nod and say something informal to one another. We'll be watching that.
CNN's Jill Dougherty traveling with Secretary Clinton today, thanks.
ROBERTS: Twenty-five and a half minutes after the hour and here's a look at some of the other stories that we're following right now.
Fifteen hospital workers in California have been fired for looking at the medical files of Nadya Suleman. She's the mother of the octuplets. The spokesman for the hospital says eight other employees have been disciplined. Right now, there's no indication that any information was distributed outside of the hospital. They were just looking. Just two of the octuplets are still in the neonatal intensive care unit at this point.
A Brazilian fisherman diving near Rio de Janeiro accidentally shot himself in the head with a harpoon. Oh, that looks that hurts. Definitely going to leave a mark. Surgeons spent five hours removing the six-inch spear from his brain. The harpoon entered just above the man's left eye and just missed the brain's most critical areas. Fortunately, he is expected to make a full recovery. Doctors say though that his sense of smell could be temporarily impaired.
And a JetBlue employee took a free ride from New York to Boston but it wasn't intentional. The man accidentally fell asleep in the plane's pressurized cargo bin. The man says he woke up mid flight only to realize where he was. He then called JetBlue to let them know what happened. Police did not identify the man, since he wasn't charged with the crime. But you got to wonder, how much trouble is he in, you know, for falling asleep on the job, I would think.
CHETRY: Not only did he nap on the job but obviously in the wrong place. Good thing his cell phone worked in midair.
ROBERTS: Yes. I can't sleep on an airplane. Had to save my life (ph), let alone a cargo hold.
CHETRY: So perhaps it's more comfy in there, you never know.
ROBERTS: You just sit down there on all of those plush and cushy bags and then maybe it makes a nice bed, who knows.
CHETRY: All right. Well, American Navy ships are on the move ahead of North Korea's launch of a long-range ballistic missile. We're going to bring you the latest on that.
Plus, it could blow up your computer and millions more, really, or is it just a hoax? We're going to take a look at a new worm that you need to know about to protect your hardware.
It's 27 and a half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Thirty minutes past the hour. We check the top stories now.
And U.S., Japanese and South Korean missile destroying ships are set to sail in anticipation of North Korea's eminent rocket launch. Pyongyang saying it will send a communication satellite into orbit between April 4th and 8th. The U.S., Japan and South Korea though suspect that they're using the launch to test a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching Alaska. North Korea raised tensions Monday by detaining a South Korean worker for allegedly denouncing the North's political system.
Also this morning, there are some new fears in North Dakota and Minnesota that the Red River will overflow. Right now, a snowstorm is hammering the area, also threatening the makeshift levees. The National Guard has been scrambling to secure those levees against the high waves. Also this morning, the Red River fell to just under 39 feet, nearly two feet lower than its crest, but it will not be at a safe level any time soon.
Also this morning, new hope that a new pill could revolutionize the way heart disease is treated. This pill would combine five commonly used medications to lower cholesterol, blood pressure and cut the risk of heart disease by 60 percent. In its first major test, researchers say it worked just as well as all five drugs taken alone with no greater side effects, but experts say that more testing is needed - John.
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff this morning.
It's called the Conficker time bomb, and this morning the clock is ticking. Conficker is a massive computer virus that has already infected millions of PCs worldwide, by some estimates, 10 million. Computer experts say it's programmed to become active tomorrow on April Fools' Day.
CNN's Errol Barnett tells us how Conficker works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First, the worm, which is a complex computer program, is created and sent out through the Internet, landing in servers that then search for computers on the network to hack into. It preys on computers with weak network passwords, old anti-virus software or Windows software not recently updated. Once inside, it creates a so-called zombie computer that can be controlled by the worm's designer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, joining us now to talk more about the potential threat from Conficker is Nicholas Thompson. He's the senior editor of "Wired Magazine."
Microsoft is offering $250,000 to the person or persons who stop this virus. You know, get in there and sort of disarm it. You know, obviously, they're pretty concerned about this whole thing.
NICHOLAS THOMPSON, SENIOR EDITOR, "WIRED MAGAZINE": Well, extremely concerned. There a lot of people who are very affected. And we don't know where it comes from. We don't know who designed it. All we know is that they're very good.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, there's some belief that it might have come from China. There's an article in CNET today suggesting that it might have come from China. No proof of that?
THOMPSON: No proof. But there are a couple of interesting things about it.
First of all, most of the computers affected are not in the United States. Less than two percent of all the computers affected are in the U.S. according to some at Symantec I talked to yesterday. They're mostly in Russia, China, Argentina and Brazil. Partly that's because they're using pirated versions of Microsoft software. So, that's what people suspect. Those who aren't auto update as well, they're not as well protected. Now, where did this person come from? I don't know. Maybe China because that is where it started the spread first. Maybe the Ukraine. In the initial version, there was some very tantalizing code that said "Don't affect any computers in the Ukraine." Now, it could have been a Ukrainian trying to protect his countrymen, or it could have been a Russian trying to put the blame on the Ukrainians, or it could have been a Brazilian. We don't know.
ROBERTS: Wow. This cyber world...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Conspiracy theories abound. So, what does this worm do and what will it do -- I mean, what does it do once inside the computer and what might it do April 1st, when it's set to either update or become active?
THOMPSON: Well, it will probably just update April 1st. So, probably nothing will happen on April 1st, but some point after April 1st, it could do whatever the people who control it want it to do. So my guess is that they'll use it to empty your bank account. They'll use it to turn your computer into machine that will send out spam for them. They'll data mine your computer, get all of your information and sell that information. So, you really don't want this on your machine.
ROBERTS: So, I mean, we have seen virus programs that get into your mailbox and they take all of your address books and they send out e-mails to everybody in your address book.
THOMPSON: Right. ROBERTS: You know, what -- what more could this one do than that? I mean, this idea of being able to get to your bank account is certainly troubling.
THOMPSON: So, what it can do is it can install what's called key log-in software. And what that will do is it will record every keystroke you type in. So, you go to your bank account. You go to chase.com. You type in your name and your password. It will record that. It will then dump that into a database. They'll be able to mine the database, extract all the usernames and passwords. They will sell it to somebody. And whoever buys it is not going to do nice things with it.
ROBERTS: So, how do you know if you've got it?
THOMPSON: Well, that's actually hard, but there's one cool way to do it. One thing that Conficker does is it disables your access to anti-virus sites. So, go to your computer right now, if you have Microsoft Windows, and check and see if you can get to Symantec.com or McAfee.com or Microsoft.com. And if you can, you don't have the virus.
ROBERTS: And what do you do if you find that you do have it?
THOMPSON: Well, then your first thing is you try to go to Microsoft and get something called the Malicious Software Download Tool. It will get rid of all the malicious software. Type in malicious software and Microsoft, and it will go and will give you software to help you get rid of it. Now if you can't get to the Microsoft site to get that, you have to get somebody else to download it and give you that file.
ROBERTS: Put it on a CD and then you upload it.
THOMPSON: And the most important thing is make sure your anti- virus software is up-to-date and active and constantly updating itself.
ROBERTS: Wow. Fascinating stuff. Nicholas Thompson, thanks for being with us this morning. It's good to see you.
THOMPSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, you may have to undergo drug testing to get hired, but what about after you get fired? We're going to tell you about the plan that could have you going for a drug test if you need government help.
Also, President Obama is on the move this morning, headed overseas, where the world will be watching for signs that could turn the economy around. We're breaking down the trip and we're going to tell you what to watch for, still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
You may have to undergo a drug test to get your job, right? But what if you've fallen on hard times and you now need government assistance? Should you have to take that same test?
CNN's Christine Romans is following the story for us this morning.
ROMANS: You know, everyone's heard of taking a drug test, random drug test maybe, to get the job, but what about getting an unemployment check, maybe a urine test for food stamps? The number of Americans collecting jobless checks is at a record and lawmakers in a number of states want to tie some strings to those benefits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRAIG BLAIR, WEST VIRGINIA LAWMAKER: The war on drug abuse has failed. Make no mistake about it.
ROMANS (voice over): If West Virginia lawmaker Craig Blair has his way, before you pick up your unemployment check or food stamp debit card, you might have to prove you're drug-free.
BLAIR: It seems ironic that welfare and unemployment are both designed to get you back to work, and everything, but how is that possible if you're on drugs?
ROMANS: His bill would require random drug testing for those receiving welfare, jobless checks or food stamps. Fail the drug test, you get the benefit and 60 days to clean up. Fail the next test and lose benefits for two years. Several states are considering legislation to tie the vast expansion of safety net spending to drug testing.
Past attempts failed in Arizona and Michigan, found to be either unconstitutional or just too expensive. But there is growing momentum again, and it could potentially affect millions of Americans. Today, 32 million people receive food stamps. Opponents say random drug testing would mostly hurt the needy.
FRANK CRABTREE, WEST VIRGINIA ACLU: The weight of it would fall on the poorest people in our society, people who are already stigmatized by being the poorest people in society that are getting government assistance and not only those people directly but indirectly all the children that are fed from this program.
ROMANS: A record of nearly 5.6 million people from all walks of people collect jobless check, turning to these programs to ride out the recession.
RON HASKINS, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: Unemployment insurance really is not a welfare program. It's an insurance program, which means that they paid into the program each month that they have earning unless we want to cancel insurance policies and so forth, because someone doesn't pass a drug test. I think that's really quite a mistake.
ROMANS: Still, some like Blair say drug use is rampant, and taxpayers are growing alarmed with how the government is spending their money. He's launched a Web site, notwithmytaxdollars.com, to spread the message that public money should come with strings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Oh, but opponents just as passionately say it is a huge waste of taxpayer money to conduct random drug tests with so many Americans losing their jobs, and more and more families turning to food stamps they say it's just not practical to test for drugs.
This story got a lot of interest on the Web, too. It's quite interesting that somebody wrote to me saying, great, well, then we should have AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all of the bank CEOs should have to take drug tests as well since they are huge recipients of government large checks as well.
CHETRY: They're on the bills too, right?
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: Just for now. You can expect all of these measures to be challenged quite vigorously by civil libertarians.
CHETRY: All right. Christine, very interesting. And I'm sure we got more comments as well. Thanks so much.
And Christine has been getting a lot of responses, as we said. It is online story already. We want to hear from you as well. Call our hotline 877-MY-1-877-MY-AMFIX. THAT'S 1-877-692-6349. You can also logon to our blog, cnn.com/amfix - John.
ROBERTS: From bailouts to bonuses, it's an election with a lot on the line for President Obama's agenda. We'll explain for you.
And breaking new ground at the United Nations. It's not international diplomacy. It's primetime television. We're live at the U.N. with details for you this morning.
It's 42 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty-four minutes past the hour. Time to fast forward now to the stories that will be making news later today.
President Obama is leaving Washington in less than two hours to make his debut on the world stage. His first stop on the eight-day, five-nation trip is the G-20 Summit in London. There President Obama will try to convince allies that his administration can improve the crippled global economy.
Well, NASA is -- the shuttle "Atlantis" is getting ready for its next flight, rolling out of launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center. "Atlantis" is scheduled for a liftoff May 12th on a mission to service the Hubble Telescope.
We're also expecting to hear from police and family services in Lawrence, Massachusetts, today, after a toddler plunged three stories from an apartment window. Amazingly, though, this 18-month-old baby was saved by two bystanders who ran to a spot below the window and caught her, one by the leg, the other above the waist -- by one at the leg and above the waist. The girl's father was home alone at the time when the toddler, as well as three other children - John.
ROBERTS: Wow. Lucky kid this morning.
Would you ignore an e-mail from President Obama? Well, one businessman is hoping that you won't. He's bombarding inboxes with a message from the president reminding folks to vote in a congressional election today. The tight contest is being viewed as a referendum on the Obama administration, and right now, both parties are heavily invested since it's the first election since the president's inauguration.
CNN's Mary Snow is live for us in Hudson, New York, this morning.
Mary, what's this all about?
MARY SNOW, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you just mentioned, President Obama e-mailing Democrats, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele making this race a top priority for Republicans this year. At the core of this race, the test for the economic stimulus package.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): He's the Democratic candidate. He's the Republican. Their fight for a congressional seat in Upstate New York might have gone by with little notice, had it not been for the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan.
Republican Jim Tedisco, a New York state lawmaker has hammered away at Democratic challenger Scott Murphy for supporting a bill saying a loophole in it protected those controversial AIG bonuses.
JIM TEDISCO (R), CANDIDATE, 20TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, NEW YORK: Did he know that AIG information 24 hours after he said yes to that huge spending bill, did he know AIG was going to give $165 million of bonuses?
SNOW: Murphy has taken aim at his Republican challenger who's avoided until recently saying how he'd vote on the stimulus plan. Tedisco now says he would have voted against it.
SCOTT MURPHY (D), CANDIDATE, 20TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, NEW YORK: I'm not sure. Not sure whether he's in favor of the economic recovery act for a month. Again, he wait for somebody's poll to come back and tell him what he believes.
SNOW: The special election was called after Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was chosen to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, when she became secretary of state. And the race has gotten both money and attention from both national parties. President Obama endorsed Murphy with Democrats touting in their ad the need to stress jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Murphy is the only candidate with the proven business experience we need.
SNOW: On the Republican side, RNC Chairman Michael Steele has gone to the district to campaign for Tedisco. Tedisco's ads who try to portray his opponent as Wall Street fat cats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like AIG, Scott Murphy gave huge bonuses to executives at a company losing millions.
SNOW: And it's Republican say some political observers who have the most at stake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they would like a win that they can brag about, argue that they turned the corner, that things are starting to improve for them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And John, a loss for Republicans here would also deal a setback because this is a traditionally Republican district. Now early on, Republican Jim Tedisco who is a long-time state lawmaker within the lead, but latest polls have showed that this race is neck and neck, and it's gotten pretty nasty, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll keep following that. Mary Snow for us this morning. Mary, thanks so much - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, there's a big warning this morning about pistachios. Concerns they may be contaminated with salmonella. Two million pounds now being recalled and this recall could widen. We're going to tell you what to look out for.
Also, the United Nations going primetime. The world body, setting for - is the setting for tonight's episode of "Law & Order, SVU." We're going to tell you why it's a ground-breaking event. Our Richard Roth is there. It's 49 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: You probably recognize the theme music, right? The "Law & Order" franchise has been one of the most successful in television history. And tonight's episode of SVU, "Special Victims Unit" takes place at the United Nations. And it's the first TV show ever to film at the U.N.'s New York headquarters.
CNN's Richard Roth has the story. He's live at the U.N. this morning as well.
Good morning, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. The United Nations has the Security Council. Does it really provide law and order? CNN was on the set for some ground-breaking "Law & Order."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): You probably wouldn't expect to hear that theme music at the U.N.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action!
ROTH: But the drama "Law & Order," spin-off series "Special Victims Unit" has become the first television program to be filled at the U.N.
MARISKA HARGITAY, ACTRESS, "LAW AND ORDER SVU": I'm investigating a Ugandan now, who may have been involved in war crimes.
ROTH: The U.N. grounds previously off limits to TV production.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is international territory.
ROTH: The movie "The Interpreter" pried the door open in 2005 becoming the first motion picture shot here. The U.N. could use some good PR and some explanation especially with an American public sour on the place.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The U.N. respects the laws of sovereign nations. You know, we can't tramp the U.S. court.
ROTH: The episode features child soldiers and international war criminals, subjects American television shows shy away from.
CHRISTOPHER MELONI, ACTOR, "LAW AND ORDER SVU": We have the medium to shine the light out there and tell the story.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: The U.N. is not a law enforcement body, Alex.
ROTH: The 192 countries that make up the U.N. are not as successful as TV police. In real life, murderous rebel leaders keep forcing youngsters to take up arms, and the president of Sudan is accused of war crimes but was warmly welcomed in several African countries last week and in the Middle East this week.
JOHN PRENDERGAST, ACTIVIST, SCRIPT CONSULTANT: The U.N. will get additional positive publicity for it, but on the other side, they're going to get a lot more pressure to be more relevant in these kinds of difficult crisis.
ROTH: The U.N. is now actively courting Hollywood and Bollywood, too.
ERIC FALT, U.N. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INFORMATION: We are essentially open for business. You want to come to the U.N., talk to us. We'll make it happen. ROTH: And perhaps the U.N. has found a new ambassador.
STEPHANIE MARCH, ACTRESS, "LAW AND ORDER: SUV": I have a great job. But really all I want to do is actually work in the U.N. I'm pretty excited to be here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: Now the U.N. does look at the script. They said they had to make a few changes to adjust to reality, but otherwise it went well. The episode runs 10:00 tonight on NBC - Kiran.
CHETRY: That's interesting. So the U.N. got script approval?
ROTH: Yes, they do have to do script approval just like we do in the field at CNN when we're reporting on stories. I don't know if it's as hard at the U.N. How it compares.
CHETRY: Very, very interesting. All right. Richard Roth, great to see you this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: We should clarify that CNN managers have script approval. The U.N. doesn't have script approval over CNN.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
ROBERTS: After all this time, a movie about the Monica Lewinsky scandal is in the works. Who plays President Clinton, who plays Hillary Clinton, and how HBO plans to portray Tony Blair's relationship to the president at the time.
And first it was salmonella and peanut butter. Now, there's a new warning to stopping pistachios and every product that has traces of the nut in it, too. We'll tell you all about that.
It's 54 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifty-six and a half minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward now to stories that will be making news later on today.
Our top story, at 8:00 a.m. this morning, President Obama leaves the White House on his first overseas trip as president. The eight- day, six-city visit begins in London where he'll visit British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth.
Also later on today, we're going to be watching for developments in the Plaxico Burress gun possession case. Burress' lawyers are attempting to work out a plea agreement with prosecutors. The New York Giants receiver was charge with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon after executing a brilliant play at a nightclub in December in which he shot himself in the leg. Even with the plea deal, Burress would likely serve some time behind bars.
Also today, we're watching Mt. Redoubt in Alaska. It's the volcano there, that's been spewing smoke and ash thousands of feet high. Have a look at these pictures that were taken just yesterday. The latest ash plume rising about 27,000 feet, even disrupted operations at the Anchorage Airport. And that's what we're following this morning - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, John, thanks so much.
Developing also this morning, China responding to charges that it's cyber spying on governments and private citizens around the world saying, quote, "They're all lies."
CNN's John Vause has the latest from Beijing for us.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Beijing.
The Chinese government has dismissed as lies a report which claimed to have revealed a vast network of computer spying based in China. The foreign ministry today said "This country is committed to fighting computer hacking." Nonetheless, researchers at the Universities of Toronto and Cambridge say they uncovered a vast network, which had hacked into more than 1,000 computers in more than 100 countries, many with high-value targets, including the computers in the office of the Dalai Lama.
The report, though, stopped short of blaming the Chinese government of any outright involvement. Even so, the foreign ministry today said that attempts to tarnish China's image with these, quote, "lies" would fail.
Back to you, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: All right.
