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American Morning
White House Apologizes After Plane Buzzes Manhattan; Swine Flu Alert Raised; Swine Flu Threatens Economy; Mexico City Could Close Subways
Aired April 28, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Just one day left until the president hits the 100 days in office and in our special series, "Memo to the President," we are looking at his campaign push for a more bipartisan Washington.
Carol Costello joins us now.
And Carol, you know I hear faint echoes from early 2001. I'm going to change the tone in Washington. Everybody promises it and it never seems to happen!
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, you want to go, yes, right, bipartisanship. Well, you want the cynical answer? The problem with bipartisanship is it does not inspire voters to give money to a candidate. They want that hard-core party line and it takes a lot of money to get into office so is a politician going to reach across the aisle?
Anyway, that's just one reason. It's been difficult for the president to achieve that goal of bipartisanship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Mr. President, you certainly put out the goal.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same bipartisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It deserves to be fixed!
COSTELLO: But temptation is hard to resist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did nothing!
COSTELLO: After 100 days, bipartisanship is alive and kicking.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Of course, I want Obama to fail!
COSTELLO: And Rush Limbaugh may be just a talk show host his words reflect a growing discontent within the republican party.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), VIRGINIA: Unfortunately, the first 100 days of this administration have not been the best days for bipartisanship.
COSTELLO: Ouch! Memo to the president! Is bipartisanship D.O.A.? You know it's not as if the president didn't try. Remember his White House Super Bowl party? It was a bipartisan bash. He offered republican Senator Judd Gregg a cabinet position which Gregg considered and then declined. And the president tried to be charming, even with his most bitter rivals.
OBAMA: I'm going to keep on talking to Eric Cantor, someday, sooner or later, he is going to say, boy, Obama had a good idea. It's going to happen. You watch.
COSTELLO: But Republicans say the president didn't reach out in ways that really mattered. Tax cuts and small government are important to republicans and they feel the president stood by, while democratic congressional leaders blew off their ideas.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: I believe that his job is made more difficult by the house leaders at time, the speaker tends to be quite partisan in her approach, and I think that makes it more difficult for the president.
COSTELLO: But even some Democrats agree the congressional leadership could do better. Not exactly a great report card.
REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: At best, it's probably a C. Not on his efforts to try, but on the Congress' ability to do the heavy lifting that's going to be needed, particularly by the titans in the Senate and in Congress. The leadership to help him carry that burden forward.
COSTELLO: So how likely is it that powerful Democrats and Republicans in Congress will jump aboard the bipartisanship express? Many lawmakers say we'll know soon, as soon as the debate on health care reform heats up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we all know how well that's going, John.
A note for you. The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected accusations that she was partisan in her approach. And told us she was working with the committee chairs to develop consensus that will result in bipartisan proposal.
We'll see.
ROBERTS: All right. Carol Costello for us this morning.
Carol, thanks so much.
Well, good morning. And thanks for joining us on this Tuesday, the 28th of April, on the Most News in the Morning.
I'm John Roberts. KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Here's a look at what's happening now. Stories that we will be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
There are new swine flu cases being reported this morning, both in the U.S. and in countries around the world.
Mexico, ground zero for the outbreak, is desperately trying to locate the source of the flu and stop it. In a moment, we're going to take you live to Mexico City.
Here in the U.S., the World Health Organization says it suspects swine flu patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the United States. It means that the new flu strain is spreading beyond those travelers returning from Mexico. But, again, important to note, no one in the United States has died from swine flu. One person has been hospitalized.
And a frightening 9/11 flashback for thousands of New Yorkers in Lower Manhattan. The presidential plane trailed by F-16 fighter jets flying low over Manhattan, not far from ground zero.
There is the video of it. It was shot from many people that were just outside of their office buildings. Office buildings both in New Jersey and New York evacuated. People said they had no idea what was going on. And this morning, the outrage, the apology and why it happened in the first place.
We're turning now to our developing story. New cases of swine flu being reported this time in Israel. It brings the number of confirmed cases worldwide to at least 90. That's including the 50 confirmed cases here in the U.S. All of the illnesses here have been mild. And, again, one patient was hospitalized.
The World Health Organization raising its pandemic alert to level 4. The scale goes up to 6, which is considered an all-out pandemic. Right now, travelers are being urged to stay away from Mexico.
Earlier, I spoke to the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And he gave us sober assessment of the outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: When do you expect that we have a true handle on the scope of this problem?
DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Well, I mean, that's a great question. What we're seeing in the United States so far is 40 cases, one of whom was hospitalized. They've all recovered and we're very thankful for that.
What we're hearing about and seeing in Mexico is a much more severe outbreak of flu with many deaths. The viruses appear to be the same. And because of that, I expect that as we continue to look for cases of flu, we'll find more severe disease and, unfortunately, given what we know even from seasonal flu, some people die from the flu.
CHETRY: If you had a vacation plan, you and your family, would you go to Mexico right now? Would you advise people to maybe rethink those plans?
BESSER: No. Based on what I know as a public health professional and as a physician, I would not recommend that people go on nonessential travel. So if I had vacation plans for Mexico coming up right now, I'd look to postpone those.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, CNN using all of our global resources to cover this story for you this morning.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the epicenter of the outbreak in Mexico City.
And Sanjay, you have some computer models. These are models, of course, theoretical, that show how we could perhaps expect this virus to spread.
Show us that.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right. Again, these are just models. They were actually formulated back in 2006 trying to predict what a flu pandemic might look like.
One of the assumptions here is that the virus spreads very easily from person-to-person, much as it did back in 1918. We don't know if that's the case right now.
But take a look at the screen there. It starts off with ten isolated cases in California and starts to spread. The green areas are healthy. As the virus spreads, the green areas start to go away. And within 12 weeks or so, about half the people are infected. So you can get a real idea of how quickly that works.
An important point, though, here, Kiran, I think if you add a simple intervention. Tamiflu is something that we've talked about a lot. So top of the screen now is what an epidemic might look like unchecked. Bottom of the screen, a simple intervention. Tamiflu given to people who have symptoms, and close contacts to those people, and it cuts down the cases by about two-thirds. So pretty significant intervention and pretty significant effect - Kiran.
CHETRY: It certainly is, you know. And people have a lot of questions. We've been getting fewer questions. Here's one that we've gotten from many of you out there, which is, what makes swine flu different from just regular flu?
It is important to note that, you know, you, as well as most doctors, do recommend people get a flu shot. It kills 36,000 Americans a year.
GUPTA: Yes. The flu does kill 36,000 Americans a year so that's a good point of context. A couple of things are different here. One is the virus that we're talking about is a virus that we've never seen before in this world. And the reason that's important is because as we go through life, we develop a certain amount of immunity to things, just by living, or through shots and vaccines and things like that. When something brand-new appears, we really don't have much immunity to it, and that's sort of the critical thing.
The thing about the swine flu as well, unlike a typical swine flu, which is typically in pigs, this can transmit itself, human-to- human. So these are some of the characteristics that are defining this particular flu, and it's got some of the public officials concerned about it.
CHETRY: All right. And another one from one of our viewers -- is getting a flu shot cut your chances of contracting swine flu?
GUPTA: It's a great question. And, you know, here's the thing. About this particular flu, it's made up of several different things, including some swine flu, some avian flu and some human flu.
The flu shot, which is a good idea regardless of all this, may gave you some benefit against the human part of this swine flu. But it's not -- it's not foolproof. It's not going to be enough in the long run.
CHETRY: All right. Sanjay, from Mexico City. Thanks so much.
We want to remind our viewers, Sanjay is on Twitter this morning from Mexico City. He's taking your questions about swine flu and how to protect yourself. So you can join in the conversation -- Twitter.com/AMFix.
You can also e-mail us at cnn.com/AMFix. Or call our show hotline, which is 877-my-AmFIX.
ROBERTS: Well, this morning, a public relations mess. The White House is apologizing after a photo-shoot involving one of the president's planes.
Without warning the public, the president's backup 747 buzz lower Manhattan threatening thousands of people who thought they were under attack again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw a plane. All of a sudden, it just come in -- it was -- it looked like it was coming right towards our building. And, at first, you know, we didn't understand what it was. Then, all of a sudden, we saw it was like a spot underneath the wing, and then we realized it was a jet fighter that was underneath the thing. But it made a major embankment. That's why I was like, you know, I'm out of here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Alina Cho is following this for us this morning. People just outraged this morning. Everyone, from the president on down.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I would have been out of there, too.
Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody.
Yes. According to one person, people just started sprinting and freaking out. Another called it an absolute travesty. Another, complete mayhem.
And if you look at the video, hear the reaction of the people on the street. You really can see why. For a moment, New Yorkers thought it was 9/11 all over again.
Just watch this.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The plane, a Boeing 747 that operates as Air Force One when the president is on board was accompanied by two F-16s. It buzzed over lower Manhattan for a photo-op, of all things.
A few key officials did know about the fly-over in advance, but many -- I'm sorry, some official did know, but many key officials were unaware, including the president who was said to be furious about this. Also, in the dark, New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK CITY: And why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo-op right around the site of the World Trade Center, a catastrophe, defies imagination. Poor judgment would be a nice ways to phrase it, but they did. They should know how sensitive people would be if they had low-flying planes down around the World Trade Center site.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: He is putting it mildly, I think. You know, I mean, I think it's more important to point out that the director of the White House Military Office responded by saying, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey. It is clear that the mission created confusion and disruption."
You know, I do want to point out as well, it appears that New York police department and a junior aide at the mayoral office did know about this. But they were told by federal officials to keep it quiet. And remember, this is for a photo-op.
CHETRY: "The Daily News" is calling it, "A perfect storm of idiocy that lead to a frightening 9/11 flashback."
Because it was, many people that knew, and then the bosses weren't told.
CHO: That's right. I mean, it just -- obviously, it was --- a colossal, you know, mess-up. It's the kind way of saying it, but, yes, I mean, key officials did not know about it.
Mayor Bloomberg said that he was only notified when his BlackBerry went off from, you know, hundreds of people complaining about this plane flying overhead. Nobody knew what was going on. You know, buildings were evacuated both in New York and in New Jersey.
Senator Chuck Schumer, who never really misses an opportunity to comment on things like this, said that the incident borders on being either cruel or very, very stupid. He added that New Yorkers don't need to be surprised. We all remember 9/11.
CHETRY: Yes.
CHO: And, you know, this does not have to go down this way, so to speak. But, you know, the White House does maintain that they needed new file photos of Air Force One or the president's plane flying near the Statue of Liberty.
ROBERTS: I don't understand that notion of, hey, we're going to do this, but don't tell anybody.
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: You can bet it won't happen again.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHO: I can tell you that much.
ROBERTS: Absolutely. Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Pretty safe bet. Someone's going to notice.
Thanks, Alina.
Well, those pesky teleprompters. It can happen to the best of us. So watch what happened right in the middle of President Obama's speech at the National of Academy of Sciences yesterday when he seemed to get ahead of his scripted remarks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: And I will charge PCAST with advising me about national strategies to nurture and sustain a culture of scientific innovation.
In addition to John -- sorry, I just noticed that I jumped the gun here. Go ahead, move it up. I'd already -- I'd already introduced all you, guys.
In biomedicine -- (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, you know, it happens to a lot of people.
CHO: Do you know, I worked with somebody years ago back at another network and he actually, in the middle of a show, said, scroll it back, scroll it back. Oh, there you go.
CHETRY: There you go.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Did you see what John just wrote in there?
CHO: Stay classy, San Diego.
CHETRY: Anchorman.
ROBERTS: It's better than the other thing that he wrote.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
CHO: Exactly. Anyway.
CHETRY: It happens to all of us.
CHO: It happens to all of us. It sure does.
CHETRY: All right.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Thank goodness we have this up here. So we have to rely on it all the time.
ROBERTS: There you go.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: All right. Well, I'm going to tear up these scripted remarks right now and just let you know that we are talking to a family out of Texas, actually, dealing right now with what it's like to be sequestered in their homes since last Thursday, after three members of their family came down with the swine flu. How are they dealing with it? Well, they're going to join us to talk about it, coming up.
Also the swine flu has already emptied churches and streets in one of the biggest cities in the world. Now, Mexico City subways could also be shut down. Why the underground is considered a breeding ground for the deadly virus.
It's 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
The swine flu hitting one Texas family right where they live. In fact, the Henshaws have been in voluntary isolation since their son, their daughter and also the father now diagnosed with the strain. So, how is the family coping?
Well, joining us from their home in Cibola, Texas this morning is Patrick, Hayden and Hanna as well as Robin Henshaw.
Robin, you're still free of the swine flu. You guys are all wearing masks, just to let our viewers know, as a precaution because, of course, our camera people are there filming and shooting in your home this morning.
Thanks for being with us.
PATRICK HENSHAW, DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU VIRUS: Thank you.
CHETRY: Patrick, why don't you, first of all, start by just telling us what happened. How did you guys find out that you, indeed, did have members of your family infected with swine flu and what happened from there?
P. HENSHAW: Robin took Hayden to the doctor because he had fever, his throat was sore, and we just assumed he might have strep throat or something. And while she was at the doctor, a message came over the phone from our superintendent of education saying that two children had tested positive for swine flu. And so while they were at the doctor, I called her and asked her if they would see about checking Hayden...
CHETRY: Wow.
P. HENSHAW: And then that's when he tested positive for that strain.
CHETRY: Hayden, you're 18, you're a senior in high school right now. What was it like when you found out that you had swine flu? I mean, it's been all over the news. Everyone's talking about it. Most people are probably thinking it couldn't happen to me.
HAYDEN HENSHAW, DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU VIRUS: It was unexpected and it' just -- it's not any different now. I mean, it's just the flu. I just went through it normally.
CHETRY: And your sister -- Hanna, you're 11. You're in Fifth Grade as well. You got diagnosed with it. You guys are all taking Tamiflu. Robin, out of precaution. But how did you feel, Hanna?
HANNA HENSHAW, DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU VIRUS: I feel OK.
CHETRY: Feeling OK now. That's the good news about it all.
Robin, what a scare for your family, though. You guys have been in voluntary isolation since Thursday, as I understand it. Have you gotten any guidance from the state Health Department on how long you have to stay in isolation?
ROBIN HENSHAW, FAMILY WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SWINE FLU VIRUS: Well, they've said five to eight days is usually the case. But we don't really know. Hopefully, we'll find out today. Maybe this will be all over today for us.
CHETRY: What has it been like, though, Robin?
R. HENSHAW: Well, it's been kind of crazy. You always say you would like to have a couple of days to stay inside and do nothing. You really don't.
CHETRY: No. How have you been passing the time, by the way? Because you can't really go out. I mean, you can watch TV. You can watch some DVDs, I guess, but other than that, you guys can't even go outside.
R. HENSHAW: No. We've been playing games and playing Wii and things like that. Just kind of hanging out.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. Well, I'm glad everyone is doing better. As I said before, everyone took the Tamiflu. You took it as a precaution, Robin. And you're the only one that wasn't diagnosed with swine flu.
Well, good luck to you guys and hopefully you'll get the news today from your state Health Department that you guys can stop the isolation.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
P. HENSHAW: Thank you.
R. HENSHAW: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Pakistan's president grabbing headlines this morning saying Osama bin Laden could be dead. It's been years since the 9/11 mastermind has been seen. So, is he alive or not? We're live from Pakistan this morning.
And news of the swine flu has many economists bracing for a major hit. We're breaking down the impact that it may have on your wallet.
It's 19 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-one and a half minutes now after the hour. And let's fast forward through the stories that will be making news later on today.
The Obama administration handling its first public health outbreak without a health secretary, but sources say that may change today. Kathleen Sebelius is expected to be confirmed to secretary of Health and Human Services in a Senate vote today.
Talk about getting right into the fire, huh?
Tens of thousands of taxpayers will protest Bank of America today. Taxpayers angry over high compensation to banks receiving bailout cash are speaking up and demands on the bank's annual shareholders meeting.
And the Fed starts a two-day meeting on interest rates today. The decision on whether to keep rates near zero as they've been since December will come out at about 2:15 tomorrow.
I got an idea, how about they pay us to borrow money?
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: Like a negative four interest rate or something.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Never has the Fed meeting been so, you know, almost off the radar, right?
ROBERTS: It's getting late.
ROMANS: I mean, there's so many things going on right now.
ROBERTS: What can they do?
CHETRY: Right. Exactly.
ROBERTS: What can they do now?
CHETRY: Well, the spread of the swine flu is like going to take a toll on the already struggling economy. So what is the potential fallout for that?
Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." She joins us now with more on this.
I mean, you know, as was parodied on "The Daily Show," the hits just keep coming.
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: What -- what else?
ROMANS: I think it was John, yesterday, who said -- what? Snakes? I mean, what else are they going to throw at us --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: For the economy.
ROMANS: Right, for the economy? Look, the World Bank has an estimate, the worst case scenario here would be a $3.1 trillion hit to the global economy. GDP around the world shrinking 4.8 percent. I mean, that would be really a lot more pain already on to a very weak situation. But that is the very, very worst case scenario. And a couple of points I want to make here. Since SARS, and since the avian flu before that, companies have done a better job of preparing for this. And also countries have. And there's a big debate going on right now folks about whether or not, because the economy was already slowing so fast, because fewer people were going to the malls, fewer people getting on airplanes, that actually, it might have curtail the spread of this a little bit. There's a big debate going on about that. Or if because countries have been hampered by the economic crisis, they are less able to fight this. So we'll learn all that in hindsight.
But I think you're going to see this is how it will play out in different areas. A trade, you'll probably see that continue to fall. We've already seen companies putting up barriers to meet food, travel, transportation, airlines, hotels, anything that touches a consumer who has to worry about confidence, those things, those stocks and that activity declining, and also consumer confidence.
I mean, gosh, when have we ever less needed or wanted fear and uncertainty? It would be right about now. And that's what this all boils down to.
ROBERTS: So reporters swirling out there today that regulators are telling Citigroup and Bank of America that they need to increase their capital reserves? (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: Yes. And this is something incredibly important for people who watch today, too. I think you're going to see this in the stock. This is -- "Wall Street Journal" report, their regulators want Citigroup and Bank of America to put more money aside for future potential losses. This is regarding those stress tests that we've been telling you about. We won't know the real results until May 4th.
You know, that suggest that there could be more pain ahead for the banks. Not that they're insolvent, but that there could be more pain ahead for those banks. That just, you know, underscores the fragile situation we are here in this country in terms of the financial stability of the financial system.
CHETRY: All right. Christine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, no trace of Osama bin Laden? Pakistan's president saying that the al Qaeda leader could be dead. Where is he getting that information? Well, we're live in Pakistan with more.
Also the deadly swine flu now closure to becoming a pandemic. Why World Health officials say the virus has now reached a new level and what it means for you.
It's 25 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Updating you now on the latest developments in the swine flu outbreak.
In just the past 24 hours, new probable cases are being reported in New Jersey, as well as South Carolina and North Carolina. That's in addition to the 50 cases confirmed in five states. These illnesses have all been mild, according to the CDC. Only one patient was hospitalized, and no one has died in the U.S.
But the swine flu virus is quickly spreading far beyond North American. There are now confirmed and suspected cases in Asia, in Europe and New Zealand, and just a couple of hours ago, Israel also confirmed its first case.
Well, one of the biggest cities in the world could shut down in an effort to contain swine flu.
Mexico City is home to 20 million people. It's the center of the outbreak. The mayor says he could close the subways as early as today.
CNN's Karl Penhaul went underground in Mexico City to find out why people are still taking their chances.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Morning rush hour on the Mexico City subway. This is one of the biggest cities on earth. And the subway system is its veins, moving millions of people from all social classes to work.
Today, most passengers are shielding behind surgical masks, scared of the mutating virus feared to have killed dozens already.
"I'm pretty nervous of this whole virus thing," he says.
Berta Hernandez is trying not to panic as she touches up her eyeliner, but she doesn't dare lift her mask to put on lip-gloss.
"I'm nervous of the people who aren't wearing masks. Maybe they will suddenly sneeze or cough," she says.
Mexican authorities have warned people not to crowd into public places, but here, that's impossible.
(on camera): It's hot and humid down here and there's not much fresh air, and that's exactly crowded places like this that city authorities say could be a prime breeding ground for the killer bug.
(voice-over): Many of these passengers say they have no choice, except to pack into the subway. If they don't show up for work, they fear their bosses will fire them.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Twenty-nine minutes now after the hour. And here are top stories this morning.
Officials on high alert as the swine flu outbreak spreads. Here in the U.S., there are 50 confirmed cases. The Centers for Disease Control expected to release new numbers in just hours. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, the head of the CDC saying if you don't have to go to Mexico, don't go.
An earthquake at the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak. A 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattled tall buildings in Mexico City yesterday. It sent people in masks running out to the street, but no significant damage was reported. Two women reportedly died of heart attacks near the quake's epicenter.
And we may be entering a dangerous new phase in the swine flu outbreak this morning. The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level from 3 to 4. The scale only goes up to 6, which is considered an all-out pandemic.
Mike Osterholm is the director for the Centers for Infectious Disease Research and Policy in Minnesota, he joins us now live from Minneapolis. So, Mike, --
There you are. Sorry it took a while for you to come up. In practical terms, what does it mean for the WHO to be raising its pandemic alert level from three to four, but still two points shy of that all-out pandemic level of six?
DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH POLICY: Well, actually as we talked yesterday, and I suggested that they should have done that last Friday. I think what they've done is they've actually, just let the science catch up with the policy.
We knew that we actually had transmission occurring from people, two people in a number of areas out there. So it wasn't really a surprise to any of us that that was done.
ROBERTS: Now, doctor, Keiji Fukuda from the World Health Organization and he used to be the Centers for Disease Control's big flu expert says that a pandemic is not inevitable. Do you agree with that, that maybe this does kept nipped in the bud?
OSTERHOLM: Well, I absolutely agree with this particular situation. As we've already talked about, this could fizzle out in four, six, eight weeks and we never see it again or it could fizzle out in four, six, eight weeks and come back next fall with a vengeance like we saw in 1918 or it could continue. And I think what Dr. Fukuda was very appropriately stating is we just don't know. The bottom line is there is going to be a pandemic. However, they are like earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis. And we know about earthquakes yesterday in Mexico City, they occur.
We've had ten of them in the last 300 years and we're going to have more. So we have to be ready whether it's this one or the real one that comes next. ROBERTS: On this point, Mike, of this virus maybe going to ground, I guess, would be one way to put it for a few months and then returning with a vengeance.
John Berry, who is the author of the great influenza, the definitive book of the 1918 flu pandemic and actually a book that prompted President Bush to come out with a national strategy for a pandemic flu. He believes that it's going to go dormant for a little while and then come back with a vengeance.
Paint us a scenario under which it could do that.
OSTERHOLM: Well, as you know, now seasonal flu viruses disappear in the northern hemisphere during our summer months and they disappear in the "summer months" of the southern hemisphere. We really don't understand what happens. Where do they go? Where do they do? Why do they come back when they do?
But what has happened in previous pandemics and each one has varied is that there may be a series of waves where you have a first wave that could be mild, then like the seasonal flu virus, it just disappears for a while and then comes back.
You know, pandemics are different though in seasonal flu in that when you look at the last 10 pandemics that occurred in the past 300 years, three of them started in the winter and two of them started in the spring and three started in the summer and two started in the fall. So they don't follow the same pattern seasonally.
But as we have to worry about the waves, there could be six or 10, 12, 14 weeks where we all feel like, look, we won and then to have it come back and we just always will be looking behind us to figure that out.
ROBERTS: But let's put this in some perspective now. People hear the word pandemic and they get very, very alarmed. When you compare what we've seen with this flu so far to the normal seasonal flu in terms of morbidity and mortality, you know, the ability to get people sick and then kill them, where do we compare with the traditional seasonal flu?
OSTERHOLM: Well, I don't think you can yet. I think that's what is the important point is that we don't know where this is going to go. Remember in 1918, only two percent of the world's population got infected, died, only. I say that to a large number but that was anymore from 40 to 100 million people
ROBERTS: Yes.
OSTERHOLM: When the world was one third the population than it is now.
So you can have a flu virus that frankly doesn't kill everyone like - you know we think of the word pandemic and it's still (inaudible). Think about what is happening in Mexico City. We have a 180 plus deaths and the mayor is talking about shutting down the subway.
So part of it also is that the impact isn't just what happens in terms of the number of people who dies, what other actions are taken and what we're really trying to do is bring the whole perspective together of what a pandemic might mean to people.
ROBERTS: Mike Osterholm, it's great to catch up with you again today.
OSTERHOLM: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us.
OSTERHOLM: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Put us on your schedule for tomorrow as well, would you.
OSTERHOLM: Sure.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, it's 34 minutes past the hour and still no trace of Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan's president saying he could be dead but some counter terrorism experts are not buying it. We're live from the Pakistani capital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. We fast forward to the stories that will be making news later today.
1:00 p.m. Eastern, a Senate subcommittee is holding an emergency hearing on the public health response to the swine flu outbreak. Officials from the CDC and the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases are expected to testify.
At 11:10 a.m. Eastern, the president will give an address to employees at the FBI headquarters. He'll also be meeting with FBI director Robert Mueller and we'll have that live for you on CNN and CNN.com.
Also, first lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and representatives from the National Congress of black women will be on hand for the unveiling of the bus of the legendary Soujourner Truth at the capital today. It took nearly ten years for the first African-American woman to be honored in the U.S. capital this way -- John.
ROBERTS: No trace of Osama Bin Laden. Pakistan's president is grabbing headlines this morning by saying his intelligence officials think that 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden may be dead but he also said there's nothing to prove that he is dead.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live on the ground in Islamabad. Nic, you're there among the officials. What do you make of all of this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. I think it's not uncommon here to hear Pakistani officials say that Osama Bin Laden might be dead. We've heard this many times since September the 11th. One of the reasons, Pakistani officials feel a lot of heat on them because the best indication is that Osama Bin Laden is somewhere along the border area, quite possibly in Pakistan and they don't have any information about him. They've heard him say before that he might be dead.
Well, the president said was refuted just a few hours later by the Prime Minister here, quite surprisingly. He said they don't have any information, there is no indications that this could be true or false. For some analysts this disconnect between the president, the prime minister sort of singing off different hymn sheets there, if you will, is indicative of the sort of problems this country faces in tackling the Taliban.
This sort of lack of clear leadership. So I think what we should read into it is that it's another statement for the president that definitely - definitely doesn't stand up to really close examination thus far, John.
ROBERTS: At the same time, Nic, Pakistan's government promising to get tough against the Taliban after it broke out of the Swat Valley and took over Buner province for a few days. We understand there are some air strikes that is going on in those northwest tribal provinces right now?
ROBERTSON: Yes, that's right. I mean, the government here has been criticized for its lack of action over tackling the Taliban but in the last 24 hours they've ratcheted up their efforts. The spokesman for the army just now saying they've begun another operation against maybe 300 to 500 Taliban in the Buner area that the Taliban moved into a few days ago. Seventy-five Taliban killed, they say so far. This really is gearing to be up a big operation, as many as 30,000 civilians already fleeing that area, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Nic Robertson for us this morning in Islamabad. Nic, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Well, what were they thinking after the White House photo-op turned into a terrifying flashback of 9/11 for many New Yorkers? Former Bush administration and Homeland Security adviser Fran Townsend is here to weigh in.
Also with a laundry list of problems facing the country, we are breaking down President Obama's first 100 days, including an economy in crisis, as well as strained relations overseas and there is the first dog Bo.
It's 41 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Top videos right now at cnn.com. Most popular, are you a Facebook addict? Here are some possible signs. You lose sleep, you ignore work and you might even be obsessed with old loves from high school. Find out if you're addicted on CNN.com
Also, this video of the king's fire crackers jump rope team out of Kingsville, Ohio is lighting up cnn.com. The team features fourth through eighth graders doing their routine and what a routine it is. It hit the web and went viral and you can see why. A lot of talent there.
CHETRY: That is pretty amazing.
Well, this morning, everybody is talking about the White House blunder over the skies of Manhattan. It is on the front page of every paper this morning. At least every New York local. It turns out this low-flying plane, followed by two 747s actually is a White House photo-op but it certainly brought back flashbacks to 9/11 and the terrorist attacks planned by Osama Bin Laden.
Also, Bin Laden's name surfacing again this morning of the fact that he hasn't been seen in public for a while and that according to Pakistan's president, it could mean he is dead. Frances Townsend with the Homeland Security adviser under President George W. Bush and is now a CNN national security contributor and she joins us this morning from Washington to talk more about both of these situations. Fran, thanks for being with us.
I can't wait to hear about what you have to say about those plane situation. But let's talk right now about President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, raising the possibility that the most wanted man in the world Osama Bin Laden could be dead. He said that intelligence officials could find, "no trace of the Al Qaeda chief."
What do you make of that public declaration from Pakistan's president?
FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: He, obviously, is not aware of the statement issued by Bin Laden in March, which referenced activities in Gaza and Somalia in January. So there is some indication, certainly as recently as January that he is alive. And in fact, Zardari backed off as did the prime minister, saying there's no indication, got no evidence, in fact, or intelligence to prove that he is not alive. So I think most U.S. counter terrorism officials and, frankly, worldwide counter terrorism officials believe that Bin Laden is alive and in the frontier province in area on the border of Pakistan.
CHETRY: All right. So is this political posturing in the best interest of Pakistan for Bin Laden to be dead or alive right now?
TOWNSEND: Well, it's in the best interest of Pakistan for him to be dead because they haven't been very successful in helping us to find and kill him or capture him.
CHETRY: Right. Nobody will, I mean, who's going to believe that he is dead. TOWNSEND: That's exactly right. And so, Kiran, I mean, I think that this was a misstep on his part. He has got to be careful. He is coming here to the United States for a visit in early May. He's going to have to answer some questions about why he said that so I think you've seen him already start to back off.
CHETRY: All right. Well, let's talk about this plane, this large airliner flying low over Manhattan right over the Statue of Liberty, right over the World Trade Center site. It had a lot of people terrified.
If we could show that video again. I mean this is just amateur video that was taken. You can hear the shrieks in the background.
It turns out it's a military photo shoot. They knew about it and apparently they notified some local authorities but in the end, the mayor's office and even the president said they were not aware.
Let's listen to what Mayor Michael Bloomberg said about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLOOMBERG: First thing is I'm annoyed, furious is a better word, that I wasn't told. Had we known, I would have asked them not to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How could something like this have happened, Fran?
TOWNSEND: Well, I mean, first of all, most Americans have never heard of the White House military office. You should know, Kiran, what makes this almost more disturbing is the fact that is the office that is responsible for the support of the movement of the president and his staff in a time of emergency.
So, of course, the most important thing is that the person leading it has good judgment and as Michael Bloomberg said, at his best, this is bad judgment. I mean,, like many New Yorkers, Kiran, lost somebody on 9/11. I had a friend who was lost. It was insensitivity.
And frankly, I would say as a former prosecutor, I would call this felony stupidity. This is probably not the right job for Mr. Caldera to be in if he didn't understand the likely reaction of the New Yorkers, of the mayor and while the White House have said that they are furious, I mean, I think they have to look at whether or not this is the right job for Mr. Caldera.
CHETRY: He went on in a statement to say that he approve the mission over New York. "I take responsibility for that decision while federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey. It's clear the mission created confusion and disruption." He went on to apologize for that. But do you think he needs to step down?
TOWNSEND: Well, I think -I think this office is too important to have somebody who doesn't have the judgment to understand the impact of this. This was not necessary. If you needed pictures of Air Force one over a national icon, fly it over the Grand Canyon but flying it over lower Manhattan, which to many of us is a sacred ground now.
We lost thousands of Americans. I just think is wrong. I know from having spoken to my - to my colleagues in the White House today, this morning, that the president was furious. Rahm Emanuel was furious. They have to look at this and decide whether or not Mr. Caldera can stay in that job.
CHETRY: Right. And besides the symbolics of it all. I mean it was sheer panic down there for many people. They had no idea what was happening and you hear the shrieks and the screams and buildings were evacuated. So it really did turned out to be quite a scare at least yesterday afternoon for the poor folks in the city. Frances Townsend former Bush Homeland Security adviser and CNN contributor, thanks for being with us this morning.
TOWNSEND: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's been a busy start for the Obama White House. The recession, two wars and a slew of executive orders. We're breaking down President Obama's first 100 days for you. It's 49 minutes now after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Ninety-nine red balloons for the President's 99th day in office. Since FDR's new deal, we picked over every action of every president during his first 100 days and of course, President Obama is no exception. Our Suzanne Malveaux is here now with us, looking at what he has accomplished so far.
Good morning to you.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It's hard to believe it's just day 99. It feels like it's been a year or so with everything that has happened so far. The very first day when the staff didn't know how to use the computers or answer the phones, President Obama was signing his first executive order to reverse Bush policy.
Covering the president for a year on the campaign it's become clear he sees his pledge for change as really a mandate for governing during these first 100 days.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The people voted for change -- and change is what they're getting.
OBAMA: You sent us there to change things.
MALVEAUX: It's the driving force behind President Barack Obama's first 100 days.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The heart and soul of Barack Obama's campaign for the presidency was that he was the candidate of change.
MALVEAUX: Early, swift, and bold, the first actions were aimed at undoing eight years of Bush. With a stroke of a pen, he committed to closing Guantanamo Bay, expanding stem cell research, opening government documents, supporting women's equal pay and funding controversial family planning programs.
But as Mr. Obama then tried to assemble his cabinet, crisis quickly followed. Six of his picks for the top posts ran into trouble, four for failing to pay taxes.
OBAMA: You know, I think this was a mistake. I think I screwed up.
MALVEAUX: Facing a market meltdown, housing prices and a startling jump in unemployment. Mr. Obama turned to Congress for billions to bailout the banks, and even more to jump start the economy.
But he failed to get Republican support for his mammoth economic stimulus plan.
OBAMA: Change doesn't happen overnight.
MALVEAUX: The insurance giant, AIG, presented his next big challenge. The company they've got billions of taxpayer dollars to stay afloat ended up giving out large bonuses to its top execs, enraging the general public. But as it turns out, it was the White House that gave AIG the OK.
The president explained he was in a legal pickle, and the press moved on. But the question that continued to hound him was, where's the White House dog?
OBAMA: That's a good-looking pup dog, though. Let's face it.
MALVEAUX: Bo, as well as the Easter bunny at the egg roll...
(VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: ... gave the president a rare moment to let loose.
OBAMA: Thank you so much for having us.
MALVEAUX: Change would also come overseas.
Mr. Obama's trips to the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America were aimed at repairing damaged relations. He even shook the hand of Mr. Bush's arch enemy -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. And signaled he wanted talks with Cuba and Iran.
In Baghdad, the president promised that the war that tore U.S. alliances apart would end.
So how does this president's first 100 days compare to his predecessors?
ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: He's achieved more in a briefer period of time than any newly-elected president since Franklin Roosevelt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And covering President Obama over the first 100 days, we have traveled three continents.
Tomorrow, of course, is going to be his third prime time press conference. He has had 15 press conferences and this is going to happen after a town hall meeting where the president is going to take questions about his own performance and his agenda.
This is a White House that is very media savvy in the way it presents itself, obviously. And they've been preparing for this 100- day mark as well. You know for the events that are going to happen and, obviously, he has some big challenges ahead the next 100 days with the flu epidemic.
ROBERTS: It's a great time to be a White House correspondent, having front row seats to history, isn't?
CHETRY: It's never a dull moment. Never boring. When they traveled to Hawaii, right?
MALVEAUX: We are hoping the next trip is to Hawaii!
ROBERTS: So flippant envious! Thanks, Suzanne.
Stay with us for day 100. Tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, you will get to grade the president along with the best political team on television. Then at 8:00, the president will let us how he thinks he is doing during a live presidential press conference. CNN primetime event, it all kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. So keep it here on CNN.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Jay Leno is back in the saddle again although he was only off for one night, right? The "Tonight Show" host returned to work last night after missing - oh, it was two shows! Sorry. The poor guy. When he was hospitalized last week for an unspecified illness. It was the first time that Leno had missed work in 17 years. Back on air he didn't miss a beat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": I tell you something. Have you ever slept in the hospital? You know, I spent the night, was there two nights. I had a horrible dream. I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was suffocating and I woke up and realized oh Conan was holding a pillow over my face! He has, what is that?
I don't understand the medicines they give you like while I was there, the doctor gave me a couple of shots in the rear-end. Oh, yes. I didn't feel any better but afterwards, I hit two homeruns!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Leno was also joking about the fact that his HMO was so bad that he was sent to the Burbank Airport baggage area for x-rays. That would be funnier if he is so rich he could just have a full-time doctor at his house all the time if he wanted.
ROBERTS: Yes. His car broke down yesterday, too, I think on the San Diego freeway.
CHETRY: Doesn't he have a hundred more?
ROBERTS: He does. But I guess he wanted to get that back in the barn. He fixed it himself, apparently. Good for him.
That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We will see you back here again bright and early tomorrow.
CHETRY: We sure will. Meanwhile, right now, it's CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.
