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First U.S. Swine Flu Death; Mexican Tourist Trade Stricken; Furor Over Photo-Op Flight; Connecticut Educator Acknowledge; Influential Black Group Rates Obama's First 100 Days
Aired April 29, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A very busy day in the CNN NEWSROOM beginning with the swine flu. As you've heard the first death now in the United States, a 23-month-old Mexican child taken to Houston, Texas for treatment.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta visits another child thought to be the virus' very first victim. Sanjay joins us live from Mexico.
His first milestone, it is President Obama's 100th day in office. Our full day of coverage begins with a check of his presidential promises and your e-mails.
Also, he teaches special needs' kids and now he has a special honor. Meet the president -- excuse me, he meets the president. He is the teacher of the year, this hour.
It is Wednesday, April 29th. Hi everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
That's right. We are talking more about the swine flu outbreak this morning. More cases. More questions. More cause for concern.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen has more this morning on that first confirmed death in the United States. How does it change the story? And Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from Mexico. Tracking down the very first case of this virus. He's just a 5-year-old boy but experts are now calling him patient zero.
And Suzanne Malveaux is tracking a milestone this morning. Taking stock of it, the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. Is his administration making the grade?
Right off the top this morning, though, a grim new development in the swine flu outbreak. Earlier this morning confirmation of the first swine flu deaths in the United States. The victim? A 23-month- old child in Texas.
Just a few minutes ago, we got some new information. We learned this child is from Mexico and was being treated here in the United States. It is the first confirmed death outside of Mexico and there, the outbreak continues to spread.
Mexico's Health Ministry has raised its numbers yet again. The virus is now suspected in 159 deaths and more than 2,500 illnesses. We certainly have a lot of news to cover to get to this morning. Let's begin now with that death of the toddler in Texas. And senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.
So, Elizabeth, tell us exactly what we know now about this child and some of the treatment that he may be receiving.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. All we know about this child, Heidi, right now is that the child is 23 months old. We do not know if this child was a boy or a girl.
The child, we're told, came from Mexico to Texas, somewhere in the Houston area, to get medical treatment and died on Monday in a hospital in Texas. Anything more we don't know.
Now I will note that since Sunday the Centers for Disease Control has been saying, expect to see deaths in the United States. And now, of course, we have seen the first one - Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. Yes, so where do we stand on developing a vaccine, Elizabeth?
COHEN: Where we stand on developing a vaccine is that I found out that the National Institutes of Health sent an e-mail two nights ago to vaccine researchers. Putting them on stand-by, saying, we're going to be coming to you to start clinical trials.
And in fact they told those researchers, please go through your freezers and see if you can find blood samples from the folks who got vaccination back in '76. That could help us in coming up with a vaccine now.
But Heidi, bottom line, it takes months to develop a vaccine. Vaccines are not quick. They are grown in a very old way. The same way we've been growing vaccines...
COLLINS: Right.
COHEN: ... for 50 years with chickens and eggs. It is not a fast process.
COLLINS: Yes, certainly not. Is there indication at this point now, Elizabeth, whether or not it's going to get worse here in the United States?
COHEN: You know, Heidi I think that the CDC has been very clear that it will get worse in the United States.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: They say expect to see many more illnesses and expect to see deaths. It is just -- you can just look at Mexico and look what's happened there. It happened there first so they have the most illnesses and the most deaths.
What they're hoping is that maybe there'll be something different in this country that won't make it quite as bad but so far no one knows if that's going to be true or not.
COLLINS: Yes. Lots of questions, obviously, this morning.
Elizabeth, we'll be talking with you, again, shortly.
Meanwhile, medical experts aren't sure how the swine flu developed, but they may know where. Officials believe patient zero is a 5-year-old boy and yesterday CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, found him. He's joining us now from Vera Cruz, Mexico. Not far from the boy's village.
So, Sanjay, good morning to you. What do we know about this boy and how he may have contracted swine flu?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, since the beginning almost, the experts are telling us that we're looking for someone who may have had close contact pigs or living close proximity to pigs, and that sort of narrowed down the search.
There are no pig farms in Mexico City. We're about two hours outside of Mexico City in the state of Vera Cruz. You know there a lot of lessons to be learned here and part of those lessons come from sort of defining the origins of this particular virus, H1N1, and from there, sort of learning how does it get around? How does it transmit from one place to the other?
This boy, patient zero, may have some of those answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): La Gloria. It's a village where everyone knows someone. I showed this motorcycle rider Edgar's picture. His name is Frederick. And he offers to take me.
(on camera): Don't drop me. OK. So after hours of searching and hours of driving, we're finally going to meet little boy that everyone is calling patient zero.
(voice-over): There he is, Edgar Hernandez. A little 5-year-old boy who got so sick.
(on camera): Did you have a headache? (Speaking in foreign language)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a headache and throat.
GUPTA (voice-over): He was brought to this clinic where he was diagnosed as possibly the first case of swine flu of this outbreak.
So where did it come from? Edgar's mom thinks she knows.
(on camera): A lot of people are saying that the swine flu came from some of the pig farms. Do you believe that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what she hears. GUPTA: No question we stumbled on to a controversy here. The citizens of La Gloria really believe that the pig farms in the nearby areas got so many of their citizens sick. So we decided to pay those pig farms a visit.
(voice-over): The industrial pig farm is huge and owned by American company Smithfield Farms. People in town say they believe this is the source of the outbreak.
(on camera): We finally made our way to the hog farm but the Mexican Department of Agriculture and the company itself said they've done testing and the tests have come back negative. They simply won't let us through security. They simply won't show us the pigs.
(voice-over): This medical mystery now only half solved. We know who first may have contracted swine flu. We just don't know where he got it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: To tell you he's an adorable limit boy.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: And he's fully recovered according to his doctors and his family as well.
Heidi, really quickly, you know, that particular hog farm, they did give us a statement. I want to read that to you quickly. "Smithfield Farms has no reason to believe that the virus is in any way connected to its operations in Mexico. Its joint ventures in Mexico routinely administer influenza virus vaccination to their swine herds and conduct monthly tests for the presence of swine influenza."
So a lot of people are going to be down here trying to find out where Edgar, this cute little boy, contracted H1N1 from.
COLLINS: Yes. I imagine they will be. Listen, Sanjay, we heard that next you're going to be trying to track this virus from Mexico and then back to the United States. How is the path this flu took going to help find a vaccine for it?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think it's going to be more helpful in trying to determine how it behaves. How it's acting. You've already sort of pointed out some inconsistencies between Mexico and the United States. Was there a variant or was this virus just behaving differently?
They have the virus already and they're starting to stockpile it, replicate it in the possibility of making a vaccine. So I think if they want to make a vaccine at some point they're going to be able to do this.
This is much more about containment, epidemiology, in figuring out where this virus might be going next.
COLLINS: All right. Our chief medical correspondent for us in Mexico this morning. Sanjay, thank you.
Across the country now, the swine flu has shut down a handful of schools. Add one more to the list. Just last hour, Chicago officials announced the closure of an elementary school on the city's north side. The student had been ill, taken to the hospital and tested for probable swine flu.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TERRY MASON, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: The confirmatory tests for this particular child will be sent to CDC today. We hope to have a confirmatory test within the next 24 to 36 hours to confirm the presence of the swine flu virus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should parents be alarmed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How old is that child now?
MASON: Children should -- parents should not be alarmed but they should be prepared. The main thing that we do is continue in our messaging that we've done all along and that is to make certain that if children are sick, keep them home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The student is said to have recovered from the illness. The school will be closed at least two days.
Swine flu also the focus next hour on Capitol Hill. The secretary of Homeland Security set to testify before a Senate committee. Janet Napolitano will discuss the federal government's response to the outbreak and its readiness if things do, in fact, get worse.
Well, today is no ordinary day for President Barack Obama. It is his 100th day in office. He came in promising change. Our Suzanne Malveaux in New York this morning.
Wondering, Suzanne, has the job changed him in the last 100 days?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's a good question, Heidi. Obviously he is a very ambitious person, he is very determined. He is also an impatient person so he does not apologize for really this very bold agenda that he set out over the last 100 days or so.
We have seen with the stroke of a pen, executive orders essentially, calling to close Guantanamo Bay, to expand stem cell research, to work for equal pay for women. All kinds of things. So we understand as well that he is looking to change the focus from the Iraq war to the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He is faced this economic crisis with a $787 billion economic stimulus plan. All of these things in the first 100 days. A mixed report card but overall some very big accomplishments. One of the things that he wants to do, Heidi, and that he's been trying to do is to balance the sense of being someone who is alarmist in a way when it comes to talking about bad news for the economy with being reassuring to the American people.
He talks about that with the global economic crisis but we also heard this morning when it comes to this swine flu outbreak, trying to reassure Americans that he is on top of this. He made a statement at the White House and he did make some news. I want you to take a listen, Heidi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's also the recommendation of our public health officials that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible.
If the situation becomes more serious and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporarily shut down. Figuring out and planning what their child care situation would be.
If we ended up having a school closure, a child was sick, just sending a child from the school to a day care center is not a good solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And Heidi, he made that statement this morning at the White House, obviously, with a very important person by his side, Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania senator who has switched parties now from Republican/Democrat.
Obviously a good sign for the president. A good signal that perhaps he'll be able to push forward a bit more of his domestic agenda. We're talking about health care reform and energy. Obviously the president thanking Senator Specter this morning. It was really kind a 100-day gift, if you will...
COLLINS: Oh yes.
MALVEAUX: ..., to the president. He goes on to travel to St. Louis. That's where he's going to be holding a town hall meeting and, of course, Heidi, he's going to be getting a lot of questions this evening at that primetime press conference.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. One step closer to that filibuster power as well.
All right, Suzanne Malveaux, we'll be talking more about that. Thanks so much.
So what do you think about how President Obama is doing? A lot of you are giving him a thumbs-up on his job performance so far. The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of the most recent national polls and it shows President Obama with a 63 percent approval rating, 29 percent disapproval.
Those numbers almost identical to the ones President George W. Bush received after his first 100 days. CNN, "USA Today" and Gallup collaborated for that poll.
In his first 100 days in office, President Obama has given a lot of speeches and made big statements on all sorts of issues. And the Truth-O-Meter has been keeping tabs.
Our Josh Levs is here now way with the breakdown. Truth-O-Meter it is.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Truth-O-Meter. OK, you declared a Truth-O-Meter. Yes, it's a great breakdown, though. It's really a good thing. It's from PolitiFact.com and what they do is they're taking a look at all these big statements from top administration officials and the president himself since the beginning of the administration and they're figuring how many of it is true, false or even pants on fire?
I spoke with the head of it, Bill Adair, and I asked him overall how is this president doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: We have rated about 21 claims by either Obama or others in the administration. I think 11 of them have been either true or mostly true. On the other end of the spectrum, though, he has had, I think, four false ratings on the Truth-O-Meter particularly for some of the claims they've made about the economy.
LEVS: I don't think that the president should get gold stars for telling what's true so what I want to do is focus on the falsehoods just so we can make sure the viewers get the truths.
ADAIR: You bet. One of the falses was for a claim that your viewers heard a lot and that was that the economic stimulus bill did not have any earmarks in it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The plan that's been put together without earmarks are the usual pork barrel spending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ADAIR: There were a fair number of things in there, at least a handful, that were -- really could be considered earmarks. So we gave that one a false.
LEVS: One was about whether there was some disagreement among economists about what the government should be doing in the recession, right?
ADAIR: Yes. This was one that Obama said to try to get support for his economic stimulus bill and he characterized it as if economists were unanimous about the need for government to step in and do something.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: There is no disagreement that we need action by our government a recovery plan that will help to jump-start the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ADAIR: That's not true. You know there are some economists that we talk to who would say let the free market work and let things go. Now it's probably the case that the majority of economists would -- might support government intervention but the way Obama said it was false.
LEVS: And Bill, you certainly found some falsehoods when Republicans attacked this president as well. And I'm going to point to one thing, to be fair that you do say -- you say, "Still, it's important to point out that overall this administration so far has been right more than it's been wrong."
ADAIR: It has and another thing that's notable on PolitiFact, we rate the most ridiculous falsehoods with our lowest rating, pants on fire, and Obama can claim that indeed he has succeeded in getting and earning no pants on fire ratings so far into his presidency. So...
LEVS: So far this president...
(CROSSTALK)
ADAIR: That's at least a small victory. Yes. Exactly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And next hour we're going to be telling you about something called the Obama-O-Meter which takes a look at the president's promises.
And we want to hear from you. Here's how you can weigh in. Get in touch with us today. We've got the CNN NEWSROOM blog right here. Brand new blog. Loving it. Here's my Facebook page, Josh Levs CNN. You got my Twitter page. Twitter.com/Joshlevscnn.
And Heidi, I'm going to be back in a matter of minutes with some of our viewers' thoughts on the president's first 100 days.
COLLINS: Great. We definitely don't want your pants on fire.
LEVS: No, mine are all right.
COLLINS: All right. Josh, thank you.
LEVS: Thank you.
COLLINS: And be sure to stay with CNN tonight for a special look at the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. Join the best political team on television for the CNN "NATIONAL REPORT CARD" and get your chance to grade the president and Congress. Followed by live coverage of President Obama's news conference. It all begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
The economy, still in deep trouble. New numbers just released. What it all means to you in the NEWSROOM.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Flooding in Houston yesterday that has moved to Oklahoma. Another threat for severe storms plus a big cool down in Boston.
Weather's coming up in just a few minutes. The CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Glimmers of hope in the economy dimming just a bit this morning. Newly released government figures show the economy performed worse than expected in the first quarter.
Here to talk more about that, CNN's Christine Romans. Hi there, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.
We've been talking about whether this economy is showing signs of stabilization, whether, you know, the pace of the decline of economic growth has slowed in its first quarter GDP number. It's really the broadest sense of what the economy is doing.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: It was very weak, Heidi. Down 6.1 percent. Basically as weak as it was late last year. It is quite rare to have two quarters in a row of such weak economic activity.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: I want to show you what the economy looks like over the past five quarters. You can see that that last bar there is what happened for the first three months of this year. Almost as weak as the last three months of last year taken just shows you the economy...
COLLINS: Wow.
ROMANS: ... fell off of a cliff there over the last year.
COLLINS: Yes, you know, it's interesting to me is you certainly do not have to be an economist to look at that and...
ROMANS: I know.
COLLINS: ... really be stunned.
ROMANS: Yes. That's why we kind of wanted to show it to you because they're really kind of tells you what's happening here. I can tell you that exports plunged. The biggest drop in exports. This is the step that we mine, make, and manufacturer, plunged by the most 40 years.
We know that businesses simply stopped spending on a lot of things that the business spending part of this number was down some 30-plus percent.
COLLINS: Wow.
ROMANS: That does not bode well for jobs going forward. If companies are so frightened and they're holding on so tightly to their money and in fact, you know, backing off their purchases at such a big rate that would not bode well indeed for employment, although that's not a big surprise.
We've been talking about that for some time. The question, Heidi, for me, here is what happened in the fourth quarter -- or the beginning of the second quarter.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROMANS: And you have heard some Fed officials start to talk about a moderating of the decline, glimmers of hope the president has talked about. In this report there was a little rebound in consumer spending. It was swamped by all of this other negative news but there was a little rebound in consumer spending.
That might be a glimmer that could carry into the second quarter so I'm going to leave you with that because it looks as though the consumer, at least, felt a bit better and made 2 percent more in their purchases in the quarter. So that's a little positive to take out of what is, quite frankly, a very negative report.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. All right. Well, we will try to hang on to that little nugget.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Thanks so much, CNN's Christine Romans...
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: ... of the CNN Money Team.
Drenching rains. Knee-deep waters seeping into homes and boats on neighborhood streets. Tell you about it in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Texas is drying out this morning after that flooding that we told you about yesterday. A Houston woman says she woke up to a puddle of water in her home and had to sweep away 10 inches of floodwaters.
Flooding from heavy rains forced rescues, washed out roads and closed schools in parts of the state yesterday. Now it's down to the business of cleaning up.
Rob Marciano has the very latest on that. And that's right. We were talking about this yesterday and look at what happened.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: One last thing on the note of travel delays today. With those cooler temperatures, you get a little bit of wind across the New York/metropolitan area and Boston and now we'll yield some delay, I think, Heidi, but all in all I think that the folks...
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: From what I'm hearing, our friends in New York, 90, April, a little too much too soon.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: So they might be enjoying the cool down right now.
COLLINS: Yes. Trying to get out of the city, maybe earlier. Before the summer comes.
All right, Rob, appreciate that. Thank you.
MARCIANO: You got it.
COLLINS: We've been asking you to tell us what kind of job, do you think President Obama is doing and you're not letting us down. Our Josh Levs is right now sorting through all of your e-mails on this 100th day of the Obama presidency.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The recession wears on, as Christine Romans was just telling us minutes ago. The economy shrank in the first quarter at an annual pace of 6.1 percent. The GDP. There is the opening bell. This morning. That GDP though, much worse than expected.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange (INAUDIBLE) to tell us how investors may react throughout the day. Hi there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
We're stocks to rise despite that really lousy, GDP. Well, you know, on Wall Street, Heidi, you know, a lot of our viewers know, it's about expectations.
Everybody knew the first three months of the year were lousy. The consensus estimate for GDP was for decline of five percent. The report much worse than expected. Futures did pay our gains after the report of the 6.1 percent decline in economic activity largely due to the biggest drop in exports in 40 years. Of course, it follows that 6.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter. Bloomberg says it's worst two-stretch quarter since 1958. But why are stocks rallying, Heidi?
One of the few, and I mean really few bright spots, is that consumer spending rose.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Consumer spending is huge.
COLLINS: How did that happen?
LISOVICZ: Well, because prices are so low.
COLLINS: There you go.
LISOVICZ: In just about everywhere. So, you know, whether it's imports, exports, private investment, all of the declines, we did see a rise in consumer spending. Not enough to offset the huge declines we saw elsewhere, but there you see an increase in stock prices, at least in the first minute of trading.
Another big headline today the Federal Reserve. The Fed has already lowered interest rates to nearly zero. Later today, we're expecting to hear that policymakers will hold rates steady. Beyond that, the street will be paying close attention to the central banks, accompanying statement to see if the Fed plans any more steps to stimulate the economy.
Of course, we're also concerned about the government's stress test. Results not due until next week, but Bloomberg says at least six of the 19 banks may need to raise extra capital. Yesterday, the "The Wall Street Journal" said Citi and Bank of America are two of those banks.
Later today, dissident shareholders may seek to oust Ken Lewis as BofA chairman. He faces criticism for the bank's controversial takeover of Merrill Lynch.
More job cuts today to tell you about. Clear Channel laying off nearly 600 radio workers, or about 12 percent of its work force. The company also temporarily suspending its 401(k) match.
And there is the big board. Dow is up, 72 points or one percent. Ditto for the NASDAQ. So, well, we got a lot going on, including that Fed statement later today. We'll see if this rally holds - Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, no question about it.
All right. Susan, we will certainly check back with you.
Thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: A 23-month-old child has become the first fatality of the current swine flu outbreak in the United States. The child had been brought from Mexico to Texas for treatment. The CDC also confirming 64 swine flu cases in five states in the U.S. Health officials in three other states have reported cases that the CDC has not added to its list yet. The World Health Organization says at least 112 cases have been confirmed worldwide now across seven countries.
That figure is expected to change later today when the WHO updates its figures to reflect three new confirmed cases in Germany. The World Health Organization says the number of deaths in Mexico remains at seven.
Swine flu fallout in Mexico goes beyond those who are sick, though. The country's tourist trade is also taking a big hit. Here now is CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Octavio Garcia doesn't have swine flu, but he is sick over the loss of business he suffered selling artwork at the Teotihuacan Pyramid outside Mexico City.
OCTAVIO GARCIA, BUSINESS OWNER: I didn't have the flu, but I mean, it's the same as I have it, because people are scared to come here because they don't know if we are infected or not.
ROWLANDS: Evidence that tourism has come to a screeching halt, everywhere. Stores are virtually empty, as are many restaurants which now can only sell food to go. Governments around the world have issued travel warnings, advising people to stay away from Mexico. Travel agencies have canceled group trips to places like Cancun.
On CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, CDC Director Richard Besser said he'd avoid any nonessential travel to Mexico.
DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING CDC DIRECTOR: 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 would look to postpone those.
ROWLANDS: Elisa Fuentes is vacationing in Mexico from Argentina. She said the trip was planned a year ago and she didn't want to cancel.
ELISA FUENTES, TOURIST: I think if you have precautions, you would not have problem, I think.
ROWLANDS (on camera): You'll be fine?
FUENTES: Yes. Yes.
ROWLANDS: You're glad you came?
FUENTES: Yes.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Tourism in Mexico was already suffering over crime worries, but this, locals say, is much worse.
(on camera): Ted Rowlands, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: As we've been telling you, today marks 100 days in office for President Barack Obama. We've been asking you to give us your grades for these first 100 days. We'll get to your e-mails in just a moment. But first, we want to let some of our iReporters weigh in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKE JOSEPH TAGGED, CNN IREPORTER: In terms of leadership, President Obama has shown that he is capable of learning quick and can become an effective leader. Right now, he is a very good orator and a very good diplomat, which are two good qualities that President Bush did not have so I will give him a grade of an "A" on that, for effort, and a "B" for overall success.
TY BLANTON, CNN IREPORTER: I'm going to have to give President Obama a "B" on the economy. I like to say, I like the direction that he's going in and his efforts. Still, a little too soon to tell if things were -- if it's going to work, basically.
MONICO TOUPS, CNN IREPORTER: In Iraq, you've got a "B," because the timeline that you set is -- even though it's a little over what you had been saying during your campaign, it's still reasonable soon. And the Afghan shift, our shift of forces over to the Afghan region when this happened.
EGBERTO WILLIES, CNN IREPORTER: His health care policy level of engagement has me concerned as I would have hoped he would use his ability to explain issues to move the dialogue towards the more efficient single pair of health care insurance model.
JOSEPH PUENTE, CNN IREPORTER: Well, the president has been talking a lot about renewable energy, green jobs and energy independence, unfortunately, we haven't seen a lot of action. Based on that, I'm giving him a grade of "C."
ROBIN SAVAGE, CNN IREPORTER: And I also worry about the situation with the pirates, because I feel that we should have been better prepared for events like this. And also as far as the hacking getting in to our defense system, that I feel like we should have been better prepared for that as well. But I still feel proud to have President Obama as my president and, yup, two thumb up, still.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: We are also hearing from you this morning by Twitter, Facebook and our blog.
Our Josh Levs is managing all of it for us.
So Josh, what do we have?
LEVS: It's the Heidi blog right here, CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Yes, how about that? LEVS: It's really cool. It's the new feature in case you haven't seen it. The CNN NEWSROOM blog. You just click Heidi at the top.
COLLINS: Yes. And please write to me, because it's very lonely.
LEVS: We try to keep her happy, but it's true. Right there. Someone already did Heidi. I'll show you. Let's zoom right in.
This one we're asking in your blog right now. President Obama's first 100 days, what do you think?
Here is one response. I'll show you here from Len McRae.
"I think the president is doing a great job. And he's keeping the majority of his campaign promises. I also believe he is effectively dealing with restoring integrity to the office."
Let's jump over to Twitter now here.
Dr. Dia writes, "I think President Obama is doing great. The four false ratings out of 20 is an accomplishment." That's a reference to earlier this hour. My report on the Truth-o-meter.
Let's check out Facebook now.
Go ahead.
COLLINS: Truth-o-meter.
LEVS: Truth-o-meter. Sorry. You like Truth-o-meter.
But we agreed on Obameter, right?
COLLINS: We did.
LEVS: For the next hour.
COLLINS: So, truth-o-meter.
LEVS: Truth-o-meter.
COLLINS: Anyway, carry on. Sorry.
LEVS: Let's see what we got. We got some on Facebook here.
Let's get in one there from Kimberly Krauffer. "I'd give him a "B+" on the economy and his agenda, although he is hampered by the left-wing nut congressional leadership that seems more concerned with payback than bipartisanship."
And we can end on this one over here. Frank Flores says, "I'm all for Obama and the change he was talking about before the election. I'm just waiting for it to happen."
Now we would love to hear from you any, which way -- blog, Facebook, Twitter.
Let's show it on the graphic. You can write to Heidi. You can tell her what you're thinking today about all of this. You've got the three different ways -- the NEWSROOM blog, my Facebook page, Josh Levs CNN, Twitter.com/JoshLevsCNN.
We're reaching out every which way on this 100 day of the administration to hear what you think.
COLLINS: Yes, we are.
All right, Josh, we sure do appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: And want to remind everybody also to stay with us tonight for a special look at the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. Join the Best Political Team on Television for the "CNN NATIONAL REPORT CARD." That will be followed by live coverage of President Obama's news conference. It all begins tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Not a discount ticket, the government pays $300 grand for a flight from Washington to New York. And now the president wants to know why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Obama is demanding an investigation into that ill-advised photo shoot over New York City. The Air Force flyby, Monday, stirred up memories of 9/11, and caused panic in the city. Some buildings even evacuated. Here's one of the 911 calls now.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Oh, my God.
DISPATCHER: What is the problem? You've got to tell me. What is going on, sir?
CALLER: There's a (INAUDIBLE) falling an aircraft, a big aircraft kind of like the 9/11.
DISPATCHER: The building is falling down? On Montgomery and where?
CALLER: Between Montgomery and Grand Street, 101 Hudson.
DISPATCHER: 101 Hudson?
CALLER: Everybody is running. People are crying and panicking.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Air Force said the so-called training flight cost more than $300,000. But that it would have been flying somewhere else if it hadn't been over New York City. Another photo-op planned for next week has now been canceled.
Probably a good idea.
Rob Marciano joining us now with more on heavy downpours expected in the plains states again, huh?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: OK, Rob, we know you are watching it.
Thank you. Appreciate that.
MARCIANO: OK.
COLLINS: A career helping kids in need. The inspirational story of a Connecticut teacher now recognized as tops in his profession. Reaching out to kids with special needs. We'll ask him why he became a teacher and why others should follow in his footsteps.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The highest honor for teachers is seeing their students succeed. That is the case for Connecticut special education teacher Tony Mullen. And now his own success is being rewarded.
Look at those pictures.
President Obama honored him last night as the 2009 National Teacher of the Year. Tony Mullen is joining us now from Washington this morning.
A big fat congratulations to you, Tony. Good for you.
How are you feeling this morning?
TONY MULLEN, 2009 TEACHER OF THE YEAR: I'm still on cloud nine. We still haven't come down yesterday from the visit at the White House.
COLLINS: Well, I bet you haven't. The pictures are great. What was it like to meet the president?
MULLEN: Oh, it's an absolutely incredible experience. It felt just wonderful to not only myself, but to my family. He couldn't have been more gracious, and he brought us into the Oval Office, and he talked to us. And he just had a terrific warmth about him and made us feel welcome in his house.
COLLINS: I bet he did. I'm still looking at these great pictures here. What a day you had. We need a lot more people like you.
MULLEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: But bear with me, because I want to tell your story just real quickly here. And part of the reason why you got this award is because of this incredible story. Listen to this, everybody.
You were in the police department for New York, because we are hearing that New York accent in your voice there for 20 years. You went on to become a narcotics detective. You did not go to college during this time or earlier in your life because of some family circumstances, but you did go to school while you were on the police force, then you left that career to eventually become a teacher. The one that you are today. You're a special education teacher, in fact.
MULLEN: Yes.
COLLINS: Why did you want to become a teacher?
MULLEN: Because of the students that I work with, which go on to this umbrella term "at-risk," those are the students and the type of people that I met for over 20 years in New York City police department. Young men and women who unfortunately I was only able to get to them too late in their lives after they had made some bad decisions.
And the good thing about police work is that you get to do some terrific public service. The bad part is you get to -- unfortunately, reach these children when it's too late.
COLLINS: Yes, too late.
MULLEN: It's a reactive type of profession, rather than proactive. so I knew for me to work with these type of adolescents, I would need to go into something I've always wanted, to be a teacher. And to be somebody who can reach them before they make those bad decisions, before they make the mistakes.
COLLINS: Do you feel like you've been able to do some of that?
MULLEN: Oh, absolutely. Yes, we've -- I worked with a great bunch of students and have worked with a great bunch of students who have come to my classroom with various issues. It could be emotional disabilities or academic disabilities, or they've had trouble with the criminal justice system. I've been able to take them into my classroom and not only teach them, but mentor them and worked with them to develop a very close relationship with not only them, but with their family and people who are involved in their lives. And that's really kind of what it takes.
COLLINS: Well, God bless you for all of that.
MULLEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: Quickly, as you know today is Barack Obama's 100th day in office. So we're kind of going around and getting everybody's grade on how they feel he's been doing. I'd love to know what you would give him as far as grade on education and progress that he's hoping to make.
MULLEN: Yes, he would score very high in my book, and particularly, with my students. One of the things that we've noticed when the students was elected that these students are just so excited and so energized that he had become the president. And I know particularly the "at-risk" population that I work with, they see hope and inspiration in the president.
And it's going to be terrific for them to see that somebody who came from his roots and have achieved what he has achieved, it means a lot to them. And to see him out there talking about how education changed his life, I think it's giving a lot more meaning and a lot more importance to our children.
COLLINS: Understood.
Quick, give a shout-out to your school.
MULLEN: Hello, ARCH School. I'll be back Monday, and I miss you guys, all. Miss you guys, terribly.
COLLINS: Very good. Our Teacher of the Year for 2009, Tony Mullen.
Congratulations and thank you so much for what you do.
MULLEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: There is an awful lot going on this morning. And we do have crews working to bring you everything you need to know.
Let's check in now with some of our correspondents beginning with you, Elizabeth.
Good morning.
COHEN: Good morning, Heidi.
Heidi, a child dies in Texas from the swine flu. It's the first death in this country from the disease. I'll have more on the outbreak at the top of the hour.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans in New York. You know, more than 22 million people visit Mexico on a trip every year. Seventy percent of those people are from the United States. If you're this morning wondering what you should do, we'll have that story at the top of the hour.
MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano on the CNN severe weather center. From 93 in Boston yesterday to 52 right now. Drastic cool down, feeling a little bit more like spring, as opposed to summer for some, Heidi. That was a little too much too soon. We'll talk more about that at the top of the hour.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, thank you, Rob, and to everybody this morning.
We also -- we'll hear from some recent college graduates about the job President Obama is doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: One hundred days ago today, Barack Obama made history by becoming the nation's first African-American president. We're taking time today to assess his first 100 days.
Our T.J. Holmes recently sat down with leaders of the civic organization 100 Black Men of America to get their opinions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a different messenger and a guy who has a lot of capital with the American people and the world, who want him to succeed. But things look in a lot of ways just about the same as they have for the past several years up on Capitol Hill.
Somebody...
JOHN THOMAS GRANT, CEO, 100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA: Well, let me say it's less than 100 days.
(LAUGHTER)
GRANT: Let me say that again. One hundred days, and we can't expect miracles. I mean, we've -- it affects everyone, regardless of your political view -- food on the table, health care for your children, educating your children and being able to have a job. It doesn't matter what your political view is, those things impact everyone.
BERNARD TAYLOR SR., ATTORNEY, ALSTON & BIRD: In our government, there are certain ways to get things done. And in this system, you have to use the political system in order to achieve the right result. But in order to get there, he's got to be deaf at utilizing the political system in order to achieve those goals. So it may look like his politics as normal. Because it has to be politics as normal in order to get to the right results.
HOLMES: I'm going to start here. I'm going to go down the row, and kind of get some short answers here. But so far, if you had to grade him, and not a letter grade here, but what have you seen that he has done policy-wise?
You know, we talked about him inspiring the hope, but policy- wise, what have you seen him do that you really liked, and what have you seen him do that you really disapproved of?
JOHN HAMMOND, CEO, 100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA: The things that I really liked so far is the stimulus package and the way it's being communicated.
TAYLOR: Let me start off by saying I can't think of anything in the first 80-something days or 100-something days that I've seen that I think that I'm disappointed with, or wish he had done differently, because I think he has really taking care of business and focusing upon things in the right way. The other point I like about him and his family is what he's shown to all of us, and to our society, to our country, about a healthy, African-American family with strong relationship between him and his wife. I mean, it's clear that Michelle Obama is his partner and a valued adviser, and that he listens to her.
BISHOP EDDIE LONG, PASTOR, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: What I might dislike about our president, it took a little while to get the dog in place.
But other than that...
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: ...but overall, I am -- what I'm excited about, what I'm looking at, especially how he's dealt with the automotive industry and help them to restructure, to get some perspective there, already mentioned in addressing our financial industry, the banking, et cetera.
HOLMES: So not much criticism of the president in this group?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But it's early.
HOLMES: It's early.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And T.J. Holmes is joining us now.
So you mentioned it there, T.J. Not a lot of criticism in that clip. Did they at any point talk to you about some things they think the president could have done better in these 100 days?
HOLMES: I pressed and I pressed about that issue and tried to get something out of them. But, again, they kept coming back to, it's early. Give him a break. Give him a chance. It's too early to even gauge how some of his policies might work. The only thing, Heidi, I was able to get out of them, is maybe his tone with the business community.
They thought he set a tone that the government was anti-business, and that didn't help the markets, it didn't help people who are trying to help this economy recover. So that's the only thing I got out of them. Certainly, they, like a lot of people, just trying to give the president a break in the first 100 days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: All right. CNN's T.J. Holmes.
Thanks so much, T.J.
Here are some of the other stories happening right now that we want to get to. Wall Street hoping to end a two-day slump, but this morning's discouraging new numbers on the GDP could have a negative effect. However, look at those numbers. Up 113 points right now for the Dow Jones Industrial Averages.
Also, we have to keep an eye out on the Federal Reserve ending its interest rate meeting a little bit later today. So we're watching all of it for you.
Meanwhile, the New York Yankees are giving in as the team decided to cut ticket prices by as much as, get this, 50 percent for some of the premium seats at the new Yankees' Stadium. It is gorgeous. A lot of those $2,500 seats -- yes, behind home plate, were empty for the opening series.
Taliban fighters abduct dozens of Pakistani soldiers and police after the military launched new offensives into Taliban-controlled territory near the capital of Islamabad.
