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American Morning
New Trials Suggest Successful HIV-AIDS Vaccine; Ahmadinejad's U.N. Speech Causes Controversy but Also Hope; Recession Causes Women not to Have Children; Using Dogs Scent Lineups as Evidence Might Have Caused Injustices
Aired September 24, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And right now we're coming up right on 7:00 here in New York.
Welcome. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's September 24th -- Thursday.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's correct.
(LAUGHTER)
And you are?
CHETRY: Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you.
Here are the stories we'll break down for you in the next 15 minutes. It could be a monumental medical breakthrough, something many doctors thought was impossible, an HIV vaccine that appears to be working in a third of the cases. It's generating a lot of excitement this morning following a promising clinical trial.
In just a moment our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta with more on the drug and how it worked and what happened to thousands of people who took part in the study.
CHETRY: And President Obama preparing to do what no U.S. president has done before. He'll be wrapping up the U.N. General Assembly by chairing a Security Council meeting. And there's only one item on the agenda, a world without nukes. We're live at the U.N. as history unfolds today.
ROBERTS: And dogs sending people to jail -- more and more prosecutors depending on the animals to sniff out suspects. But there's new evidence that the science could be shaky and it could be costing innocent people their freedom. We'll get to that story coming up.
But first what could be a monumental breakthrough in the battle against AIDS. There's an experimental HIV vaccine protocol that's showing a lot of promise in clinical trials.
Here's what we know about it this morning. Researchers used the combination of drugs on 16,000 volunteers in Thailand. And they say it's the first HIV vaccine protocol to show positive results, reducing the chance of infection by close to a third.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us this morning from Philadelphia. And Sanjay, what's really interesting is you look at previous vaccine trials. They were very disappointing, these are two existing drugs used in a different way, and this time around we see some success.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. I was thinking about this this morning. You've been covering stories about HIV-AIDS for a long time. I've been doing it for almost a decade now as well.
A lot of people thought we would never be able to report a story like this, John. Even in the scientific community they thought before these study results came out a vaccine just wasn't in the cards for HIV-AIDS.
The two vaccine trials that you mentioned in the past, one didn't work at all. The second one may have actually increased somebody's likelihood to develop HIV. So those were failures, no question about it.
So this is a potentially big deal. Keep that in mind as I lay out specifically what this research showed. It was overall a modest increase, but it was a large vaccine trial, 16,000 people as you mentioned. About 8,200 were in the placebo group that received no vaccine, and about 8,200 received the vaccine.
Over a period of six months they received six shots, for priming shots, two booster shots. Three years later they were tested. Take a look at the numbers -- 74 people in the placebo group, again, out of people who did not receive the vaccine, they got HIV, and 51 in the vaccine group did.
So there was some sort of benefit there, John, overall, about a 31 percent benefit.
The people who were studied were people considered high risk. They were sex workers, people who were high risk for various reasons. That was their target population, and this is what they found.
But John, as you accurately pointed out, before these study results came out they thought a vaccine just wouldn't happen.
ROBERTS: So why do they think this trial was more successful than ones in the past?
GUPTA: You know, we've asked the same question, and the right answer is they are not sure yet. But if you look at that protocol, John, it's a little bit different than vaccine protocols in the past.
A vaccine, as you know, sort of teaches the body's immune system to fight off the infection if it should ever see it. Sometimes you get one vaccine and then a booster.
This was a series of six shots over six months. Could that have had something to do with it, each shot building on the next? Who knows?
What the scientific community is telling us and what they're going to be talking about over the next week or so is this idea that this is proof of principle. This is this proof that this pathogen that causes HIV was thought to be too tricky, too evasive, that it hid too well. But you can create a vaccine that works.
ROBERTS: Pretty amazing stuff. Sanjay Gupta with that great news for us this morning. Sanjay, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
CHETRY: In just over two hours in New York President Obama will lead a history-making meeting of the U.N. Security Council. The only thing on the agenda, a call for a world without nuclear weapons.
And it is the first time ever that an American president has chaired a Security Council meeting since the body was created back in 1946.
For more we have our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us as well as senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth as well. Thanks to both of you for being with us.
And Suzanne, let's start with you. So the president, as we know, has so much on his agenda. Why is he highlighting the importance of trying to get a lid on nuclear proliferation?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there are so many things that he's covering. But this is really very important as well. It's significant because it very much mirrors President Obama's own vision, his commitment to creating a world without nuclear weapons.
It's a goal he laid out in Prague in April. And President Obama has called for deeply cutting U.S. and Russia's arsenals, adopting a treaty that bans all nuclear tests, and tracking down loose nukes.
It's an agreement that's important because it puts more pressure on Iran, essentially, to give up its own nuclear ambitions by having other countries lead by example.
And it also reaffirms previous sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their nuclear activities, what would have been better for president Obama if they called for additional sanctions.
But I spoke with the White House aide this morning and says this is a beginning, it's a start. We'll wait until October. That's when you have those world leaders, a smaller group meeting and talking directly with Iran to see what next step they will take.
CHETRY: Very interesting, and we'll be watching it closely.
ROBERTS: Let's bring in Richard Roth who's at the United Nations this morning. And Richard, we're expecting some controversial speeches today, but you wouldn't think anything could top what we saw yesterday from Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi and from Ahmadinejad of Iran.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Let's focus again on the Supreme Council meeting that Suzanne is referring to. All of the talk about North Korea and Iran is certainly very interesting dialogue for what's happening in the world these days.
But after what happened yesterday with Muammar Gadhafi inside the General Assembly, this isn't over yet, because inside the Security Council today this is the fifth ever heads of state summit meeting inside the Security Council.
President Barack Obama, first time ever a president happens to be the president of the Security Council. He'll have the gavel in his hand. Muammar Gadhafi should be sitting there just a few seats away inside this prestigious chamber. We expect some speeches. What is going to happen if Colonel Gadhafi does not give up the microphone?
ROBERTS: All right. What does happen if he doesn't give up the microphone? They can't put the hook on him, can they? This is the United Nations.
ROTH: That's right. This is going to be -- and also the United States would dearly love to not have President Obama standing with Colonel Gadhafi.
We would expect Colonel Gadhafi, who praised President Obama as his son, his brother yesterday inside the General Assembly he'll want to come over and shake hands coming weeks after his intelligence agent was freed from a Scottish jail after being convicted of the bombing of Pan Am 103. This is not something the White House will want to see splashed in the newspapers tomorrow.
ROBERTS: All right, Richard Roth at the U.N. this morning. Richard, thanks.
CHETRY: And Suzanne, we did talk about that as well. How do you avoid those type of photo-ops that end up coming back to haunt you?
ROBERTS: You walk around with your hands in your pockets.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: And you've got security around you as well. But it happens. They bump into each other in the hallways. What are you going to do?
ROBERTS: Tighten up the bubble is what you do.
Also new this morning, in less than four hours time we're going to find out who will replace the late senator Ted Kennedy for the next few months. Massachusetts lawmakers approved a bill yesterday giving their governor the power to appoint an interim successor until a special election is held in January.
Former governor Michael Dukakis and former Democratic chairman Paul Kirk are considered favorites to get that appointment. A New York City police official reportedly replaced in the aftermath of the Denver and New York terror raids. "The New York Times" reporting his terror unit disrupted the sensitive federal investigation which is still ongoing. The raids led to three arrests and warnings of possible strikes in transit, stadiums, as well as hotels.
ROBERTS: Hard to tell in some places, but floodwaters in parts of the southeast are receding. The toll, however, is rising, at least 10 deaths in Georgia and Alabama now being blamed on the downpours that started on Friday.
The cost to property damage more than a quarter of a billion dollars and climbing, and officials are warning people to be careful as they return to their homes, flooding at sewage plants in four counties triggering concerns about bacteria and possible water borne disease.
Well, coming up next we're going to be talking with Jamie Rubin and Robin Wright about Iran after Ahmadinejad's speech yesterday at the United Nations, but holding out an olive branch and a baseball bat.
What's the way forward in potential relations between the United States and Iran? And could we see more sanctions as Iran continues to pursue their nuclear program? We'll find out.
It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
He is a Holocaust denier who has said that no gay people live in his country, so there was no shock that there was plenty of fiery rhetoric from Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.
He blasted the U.S. for its military and capitalism and Israel for its policy towards the Palestinians. But he also seemed to offer a rare olive branch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (via translator): Our nation is prepared to shake those hands which are honestly extended to us. We welcome real and humane changes and stand ready to actively engaging fundamental global reforms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: But how good is an olive branch? It's the first part of your speech made -- if the first part of your speech made the U.S., Britain, and France and a host of other countries walk out.
For more let's bring in Jamie Rubin. He's the former assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration. And Robin Wright is the author of "Dreams and Shadows." She's a former diplomatic correspondent for "The Washington Post."
So let's look at that first of all, Robin, Ahmadinejad saying that he is ready to shake all hands that were extended. Do you expect that's a sincere gesture?
ROBIN WRIGHT, FORMER DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "WASHINGTON POST": I think he's looking ahead to the talks next week with the five members of the Security Council in Germany. This is a critical time for his administration, this two week period, first on the international stage at the United Nations, and then with his representatives meeting for the first time with the United States.
And this is a time he's trying to signal, look we're willing to talk.
The problem with Ahmadinejad and this particular regime in Tehran is that they have not been prepared to compromise. When they talk about change, they are talking about other country's positions changing, not Iran's.
ROBERTS: At the same time he held out that olive branch he was also critical of many countries, including the U.S. and Israel. Let's listen to what he said about the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AHMADINEJAD (via translator): It is not acceptable that some who are several thousands of kilometers away from the Middle East should send in troops for military intervention and for spreading war, bloodshed, aggression, terror, and intimidation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The U.S. delegation you can see there walked out at that statement.
Jamie, the U.S. would like to engage Iran in some way, would like to move forward, maybe improve the relationship. But when he says the things he says, not just what he said yesterday but denying the holocaust, how do you deal with this guy?
JAMIE RUBIN, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, it's very difficult. The United States is, under President Obama, willing to directly engage with the Iranian government.
But since this election, and the crackdown on the people living there, the deaths, the violence, the real illegitimacy of that election, the administration has softened its position a little bit and is really reluctant to get too far engaged. I would say they are in a passive stance right now.
So they are saying, OK, we, the other countries and Europe, we have a requirement that you stop enriching uranium. But they are not reaching out as actively as they were before because they don't want to be seen as legitimizing a regime that many people in the world now as illegitimate after the election. So it's extraordinarily difficult.
And what Ahmadinejad has done is, not in his speech, but in an interview yesterday with "The Washington Post," has put out a very complicated proposal. He suggested that nuclear scientists from both sides should meet, and he suggested that the United States should offer a certain type of enriched uranium to the Iranians for peaceful purposes.
ROBERTS: For medical purposes.
RUBIN: This is a classic device to raise again the question of why aren't we allowed the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which treaty does allow them? But because of all we've said this morning and all we've seen with the Iranians, people do not want to trust Iran with that capability.
ROBERTS: Yes, Robin, some proliferation experts are seeing this offer of allowing western scientists to come and talk to Iranian nuclear experts as a potentially positive move. So you think it is?
And also on this issue of going to the United States and saying we would like some enriched uranium for medical purposes, is Iran basically sort of trying to put the U.S. in a box that if it doesn't do that then it does become justified in enriching its own uranium?
WRIGHT: ... important, but the fact is that's really about process, it's not about substance.
And the real danger here is that the Iranians, who have been seen as the culprit in not complying with international standards, are now trying to throw the ball back into the court of the United States and get the United States to be the one to be responsible for the breakdown of any talks because we find Iran not willing to cooperate with not only us but with the international community, and that then leaves Iran free to go ahead and pursue whatever enrichment process that it's trying to seek.
ROBERTS: Jamie, on the issue of sanctions, President Obama out there yesterday saying more stiff sanctions will probably needed. And even Russian President Medvedev said "Russia's position is simple. Sanctions are seldom productive but they are sometimes inevitable."
Does is sound like more sanctions could be coming down the line if Iran doesn't give up its nuclear program?
RUBIN: Yes. I think the next phase we're going to see, the talks I don't expect to go very far for a variety of reasons. The real discussions are with Russia, with European allies, with the Chinese, how tough can these sanctions be?
And the Russians opened the door now to a set of stiffer sanctions. It's never going to be as stiff as the United States wants. But I think you will see a new set of sanctions against Iran in the coming months. The problem is that it's hard to see a regime like Ahmadinejad's that's willing to go through this terrible violence and steal the election and all these different things capitulating because of economic sanctions and saying, OK, now we give up to the west and we're going to stop enrichment of uranium.
Sanctions just don't work very well in a regime of this time.
ROBERTS: Jamie Rubin and Robin Wright, thanks for being with us this morning. Good to see you both.
It's now 17 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 20 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A lot of women face shrinking household budgets in this recession, and it apparently is making them think twice about having a baby. Christine Romans has more on this story. She's minding your business from Pittsburg this morning.
We have talked a lot about how families have been trying to pivot and change habits, routine spending, because they are worried about money.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's absolutely right. And Kiran, this is the first definitive survey of the issue of recession and motherhood. What are working women, what are working class women thinking about having a baby right now when we're two years into a recession?
And what this survey from the Guttmacher Institute, it's a nonprofit research firm about reproductive and sexual health issues, what it found is that many women are trying to save money, and many say they are worse off finally than they were a year ago. They want to delay pregnancy.
And 44 percent say they want to put off having a baby, 64 percent say they can afford having a baby.
Here are the reasons why. The obvious, I would think, a couple of years into a recession, they are worried about taking time off to see a doctor. They are putting off their OBGYN visits to save money.
In fact, one out of four working class women, these are low income and middle income women, say they have put off a visit to the doctor in the past year because they don't want to pay the co-pays or the out of pocket expenses, and they're saying it's harder to pay for birth control, which is ironic if you're putting off having a baby in the middle of a recession, but you can't afford to pay the co-pays or get the birth control.
So again, this is a survey from the Guttmacher Institute, Kiran. It was 1,000 low and middle income women that they talked to about this.
And it's the first time we've been able to dig down and find out how the recession may be affecting how families and women are feeling about growing their family right now.
As you and I both know, though, when you talk to people, a lot of people make these decisions about their family and it doesn't have to do with money. It has to do with timing and other issues in their family. So this is just one survey showing how women are thinking right now about childbirth and the recession.
ROBERTS: Christine, do you have a "Romans' Numeral" this morning?
ROMANS: I do. It's 11,610. It's an annual number.
CHETRY: Is it how much it costs per year to raise one child?
ROMANS: One child, annual cost, $11,610. This is for a family of four, a husband-wife, $67,000 annual income, about $11,600 goes to raising the kids. It's something to think about.
CHETRY: If you're thinking about things like this...
ROBERTS: Is that an average over a lifetime including college, or is that before college?
ROMANS: Before college. College is a whole other ball game.
ROBERTS: Incredible.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Yes, it adds up to something like $175,000 to $330,000 before you get to college.
ROBERTS: The joy that children bring is immeasurable in terms of monetary value.
So Christine, thanks.
ROMANS: It's priceless. The joy of a kid is priceless.
CHETRY: It sure is.
How about this one, that dogs can actually sniff out whether or not people have committed crimes?
ROBERTS: They got a nose for a lot of things, but do they have a nose for that? That's the question.
CHETRY: Ed Lavandera takes a look at this controversial question about whether or not it's nabbing some innocent people as well.
It's 23 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Good morning, Houston, where it's a little unseasonably cool there, cloudy and 65 right now. Later on today, 77 with some thunderstorms. You know, when you think it will be 80s here in New York and only in the 70s in Houston, a little bit of a role reversal.
Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
Man's best friend is sending a lot of people to jail these days, prosecutors across the country winning guilty verdicts by using dogs to match a scent from a crime scene to a person in a lineup.
But now, as Ed Lavandera found out, many inmates are be being set free because the dogs apparently sniffed out the wrong suspects.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is how an innocent man became a prime suspect in a murder investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will begin by putting the scent on one of these cans. The deputy or the dogs do not know which can I'm going to put this one in.
LAVANDERA: Michael Buchanek's scent is placed in can number four. Investigators think he strangled and murdered a friend three years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to get the scent from the rope that was taken by Deputy Pikett back on the day that the victim's body was found.
LAVANDERA: Sheriff Deputy Keith Pikett will use these blood hounds to see if the Buchanek's scent matches the scent left at the crime scene. Two blood hounds repeat the test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He also alerted on can four.
LAVANDERA: That means the blood hounds have just made Michael Buchanek the suspect in the murder of his neighbor Sally Blackwell in Victoria, Texas. For five months Buchanek would live under a cloud of suspicion.
MICHAEL BUCHANEK, WRONGLY ACCUSED: I've cried myself to sleep enough times and had enough nightmares about it to finally be able to stand here and talk to you about it. But it's hard.
LAVANDERA: Dogs scent lineups have become a popular forensic tool for prosecutors and investigators across the country. Investigators wipe the scent of a possible suspect on a gauze pad and put the scents in cans.
Dog handlers then walk the dogs past the cans, and with the right whiff and signal to their master, investigators say these blood hounds can put them on a suspect's trial. LAVANDERA (on camera): Civil rights groups are ripping apart these lineups and they want the practice abolished. The Innocence Project says an unknown number of people have been wrongly accused or convicted by the bloodhound evidence.
But both sides admit these dog handlers aren't certified or regulated and that there are no standards to check the dog's accuracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anything has ever been junk science, it's this dog scent lineup.
LAVANDERA: In Texas, Fort Bend County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett has become a celebrity in law enforcement circles, helping convict hundreds of criminals using this technique.
His attorney says if the dog scent lineups are shut down investigators would lose an important crime fighting tool. Pikett and his attorney refused on-camera interview requests, but in January Pikett told a Houston TV station saying the lineups are accurate.
KEITH PIKETT, FORT BEND CO. SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: So wherever you go you leave their skin cells. They're microscopic. We can't see them or smell them, but the dog can.
LAVANDERA: But the dogs were wrong in Buchanek's case. Five months after his friend's murder, DNA evidence implicated another man who confessed to the crime.
What makes this case even more shocking is that he Buchanek spent 25 years as a sheriff's deputy with the very agency that suspected him of murder. He's suing, claiming civil rights violations.
BUCHANEK: They even told me they knew I did it and I would spend the rest of my life on death row.
LAVANDERA: His so called friends believed the dogs more than they believed him.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Victoria, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Ed Lavandera for us this morning, thanks.
Meanwhile, we're coming up half past the hour now, and we're checking our top stories.
A New York City police official reportedly has been replaced now in the aftermath of the Denver and New York terror raids. According to the "New York Times" his terror unit disrupted the sensitive federal investigation which is still ongoing.
Those raids led to three arrests and warnings of possible terror strikes or attempts to strike on transit, stadiums, and hotels.
ROBERTS: The group ACORN is suing two filmmakers who secretly recorded their employees. The tape showed conservative activists posing as a pimp and prostitute getting advice from ACORN employees on setting up a brothel with underage girls from El Salvador.
The lawsuit claims that Maryland law was violated because the employees were recorded without their consent. They recorded the videos in Baltimore and three other cities. And Maryland, by the way, is a two-party consent state. If you want to record somebody they have to know about it.
CHETRY: Didn't we learn that in the Lewinsky case?
ROBERTS: Yes. Exactly, right.
CHETRY: Well, the governor of Massachusetts will name an interim replacement for the late Senator Ted Kennedy this morning. Massachusetts lawmakers approving a bill yesterday that would allow the governor to choose a temporary successor until a special election can be held in January. Former governor Michael Dukakis and former Democratic Chairman Paul Kirk are considered to be front runners by many.
Right now, it's 30 minutes past the hour and it is a jammed packed schedule for President Obama today. In 90 minutes, he's going to be wrapping up the U.N. General Assembly in New York. As we said he's be the first U.S. president to chair the security council and the topic is going to be nuclear disarmament.
Then it's off to Pittsburgh for the G-20 summit. This is where 11 presidents, seven prime minister, a chancellor and a king will try to get together and help solve the world's financial problems. It's a small group but representing about 80 percent of the world's economy. And it's sure to attract thousands of protesters as we've seen in past years.
Joining me now to discuss Pittsburgh's preparations and to give us thoughts on why the steel city was chosen to host the G-20 is Pittsburgh's mayor, Luke Ravenstahl. Mayor, great to talk to you this morning. Thanks for being with us.
MAYOR LUKE RAVENSTAHL, PITTSBURGH: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: What was it like to hear that your city was picked to be the next host city of the G-20 summit?
RAVENSTAHL: Well, we're certainly very honored and privileged that the president of the United States chose Pittsburgh. He could have picked any city across this country but he picked Pittsburgh because of our economic transformation, because of the good things that are happening here and because he recognized that Pittsburgh can be a model for other cities and other countries to look at as they try to climb out of this economic recession.
CHETRY: Yes, you guys really had quite a turn around, what 18 percent, 19 percent unemployment in the mid-'80s because of the loss of the steel industry and then really a lesson in diversification. You guys actually - it's not the greatest unemployment numbers by any stretch of the imagination, because we're all going through a tough time but your numbers in your city, 7.7 percent unemployment actually best the state and the national average. So what is your secret?
RAVENSTAHL: Well, you're exactly right. When the steel industry declined here in the late '70s and early '80s, Pittsburgh's unemployment rate was approaching 20 percent. Very difficult time in Pittsburgh. We had to pick ourselves up. And to the credit of the people of the city and this region, we did just that. We diversified.
We now have not only steel, but high tech, biotech, higher education, life sciences, financial services. So that diversity and that good balanced economy has allowed us to have a lower unemployment rate than most. And when you compare Pittsburgh to cities across the country, specifically rust belt cities in the northeast we're doing very well and that's something that the president recognized and obviously that's why he chose Pittsburgh.
CHETRY: Mr. Mayor, some organizers who are against globalization point to your city and say it's actually the perfect example of the United States losing jobs to overseas competitors. What is your take on how big of a challenge it is to keep jobs, manufacturing jobs and other jobs where labor can be done cheaper in place like China and India.
RAVENSTAHL: Well, it's very important. Pittsburgh is a very union friendly city. This town was built with union labor and we still embrace that today. To their credit organized labor here in Pittsburgh has embraced green jobs. I was just at a rally here last evening talking about clean energy, green jobs our trades are now training a little bit differently. So roofers, for example, are learning how to install green roofs or solar panels on roofs.
And so our labor unions here to their credit, as I said, have stepped up to the plate and realized that it's a new day and age. They have to train a little bit differently. It may not be advance manufacturing like it once was but there are good solid paying jobs available by embracing clean energy and by embracing green jobs.
CHETRY: You know, London last year at the G-20, a lot of protests as you know, I'm sure you guys are gearing up for that. But London had 31,000 police officers out on the streets. And of course, Pittsburgh's force is under a 1,000. And you guys only had a couple of months to prepare. So what is the plan in case some of these protests get out of control?
RAVENSTAHL: Well, we have a very comprehensive public safety plan that has been put in place, one that I'm very comfortable with. We have 900 police officers full time in the city of Pittsburgh to supplement our efforts during the G-20 summit. We brought in 3,000 additional officers. So we'll have about 4,000 police officers here in the city of Pittsburgh to keep our residents safe, to protect the people of this city, to protect the property in this city and we believe that the plan we have in place is one that will work.
Of course, as we saw in London last year, as we've seen before that, you never know exactly what's going to happen and we'll be prepared to react to whatever incidents may occur here in the city.
CHETRY: And then how about the cost? Because London ended up costing the city like $130 million, four times what they expected. You guys are, you know, facing budget problems yourself. How are you guys going to afford hosting the G-20?
RAVENSTAHL: We've established a budget for public safety at about $18 million. The good news is as we stand here today on the first day of the summit we expect to meet that budget. The better news is that the federal government and state government have reimbursed the city of Pittsburgh already in excess of $16 million. So we've already been made whole.
We're going to work with our senators and congressmen after the summit to identify any overruns or costs that may have been higher than anticipated. We think that $18 million budget is an accurate budget and it will allow everybody to have a good time in Pittsburgh and also keep everybody safe.
CHETRY: Yes, well, it's a great city. I know that first hand. I love Pittsburgh. And congratulations to you guys. I'm sure it's a big honor to be hosting this. And good luck with everything. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, thanks so much for joining us.
RAVENSTAHL: It is. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine, 29 now. He was 26 when he was elected. The man seems to know what he's doing. We'll see if he can do well with the G-20 summit. I'm sure he can.
John Travolta forced to relive the day his son, Jett, died as an extortion trial carries on now. We're going to hear what he had to say about the day that his son went into a fatal seizure. It's 36 and half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. For the very first time we are hearing John Travolta talk about the death of his son, Jett, back in January. He's opening up on a witness stand in the Bahamas where two defendants are on trial trying for allegedly trying to extort $25 million from the actor. Prosecutors say Travolta's account of how he tried to save his son's life could be crucial to their case.
Randy Kaye is following that story for us this morning.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, John Travolta is expected to testify again today in a Bahamian court. Yesterday he spent about four hours explaining to the jury why he wanted to take his dying son to Florida for treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): It's called a refusal to transport, a piece of paper that family members must sign to refuse transport for medical services. Paramedic said Tarino Lightbourne says John Travolta signed that form and tried to stop the ambulance from taking his dying son, Jett, to the hospital in the Bahamas so he could be flown to Florida. That sheet of paper is now at the center of a celebrity drama playing out on an island paradise.
Lightbourne is one of the prime suspects accused of trying to extort $25 million from Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston in the days following their son's death. If they did not pay up, he allegedly threatened to make the private medical form public. Celebrity watcher Harvey Levin.
HARVEY LEVIN, CELEBRITY WATCHER: If it's true it's absolutely beyond despicable.
KAYE: Lightbourne and the other prime suspect, former Bahamian Senator Pleasant Bridgewater have been charged with conspiracy to extort. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Bridgewater's lawyer told us, "There's been no evidence of her involvement to commit an offense against Mr. John Travolta." Lightbourne's lawyer did not return our calls. Travolta first to testify in the Bahamian court told the jury "I received a liability of release document... I signed it... I did not read it... time was of the essence."
And Travolta had his own plane waiting.
LEVIN: John initially felt that he could fly in to Miami faster than he could drive him there by ambulance.
KAYE (on camera): Bahamian authorities say Lightbourne was at Travolta's side as he watched the massive seizure take his son's life. In the days following that tragedy, Lightbourne publicized Travolta's most personal moments, telling tabloids how the actor cried and prayed as he fought to save his son.
LEVIN: Somebody with John Travolta, trying to save Jett and then try to extort money from a grieving father, it is almost beyond belief.
KAYE (voice-over): Was the alleged plan hatched during a dying boy's final hours? If so, Levin calls that the ultimate betrayal.
(on camera): This actually is the most we've seen of John Travolta and Kelly Preston since their son, Jett, died they've cancelled appearances and remain for the most part in seclusion. John, Kiran -
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ROBERTS: Randi Kaye for us this morning. Randi, thanks so much.
Just a terrible for him to have to go through that again and under those circumstance, people trying to extort money over the death of his son. CHETRY: Unimaginable. Unimaginably cruel as well as those allegations turn out to be true. Meanwhile we're coming up on 43 minutes past the hour and we're going to be coming back with very a very interesting public service ad to get men more concerned about breast cancer. The name may say it all. It's called "Save the Boobs." Some were saying it goes too far. We'll show it to you next.
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CHETRY: There you go. Beautiful shot of Atlanta this morning. Actually a beautiful shot if it's like perhaps a horror movie because it's all cloudy there this morning. Hazy, 71 degrees. A little bit later thunderstorms in the forecast? 84 degrees.
Our Rob Marciano watching extreme weather for us. I thought that we were hopefully a little bit in the clear for Atlanta after those days and days of rain.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, a small chance of a thunderstorm. Honestly, I think it will be dry today, maybe one or two random ones but nothing like we saw earlier in the week. So that's the good news. Kind of see here in the radar scope, everything is kind of backed up through the Tennessee Valley, almost back to the Mississippi. So we're pretty dry here in Atlanta but folks who live up towards St. Louis and in through Memphis, you're certainly going to see some rainfall.
This is all kind of rotating around a huge area of low pressure. It's pretty strong for this type of year. It gave a cool rain to Denver and some snows to the Colorado Rockies. And it's not moving all that much. So that's one reason why folks there are dealing with cooler air. 58 degrees in Denver, it will be 73 degrees in Kansas City. 90 in Los Angeles. 80 degrees by the way in New York. It should be a nice day there with warm temperatures. A little cool front coming through, warm and hot with Santa Ana blowing across southern California and San Diego will be warm as well.
Pretty good looking zoo there. This is the Berlin zoo. That's Kanut (ph). He was born in 2006. And apparently one of the zoos in Italy has a female polar bear named Giovanna, and they have donated her to Berlin. No word on yet if they are getting along just yet. The obvious is, John and Kiran that, you know, that's a match that will produce happiness to say the least down the road.
ROBERTS: One can hope.
MARCIANO: Exactly. They are a little too young to get frisky I'm told. So that will have to come later on. I (INAUDIBLE) on video both of them together. So not exactly rubbing noses just yet. Your obligatory late week animal video after all the flooding stuff.
ROBERTS: And much appreciated. Thanks. Kanut (ph) is not just your average bear, is he? CHETRY: No. But the poor thing what - he was cutest thing in the world and they said he was getting too ugly. Come on, he's a polar bear.
ROBERTS: And now he's in an arranged marriage. I mean...
CHETRY: His life keeps getting worse.
ROBERTS: It's something you don't see every day.
It is the world's largest blue diamond, naked, as one Smithsonian curator said. The famous Hope diamond now on display in Washington, D.C. for the first time without its ornate setting. It just looks like a rock, doesn't? A new setting is being made for 45 and a half walnut sized gem. For the next several months you can see it without its traditional garb around it, naked as the Smithsonian says.
It doesn't look particularly impressive does it?
CHETRY: It still has the prongs around it. If they wanted it to be really naked, they should have taken off its little bra.
ROBERTS: Speaking of that, what a transition. How do you get a guy's attention when it comes to breast cancer? We'll show you. It's coming right up. Forty-eight minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: ... news in the morning. So we've all seen our fair share of shocking ad campaigns, right? Flip through any fashion magazine, you see all kinds of edgy ads from designers. We've seen some fairly interesting PSAs from groups like PETA in the past, as well.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. And now there is a new one out there. And this is a public service announcement for breast cancer that's drawing a lot of attention. It's actually called "Save the Boobs" and you have to see it to really get the full picture.
Alina Cho is here this morning with more. Because you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But a lot of times, you know, it's very easy to...
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Glance past it.
CHETRY: Yes. And to not really pay attention to a lot of the ads out there.
CHO: Yes, that's right.
ROBERTS: But this one you sort of attention to.
CHO: Yes, especially you, John. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. All men, I would say, probably. You know, some say this public service announcement looks a little bit more like a Bud light commercial than it does a PSA for breast cancer awareness. But that's exactly what it is.
It's a PSA. The big question is, is it in poor taste or does shock value trump all. Well, the founder of the group behind the ad, rethink breast cancer, says well they were looking for a ways to reach a younger audience and a male audience too. That, certainly, it will do. But the ad clearly isn't for everyone. Some might call it offensive. So here it is. Take a look and judge for yourself.
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CHO: Well, if you weren't awake, you are now. No need for the coffee this morning. The reaction so far has been mixed, no surprise there, and the charity isn't the only one borrowing from Madison Avenue and using sex to sell. Take a look at this. We found this PSA put out by the National Lung Cancer partnership. Yes, this is about lung cancer. Racy, yes, but also memorable.
And hey, isn't that the goal? So back to the breast cancer ad. The founder of the group that made it says young people are picking up pamphlets these days with a 65-year-old woman on the cover. They're probably passing them out. She says this is a bold and fun way to communicate the message that will "stop them in their tracks."
I was talking a little bit about getting men to pay attention to breast cancer awareness. This is certainly a way to do it. And part of the reason, this group says is because a lot of women, they hear from women time and time again, they say, I found a lump in my breast, I'm afraid to check. They go to their boyfriend or their husband and say, can you help me do that. That's why they want men to pay attention to breast cancer.
Also, keep in mind that nearly 2,000 men, according to the National Cancer Society, will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Of course, that's 100 times less than the risk for women. But certainly, it is a risk out there for men.
ROBERTS: It's a terrible disease. I think we all know somebody who's had breast cancer...
CHO: Yes, that's right.
ROBERTS: ... at some point in their life. Some have survived, and some haven't.
CHO: Certainly, you sit up and pay attention to this ad. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Why are you painting all men with the same brush here?
CHO: I'm not doing that. I'm just saying, you know, you were watching it very closely, paying attention to the text.
CHETRY: Sometimes a white bikini is universally attention grabbing. CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Can't blame John.
CHO: Yes. Can't blame him at all.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much.
So, speaking of - we were talking about, you know, breast cancer and that end. Also on the medical front this morning, perhaps not as dramatic and risque as that, but certainly just as significant medically, progress in a vaccine to fight HIV infection. And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is looking into that. He'll have the details for us, coming up. 55 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We are following a developing story out of Iraq right now. The city of Tikrit is locked down as authorities search for more than a dozen inmate who escaped from a prison on Wednesday. Police have imposed a curfew in Tikrit and are running checkpoints around the city, which, by the way, is Saddam Hussein's hometown.
From Iraq now to Afghanistan, where the White House and the military seem to be at odds over a way forward for the U.S. mission there. The top U.S. commander General Stanley McChrystal says he needs more troops within the next year, or the war will likely result in failure. But the president wants a new strategy first.
Our Chris Lawrence is digging deeper on this disconnect. He is live at the Pentagon for us this morning. Hi, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, you know, we hear so much about the president's strategy and the general's assessment. Think about it like this. If I ask you or tell you, I want to buy this house in one year and ask you, what's it going to take for me to get it? When you tell me, I got to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week and put down $50,000, I say to you, maybe I need to look at another house.
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LAWRENCE (voice-over): The U.S. commander's assessment of what's really happening on the ground in Afghanistan and the need for up to 40,000 more American troops has sent the Obama administration scrambling to come up with more options. The current strategy was a counter insurgency against Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
To do it right, General Stan McChrystal says he'll need more troops. And to protect Afghan civilians, those troops will have to assume more risk and spend as little time as possible in armored vehicles or behind the walls of forward operating bases.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: There is a discussion taking place about whether to continue to be the strategy or whether adjustments should be made.
LAWRENCE: Several sources tell CNN the administration was taken aback by the assessment. That its troop requirements put the president in a box. Some key officials would rather narrow the mission.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The objective is Al Qaeda. That is the objective.
LAWRENCE: Another alternative, put a large military intelligence force into Afghanistan to stop militants from planning attacks on the U.S. and give money and weapons to tribal war lords, who can fight the Taliban with their own militias.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has to be dealt with through not only outright bribery, but also trying to co-op certain militias and war lords.
LAWRENCE: How can the administration change strategy at this point? Well, the Afghan election is still being disputed with allegations of voter fraud. Officials have started to drop hints that counterinsurgency won't work if Afghans don't believe in their government.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: Obviously, we have to have a strong partner.
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LAWRENCE: Well, the general's official troop request is on its way right now to the Pentagon here, but a senior official tells us that President Obama's national security team is intensively looking for alternative strategies and hope to present some of those new options within just a matter of weeks -- John.
ROBERTS: And we know that you'll keep watching it closely for us, Chris. Thanks so much. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon this morning.
Later on this hour, by the way, at 8:30 Eastern, we're going to be speaking with retired Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, and Stephen Biddle from the Council on Foreign Relations. Stephen was one of the people involved in creating this assessment that General Stanley McChrystal has given to the administration. So, they both have some good information about the potential way forward in Afghanistan.
