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American Morning
Obama and Hatoyama Press Conference; U.S. Officials Attempting to Seize Four Mosques That May Help Bankroll Terrorism; What Does Obama Have to Offer Overseas in Economic Crisis
Aired November 13, 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: Hello and welcome. It's Friday, November 13th, Friday the 13th, which is a lucky day for some.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: So far, so good.
CHETRY: Yes. For us, so far, so good. I'm Kiran Chetry.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes filling in today for John Roberts. Here are some of the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
President Obama now more than five hours into his overseas trip in Asia. You are seeing a live picture here. That's the Japanese Prime Minister who is in a press conference right now with President Obama. This is the president's first trip to Asia since taking office. A lot at stake here from the economy to jobs to Washington's critical relations with that region. Our Ed Henry is travelling with the President in a moment. We'll take you live to Japan.
CHETRY: Also the Feds trying to seize $500 million in assets from a Muslim group, including a New York City skyscraper as well as four mosques spread across the country. Prosecutors say that the group is actually a front for Iran's government and long suspected of helping fund terrorism, so how will this affect the relations between the U.S. government and American Muslims? The case and the controversy just ahead.
HOLMES: Also a new question this morning about why the army recently promoted a suspected Fort Hood gunman when there were so many questions about his competency. Former colleagues now claiming Nidal Malik Hasan openly pledged his allegiance not to America but to the Koran. All the new developments in a live report from Fort Hood up ahead.
CHETRY: But first, the President facing some pressure this morning. He's overseas, kicking off a week-long trip to Asia, and as we said, this is his first trip to the region since taking office, so you may be wondering why a trip halfway around the world matters to us. Well, Asia, for all intents and purposes, is America's banker. China and Japan are the two biggest holders of treasury securities to the tune of $1.5 trillion.
Asia is also the place where millions of American jobs have gone over the past decade. That said, here's the breakdown. President Obama is going to be visiting four nations over eight days, and the first stop as we've shown you live pictures of throughout the morning, Japan. He's right now holding a press conference with Japan's new Prime Minister. The president then heads to Singapore, China and ends the trip in South Korea.
Part of the mission is to try to diplomatically prod leaders to get tough on North Korea for its disputed nuclear program. The President will also try to persuade China, an economic powerhouse, to buy more U.S. imports.
Our Ed Henry is traveling with the President. He's live on the phone this morning, but we're going to check in with him in a few minutes.
Ed, are you there? Are you at the press conference right now? All right. He's actually listening to what's going on at the press conference. There's a live look right now, so we're going to check in with Ed in just a couple of minutes. Let's listen to what the President is saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Questions fewer in number.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister.
President Obama, how can you assure the American people that a trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed now that your administration has now decided will take place in a civilian court in New York will be safe and secure but also not result in an innocent verdict for him?
And on Afghanistan, if I might, can you explain to people watching and criticizing your deliberations what piece of information you are still lacking to make that call?
And if I could add one to the prime minister, please. Could you describe why your country decided not to continue refueling ships going to Afghanistan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via translator): Mr. President?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With respect to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, I believe the attorney general will be making an announcement this morning in the United States, this evening here. I don't want to preempt his news conference.
This is a prosecutorial decision, as well as a national security decision.
Here's the thing that I will say. I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people will insist on it, and my administration will insist on it. And I'm sure we'll have additional things to say after the attorney general's press conference.
With respect to Afghanistan, Jennifer, I don't think this is a matter of some datum of information that I'm waiting on. It's a matter of making certain that when I send young men and women into war, and I devote billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money, that it's making us safer, and that the strategies that are in place not just on the military side but also on the civilian side are coordinated and effective in our primary goal, which is to make sure that the United States is not subject to attack and its allies are not subject to attack by terrorist networks, and that there's stability in the region that helps to facilitate that larger goal.
And I recognize that there have been critics of the process. They tend not to be folks who, I think, are directly involved in what's happening in Afghanistan. Those who are recognize the gravity of the situation and recognize the importance of us getting this right.
And the decision will be made soon. It will be one that is fully transparent so that the American people understand exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it and what it will entail.
It will also, I think, send a clear message that our goal here ultimately has to be for the Afghan people to be able to be in a position to provide their own security and that the United States cannot be engaged in an open-ended commitment.
So I am very pleased with how the process has proceeded. And those who participated, I think, would acknowledge that it has been not an academic exercise but a necessary process in order to make sure that we're making the best possible decisions.
CHETRY: All right, we just heard the president answering some questions about Afghanistan, about when he's going to decide on troops, and also the breaking news that just came out this morning, that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed as well as four other Guantanamo Bay detainees are going to be brought to New York city to face trial in a civilian federal court.
Our Ed Henry is just outside of the press conference. He stepped out so that he could talk to us by phone this morning.
So the president is answering some questions that really don't have to do with his Asia trip right now, but of course that news breaking just a few moments ago, especially about the pending trials from the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right, Kiran. This happens a lot when any U.S. president travels overseas, a lot of the problems back home, whether it be health care, the economy, Afghanistan, the president was also asked about the deliberations about whether to send more U.S. troops, that follows the president wherever he goes.
And CNN first reported last night that the president's top counsel, Greg Craig, is going to be stepping down as early as today. And that is related to the Guantanamo Bay situation because there's been a lot of criticism internally that Greg Craig did not handle the process to close down the prison at Guantanamo Bay properly.
And that's the reason he's essentially being pushed out of the White House, really the first high-level shakeup of senior staff. He's going to be replaced by Democratic attorney Bob Bauer.
And the other big news, as you said, is that in conjunction with that, the White House also announcing in the next couple of hours, the Obama Justice Department will actually do it officially, saying that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, several other terror suspects, detainees at Guantanamo, are going to be sent to New York City to stand trial in civilian courts.
The president was pressed on that point, whether he can assure the American people that they'll be safe and secure with these terror suspects on U.S. soil. But it's a very volatile, controversial subject right now.
He said the U.S. will be safe and also said in his words that they will be under the, quote, "Most exacting demands of justice," saying that he's confident they can get a guilty verdict against these terror suspects even if they will be tried in civilian courts.
So certainly a lot on the president's plate.
He was also trying to stress, you know, that there will be strong U.S.-Japanese relations. There's been some questions about that because the new Japanese prime minister has been saying that he wants to be less dependent on the U.S.
The president, though, saying today that he said, quote, let me insist the U.S. and Japan are equal partners. A very important message the U.S. wanted to send there through the president, that basically they are not trying to make Japan dependent upon the U.S. anymore, that they want to be equal partners -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That's something the new prime minister also was talking about as being very important to him as well. All right, Ed Henry right outside of that press conference taking place. We'll check back in with you as we hear more highlights and any other news. Thanks, Ed.
HOLMES: Another story developing this morning, federal prosecutors trying to seize assets from a non-profit Muslim group including mosques in California, Texas, Maryland, and New York, as well as land -- or as well as land in Virginia and a skyscraper in Manhattan.
The feds say the owners have ties to Iran and are suspected of helping bankroll terrorism. Our Deborah Feyerick has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: U.S. officials are attempting to seize four mosques plus a New York City skyscraper just steps from Rockefeller Center on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.
The charge that the Alavi Foundation which gets money from these properties is actually a front company for a larger Iranian-owned bank and that that bank channels money to support Iran's nuclear program and parts of its military forces labeled terrorist organizations by the United States.
The four mosques include the Islamic Institute of New York in Queens, New York, the Islam Education Center in Houston, Texas, and two other mosques in Maryland and California. We're told the imam at the New York mosque is on a pilgrimage to Mecca and could not be reached for comment.
President Obama Thursday extended the national emergency with respect to Iran because of ongoing problems with that country. U.S. officials are also attempting to seize bank accounts and other properties believed to have direct ties to the Iranian government.
The U.S. accuses Iran of deceptive practices designed to fund terrorism and pursue its nuclear and missile programs.
American Muslims are already concerned about potential backlash because of the Fort Hood shootings. A senior justice official stresses that the move is against the Iranian landlords and that the mosques just happen to be in some of the targeted buildings.
An attorney for the Alavi Foundation tells CNN the foundation has been cooperating with prosecutors and they will fight these charges. Meantime, the skyscraper on Fifth Avenue remains open.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Thanks, Deb.
HOLMES: Of course, we've been following the president this morning, the live press conference. And you've seen his comments this morning.
But what does this trip mean to what's happening here? How does this trip to Asia come back and help us out in our economic situation here in this country? We have an economics panel coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 11 past the hour.
President Obama in Japan as we've been seeing on air this morning, the start of a four-nation Far East swing.
And with unemployment here at home over 10 percent, we're at 10.2 now, the economy certainly going to be a key issue. And this is a region where some countries, including China, are emerging faster and stronger from the economic crisis.
And here to talk about this, our own Christine Romans standing here next to me, and also from Washington, Krishna Guha, a U.S. economics editor for the "Financial Times." I appreciate you being here, Krishna. I'm here with Christine Romans. Let's start with this trip. Everybody here in this country is hurting. Help them understand why his trip there, what happens, what he says, who he meets with is important to us getting out of the mess we're in here.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And T.J., I think that's why he made this announcement about a new job summit yesterday before he left on this trip, the president trying to say I feel your pain and I'm working on it, because here in the United States we have a job problem. And he's going now to spend a few days in a region where many of our jobs have gone over the past 20 or 30 years for a variety of reasons.
So he's trying to make sure he doesn't look like he's over here talking to our bankers and talking to the places where jobs are growing and where the economy is growing when we still have these big problems here in the U.S.
HOLMES: Krishna, what does he have to offer over there? It sounds like nothing at all. What is his strategy? What can he do? Is he over there essentially begging for some help?
KRISHNA GUHA, ECONOMICS EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Well, look, he's going there with a simple message, which is, guys, we're all in this together. We need to figure out a way to build a strong global recovery that's going to create jobs here in the U.S. but also support jobs elsewhere in the world, too.
There's a simple truth, which is in the years leading up to this crisis, the whole world depended much too much on U.S. consumption fueled by debt.
Now in the years going forward, we know that's not going to happen. We know U.S. consumers are tightening their belt. The U.S. government is going to have to tighten its belt soon, too.
But who is going to fill the gap? Where will the demand come from? And then what will be the sources that lead to new jobs growth everywhere?
The Obama administration is saying to the countries in Asia, you have to be part of this. You've got to boost your demand. You have to get your consumer spending while our consumers pull back. That way we'll get a strong global recovery.
HOLMES: I see you shaking your head here, Christine, as he's talking there. But how difficult is it to get them on board, to convince them that they have a stake in it as well when a lot of the economies are not in as bad of shape as the U.S.? Maybe they want to pull back a little bit.
ROMANS: We all know we're in it together. I think they know we're in it together too. Just last weekend the Chinese were reminding us about our fiscal responsibilities because they are watching the dollar and they have such a huge stake in the U.S. economy.
But he's talking about this idea of rebalancing, this rebalancing between global growth. Who are the people who are the buyers? Who are the sellers? Where is the demand coming from?
We know that the United States drove the global economy for years because its consumers bought things on borrowed money. We also know what that led to.
So now we're in this painful period of trying to adjust. And I think that's going to mean -- I think that's going to mean maybe a little bit of tension between all of our -- all of us as we try to balance our own personal and national strategies with this global commitment that we have.
HOLMES: And Krishna, you heard her say so much of the world economy was driven for so long by the United States. Does the key now lie in the Far East? Does it now lie in driving the economy, maybe pulling it out of the mess it's in? Does it lie in the far east where the president is right now?
GUHA: There's no question that Asia is leading the world out of this recession. They don't have the banking sector problems that we have here. They don't have the indebted consumers. So they are in a better place to pull -- help to pull the world up.
Now the truth is that even China is still a fraction of the size of the U.S. These economies can't do all the lifting on their own, but they're going to have to be an important part of the solution. But as your colleague pointed out a moment ago, they have things they want from the U.S., too. In particular, they're worried about the dollar. They're worried about U.S. public finances. And they want assurances from the U.S. administration that if they do their bit, the U.S. will bring public finances into better balance and will maintain the strength of the dollar.
HOLMES: Can we make those promises and deliver on those promises you just mentioned there, Krishna?
GUHA: You know, it's tough because, of course, in the short term, the government has to keep supporting the economy through its fiscal stimulus, maybe through some additional measures being discussed by the administration, but the message from America's creditors is loud and clear. We're getting worried about these deficits. Not the deficit today, but the deficits tomorrow. And you have to show us that you're serious about getting this in order.
ROMANS: I think one thing to remember, too, here is that the United States, we reset our talks with China in particular every time there's a new president. Every time there's a new treasury secretary. And the Chinese have a very long national strategy. So I feel like the president and his team, they're kind of starting after a crisis with a whole fresh set of issues and starting over again.
And it's frustrating when you look at policy and the importance issues with the region when, in a way, a lot of people don't expect them to come back with any breakthrough or big developments at a time when it is incredibly critical that we're not always starting over with our economic policy with China but instead moving forward.
HOLMES: We're hitting the reset button maybe again.
ROMANS: That's right.
HOLMES: Christine Romans, we appreciate you as always. We'll be taking them with you again. And Krishna Guha, U.S. economic editor for the "Financial Times," thanks, sir, we appreciate you being here as well. Thanks so much.
GUHA: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, we still have new developments coming up this morning in the investigation of the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people last week at Fort Hood. We're asking this morning why he was promoted to major despite questions about his qualifications.
Ed Lavandera live in Fort Hood. Seventeen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour. We have new developments this morning in the investigation of Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood last week. We're now learning that Major Hasan was recently promoted to major, despite questions about his qualifications.
The Army is experiencing a severe shortage of majors. It's now raising questions, though, whether Hasan was kept on just to meet hiring requirements.
Ed Lavandera is live at Fort Hood. And it seems as we've learning, Ed, a lot of warning signs that were missed when it came to Hasan's personality and also his job performance.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, federal investigators say it's still too early to tell whether that's the case. But a good number of sources that we've been speak with over the last few days say that is the case and that Nidal Hasan in recent years had not shied away from expressing his extremist religious views.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Nidal Hasan's family describes him as a good American, but several people who knew Hasan in his years at this Maryland military university say the high-ranking Army officer expressed extremist Islamic views. One says Hasan openly pledged allegiance not to the United States but to the Quran, and when asked of the constitution was a brilliant document simply responded no, not particularly.
Our sources asked not to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, and the investigators wouldn't comment on the details they offer.
CHRIS GREY, ARMY CID: We are doing everything possible and we're looking at every reason for this shooting. We are aggressively following every possible lead. We are collecting, analyzing and disseminating every piece of critical information pertaining to this case.
LAVANDERA: Hasan has been formally charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder. The sources say superiors at the uniformed services university were told about Hasan's inflammatory comments but that concerns about how to handle the situation led to Hasan being coddled and accommodated, even though he made class presentations pushing extremist ideology. University officials wouldn't comment, and Hasan's attorney wouldn't either saying his concern now is to ensure a fair trial.
JOHN GALLIGAN, HASAN'S ATTORNEY: Fundamental fairness and the right to a fair trial ought to be consistently applied in any of those areas. And I've said also that given the nature of the offenses, that these folks are talking about, it's probably going to be a long and difficult road.
LAVANDERA: The road to recovery for the wounded in last week's attack will be long and hard. Twelve soldiers are still hospitalized, but many other soldiers who've left the hospital are already back on duty.
COL. JOHN ROSSI, U.S. ARMY: General Casey called this event a kick in the gut, which is so appropriate. But I will tell you at this time, Fort Hood has gotten its breath back and we continue to move forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And, Kiran, we now have an update on Nidal Hasan's condition. I just spoke with his attorney who spent an hour meeting with him yesterday in that San Antonio military hospital where he has been since early this week. And Hasan's attorney tells us that Hasan is paralyzed and that it doesn't appear he will be able to walk in the future -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Did he indicate anything else about what Hasan is saying about what happened?
LAVANDERA: He won't go into many details about exactly -- obviously about what happened. And they say that this initial meeting was just to really get things like power of attorney, a lot of the legal housekeeping items out of the way. So it didn't get into any of the nitty-gritty about this investigation.
CHETRY: But we did learn, or it has been reported that they're perhaps seeking the death penalty in this case, correct?
LAVANDERA: That is a potential. The 13 premeditated murder charges that he does face brings the possibility of a death charge, but authorities here during a press conference yesterday didn't announce whether or not they would go down that road.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Lavandera getting a lot of new information for us this morning.
HOLMES: I believe it was that one police officer, Officer Munley, who is the one credited for shooting him, I believe, four times. So it appears...
CHETRY: Even after she was shot.
HOLMES: After she was shot. It appears that maybe one of those bullets delivered that blow that now sounds like he's paralyzed. Not going to be able to walk again. So, we appreciate Ed getting that story for us, that detail for us this morning.
Coming up next, a lot of people worried about H1N1. We will have a good collection of experts on H1N1, going to be taking our questions. That panel includes one, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We're checking our political ticker. And this is the first big shake-up in the Obama White House. Senior administration officials, excuse me.
CHETRY: It's like everybody who sits next to me eventually gets some sort of cough.
HOLMES: It happens. You should check into that.
CHETRY: Poor John has been coughing for a month.
HOLMES: Is that why he's off now?
CHETRY: He hasn't let it slow him down a little bit at all.
HOLMES: OK. But back to the political ticker I was trying to get through, White House administration officials say that Greg Craig is being forced out as White House counsel. Craig took the blame for mismanaging administration efforts to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay. Officials say he's being replaced by Bob Bauer, a prominent D.C. attorney who worked with the Obama presidential campaign.
CHETRY: Well, Sarah Palin's new book "Going Rogue" already making a splash four days before it hits bookstores. The former vice presidential candidate writes that there was a lot of tension between her staff and John McCain's. Also claiming that the McCain camp forced her to avoid reporters.
HOLMES: Also, the RNC's health care plan will no longer be covering abortions. It may be a surprise to a lot of folks that it actually did. It apparently has since 1991, according to Republicans. "Politico" first reported this yesterday. The revelation had Republican leaders scrambling since that same issue has become such a rallying point for conservatives in the current health care debate.
Well, the Vatican considers abortion evil. No room for debate there. Plenty of debate, however, in Washington.
CHETRY: Right. And now the Catholic church is calling out a member of the nation's most prominent Roman Catholic family for his stance on the issue. Our Capitol Hill correspondent Brianna Keilar is taking a close look at the fight.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., Kiran, the thorny debate over abortion coverage and health care reform is pitting abortion rights Democrats against anti-abortion Democrats, not to mention church against state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): In Rhode Island, a high-profile feud between the bishop of Providence, Thomas Tobin, and Catholic Congressman Patrick Kennedy. Tobin has called the son of the late health care champion Ted Kennedy a disappointment for his support of abortion rights.
VOICE OF REV. THOMAS J. TOBIN, BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE, RI: If you freely choose to be a Catholic, it means that you believe certain things, you do certain things. If you cannot do all of that in conscience, then you should perhaps feel free to go somewhere else.
KEILAR: The clash happening as the Catholic church flexes its muscle in the debate over health care reform. To get the needed support of conservative Democrats, Speaker Pelosi was forced to allow a vote on tougher abortion restrictions in the bill and at one point found herself negotiating directly with representatives of the Catholic church.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of members had a lot of faith in what the Catholic bishops' view of this was. They wanted some kind of blessing by the bishops.
KEILAR: Abortion rights Democrats bristled at the thought.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is disturbing to me that such an extraordinary lobbying effort was launched by a church pushing an idea that many Americans, probably the majority of Americans, really don't agree with.
KEILAR: The health care debate moves now to the Senate where a quarter of the chamber is Catholic and where the church will again exert its influence, says Bill Galston, a former policy adviser to President Clinton.
BILL GALSTON, FORMER POLICY ADVISER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON: And I think it is very, very likely that the outcome will be the same in the Senate, as it was in the House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Democratic aides in the Senate concede Galston may be right, but sources tell me they think abortion rights senators probably won't scuttle the health care bill over this issue of abortion. In the House, though, some liberals say they will vote no on the final bill if this tougher language is in it. A promise of more tough negotiations ahead for Speaker Pelosi -- Kiran, T.J.
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar for us, thanks.
It's 29 minutes past the hour. We check our top stories now. Self-proclaimed mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will reportedly be moved to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court. President Obama was asked about that moments ago while holding a press conference in Tokyo. Let's listen to our president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am absolutely convinced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice. The American people insist on it and my administration will insist on it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Reports also say four other co-conspirators will be transferred from Guantanamo Bay with Muhammad. The "Associated Press" says that Attorney General Eric Holder will make an official announcement later this morning.
HOLMES: The suicide bomber striking a U.S. support base in Afghanistan this morning. Six people wounded, including three Afghan civilians and some NATO service members as well as contractors. The Taliban claiming responsibility for that attack.
CHETRY: And while the president agonizes over sending more troops to Afghanistan, the Prime Minister of Britain says NATO countries could be willing to send 5,000 more troops there. Gordon Brown says his country has to adjust to its approach in Afghanistan because of rising casualties but he's confident that other NATO nations will send in reinforcements.
Well, hospitals across the country are getting hit hard by H1N1. The swine flu. Federal officials say that nearly 4,000 people have died and some 22 million people have had the virus since the past six months. The first six months of the epidemic. That's where they are going back from with these numbers. So we're going to get the view from the front lines now. The hospital emergency rooms.
With us from Washington, we have Dr. Christina Johns, an E.R. specialist at Children's National Medical Center. Also in Chicago, Dr. Becky Roberts, an emergency room physician for Cook County health and hospital systems. And in Atlanta, our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be joining us to weigh in. good morning to all of you.
And so as I throw out some of these questions, feel free to jump in and you know, just sort of take the topic and run with it. The first thing that I'm wondering about, they say that almost all of these flus that they've seen have been H1N1 when they swab it, when they test it.
Let me start with you, Dr. Johns. In terms of this, hindsight perhaps is 20/20. But why didn't we better prepare as a nation for this flu when everybody got their flu shot for regular seasonal flu a few months back and they haven't seen a lot of regular seasonal flu?
DR. CHRISTINA JOHNS, E.R. SPECIALIST, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, you know, we do our -- I know the big thinkers do their best every year to get the vaccine. The timing exactly right. Remember, this -- we are still learning about H1N1. It is a novel type of influenza "A." We're just learning about it. I think we are handling it very well, I'm proud to say. But I think that this is really very much par for the course.
Would it be great if we had less of a lag time between -- to get folks their vaccinations quicker? Absolutely. But again, this is all a very new process for the medical field and for all of us.
CHETRY: Dr. Roberts, do you think the medical community has done the best job possible right now, especially the federal government in terms of trying to get out the word and get out the vaccine?
DR. BECKY ROBERTS, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, DIR., COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL SERVICES: I would put it even stronger than Dr. Johns would. We've never seen this particular virus before, and I think that it emerged last spring and that we already have pushed out vaccine. I'm going to give the example of Chicago right now.
Chicago's Department of Public Health has received 375,000 doses. They have distributed that immediately as soon as they receive it to all the hospitals. They've delivered, actually given flu vaccine to over 51,000 people in Chicago. I think that we've done the best job we could expect, given that this is a brand new virus we haven't seen.
CHETRY: Sanjay, I want to ask you...
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
CHETRY: Sorry, I want to ask Sanjay. Bring him in. I was going to paint like just a personal from what I know. Basically, the doctor said your daughter really needs to get this. She has asthma. She's in a high-risk group. We've seen 534 children die, a lot of them have been children who have complications with other illnesses, specially respiratory illnesses. My doctor can't get it she said even if she does, the chances of them being able to get the booster, which younger kids need is very unlikely as well. So why do we seem to see this disparity?
ROBERTS: I have something to say about the booster. The tradition was always to give two shots and then you were completely -- you were covered better. This year because they are frantically trying to make the vaccine as fast as possible, one shot, if one shot gets you up to 70 percent protection and the second shot gives you an extra 10%, that's the right thing to do if you have lots of vaccine. Given that we're making the vaccine as fast as it can possibly be made, giving everybody one shot is better for the society than two shots to only a few people. Does that make sense?
CHETRY: Sanjay. Yes, I hear what you're saying. It's basically rationing and try to figure out how to cover as many people as possible.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's sort of interesting, Kiran because --
ROBERTS: And the fewer people --
GUPTA: I think what both doctors are saying is right. I mean, they've done a pretty good job on the front lines in terms of getting what vaccines they do have. You are speaking to a larger question. You know, having been a reporter covering this for some time. Back in the spring they were saying they had up to, you know, even 100 million vaccines available by fall. Then we heard it was going to be around 40 million by mid-October. Those numbers simply haven't panned out.
So there's, you know, evaluating different parts of the system, once the vaccines have arrived, yes. I think it's been reasonably good at getting the distribution done. But I think we were over promised, pretty clearly in terms of what amount of vaccine would be available. And that seems to be the linchpin in all this, Kiran.
CHETRY: And Dr. Johns, one of the things that seems to be scaring a lot of people --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would agree with that, too.
CHETRY: And one thing of the things that seems to be scaring a lot of people though is that it seems to be arbitrary who gets it, maybe has a high fever for a couple of days and is OK and who dies. We've seen situations where perfectly healthy people have been on their deathbed and in some case, have died from it. And where others have not. So what are your recommendations as an E.R. doctor if people feel that they're sick, if they fell that it's flu-like symptoms, what should they do to make sure it doesn't get beyond where it can be treated?
JOHNS: Well, I always like to encourage everybody to have a good connection with your primary care provider. Your pediatrician, family practice, your internist. It's important to have a medical home. Somebody where that you can connect with on a routine basis.
As an E.R. physician, the things that really get my attention are respiratory distress to the point where you are unable to hydrate yourself, unable to speak, dehydration where you are not voiding or making enough urine. Or if a loved one or you are just not acting yourself or confused. Those are things that really -- I mean you've got to seek medical attention immediately.
But I need to tell you, Kiran, that overwhelmingly, in my practice, I am seeing tons and tons of well children getting the flu, feeling crummy for a couple of days. Their parents doing a great job taking care of them, and they are getting better, no problem.
CHETRY: It's certainly a relief. Dr. Roberts, what do you recommend for people who cannot get the swine flu vaccine because it simply hasn't come to their area. What are some other ways to protect their kids especially high risk children?
ROBERTS: I agree with everything that's been said so far. In addition, prevent yourself from getting the flu. If the flu vaccine becomes available, get it. But the other ways to prevent getting influenza are frequent hand washing. The way it's passed would be if I had the flu, I cough into my hands, I shake hands with you and you rub your eyes, your nose or mouth. You've been exposed to my flu germs.
I would say frequent hand washing, maybe even social distancing. Yesterday I was shaking hands with people. Two people I didn't know and that's how it passes around. Can't emphasize the hand washing enough.
CHETRY: And Sanjay --
JOHNS: Agreed.
CHETRY: So we know about that. And Sanjay, are people able to go outside of their area to try to get the swine flu, especially if they fall into a high risk category, let's say pregnant women, people who have babies under the age of one that are very, very worried about swine flu in their area but yet can't get the vaccine?
GUPTA: Yes. Get the vaccine. Outside their area within their state they can still do that. And it's interesting, you know, from a social standpoint, there are places that have more than they need because there's been some resistance to getting the vaccine in certain areas. And other areas where you live, Kiran, where it's sort of the opposite problem. The demand sort of outstrips the supply.
Can I say one more thing about what Dr. Johns was mentioning as well. I saw everything that she was saying in some of the ERs that I visited in terms of how you figure out who these kids are that are most at risk. One thing that keeps popping up over and over again that I thought was worth pointing out is that if a child has a fever that's due to the viral infection, due to the H1N1 infection and then that goes away and then eventually comes back within a day or, two that is a red flag.
That is something for people to take note of because that can be an indication that the child is developing what's known as a bacterial pneumonia. And that seems to be one of the things that comes up again and again as being one of the more dramatic complications of this. So fever goes away, comes back, is even worse than just having the fever in the first place.
CHETRY: All right. Well, I want to thank all of you.
ROBERTS: Right on.
CHETRY: I want to thank all of you guys for your input this morning.
ROBERTS: That's exactly right.
CHETRY: Dr. Christine Johns, Dr. Becky Roberts and our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta. Thanks to all of you. And Sanjay, I know we're going to be talking to you a little bit later as well about that very unique case of the 12-year-old girl who cannot stop sneezing to the tune of 36,000 times a day. The poor thing. Medical mystery. Thanks to all of you.
HOLMES: Also coming up, we know that NASA has been looking for life on the moon. They'll be looking for life on Mars. Would you also believe that Pope Benedict is also looking for life out there? Yes, E.T., phone the Vatican. A discussion coming up.
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HOLMES: What is that? Oh, the "X-Files." I got it now. The galaxy, the Milky Way we're talking about. It's huge. It's so big that at the speed of light it would take 100,000 years to cross it. And it's just one of billions of galaxies out there in the universe. Check it out. We've got a picture of it. Makes you wonder though. Anybody else out there? Surely somebody else is out there.
The Vatican wanted to know that. Yes, the Vatican just wrapped up a five-day summit on that very subject. Let's bring in Chris Impey. He is with the University of Arizona's Department of Astronomy. He was at the Vatican summit. He's out there in Arizona, up early for us. Sir, we appreciate you being here. And please just explain to our viewers why in the world is the Vatican seemingly in the business of trying to find E.T.?
CHRIS IMPEY, DEPUTY HEAD, UNIV. OF ARIZONA, DEPT. OF ASTRONOMY: Yes, it sounds like a stretch, doesn't it, T.J.? Well, the Vatican got interested in astronomy because they had to keep the calendar. And you need astronomers to do that. And actually for the last 100 years had been Jesuit priests doing researches on astronomy.
So they have a tradition of being interested in astronomy. And maybe the idea of whether there's life out there, especially intelligent life, has an effect on the world's religions. So maybe they want to know the answer.
HOLMES: So do you get a sense from being out there and you were at the summit. Scientists and astronomers, you all gathered out there. But did you get a sense that maybe the Vatican wants to know before anybody else?
IMPEY: Well, I think science is such an open process these days that they're not going to have any privilege access to that information. I think maybe they are trying to prepare themselves because, you know, the discovery of alien life, again especially intelligent life, would really be pretty profound because it would affect our relationship to the rest of the universe. HOLMES: Does it seem, though, and again, you all are scientists out there. I'm sure some of the scientists are religious folks but for the most, you all are out there working as scientists at the Vatican. But still does it come up in your discussions at this conferences how possibly some of the findings, if you did find evidence of life out there, that could directly contradict what we know and what we think about religion?
IMPEY: I think there's a distinction between whether we find microbial life, like germs. You know, I was thinking about your last segment, wouldn't it be scary if we had to deal with alien germs. So that may not threaten the world's religions, but intelligent life, most of the world's major religions have a special relationship between humans and the creator. If there are a bunch of other intelligent beings out there, what does that say about that relationship.
HOLMES: What does that say and some say it would change the game essentially, in this country. I am going to put up something here for our viewers to see. I'm going to share with you. It comes from Gary Bates who is the head of Atlanta-based Creation Ministry International. His quote saying here, "My theological perspective is that E.T. life, extraterrestrial life, would actually make a mockery of the very reason Christ came to die for our sins for our redemption."
Now do you believe -- you kind of hit on it there, but some validity to that statement that if you find intelligent life out there do we almost have to start all over?
CHRIS IMPEY, AUTHOR, "THE LIVING COSMOS": It makes you wonder whether we've just told ourselves a just so story. And some of the major world's religions like Buddhism, I don't think would be affected at all because they don't have such a very special story they tell about humans and their redemption.
HOLMES: And tell us this. Out of that meeting, what more do we know? How close are we to maybe finding, and you talked about microbial life and organisms, but intelligent life. How close are we getting to possibly making that discovery?
IMPEY: Well, it's sort of going in two phases. We're looking for planets around other stars and after finding none for decades, we now have over 400. And the smallest of those planets is only two times the mass of the earth. So it's like a cousin of the earth. So that's going to be a good place to try and look for the traces of life, its affect on the atmosphere. And then for looking for intelligent life, we listen for radio signals. Sort of intelligent broadcasts if you like, from aliens. And that activity hasn't succeeded, but, of course, it might at any time.
HOLMES: You say it has not succeeded, but we could pick up something on the radio any second now?
IMPEY: Well, our technology is improving so fast that the sum of all the previous listening and experiments is not that impressive. But with all the modern technology, our ability to listen in space is getting way better every year. And so people are more optimistic that the experiment is going to get interesting.
LEMON: All right. And just curious, the pope didn't pop into your meeting over there in the Vatican, did he?
IMPEY: No, but we were greeted and welcomed by the Cardinal Lahalo who is basically the head of the Vatican City state. That was a pretty high level of greeting.
HOLMES: Well, Chris Impey, so we appreciate you spending some time with us, and talking us through a really fascinating topic. And I promise you, we will have you back as soon as you discover life out there. All right, my man?
IMPEY: OK. Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, we're keeping track of extreme weather right here on earth. You know, we can't worry about the galaxy right now especially if you live in those Mid-Atlantic States getting hit by strong nor'easter. Our Rob Marciano is tracking all of it. The winds, the rains, the floods and the waist-deep water.
Forty-seven minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It's 50 minutes past the hour right now. We're following extreme weather, a nor'easter, a real bad one, really affecting the Mid- Atlantic States right now. Our Rob Marciano has been talking about this for the past couple of days and he's going to tell us where this thing is headed and when. One of the things you talk about is it has just stayed in that one area and just dumped so much rain.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And the wind, the consistent pounding of the wind. So the rain, as you mentioned, the winds creating those waves, constantly just pounding the Delmarva shoreline. We're starting to see a bit of a relaxation between that high and that low, so the pressure is great today, not quite as bad as it was yesterday. But we're still going to see some action as far as the wind and waves go today. But the rain is starting to let up just a little bit.
As far as what kind of winds we have right now compared to yesterday, 10, 20, 30 miles an hour. Yesterday we are showing at this time, 40, 50-mile-per-hour winds. So certainly a whole another ball game.
Check out this reporter from our affiliate WTKR yesterday morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED WTKR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. I'm out here at Bush and Olny. And you can see where the water is well over my waist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Definitely. And better you than me. 50 degrees, cold and wet. And this is not from rainfall, this is from wind. So winds pushing that storm surge up. Oceanania, Virginia, saw 75-mile-per- hour winds. Norfolk saw 74. Those are hurricane-strength gusts, Kiran. And we saw a hurricane-like storm surge with this that riddled, actually went above what Hurricane Isabelle brought them back in 2003. So certainly an impressive storm all the way around. This is part of what Ida left us, which was pretty unimpressive quite frankly when it came on shore across the Florida Panhandle. Interesting stuff.
CHETRY: You know, it's just amazing. You know, you think of hurricanes as causing the most problems. You don't really necessarily think of nor'easters, but a lot of damage done to the dunes in some of these places and it's so hard to restore after that happens.
MARCIANO: It certainly is. And we're just getting into nor'easter season, so to speak. So hopefully it won't be so bad in the coming months, but we're just getting cranked up.
CHETRY: All right, Rob. We'll check in with you a little later. Thanks so much.
MARCIANO: All right. You it.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, T.J., of course, this has never happened to us, these awkward TV moments that sometimes happen to other people. OK, fine, we have a really good Christmas reel.
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HOLMES: We were actually. I was hoping you're going to have one, walking back over here.
CHETRY: Tripping?
HOLMES: I'm a little worried about it.
CHETRY: No, we got used to it.
HOLMES: Yes, we have. But, yes, it's been a heck of a week for some awkward moments. We've had a few for the past couple of days as always. Well, we're going to show you some of the favorites. Stay with us.
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HOLMES: What you're seeing right hour is a corner shot of Columbus Circle. Hopefully, the weather will work out until about 1:24, which is takeoff time for me.
CHETRY: You cannot wait to get the heck out of dodge.
HOLMES: No. It's been a little rainy up here. It's been a little rainy and cloudy today as well, but hopefully it will hold out.
CHETRY: And the one good thing, though -- that was a pretty shot. The one good thing is that we have not had over the past two days of you coming in, and you know, just like pinch hitting and doing a great job. We haven't really had any awkward moments.
LEMON: We've still got an hour. We could still make the real. But if you have been watching some TV this week, you've seen some of those moments.
CHETRY: That's right. One of them is of course ex-Miss California, right at the top of the list. And Jeanne Moos tells it like no one else can. Here's a look.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We never turn up our nose for news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's disgusting, I know.
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MOOS: Especially not at those wonderfully...
(VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: ...awkward moments.
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CARRIE PREJEAN, FORMER MISS CALIFORNIA USA: Larry, you're being inappropriate. You really are, so I'm not going to talk about...
KING: What? I'm asking a question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, ANCHOR: We screwed up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: This week had more than its share of awkward TV moments, thanks to the former Miss California USA. Maybe you saw her getting miffed at Larry King and taking off her mike.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Is she leaving because I asked what motivated the settlement?
Did you hear the question?
PREJEAN: No, I can't hear you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: But I'm answering what I can't hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PREJEAN: And I'm about to leave your show.
KING: Who are you talking to? Hello?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS (on camera): But we crown Carrie Prejean Miss Awkward Moment because she inspired awkward moments on more than one show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: And yet you say that you're a victim. I don't -- I don't totally buy it.
PREJEAN: Did you see the attacks that I was under?
BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: It's the best thing that happened to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not worried about you, Carrie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: But our favorite was Barbara Walters describing Prejean's X-rated home movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALTERS: Are you alone doing whatever you were doing with yourself?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: What was Sean Hannity doing on Fox News, Jon Stewart wondered. Using video of a major rally two months ago to illustrate a smaller protest against health care reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART: Not a cloud in the sky. The leaves have changed. All of a sudden, the trees turn green again and it's cloudy.
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MOOS: Trying to make the smaller rally seem bigger, said Stewart.
Inadvertent stake, said Hannity, but he apologized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: So Mr. Stewart, you were right. I want to thank you and all your writers for watching.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: CNN's SITUATION ROOM went to pot this week.
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JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Wolf, would you know a marijuana plant if you saw one?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I'm not sure I -- I'm not sure I would know. I could smell it. You could smell the marijuana, Lou, but you probably wouldn't recognize a plant, am I right or wrong?
LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Well, you're dead wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Certitude plus attitude -- what a dude. Lou, we're going to miss you.
DOBBS: This will be my last broadcast here on CNN.
MOOS: From veteran leaving to cub arriving, "The Today Show" announced the winner of its Kid Reporter competition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deidra Shores. It's you. Deidre, it's you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's you, Deidra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's you. You won.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're Today's Kid Show Kid Reporter winner. You're the winner, Deidra.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: If you're going to be a reporter, kid, you've got to learn to fill dead air.
(VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: We said fill it, not kill it.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: So cute.
HOLMES: It took her a second.
CHETRY: She was screaming "are you serious," but it was in such a loud whistle, it was breaking glass.
HOLMES: Great moments this week. We've got an hour of good moments coming up.
CHETRY: That's right. So don't leave us.
We'll be back in 90 seconds with the top stories.
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