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American Morning
Obama Campaign Blitz; Illinois Senate Fight; It Gets Better; Welcome To Oaksterdam; Deadly Whooping Cough Outbreak
Aired October 22, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thanks so much for being with us on this Friday. It is the 22nd of October. We're awfully glad to have you with us this morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
We want to get you caught up on what happened.
It's what the Democrats have been waiting for: thousands showing up for President Obama's rallies in the West as Democrats try to hang on to their Senate seats. There's 11 days left. Can they do it? We're live with the president just ahead.
ROBERTS: A retired Marine turns guardian angel after leaping off a platform and on to the tracks to rescue a fallen commuter with a train bearing down on him. He stepped right over the electrified third rail. Two of them actually are coming within inches of disaster. More on this incredible video -- just ahead.
CHETRY: And a major milestone for the world's first commercial spaceport this morning. Sir Richard Branson will join from the New Mexico desert with his vision of space tourism will look like -- pretty cool -- in the very near future.
ROBERTS: Up first, we are now 11 days until America votes. The president stumping with some key Democrats struggling to power in Washington.
CHETRY: Here's what at stake. Right now, as many as six Senate seats are considered tossups, 45 tossup races in the House of Representatives and 13 governorships are also up for grabs.
ROBERTS: The president on a long campaign swing right now, five states in four days, through Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Minnesota, stumping across the West for many Senate incumbents including Barbara Boxer and Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Critics say this referendum -- these races, rather, will be a referendum on his leadership. But the message at every stop has been the same: that it's not the Democrats' fault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Republicans took America's car and drove it into the ditch. And it was a really deep ditch.
And we had a whole bunch of folks like Joe Sestak helping us push that car out of the ditch.
We're down there pushing, pushing, pushing on the car.
And so, we pushed and we pushed, and every once in a while we'd look up, and up on the road, you'd see the Republicans standing there fanning themselves -- sipping on a Slurpee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Ed Henry joins us live from the campaign trail in Burlingame, California, this morning. I'm sure 7-Eleven is happy for the shout-out.
But, you know, where the president is going in the coming days seems to be really indicative of just how dire the situation could end up for Democrats.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Kiran. It is very revealing. We've got the new details on where the president will spend the final weekend of this long campaign. And the bottom line: it's a lot of states that Democrats hope to wrap up a long time ago.
He's going to be in Pennsylvania, specifically Philadelphia. It's a state he won in 2008. Joe Sestak, the Senate candidate, way behind. All of a sudden, he's in a dead heat. So that shows, they think they maybe could still win that.
The president is also going to Connecticut, another state he had in 2008, where he's trying to bail out Dick Blumenthal, very tight Senate race there.
And then also on, that final Saturday, he's going to his home of Chicago. And that's really pretty stunning because Democrats probably should have locked up Barack Obama's old Senate seat a long time ago. They still have not done that.
And then finally, on the Sunday before the election, he'll be going to Cleveland, Ohio. The 12th time this president will be going to Ohio since he took office. It shows how pivotal that state really is, Kiran.
ROBERTS: And, Ed, in these final days, the Democrats really trying to fire up Hispanics and women?
HENRY: Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, there's $1 million ad buy on Hispanic radio basically by the Democratic National Committee. Interesting, some of these ads will have the president himself speaking in Spanish. Today, he is doing Hispanic radio interview here.
The bottom line is: they believe this could be pivotal in states like here California, we got a big Hispanic population. But also later today, the president is going to Las Vegas, big Hispanic population there.
And not only is the president going, we're also learning new details. November 1st, the day before the election, First Lady Michelle Obama is going to Vegas as well. They are deeply, deeply worried inside the White House about Senator Harry Reid to be spending all this attention on him in the final days -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Up -- Ed Henry up early for us in California this morning. Thanks.
New developments of a controversy that is now become a rallying cry for Republicans just 11 days away from Election Day. Former NPR news analyst Juan Williams has a new job. He signed a multiyear deal with FOX, where he's become a familiar face, a contributor over the years. National Public Radio fired him after being there a decade over these comments he made about Muslims on the Bill O'Reilly show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUAN WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot. You know the books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they're identifying first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: NPR says, quote, "Williams' remarks were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR."
Well, Williams fired back, saying, quote, "Now that I no longer work for NPR, let me give you my opinion. This is an outrageous violation of journalistic standards and ethics by management that has no use for diversity of opinion, ideas or a diversity of staff. I was the only black male on the air.
ROBERTS: Now, whether Williams wanted it or not, the GOP is rallying behind him and calling for Congress to pull funding for NPR.
Newt Gingrich is saying this is censorship.
Mike Huckabee is saying, "It's time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR."
And Sarah Palin tweeting, "NPR defends 1st amendment right but will fire you if you exercise it."
All these three people, by the way, do work for FOX.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, effective immediately, five senior officials at the Pentagon now have the power to discharge an openly gay member of the military. That order comes in a memo from Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Some are calling it a moratorium on "don't ask, don't tell" until the future of the policy is decided in court.
ROBERTS: One out of three kids born today will develop diabetes at some point in their lifetime. Yes. That's a stunning figure. But the Centers for Disease Control says that's what likely is going to happen by 2050 until there's a significant change in obesity rates.
Right now, one in 10 American adults has diabetes. So, that's going to be a dramatic increase.
CHETRY: Well, later today, a judge will decide whether to keep Lindsay Lohan in drug rehab or whether or not she should go to jail for violating her probation. Lindsay Lohan voluntarily checked into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California, after her arrest last month. Her lawyers will try to convince a judge today that she needs to stay there.
ROBERTS: They say everything is bigger in Texas. That explains the tennis ball-sized hail near Lubbock last night. Ice balls up to a half inch in diameter damaged at least one car and you can bet with that much hail and that large, it was not an army of one, probably more out there.
CHETRY: One car damaged. That would be -- that would be a news story in itself after all that. Look at that. People are still out there driving. And so, yikes.
Well, it's 7 1/2 minutes past the hour. We'll get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Reynolds Wolf in the extreme weather center.
That's a crazy thing about hail, too, it just seems to come from nowhere. So, you're driving around on the streets and suddenly, you're getting battered with it.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Those strong storms that caused the heavy hail yesterday are actually going to cause a chance of, not only some hail, maybe a little bit flash flooding in parts of Texas. That same rainfall could cause few delays in tonight's game.
Take a look at the forecast. The ALCS is expecting 80 degrees for the first pitch in Arlington. Yes, the chance of storms. So, you might have a delay or two for the Yankees and Rangers game.
The storms we have there may also cause a few delays at Dallas and further north, up towards, say, Oklahoma City, 72 degrees is the expected high in Oklahoma City. Back to New York, 54 degrees and sunshine expected for the day.
But cross winds may cause a few delays at all your major airports in New York, as well as some of the regional airports out to the western half of the Empire State. Back over to Atlanta, it's 78 degrees, beautiful day there. And San Diego, no problems whatsoever, beautiful with 66, plenty of sunshine, a little bit of marine layer early, but that should not be an issue by 11:00 local time.
That is the latest on the forecast, we're going to have a tropical update coming up in a few moments.
Let's pitch it back to you in New York.
ROBERTS: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much.
Well, here's a question that a lot of people who use the subway system might have asked themselves at one point or another. What would you do if a stranger fell off a train platform and on to the tracks right into the path of an oncoming train? Well, 57-year-old former Marine Dimas Pinzon didn't hesitate when a commuter fell into the path of a Metro D.C. train.
CHETRY: Right. He was on the complete other side of the platform. He hopped off. He ran over a fully electrified third rail and then helped the victim get to safety.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Pinzon told us that he never thought what he was doing. He just reacted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIMAS PINZON, FORMER MARINE WHO SAVED FALLEN COMMUTER (via telephone): Yes, thank God I had, you know, a pretty good footing. But I think that I knew where I was stepping. I stepped on the second rail. Jumped up on to the center platform and I knew where the third rail was on the other side, so -- and I jumped very clear of that. And my next position was right behind that gentleman, that, you know, we helped up on to the platform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And Pinzon said that he knew exactly where he was stepping, as you heard, said it's because his dad used to work for the New York City subway system and taught him all about rail safety when he was a kid.
ROBERTS: So, he used to take him to work with him in the subway tunnels.
CHETRY: Yes, that's amazing. I mean, the train did -- I mean, people are frantically waving down the train, so it did stop in time. But the man apparently had a medical emergency that originally fell, weighed about 200 pounds. So, they also really needed a lot of help on the platform to get him up.
ROBERTS: Do you remember that story in New York, I think it was a couple of years ago, where the guy fell off the platform and the other guy jumped on top of him, and held him down because the train did --
CHETRY: Go over top of him.
ROBERTS: -- come right over top of them to save his life. Wow.
CHETRY: That was unbelievable, because he really was putting his own -- I mean, he could have -- one or two inches and they both could have been killed.
ROBERTS: Yes, missed him by that much.
Coming up: They're taking no prisoners in the race for the Illinois seat once held by President Obama. We'll go live to Chicago and Brianna Keilar -- just ahead.
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ROBERTS: The Most Politics in the Morning now this Friday morning.
In Illinois, the race for President Obama's former Senate seat is too close for comfort and that has both candidates in attack mode.
CHETRY: Yes, the latest poll showing Republican Mark Kirk leading Democrat Giannoulias by four points. That's a tongue twister sometimes.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has a close look at the race this morning. She's live for us in Chicago.
Down to the wire and a very tight race there.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Down to the wire. And if you want to know just what a tough election cycle this is for Democrats, guys, look here to Illinois. It's a Democratic- leaning state and yet, a Republican really has a shot here in this race that has just become a down and dirty fight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): The race for the Illinois Senate seat once held by President Obama is getting nasty. Illinois' young state treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias, the Democratic candidate, has been billed by Republicans as a, quote, "mob banker."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: He'd make Tony Soprano proud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: They point to the years Giannoulias spent as an executive in his family's bank, which lent money to a convicted bookie and was seized by the government in April. Giannoulias is hitting back against allegations of wrongdoing.
ALEXI GIANNOULIAS (D), ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: I say that's offensive, hurtful, wrong, inaccurate and shameful. No one ahs ever, ever even suggested the bank has ever done anything illegal, illicit or improper. And I'm very, very proud -- very proud of the business that my father started, a community bank that my father started 30 years ago.
KEILAR: The Republican in the race, five-term Congressman Mark Kirk, has his own Achilles heel. Multiple misstatements about his military service as an intelligence officer in the Navy reserves, service he highlights on his official Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mark Kirk lied about serving in Iraq and a lot else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Kirk said he was shot at in Iraq, that he served in the Gulf War and that he won the navy's intelligence officer of the year award. All of which are not true.
(on camera): Were you careless in your remarks?
MARK KIRK, (R) ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: Absolutely. And you correct that. That's right. And I misstated parts of my military record but in the navy we are trained to take responsibility and be accountable for your people, for your unit and for your mission. I am accountable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: so how critical is this seat for Democrats? Well, President Obama will be coming home, if you will, here next weekend campaigning for Alexx Giannoulias, Democrats. They want these seat bad, John and Kiran. And they could stand to lose it.
ROBERTS: I never understood the idea of misremembering your military record. But on another point, it's interesting thing about this, this race, too, is that the winner is not going to have to wait until January to take office.
KEILAR: Yes. And john, that's one of three senate seats where this is the case and it's because whoever wins the race replacing a senator who was appointed to fill a vacancy and that would be Rollin Burris, of course. This is a long senate seat. Rollin Burris was appointed by a then embattled indicted Governor Rod Blagojevich and you can see the drama continues here. But yes. This is why it's so important because if a Republican is to win here, there could be an immediate affect on president Obama's agenda as it would continue to just chip away even more at that really precarious Democratic majority in the senate.
CHETRY: All right. We'll see what happens. Thanks for watching it for us Brianna. ROBERTS: President Obama gets involved in the it gets better campaign. Up next, we'll talk with a columnist that started the movement about what this means. Seventeen minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Twenty minutes past the hour right now. President Obama's joining the fight against gay bullying. The president's message is part of the "It Gets Better" project. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: But what I want to say is this. You are not alone. You didn't do anything wrong. You didn't do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you filled with possibilities. There are people out there who love you and care about you just the way you are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Columnist Dan Savage that started the "It Gets Better" project joins us. He's via Skype from Bloomingdale, Indiana, Dan great to see you this morning. I see you got some have high profiled, high powered help here from the president. What's it going to mean to the campaign do you think?
DAN SAVAGE, NATIONALLY SYNDICATED SEX ADVICE COLUMNIST: I think it's going to mean a great deal to bullied LGBT kids all across the country. I hope it also serves as a wake-up call to the bulliers. Yesterday, we've learned there were high school students on Facebook saying that gay and lesbian and transgender kids who are bullied in their school deserve it because they chose to be gay.
And here you have the president of the United States saying that you didn't choose it, to be gay. And you don't deserve to be bullied. No one deserves to be bullied and that you will get through this and that there are people out there who love and support you, including the president of the United States.
That said, the president of the United States has the power to do more than assure LGBT kids that it will better. The president of the United States and the administration have the power to make it better, to stop appealing DABT, to stop defending dumb in court and to make the changes that President Obama promised when he was candidate Obama to the LGBT community.
CHETRY: Right, so do you think that the words have matched the actions of this administration, Dan?
SAVAGE: You know, I don't want to discount the symbolic importance of this nor do I want to discount the symbolic importance of, you know, the president's receptions or pride month and all of the administration does say all the right things. But we don't see actions that back up these words. Not that we are not grateful for the words, particularly at this time, particularly the president of the united states reaching out to bullied LGBT kids and letting them know there's something wrong with the bullies. It's hugely powerful. And extremely important and we're extremely grateful and we're looking forward to the president matching these words with actions on behalf of this administration to actually make it better for LGBT adults and children.
ROBERTS: You know Dan, over the years we have seen so many tragedies with young, gay teenagers or even some preteens. Killing themselves because they couldn't deal with the criticism and, and of course, extraordinarily high profile event with the Rutgers teen jumped off of the George Washington bridge. Has all of that -- I mean, this is a new if focus to it. Has that helped your campaign, as well? What's the reaction been?
SAVAGE: Well you know I wish there wasn't a need for the campaign and I hate to say that these suicides have helped the campaigns as if the campaign were the point. The campaign exists to help these teenagers. Not the other way around. Suicides don't exist to help the campaign. It is --
ROBERTS: I guess -- maybe I phrased it poorly. But what I meant the renewed focus and the intense focus on this now, is that really served to bring this to a much greater national perspective?
SAVAGE: Yes, it has. And we're finally having a reckoning about the hate rhetoric that sloshing around in the culture directed at LGBT people. There's a poll out yesterday that show that two thirds of Americans believe that the anti-gay rhetoric that is used by the religious right, that emanates from the pulpits in this country is contributing to gay teen suicides. Teenagers who are LGBT are four to six times more likely to commit suicide than straight teenagers and that is because they have no one. The president said to gay teenagers yesterday, in his video, that you can go to an adult, you can go to a parent, a teacher. And what we know and many of the videos, itgetsbetterproject.com show is that gay teenagers don't have an adult to go to. Their parents often bullying them too and teachers bully them and that is why they need those videos. That is why they need these messages of hope from every day average gay and lesbian Americans and also now the president of the united states.
CHETRY: Yes. You bring up a lot of good points, Dan. And the aptly named project "It Gets Better." Hopefully, as you said, there will be actions behind the words. Dan Savage this morning, thank you so much for joining us.
SAVAGE: Thank you for having me.
ROBERTS: In just 11 days' time, California voters are going to decide whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. But one neighborhood in Oakland isn't waiting for Election Day. Long time ago they embraced the pot culture. We'll take you to a place that has been around for a long time but you might not have heard of called Oaksterdam, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Twenty seven minutes after the hour. An "A.M. Original" still right now, a story that you will see only on AMERICAN MORNING. If California's prop 19 passes in November the recreational use of marijuana will become legal in non-public places. And local governments would be allowed to collect fees and taxes from the sale of pot. But one city in California has long had that infrastructure in place. Oakland. In fact, one section of Oakland embraced the marijuana culture so passionately it ended it the name "Oaksterdam." Here's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Marijuana pipes for sale. A coffee shop selling pot, it may feel like Amsterdam but this is Oakland, California. And this five-block area is known as "Oaksterdam." A neighborhood that's been built around marijuana.
(on camera): This is Coffee Shop Blue Sky. It is one of four dispensaries, it's licensed with the city of oakland. You can see in the front here, it looks like any other coffee shop. The marijuana is sold in the back. Mitch here stands at the door. He checks people's medical marijuana cards. If he says it is OK, you can go on back. Behind the curtain is Jen, the bud-tender.
JEN, THE BUD TENDER: Hi, welcome to blue sky. This is the menu.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Customers select what type of marijuana they want. It varies in price depending on potency. High grade goes for $44 an eighth ounce.
JEN: Grand daddy, cheese, and lemon skunk are high grades today.
ROWLANDS: The city of Oakland has embraced the neighborhood and the dispensaries because the city is getting a cut. In the form of tax revenue and officials say there have been no major problems.
ARTURO SANCHEZ, OAKLAND NUISANCE ABATEMENT DIVISION: Actually been some of the best businesses to deal with. They've been responsive. They have dealt with nuisance issues, they've really responded to any concern of the city.
ROWLANDS: There's even "Oaksterdam" University where students learn to grow and sell medical marijuana.
And marijuana for federal purposes is codified in the controlled substances act and is completely schedule one prohibited.
ROWLANDS: On a recent Tuesday night, students learned about the differences between state and federal drug laws, more than 13,000 students have taken classes here since the school opened three years ago.
JANE, OAKSTERDAM UNIV. STUDENT: I would like to be able to grow high-quality marijuana in the comfort of my own home and use it at my discretion. And give it to people that I know that need some relief. ROWLANDS: Local business owners say "Oaksterdam" say has helped revitalize what was a dying part of downtown Oakland. The owners of the lunchbox say their business is booming.
ANN MARIE ANDERER, OWNER, THE LUNCH BOX: People are coming to take classes there. People are coming to have their prescriptions filled. People are in and out. So yes, there's definitely an increase of foot traffic and it does benefit us. They do have the munchies. They really do.
ROWLANDS: If the California vote on November on the second to legalize marijuana for non-medicinal purposes, "Oaksterdam" is where it is quickly and readily available. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Oakland, California.
ROBERTS: We are crossing the half hour now. Time for your "Top Stories" this Friday morning.
One out of three children born today will develop diabetes in their lifetime. That's a pretty staggering statistic. But the Centers for Disease Control says that's likely going to happen by the year 2050 unless there's a significant change in obesity rates. Right now, just one in ten American adults has diabetes.
CHETRY: The FBI's trying to figure out who mailed a toxic powder to Arizona congressman's office in Tucson. Also inside the envelope swastikas drawn on two sheets of paper. Now agents are analyzing this powder at a lab.
ROBERTS: A bomb scare at a California shopping mall north of Sacramento. Shoppers forced out after a man started a fire and then barricaded himself inside a video game store about lunchtime yesterday. SWAT team was called out, but it turns out there were no bombs in the backpack.
CHETRY: So one minute you're a leader of the free world and the next you're living in near seclusion on a ranch in the heart of Texas. That's former president George W. Bush flying well under the radar since leaving the White House 21 months ago.
But not anymore. He's talking now on YouTube about his forthcoming book "Decision Points" which he calls an "untraditional memoir." And then there's his new museum. Our Ed Lavandera is live in Dallas with more on that. Hey, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, as you mentioned, the president kept a low profile living mostly here in Dallas. And as we mentioned earlier, kind of the extent of what people have seen him around town, restaurants and that sort of thing. Many people posted sightings over the last couple of years.
But all that's really about to change. He has a new book in early November. The groundbreaking of the presidential library is scheduled for mid-November here on the SMU. This exhibit is part of an effort to promote that library over the next couple of years.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who --
(APPLAUSE)
And the people who knocked need buildings down will hear all of us soon.
ALAN LOWE, DIRECTOR, GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: That is the bull horn that President Bush used when he first visited the World Trade Center site on September 14th, 2001.
LAVANDERA: Our guide is Alan Lowe, the director of the George W. Bush presidential library.
LAVANDERA (on camera): Didn't that get lost in the commotion?
LOWE: The folks with him that day luckily kept it with them and transferred through the White House office.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): September 11th takes center stage at this exhibit.
LOWE: Right over here he was going to make the first public statement, he made notes to himself on what to say. The heat of the moment on that amazing day -- says today we have had a tragedy.
BUSH: Two airplanes have crashed into the world trade center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.
LOWE: Goose bumps as you think about what was going on, what he was in the middle of at that moment.
LAVANDERA (on camera): The other great one, the baseball.
LOWE: The president threw out the pitch on game three of the 2001 World Series at Yankee stadium not long after the attacks.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The George W. Bush presidential center is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013. Friends of the Bush family say you might see more of the former president here soon, but not much more.
MARK LANGDALE, PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH FOUNDATION: I think that you'll see him and Laura active of things here at the center. But they enjoy their private life, too.
LAVANDERA: The exhibit also offers a small glimpse into that life -- a painting given to Laura Bush of Senator Ted Kennedy, the dress worn by Mrs. Bush to the first ever white tie state dinner with the queen of England, and more impressively, this necklace.
LOWE: A sapphire and diamond set of Saudi Arabia given to Mrs. Bush. Absolutely stunning. LAVANDERA: And there's also Saddam Hussein's gun from the day he was captured. We're told one of the president's prized possessions.
LOWE: A very historic piece.
LAVANDERA: Of course this exhibit showcases the greatest highlights of the President Bush years. Don't expect to find the low lights of a controversial presidency.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And that library scheduled to open in the spring of 2013. This is a model of what the building will look like and the grounds here on the SMU campus. This exhibit scheduling to continue running through the Super bowl which is here in Dallas next year has fun things. One of the things I got a kick out of the water bowls the dogs had on Air Force One. I guess not bad to be a presidential dog.
CHETRY: Not bad. When you're flying for long periods of time, you can have dehydrated.
LAVANDERA: Yes, right. Better than the bowls I have in my own house right now.
CHETRY: I hear you. Very cute. Ed Lavandera for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: Barney and Mrs. Beasley never had the insult of little bags on Air Force One. They had the run of the place.
You ever wonder what's up there? If you have $200,000, you can stop wondering. Space tourism is one step closer to reality this morning. In fact, it's just around the corner.
We're going to check in with Sir Richard Branson. He's at Spaceport America in New Mexico, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four, three, two, one -- release, release, release.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The final frontier now accepting deposits. History was made earlier this month when the first commercial spaceship in history made its first solo test flight. And today another giant leap for Virgin Galactic's commercial space program. They're Christianing a runway in the New Mexico desert this morning, literally paving the way to send paying customers into sub orbital space.
Joining us now from Las Cruces, New Mexico, Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson. Thanks so much for being with us.
SIR RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: Good morning, John. Always good to talk.
ROBERTS: So, what's on tap for today in terms of commemorating this runway, and how far away does that put us from the first people up in space commercially?
BRANSON: Well, it is another historic day for Virgin Galactic. The people of New Mexico decided to build a spaceport out in the desert. Governor Bill Richardson oversaw that and he'll be there today, as well.
And the runway's now finished. The spaceport itself is about halfway completed. And our spaceship and mother ship will fly in from the Mojave desert and do a fly past to commemorating the opening of the runway.
ROBERTS: So in terms of sending people up into space, at $200,000 a pop we should add, how far away are you from that now?
BRANSON: We're getting close. I mean, the mother ship has been finished and flying for a while now. As you say, the spaceship did the glide flight and is entering the test program. The next big test flights will be with the rocket working.
And what we'll do many, many, many test flights over the next 12 months to maybe 18 months before we actually send people up into space. But we're entering the last stages of the test program, and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
ROBERTS: Now, on the subject of sending people into space, is there any question who's going to be the first one on board that spacecraft?
BRANSON: I suppose one of the privileges of owning the spaceship company is that I'm able to take my family up. So my father and mother keep saying hurry up because they're entering their 90s now. And my children are happy to wait, but they're both in their 20s and longing to go. And obviously, the engineering genius behind all this will be on board, as well.
ROBERTS: You will take your 90-year-old parents on that flight?
BRANSON: They very much want to go. And obviously, been waitlist with the aches and pains, they won't have to worry about. They'll be floating about.
ROBERTS: But just the getting there that might be the difficult part, too. I mean, to be taken up to 45,000 feet and then launched on the end of a rocket. Although, you know, we see former President Bush still sky diving into his 90s, so heck, why not space at the age of 90?
So far my understanding is you have 350, 370 deposits at $20,000. You have a total of $50 million in deposits taken already for these rides into space. One might ask, Sir Richard, in this economy, who's paying $200,000 for a ride? BRANSON: The people who are paying it are literally the pioneers of commercial spaceship travel. They're paying the equivalent of the same price it cost in the '20s, 1920s to fly across the Atlantic. So it's going to begin being quite expensive, a lot less expensive than a Russian spaceship which is $25 million.
But so the price has come down. They're the pioneers. Obviously, they're relatively well of people. But I think they would be the people that will enable, you know, the moms and dads and their children who are watching this show one day to go up and when, you know, we can start to drive the price down and down and down, which we hope to do so that hopefully hundreds of thousands of people one day will be able to experience the wonders of spaceship travel.
ROBERTS: I know I'm a person that would certainly love to do that. But paying the $25 million with the Russians you stay in the space station for a while. Where do you see this going? You sort of have been toying with the idea of hotels in space?
BRANSON: Yes. I mean, initially we are going to be doing sub orbital flights. There people have the experience of going up into space and experiencing spaceship travel. In time we'll go to orbital flights. And, you know, one day, obviously, you know, it's important to dream. We hope to build a hotel in space.
ROBERTS: Yes.
BRANSON: And we're also thinking about intercontinental travel at a fraction of the time that it currently takes to go from, you know, say America to Australia.
ROBERTS: Yes. And I guess one of the things that people pointing to is once you're up there you could do New Mexico to Tokyo in about 45 minutes time. And you have talked about potentially creating a spaceport east in the Orlando area?
BRANSON: Well, today we're celebrating the first spaceport in New Mexico. And it's going to be absolutely magnificent. And -- but if that works really well, then, obviously, it would be great to have a base on the east coast, as well, and, you know, maybe sometime in the future in one or two other continents, as well.
So, you know, today is really exciting. I mean, the New Mexicans have the foresight to be the first spaceport, and it's going to be absolutely stunning there.
ROBERTS: Just don't put one in New York because our skies are crowded enough already. Sir Richard, great talk to you this morning.
BRANSON: Well, we'll spare New York.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: All right, thanks so much. Good luck, and we'll be watching later on today for the ceremonies. Appreciate it.
CHETRY: He's such a pioneer.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: He's such a pioneer.
ROBERTS: If you could come back as anybody in your next life, you know, coming back as him probably wouldn't be too bad. Just for the fun that he has.
CHETRY: Well, we'll just settle for dinner with you, Richard. That will be fun.
ROBERTS: One day he's in a spaceship, one day he's on a boat the next. Wow.
CHETRY: I know.
ROBERTS: Interesting life.
CHETRY: It's just an amazing, I mean, just the possibility is -- as you said and he said about being able to just to cross continents --
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: -- in the amount of time it takes to cross countries and cities. It's amazing.
ROBERTS: And to think he was a dropout who sold records out of his bedroom.
CHETRY: There is always hope -- there's always for everyone.
ROBERTS: Getting a little late in life for that, though.
CHETRY: Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back a disturbing outbreak in California -- whooping cough, I mean, you would think that for the most part we'd eradicated this. Well, thousands of cases reported, ten infant deaths. How do you protect your child and yourself? We're going to talk with a pediatrician about it coming up.
Also, the weekend is here -- I just wanted to pause for effect. If you're getting ready to go out of town, Reynolds Wolf is going to be joining us with the travel forecast.
It's 46 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines with Reynolds Wolf who is in the Weather Center in Atlanta for us this morning. Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGSIT: Good morning, guys. Let's get things started with what's happening right in the center of the U.S. We've got some intense thunderstorms this morning right along parts of I-40 and even the I-35. From West Texas, from Lubbock back over to Shamrock, Texas we've got some very heavy thunderstorms. There's the chance we might be dealing with a little bit of flash flooding, too, as these storms pull through.
Some of the heaviest may actually have a little bit of hail generation with them. And into the afternoon we can certainly expects some of the delays in spots like Oklahoma City back in (INAUDIBLE), and even into Dallas. Yes, your major airports there might have some stoppages.
Now, in terms of your temperatures, a very comfortable day, temperature wise in Oklahoma City with 72 degrees. In San Diego, plenty of sunshine, a little bit of the marine layer early in the day, but by afternoon no issue for you, 66 is the expected high. Sunny and 78 degrees in Atlanta. We round up in New York with 54 degrees and plenty of sunshine.
That's a wrap of the forecast. Let's kick it back to you in New York.
CHETRY: Yes you did. All right. Reynolds Wolf for us thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
CHETRY: You know coming up, it is the worst outbreak of whooping cough in 60 years. It's in California; newborn babies in many cases dying of this. We're going to talk to a pediatrician about why we're seeing a resurgence in whooping cough and what you can do to protect yourself and your child.
It's 50 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-three minutes past hour right now.
Ten babies in California have died from whooping cough or pertussis as it's known. Health officials say that it's the worst outbreak we've seen in 60 years and nearly 6,000 cases have been reported this year.
So why are so many children getting sick and what can you do to protect your child. Joining us now is Dr. Laura Jana, she is a pediatrician. She also wrote, "Heading Home with your Newborn". Thanks for joining us this morning.
DR. LAURA JANA, CO-AUTHOR, "HEADING HOME WITH YOUR NEWBORN": Oh my pleasure, Kiran.
CHETRY: So this -- they call it -- I guess a natural cycle of whooping cough where we see it more there -- every three and five years, I guess. Is this part of the cycle or something else at play here? JANA: Well, it is in that the last outbreak to this extent and this is actually probably the worst we've seen in almost 60 years was in 2005. So we knew this was coming but pertussis is always a risk. It's one of the most contagious bacteria that we know. So it spreads very easily.
CHETRY: We get a vaccination for it. And our children the vaccination for it is the DTAP that you see written on their immunization?
JANA: The DTAP vaccine that is part of the standard childhood immunization schedule and the best thing people can do is get their kids immunized on time to protect them against getting the pertussis infection.
CHETRY: The problem I guess is that you don't really get that until eight weeks old. And so newborns that -- are then exposed to it usually through family members or other people then contract it. And it's much harder for a newborn obviously to fight it.
JANA: Absolutely. The youngest incidents -- those under two to three months are vulnerable to the life threatening type of pertussis infection and they are the ones we can't vaccinate. So the really important message for people is that not only do we need to get our children immunized but teenagers and adults need to make sure that they get the booster shot for pertussis so that we can protect our infants, the ones that can't get themselves vaccinated.
CHETRY: So if I'm a mom and I know that both of my kids, they're two and a half and four and a half.
JANA: Yes.
CHETRY: They have been vaccinated against this. Can they not get it?
JANA: It takes those first three at least vaccines to get some sort of immunity so under six months of age, babies very much at risk. Your children fortunately are on schedule with their vaccines would mean that they're protected but we lose our protection over time.
So if you or I got our full childhood immunization schedule, we still could be at risk right now because we don't have that immunity anymore. Anybody who doesn't know the last time that they got a booster shot for pertussis, or if they haven't have one since they saw their own pediatricians --
CHETRY: Right.
JANA: -- adults need to go and take this seriously as well and get their booster shot because, again, you want to protect those infants most at risk from life threatening illness and they're the ones who are not old enough to get the protection from the vaccine themselves.
CHETRY: So obviously there's rules about this. I mean, if you're going -- if you're pregnant and you're getting prenatal care, they're going to recommend for you to get one of this boosters correct?
JANA: Well, you know, the recommendation's changed depending on whether you're on an area of an outbreak. So for example in California, the Department of Health has expanded the recommendation. And yes pregnant women can get the booster shot to protect against pertussis because the risk of them or then their newborn getting the infection is much greater than the risk of going and getting it.
In ordinary times when there's not an outbreak, you may wait until right after you're pregnant to get the vaccine.
CHETRY: I got you.
Let's listen to some audio -- this is what a child -- and it's very sad to hear actually. This is a little baby and this is what they sound like when they have whooping cough.
I guess it's how it got its name, right -- you just hear that gasping for breath in between the cough.
JANA: Yes. It's hard to listen to. In fact in pediatrics, people who are sick either have a child or a parent who's heard a child whooping it's the last sound you ever want to hear. Unfortunately, for very small infants, they may not even be able to inhale to make that whoop sound and that's where they can actually stop breathing and die from pertussis.
CHETRY: So how do you treat it?
JANA: Well, you know, unfortunately, antibiotics only serve the useful purpose to a certain extent, very early in the infection. And the infection can seem like the common cold when it starts. Then we're only left with supportive care. And for a lot of infants that need to get hospitalized and they have trouble breathing and we have to support their heart rates and things. So really, the best thing we can do is protect against it altogether. And that's getting our children immunized on schedule.
People ask me when to do it. The first day it's recommended for your child, get the vaccine. And also for adults, make sure that you've been vaccinated because it's us. We need to roll up our sleeves to protect the infant who can't protect themselves.
CHETRY: And this vaccine is proven to be 100 percent safe for kids?
JANA: You know, vaccines are the best thing we have to protect against pertussis. So it's absolutely a recommendation to prevent from a much more serious risk of the infection itself.
CHETRY: Dr. Laura Jana, thanks for your input this morning. We learned a lot. Appreciate it.
JANA: My pleasure. CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break.
Three minutes to the top of the hour. We'll be right back.
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ROBERTS: That's going to wrap it up for us. It's been great having you with us all week. Have a great weekend. We'll see you back here again bright and early on Monday morning.
CHETRY: Sure will. Meanwhile, the news continues, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now. Hey, Kyra.
