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Saving AIG Doesn't Impress Stock Market; Latest Elections Polls Show Tight Race; Ike's Aftermath by the Numbers; A Sweet Solution to Preventing Cavities; Huge Demand for Kawasaki 704 Glasses that Sarah Palin Wears
Aired September 18, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Investors not impressed. Government plan to save an insurance giant doesn't do much to calm nerves on Wall Street. Could a global move today change the market mood?
We're watching closely.
And restoring connections. A new bridge opens in Minnesota one year after the old one's deadly collapse. What makes this new bridge so smart?
I'm Heidi Collins. It is Thursday, September 18th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Boy, another white knuckle day on Wall Street. Will the nation's financial crisis cost you more money today? That's the question.
After losing more than 900 points this week, the Dow starts today at its lowest point in nearly three years. This morning, a little bit of good news. U.S. markets look like they are ready to open a bit higher this morning. We'll be watching for that.
The reason, central banks around the world have banded together to pump more money into global markets. The goal, keep the credit crisis from getting worse and try to calm investors down.
We have an awful lot of ground to cover today. And you have a financial stake in all of it. So we are watching where Wall Street is headed. You see the big board there.
Also financial expert Terry Savage boils it all down and Ali Velshi sets the scene for what could be another big day for your wallet.
Let's turn now to Ali.
Hey there, Ali, our senior business correspondent. All right, so make this make sense for us. 30 seconds or less.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All right. All right. In 30 seconds or less, the fact is we have had a string of really bad days on U.S. markets.
They are just unable to gain confidence at this banking and financial sector crisis is over despite an $85 billion loan to AIG, despite now the fact that central banks around the world have invested tens of billions of dollars into a fund that allows the banks to borrow money if they continue to get into trouble.
Now we are looking at a market opening within about 30 minutes and futures are looking higher despite a 449-point drop on the Dow Jones yesterday. There's more to it but I think I got that into 30 seconds, Heidi.
COLLINS: It was very good and impressive. We'll check back with you a little bit later on, Ali. Sure do appreciate it.
Pay up and try to shore up. Central banks around the world hoping to calm jittery investors by pooling together billions of dollars.
In London now, CNN's Jim Boulden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): European shares were up about a full percent going into the lunch hour and they were being helped by this massive intervention by the central banks around the world.
U.S. Federal Reserve has put billions and billions of dollars into the system. Much of that money coming here to the Bank of England and London and also to the European central bank in Frankfurt.
They will then be able to loan banks to the regional banks, the commercial banks. These banks have found it very difficult to loan money to each other ever since the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Monday.
And these banks must be able to loan money to each other overnight for the financial system to keep going. That's why we've seen this massive intervention by the Federal Reserve and the other central banks.
Also helping European shares, a very, very big and unusual merger between two commercial banks here in the UK. The Halifax Bank of Scotland, or HBOS, will be taken over by Lloyds TSB.
This was a merger that was even totally inconceivable just a week ago. However, the failure of Lehman Brothers had changed all the rules and the rule books are being thrown out.
Jim Boulden, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And here's a measure now just how urgent the economy has become, President Bush has canceled a fund-raising trip today so he can meet with top advisers. The focus, of course, the nation's deepening financial crisis.
Vice president Dick Cheney will stand in for President Bush at one of the two scheduled fund-raisers.
All right, your paycheck, your nest egg, even the cash in your pocket -- it all shrank a little bit this week. So how worried should we be? We want to give you perspective now.
Syndicated financial columnist Terry Savage is joining us.
Terry, nice to see you again. You know we just heard from Jim Boulden from London talking about this coordination of the world's central banks. Talk to us a little bit, in layman's terms, about how this changes things or if I do anything differently with my money today than I might have done yesterday before this happened.
TERRY SAVAGE, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Well, the recognition is, Heidi, that we're all in this together. All the world's central banks are coordinated. There are a lot of dollars we've sent overseas sitting in the vaults of many of those central banks.
They're pushing them all back into the economy now. The money has to go somewhere. And in the short term it's supposed to boost confidence and it might likely flood over into the stock market today.
On a personal basis, these are your retirement accounts for the most part that people are worried about. You never worry about it in a generation past when pension fund managers had that job.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
SAVAGE: This is money you're not going to need for 20 or 30 years, so you're going to get a chance, as you put in your $500 this month or $200, to buy stocks at lower prices. 20 years from now I'm sure we'll look back on this and be glad you kept on buying in your 401(k).
COLLINS: Yes, and you mentioned 20 years from now. I wonder, when we're talking about money like this, massive sums of money being injected into the financial system, does it upset the natural order of things at all?
I mean, what will we see in the future? Some sort of precedent that's being set right now?
SAVAGE: Well, we've already upset the natural order of things. We have a decade of excessive spending, of greed, if you will, of believing you could get wealthy based on debt. And so now we're having the pendulum swing the other way where we shake out these excesses.
What you're seeing is, though, that they've created so much dollar liquidity. It's like a bathtub. The Fed and the central banks are pouring water in the spigot while it's draining at the bottom with all these losses being written off.
They're hoping to get it at the right level. Gold is telling you that they're worried that too much dollars -- too much dollar liquidity has been created and they're worried about the value of the dollar in the future. But for now they're just trying to stabilize the system.
COLLINS: Trying to stay afloat sticking with your analogy of the bathwater there.
Hey, I think what I hear you talking about a little bit is also this idea of short selling and there's also naked short selling.
Do me a favor and explain to people what that is and why some analysts are saying, you know what? This is the root of all evil that we are seeing as the stock market goes down and down.
SAVAGE: There are probably two sides to that argument but the SEC last night took on a definitive stance that you cannot sell shares of companies you don't own. Hedge funds have been very aggressive sellers of stocks and bet that if you sell it up here, you can buy it back down here when prices are lower.
So they make money on -- it's called the short side. Now there are going to be severe limitations and hedge funds will have to disclose their short positions. It's thought that that full disclosure of people who are trying to push stocks down will lend some confidence to buyers.
After all, those short sellers eventually have to buy their stock back and when they do it will push prices back up again.
COLLINS: Yes, but right now, somebody, a group of people are making an awful lot of money when the stock prices are going down. It's just fascinating to me.
A lot more to talk about on this note, as you can imagine and as we continue to watch what happens. We're about 20 minutes away from the opening bell, of course, today on this Thursday. We'll be watching those numbers.
Terry, sure do appreciate it as always. Thanks for breaking it down for us.
SAVAGE: Thank you.
COLLINS: Well, they are states that could swing the balance of the election. Presidential polls just in from battleground states.
ANNOUNCER: CNN NEWSROOM, brought to you by...
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COLLINS: An aftermath stronger than the storm. Ike's toll on Texas. Staggering numbers.
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COLLINS: Neck and neck. A tight presidential race just keeps getting tighter.
CNN's latest poll of polls has Senator Barack Obama with a two- point lead over Senator John McCain. Eight percent of voters say they're not sure right now.
We've got these numbers for you by averaging six national surveys of registered voters.
And we've also got brand new numbers from crucial battleground states. Pretty interesting, too. The race is so very close.
CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is joining us now live from Washington.
Paul, nice to see you. What are these polls telling us at this point?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They're saying just what you're saying, that this race is so tight. And we did them in five states. One of these states could be the one that makes the -- the difference come November.
CNN, "TIME," and the Opinion Research Corporation. Take a look at Florida. That's the big one. 27 electoral votes at stake here. This is the state that decided it all in 2000. Right now we have it dead even in Florida. That's a state where you're going to see both campaigns and all the candidates spending a lot of time.
How about Ohio? That's the state that decided it all four years ago.
COLLINS: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: The one who put George Bush over the top for his re-election. 20 electoral votes at stake. Right now our latest numbers Obama by two points. That's, you know, with you taking into the account the sampling error, that's a dead heat.
Some other polls show McCain slightly ahead but still it's too close to call in Ohio with 20 electoral votes.
Also Wisconsin, we polled up there as well. This is a state that's voted for the Democrats the last four times but it's been really, really close the last two times. Right now we have Obama ahead by about three points. Ten electoral votes at stake right there in Wisconsin.
COLLINS: Pretty interesting numbers at this point, anyway, Paul, because they are just so incredibly close.
What about some of those traditionally red states, though? What are we seeing there?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, how about Indiana? This is a state where Obama has been spending a lot of time. This state hasn't voted for a Republican in a presidential election since 1964.
COLLINS: Yes, sort of a surprise battleground, right?
STEINHAUSER: Yes. And Obama has been spending time there. You're going to see him back there again. You'll see campaign ads in that state. Right now our poll has McCain up by six points which, if you take into account the sampling error, still pretty much a tie.
Another state Obama and the Democrats are spending a lot of time in is North Carolina. Our poll has it by one point there. Remember George Bush won the state by 12 points in 2004. We have McCain up by one. Some other polls, though, do have McCain up by a larger lead there in North Carolina but it's still very competitive.
And one other thing, Heidi. We took a look at some of the third party candidates like Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr, and some of the states we polled, you know, if you add all their -- all their percentages together, as high as 6 or 7 percent.
So they could be a factor in some of these states.
COLLINS: You're talking about spoilers possibly.
STEINHAUSER: Yes.
COLLINS: Yes. All right, Paul, we are watching, watching closely. Not much time left either.
Paul Steinhauser coming to us from Washington this morning.
Thank you, Paul.
On the campaign trail, Michelle Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina this hour. She is talking to women voters about the economy. Later in the day, she'll be going to a Women for Obama rally. That will happen in Greensboro.
Barack Obama staying on message. It's the economy still in crisis. And here's what the Democratic nominee told supporters yesterday in Elko, Nevada.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Federal Reserve must ensure that plans protect the families that count on insurance and it should bolster our economy's ability to create good paying jobs and help working Americans pay their bills and save their money.
It must not bail out the shareholders or managements of AIG that were making big profits when times were good. They shouldn't be bailed out when times are bad.
So everywhere you look, the economic news is troubling. But for so many Americans, this really isn't news at all. 600,000 workers have lost their jobs since January. Home values are falling.
I don't need to tell you folks here in Elko that your paychecks don't go as far as they used to. It has never been harder to save or retire, to buy gas or to buy groceries. And if you put it on a credit card, they probably raised your rates. In so many cities and towns across America, it feels as if the dream that so many generations fought for is slowly slipping away.
I have every confidence that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. That's who we are. That's what we've always done as Americans. But the one thing I also know is this. We can't steer ourselves out of this crisis by heading in the same direction.
We can't steer ourselves out of this crisis by taking the same disastrous road. And that's what this election is about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Obama's running mate Joe Biden taking his campaign's message of economic change to the battleground state of Ohio next hour. We will be watching for that as well.
We are also going to be hearing from John McCain in his own words in the next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, so stay with us. You know we are your home for politics.
Town hall talk on the agenda for John McCain and Sarah Palin. Yesterday they talked to voters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Palin took questions from the audience for the first time since she joined the Republican ticket. She says she's ready to serve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared. And I know that on January 20th, if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office, as your president and vice president certainly we'll be ready.
I'll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness. And if you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead and you can ask me -- you can even play stump the candidate if you want to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Republican pair planned more joint rallies today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
You may have heard this story already. Sarah Palin, the apparent target of online hackers. They reportedly broke into a Yahoo! e-mail account that she has and screen shots of the e-mail messages and photos of Palin's family were published on a couple of different Web sites.
A McCain campaign official call the incident a, quote, "shocking invasion of the governor's privacy," and they say the matter is being investigated.
Hundreds of miles from where a hurricane hit but feeling Ike's effects. More than a million power outages across four states.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly want to get this information just into the CNN NEWSROOM out to you now. We are getting word that President Bush will be speaking from the White House today, 10:15 this is going to happen. And the topic, as you might imagine, the economy.
You may also remember we've reported just a little while ago that he met with his economic advisers this morning after canceling some fund-raising events that he was going to be involved in today.
So once again, we will be watching for President Bush 10:15 today. We'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A thunderstorm of a different kind at Kennedy Space Center this morning keeps the shuttle Endeavor under cover. Endeavour was scheduled to join Atlantis on the launch pad this morning. NASA will try again tomorrow.
The Atlantis is scheduled for a lift off next month on the final and risky mission to serve as the Hubble telescope.
NASA taking unprecedented precautions, Endeavour being prepped for a rescue mission if needed. And we continue to follow that one for you as well.
Now struggling to recover from Ike. Texas the hardest-hit state from the hurricane. This will give you an idea of what people are dealing with. 1.9 million still without power.
FEMA says 35,000 people are being housed in shelters across Texas. And state search and rescue teams have left Galveston now after saving more than 3500 people there.
51 deaths nationwide linked to Ike, 18 of those in Texas.
Ike's remnants being blamed for keeping people powerless in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania, too. More than a million homes and businesses still without electricity. Some could be in the dark until this weekend.
Officials say the delay is due to unprecedented damage to the region from hurricane-force winds. Power crews have been called in from other states to help.
Seems like a good time to go over, check in with Rob Marciano standing by in the Severe Weather Center. And we knew it would take a while to get the power back on, but maybe we didn't expect this long or to have this many people still out of power.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this storm, you know, as you know, was huge. And then it was just booking along and got caught up in the jet stream and got caught up by a cold front and just headed really quickly up towards the north and east.
And there was such warm air out ahead of it, that there's a lot of instability and some of those hurricane winds aloft got drawn down to the surface. That's why we saw so much damage in to this area.
Today, obviously, a little bit more tranquil as it has been the past couple of days. The only really shower activity down across parts of southern Florida and also across parts of Texas but not too big of an issue. Some cool, comfortably cool air for the northeast. Feels almost like fall over the next couple of days.
Meanwhile, it's kind of baking out west. Here's the Pacific Northwest for you. Monument, Oregon, 102 yesterday. Madras got to 94. Bend in central Oregon, 93 degrees, 92 degrees in Colville, Washington for a day time high.
Temps will be slightly cooler today. More so tomorrow. They're battling some wildfires in the cascades there because of this heat and lack of humidity.
A little bit humidity across Texas, San Antonio, into the Ike- ravaged areas from Houston back through Galveston. We might not -- probably won't see too much in the way of rain here and, of course, most people there still without power, as Heidi mentioned.
Coastal flooding, you would think at this point we'd be done with it. But we had such a surge and such a -- up all the bayous and rivers and the bays that in some areas -- and this is a very low-lying area -- the water actually just sitting there.
So it's not being allowed to drain. So it's either has to evaporate or just slowly drain out into the marshland. So we have coastal flood warnings still in effect days and days after Ike has already gone through.
It'll be 80 in Dallas today, 74 New York, 81 in Atlanta, 77 in Denver, 59 degrees in San Francisco, which is typical for this time of year.
All right, quick check on the tropics. We mentioned all quiet yesterday. Still pretty quiet. One little area of interest right here near the Leeward Islands. That may warrant some further attention in the days to come. But right now we're not going to worry about it, are we, Heidi?
COLLINS: No, we're not going to worry about that. We got too much to worry about today and have been worrying, obviously, about the financial situation across this country for a while.
MARCIANO: Exactly.
COLLINS: We sure do appreciate, though, Rob. We'll check in later on.
Meanwhile, on that note, want to remind you that we have just learned President Bush will be speaking from the White House today 10:15 Eastern Time. Going to be talking about the economy. Has just met with his top advisers, actually probably still talking with them as we speak. Ended up canceling some fund-raising events that he was going to partake in today in order to do this. So we will bring those comments to you when they happened, 10:15.
Our Brianna Keilar is on the scene and will be coming up shortly.
A high school student from Lackawanna, New York is among four civilians killed in Wednesday's car bombing at the U.S. embassy in Yemen. The girl was visiting family in the united capital and had just been married.
Her husband was also killed in the attack. The 18-year-old senior was due to graduate next spring.
Seven U.S. soldiers died early this morning when their helicopter crashed near Basra, Iraq. Military officials say the helicopter was part of a convoy flying from Kuwait to Balad.
Investigators believe the crash was an accident and not the result of enemy fire.
Just a couple minutes away now from Wall Street's opening bell. Will the market go into another big fall or stage some type of rally? Watch with us after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's called the smart bridge. A new tech-savvy span across the Mississippi river replaces the old one that collapsed.
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ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Just a few minutes ago we learned President Bush will address the nation's troubled economy today. He is going to make comments coming up at 10:15, about 45 minutes away or so. We, of course, will carry that live.
But want to take a moment to check in with CNN's Brianna Keilar who is standing by at the White House.
And Brianna, you know, when the president comes out on a story as big as this, a lot of people wondering if he's got a big announcement to make or not.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you right now, Heidi, we're hearing from the White House that he doesn't have a big announcement in terms of any policy changes and how the White House is going to address these growing problems on Wall Street.
What we do know is here, in a little less than an hour, he is going to be speaking, his first on-camera address about the economy since the AIG bailout on Tuesday night. And we're told by White House press secretary Dana Perino he will address, obviously, the recent financial market developments and he's going to emphasize what he and his administration are doing and what they're continuing to do as they work on efforts to promote stability in the markets. That's what we're hearing from Dana Perino.
But, again, we're told we shouldn't expect any announcements of new policy in his remarks. As I said, this is the first time he has made an address about the economy since Tuesday night's action by the government and, obviously, the anticipation was that that action on Tuesday, the bailout of AIG would buoy the markets. It didn't do that. So the White House here trying to show that President Bush is at least addressing the problem and trying to figure out the problem, even if we aren't going to see a policy announcement today.
I should mention this is a last-minute change. He was actually supposed to head to Alabama and Florida today for some official business as well as a fundraiser. He canceled those events late last night. Vice President Cheney will be making those appearances instead. The White House just issuing this announcement today that the president will make this address just a short time ago, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, either way, it's going to be interesting to hear what he has to say exactly regarding the economic situation right now. CNN's Brianna Keilar.
And while Brianna was talking, we were looking at that picture right there. Of course, the opening bell just a couple of minutes ago. Everybody watching the stock market, watching the numbers especially after yesterday when we had another massive, if you will, down day, down about 450 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Averages. And now there you see the open up about 127 points at the opening bell right out of the gate.
Susan Lisovicz is standing by now to talk a little bit more about this.
Any type of surprise here? We know that everyone is hoping that the market will calm down, but right out of the gate, it's positive to the triple digits.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. The patient has a pulse after the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 800 points in three days. You know, "The Wall Street Journal" compares the U.S. financial system to a patient in intensive care. The doctors in charge resorting to ever more invasive treatment and are now experimenting with remedies that have never before been applied.
And the latest example of that came before the opening bell. A coordinated effort from the Federal Reserve and Central Banks around the world to free up the paralyzed credit markets. We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars that are being pumped into money markets after banks tightened their lending policies and increased interest rates. And this of course the latest shock to the system was AIG. And we have another headline concerning AIG. Just came out moments ago from Dow Jones news wires saying that Kraft Foods will replace American International Group in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is only 30 companies.
COLLINS: Right.
LISOVICZ: But they are the strongest. They are the most prestigious in their sectors, and AIG as of Monday will no longer be in that group. AIG shares, by the way, which were pummeled, went down to $2 yesterday, or up 18 percent but that brings it under $2.50.
Very quickly, we're seeing some signs of life in the financial sector. Washington Mutual shares are up 20 percent. There are talks that it is in merger talks. There are reports, rather, that it is in merger talks, that it's reportedly put it up for sale, possible suitors, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. And one of the last two independent investment banks, a lot of interest in Morgan Stanley.
Its shares closed at its lowest level in a decade. Published reports saying it's talking to Wachovia to try to also join itself with Wachovia rather than to try to ride out this credit crisis alone -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A whole lot of rumor and talk and all kinds of things going on today. Certainly, --
LISOVICZ: And its shares are down 10 percent actually. You know, one thing that's rising again for a second day is oil prices. They're up 2 percent. Still under $100. Rose $6 yesterday. A big rise in gold. A real flight to safety when investors are scared, they go into -- they pull out of equities and we've been seeing that this week.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And they've been going into safe havens. But right now we have a little bit of a bounce at least in the first four minutes of trading.
COLLINS: All right. Let's just close the day of trading right now.
LISOVICZ: Yes. Right there.
COLLINS: There you go. All right, Susan Lisovicz.
LISOVICZ: Fine with me.
COLLINS: Thank you. Let's look beyond the numbers for a moment, and into the mindset now of real movers and shakers, the investors themselves. Here to break it all down for us, CNN's Christine Romans.
Good morning to you, Christine. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. I think it's so important that Susan was talking about the banks there because the banks really are kind of the heart of the financial system. And when the banks are ailing, that really can trickle down and that's why the rest of the economy can get hurt. And you've got to have a solid banking sector for, you know, United States finance and international finance for the -- you know, I keep saying it. I say it every day. It's the oxygen that the credit, the buying and selling and the lending between these banks is really provide the oxygen for the rest of the economy to go.
So the Fed -- with a bunch of other Central Banks that Susan reported was pumping more money into the system this morning. That is a bid to really boost confidence. You need to have confidence in the banking sector. You need to get these folks to be lending money again. And you've got all of these talks about what are the banks doing. What's the landscape going to look like between Washington Mutual and Wachovia and Morgan Stanley and all of these other names?
I would be surprised if every single financial company right now didn't have somebody there trying to figure out what they're going to look like next year -- who they're going to be with, what they have to do, where they have to get cash infusions from. So there's a lot of moving parts on that part of the story. And, again, the banks are really the heart of all this. So why does it matter beyond just, you know, the big money on Wall Street and these investors and people who are investing?
Well, we're watching what it means for the rest of the economy. And we already know that jobs loss has been rising. More than 600,000 jobs lost over the past year. We got a jobless claim number today. Jobless claims surprised economists were up another 5,000. That means 445,000 people in the latest week woke up the unemployment office and got jobless benefits for the first time.
Look at that. A year ago, Heidi, just 320,000. Anything above 400,000 is considered a sign of a weak labor market. And some folks are saying that it might just be beginning. We're going to see more job losses in finance and all of the kinds of attendant industries to that as well. So we're really concerned about the jobs market at this point.
COLLINS: Yes. And a lot of other things. But certainly that is one of the headlines to take away from you and your reporting today. All right. CNN's Christen Romans, appreciate that.
Also, we want to remind you, the president is talking about this as well today. 10:15, he will be addressing the economic state of things, if you will, after meeting with his advisers this morning, ended up canceling a fund raising event in order to do so. And then he'll come to the podium 10:15. So, we'll bring it to you live when it happens.
It's a day that Minnesota drivers have waited for for more than a year, but it comes after a tragic event. The new 35W West Bridge opens. What's different about it and the collapsed bridge that it replaced?
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COLLINS: In Minneapolis, Minnesota, it's a day drivers have been waiting for. But it is also marking a terrible event. Traffic now flowing across 35W for the first time since the old bridge collapsed more than one year ago. The so-called Smart Bridge boasts high-tech features. In fact, more than 320 sensors monitor how the bridge handles the stress of traffic.
As I'm sure you remember, 13 people were killed, 145 injured when the old bridge collapsed in August of last year. The tragedy triggered a nationwide discussion and investigation into the country's crumbling infrastructure. Some of the survivors joined an inaugural procession across the bridge before dawn this morning. With us now to talk about all of this, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Mr. Mayor, thanks for being with us. And you said it to me during the break. It is a day of certain mixed emotion.
MAYOR R.T. RYBAK, MINNESOTA: Well, we're obviously extremely happy to have the most significant transportation link in Minnesota open again. Obviously especially is important in the downtown. But something happened here. Something horrible and tragic. And so, you celebrate the workers who did phenomenal efforts to make this open and you also remember Greg Jolstad, a construction worker who was on that bridge and died during the incident.
COLLINS: Yes.
RYBAK: It's mixed emotions. But today we are, I have to say, very, very pleased that people did remarkable work to get this open so quickly.
COLLINS: Well, let's talk about that for a minute, because I'm familiar with the bridge, having lived in Minnesota for 20 years. And I know what a thoroughfare it is and how huge it is, for lack of a better term. Everybody really came together architecturally and technologically to get this thing done, and albeit way ahead of schedule.
RYBAK: Well, you know, it really shows what happens when you get every arm of the community reaching across gaping hole in the community and finding some way to come together. That's a, you know, lofty metaphor, but it's true. Every politician, every construction worker, every citizen gave up a little bit in the short term to be able to make this happen.
And I hope it says a couple things. One, that this is a special bridge and it always will be. But, two, that we can do big things and great things if we come together. But I hope the third thing is to really be committed to making sure this never happens again. And I am still frankly concerned that we haven't made the investment in infrastructure around this country to really learn from this tragic lesson. COLLINS: Yes. I would think that you're right on that just because even in talking about this today, I mean, I remember obviously when it happened. And there was so much talk about that nationwide. And now we kind of haven't heard so much about it. Can you update us at all in maybe discussions that you've been having perhaps with other mayors across the country regarding their infrastructure in their cities?
RYBAK: I'm involved with mayors and governors across the country -- Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Rendell, are all part of an effort I am part of, and other mayors are too. Really refocus our efforts on infrastructure.
Look, we're a culture right now that is sort of disaster of the moment. That we lurch from one to the other, we grieve at that time, we say a bunch of deep things. But do we really stop and make sure that we've learned something? Levees, bridges. You know, what's going on in this country? We've got to really wake up to that. So, infrastructure is something we're going to talk a lot about and we should.
We also obviously want to say this about people. So we are launching an effort to raise a million dollars for a memorial to the bridge victims of 35wremembrancegarden.org.
COLLINS: Yes. We actually have some renditions here that we're putting up while you're talking about it.
RYBAK: OK. And it's a great memorial, too, because what it does is it's a very dark granite with L.E.D. lights in the middle. And it really uses that issue that these 13 individuals who came from all parts of the community represented a very dark day in this community, but there is a way that we can come together and show light on some level. So, there's a lot we have to do. We opened the bridge. That's phenomenal. We need to focus more on other bridges. And we need to make sure we mark this with an appropriate memorial.
COLLINS: And it's a pretty amazing sight right now given what happened as we're looking right next to you at a live camera there, traffic cam as it called. Minneapolis, Minnesota. There it is, the 35W Bridge reopened today. Mayor R.T. Rybak, thanks so much for your time.
RYBAK: Thank you.
COLLINS: And now on to this. Cavity prevention that kids would actually love, licking a lollipop. But does it work?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quick reminder. Less than a half an hour away now from President Bush, who will be talking about the economy today. He has met with his advisers, in fact, actually still may be meeting with them right now to address what is going on in this country.
And now as I'm sure you're following the news on all of it, what's happening across the world, when we talk about Central Banks and so forth, the money that they have injected into the system. So he will be coming to the microphones 10:15. We'll carry it for you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Meanwhile, finally, a sweet solution to preventing cavities. Candy that could be good for your teeth. Lollipops that take a bite out of tooth decay. What? Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now to talk more about this.
So, what are these lollipops supposed to do? It sort of ruins the whole thing that I've been telling my kids, you know, no more candy.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, supposed to, is the operative word here.
COLLINS: OK.
COHEN: Supposed to. What they found is that these lollipops which have Licorice root in them that they can kill bacteria in your mouth. However, the study that dentists are waiting for is do they actually prevent tooth decay. These kids are actually part of the study, believe it or not.
COLLINS: They are very cute.
COHEN: This is why the cutest study subject I've ever seen. And so, they're going to see if these kids when they suck these lollipops if indeed they get fewer cavities than kids who don't suck lollipops. That would be the study that should be done. That study has not been yet, so we do not know for sure if these lollipops will help keep your kids cavity-free.
COLLINS: Because there will be people out there who say, well, if I eat some Licorice, maybe that will work because you said Licorice root, right?
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Yes. But the benefit of this rather than just downing some Licorice root is allegedly, supposedly that you're keeping all that saliva coating your teeth because you got that lollipop in there. That's the theory.
COLLINS: Yum. All right. Well, come back and let us know once this testing is actually been done because I think there will be a lot of parents that would like the idea.
COHEN: Absolutely. Sure.
COLLINS: All right. Thank you. Our medical correspondent. Wait a minute, I'm sorry. We got all kinds of other things you want to talk about as far as the dentists. Are dentist in favor of this?
COHEN: The dentists we talked to said show us the study. Show us the proof that these things actually prevent kids from getting cavities. And they say so far we haven't seen that.
COLLINS: And are they just for kids or can I go out and --
COHEN: Sure, you can try it if you want. I mean, there's no absolute proof that they work. But sure if they supposedly work for kids, they supposedly work for you, too.
COLLINS: Yes. All right.
COHEN: As long as you're not pregnant.
COLLINS: Oh, really?
COHEN: Pregnant women are not suppose to because it's a dietary supplement and those are not always recommended for pregnant women. But, you know, as long as you're not pregnant.
COLLINS: OK. All right. Well, now we've got it all. If I could only show you this huge note that she gives me every day. Hey, I want this one, I want to talk about, and I completely missed it. I'm sorry.
COHEN: That's OK. I think we got it.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Elizabeth Cohen. Thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: OK, thanks.
COLLINS: We'll talk with you again, soon.
Well, age and weight gain often seem to go hand in hand. But it doesn't have to be that way. Medical correspondent Judy Fortin on how you can keep from plumping up in your 30s, 40s and 50s.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meri Cotney is an example of what most people feel as they age. She had always eaten right and exercised to stay thin. But as she got older, things changed.
MERI COTNEY, WATCHING HER WEIGHT: I was gaining weight and couldn't understand for a while why because I wasn't eating very much.
FORTIN: The culprit? It's not just your metabolism and it's not that simple. As we age, stress, injuries and busy but sedentary lifestyles can pile on the pounds.
JULIE SCHWARTZ, DIETITIAN: Aging goes along with obesity almost.
FORTIN: And it starts in your 30s. You become less limber and begin losing muscle mass. SCHWARTZ: One of the things we can do that's in our power is to be physically active and even concentrated some kind of strength or resistance training to help offset that muscle mass.
FORTIN: But watch your exercise routine. Some sports like running and aerobics can do damage to the joints and back if you don't do them properly. Know your body. Orthopedists say major injuries such as herniated disks and joint injuries become more common as we get into our 30s. Something Cotney is all too aware of.
COTNEY: In my 30s, I had two foot surgeries. I was able to recover from those, but then I ended up having back surgery and ruptured a disk. That completely changed my whole activity level.
FORTIN: Then you hit your 40s and 50s, and your metabolism slows down. That means your body isn't burning as many calories as it used to. So even small amounts of food can cause you to gain weight. But no matter your age, there are strategies to keep that waistline slim.
First, rev up your metabolism by revving up your exercise program. Vary your routine. Walk one day, work with small weights the next. But keep active every day. Second, eat on a regular basis throughout the day. Don't save your big meal for the evening and drink plenty of water.
SCHWARTZ: Water can be an important part of metabolism as can food because, as we eat small, frequent meals, the theory is that we're soaking our metabolism all day, giving our body something to burn.
FORTIN: lastly, watch portion sizes. Dietitians recommend eating on smaller plates and keeping a food diary to note how much you eat everyday. That's advice Mary Cotney is following and seeing results.
COTNEY: It's been a long road. And that's been the way I've been able to lose the weight.
FORTIN: Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Americans are crazy for the Kawasaki 704. Sounds like a motorcycle, but it actually has to do with a candidate and a sudden craze.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly, just a reminder now. Live shot of the White House there because in about 20 minutes or so, we are expecting the president to come to the podium and go ahead and talk about the economy, the situation that has been happening over the last several days, some people would argue last several years, but obviously now the fallout from that. He has met with his economic advisers this morning and will then be talking, 10:15. So, again, about 20 minutes away or so. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: They want to be like Palin. There's a huge demand now for the style of glasses that VP candidate Sarah Palin wears. CNN's Kyung Lah meets the man behind the frames.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hillary left 18 million crack in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America.
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's not the glass that's grabbing headlines in the fashion world. It's the Glasses Governor Sarah Palin wears. There's a run on the rimless pair so a part of her image.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lipstick. There you go.
LAH: They're a must have for any Palin parody. This one on "Saturday Night Live." The new fashion craze, the latest style hit means a two-month wait if you live in the U.S. And overdrive for the Japanese company that makes them, trying to keep up with worldwide demand.
We can't keep up says Sotaro Masunaga from the company that sells a Kawasaki 704s. They've sold more in two weeks than in the entire year. Even the Japanese are getting in on the craze.
I saw Palin's glasses and came to buy them, says Hudeyo Haruyama (ph). And on first try, he was sold. Though he'll have to get in line. Everything is backordered. This is the man behind the design, Kazuo Kawasaki, a Ph.D. in medical science. He designs robots, artificial hearts, his own titanium wheelchair and glasses, blending medicine with a flare for fashion.
(on camera): Other political heavyweights have worn Kawasaki's designs before. Colin Powell actually wore this rimless design. But it's the Sarah Palin glasses and the mad rush to have a pair all your own that's really caused a frenzy. Kawasaki says he just didn't expect it.
I am so surprised says Kawasaki, but her wearing them is good for business. But he does hope his spectacles are limited to a fashion spectacle.
I hope American voters will be smart, pay attention to her position on the issues and not vote on image or my glasses. Maybe the fashion appeal of a pair of glasses is an issue which voters can agree.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
