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Bea Arthur, 86, Dies; More Dead, More Sickened, More Info on the Swine Flu; UGA Professor Suspected of Student Deaths; Rating Obama's First 100 Days; Jazz Fest Kicks Off in New Orleans.

Aired April 25, 2009 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, a deadly shooting rampage near a college campus. A manhunt under way for a professor right now and someone who knows him speaks to us live. Also developing, dozens dead and late information on people newly sickened. Tonight the number of confirmed swine flu cases grows. The president and his staff were just in Mexico, the apparent source of that outbreak. We'll go to the White House for that. Right now, parts of the south are on fire. Thousands of people homeless, homes destroyed. Also right now down south in the heart of Dixie jazz fest, is it helping the big easy and the big question in a crime ridden city, are people safe? New this hour, the death of a legendary actress who broke barriers for women's rights. She was a sister who really could. We're talking about Maude here. The news starts right now.

Hello everyone I'm Don Lemon we begin with breaking news now. Police are hunting for a University of Georgia professor George Zinkhan in connection with the off campus shooting deaths of three people. The University of Georgia website refers to Zinkhan as a suspect. The university is urging students and everyone else to use caution if they see this professor. Michael Castenegera is on the phone now, he is an instructor at the University of Georgia. You know this professor, sir?

MICHAEL CASTENEGERA, DAUGHTER WITNESSED SHOOTING (via telephone): No I don't.

LEMON: You don't know him. We understand your daughter was there when the shooting happened and she is now being questioned by police as a witness?

CASTENEGERA: Yeah, my daughter was there. This took place at a theater, a local theater, community theater group called the Town and Gown Players. They were having a fund-raising event when this happened. My daughter is on the board of that and has been involved in that community theater for sometime.

LEMON: Ok, my understanding is that you knew this professor, but you don't know him just to get that straight.

CASTENEGERA: I have never met him. No.

LEMON: What is your daughter saying, what is she telling you about this professor?

CASTENEGERA: She doesn't know him either. She was involved with the community theater. This man's wife was president or chair of the board that runs this community theater.

LEMON: What is she saying about what happened as she was at this theater?

CASTENEGERA: Well actually I work with -- I'm involved in two ways. My daughter was involved in the incident and we have a news crew ourselves here for our station covering it and we've also talked to Captain Clarence Holman at the police department. What I have put together so far is basically the professor showed up at the fund- raising event and apparently did get into an argument with someone. Topic unknown. He left and then came back. When he came back, that's when he supposedly shot the three people.

LEMON: Ok. Any other insight that you can give us on this because the details are just coming in. You said that you have a news crew there. Have you spoken to police, is your daughter being questioned by police?

CASTENEGERA: She was questioned and they obviously talked to all the eyewitnesses there and they all provided their account of what they saw happen. What I can tell you is what I know is the other people, two others that were killed were obviously part of that whole group that were members of the board. This couple did have two young children age 8 and 10. Those two children are ok. They are actually at the police department now. Luckily although they were near the event, they didn't actually witness the event.

LEMON: How is your daughter doing?

CASTENEGERA: I beg your pardon?

LEMON: How is your daughter?

CASTENEGERA: Not doing well. Obviously shaken up. Athens anybody that knows it is a very tight community college town. It is a classic college town. A wonderful place. Very tight knit. Then on top of that, you have a community theater group which is an even more tight knit group. Even people that have been working with each other for years on plays and situations. The last I talked to my daughter, a group of them were going to get together and I think basically kind of trying to provide some support for each other.

LEMON: Mr. Michael Castenegera we appreciate it, we hope your daughter is ok. It's a really sad story and again we appreciate you. Again I want to tell our viewers the story. It's just developing, it's happening in Athens, Georgia. CNN does have a crew at the scene and we are working to get more information and get that crew up for you so that we can get the latest information for you.

Meantime, we want to move on now to another story that is developing here in the United States and also in Mexico. If you or someone you know has the flu, you better get it checked out and get it checked out right away. Because the world health experts are sounding the alarm about a deadly new strain of swine influenza that could spread very quickly. 68 flu deaths reported in Mexico. But take note, most have not been confirmed as swine flu. More than 1,000 people in Mexico may be infected. At least 10 cases are confirmed here in the United States. Tonight two new cases have been confirmed in Kansas. Also two confirmed cases in Texas, closed a high school near San Antonio and state health officials in New York say testing shows eight or nine students at a New York City high school likely have that disease.

To explain more about why health officials are so concerned about this outbreak, we have CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, our national correspondent Susan Candiotti is in New York and Elaine Quijano is at the White House for us. We're going to start now with Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, health officials warn this could be a pandemic. What does that mean exactly here?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Could be is operative is what you have to talk about. Let's take a look at how they do the ratings. Right now on a scale of 1 to 6, they say that this outbreak is at a three where there is no evidence or there is no or very limited evidence of human to human transmission. On a call with the CDC that I was on this afternoon, there was a lot of talk about maybe that might get moved up to number four when you see cases popping up in Kansas, probable cases in New York. Maybe there really is increased evidence that this is transmitted not just from pigs to people, but it's being transmitted in significant numbers from person to person.

LEMON: Ok then so how sick are these people? Is it mild, what is it, very serious?

COHEN: Mild and that's what's so interesting. Is that in the U.S. the cases have all been mild, there have been no deaths. The cases that we've been told about, only one person had to go to the hospital, they didn't even need anti-virals. So it's been mild here, not quite clear why it seems to be worse in Mexico. Why people seem to be dying in Mexico of this and not in the United States.

LEMON: Tell us about this new virus. What makes it unique? Because you know we heard about, we've been hearing about bird flu, we've heard about, there was SARS and monkey pox and all these things that pop up and then they go away. So tell us about this one, what makes it unique?

COHEN: This is a unique combination of actually four different viruses. You can find DNA from four different viruses. Let's go over what those four are. North American Swine Influenza, Avian bird influenza, human influenza and a form of swine influenza that's normally found in Asia and Europe. So you put that altogether, you get this new swine flu virus. We haven't seen it in this country before. So that none of us has developed an immunity to it in its entirety. But again at least in this country it doesn't seem to be killing anyone, thank goodness. But you or I have never, our bodies have never been exposed to it before.

LEMON: All right, so the WHO, which is the World Health Organization, they have an alert system. Where are we now with that system?

COHEN: Level three out of six, that's where we are. Level three out of six.

LEMON: Ok, tell us about the precautions they are taking in Texas now.

COHEN: Yeah it's very interesting in Texas in Guadalupe County, they have closed a high school where two kids have been diagnosed as having this new swine flu and one other student is a probable case. They are closing the school down for a week at least. In addition, they are telling everyone in the county please postpone big public gatherings, we do not want people getting together in big groups because that's how this virus could spread. They are being very clear about it. If you are at all sick, please stay home. Do not go out. They really want to catch this and nip it in the bud before this gets bigger than it already is.

LEMON: Yeah, I'm just watching all the information coming over here as well. This one is from Kansas where we talked about the schools there, New York as well. We don't want to alarm people when we saw SARS people got sick and died. Then we saw monkey pox and bird flu and then these things just kind of went away. How concerned should we be?

COHEN: It is possible that that could happen here as well. Again, the cases that we have seen, 10 cases, these people are mildly ill. They didn't even know that they had anything as strange as swine flu. They didn't even for the most part end up in the hospital. I think that's really important to keep in mind.

LEMON: Yeah and it's something we will be following. Elizabeth we thank you for coming in on the weekend. Elizabeth joining us here doing a great job in explaining it. If we get any more information, Elizabeth will join us again. Again, thanks Elizabeth. The medical investigation also focused on Queens, New York where dozens of high school students recently came down with flu-like symptoms. We're going to go now to CNN's Susan Candiotti, she's covering that part of the story for us. Susan, health experts now think they have found some likely cases of this disease there so tell us what this is all about.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They do, here is what we know so far. This started on Thursday when they had some students, as many as 200 of them who became ill at a high school in Queens. Out of a population and enrollment of about 2700 students. They took samples, swabs, oral and nasal swabs from 9 students. Eight of the nine tested positive for a probable swine flu, that's type A influenza. But that is not yet confirmed. So those eight samples have been sent on to the Centers for Disease Control for further sub typing. More tests in order to determine whether indeed this is swine flu.

The results from that additional testing is expected as early as tomorrow and we will get the results of those some time tomorrow from the New York City health commissioner here. Now, further here's what they have done to the school. It has been scrubbed down and sanitized but the health commissioner said that really wasn't necessary. They are however conducting interviews of all the students, most of the students who were ill to find out when they became ill, with whom they had contact, that kind of thing. We did ask the health commissioner whether New York City is prepared should there be a widespread outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMM. THOMAS FRIEDEN, NYC DEPT. OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE: The city is well prepared and we have been preparing for years at every level. We've been preparing with detection so we can track whether a pandemic or other serious problem comes and if so, where it is, what the characteristics are. We have prepared the hospitals with how to detect. We've even prepared for a worse case scenario where we needed hundreds and hundreds of more ventilators, breathing machines to help people breathe and we've prepositioned ventilators that are easy to use and highly effective in the hospitals throughout the city as well as in a storehouse. We feel we are very well-prepared but always you have to look at the situation and look day to day to see what you can learn, what you can do better, what more you might be doing.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: If swine flu is confirmed at that high school in Queens, then the health commissioner said that they might recommend that the school close on Monday to give some time for people to get better, but they will cross that bridge -- take that one step at a time. Also they reported that they are testing 30 children from a daycare center in the Bronx, a daycare center that they would not yet identify, but again that's very preliminary information at this time. Back to you.

LEMON: All right, thank you very much for that. Susan Candiotti who is watching the story for us in New York. Susan we appreciate it.

Let's go now and talk about the Obama administration, it is keeping a close eye on developments surrounding the swine flu and preparing for whatever happens next. President Obama we should note was just in Mexico and we have some information to share about his health as well. Elaine Quijano is standing by at the White House. Elaine how is the president doing? I'm looking at a memo that just came or I should say a note that just came from the White House about the president's health. I will let you report that though, what are they saying?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I talked to a White House official a short time ago who said that at this time the White House is not concerned about the president's health. Obviously he was in Mexico as we well know, but they say he has not shown any kind of flu-like symptoms since that trip to Mexico. So they are not worried about that. As you noted, the president of course is being fully briefed, he has been fully briefed on the situation. A spokesman said both his health and homeland security staff members that have been keeping him updated.

Now we should tell you, you are seeing that video there of President Obama today. He did not have any public events on his schedule today Don, but CNN cameras did spot him on the White House campus as he was leaving the Eisenhower executive office building next door and making his way back towards the west wing. We don't know if he was at EOB for any kind of meetings related to the swine flu situation. White House officials just aren't saying that. But we did see the president today.

Now as the situation continues to unfold, we had the chance to talk to Fran Townsend, she's a former homeland security adviser who says that one of the lessons she learned in looking at the possibility of a government response in case of a pandemic flu outbreak is the importance of communicating to the American public. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, FORMER BUSH HOMELAND SEC. ADVISER: Communicating facts, you know talking to people about what you know, what you don't know and what are the kinds of things that you're looking for that will be indicators of a pandemic or a health outbreak and giving people practical information about what they can expect and what they can do to make the best decisions for their families.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now Townsend says that based on her experience and their administration's examination of the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak, she believes that the Mexican government is really taking the right steps and practicing what she calls social distancing Don. And that's basically the Mexican government taking steps to try to prevent any kind of large gatherings of people where of course this virus can very quickly spread any further. Don?

LEMON: Elaine Quijano, thank you very much for that Elaine. We are keeping a close eye on the fast moving stories happening here, we're talking about that shooting that happened near a college campus, the University of Georgia in Athens. Also we're hearing a lot about President Obama's first 100 days. But how much can he get done and is it fair to grade him so soon? We're digging deeper on this. And of course we want to know what's on your mind tonight. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, iReport.com, tell us what you're thinking, we'll get your responses on the air. And again, we're going to go live to Athens to find out exactly what happened in that shooting. Three people killed near a college campus. We're back, moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breaking news here into the CNN NEWSROOM. It is a shooting near a college campus. First we're going to get to our Richard Lui, but I want to show you a live picture of the scene, this is courtesy of our affiliate WSB. You can see investigators on the scene there and just see the ruckus and everything that is going on. This happened around noon and according to the gentleman we had on earlier, his daughter was there and witnessed the shooting. There was an argument apparently at a town and gown theater, which is apparently a theater group. An argument, a man went away believed to be a professor at the University of Georgia, came back and thus this shooting. Back to our breaking news now, a manhunt going on for University of Georgia professor after three people were shot dead near the campus. Our Richard Lui joins us from Athens, which is about an hour from Atlanta. Richard, what do you know, what are you hearing?

RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good afternoon to you Don. What we do know is this is a very peaceful and quiet backdrop for what was a horrific and very surprising shooting as you described about noon eastern today. What police have told us, we spoke with the police chief about 45 minutes ago. There was a reunion of both former and current members of what is a very close-knit theater group right over my shoulder here. That was going on, this theater group is about 50 years old. Now at the time the suspect Professor George Zinkhan which is a professor at the University of Georgia, then according to police pulled out a gun after leaving the conversation which appeared to be a very tight-knit group, returned and then shot three people.

Now the police chief telling us here Don 45 minutes ago they have just got a search warrant. They're going to his house to see what they can fin there. That location is about five or 10 minutes from now. They have also sent out in terms of the school itself, UGA, text messages, I have a copy of it here. They wanted to warn all the students about two hours ago, it reads, there has been a shooting off campus, the suspect is believed to be the professor, a white male mid 50's wearing blue shorts and a polo shirt. They also sent out here Don a voicemail message at the same time, only two hours after the incident happened. Back to you.

LEMON: Is anyone Richard talking about this professor. Did anyone know him and has he exhibited any weird behavior. What may have sparked this argument and thus this shooting?

LUI: That is a good question. We were speaking with a couple of the people that are involved with the theater group here Don. In fact I have professor Elliott Gower who is a former professor here at the University of Georgia. Professor, how would you describe Professor Zinkhan, what do we know about him and this group that was getting together today?

PROF. STEVE ELLIOT-GOWER: George Zinkhan has been at the university I think for about 10 years, maybe 12 years. Very distinguished professor and has a national even an international reputation. He is a professor of marketing and I have known him through my friend Marie Bruce who was one of the victims here today. I have seen George on campus a number of times and would see him here at the town and gown theater when he would come to a show that his wife was involved in either as a director or an actor.

LUI: From what you know of him, did he exhibit any sort of behavior through the interactions that you have that might indicate something as shocking like that might happen?

GOWER: George had a reputation of being a little bit quirky perhaps, a little bit aloof, a little bit gruff. But absolutely nothing that I saw that would lead me to this sort of conclusion.

LUI: Quickly here, Professor Eliot-Gower, this is a very close- knit group, this is very surprising for you. It's a small theater, you often come together and meet to put on these shows.

GOWER: Right. As you said, it has been in business for 50 years, 50 continuous years of community theater. So there are generations of people in the Athens community that have been involved in Town and Gown Theater. It's really difficult to imagine how an organization which is this close-knit recovers from something like this. Having said that, I don't know how but it will recover.

LUI: Professor Elliot-Gower I know it's very difficult for you, a very close group of friends and you knew all of them and I appreciate you stopping by to talk to us about this. Don, so at the moment there was a performance that was supposed to happen tonight, Sherlock Holmes, they have cancelled that understandably.

LEMON: Professor Gower was not there right?

LUI: Mr. Gower was not there at the time, no, but he does know the suspect, George Zinkhan.

LEMON: And he said he had been there for about 15 years, right?

LUI: Yep, that's right.

LEMON: We're trying to get all the information in here as we said because the information is just coming in. Richard Lui thank you very much. Richard Lui joining us from Athens. And again, we just got new pictures of the scene where the shooting happened about noon today. Let's take a look at that. This is again courtesy of our affiliate WSB, obviously this investigation is still going on. Our Richard Lui getting some new information as well. And we are speaking to people who knew folks who were there, knew the professor, some of which were on the scene at the time and witnesses and if we get new information in this broadcast, we will bring it to you. But we will be following this story throughout the evening here on CNN.

Meantime, let's move on now to politics. We are just days away from President Barack Obama's 100th day in office. It's coming up on Wednesday. But you might be wondering why 100 days? Why does this time frame matter? We asked our senior political analyst Bill Schneider to explain and here's what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Senior White House adviser David Axelrod has called the 100 day benchmark quote, an odd custom. The journalistic equivalent of the Hallmark Holiday. The custom goes back to Franklin D. Roosevelt who used his first 100 days in 1933 to launch the new deal. Democrats had just won huge majorities in congress and were ready to do the president's bidding. But if congress should fail to act, Roosevelt warned in his inaugural address, he would ask for --

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT: Broad executive power. To wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given to me if we were, in fact, invaded by foreign foes. SCHNEIDER: Congress gave President Roosevelt nearly everything he wanted. 15 major bills in the first 100 days, including the emergency banking relief act, the public works administration, the civilian conservation corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the National Industrial Recovery Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Oh, and the beer/wine revenue act that set the stage for the end of prohibition. A White House adviser remarked that members of congress had forgotten to be republicans or democrats. Congress doesn't pass legislation anymore, Will Rogers said. They just wave at the bills as they go by. Nothing since has equaled FDR's first 100 days.

OBAMA: A week from tomorrow marks the 100th day of my administration.

SCHNEIDER: President Obama may have the boldest 100-day agenda since FDR, but congress has passed only a few major bills, including the economic stimulus package, the public land's preservation bill, and an expansion of children's health insurance.

(On camera): What's changed? Presidents can no longer count on the kind of bipartisan cooperation FDR got in 1933 even at a time of crisis. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right Bill. Be sure to join me at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight when we take a closer look at the first 100 days of the Obama administration. Former Bush White House adviser Ron Kristi, writer David Sarado and our own senior White House correspondent Ed Henry will join me and we will discuss everything you need to know and we are not going to hold back on this. Coming up at 7:00 p.m. eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Be sure to join us tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern, it's a special "SITUATION ROOM" by our very own Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television. They countdown to Wednesday's big event. President Obama's 100th day in office. Then on day 100, a CNN prime time event, CNN's national report card is your chance to grade the president and congress on the job they have done so far from the middle of it all at 8:00 p.m. eastern, President Obama's self assessment during his live news conference. Boy it's going to be a busy day on Wednesday. The CNN national report card all starts at 7:00 eastern Wednesday night on CNN and cnn.com/reportcard.

We knew and we loved Maude and Dorothy. Tonight we remember Bea Arthur.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Very busy day here in the CNN NEWSROOM. I want to take you overseas now where three suicide bombers tried to assassinate the governor of an Afghan province today. Afghan government sources tell CNN that three men set off explosives near the governor's compound in Kandahar. The three were able to get past the security check point. The governor was not hurt, but two police officers and three security guards were killed. Eight other people were wounded.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton visits Iraq one day after two suicide bombers killed dozens in Baghdad. Clinton is in the town to meet with Iraqi prime minister and other officials there. She told reporters she will also meet with the top U.S. commander in Iraq to get an assessment on the recent bombings. Friday suicide bombers struck near one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines and a car dealership in Diyala. At least 65 people were killed and another 149 injured in the bombings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: These are tragic and terrible events, but they do not reflect any diversion from the security progress that has been made. They are certainly regrettable and horrible in terms of loss of life, but the reaction from the Iraqi people and leaders was firm and united in rejecting that violence and refusing to allow it to set Iraqi against Iraqi, which is obviously one of the intended goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The Obama administration plans to pull troops from Iraqi cities and towns by the end of June. The remaining combat troops will be withdrawn by the end of 2011.

Jailed U.S. Journalist Roxana Saberi is on a hunger strike until her release from an Iranian prison. The 31-year-old Iranian-American journalist was sentenced to eight years in prison last week on espionage charges. Saberi's trial lasted just one day and was closed to the public. President Barack Obama called for her release this week. Saberi's father learned of the hunger strike during a brief phone call with her. He said he didn't have time to ask his daughter not to risk her health.

She was Maude. She was Dorothy. And we will miss her. Bea Arthur has died at the age of 86. Best known for her height and her deep voice and unique acting ability, Bea Arthur is known to millions for her roles on TV's "The Golden Girls," which you see here, and also on "Maude." Remember "Maude"? A very popular show in the 1970s.

It was her work on "Maude" that made her a star personifying the feminist movement in the '70s. An episode where her character had an abortion caused a huge controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I think it would be wrong to have a child at our age.

BEA ARTHUR, ACTRESS: Oh, so do I, Walter. Oh, Walter, so do I!

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We would make awful parents.

ARTHUR: Oh, patient, irascible.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Arthur. It's just not our time of life.

ARTHUR: For other people it might be fine, but for us -- I don't think it would be fair to anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I remember watching that episode live and I'm sure others remember it as well. Actress Bea Arthur died today of cancer in Los Angeles. She was 86 and really everyone's favorite. She will be missed.

Three University of Georgia students killed just off campus. Now, there is a manhunt for a professor who was with them. We will have the latest for you.

Also, dozens dead and new information about people newly sickened. If you have the flu, you better check with your doctor right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Our top stories we are following here, police are searching for a University of Georgia professor, George Zinkhan, in connection with the off-campus shooting deaths of three people. That live picture you are looking at is right near where that happened. It's courtesy of our affiliate WSB. The University of Georgia web site refers to Zinkhan as a suspect. The school urges students to use caution if they see the professor. A manhunt under way right now.

Two swine flu cases have been confirmed in Kansas. Those are the first to be discovered in the Midwest. The World Health Organization is warning that the swine flu has the potential to be a pandemic.

Let's go out west to San Diego where officials are taking steps to detect any sign that people entering the U.S. might be suffer from swine flu.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is at the San Diego Airport.

They're taking every precaution with this, Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Don. Let me just tell you that I got a call from the state health department. We just learned that there is another confirmed case of swine flu in California. We're told a 35-year-old woman from Imperial County. That now brings the total up to seven confirmed cases of swine flu in California. But very fortunately for this woman, she was hospitalized, treated, released. All of the cases we are told have been very mild. And all of those patients have recovered.

Having said that, the airport officials are putting up signs that you see right here. Those signs that they are putting up are basically reminding people to take very basic precautions that they would during influenza season. The health department is reminding people that if they are in the public area, like an airport, and moving in and out and have a lot of contact with travelers, make sure, wash your hands and cover your mouth if you cough. And they are actually putting out extra hand sanitizers in some of the terminals and the baggage areas to make sure people who come into contact with each other are protected.

Michael Oulis is a spokesperson here at the airport.

I understand you necessary surveillance mode. What exactly are you doing to protect travelers?

MICHAEL OULIS, LINDBERGH FIELD SPOKESMAN: Thelma, I wouldn't call it surveillance mode, but we are monitoring and assessing the situation to make sure we are taking actions necessary to protect the public.

GUTIERREZ: Like what?

OULIS: Obviously, safety and security are a priority concern for our passengers. We are working very closely with the county department of health and human services, who in turn is working with the CDC to monitor the situation. They've asked us to put these posters up as simple reminders as the first step.

GUTIERREZ: There no travel restrictions to or from Mexico at this time, correct?

OULIS: Not that I'm aware of. And we are operating normally here at San Diego airport.

GUTIERREZ: We are told that Mexicana Airlines is sending out questionnaires to the people who are coming back into the United States to make sure they ask them if they have flu-like symptoms so that they can keep an eye on these folks. Air Mexico actually has masks on the plane.

Michael, can you show them those masks?

OULIS: Sure, Thelma. This is not an exact, but this is a type that Air Mexico has advised that they do have in case someone does show symptoms on the aircraft, that they can take this and put this on the passenger.

GUTIERREZ: OK, Michael Oulis, thank you very much.

So, Don, those are the precautions they are taking. Right now, they have been very emphatic, there are no travel restrictions to or from Mexico. Business is as usual here.

Back to you.

LEMON: Thelma, thank you very much. Please thank him for that demonstration. We appreciate it.

Let's move on to politics. In his first 100 days in office, the president has been tackling huge issues and giving a lot of speeches. That means a lot of statements to fact check. We want to know how the president is doing so far. For that, we turn to our Josh Levs. He's here with a break down.

Josh, what's the break down?

JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. The best place to get that break down, PolitiFact.com, doing a great job. They just won a Pulitzer. So I got the chance to see the head of PolitiFact and I asked him that, so far, when it comes to truth versus falsehoods, how well is this president doing?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: We have rated about 21 claims by Obama or others in the administration -- I think that's 11 of them -- have been either true or mostly true. On the other end spectrum though, he has had I think four false ratings on the truth-o-meter, particularly for some of the claims made about the economy.

LEVS: I don't think presidents should get gold stars for telling what's true. I want to focus on the falsehoods so we can make sure the viewers get the truths.

ADAIR: You bet.

One was falsehoods was for a claim that your viewers heard a lot and that was that the economic stimulus bill did not have any earmarks in it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The plan that has been put together without earmarks or the usual pork barrel spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ADAIR: There were a fair number of things in there or at least a handful that were -- really could be considered earmarks. So we gave that one a false.

LEVS: One was about whether there was some disagreement among economists about what the government should be doing in the recession, right?

ADAIR: Yes. This was one that Obama said to try to get support for his economic stimulus bill. And he characterized it as if economists were unanimous about the need for government to step in and do something.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There's no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jump-start the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ADAIR: That's not true. There are some economists that we talked to who would say let the free market work and let things go. Now, it's probably the case that the majority of economists might support government intervention, but the way Obama said it was false.

LEVS: And, Bill, you certainly found some falsehoods when Republicans attacked this president as well. I will point to one thing to be fair that you do say. You say that still it's important to point out that overall this administration so far has been right more than it has been wrong.

ADAIR: It has. Another thing that's notable, on PolitiFact, we rate the most ridiculous falsehoods with our lowest rating, pants on fire. Obama can claim that indeed he has succeeded in getting and earning no pants on fire ratings so far into his presidency.

LEVS: So far into his presidency.

ADAIR: That's at least a small victory.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: You can get a lot more information at PolitiFact.com.

Also, we are having a conversation with you right here and I'm following Don Lemon's lead here. We have been having this conversation all day. Facebook, JoshlevsCNN. I'm now on Twitter, twitter.com/joshlevscnn. Lots of people weighing in, your thoughts on the president's first 100 days. How well is he doing? What do you want to see? That kind of thing.

Don, I am doing my best to follow your lead and to make Twitter and Facebook work in the best way possible.

LEMON: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would call you a copycat, but even when the resident is doing it, I can't even call you that.

LEVS: You were a pioneer.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Josh Levs.

LEVS: All right.

LEMON: A special edition of "The Situation Room" is straight ahead, taking a closer look at President Obama's first 100 days. Let's head to Wolf Blitzer.

Wolf, what do you have?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much, Don.

Coming up at the top of the hour, a "Situation Room" special, the first 100 days, we are counting down to Wednesday night, as I know you are as well.

We'll be speaking to the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, Eric Kantor, of Virginia. And we have amazing behind-the-scenes photographs of the president and his family during these first 100 days.

All that and a lot more coming up at the top of the hour.

LEMON: Wolf, thank you. We will be watching.

"CNN's National Report Card" is your chance to grade the president and Congress on the job they have done so far. It starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern on Wednesday at CNN and CNN.com/reportcard.

A very busy day we are seeing in the "CNN NEWSROOM." Right now, down South, in the heart of Dixie, Jazz Fest in full swing. You can see them there. Is it helping the Big Easy recover? And the big question in the crime-ridden city, are people safe there? We go there in minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We turn now to the weather situation. Jacqui Jeras is watching raging wildfires. And the heat is rising and we are talking about Florida.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have already had fires burning down by Alligator Alley. This is a new fire and fresh video coming in. Let make that wider so you can see it better.

This is Putnam County. the town we are talking about is Georgetown, Florida. The fire started here earlier this morning. About 400 acres have been burned here now. Some temporary evacuations taking place and 75 people seeking shelter at this time. So far, no homes are burned, but some homes may be threatened. We will monitor the situation in Putnam County just outside of the Gainesville area.

Now, the other fire that we have been watching for about four days now, this is the North Myrtle beach area in South Carolina where more than 70 homes have been destroyed. 100 others have been damaged. The good news is that the winds are calmer and we're getting a little bit more of a handle on this fire. And firefighters say it could be just another couple of days before it is completely contained.

Let's show you what's been going on with the weather conditions here. A little bit of a sea breeze is trying to move through and kick up a couple of showers. Winds still kind of brisk at 14 miles per hour. And the temperatures are incredibly warm for this time of the year, 81 in Charleston, 87 in Charlotte and 85 in Atlanta. Temperatures all across the east way above average.

Take a look at this. It doesn't take a meteorologist to find that cold front there, with 55 in Minneapolis and then also 68 degrees in Chicago. And you get that kind of temperature extreme and you know severe weather is going to pop. So we have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for Iowa and northern Missouri and a tornado watch across parts of Oklahoma and on into Kansas. We will monitor that severe weather threat as we head throughout the evening hours but we could see some pretty decent tornados with this. Don, we'll break in if we need to.

LEMON: Hey, how is the weather down in New Orleans?

JERAS: Just hot right now. Doing OK, yeah. Surprised?

LEMON: Surprise, surprise. Yes, surprise, surprise.

JERAS: It's very steamy there.

LEMON: The reason I ask you that, Jacqui Jeras, is the good times are rolling this weekend down in the Big Easy.

The New Orleans Jazz Fest and Heritage Festival opened last night with famed trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis and it's bringing in some much-needed cash for the hurricane-ravaged New Orleans economy.

I am so jealous of CNN's Sean Celeb right now, except for the heat.

Sean, I would love to be where you are. How are things going down there?

SEAN CALEB, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It's going great, Don, it really is. I have to confirm what Jacqui tells you, it is hot down here.

LEMON: I can see you are sweating, buddy. I can see it.

(LAUGHTER)

CALEB: Woo! It could have been the bands we listened to today. We listened to Big Sam's Funky Nation, Galactic, Dumpster Funk. We had some great bands out here. Irma Thomas just got off the stage. She opened up with "You Can Take My Husband, Just Don't Take my Man."

It's hard to over state how important Jazz Fest is to this community. It's really gives a much-needed infusion of cash at a very important time because the economy is really struggling right now, especially for an area built on tourism.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALEB (voice-over): To New Orleans, this is the sound of money. No matter how dire the economic conditi9ons, it seems the Jazz and Heritage Festival can always lift spirits and bolster the bottom line for area merchants, sort of just what the doctor ordered after months of talk of plunging 401Ks and foreclosures.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't see anything, any worries, any stress here. This is a stress-free environment. Everybody loves it here. And the music is amazing.

CALEB: The two weekends of Jazz Fest are expected to draw 400,000 people. Quint Davis is one of the events co-founders. He says about 40 percent of the crowd comes from outside Louisiana. As you may imagine, he is concerned the recession will take its toll on this year's gates.

QUINT DAVIS, JAZZ FEST CO-FOUNDER: We were acutely aware this year that it would be a sacrifice for some people to make that trip.

CALEB: They embrace the blues, jazz, gospel and much more. And in between, digging the Cajun cuisine, for venders like Food for Thought's Jeff Levy, says crowds are being a little more tight with their money this year.

JEFF LEVY, FOOD FOR THOUGHT: People are here but it's a little light on eating. I think people are just being very, very careful and selective on what foods they really want.

CALEB: The festival ends at dusk every night but the party goes on. Patrons pour out of the fairgrounds and into bars, restaurants and hotels. That means the Patio and the rooms of the historic Columns Hotels are filled.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're sold out a year in advance, always.

CALEB: In good times and bad, before Reaganomics, before gas lines and the Carter years, before Watergate, there was Jazz Fest.

71-year-old Art Neville played the first festival 40 years ago.

ART NEVILLE, MUSICIAN: You got to come to New Orleans. You got to come to Jazz Fest. You got to be part of the Jazz Fest. Great food, great -- everything you want. To different artists, now a days, it's great.

CALEB: In a tourism driven economy, Jazz Fest has been the one constant, hitting a sweet note with fans as well as businesses in need of a little good news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALEB: And we'll take the heat. It rained last year and Jazz Fest really never blossomed.

Don, I heard you talk about crime. And that's a good question, because the last day of Mardi Gras, was really disrupted by gunfire on St. Charles Street. I've got to tell you, everything has been great here for the first two days.

However, Dave Sobiesque (ph), we all know him as Driver Dave, a friend of CNN. His girlfriend, last night, had a bullet rip through the side of her house and embed in the steps. So, you know what? You're never far removed from crime. It's always a little bit scary.

LEMON: OH, man. All right, stay safe down there. Sean Caleb thanks very much, enjoy yourself. 83 degrees, Sean Caleb enjoying Jazz Fest. Let's hope they stay safe.

Let's talk about taking on the fight against breast cancer to the women who need it most. A survivor who's on a mission, and she is our hero. We're going to introduce you to her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Caught early, survival rates are good. But uninsured women face a greater risk.

Tonight's "CNN Hero" is on the front lines of this war and she is taking it to the streets.

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Heroes."

(CNN HEROES)

LEMON: If you would like to help Andrea Ivory, or if you know someone who deserves to be a "CNN Hero," go to CNN.com/heroes. All of our heroes are chosen from people you nominate, so tell us about yours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)