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Swine Flu Spreads; Supreme Court Justice Souter Expected to Retire; House Passes Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights; April Deadliest Month of 2009 for U.S. Troops, Iraqi Civilians; Cubans Warming to U.S. Relationship; Pakistanis Push Back against Taliban; How to Evaluate Danger of Swine Flu
Aired May 01, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A man who allegedly tried to attack the Dutch royal family has died. Police say the suspect drove into a crowd of people waiting near the royal family's bus at a parade outside Amsterdam. Five bystanders were killed, 12 wounded. The suspect died today from injuries he suffered in the crash.
A deadly confrontation between the Pakistani military and Taliban militants. Army officials say about 55 militants were killed during a raging battle near the capital of Islamabad. Two soldiers were killed. The Pakistani military is cracking down on Taliban militants trying to expand their power base within Pakistan.
College football championship rules will be scrutinized today on Capitol Hill. A House subcommittee is holding a hearing this morning on the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series, the BCS. Now, specifically, how those standings are determined and how money generated by the series is handed out. About time.
Tracking the swine flu and tallying the latest numbers. Just since this time yesterday, we're seeing a 30 percent jump in the number of confirmed cases around the world. Unconfirmed cases reported this morning in Denmark and China. No place has been hit harder than Mexico though. The country where it appears to have first taken root.
In fact, CNN's Ted Rowlands is in Mexico City. Joining us now via broadband this morning. So Ted, are people listening to that advice to stay home now?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Heidi, and we're seeing it especially today. This is the beginning of a four-day holiday and it is a virtual ghost town here in Mexico City. And this is exactly what health officials were hoping would happen. This they're hoping will be their chance to really take hold.
We got some very encouraging numbers yesterday by the health minister. What they have been doing is going back and completely testing these suspected cases of this virus. They have been able to complete 679 cases - or testings, and that only 312 turned out to be positive. That was lower than they thought. So the encouraging news here is that some of these suspected cases have turned out not to be cases, and on the death side as well, only 12 confirmed deaths. And they've gone to the homes of 77 of the dead, all of them suspected to have died of this virus, and there's only evidence in two of those homes of this virus. So last night the first real sense that they are starting to get ahead of this game here in Mexico. The president was on television along with the health minister, and there was a real sense of encouragement that what they've been doing here to try to contain this is starting to pay off.
The mayor of Mexico City also articulated that they seem to have turned the corner possibly. A real good news at least, the first time in the past week that the Mexican citizens have gotten that good news that they have been looking for. Here is the mayor of Mexico City.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MARCELO EBRARO, MEXICO CITY (through translator): At this time what we can say is that we are beginning to see evidence that the virus might be letting up, that the number of people that have been hospitalized have leveled out in regards to people who are contagious, at least as of yesterday.
I do not say this so we can lower our guard or that we can think that we do not have a serious problem anymore. We do have a problem, but I say this so that we know where we are as a city after we have done all we have done and in what direction we are heading and how much we have progressed, and what I can say is that we are heading in the right direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: So, again, Heidi, big four-day weekend here, a chance for this really to give the Mexican health officials a chance to get ahead of this. Asking people to stay home. All of the celebrations for May day, today basically the labor day in Mexico, canceled, as are the Cinco de Mayo celebrations on Monday, canceled. They are hoping that this would give them the chance to get ahead of it.
COLLINS: OK. Very good. CNN's Ted Rowlands for us this morning. Sure do appreciate that, Ted. Thank you.
Just days after the government declared a national health emergency, the feds are dipping into stockpiles of Tamiflu and distributing the medication to affected states. Now, some of those states are calling in the National Guard in order to protect the supply. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Centers for Disease Control, of course, now having distributed Tamiflu stocks to several states, we are seeing some states now use their National Guard troops to guard the Tamiflu. Look at the map, and you can see what is going on around the country.
In Ohio, Illinois, New Jersey, Kansas, and Kentucky, governors have decided to use National Guard troops, a very small number, but nonetheless military uniforms on site at warehouses in each of these states guarding Tamiflu stocks, getting ready if those stocks have to be distributed to civilian health authorities.
Now the National Guard says it's all very low key, everyone's calm about it but the National Guard is not telling the news media even where these secure locations, these secure warehouses are in all of those states. So across the country, still health authorities and the military hoping for the best but certainly preparing for the worst. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
COLLINS: So what exactly is this flu? The government calls it by its technical name, H1N1. It's a strain of the influenza virus that originates in pigs, as I'm sure you've heard by now. Normally though that's where it begins and ends. In rare cases it can also spread to humans. That happens when the virus genes mutate, and that's, of course, what we've seen in this case. In fact, the current strain we've been talking about also has some genes in common with bird flu.
Now the symptoms are similar to the regular flu bug. High fever, fatigue, chills, and body aches. Also, nausea and vomiting. Other symptoms include coughing, headaches, and a sore throat. Symptoms usually start within seven days of exposure to the virus.
And here are some tips now to keep the flu from spreading. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and then throw that tissue away or cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm. We've been talking a lot about that.
Also, wash your hands often with soap and water. Alcohol-based cleaners work as well. And avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. That of course is how the germs spread.
Scientists investigating the H1N1 virus have unlocked a clue that may be good news for the rest of us. Let's go now to one of the hubs of the swine flu investigation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Joining us from there is Dr. Cynthia Whitney, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC.
Doctor, thanks for being with us.
Very interested in what we're learning about the DNA, if you will, of this swine flu virus and the amino acids that are apparently missing from the virus, and why is that important?
DR. CYNTHIA WHITNEY, MEDICAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Well, what we do is we look at the genetic structure of the virus and the amino acids and if they change too much, the vaccines that we develop - excuse me, may not work adequately.
At this point we really haven't seen a lot of changes, very minimal changes in amino acids.
COLLINS: OK. So is that something that could later develop in this DNA of the virus? Could the amino acids, I don't know, become stronger or suddenly be present? WHITNEY: Well, they're always present. The problem is if they shift too much, the vaccine won't work well enough. Within a usual flu season, there is some shift, but so far we haven't seen much, but it's something we'll be tracking carefully.
COLLINS: I imagine you will. Now, you mention the vaccine. What's the progress there?
WHITNEY: Well, there's been a lot of progress. We've selected strains that could go into the vaccine. We're working with those now. We've shifted those to a laboratory that will now try to get those strains to grow better so that they can be produced in mass quantities and make a vaccine.
COLLINS: All right. Does that seem likely to you, that that will be possible?
WHITNEY: Well, we're very hopeful that it will be, yes.
COLLINS: OK. If you had to fast forward by a week, what would your prediction be? I know that's a difficult thing to do, but everybody really wanting to know as this thing progresses, as time progresses, what will it look like?
WHITNEY: Well, I think in the next week we're going to hear reports of a lot more cases. We've now got people in every state and every health department working with us to detect these cases. We're going to get the specific tests out to the laboratories to look for the swine strain, so I think over the next week we're going to hear about a lot more cases.
COLLINS: All right. We sure do appreciate your time and I know you're watching it closely and certainly so are we. Dr. Cynthia Whitney with the CDC, thanks very much.
WHITNEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: A change expected on the Supreme Court. A source close to David Souter tells CNN the justice is ready to retire after more than 18 years. He is expected to leave the court after the current session ends in June. Souter's departure gives president Barack Obama his first chance to impact the high court now.
So joining us to talk more about Souter's decision and the possible replacements, of course, is CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: I know you just got off a plane and ready to talk about this.
TOOBIN: You bet.
COLLINS: So we're wondering how much of a surprise this really is because as I was mentioning to our White House correspondent earlier, it has been 18 years, but with respect to other justices, they serve for a lifetime, if you will.
TOOBIN: Right. David Souter is not very old by the standards --
COLLINS: Yes, 69, right?
TOOBIN: He's 69. For example, John Paul Stevens, who is still going strong, is 20 years older than David Souter. He's 89 years old, but he has given no indications of wanting to retire. But among those of us who follow the court, this is not a particular surprise because Souter has never enjoyed living in Washington.
COLLINS: Yes.
TOOBIN: He served on the court for 18 years. He's been a judge for decades, and I think he's just had enough and he wants to do something else for the remainder of his life, and I think he can hardly be blamed for that.
COLLINS: That being said though, it's interesting to try and figure out, and I know it's a very speculative, but people are talking. Certainly we have been reading in "The Washington Post" anyway that, yes, he says he never liked Washington, doesn't really want to be there. So is this a personal decision or is this a political one because he also said according to "The Washington Post" that if Obama wins I'll be the first one to retire."
TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely.
Justices pay a great deal of attention to which president it is who will be appointing their successor because they want the values that they have embodied on the court to be extended, to be ratified, and Souter, even though he was appointed by the first President Bush, is someone who has definitely become part of the liberal quartet on the Supreme Court.
COLLINS: So then it doesn't make sense, does it?
TOOBIN: Well, it does make sense because he will be succeeded by someone whose politics are very similar to his. So - if President Bush had replaced David Souter, it would have been a very different justice. So Souter is - waited until there's a president whose politically congenial to him and he's got one now and he's out the door.
COLLINS: Got it. He didn't leave during the Clinton administration though.
TOOBIN: Well, then he was pretty young. I mean, he had only been - he was in his 50s and early 60s during the Clinton administration, and even for someone who doesn't like Washington, you know, it's a pretty good deal being on the Supreme Court.
That would have meant less than 10 years on the court if he'd quit then. So this makes sense for him.
COLLINS: And that would have been really unusual. Now what about his legacy? What do you think Souter's legacy will be?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, he was a liberal in conservative times, so he did not have the chance to shape a great deal of the law. Interestingly, one of his most successful opinions was in the Gratzker file sharing case about file sharing on the Internet. This from a guy who doesn't use a computer, who doesn't have a cell phone, who doesn't type his opinions. Yet, he was sufficiently well-versed in how file sharing works on the Internet that he wrote an opinion that was very well-received by everyone in the legal community, liberal and conservative alike. I think that's going to be one of the opinions he's proudest of.
COLLINS: I didn't expect you to say that. All right. Very interesting. All right. So here is the deal, we brought you here today because we want you to pick, of course, who his replacement is going to be. Who is it?
TOOBIN: Well, that's what everybody wants to know.
COLLINS: I know.
TOOBIN: Including, unfortunately me. So I don't really know.
COLLINS: Have you made some calls to the White House? Come one.
TOOBIN: There's not a clear front-runner. I think it is likely that President Obama will pick a woman. There's only one woman on the Supreme Court. The legal profession is now almost half women. There are more than half the law students in America are women. It does seem a weird imbalance that there is only one justice.
Who will it be? Well, there are really two routes he could go. He could go the traditional route which is to pick a sitting judge, someone like Sonia Sotomayor, who is the judge in the federal appeals court here in New York. She would be the first Hispanic justice. She has Puerto Rican ancestry. That would be one possibility.
But he could also go to a different tradition, which is picking a public official, picking a politician. He could pick, for example, Janet Napolitano, who is now the secretary of Homeland Security, but formally governor of Arizona, attorney general of Arizona, United States attorney in Arizona. Someone with a broader, not just the legal perspective.
So those two routes are definitely, you know, a decision that he's going to have to make before he decides which person it is.
COLLINS: Yes. And when you talk about being a female, I'm not sure how much longer Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be in her position as well. So it will be very interesting to watch, indeed.
TOOBIN: I'll be watching.
COLLINS: I know you will. Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you, Jeff.
TOOBIN: OK, Heidi.
COLLINS: He is 72 years old and police say he may be a serial killer. We'll tell you why he's being investigated for a half century of rapes and murders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rob Marciano standing by in the severe weather center on this Friday morning. Pretty soggy weekend, unfortunately, for some people.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: For a lot of people actually. We got a pesky front that's really dragging its heels across the country, and because it's not moving very quickly and we're getting little pulses of energy on the back side of it, the same spots that have seen some showers and thunderstorms are going to see it not only today but I think this spot will hold through much of the weekend as well.
And because of that we're already seeing not only drenching rain, but in some cases some severe thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorm watch has been posted by the storms prediction center here. You're looking at east central Oklahoma. You can see the northern part of this watch box already starting to see a little bit of action here.
Some of these contain hail, certainly some heavy rain and frequent lightning. This is the area across the northeast part of the state that really is enduring some flooding right now. So this is not what they want to see. It's not really moving out of that area all too quickly.
All right. Slide the map off towards the east. Southeast now starting to get a little piece of the action. For the most part, they've been under a big ridge and protected pretty much southeast parts of Georgia and in through the Carolinas. Hasn't seen a whole lot of rain. But you can see this line about to roll through metropolitan Atlanta. So that may very well cause some travel delays.
This entire front, at least the northern part of it, is picking up a little bit of speed moving but doing so slowly across the northeast. Kind of diffuse. We are seeing some showers with this. And because of that across the New York metropolitan area we're looking at flight delays. Here is the latest for you.
La Guardia, an hour and 35 minutes. Bump that up a little bit. An hour and 30 in Newark. An hour and 30 as well in Philadelphia, and 30-minute delays at Teterboro. So that's the situation there.
A look at tomorrow's forecast weather map. It doesn't change a whole lot from today. So that means that we're looking at the potential for flooding in the same areas that we're seeing the rain today. So tomorrow looks to be rather wet and you can see it extend into parts of Kentucky.
And also, Heidi, you'll be happy to know or not so happy to know, but in Conway, Arkansas, the toad suck days festival happens - COLLINS: I'm sorry, say it again?
MARCIANO: The toad suck days festival, I'm not sure what they do, but it's been going on 20-some odd years and it's a big deal there in Conway, Arkansas and they're going to get a little wet. You know, there's a weather saying I can't remember what it was like a frog strangler or a toad strangler means that it's raining real good and I think they may very have that later on.
COLLINS: There's so much I could say, but I won't.
MARCIANO: Try to guess what festival we're going to talk about next hour, Heidi. It is Friday.
COLLINS: It is Friday.
MARCIANO: And it couldn't come any sooner.
COLLINS: Yes, we're going to get more information on that festival. Absolutely. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. See you in a bit.
COLLINS: We'll talk later.
To this story now, he is 72-years-old, retired, and a possible serial killer. In fact, police believe he may have first struck more than a half century ago. CNN's Gary Tuchman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elizabeth McKeown was brutally beaten and strangled in Los Angeles in 1976. She was 67- years-old when she was killed. All these years later her alleged murder has now been arrested, but police believe there is a lot more evil to 72-year-old John Floyd Thomas, Jr.
CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: He's also suspected in as many as 25 other murders and scores of rapes that occurred in the Southland during the 1970s and 1980s.
TUCHMAN: Police say the latest DNA technology have linked Thomas to two murders in Los Angeles. Preliminary evidence makes him a suspect in six other murders in the city of Inglewood. The police are investigating his alleged role in scores of other murders and rapes in southern California, including a half century ago.
DEPUTY CHIEF CHARLIE BECK, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: We believe that Mr. Thomas may be responsible for cases that go as far back as the mid-'50s.
TUCHMAN: In the 1970s, L.A. was terrorized by a string of murders and sexual assaults by a person coined the west side rapist. This TV news story from the mid 70s show police advising residents how to protect themselves.
L.A. deputy police chief Charlie Beck is a second generation L.A. cop.
BECK: We strongly believe that Mr. Thomas is the west side rapist that was hunted by detectives in the '70s, including my father, in the city of Los Angeles.
TUCHMAN: The primary killings being investigated occurred in the mid-'70s and mid-'80s. Thomas has been jailed at least three times over the years after being convicted of rape, attempted rape and burglary.
His last alleged killing was 1989. He has been an insurance claims adjuster, is currently single, but has been married five times. All his alleged victims appear to be elderly or middle-aged women. If it turns out that police have the right man, criminal profiler Pat Brown says -
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: John Thomas is not psychotic. He is a psychopath. That's why he can do these kind of crimes and just walk away so blase and go back to his regular life and act as though nothing has happened. To him serial homicide is a hobby.
TUCHMAN: Bob Kistner just retired from the Long Beach Police Force. His great aunt Maybelle Hudson was murdered in 1976. He just found out today authorities believe that Thomas may be her killer, too.
BOB KISTNER, NEPHEW OF MURDER VICTIM: I know my aunt, the good Christian that she was, would be hoping for the salvation of his soul and looking for forgiveness. I come from the law enforcement side of it. I can't be quite as forgiving, I'm afraid.
TUCHMAN: The 72-year-old suspect has not been available for comment and it's not clear if he has an attorney yet. If the allegations against him are true, a mass murder has been a free man in the midst of southern Californians for many years. Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A lot of you are asking us questions about the swine flu outbreak, so keep it right here for answers. We're making you an "Empowered Patient."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We've gotten so many questions about swine flu, like should I run a road race? Should I travel? CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now to answer some of those questions. All right. So let's talk about that.
The first question that we have today, talking about being an "Empowered Patient." We know we've gotten a lot of questions in. This one says I'm supposed to fly across country with my family tomorrow. Should we go?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's a question I got from a friend of mine. So I ran that by two infectious disease experts...
COLLINS: And Joe Biden.
COHEN: And Joe Biden, right. I didn't ask Joe Biden his opinion. He gave his opinion yesterday so I didn't need to seek it out. And what these two experts say look, there's no advice from the CDC or other experts to not travel. Or to put it a different way, all the CDC says is don't go to Mexico for anything other than really, truly necessary and essential travel, but if you're just traveling across the United States, there's no reason not to go.
Now, one of the experts, his name is Dr. Gerald Evans, and he is - actually that wasn't from him. It's from another expert. Sorry. One of the experts said to me you know what, there's something you should keep in mind. If it makes you that anxious to travel across the country, if it really is going to make you crazy, just don't go.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Just don't do it.
COLLINS: Yes. Common sense.
COHEN: Right.
COLLINS: All right. Well, here is the next one. It says, "I'm supposed to run a road race in Manhattan this weekend. Should I run it?" Talking here obviously about the concerns of being near a lot of people in a closed in sort of area, but this is out in the fresh air.
COHEN: Right. It's a lot of people not in an enclosed space, but it definitely is a lot of people running in a pack, so I can understand why -
COLLINS: Near each other.
COHEN: Near each other. So I can understand why this person is concerned. But again the experts who I consulted said look, it's out of doors. In New York City, the authorities have been really terrific and if they felt like it was a threat to public health, they would cancel the race.
This is from Dr. Gerald Evans who is an infectious disease expert in Canada. He says it's highly unlikely that in an outdoor event like this one, that you would acquire a respiratory infection like influenza. I suspect that you would be just fine. So there you go.
COLLINS: OK.
COHEN: But it's because it's outdoors. That's the key.
COLLINS: Yes. Understood. OK. Got it. Now what about this one? I have some health problems, and I was about to take a cruise. Is this a bad time to get on a cruise ship? I guess it depends on the health problem? COHEN: Right, it does depend on the health problem. This one is a little bit different from the first two. People with immune systems that are compromised, right, autoimmune issues, other kinds of problems, definitely do need to sort of think differently than the rest of us. There have been no reports of swine flu on cruise ships.
However, if you have a compromised immune system and you're worried about it, you're worried about taking that cruise, talk to your doctor and go to the CDC website.
The CDC Web site does a great job of keeping track of cruise lines and where things are going on and they look at infections and inspections and all of that. So those are two things that you can do, but if you are concerned, you can talk to your doctor. You know, do you think I need to worry about this?
COLLINS: Yes, autoimmune diseases, everyone knows I have celiac disease which is an auto immune disease, so does my little boy. Should I then call my doctor? I'm going to travel next week. Should I call him up, and say hey I'm getting on an airplane, I have autoimmune issues -
COHEN: I think the only one is really the cruise ship. When you're in a cruise ship, you are in an enclosed space even for a while, if you were to get influenza, it may be more of a problem for you than for other people.
So, if it's a concern, you should talk to your doctor about it. And we want other people's questions as well about swine flu, about anything. We do this every Friday, "Empower Me Friday," empoweredpatient@CNN.com.
COLLINS: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
To this story now. I need to get more details out to you.
Deadly days in Iraq. 18 U.S. troops killed in April. It was the deadliest month this year. We'll get an update from the front lines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Interest rate hikes, extra fees, double-cycle billing. These are all common credit card practices, practices that outrage many Americans, But now, Congress is cracking down on credit card companies. Susan Lisovicz of the New York Stock Exchange with some details of this new bill.
Hi there, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
It's called the Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights, and it overwhelmingly passed by the House yesterday. Could go to the Senate next week. The prospects there appear promising. Of course, it all has the backing of President Obama. What's in the bill? Well, for one thing it bans retroactive rate hikes. Banks must give 45 days' notice before rates -- interest rates are raised. It bans credit cards for those under 18. It bans fees charged when consumers are paying by phone or over the Internet, and it gives 30 days' notice before -- you have to have 30 days' notice before an account is closed. Heidi, those are the headlines from that bill.
COLLINS: OK. Great. It seems like a fine line that legislators are walking, though. Do they want to protect consumers? But banks need to make some money, too, of course. It is a business.
LISOVICZ: Yes, yes. The American Bankers Association says more needs to be done to achieve that balance, and, of course, well, banks are in a fragile state these days. But Congress is tapping into public anger over what it perceives as corporate excess. And the White House says that the financial industry must have more accountability, and certainly consumer advocates agree with that wholeheartedly -- Heidi.
COLLINS: We are also watching for a new report out today on consumer sentiment. So, what does the report say? What kind of effect can it have? It's kind of all about the psyche, right?
LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. Well, psychology is huge with consumer purchases, consumer behavior, and, of course, with investment behavior as well. And we got a preview of that earlier this week. What we got today was the University of Michigan Consumer Index, which rose in April.
Earlier this week, Heidi, you may recall the report from the Conference Board on Consumer Confidence really took a big jump, and basically what you're seeing is the respondents in these surveys are looking at what we're hearing from corporate America, they're seeing in the stock market. And they feel a little bit better that things are stabilizing.
We also got another report at the top of the hour in manufacturing. It contracted, but not as much as the previous month. Again, a sense that things perhaps may be bottoming out. Of course, what we're seeing is a little bottoming-out process right now with the three major averages. We have two months of gains, Heidi, two months, and so the first day of May we're seeing a little bit of profit- taking. The three major averages are down slightly more than half a percent.
COLLINS: OK. All right. We will watch closely until the close today on this Friday. Thanks so much, Susan Lisovicz.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Heidi.
COLLINS: Now to this: Three U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Their deaths yesterday in Anbar Province raised the military death toll for April to 18, making it the deadliest month for U.S. troops this year. It was also the deadliest month for Iraqi civilians.
Our Cal Perry is live now in Baghdad.
Hi there, Cal.
CAL PERRY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, we're talking about the bloodiest month for U.S. troops, as you mentioned, since the start of the year. Yesterday, three U.S. soldiers killed in the Anbar Province, two Marines and a sailor. I can tell you based on any number of embeds I've been on with the Marines, what they do is the Navy will actually supply the Marine Corps with their medics.
So, when they say a sailor, nine times out of ten, that's usually a medic that was deployed with that platoon. Eighteen is the number for April, which actually comes on the heel of only nine during the month of March, which was the lowest number of U.S. soldiers killed since the beginning of the war.
So, the big question on everybody's mind, with U.S. commanders is, is this just an uptick, a one-off thing, or will we actually see a trend where more and more U.S. soldiers are getting killed?
Now, as far as Iraqi civilians are concerned, April was by far the bloodiest month since 2009. We had at least 290 Iraqi civilians killed, over 600 wounded, Heidi, which are just staggering numbers when you take a look at these attacks. And the majority of these attacks were directed at the Shia community.
The concern is that potentially, sectarian backlash could occur. And I want to show you this pamphlet. This pamphlet was released by Muqtada al-Sadr's office. Muqtada al-Sadr of course the head of the Mehdi Army, the Shia militia, which used to control Sadr City before the Iraqi army went in. What it does is, it instructs the imams of the mosques today to preach basically calm.
And it mentions that they will hear things on the streets, but he wants his people to confirm that what they're hearing on the streets is actually coming from his office, a sign we think here on the ground that perhaps the sectarian backlash could potentially be under way. But Muqtada al-Sadr basically saying, confirm everything you hear on the streets with my office in Najaf before you do anything -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow, yes, that's really interesting. All right. CNN's Cal Perry for us live in Baghdad this morning. Thank you, Cal.
Tens of thousands are in the streets of Havana, Cuba, today. It's the country's annual May Day parade, a government-designed holiday to celebrate Cuban workers.
CNN's Jim Acosta is on the parade route in Havana this morning.
Morning to you there, Jim. JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
You know, we are seeing changing attitudes, not just among Cuban Americans, but also Cubans here in Havana. We saw that today at this May Day celebration right in the Plaza de la Revolucion in downtown Havana. And during our journey to Cuba, we got an up-close look at some of these thawing feelings among Cuban Americans as we journeyed to Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Meet the only Americans who can now legally visit Cuba just about whenever they want. They are Cuban-Americans taking advantage of a new Obama administration policy that allows them to visit relatives in the communist country with almost no restriction.
MERCEDES TORRES, CUBAN-AMERICAN TRAVELER: I have to say thank you to the president, to the United States, because we can go to Cuba to visit our family whatever time that we want.
ACOSTA: Mercedes Torres and other passengers are waiting to hop a U.S. authorized one-hour chartered flight from Miami to Cuba. She's taking bundles of food, clothing, and even toys back to her brother and sister on the island.
(on camera): You bring toys.
TORRES: Yes. They don't know Christmas. They don't Santa Claus, and we bring Santa to them.
ACOSTA: Here we go.
Charter flights are so popular among Cuban-Americans the planes are often full, and we're flying on a 767. One of the charter officials told us this is a light day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the city of Havana
ACOSTA (voice-over): Most Cuban-Americans, this new-found freedom to see their homeland is part of a White House strategy to get a diplomatic conversation going. First Cuban to Cuban-American, then maybe nation-to-nation.
Cuba has been off limits to most Americans ever since the U.S. embargo on the island that began in the years following Fidel Castro's rise to power. It's a policy that has aged along with the Cuban icon, who has been hospitalized in poor health. But with Fidel's younger and more pragmatic brother Raul now in charge...
RAUL CASTRO, PRESIDENT OF CUBA (through translator): We will discuss everything, everything, everything.
ACOSTA: And with a new president in the White House, a growing number of Cubans and Cuban-Americans are hopeful more change is coming.
For now, they'll settle for Christmas in May.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: And I'm joined now by the Havana bureau chief for CNN, Shasta Darlington. And Shasta, for decades, Cubans would shake their fists at the United States, but when President Obama was inaugurated, something changed on the island. People were sort of looking at their TV screens and noticing that there was a difference coming out of Washington. What is your sense here of how Cuban attitudes are changing?
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN PRODUCER: You're absolutely right. I mean, I think there's definitely a feeling of empathy. And in fact, we went out on the street and did an informal survey the other day, asking a bunch of Cubans, you know, give him a 1 to 10. How would you rate Obama?
And believe it or not, he got a 10 across the board. They really feel like he's someone that they can relate to, and that this could be a moment for historic change.
ACOSTA: OK, very good. And Heidi, as I send it back to you, one thing that we do know from hearing the White House over the last several weeks, while they have made these initial steps forward, they're describing them as just that, initial steps. They want to see gestures from the Cuban people, from the Cuban government down here.
Of course, Cuba's current president, Raul Castro, is saying the very same thing. They like what they're hearing from President Obama. They just want to hear more -- Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Jim Acosta for us in Havana. Thanks so much, Jim.
Standing up to Taliban intimidation. People rising up in Pakistan against what they see as a growing threat. Some say they'll fight to the last breath.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The cultural capital of Pakistan is increasingly becoming a target of Taliban militants, but as CNN's Ivan Watson reports, many people in Lahore are ready to fight back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another angry protest in Pakistan, but this time the crowd is demonstrating against the Taliban.
JUGNU MOHSIN, NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER: I'm a journalist of 20 years' standing.
WATSON (on camera): And you're scared.
MOHSIN: I will fight them to my last breath and to the last drop of blood in my body. I'm not scared. I want the army to protect us. That's what they're here for. I want the government to protect us. I want them to free every inch of Pakistan from the scourge of the Taliban.
WATSON (voice-over): It's a small rally in Lahore, one that's not very well organized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's give (ph) our banners (INAUDIBLE).
WATSON: But these writers and intellectuals say it's about time someone stood up to the Taliban's campaign of violence and intimidation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're lunatics. They're psychotics. They want to change the way we exist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if the Taliban takes over, then I will be on the road getting flogged by one of them like they did in (INAUDIBLE), and I don't want that.
WATSON: Lahore is the culture capital of Pakistan, a city famous for its music, dance, poetry and theater, art forms the Taliban has brutally repressed in areas the militants control. Though Lahore is hundreds of miles away from the Taliban's strongholds in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan, security forces have adopted a siege mentality as militants have extended their reach.
A heavily armed escort accompanies Police Chief Parvez Rathore, even when he walks just outside the walls of his headquarters.
(on camera): How many people have you lost?
PARVEZ RATHORE, CHIEF, LAHORE POLICE: Last year, we lost 39 people in (INAUDIBLE) terrorism. And this year, we have lost 17 people by now in Lahore.
WATSON: Just in Lahore.
RATHORE: Just in Lahore.
WATSON (voice-over): In March, militants swarmed a nearby police academy, killing seven cadets. They've also bombed cinemas and theaters in Lahore and ambushed a visiting cricket team from Sri Lanka. The police say these attacks would not be possible without local support.
JAMAL RAHMAN, MUSICIAN: And they're here. They're in Lahore. They have groups of the Taliban just going around and intimidating people, causing fear, you know, telling women to cover up, and if they don't, they'd shoot them.
WATSON: Jamal Rahman and his cousin, Ider (ph), are members of a Lahore-based band called Lal (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to try and get people aware and try and get them active and motivated to fight against this militancy.
(MUSIC PLAYING) WATSON: On television and in concert, these politically active musicians have been trying to rally society against the growing threat of the Taliban.
Is this the beginning of a mass movement of moderate Pakistanis against the Taliban? Or is it the swan song of a wealthy urban elite who could be the first to leave if the suicide bombers and insurgents succeed in further destabilizing this country?
Ivan Watson, CNN, Lahore, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Tonight, a special "Time 100/AC 360" hour, "The World's Most Influential People." U2 frontman and activist Bono is featured, interviewing actor George Clooney about his work in Darfur. The two met up at Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONO, FOUNDER, ONE.ORG: Do you think your activism in other areas, particularly for Darfur, has made you take your eye off the ball of what's happening, the disintermediation that's happening in the movie industry. And I know that's been an accusation of me. People saying, you know, you're over there campaigning, but, you know, you're missing what's going on in your own backyard.
GEORGE CLOONEY, FOUNDER, NOTONOURWATCHPROJECT.ORG: Yes, sure. But you know, it's a funny thing. You'll come back and there will be people arguing over something, and you'll go, well, I just spent, you know, six days with, you know, two rebel leaders who have killed each other's families, and they're trying to decide how they're going to exist in a -- co-exist in a town of 1,100 people. And somehow, those arguments in Hollywood seem really small to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Who will make the list of "Time" magazine's 100 Most Influential People? Find out tonight at 11:00 p.m. on the CNN/"Time 100" special with Anderson Cooper.
The recession putting an end to gridlock in some cities. Commuters get a break, but only because so many others have lost their jobs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Paying off credit cards, dealing with student loans, lots of questions about how you should handle your money. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is at "The Help Desk."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We want to get you answers to your financial questions. Let's get straight to "The Help Desk."
Allison Brower is the executive editor of "Redbook," and Jack Otter is a financial journalist. Let's get right to the e-mails, guys.
Sarah asked, "I just turned 21, and because I enjoyed turning 18 a little too much, I went credit card crazy. Since then, two credit cards have been closed, and I just got a letter from the third credit card saying they are going to close it as well. I have one card in good standing. I want to re-establish my credit because I'm so young. I'm also a student with loans. What advice would you give me?"
Jack, how often does this happen? You know, those credit card companies, they give those college students so many cards. They get in trouble.
JACK OTTER, FINANCIAL JOURNALIST: Spring break.
WILLIS: This is a real problem for a lot of people.
OTTER: Sure. Well, first of all, she's used that one card really judiciously. Make sure she doesn't overextend herself.
WILLIS: Which means not using it.
OTTER: Yes, exactly. Number two, pay off those student loans. Never miss a payment. You know, the good news here is, she's 21. A lot of people don't learn this until they're 50. I mean, it's really good that she's gone through this. I think she'll be a good steward of her money from now on.
WILLIS: Pay it down, pay it down, pay it down.
All right, Bob asks, "We have a credit card we use only when we want to purchase something that we can pay off at the end of the month." Love that. "We pay no charges. Is this smart?"
Hey, Allison, there's like a little -- a interesting problem here, I think.
ALLISON BROWER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "REDBOOK": Well, I think it's a very smart way to use your credit card. Some people feel like they're supposed to keep a balance over time and that's how you up your credit score. No. Paying off your balances, making all your payments on time, that's how you keep a good credit score. And as long as he's not using more than half of his available credit on this big purchase, it's absolutely not going to be a problem.
WILLIS: All right, you heard it from the pros. "The Help Desk" is all about getting you answers. Send me an e-mail to gerri@cnn.com or log on to cnn.com/helpdesk to see more of our financial solutions.
And "The Help Desk" is everywhere. Make sure to check out the latest issue of "Money" magazine on newsstands now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: Worries about swine flu. Is it time to push the panic button? The realities of the flu outbreak.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: TV, radio, blogs and Twitter. News about the swine flu is certainly everywhere, and that's sending some people in panic mode. CNN's Alina Cho sorts out the confusion.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. You know, one of the questions is, yes, we know a pandemic is imminent, according to the WHO, but what does that mean? Should we be worried?
Well, depending who you talk to on the street, either you're completely freaked out about swine flu or you couldn't care less. Should you be scared? Just how bad is it? And why do we react the way we do?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): When Vice President Biden said this on the "Today" show Thursday...
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now.
CHO: He was talking about airplanes and subways, that he'd tell family members to avoid them, given fears over swine flu or what officials call the H1N1 flu virus.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: Well, I took the subway here. I take the subway every day.
CHO: Biden's office released a statement saying the V.P. was referring to a family member who was considering flying to Mexico. But Biden didn't mention Mexico, which begs the question: If there's confusion at the top levels of government, why is anyone surprised by the public's reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want it. I heard somebody died from it.
CHO: Dr. Robert Klitzman of Columbia University says the media, the Internet all play into people's fears.
DR. ROBERT KLITZMAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: We have a panic button in our brains that when we evolved, when there was a roar of a lion, you wanted to run. You didn't want to think, which way should I go? Should I go up the tree or the tree? You just ran and thought later. And that was very effective.
CHO: Could that be why nearly 300 schools in this country have closed, including the entire district of Fort Worth, Texas? Eighty thousand students following one confirmed case of swine flu. At Ascension School in New York, after a student got sick with flu-like symptoms, New York's mayor held a news conference and included Ascension on a list of schools with possible infections. As it turned out, the student did not have swine flu.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't just panic in terms of the school parents. People were afraid to come to the church. The idea was that we had the swine flu here.
CHO: It's understandable we're confused. The World Health Organization put out a phase five alert, pandemic imminent, one step away from the highest alert level, six.
KLITZMAN: We think level six, an atomic bomb's going to go off. We'll be wiped out. In fact, level six, if you look at the definition, just means that it's been in two or more regions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: What would be a legitimate reason to be scared? Well, the Columbia University doctor you just heard from says you need to watch two things very closely: how contagious swine flu becomes, and how many people die from it. As those numbers go up, the doctor says so, too, should your fears -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, CNN's Alina Cho. Thank you, Alina.
I'm Heidi Collins. Join us again on Monday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. For now, CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.
