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141 Confirmed U.S. Cases of Swine Flu; Is H1N1 Fear Greater Than the Threat?; Justice David Souter Retiring; Kentucky Derby Happening Today; Jurors Find Defendants of a Hate Crime Guilty of Only Assault
Aired May 02, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We've got more confirmed swine flu cases to report to you. But we will keep them in perspective for you. And we are going live to the CDC in just minutes. We will talk to the acting deputy director of the CDC this morning.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, an immigrant beaten to death and a jury finds the accusers not guilty. We have those details straight ahead.
HOLMES: Plus, there is a huge race happening today. May have heard of it. It's called the Kentucky Derby. The favorite, I Want Revenge is the name. Not getting any revenge today. Not going to be racing. Pulled from the race. We will find out why I Want Revenge has been scratched.
NGUYEN: From the CNN Center, this is the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, May 2nd. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. 10:00 in Atlanta, 9:00 a.m. in Texas, 7:00 out in Vegas.
Let's start with some swine flu here. A big jump in the number of reported cases overnight. However, it is from a testing backlog on samples and those samples were outside of the U.S.
So, let me tell you about what's happening here in the states. There you see the official count, 141. New York has the most confirmed cases at 50, followed by 28 in Texas, 16 in South Carolina. The CDC is hoping to get a vaccine ready for production within a month. But, still going to take at least six months to get that vaccine out to the public.
Turn to the world now and the WHO, World Health Organization, says the results from the backlogged samples have caused a pretty significant leap in the number of cases. W.H.O. says that they are reporting 615 people now infected in 15 countries. The virus just popped up in Asia as well with one case in Hong Kong and one in South Korea.
Again, I want to reiterate here, that the reason we're seeing a huge jump in the cases is because of so many suspected cases have now been confirmed. So, these are not new cases or a new outbreak of any kind. Also, Mexico still seeing the worst of it. They have nearly 400 confirmed cases.
NGUYEN: And so far the strain in the U.S. hasn't been nearly as deadly as the one in Mexico, but President Obama says the U.S. will be ready if it mutates into something worse. In his weekly address, he assures that every resource is in use.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As our scientists and researchers learn more information about this virus every day, the guidance we offer will likely change. What will not change is the fact that we'll be making every recommendation based on the best science possible. We will also continue investing in every resource necessary to treat this virus and prevent a wider outbreak.
The good news is that the current strain of H1N1 can be defeated by a course of antiviral treatment that we already have on hand. We began this week with 50 million courses of this treatment in the strategic national stockpile. Over the course of the last few days, we've delivered one-quarter of that stockpile to states so that they are prepared to treat anyone who is infected with this virus.
We then purchased an additional 13 million treatments to refill our strategic stockpile. Out of an abundance of caution, I've also asked Congress for $1.5 billion if it's needed to purchase additional antivirals, emergency equipment and the development of a vaccine that can prevent this virus as we prepare for the next flu season in the fall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The president also credits the health care measures in his stimulus plan for helping America prepare for an outbreak just like this one.
HOLMES: Well, what we've been seeing here, Betty, is a lot of folks buying masks, a lot of folks buying this hand sanitizer and if anybody around you sneezes around you lately, you probably run for the hills. Well, Anne Schuchat is her name, she's the acting deputy director of the CDC. She's goes to be talking to us in just a moment. Again, we'll get the very latest.
And also just also how alarmed we should all be. We heard the president say, well, actually told she's ready for us right now.
Dr. Schuchat, you there with me? It appears, I see your picture. There you are. Thought we were going to have wait a few minutes, I guess we don't. Let's start with the basics here. I'm trying to give the viewers basic and simple information. First, let's go with what's in a name. Is this swine flu H1N1, is this actually swine flu? Let's just clear it up, first of all.
DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, CDC: This is a novel virus. It's a novel influenza virus that we call A-H1N1. It has components in it that derive from swine, humans, and birds. So, the new name is the novel 2009 H1N1 virus. But we don't have any evidence that people are getting this infection from contact with pigs or from eating pork.
HOLMES: Okay. So, we do need to -- is it fair we need to get rid of the term swine in the swine flu?
SCHUCHAT: I think that will clear up a lot of confusion.
HOLMES: OK. Very good and it's certainly good to make that point that you cannot get this from eating pork, folks, even though it was called swine flu. Glad you cleared that up for us. Also, H1N1 that's what we are used to seeing as the seasonal flu. So, is there any indication that this H1N1, this new flu we're dealing with right now, is more contagious, more virulent or more deadly than what we're used to seeing with H1N1 during seasonal flu season?
SCHUCHAT: You know, so far what we know is that this infection is spreading similarly to seasonal flu in that it's quite transmissible. Many people who are in contact with someone who's got this flu virus also become ill. We don't know yet if this is more severe or less severe or about similar severity to seasonal flu, but we do know that this is new, that this isn't something that our population has seen before, and that's why we're taking it so seriously. Because in the typical seasonal flu time, most of the population has come in contact with strains that are kind of related to what's circulating, and so they have partial protection already.
HOLMES: So, again, the reason for the alarm this time, I guess, is because this one is different, but, again, from what we are seeing, it is behaving, at least, like the seasonal flu that we are used to seeing. Again, my question was, is it any more contagious, any indications, any more virulent, any more deadly, any of those indications that it's more deadly than H1N1 during the flu season?
SCHUCHAT: Seasonal flu kills about 36,000 Americans each year, and that's a lot, but it's something we kind of take for granted at this point despite our efforts to really increase use of influenza vaccine during the season. But with a new virus like this, we have to be very vigilant, because we could have even more harm than that.
And that's why we're taking it so seriously, with aggressive efforts at surveillance, at technical guidance for clinicians and for communities, that's really one of the reasons we've been recommending these school dismissals in certain circumstances because it's so new and because it's spreading a lot.
HOLMES: OK. Well, I guess that's where people are getting and we're certainly hearing it from our viewers, but starting getting a little confused about this thing that seems to be reacting or acting like the influenza that we see during the flu season, but during flu seasons we don't see people walking around with masks on. We don't see all these school closings. So, you still stand by that and that's what we should be doing, abundance of caution, yes, but we don't do the stuff during influenza season but you think we should right now because it's just new to us?
SCHUCHAT: Well, we are learning every day and the steps that we're taking are based on the best information that we have on a daily basis. And as we've said, all of our guidance is interim. We're going to be updating things as the information we get changes. We've certainly seen a pretty severe situation in Mexico.
HOLMES: That's right.
SCHUCHAT: And we're probably not as far along in our season here as they were there. So, we're really at high alert in terms of taking aggressive steps. Our highest priority is protecting the health and safety of the American public.
HOLMES: And one last thing here. Is it possible that this strain here has maybe been around a little longer than we know? And it only -- I guess it was infecting more people and more people could have been sick with this particular flu virus, it's just that we identified it last month?
SCHUCHAT: You know, I think it's always important to keep an open mind, and certainly with influenza you have to keep an open mind. Here in the United States, we test thousands of influenza isolates every year, and including isolates from hundreds of countries. We had not seen this isolate before the early cases that we reported.
We also deposited the genetic sequence information from this virus into the public access databases and other researchers or influenza experts had not seen it either, so from the best of our information, this is very new. We've also compared isolates from a number of countries that are having this problem now, and they're nearly identical, suggesting very recent transition.
HOLMES: OK, Dr. Anne Schuchat, ma'am, thank you so much for spending this time and updating us and helping to get us straight and helping us to get our viewers straight on this as well. A lot of questions out there, ma'am, continued with the work and good luck. I know you all are trying to get a vaccine ready, but thank you so much for your time this weekend.
SCHUCHAT: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: And reaction is also coming in this morning to Supreme Court Justice David Souter's announcement that he's retiring next month. From Chief Justice John Roberts, here's what he says, "Justice Souter has served with great distinction on the court for nearly 29 years. His desire to return to his native New Hampshire is understandable, but he will be greatly missed in our deliberations."
HOLMES: From John Paul Stevens who is the longest-serving justice, says, "Because I am confident that I know his professional work will be judged by future historians, my more important reaction is that the court will suffer a far greater loss than many now realize."
NGUYEN: So, President Obama pledging to work quickly to name a replacement for Justice Souter. As the president begins the process, administration officials say that there is a strong inclination to pick a woman. White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, is following this for us this morning, live, and she joins us now. OK, so, Elaine, is there a short list of candidates just yet?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know there's a list obviously that's emerging, but just how short it is, really not sure. Possibly only President Obama knows just how short any short list might be.
Nevertheless, here are names circulating out there. Keep in mind, these are a handful of names. Elena Kagan, the former dean of Harvard Law School and the first woman ever to hold that position of solicitor general. Also Judge Sonia Sotomayor, she's on the second court of appeals in New York, she would be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court. And another name, Judge Diane Wood she sits on the seventh circuit court of appeals in Chicago, she was appointed by President Clinton in 1995.
It was interesting President Obama himself who actually broke the news of Justice Souter's retirement. He surprised reporters in the White House Briefing Room by saying he just had a phone call, gotten off the phone with Justice Souter, in the Oval Office.
The White House did release some photos of President Obama in the Oval Office on the phone with Justice Souter, but in the White House briefing room, just moments after that, the president said, he'd talked to Justice Souter about that, and then he'd also said that he -- he laid out essentially the qualities that he would like to see in Justice Souter's replacement.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process, and the appropriate limiting of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: And it is expected, of course, President Obama will appoint a liberal to replace Justice Souter, maintaining the current balance, five conservatives, four liberals on the high court, Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Elaine Quijano joining us live today. Thank you, Elaine, we do appreciate that.
HOLMES: Well, Democrats celebrating President Obama's 100th day in office. It happened this week. Republicans, not celebrating so much. Not doing so well in the numbers, if you will, in Congress and lost the White House as well. They view the past 100 days as three months of a lot of big government.
Here now, the Republican response from the radio address this morning. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LYNN JENKINS (R), KANSAS: This week we marked the president's 100th day in office. And while, like most of you, I like the president personally, I think the Democrats' first 100 days running Washington can be summed up in three words -- "spending, taxing, and borrowing." The plans they've passed in the first 100 days will add more to our nation's public debt than all previous presidents combined in 200-plus years. They've taken away President Obama's promised middle-class tax cut and paved the way for a new national energy tax to be paid by every American who dares to flip on a light switch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Democrats approved a $3.4 trillion budget plan this week. No Democrats supporting it.
NGUYEN: All right, so thousands of people have come from miles away for a very specific job fair. Find out who's hiring and what employers are looking for.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Job fair looking to connect multicultural job seekers with prospective employers attracting thousands of candidates in Georgia today.
NGUYEN: Yeah, the Latin American Association's 27th Annual Bilingual Career Expo celebrates diversity and specifically targets candidates fluent in other languages. Our Josh Levs is out there meeting and greeting some of the candidates in a lot of languages. Because you speak how many, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My secret's out.
NGUYEN: Had to put you on a spot.
LEVS: It's a little rusty. It's coming back to me. The more time I come here, the more Spanish I'm remembering. I'll tell you guys, whenever we talk about job fairs, as you guys know, we get so many questions about them. So, we decided to come behind the scenes.
Come with me. It's the Latin American Association, as Betty was saying, and what you're going to see here throughout the morning and into the afternoon more and more people are filling up with lots and lots of questions about how to get jobs and lining up to try to get some of these jobs. So, what we're going to do right now is talk to some hiring managers, some people about what it takes to do a good job and maybe even get a job out of this.
We'll start with Carlos from Home Depot. How are you doing today?
CARLOS UREY, HOME DEPOT: Good, how are you? LEVS: Let me ask you, when someone shows up here, you can post a job on your Web site and get thousands of resumes a day for the job. Why pay thousands of dollars to be here?
UREY: We always reach out to the community, Home Depot values diversity, and this is a great avenue for us to reach out to the community.
LEVS: Are you finding that this kind of thing is successful? You find something better than you just get through a resume?
UREY: Yes, we do. We get people to apply to us and show interest in our company.
LEVS: Getting an interesting window into one opportunity for one sector. We've heard a lot about Latino unemployment, it's higher than it is among whites. Apparently there are opportunities if you want to be a police officer and detective Jamie Clauss is here with Dekalb police. You were telling me about a specific need for Latino police officers.
DET. JAMIE CLAUSS, DEKALB COUNTY POLICE DEPT. Yes, sir. We're a diverse county as well as state, that being said we're looking for people that speak Spanish and English.
LEVS: To you coming here today is a productive idea. It's something more than you'd get than by putting out an announcement?
CLAUSS: Yes, it gives us an opportunity to come here and actually recruit those that are interested in becoming a police officer.
LEVS: You can tell me from experience, job fairs can do the trick. It can help someone getting a job directly.
CLAUSS: Yes, sir, it is, it gives us a good opportunity to get out into the community.
LEVS: Thank you. Betty and T.J. before I go back to you, I want to turn here to Millie Irizarry. I want to talk a little bit about the Latino community nationwide, because unemployment being high in any group affects the entire economy. Why is it higher among Latinos than whites? I want to talk to Millie Irizarry, you met her last hour, the CEO of the Latin American Association, what is affecting the Latin American community?
MILLIE IRIZARRY, CEO, LATIN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION: One of the main reasons they have difficulty is the language barriers and education and here at the Latin American Association, we have language classes. We provide employment training and education to prepare them to the workforce.
LEVS: OK, so that's part of what's missing so much. You say there's certain education that's missing in the community, without it it's harder to get a job, hence the higher numbers. IRIZARRY: Absolutely. Language is one of the basic instruments and we provide the language classes for them to be ready to look out for jobs and be part of the workforce.
LEVS: Well, thank you for that.
And Betty and T.J., I'll tell you starting next hour you'll start meeting the people that literally lined up outside to get in today. It's just begun. We'll ask about her stories and follow them and maybe get we'll find out if they get job leads today.
NGUYEN: Are they looking for people that speak Spanish or for people who speak many different languages?
LEVS: They are looking for people who speak Spanish and English, they are looking for people to be proficient in both peak languages. They want people to speak Spanish and English, both of them well.
NGUYEN: All right, Josh Levs joining us live. Thank you.
It's something many of us really take for granted every day and that is clean water.
HOLMES: Get to meet another CNN hero this morning who went from serving wine to water. Clean water to those who couldn't get it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Did you know that each year millions of people die from drinking dirty water? Even as the technology to save them is available, and it's inexpensive.
HOLMES: And while looking for a way to get clean water to those who need it, this week's CNN hero found one at his own local watering hole.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOC HENRY: Approximately 1 billion people lack access to clean water. It's killing more children than AIDs and malaria combined, and yet all that can be prevented. I used the only resource I which was tending bar to try to do something about the problem.
Yes, sir? Your regulars especially sit on the same stool, drink the same drink, pay the same tab every day. I felt like they really did want to be a part of something, they just were waiting for somebody to bring that something to them. My name is Doc Henry, I used to be a bartender and now I provide clean water to people in need.
I got on the ground in Darfur to get my field training. The security issue is not a deterrent for me. I wanted to go to where the greatest need was and that's where my heart is. Seeing these people living in conflicts and bullets whizzing by their ears yet their biggest concern was the huge loss of life because of the unclean water. That's when water changed from being my passion to the burden of mine.
Whether we're filtering water or drilling a well, we want to train and educate people that are already on the ground, enabling locals to fix their own water needs. Doing work like that, you've created ownership. That is going to change lives as well as bring in that clean water. The only thing that helps lift the burden. You can be a regular anybody, and you really, really change the world. I'm walking truth of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well if you'd like to help Doc Henry or if you know someone who is doing something extraordinary, and you want to nominate a CNN hero, you can do that by going to CNN.com/hero.
NGUYEN: Remember, all the CNN heroes are chosen from you, people who nominate, so, please, send us your nominations so we can pick this year's hero.
HOLMES: Well, two teenagers accused of beating a man to death last summer and a jury now in Pennsylvania has decided their fate.
NGUYEN: Yeah, and the number of swine flu cases is on the rise. We have the latest numbers here in the U.S. and abroad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody, and welcome back on this Saturday morning. Thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you can start your day right here.
All right, let's get right to it. Prosecutors, they have called the killing of a Mexican immigrant a hate crime, but a jury disagreed. Two teenagers were acquitted yesterday of murder in a Pennsylvania courtroom. Instead, Brandon Pierkarsky and Derrick Donchak were convicted of simple salt in the beating death last summer of Luis Ramirez.
A spokesman for a Mexican-American group was very upset with the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLADYS LIMON, MEXICAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE: The acts were egregious in nature and it's just outrageous and very difficult to understand how any juror could have had reasonable doubt, especially as to the aggravated assault charge, the reckless endangering another person charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Prosecutors claim the teenagers baited Ramirez into a fight in the rural mining town of Shenandoah. HOLMES: Well, now, the latest on the H1N1 flu that health officials have confirmed more than 140 cases in the U.S. more than 400 schools have been closed in 17 states. The government recommends schools stay closed for two weeks because children can be contagious for up to ten days. Some schools want any students with flu-like symptoms to stay home.
Meanwhile, Northwestern University's commencement ceremonies Friday were held fine. You can get your diploma, but you're not going to get a handshake from the dean. He tried to avoid it as a precaution. And as a precaution, small bottles of hand sanitizers were under the faculty cases.
NGUYEN: Interesting. Well worldwide the number of flu viruses soared in the last 24 hours, but it was because of a testing backlog that delayed some results. The World Health Organization now says 615 people are affected in 15 countries. The most are in Mexico where nearly 400 people have been infected.
The virus is spreading into Asia. Government officials confirmed that one case in Hong Kong and another case has been reported in South Korea. Both cases, though, involve patients who recently spent time in Mexico. Officials quarantined the hotel in Hong Kong where one of those patients stayed. They ordered 300 people to stay inside the building for a full week. Just imagine if that was your vacation.
HOLMES: Also, really the nation's hospitals prepared to handle a large outbreak? Well, our Susan Candiotti visited the only trauma center in Manhattan and asked a simple question -- are you ready?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On average, St. Vincent's emergency room sees about 170 people daily. These days, some are worried they might have swine flu. At least 50 cases are confirmed in New York. There is some fear out there in the community, uh-oh, are we about to get hit with this. Some of your staff must wonder that, too.
DR. ERIC LEGOME, ST. VINCENT CATHOLIC MEDICAL CTR.: They do. I think if you work in the emergency department long enough, you've seen everything, you've heard everything, you've been through everything.
CANDIOTTI: Many New York City hospitals are familiar with handling emergencies, at St. Vincent's. As the only trauma center in downtown Manhattan, it was closest to the World Trade Center attack, and last December's miracle plane landing in the Hudson River. But a possible widespread deadly swine flu outbreak?
LEGOME: What we worry about is with patients who are coughing. Patients who have anything that we call get into the air usually within six to eight feet, it can get -- it can be transmitted to someone who comes in who is not protected. They're also known as duck bills essentially, and they look like a duck bill.
CANDIOTTI: And this will prevent anything that I might be emitting?
LEGOME: Right.
CANDIOTTI: From infecting the health caregiver.
LEGOME: Right.
CANDIOTTI: Suspected flu patients are isolated for examination.
LEGOME: I'm going to show you the negative pressure room. And essentially it looks like any other room. You won't see a difference. It looks like any other private hospital room. We have oxygen on the wall. We have suction. We have bags and masks.
CANDIOTTI: But in a negative pressure room, the air exits through the ceiling. About ten people a day rush to St. Vincent's E.R. wondering whether they might have swine flu. The hospital says they're rarely tested, unless they're part of a cluster, or in a high- risk group with severe symptoms. Most are diagnosed with a cold or regular flu. Treatments tamiflu and relenza are in stock but rarely prescribed.
LEGOME: From a health standpoint is you want to conserve it so if it becomes worse, if it gets more severe, it becomes a more wider outbreak it's available.
CANDIOTTI: And the so-called fast-track room, nurses try to soothe rattled nerves.
ERIKA PERSILY, EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE: I'm hearing a lot of nervousness. I'm hearing people come in, who have been crying, upset about what's going on.
CANDIOTTI: So far, no swine flu cases here.
LEGOME: I have a sense that we're going to see worse than we have now. I don't think the worst will happen. And I hope that stays true.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, now, Susan Candiotti joins us live now from New York. Susan, most of the cases in New York were from that one school. So, what's going on at that school and with those children who got sick?
CANDIOTTI: Well, T.J., you remember it was just last Saturday we were doing live reports from outside the school. There was a lot of uncertainty at that time, and the school had been closed. Was supposed to stay closed until Monday. Then they extended until Tuesday and then through yesterday. But the good news is that they are scheduled to reopen on Monday. And both school, staff, all of the students that had been sick, are all reported to be better now.
HOLMES: Also, we saw a lot of schools that were scrubbing down. I assume they went through a pretty good scrubbing as well? CANDIOTTI: They did. They went through that all weekend long. Rechecked and cleaned the ventilation system, let outside air in, the bad air, quote-unquote, if there was bad air, out. So the school officials feel very confident that all will be well -- even the building come Monday morning.
HOLMES: The kids and the building. Everybody's feeling better. All right, Susan Candiotti for us in New York, thank so much.
NGUYEN: Well, a north Texas business that makes surgical masks is running 24 hours a day, but it still cannot keep up with the demand. Shanna Franklin (ph) of CNN affiliate KDAFW has this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHANNA FRANKLIN, KDAFW: As the nation's largest manufacturer of surgical masks, Prestige Ameritech makes millions a week. But with fears of swine flu raising faster than their machines, the north Texas company can't make enough, not even close.
MIKE BOWEN, EXEC. VP, PRESTIGE AMERITECH: On an hourly basis we're getting calls from people we've never heard from before. Normally we're making outgoing calls trying to get people to buy American face masks, and it's -- it's a totally surreal situation.
FRANKLIN: Surreal, because Mike Bowen and Dan Reese saw this coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In normal life, only the health care workers are wearing masks. In a pandemic, you get hundreds of millions of people.
FRANKLIN: For years they've been preaching the possibility of a pandemic, saying the U.S. wouldn't be ready. 90 percent of the masks that it uses are made in China and Mexico where labor is cheaper.
DAN REESE: We hope this is not the big one in terms of the pandemic. What Mike and I hope is that this is a wake-up call.
FRANKLIN: Especially to the federal government. Reese and Bowen say officials with the Department of Health and Human Services visited their Richland hills company in November of 2007, saying if a pandemic hits, demands for masks and respirators would go beyond capacity, yet key stockpiling orders were never placed.
REESE: I wish we'd had a little bit more support along the way from our federal government. It would have been nice if they had the money to -- to help us build equipment and prepare. And we had talked to them about that. But at that time the funding just wasn't available.
FRANKLIN: Prestige Ameritech is hiring employees to meet the 24/7 demand. They say there's no celebration in being right. Just the hope their message is finally heard.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: All right. Some sad and shocking news out of Las Vegas. A popular, maybe one of the most popular Vegas entertainers has died. You see him there, Danny Gans is his name. He was named Las Vegas entertainer of the year 11 times. Now, a lot of people outside, if you haven't visited Vegas, maybe he's not that popular, maybe you don't know him, but when you go to Vegas, he is everywhere. He's a comedian. He sings, he does impersonations during his show.
But, again, this is -- his face is everywhere, from the time you get off your plane in Vegas to the time you get back on that plane leaving Vegas, his face is everywhere around that town. He spent most of his time in performing at the mirage where he replaced Siegfried and Roy on the man marquee. Gans, you see there, just 52-years-old. Investigators say it could be weeks now before they have a definite cause of death. Again, just 52-years-old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, today is derby day, the Kentucky Derby gets under way later this afternoon. Could be a bit of a muddy track for the now 19 horses running for the roses. Why 19? We've got late newspapers that that horse, the early favorite, I Want Revenge is the name, has been scratched. It's going to leave a couple of horses by the name of Dunkirk and Pioneer of the Nile as the horses to watch. But kind of shocking news on derby day to have the favorite scratched.
NGUYEN: Exactly. Especially the 3-1 favorite. We've got Larry Smith on set to tell us why the horse was pulled from the race.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't injured left front ankle and the incident last year with eight bells at the Preakness, you don't want to take any chances, of course, the early morning 3-1 favorite. This is a great story, I want respect, and what he has done in this -- in his career, won the Gotham stakes earlier this year and made the dramatic dash, the first dash to win the Wood Memorial and really established himself, I want revenge now is not a part of this.
Here's what his trainer had to say about this decision.
HOLMES: All right, we don't have that, but ...
SMITH: We don't have it? Let's just say this, they found the hot spot. They could tell he was not 100 percent and that's why they made this decision this morning. But it was very shocking, because we had not heard anything about this, but, again, you know, I Want Revenge, the favorite. And so it's unusual to have the favorite just hours before all of a sudden not be part of the race.
NGUYEN: What does it mean? A hot spot? Do we have a fracture? What is that?
SMITH: It's the thing that draws concern. They did x-rays and they did not show any kind of break or a fracture, but, again, you're talking about, you know, a horse, you know, if you look at your forearm, you know, that's about the size of their legs. And it's 1,000-pound animal. And so if you have any kind of, you know, they know the horse and how they perform, you know, they carry a lot of weight. If you've got a muddy track or traction is going to be difficult, you don't want to take any chances.
NGUYEN: It will probably be muddy. This is three-year-old colt. So, there's a lot of races still to come for this one.
SMITH: Sure.
NGUYEN: And they don't want to take any chances.
SMITH: In the Triple Crown this is the first leg. You still have the Preakness in a couple of weeks and Belmont coming up the first weekend in June, so you certainly don't want to take your horse -- of course, you don't want to risk injury and secondly you don't want to take your horse out of winning a couple of the big races, even so the derby is the first of that and certainly special. You know, it's been more than 30 years since we've had a Triple Crown winner, a horse win all three of those races. Why take him out of the running for the last two?
NGUYEN: It doesn't look like he'll be I want revenge this year to win that. All right, thanks for breaking it down for us, Larry.
SMITH: Thank you.
HOLMES: He was mentioning a muddy track. We have our Bonnie Schneider. She's going to take a look at it. It can be dangerous for the horses, and it looks like they might have a mess to contend with. Maybe a little tricky for the horses out there on the track today.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, T.J. and Betty. Timing is everything. We're seeing light scattered showers in around the Louisville area as you can see here. Most of the rain is staying to the south. The problem is as we take a closer look at the forecast, we have scattered showers and even thunderstorms possible in the evening hours for the Louisville area, so we could see certainly temperatures in the 60s, but we do run the risk for wet weather as we go through much of the evening hours. A better chance for rain certainly.
I just want to mention we're also tracking some other interesting weather for the first week in May. How about snow? That's right, we have winter weather advisories now, 5 to 10 inches of snow over parts of the Wasatch, above 9,000 feet, you're going to see some heavy snow. It's not too late if you want to get the ski vacation in for the weekend -- T.J., Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, thank you very much for that.
HOLMES: A tornado wiped Greensburg, Kansas, off the map two years ago. But this weekend, the town celebrating a bit of a comeback.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. It's done more than just rebuild. What it's doing is it's redefining what it means to be energy efficient. To find out how they're doing it, I actually took a trip back to Greensburg, and the plans they put in place just might surprise you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: It's part silo, part house, but mainly, it's environmentally friendly.
DANIEL WALLACH, GREENSBURG GREENTOWN: We're going to have solar hot water. We're going to have ground-source heating and cooling, so there's lots of technologies built into the home that's going to make it a very inexpensive home to operate.
NGUYEN: And about 70 percent more energy efficient than your average home. According to Daniel Wallach with Greensburg, Greentown, his organization is helping the city find sustainable solutions as it rebuilds, and in some ways, reinvents itself.
WALLACH: We call it a 100-year-plus building, it's that durable. We've got state-of-the-art windows. There is a green roof on top, which means they can grow vegetables.
NGUYEN: And that's not all it can handle. You dropped a Ford Escort on the roof of this building?
WALLACH: Yes. The builder took an old Ford Escort and hauled it up, about 60 feet above the home, and let it go. He did that twice. And there was absolutely no damage.
NGUYEN: At all?
WALLACH: At all.
NGUYEN: Can't exactly say that about the car. But it helped prove these homes can withstand the kind of wind and debris created by an f-5 tornado. This is what a storm of that magnitude did to Greensburg in May, 2007. Killing 11 people, and destroying 90 percent of the town. Today? The view is much different. 50 percent of the city is rebuilt. And it's coming back green, with a goal of becoming one of the most environmentally friendly communities in the nation. And the local John Deere dealership knows a thing or two about being green.
MIKE ESTES, GREENSBURG JOHN DEERE DEALERSHIP: I think we have the opportunity -- and that's really what we have -- to show the nation and the world there is a new way to build here.
NGUYEN: Owner, Mike Estes, says they could have removed the rubble and rebuilt this fourth-generation family business the old- fashioned way. But, instead, they've invested in energy-efficient technology, from lights that require no electricity --
ESTES: Yeah, there's a tube that comes down from the roof, and it's mirrored inside. So, it actually collects the light.
NGUYEN: ... to heating the floors with recycled material.
ESTES: So, when you get oil out of this combine, that tractor, that tractor, that combine, they drop the oil, to change the oil, like you would in your car. What do you do with that oil?
NGUYEN: Instead of throwing it away ...
ESTES: You're burning it.
NGUYEN: You're burning it.
ESTES: As a fuel source, and it's heating our building.
NGUYEN: And they're even creating their own electricity.
ESTES: We have wind turbines, and they're very efficient. We're using the wind, the very wind that destroyed this town, we're using to rebuild this town.
NGUYEN: Obviously it costs significantly more to build this way, but in return, Estes estimates his business will save about $25,000 a year in energy costs. And for many here, that's a big part of what it means to go green.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And, again, a lot of this energy-efficient technology will cost more up front, but it is designed to save you money in the long run.
So, are you planning a trip, but worried about the swine flu? Well, you can take that getaway safely, if you pack along a few safety tips. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. We know when we travel lots of preparations to be made to ensure that we have a safe trip. Well, especially with the swine flu outbreak as Melissa Long will be reporting here. If you plan to travel outside the U.S., you may want to take some extra precautions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Before you travel, do your homework.
SARAH KANTROWITZ, TRAVEL + LEISURE: Check what immunizations may be needed in the destinations you're headed to. A few great resources are travel.state.gov and the cdc.gov/travel. Check your current health insurance policy to see if you're covered while you're traveling. If you're not, you might want to consider additional insurance such as Travel Guard or Travelex.
LONG: Check in with your doctor at least a month before your trip. It may be necessary to bring along antibiotics or now an antiviral such as tamiflu.
SCHUCHAT: The flu shot is a good thing to get in general for seasonal influenza. At this point we don't have evidence that it protects against the swine flu strain that we're seeing.
LONG: But there are ways to play it safe with swine flu.
DR. DAMON T. ARNOLD, ILLINOIS DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Make sure that you wash your hands and keep your hands clean at all times. If you have recently traveled to one of the affected areas, you should pay close attention to your health for seven days. Which is the incubation period for the virus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And this story, talk about proof that age is just a number, Olympic swimming champion, Dara Torres, thinking about going for the gold one more time. She tells us what's next for her in and out of the pool.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Making an Olympic comeback at the age of 41, that was the least of her problems. I had a poolside chat this week with Olympian champion Dara Torres and she talked about struggles in her life, the least of which were in the pool.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARA TORRES, OLYMPIC CHAMPION: The biggest thing I learned coming out of the Olympic Games, you just don't have to put an age limit on your dreams.
HOLMES: For Dara Torres, her dreams of being an Olympic champion have been realized and then some, five Olympic Games, 12 Olympic medals, her dreams of motherhood almost never got off the starting block after she was told she couldn't conceive.
TORRES: Yeah, there we go.
HOLMES: But after years of experimenting with infertility treatments and at the age of 39, Torres had her daughter, Tessa Grace, who's now 3.
TORRES: One, two, three!
HOLMES: What seemed less important in life once you had a daughter?
TORRES: You know, it's really funny. Walking into the ready room, which is where all the athletes hang out 15 minutes before you swim in your finals of the Olympic Games, and you walk in, and it's so intense in there and you can basically hear a pin drop, I look at these kids' faces and they think that this is the most important thing in their life, and they have no idea what the most important thing in their life is yet.
HOLMES: Your dad's painful bout with cancer, you go through two marriages, two divorces, the tough time trying to get pregnant. You go back to bulimia that you ... TORRES: Sheesh.
HOLMES: A lot of people go through things in life, and you've been through some things.
TORRES: It was painful and I've moved on and I've become a better person because of the stuff I lend from my past. I think that's what inspiration is. And, I mean, you have all those low moments but you also have the high moments also and the inspiration doesn't just come from winning the medals or going to the Olympic Games, it comes from having a battle to go through.
HOLMES: Do you see young people, around you, certainly see a lot of swimmers, do you see them going through the same things that you went through with bulimia?
TORRES: Absolutely. An everyday person can have it. Different athletes can have it. It's something that I wanted to get out there, that everyone could relate to.
HOLMES: It takes a while to get over it physically, but it takes a little longer emotionally. How long did that whole healing process take for you?
TORRES: It took a while. The five, six years was the actual bulimia part, but as far as having a fear of food and looking at other people eat and think, god, identify wish I could eat like that, that took a long time, that took until probably 1999 which is about seven years after I got over it. So, it takes a long time to heal from something like that, and to get over it. But I want people to know that you can get over it. Thank you so much.
HOLMES: Today at the age of 42, Torres is still one of the fastest swimmers in the world. And she still doesn't think she's reached her full potential as a swimmer, which means the 2012 Olympics in London is a possibility. That would be her sixth Olympic Games, and she would be 45. Do you feel like your body starts to ...
TORRES: Totally.
HOLMES: It's a little different. The healing, you say you heal fast but ...
TORRES: I do heal fast. And in the weight room when I'm training, I recover fast. But, you know, sometimes you just have arthritis and other things going on that you just can't help and it comes with age. And you just have to sort of deal with it. And that's why I'm taking it day by day and not saying, oh, yeah, I'm going to train for the 2012 Olympics, I can't say that because I don't know how my body will hold out.
HOLMES: Why wait until you can't do it anymore? Why not let it go at your peak before you're Michael Jordan with the Wizards?
TORRES: What is the peak? I don't know what the peak is, you know? HOLMES: But go home and check out your trophy case.
TORRES: You do not want to see me swimming anymore? Here's the thing, I agree with some people saying let the younger kids swim, but if I'm the fastest and I earn a spot on the team, why can't I swim? You're saying why can't I stop now? The problem is I lost by a hundredth of a second in the Olympic Games and it makes me mad and I want to keep swimming.
HOLMES: It sounds like you want to get the Olympic gold.
TORRES: I want to be one of the best in the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: She is the best of the world at the age of 42. She swam in a meet in Texas and put up good times as well, and now she's promoting a book where she talks about a lot of her struggles and she continues to train and for the world championships in Rome. 2012 in London?
