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Kennedy's Body Leave Compound for Motorcade to Boston; Storm Watchers Keep Wary Eye on Hurricane Danny; Which Flu Shot Should You Get?
Aired August 27, 2009 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Tony.
Well, farewell to Hyannis Port. you're looking at the live picture right here. Any moment now, Ted Kennedy is going to leave his beloved family compound for the last time, and we're going to be following his procession all the way to Boston Mass.
And then back in Washington, a life's work is frozen in time, soon to be cataloged, archived and studied. We'll tell you about Ted Kennedy's office.
And even if no one can fill Kennedy's shoes, someone will have to fill his seat, but how, and how soon, may be subject to change?
Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM
And like the man himself, Ted Kennedy's final journey from Cape Cod to Boston is intensely personal and very public. The late senator's motorcade is just about to pull out of the family compound, after a private mass, en route to his brother's presidential library, some 70 miles away. The procession that you're going to see here live on CNN will wind past other significant places, including the Rose Kennedy Greenway, named for the family matriarch, and also Nathaniel Hall, where Boston's mayor is actually going to ring the bell 47 times. That's one for each year that Ted Kennedy served in the U.S. Senate.
Now, for the next two hours, we're going to travel this journey and chart the ones to come with CNN's Deborah Feyerick and CNN senior political analyst David Gergen. He's in Hyannis Port. Mary Snow is at the JFK Library. And, of course, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley is going to be with us, too, live out of Boston.
We want to begin now where the Kennedys have played, prayed and celebrated and mourned for generations. It's where Ted Kennedy died just about 38 hours ago, and it's where Deb Feyerick can actually walk us through the events of this hour.
Where should we begin, Deb?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they just put up the picture of the front of the house, and that means that the service is likely over. We were told that once the service was over, that, in fact, they would allow cameras to get close. CNN right now serving as the pool camera for all the various networks.
You can see some folks, there in the house. A lot of familiar faces that we saw coming in earlier today. We saw Caroline Kennedy. We saw Joe Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy. We saw William Kennedy Smith. This I'm not quite sure. I think that might be Sargent Shriver that you're seeing there. Unclear. I apologize for that.
But, again, they were there for a service. There have been many masses celebrated in that Kennedy house. Outside it's also pretty amazing. I mean, we're in the middle of the summer. People have come out in their shorts, in their bathing suits. They're lining the parade route. You saw people, a couple of kids barefoot, climbing a tree to get a good view. People standing on their balconies with flags to say good-bye.
It was really poignant, Kyra, when the hearse came in as a matter of fact, because that really sort of put it in perspective, the finality of it all. We've been talking about Ted Kennedy, but seeing the hearse, seeing the limousines, seeing everybody come for this final Mass. And his casket, we're told, was in the front room, in the sunroom, a room filled with light, and also having a great view of the water that he loved so much.
So, right now, you're seeing a picture of the front of the house, I think. And everybody waiting for the casket to be carried out by that military honor guard. Nine members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You know, Deb, it's interesting, a lot of folks that are not familiar with the Kennedy compound, because I've been getting a number of e-mails and just discussion among even with folks that are not in our business, when you hear "compound," you know, people have this vision of, you know, high, barbed-wired fences and security guards. And, you know, a very sort of, you know, it's the way they pictured it as something like a military compound.
But as you can see, and David Gergen was pointing this out, too, it's such a place of comfort. It's family. It's dogs on the beach. It's a very sort of a romantic comforting place to be. And he was pointing out what a perfect place for Ted Kennedy to die.
FEYERICK: Absolutely. No question about it. And you can see, it's such a perfect day, Kyra. The sky is blue. There are clouds. It's cool today. And, you're right, when I first saw it -- and I thought "compound," I thought it was going to be enclosed. But that's the main house. The main house is the house that belonged to Joe Kennedy and his family, where the boys, you know, all played, those very famous football games.
But the other houses that comprise the, quote, unquote, "compound," in fact, are just ordinary houses that line the street, Marchant Avenue, going to this main house. So, it really is interesting. And it's just being here at this moment in history, this real sort of moment of American history, very powerful. We saw William Kennedy Smith earlier, and it's his mom who is the only remaining of the Kennedy siblings. So, very interesting right now. Obviously the mass that they celebrated over, prayer and worship, has really characterized what this family has done over the course of the last -- over the last couple of days, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And we're seeing a live shot now, Maria Shriver is there on the patio, also Patrick Kennedy. And you did point out, we did see Sargent Shriver there walking outside and away from the mass, Deb. We also saw Joe Kennedy, Bobby's oldest, and so they're continuing to gather and hug, and get ready for what's going to be no doubt an emotional and beautiful procession.
Deb, stay with me. We want to stay with these live pictures, but I also want to talk about the first leg of the late senator's final journey at the presidential library that he actually helped build for his brother, the 35th president of the United States, JFK. And our Mary Snow is actually there at the library.
So, you're going to be at a key spot as well, Mary, a fantastic place for folks to come through and not only visit and reminisce about the Kennedy family, but also a perfect place for Ted Kennedy to come to today.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, this is a library that Senator Kennedy helped build, dedicated to his brother. And this is a much more public tribute to Senator Kennedy.
At 6:00 Eastern, there will be a public viewing, and Senator Kennedy's casket will be inside the library. There will be an honor guard, military honor guard, civilian, family members, friends and staff members will also be there by the closed casket.
And there's a room in the library that holds about 600 people. They will be paying their last respects. And, Kyra, early today, there has been a steady stream of people coming in to the library, just to sign messages of condolences. I can't tell you how many people we have talked to who are just choked with emotion, who are so sad, and felt that they had to come by and pay their last respects to Senator Kennedy.
So many of them also feel a very personal connection with him, saying they can't imagine Massachusetts without Senator Kennedy. And many of them said that they expected large crowds here once the public viewing begins, so they decided to come here now before it starts at 6:00 tonight, so that they can leave some remembrances here, but obviously another piece of history. And as Senator Kennedy, too, as the motorcade makes its way to Boston, it will make stops along the way, very significant to his life. And that includes a park that he dedicated to his late mother, Rose Kennedy. He'll stop by the church where she was baptized.
And, of course, Faneuil Hall, the mayor will have a salute to Senator Kennedy. And a bell will be rung there 47 times, symbolizing the 47 years that he has served in the United States Senate. A remarkable career when you think nearly a half a decade where he served in Washington. So, very personal tributes here at a very public setting.
PHILLIPS: And, Mary, stay with us. You're there at the JFK Library, where Senator Kennedy will lie in repose there at the library and museum. We also have Deb Feyerick with us there, that's right here, live, in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where we are waiting for that procession to begin. The family there on the compound, just leaving the mass that was held for the senator.
And we're going to take just a quick break for a moment. We've got David Gergen that's going to be joining us, and also presidential historian, Doug Brinkley. We're going to talk more about what you're about to see, a beautiful piece of history, actually, within the next couple of hours, live right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And we are continuing our live coverage now as the motorcade is getting ready to begin carrying the body of Senator Edward Kennedy, heading in to Boston. And we'll be following actually this procession all the way there from Cape Cod to the JFK Library, where he will lie in repose. And people like you and me and our friends and family will be able to actually pay our respects there at the museum.
We'll be talking more about that obviously throughout the next couple of hours and be giving you that information. But right now, we're live in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where our Deb Feyerick is there, on the compound. Our Mary Snow at the JFK library.
And just to give you a little bit of background of what you're about to see when this begins -- and we're told it could be between five to 10 minutes that this will start. But the schedule for Senator Ted Kennedy's final farewell will, of course, start with this motorcade. And the body will lie in repose at JFK Library with time set aside for public visitation tonight and tomorrow. Friday night at 7:00 there's actually going to be a memorial service at the library. And then Saturday morning the family will attend a private funeral mass at our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, also in Boston.
And, by the way, all four of our living former presidents will be at the service, both Bushes, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. And President Obama, we're told, will deliver the eulogy and later that day, Kennedy's final trip -- and that will be to his final resting place -- Barbara Starr has been telling us about this live from the Pentagon for the past two days. He will make his way to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
As soon as the procession begins, we will take it live. Meanwhile, we'll move on to other news.
Forecasters are now saying Tropical Storm Danny could be hitting New England this weekend as mourners gather for Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral services, and by then it's expected to be a hurricane. And Chad Myers has been tracking Danny for us at the CNN Weather Center for a couple days now. How's it looking, Chad?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We just got a new airplane to fly into it. The hurricane hunter aircraft, they fly through the storms all the time, especially if they're going to try to take a run to the U.S.
The storm has wobbled to the west, to the west, by probably 60 or 70 miles. You think, okay, let it go to the west. The problem is all of the computer models thought it was here, when they ran this morning. So, if this storm actually went up here and then turned a little bit like that, before it makes its big turn, that makes it get significantly closer to what I would consider an East Coast potential land fall.
Here's the U.S. here. And let's say it did wobble 60 miles to the west. Here are all the computer models that we've been watching, Kyra. And probably the center of those models still about 100 miles from Cape Cod. Let's divide that in two now, because the storm has wobbled to the west.
And then we'll take the same thing. We'll do the same thing down here. Here's Cape Hatteras right here. And as we make the middle of the models somewhere there; now, we draw that 60 miles farther to the west because of this wobble, all of a sudden we have potential two land falls, one in North Carolina and one across parts of the Northeast. I'm not going to say that's going to happen.
But let me just tell you here. I'm going to open this up, this is the official track from the hurricane center and so far -- and this has been the case the entire time -the Outer Banks, still in the cone. And, of course, even the Hamptons and all of Cape Cod and all of Maine, right up to the Bay of Fundy, and into Newfoundland, all in the cone. So just because we've been saying and the potential for the middle of this thing is offshore, that's still not a done deal.
PHILLIPS: OK, we'll keep tracking it, Chad, thanks so much.
MYERS: You're welcome.
PHILLIPS: Other stories that we're covering for you, too.
Dissecting a double murder frame by frame; a Florida couple known for adopting special-needs kids is gunned down, and now surveillance pictures tell a different side of the story. Our Ed Lavandera saw them and he's going to share what he saw with us.
Also, we are continuing our live coverage of the motorcade carrying the body of Senator Ted Kennedy, and just so you know, once this begins, we will carry it live and be telling you about all the events that will be taking place from this point on, until the motorcade finishes at JFK library, where his body will lie in repose.
Friday is actually going to be a memorial service expected to include remarks by Senators John Kerry and John McCain. As you know, both of them, very good friends with the late Senator Ted Kennedy. And, again, Saturday's private funeral will be at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, the mission church, where Kennedy prayed daily during his daughter's 2003 treatment for cancer. And then President Obama is expected to speak at Saturday's funeral as well. He called Kennedy one of the nation's greatest senators.
We're covering this for you, and more, as the motorcade gets ready to start right here live on CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And we continue to bring you live coverage of the motorcade that is about to begin carrying the body of Senator Edward Kennedy to Boston, and, you know, we've been talking a lot about his life and the differences that he made in the lives of others. And looking at his political career, and also his humanitarian career; you know, he cast more than 15,000 roll call votes as a senator.
And he focused much of his attention on social issues. He led the fight for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and then the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, and a host of civil rights, education, health care, voting rights laws. We're going to be talking a lot about his history as a senator, and also as a very unique individual, a part of a very famous family.
And other top stories we're covering for you. Another American soldier looses his life in Afghanistan, killed by militants while on patrol. That raises this month's death toll in Afghanistan to 44. One less than July. It's the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the eight-year war.
And starting with an unbelievable story here. It's the best birthday gift that J.C. Duger (ph) could have ever asked for, seeing her parents 18 years after being abducted. Police in California confirm that Duger (ph), a child kidnap victim from 1991, turned up yesterday at a local police precinct. Details are still very sketchy right now, but we are expecting to hear from police this evening. We'll bring you a follow-up.
And the agency that insures your back account, the FDIC, says that its insurance fund fell 20 percent in the first quarter. That drop blamed on a surge in bank failures. The head of the FDIC says that there are no plans right now to tap into Treasury funds to make up the shortfall.
We've gotten signals lately that the economy is starting to show signs of life, but then again, some troubling signs as well. The FDIC's insurance fund is shrinking rapidly, and there's another drop in the country's gross domestic product. CNN's Richard Quest is spending the week in New York, trying to get a handle on all this. He's left his digs in London and joins us now live from Manhattan.
Good to see you, Richard.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good to see you.
Not only have I left my digs in London, I've now decided to become hip. I've come to the West Side of Manhattan.
Kyra, you have two guesses, where am I in Manhattan? Where do you think I am?
PHILLIPS: Hmm, I'm trying to figure it -- oh, wait a minute this is that new park, right? All the millions and billions and trillions of dollars went into this park, and you -- and it's -- right? I'm recognizing it.
QUEST: Absolutely. Absolutely.
To the right of me, we have 10th Avenue on that side. And, of course, the Hudson, over on the other side, we have 14th Street, and I'm actually on what's called High Line Park. It used -- The High Line. This used to be where the railroad tracks for the freight trains came down Manhattan. And earlier this year, of course, it opened up as a brand new park here in the city.
The GDP numbers that you talked of, GDP, in the second quarter fell by just 1 percentage point. That was less than people had expected.
What does it mean, I hear you ask? What it means is, that the U.S. economy is bumping along the bottom. Nowhere near the fall that was seen in the first quarter. Does that help those people still about to lose their jobs? No, of course, not, because that is still in the tale of this recession.
Kyra, what we can take from the news this morning is the end is in sight. And if you like to take this analogy of the High Line, there is light at the end of the tunnel! And it's not a train.
PHILLIPS: There is some good history there, though, you're right. What a creative way to take an area that really wasn't being utilized and, you know, pumping money into something that I know a lot of New Yorkers are taking advantage of.
QUEST: I lived in the city from 1989 to 2001, and, frankly, this was just weeds and overgrowth. What's interesting about it is the way in which they've kept -- this is not the neatly manicured gardens of England or even of different parks. This is the wild growth of the Westside of Manhattan! And in that sort of -- do you remember those ties I was talking about? What do you think about this one? This is one of the four that I've bought at the New York Stock Exchange. I thought --
PHILLIPS: Is that another one of your $9 specials?
QUEST: $9! There's a recession on, woman! This was $4. $9?! I'm not one of those highly paid, not like you, love. Four bucks, mate. Four bucks!
PHILLIPS: You know how to negotiate, I see, because they start at $9, my friend. Actually, they start at $20, so you got an absolutely good deal. Thank you. QUEST: This is just -- do me a favor, just make sure you don't smoke anywhere near this tie, because, it whoosh! I could go up like a Roman candle.
PHILLIPS: Oh, Richard Quest, life's a Roman candle. All right, great to see you. Always -- always...
QUEST: Good to see you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Always turning a tough story into something that is fun and positive. Appreciate it, Richard.
Also, too, another tough story was, of course, learning about the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, but, boy, you couldn't pick a more beautiful day for his mass, with the family and the procession that's about to begin here; the motorcade leaving his compound in Cape Cod, making its way through Boston, which a lot of people, I know, are extremely excited about. Already lining up the streets to catch a glimpse of their favorite Irish senator.
And then the motorcade will make its way to JFK Library. And that's where he will lie in repose. Here's live pictures, actually, right now of the part of the route, just outside the compound, where folks are already lining up to see and get a glimpse of that motorcade that's going to make its way to JFK Library.
A library that Ted Kennedy worked very hard on building as a tremendous honor to his brother, JFK, after his assassination. Of course, one of our most memorable presidents of the United States.
David Gergen joining us, a political analyst for us. He's actually on the phone. He is there. That's his home turf, in many ways. And also presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, joining us live out of Boston.
And since you're there, David, I mean, from a personal level to a presidential level, to your experience as an aide, and a writer, and adviser to so many presidents, what are you thinking about today? What's going through your mind as you're remembering Ted Kennedy and his life?
Are you with us, David? OK. How about Doug Brinkley? Can you hear me, Doug?
DOUG BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I hear you fine, thank you.
PHILLIPS: OK, fabulous.
Well, I know that you actually were there at the compound, was it Fourth of July this year, or was it last year?
BRINKLEY: No, it was a couple years ago I had written a book on Hurricane Katrina, and I'm very close to Ethel Kennedy, Robert Kennedy's widow, and a fabulous woman in her own right.
PHILLIPS: Terrific woman.
BRINKLEY: One of the greatest people alive. And my wife and I, we have three kids, so we came up and spent the Fourth of July weekend there at the house. And David Gergen had said something very smart earlier, like he usually does. He said that it's really a neighborhood feel there. The term "compound" was really developed as a way, after the assassination of Robert Kennedy, to have some sense of privacy. And also to, frankly, keep kooks away.
But the Kennedys' homes there are really like salons, and throughout the summer people just come from the world of arts, or commerce, politics, and it's a free form about America and how to make it better.
And one -- the central observation I had, because I was spending a lot of time with Kerry Kennedy, and, you know, Kathleen Townsend from Maryland. And we would talk issues, but when everybody was waiting for Ted Kennedy to arrive. This is the Kennedy family waiting for him to come, as if he was the tribal chieftain. And when he finally arrived there for the Fourth of July weekend, everybody, all the Kennedys gathered around him, and visitors and friends, in a circle. And he was talking about what's going on in Washington.
He knew every bill, every -- where every bit of legislation, what was pending, what was likely to happen. And even within his own family, he was sort of the fulcrum through which information came. He was that much of a policy person. You know, the word "wonk" is not often applied to Ted Kennedy because he's so gregarious, a personality, but this is a man who knew the details of things. He knew the loopholes on any piece of legislation, or the minutia, in a way that isn't reported usually about him. And that's really the key to his success, is that he did his homework. And when the family would take the information he had, as if it was, as if it was rare material, because it was. He really was in the mix on everything going on in Washington and would empower the family through the power of information. And public policy is what Ted Kennedy loved more than anything, with the possible exception of, of course, his family and the sea.
PHILLIPS: And, Doug, we're going to talk more about who's going to pick up that torch and try and push forward all the things that Ted Kennedy strived so hard to work on and to accomplish. We're going to talk more with Doug. And also, our senior political analyst David Gergen will be joining us on the phone. He's actually there.
We're waiting for the motorcade to begin. The ripple effect from Senator Kennedy's death after 47 years of legislating, you know, who will be the person that's up for that job to succeed what many people call the lion of the Senate? We're going to have more of a deeper conversation with David Gergen and also Douglas Brinkley, coming up right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Once again, we're bringing you live coverage of the motorcade that will begin any minute now carrying the body of Senator Edward Kennedy to Boston. And just to give you an idea of the route that you're about to see live here on CNN, it's going to begin here, leaving the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port and working its way into Boston.
It's actually going to wind past the Rose Kennedy Greenway, named for the family matriarch, of course. And then it will head to Faneuil Hall, where Boston's mayor will ring the bell 47 times, one for each year that Kennedy spent in the U.S. Senate.
And for those of you who know Boston or have gone through Boston and gone along the Freedom Trail, you know that Faneuil Hall is famous for all the various orators that stood there on those cobblestones and gave various famous speeches. Whether it was Frederick Douglass fighting for civil rights, all the way to Susan B. Anthony. And even Ted Kennedy stood there at Faneuil Hall and gave a number of speeches.
And once the motorcade moves past there, it will go past the office near the Massachusetts Statehouse where Kennedy once served as an assistant D.A., and the federal building named for President Kennedy as well, his brother, he will pass by there. And then finally, it will make its way to the Kennedy Presidential Library.
And that is where our Mary Snow is. And, Mary, a number of things to talk about. The fact that his body will lie in repose there, but you are going to be able to tell us when members of the public can come through there for a viewing. And, also, not only that, but what a remarkable museum and library that is, just a chance to not only learn more about Ted Kennedy and his life, but his brother's and other members of the family as well.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, and it was one that he was very involved in creating as a tribute to president John F. Kennedy. And at 6:00 Eastern Time, there will be a public viewing, where members of the public will be able to go in. And there is a room to the side. It's called the Smith Center. The library says about 600 people can fit in the room, but what will be happening, will be a closed casket.
Members of the family, we're told, staff members, friends will be in that room along with a military honor guard, a civilian honor guard. And members of the public will be able to pay their last respects through 11:00 tonight. Again, there will be another public viewing tomorrow, before a memorial service, a private memorial service, held here tomorrow night.
And up until then, though, there has been a tribute to Senator Kennedy, where members of the public have been coming in, the people of Massachusetts, paying their tribute to him, signing a condolence book. There are pictures of Senator Kennedy and his family. And there have been a steady stream of people going through, Kyra, signing this book. And some of them told me they expected large crowds here later today as the casket makes its way here, so they wanted to be able to come here before the crowds get here.
And it's very moving. And especially the emotions that people express when they are talking about Senator Kennedy here in Massachusetts. And I have to tell you, so many people have just gotten emotional as they talk about him.
PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. I know, it's special not only for members of the public but journalists as well, Mary, including you, who had the chance to -- a number of us, to meet Ted Kennedy, to interview Ted Kennedy, to watch him in action. Definitely the lion of the Senate.
He never minced words, and he did a lot for those, and even though he comes from an extremely wealthy family, he did a lot for those who suffered, whether it was from disabilities and rights for those that had disabilities to the poor to even Northern Ireland, where he fought for peace and human rights.
Mary Snow there live, where the senator's body will lie in repose. We are following this for you. When the motorcade does begin, when it leaves there, the Kennedy compound in Cape Cod, we will take it live. We're watching it all the way.
Other news now. If you go to school at Marquette in Milwaukee, well, you can get a shot at winning prizes if you get a flu shot. That school and others nationwide are trying to get out in front of the flu any way they can now.
Good idea given the fact that the H1N1 variety is the number one priority at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention right now. And if you do end up getting the flu this year, how do you know which one that you actually got?
Let's talk to senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Not one, but two flu vaccines recommended this year. What do you think? Does everybody need both of them, get one of them? Is it a toss-up?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just throw up the shots and see which ones you...
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: It's just like...
COHEN: ... right, exactly, you know.
PHILLIPS: Flip a coin.
COHEN: I'm just kidding. I am just kidding. The Centers for Disease Control has a list of people who should get the regular seasonal flu shot, the one they get every year. And then they have a list of people who need to get the H1N1, the swine flu vaccine. Now, since we don't have an hour to explain all this, I'm just going to go over the list of people who are supposed to get both shots because it's actually a pretty long list.
So, let's take a look. These folks are supposed to get vaccinated for both regular flu and for swine flu: pregnant women, anyone ages 6 months to 18 years old, so we're talking babies, kids and teens; anyone ages 25 to 64 who has a chronic health condition like asthma or diabetes; and also caregivers of babies less than 6 months old. And the reason for that is that babies 6 months old and younger cannot get the shots themselves.
Now, I definitely say shots in the plural. That's because number one, there's the regular flu shot. Number two, there's the swine flu shot. Number three, there's the swine flu booster shot. You can think of it that way. The swine flu vaccine is actually two shots. You get one, you come back for another one three weeks later.
PHILLIPS: All right, a lot of people worried about the safety, though, because the vaccine is so new.
COHEN: Right. I've heard -- people have been e-mailing me, just friends, saying, hey, should I get it? By, you know, middle of October, it'll be on the market for the first time. How do we know it's safe?
Let's talk about the kind of experimentation that they've done with this shot. Right now as we speak, study subjects are getting swine flu shots in clinical trials. By the middle of October, they hope to have tested it out in 3,100 adults, and then in addition on on 240 pregnant women, and then also on 1,200 children.
So, you know, no matter who you are, that someone who is sort of like you has had the shot before. And the Centers for Disease Control says they won't put the shot on the market if they see any bad side effects. Kyra, they say right now they're not seeing any red flags.
PHILLIPS: So, when can you get the flu shot?
COHEN: You can get the regular flu shot, the seasonal flu shot, the one that Marquette apparently is giving prizes, makes me want to go to Wisconsin, you can get that one in many cases right now. The swine flu shot won't be out until the middle of October, and when it comes out, there may not be enough for everyone that wants one. You may have to wait until later in the month or November or December.
PHILLIPS: And as we are covering the live pictures of the motorcade that's about to begin for Senator Ted Kennedy, you're actually doing something special your Web column, right?
COHEN: That's right. With his passing yesterday, we decided to look at Ted Kennedy as an empowered patient. I think people a lot of people don't know that Ted Kennedy had two children with cancer, and the way that he took care of them was incredible. He assembled experts from around the country. When people gave him bad prognoses, he said, I am not going to accept that. I'm going to find what works.
Today, his two children are alive and cancer-free, they say because of his care. So, I know you're thinking, I'm not a Kennedy, I can't just snap my fingers and get cancer experts into my living room. But you would be surprised how much you can do just even as a regular person. So, we will tell you how to get Kennedy-style health care when you're not a Kennedy in this week's "Empowered Patient" at CNNhealth.com.
PHILLIPS: There you go. We can all be empowered on many levels.
COHEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: Even if you're not a Kennedy...
COHEN: Even if you're not a Kennedy.
PHILLIPS: ... you can fight for your rights and fight.
COHEN: You certainly can, absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth, thanks so much.
And as we're talking about Ted Kennedy, live pictures once again from the Kennedy compound there in Cape Cod. The motorcade is about to begin, and you will see it live right here on CNN as we take a trip through time, stopping by all -- a number of key sites that highlight special moments for the senator, as he makes his way to the JFK Library and Museum, where his body will lie in repose. And you'll see it, live, right here, on CNN.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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PHILLIPS: And stay with us as we continue our live coverage of the motorcade that will carry the body of Senator Edward Kennedy to the JFK Library in Boston. Just a little history here. As you probably already know, as we've been talking so much about the senator, he was the youngest of nine Kennedy children, four boys and five girls.
You're actually seeing a bus right here. You can see it with the green top. That is actually going to take a number of the family members, you know, not the immediate family members, but other members of the friends and family there of the Kennedys along the motorcade as it makes its way through Boston and then to the JFK Library and Museum.
As you remember, too, Ted Kennedy, he was the last surviving brother in the Kennedy family. The family expected the oldest brother, Joseph, actually, to run for office one day, but he was killed in World War II. And then brother John, of course, became president, the 35th president of the United States. And then brother Robert Kennedy -- we know him as Bobby Kennedy -- was U.S. attorney general and a U.S. senator. You remember that both of them were assassinated.
The three brothers, very tight, very close friends. And it was the JFK Library and Museum that Teddy Kennedy worked so hard to get together to honor his brother not long after his assassination. And that is where the motorcade will end up there at the JFK Library and Museum, where his body will lie in repose and members of the public will be able to come and pay their last respects.
Other top stories now. It's the best birthday gift that J.C. Dugar could have ever asked for. And I'll get to that in just a second. But you're actually going to see live pictures now of the casket leaving the Kennedy compound. But we are being told, out of respect for the family, they have asked us, actually, as the casket moves its way out of where the private Mass was held with the family, that we will actually go dark in just a second here once his body is actually put into the hearse.
David Gergen, this is a perfect time to bring you in. You are there as this is all happening, and maybe you can explain to our viewers why the private Mass here, because there's going to be another one, as we know, at the basilica, and then also why the family doesn't want to show the rest of this as the casket enters the hearse.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Well, Kyra, we've been, you know, there's been a vigil here with the family, with the body, in that home that we're looking at now. They were with him for some 24 hours. There we see family members now coming out of the house.
And I think it helps all of us as we see this, to remember that the principles by which he was lived, by Joe Kennedy and Rose Kennedy, his parents, there were three principles: family, faith and country. And family came first. And what we're watching today is something that's a national event, national tragedy, but it's also very much a family tragedy.
And I think that all of this is now dictated by family and by Teddy Kennedy. He clearly had a hand in planning all these ceremonies. And they're elaborately planned. They're very reminiscent of presidential funerals that we have had too many of in recent years. And I think each piece of this as we go today will have been meticulously thought through by the senator, by his family, by his aides.
And he always had, of course, a crackerjack staff who worked for him. He attracted top-flight people. But there is today, with this, with military guard, this is going to be the start of a military element of this, which will end Saturday afternoon with the burial in Arlington Cemetery with his brothers, Bobby and Jack Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy and I think one of their children there.
So, there's going to be a great deal of, if you would, pagentry that is associated in our minds with dignitaries who have held a high office or a place in our hearts. And Teddy Kennedy had both. And so...
PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what, David, stay with me for a moment. This is probably the most powerful picture we are going to see today. Let's just take a second here to watch and listen.
Wow, David Gergen, there you have it. Leaving his home for the final time and making his way where he will finally rest with his brothers, John and Robert. The whole family there by his side and, David, I don't know if you noticed, but I think it was one of the grandsons. I loved it. He was in his shorts and his flipflops right there. He had his tie and his jacket, and I loved it. It was just one of those moments where everybody's being so formal and there you go.
GERGEN: Well, that's exactly right. It brings back so many memories, Kyra, if you go all the way back to the death of the first very Public kennedy, John Kennedy, and watching his young son, you know, squirming around and being such a darling child and to think that was John Jr., who only a few years ago crashed in an airplane just a few miles from Hyannis Port, where we're watching all this, as he was trying to land on Martha's Vineyard.
But I think more the outpouring of children represents so much the vitality of the Kennedy family and also I think shows that side of him, of Teddy Kennedy. When his brother, Bobby, was killed, back in the late '60s, he became not only the keeper of the Camelot legacy but the keeper of the Camelot family.
And all those children looked to him as Uncle Teddy. He always called them on their birthdays. He was very close to all those children. He often, you know, would -- they'd come to his Senate hideaway, and he'd play games with them. And it was -- so, that gathering has very special poignance for all of that family because he was the -- he had become the patriarch, in effect, the one, the glue that was holding everybody together. This is so much a family occasion as it is a national occasion.
PHILLIPS: And you bring up such a good point about the family dynamic. I mean, talk about, my gosh, if you look just back in history all the way up until now, so many tragedies have happened within that family. But it has continued to -- that family has stayed strong. They've stayed close, not only personally but they -- so many of them live close together. I mean, that's just a tremendous thing to see in a time where, you know, families are breaking up, and they're not staying together. There really is a sense of history there that has never dissolved.
GERGEN: Absolutely. And we're actually, you know -- he was coming -- his body was coming out of the home that was actually his father's home, Joe Kennedy, who was the, you know, the ultimate patriarch of all the Kennedys.
Two generations ago, he and Rose Kennedy lived there and brought up their nine children. And there are a set of homes here that you can't see quite in these pictures, but they're just a -- it's a cluster of homes here in Hyannis Port that the Kennedys have where they love to gather in the summer and be with each other, and they love to go out with their Uncle Teddy on his schooner, the Mya, and to be around his three Portuguese water dogs, which he loved.
And we also saw there a picture of Vicki, his -- the woman who came into his life some 16 years ago and had been his partner ever since, and seemed to bring him a peace, an inner peace that he had not had before. He had all these children by his first wife, but it was Vicki, that relationship seemed to settle him emotionally and just give him an anchor. And they remained inseparable all these years. And she has really become in many ways a beloved figure within the family because of what she brought to that relationship and partnership.
PHILLIPS: He had said that all the things he admired about her, you know, a Washington lawyer, obviously a brilliant woman. But she wasn't afraid to stand up to him either, you know, even though he was known as the lion...
GERGEN: She was not.
PHILLIPS: Right, exactly, the lion of the Senate.
No one in that family wanted to argue with Teddy Kennedy, but boy, you know, Victoria Reggie would stand up to him in a heartbeat and put him in his place, and he loved it.
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GERGEN: He did love it. I think she brought some structure to his life, you know? You know, because he had had, sort of as Doug Brinkley will say, he had sort of had a roustabout kind of life for a long time. He was clearly a restless soul. And I think it's one of the heartwarming aspects of his life as we talked about earlier that -- how he pulled himself together over the years and grew and matured as a human being, not just as a senator.
But that he had these deep roots in family and meant so much to him, and they increasingly meant so much to him. So, I think we're watching something very poignant. This is his farewell to Hyannis Port, the place that he loved. A place that he always wanted to come back to. A place where, you know, his brother used to arrive on a helicopter, brother John. And he'd get on a golf cart, and all the kids would surround him and then run up, and they would play touch football out on these lawns.
And that's when the American people really first began to fall in love with and respect the Kennedy family. You know, it was obviously -- there was a lot of conflict, political conflict associated with all the Kennedys, but at the same time, there's been a respect, an enduring respect now that goes back some 60 years, back here to Hyannis Port and to this home that we're seeing and his final departure from the home that he loved.
PHILLIPS: And you know, it might be a good time to make the point, David, that as we look at the compound here and the, just the riches on so many levels that embody this family, even though there was and is a lot of money and fortune and property, he was someone that stayed true to the mission, just like his brothers, JFK and Bobby Kennedy. And that was looking out for the poor, looking out for the disadvantaged, looking out for the underserved. He really did remain committed to that just like his brothers.
GERGEN: He did. And, if anything, I think he grew in his passion just like Bobby Kennedy did. Bobby changed over the course of his life. Bobby Kennedy was a fairly conservative senator in some ways who was much more interested in war and peace. But he -- the last few years of his life, before he was cut down, he became passionate about the poor and places like the South Bronx, where he went and became a voice and a tribune for the poor and the marginalized.
And Teddy picked up that banner from Bobby and from Jack. And, if anything, became even more liberal in his commitment during more conservative years, during the Reagan years and what followed.
He was often the tribute for unpopular causes. But, as you say, he was steadfast. He cared deeply about it. He cared all the rest of his life.
And I can't emphasize enough as we're here in Hyannis Port how much of a neighbor he was in this community as well, talking to people who lived nearby. And they would often see him walk by or go by on a little golf cart here in the last months of his life. You know, usually, khaki pants and just a golf shirt of some sort, always a big smile.
Knew everybody by their first names. And it's very much a neighborhood feel in Hyannis Port. It is not at all a compound in the sense you might think of.
The houses are -- yes, they are large, and yes, they are mansions in some ways. But they are very Cape Cod-ish and they're very much set in a neighborhood setting with lots of kids around on bikes who are out there now watching this, and dogs frolicking around. It's quite an intimate setting in its own way.
PHILLIPS: David Gergen, stay with me, because we are going to follow Kennedy's procession live, all the way to JFK's museum and library, where his body will lie in repose. It's going to be a trip through time.
We'll explain more about that as we take a quick break and come right back.
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