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Tour Bus Overturns on I-75 South of Atlanta Carrying Morehouse Band Members; Not Everyone Wants H1N1 Vaccine; Afghan Election Threatened; NY GOP Candidate Quits House Race; Creating, Saving Jobs? Tough Numbers to Prove

Aired October 31, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, it's Saturday, October 31st. Hello everybody, happy Halloween. I'm Betty Nguyen.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 11:00 A.M. where we sit here in Atlanta, 8:00 A.M. out west. Again, we want to continue to update you on the word we're getting, the sad word it sounds like, pretty serious bus crash this morning.

NGUYEN: The injuries we do not know of as of yet. We know there are indeed some, do not know the extent of them. What we know is that this was a chartered bus by Morehouse College, some 20 people were on board, a bus that is currently lying on its side off of interstate 75 in Stockbridge, Georgia. Don't know how it got there exactly, but one person, according to our local affiliate WXIA, is trapped underneath the bus.

As T.J. mentioned just a short while ago it is a little rainy and cloudy here, it's certainly not pouring down rain, but it is not clear at this hour as to what caused this accident and if weather was involved in any way. But again a Morehouse College charter bus with some 20 people on board, possibly band members, according to our local affiliate, many injuries reported, some 12 ambulances on the scene and one person still trapped underneath that vehicle. We're going to continue to follow this for you and bring you the latest just as soon as we get it.

HOLMES: Please know we will not let that story get too far away, continue to update you.

We also want to update you on the fight against H1N1 flu. More doses of the vaccine are out there now to fight it. We're seeing more and more each week. Health officials with the CDC say the virus is, in fact, now widespread in all but two U.S. states. Even though more than 26 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed, that is actually far short of what's needed and far short of what was expected.

Earlier, I spoke with the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who said the vaccine will be available soon to everybody who needs it but for now the focus is on those who need it most.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HHS SECRETARY: We have a vaccine that works. In the meantime, believe me, I can fully understand the anxiety of parents who are really worried about their kids. I'm a mom, I can't share that. I know how frustrating it is to stand in line for hours and maybe not get what you came for in the first place, that's infuriating. We really want to remind people, though, that there are some people who likely will get very ill and could potentially die who are in much more priority situations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Even when the vaccine becomes widely available, not everyone plans to get it. For parents especially the decision can be a difficult one.

CNN's Mary Snow with a look at two moms who have reached two different conclusions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A glass out or something.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Laura Wellington says she does what she can to keep her 10-year-old daughter, Izzy, healthy along with the rest of her family. But when it comes to the H1N1 vaccine ...

LAURA WELLINGTON, AGAINST H1N1 VACCINE: I'm absolutely not getting the children vaccinated, no. It's not -- the risk is not worth it.

SNOW: Laura has four children and is pregnant with her fifth. She's not against vaccines in general and has paid close attention to information about swine flu and talked to her doctors. Is your main concern side effects, the speed of the vaccine? What's the main concern?

WELLINGTON: Its side effects. Its side effects. It's potential down the line. You know, whenever you put something new into your body. People react very differently to different things that they put into their body. One person it may be fine for, another person it may not.

SNOW: While Laura is not very worried about her kids getting the swine flu, Amy Pisani is. She's especially worried about her 9-year- old son Antonio, who was hospitalized as a baby because of the flu.

AMY PISANI, FOR H1N1 VACCINE: I am really nervous.

SNOW: Because you've seen what's happened when he had the flu before.

PISANI: I've seen what happened to him and I've seen what happened to other people. I work for an advocacy group now, every child by two, and I've met a lot of parents who have lost their children to just regular seasonal flu and I'm so grateful that didn't happen to us.

SNOW: Amy was able to get the H1N1 vaccine for her son, Nicholas, but she's still anxiously waiting to secure one for Antonio. In the meantime ...

PISANI: We have stuff all over the house. I constantly tell them to wash their hands and the anti-bacterial gels are on the kitchen table, on the counter in the bathroom. It's a constant issue for us. We think about it all the time. My kids are pretty paranoid at this point.

SNOW (on camera): Among parents concerned about the vaccine, one big question is potential side effects. Health officials say they see no proof of any damaging side effects. They do say there may be some soreness or redness in the arm, similar to a seasonal flu shot.

Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Coming up later this hour we'll hear from the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat, she'll help us sort out the fact from fictions around the H1N1 virus and remind us all who exactly is most at risk.

NGUYEN: Democracy for Afghanistan gets more elusive by the day. The nation's presidential runoff set for next Saturday may not happen, just what President Obama doesn't need as he hammers out U.S. military strategy there. Team coverage with our White House correspondent Elaine Quijano, she joins us from Washington. Also we're going to get the latest from Kabul with Nima Elbagir, she joins us live.

We want to start with you Nima, what is the sticking point for the runoff? What is putting all of this in jeopardy?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, it's Dr. Abdullah's demands. Dr. Abdullah is asking for resignation of the head of the independent electoral commission. He's also asking for the dismissal of three cabinet ministers who campaigned on behalf of the incumbent President Hamid Karzai. He says that there is an infrastructure of fraud, and until that infrastructure is dismantled he can't be part of the second round runoff.

A lot of people are seeing this, though, as Abdullah trying to play his hand, because if he did go into the second round runoff, the perception is that he would not be going in as a favorite because of the very large lead, the 18 percent lead that Hamid Karzai had on him in the first round.

NGUYEN: And are we expecting to hear a decision of some sort at least by tomorrow? That's what some of the rumors are being put out there. Are you hearing any confirmation of that?

ELBAGIR: Yes, Dr. Abdullah's camp has told us to expect that they will be holding a press conference at 9:30 in the morning Afghanistan time. But to add to this impasse, I mean, we know that Abdullah and Karzai camps have been meeting all day and that they still have not found a way to compromise.

But to add to the impasse, the head of the independent electoral commission, who is himself at the center of the controversy has now told CNN that a coalition government at this point between Dr. Abdullah and President Hamid Karzai would be unconstitutional, that the two camps cannot hammer out that decision between themselves.

That the Afghan constitution, very clearly that in this case where neither candidate has won a sufficient majority to avoid a second-round runoff, that one candidate must withdraw and it must be taken to the Afghan Supreme Court. So there you have it, the chief of the independent electoral commission saying the potential people we're talking about perhaps seeing Hamid out he would call illegal.

NGUYEN: And just very quickly, a lot of observers say, look, Abdullah Abdullah, his chances of winning in a runoff don't seem very likely so, this is really a ploy of a power play, if you will, to get some kind of power sharing out of this deal and not having to go through the runoff. What are you hearing on your end?

ELBAGIR: Well, definitely, there is a sense here that Dr. Abdullah is really stretching out his time in the limelight. His profile has raised incredibly, but at the same time his campaign offices haven't reopened. He has shown absolutely no movement towards beginning to campaign for a second-round runoff, which really lends credence to this belief that Dr. Abdullah is trying to play a strong hand to gain some kind of concessions that he can take forward to continue his political career even if he doesn't emerge as the Afghan president this time.

NGUYEN: All right, Nima Elbagir joining us live. Thank you so much for that. And a canceled runoff would only complicate things for President Obama as he weighs his next move in Afghanistan. We are going to get to our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, in just a second. But we do have more information on the breaking news story that we've been following.

HOLMES: Yes, that story being a Morehouse charter, a bus carrying band members for the Morehouse College, has overturned on a highway just south of Atlanta. We understand there are some injuries and possibly someone trapped on that bus, but we're going to get the very latest now from Captain Jason Bolton with the Henry County Police Department.

Sir, we appreciate you hopping on the phone. Just give us a situation update. How many people injured? And do you possibly have anyone still trapped on that bus?

VOICE OF CAPT. JASON BOLTON, HENRY COUNTY, GA. POLICE: There's a possibility that someone is still trapped on the bus. I'm waiting on a call back from somebody on the scene, but there was approximately 20-plus students from Morehouse College on the bus when it overturned. I'm told that three or four of those students are being transported to the hospital for non life threatening injuries, and there is possibly one still on the bus that is trapped.

HOLMES: And, sir, were any other vehicles involved in the accident?

BOLTON: No, sir. It's a single-vehicle accident, just the charter bus.

HOLMES: Have you all been able to piece together just by looking at the scene quite frankly and your offices that are on the scene, what happened and where is that bus resting right now?

BOLTON: Unfortunately, I haven't been able to speak with him here in the last 10 or 15 minutes, so I don't know the details or exactly how the bus came to be overturned. This happened just about an hour ago. And it's still very early in the investigation in trying to put that together.

HOLMES: And, sir, give us an idea as well, I know you're not a meteorologist -- but in general, what has the weather been like down there this morning? A little damp around the area, a little rainy and misty, but does it seem like weather might have at all played a factor? And also in that particular area, any other construction issues on the highway, anything else that would -- are we talking about just free clear highway and this bus ended up on its side?

BOLTON: Well, I'm not familiar with any construction there in that particular area, but it is very overcast, it is wet, has been raining all morning, so it's likely that weather was a contributing factor.

HOLMES: Are you in the process right now of interviewing people out there, including the driver of this bus? What do we know about the driver, what do you know at this point?

BOLTON: I don't believe at this point, but yes the accident investigators on the scene are conducting interviews with all of the witnesses there and the passengers. I'm told that there are probably numerous complaints of injuries from the occupants on the bus that they're probably interviewing those individuals as well, but at this time just the three or four have been transported for their injuries.

HOLMES: Sir, you talk about the three or four transported. Sounds like those are going to be the only three or four that need to be transported to the hospital. I know you said those injuries aren't life-threatening. What can you tell us about the severity of those injuries, broken bones, things like that, and also the other people who haven't been taken to the hospital? Are we just talking about banging some heads around and bumps and bruises?

BOLTON: Again, I don't know the extent of the injuries. I'm thinking that the individual that has been trapped on the bus may have some more serious injuries than the three or four that are being transported, but unfortunately, I don't have any details on the extent of anyone's injuries.

HOLMES: And, sir, give us the idea of the highway there, as well. A lot of people know 75, 85, these highways are major arteries through Atlanta and also through the rest of the state. Do you have 75 south -- is it having to be shut down? Is it completely shut off to traffic at this point?

BOLTON: That is my understanding that 75 is completely shut down at that location. That is a very busy corridor there, I-75, and it's just off of where another interstate, I675 merges with 75. So, that is a major thoroughfare, and we've got a lot of traffic problems out there right now.

HOLMES: Sir, what can you tell us, we assume, we're kind of putting together here the Morehouse College football team is playing down at Albany State today. Is it your understanding that the band that was on this bus, they were heading down for the game?

BOLTON: That would be my understanding. I have been told that it is the marching band to Morehouse College. I didn't have any information as to where they may have been headed but that is my understanding, it does contain members of the band.

HOLMES: Captain Jason Bolton, again Henry County Police Department, sir we appreciate it. We hope you all won't be too far away from the phone. Certainly when updates do come, we'd certainly like for you to hop back on and give us anything else. But we appreciate you taking the time with us here.

BOLTON: No problem.

HOLMES: Again to our viewers, the update we're getting it straight there from the official on the scene, is that 20-plus people on this bus, Morehouse band heading south today on highway 75, a major corridor through the state of Georgia, bus overturned, a one-vehicle accident. He does believe that possibly the captain you just heard there, possibly the weather played a role.

Even though it's not a downpour here in town, the visibility is a little low and it's a little rainy this morning. That may have played a role this morning. We'll continue to follow this story. When the updates come to us we will pass them along to you -- Betty?

NGUYEN: Another major story that we are continuing to follow is the runoff elections in Afghanistan. They could be in jeopardy. How that affects the Obama administration's next move on Afghanistan, on whether to send more U.S. troops.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now live from Washington. Elaine, any reaction so far on this possible boycott from the Obama administration?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's interesting Betty, no reaction from the actual White House just yet, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who's traveling overseas, she's in the Middle East right now, was actually asked about this very issue and she said, look, it would not be unprecedented, necessarily, for there not to be two candidates going forward in a runoff election.

Here's how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Other countries have faced this, where one candidate decides not to go forward. We see that happen in our own country, where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward. So, I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election. It's a personal choice that may or may not be made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: So as that situation continues to unfold, meantime President Obama got a chance to hear directly from the U.S. military's top brass yesterday. He and some of his senior advisers sat down with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and this is certainly a significant meeting because the joint chiefs are the ones who were ultimately responsible for providing troops for the fight in Afghanistan.

Of course the U.S. has some 68,000 troops there right now. The top commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has said that he would like an additional 40,000 U.S. troops. But there are some concerns about that. It could certainly put added strain on U.S. forces, and more U.S. troops could fuel more violence in Afghanistan, something to consider, as well.

Also a consideration, the price tag for the requested troops could top $500,000 a soldier. So, Betty, a number of weighty factors to consider here as President Obama and his advisers continue to go through this Afghanistan strategy review. Betty?

NGUYEN: No doubt. All right, Elaine. If President Obama does decide to send additional troops, exactly how will those troops be used?

QUIJANO: According to several military and Pentagon sources who've talked to our Barbara Starr, General McChrystal's plan would basically mean sending these troops to the south, mostly to reinforce Kandahar and Helmand provinces, the troops that are already there now, as well as the region of Kabul, which is the seat of the Afghanistan government.

Officials though also say that the general wants to reserve a number of forces in order to train Afghan troops. Part of what he wants to do overall there, Betty, as you know, is to boost the number of both Afghan soldiers, Afghan troops, as well as Afghan police -- Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. Elaine Quijano joining us live. Thank you, Elaine.

HOLMES: Another deadly typhoon taking aim at the Philippines. Some people race into the surf to save what's left of their homes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We want to get to some more political news. All politics is local, and there's a local race that a lot of people have had their eyes on across the country. And now there's been a development and that one Republican has dropped out.

I'm going to bring in our Paul Steinhauser now. This is up in New York here, Paul, and this comes as a surprise to a lot of people. But again, put this in perspective why it's a big deal when we see a local race like this garner such national attention.

VOICE OF PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, T.J. most people have no idea about this race, but it does kind of have some national implications. It's a battle for New York's 23rd congressional district that's in the northern part of New York. It borders the Canadian border and the Adirondacks and there's a special election this Tuesday because the congressman up there, a Republican, he was named army secretary and he had to drop down obviously to become secretary of the army.

What happened was the Republican leaders in that part of the state dominated a moderate Republican, and that upset a lot of people on the right who then put their own candidate forward. You had two Republican candidates and one Democrat, and that was going to maybe allow a Democrat to possibly win that district, T.J., for the first time since the 1800s.

Well, just now today, the Republican candidate has dropped out, so it will become a two-person race between the conservative candidate Hoffman and the Democrat Owens.

HOLMES: All right. Paul Steinhauser hopping on right quick with us on this race. A political surprise up there in New York, going to get a lot more on it. Paul, we appreciate you hopping on right quick, though.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

NGUYEN: Just look at that. This is not a scene from a movie, folks. This is reality. And imagine the desperation of these Filipinos frantically trying to save what they can as their homes are washed away by another typhoon. It is the fourth to hit the Philippines in a month and it came ashore this morning east of Manila. At least seven people reported killed, more than 115,000 people evacuated ahead of that storm. That storm has now weakened and appears to be headed for Vietnam.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: So were jobs really saved or created? We're taking a look behind the numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now for your top stories. Will Afghanistan's presidential runoff set for Saturday actually happen? 11th-hour talks were held today between representatives for incumbent President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah who may withdraw from the contest. Abdullah wanted election officials from the August 20th vote removed from office saying that they were biased against him. HOLMES: And a breaking story we're keeping an eye on right now, a bus that's overturned outside of Atlanta. The bus was chartered by Morehouse College in Atlanta. It was carrying more than 20 members of the marching band. Three or four passengers have been taken to the hospital, but we're told they have non life-threatening injuries. The bus was traveling on I-75 in Henry County, it was about 20 miles outside of Atlanta. Four southbound lanes have now been shut down.

NGUYEN: The UK government is saying no to a $7 million ransom being demand for the safe return of the couple that you see right there. Somali pirates kidnapped Britain's Paul and Rachel Chandler from their yacht last week. We'll have another check of your top stories in 20 minutes.

HOLMES: President Obama says there is evidence the economy is moving in the right direction. During his weekly radio address, he points to a government report showing the first sign of economic growth in a year, but he still warns hard times are not over yet and more job losses may be on the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Economic growth is no substitute for job growth. And we will likely see further job losses in the coming days, a fact that's both troubling for our economy and heartbreaking for the men and women who suddenly find themselves out of work. But we will not create the jobs we need unless the economy is growing. That's why this GDP report is a good sign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, with jobless rates already at record highs in many states, people are holding their collective breath in anticipation of a nationwide unemployment report which is due next week. So, will it top 10 percent?

Meanwhile, our Louise Schiavone tackles another tough number, the number of jobs that the White House says it has saved.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the Obama administration a jobs creation message.

JARED BERNSTEIN, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: We're going to learn later today, again, from the independent recovery board, direct information from recipients of recovery act funds that they have created or saved 650,000 jobs so far.

SCHIAVONE: From the government's own record keepers the other side of the story, 15.1 million unemployed, more than 1 million net new unemployment claims filed in the two weeks ending October 24th. One nonprofit with long experience studying federal spending has doubts about the recordkeeping. CRAIG JENNINGS, OMB WATCH: I think it's really too early to say, you know, based on the numbers today how many jobs are created or saved.

SCHIAVONE: The administration says the half jobs saved so far have been in education, where state and local government used stimulus money to avoid layoffs. But at input, a marketing research firm that advises clients on federal contracts, president and CEO Tim Dowd told us quote, "How can you tell the difference between a created or saved job? We don't think that number is knowable."

In fact, shortly after announcing the stimulus had saved or created 650,000 jobs, the administration changed the number to 640,000. Local financial strategists say it's all designed to lend some courage to a job-starved nation in the face of challenging realities.

DAVID SMICK, GLOBAL FINANCIAL STRATEGIST: Here's what's really going on. The unemployment rate is almost 10 percent. To bring it down to five percent over the next five years, not an unreasonable amount of time, we would need the creation of 250,000 jobs per month each year for the next five years. We would need to achieve massive growth rate.

SCHIAVONE: The 650,000 jobs claim is based on $150 billion in stimulus spending and the White House says the number is closer to a million when tax cuts and other measures are included. But each job costs $230,000 to create, and Vice President Biden conceded.

JOE BIDEN: It's not good enough. Less bad is not good enough.

SCHIAVONE (on camera): That appeared to be Wall Street's impression, closing down 250 points, more than giving up Thursday's gain on word of the 3.5 percent third quarter gross domestic growth which on second look said financial strategist David Smick appeared much less impressive.

Louise Schiavone for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Speaking of politics, is Sarah Palin preparing to run for president in 2012? Well, CNN takes a look at how popular she would be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Back to our breaking news. We're getting some of the first pictures in to CNN of this bus accident off of Interstate 75 in Stockbridge, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta to the south. And, boy, this bus, it appears that it rolled some 50 feet off of the freeway.

Don't know exactly how it ended up at this point, but we do have some new information, and that being that there were some 39 people on board. Three to four people have been taken to the hospital. And earlier indications that one person was trapped in that bus. Well, we have since learned that that person has been freed and has non life- threatening injuries.

So, that is a little bit of good news that the person has been pretty much taken off that bus and not being trapped inside of it or underneath. We don't know the extent of that, but, boy, look at these pictures. You can see how some damage could definitely occur.

HOLMES: And to actually get an update on the numbers you may have mentioned, but it's actually 39 people we're told who were actually on board that bus. They were heading down. The school's team, football team, is playing a game down at Albany State, a several hours' drive down 75, also an update that 75, a major artery, anybody who knows Georgia at all, a major artery through the state.

We're told a couple lanes have opened up again. All were closed a little earlier, but a couple are opened up, so traffic is starting to -- being allowed to trickle back through there. But looking at the scene, you see a bus on its side like that, you think the worst.

NGUYEN: Fifty feet off the roadway.

HOLMES: You have no idea how this happened. The officer we were on the phone with earlier said he thinks maybe the weather contributed to this accident. It was kind of low visibility, a little rainy, a little misty this morning. No downpours still, but he thinks it may have contributed. You see where the road is and you see where the bus is in this picture, so just thank goodness. The injuries could have been a lot worse. But most of the students did not have to go to the hospital. As more information comes in, we will bring that to you.

So it's Palin the person versus Palin the politician. Our Paul Steinhauser has some insights for us, he's our deputy political director and friend of our show here. Paul, hello. What jumps out here as being a problem for her, if you will, in these poll numbers?

STEINHAUSER: I guess if Sarah Palin does decide to run for Republican nomination next time, the real troubling one is that only 3 out of 10 people, according to our new poll, think she's qualified to be president. Seven out of 10 our poll suggests say she is unqualified. TJ remember last year when she was Alaska governor and she was also John McCain's running mate, that was the big question -- is she qualified to be president? It was a question mark then, it certainly still is now -- T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. How much time does she have to get all her ducks in a row quite frankly if she does decide she wants to run in 2012?

STEINHAUSER: Well you know 2012 sounds like it's a long way away, right three years from now is the presidential election. But the race for the White House on the Republican side really starts in earnest about a year from now.

We're still in the pre-game show, I guess you could say, where these people who may want to run are out there helping other Republican candidates, setting up political action committees, speaking out, doing stuff like that. But about a year from now, once the midterm elections are over in November 2010 that is really when the next battle for the Republican nomination begins in earnest -- T.J.?

HOLMES: In this book everybody is waiting for here, we know it's going to help her bank account. But is it going to help her or hurt her when it comes to politics?

STEINHAUSER: One thing for sure, it's going to keep her in the spotlight that is important for somebody like Sarah Palin. Remember, she doesn't have a job anymore so it's good for her to stay in the spotlight. This will definitely keep her in the spotlight. We heard that she's going to be on "Oprah" the day before the book comes out, she's going to do a big media tour.

People will be talking about her and what is in the book, so that cannot hurt. And as you mentioned, yes, the money is probably not going to hurt either. According to her reports, $1.25 million from the advance and we also know that according to online sales so far, this book is going to be a big, big seller -- T.J.?

HOLMES: We know we're going to see her a few places, you mentioned "Oprah," also this book coming out. How else is she being heard? She doesn't have at least that governor's bully pulpit up in Alaska anymore, I can say she's out of a job, so how else is she being heard getting that message out?

STEINHAUSER: Since she's no longer governor of Alaska that frees her up now to come down to the lower 48 more often and speak. She will be doing that. In fact we believe she'll be speaking next month to a right-to-life group in Wisconsin, and I think you'll see her more often over the next year out there supporting other fellow conservatives and Republicans that she agrees with on the issues.

And you're going to see her speaking to various Republican organizations. That's one way for her to stay in the spotlight and also reach out to those Republican voters who, if she wants to run for president, those are the people she needs to reach out to -- T.J.?

HOLMES: All right, our Paul Steinhauser, always appreciate your insights. We'll talk to you again soon.

STEINHAUSER: Thanks.

NGUYEN: All right. To keep track of all the political races and breaking political news, be sure to check out the cnn.com site. We have a redesigned site for you, making it easier to play video on your computer. So, check it out, cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, outside of Atlanta, a charter bus has overturned. It was carrying about 39 passengers. Several members of the Morehouse College marching band were on board. They were on their way to Albany, had a game down at Albany State in southern Georgia. Three or four passengers had to be taken to the hospital but with non life- threatening injuries. The bus again was on I-75, major corridor through Georgia. Two southbound lanes are still currently shut down.

NGUYEN: A challenger's threat to pull out of Afghanistan's presidential election calling into question the legitimacy of the vote. Representatives for Afghan President Hamid Karzai and candidate Abdullah Abdullah held talks today. The meeting comes amid reports that Abdullah plans to boycott next week's runoff vote, which was set up after allegations of widespread voter fraud.

HOLMES: And police searching for a killer after finding six bodies inside a house in Cleveland. The suspect is convicted rapist Anthony Sowell. Police discovered the bodies after the S.W.A.T. team went to his home with an arrest warrant for rape. They didn't find Sowell but they found those bodies inside.

Coming up, what you need to know about protecting yourself from the H1N1 flu. We're talking to one of the top docs at the CDC, asking about who should and shouldn't be getting the vaccine right away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Its new video coming in to CNN, this from our local affiliate WGCL. That bus right there that you see overturned right off the freeway is a Morehouse College charter bus. Thirty nine band students, in fact, were on that bus. We understand three to four of them have been taken to the hospital. In fact, one was trapped in the bus, but that person has been since freed and suffering from non life- threatening injuries. A little bit of good news right there.

Again, we really do not know what caused this bus to leave the freeway and be overturned some 50 feet off of the freeway in that grassy area. But, again, three or four people have been taken to the hospital. This was a bus that was chartered by Morehouse College. Band members were on board, 39 of them. We'll continue to follow this story and bring you the latest.

HOLMES: All right. Fatigue, coughing, those body aches, don't tell me I have the flu, and it's not H1N1, is it? Well, the CDC says it's even more widespread now than it was just a week ago. The video you're seeing over my shoulder, this is from Children's Hospital in Boston, which has seen a 40 percent increase in patients since last week. There's still a lot of confusion about who needs the H1N1 vaccine.

I caught up with Dr. Anne Schuchat who's with the CDC, asked her point blank who needs this thing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, ASSISTANT SURGEON GENERAL: We really want to remind people who is supposed to be vaccinated. The five groups that are in that group for the beginning, that's pregnant women, health care workers, caretakers of babies under 6 months of age, children and young adults 6 months of age to 24 years of age, and adults 24 to 64 years of age who have chronic health conditions. HOLMES: That's important to note there. And what's going to happen, tell people around the country, will a lot of these hospitals and clinics get to make up their own minds, because I do have a friend whose wife had H1N1 but she wasn't allowed to get the vaccine because she didn't fall into one of those five categories. Is that how it goes? Do hospitals and clinics have the discretion to say, no, you're not in this group, we don't have a lot of this stuff, you go home and drink your fluids?

SCHUCHAT: The state and city health departments are working really actively with the doses that they get and they're using our national standards. The advisory committee for immunization practices has recommended these five groups. It's a lot of people in those five groups. And we really think adults over 25 who don't have chronic health conditions really can wait. There's time for all of us who are not in those group to let others get vaccinated first.

But local areas and doctors' offices and community clinics and so forth will really be trying to bring in the priority populations and focus on getting them vaccinated. Day-by-day, whether additional people can be vaccinated, will be a question of the available supply. We're trying to learn from the past. In 2004 and 2005, we had a big problem with vaccine availability.

And we really over prioritized and at the end of the year, we had extra vaccine. We are trying to make sure that we are addressing demand. If there are lots of pregnant women in line, of course we want them to be vaccinated. But if there's not so many coming in, those local decisions for flexibility are there.

HOLMES: I want to get your opinion on this question because I always ask health officials and don't seem to get just a straight answer sometimes. I'm trying to put this in layman's terms for our viewers, who understand year in and year out, there's a seasonal flu. A lot of people just don't get a flu shot. Suppose they get the flu, suppose they don't.

If they do they stay home, they drink their fluids and they flush it out. This particular flu, this H1N1 we're talking about, does a young healthy person need to be anymore worried about this particular H1N1 flu than they would be if they were getting the seasonal flu? Is there any more to be fearful of or just the same as the other?

SCHUCHAT: With seasonal flu, about 90 percent of deaths and about 60 percent of hospitalizations occur in people 65 and over. But with the H1N1 virus, it's all turned on its head. We've got 90 percent of the hospitalizations in people under 65. More than half of the hospitalizations are in people under 25, 90 percent of the deaths are in people under 65. So really younger people seeing these severe outcomes that much more frequently than we would with seasonal flu.

So we think it's important to protect kids and young adults. Pregnant women, adults with chronic health conditions. We think seniors probably don't need to get this H1N1 vaccine, particularly not at this point. We aren't seeing a lot of disease in them. Very important for seniors to get the seasonal flu vaccine and of course for seniors who are having fever and respiratory problems to check with their health care provider.

HOLMES: Thank you so much. That was a very good point to make and you made it very clearly. That's good information for people always to have. Again, Dr. Anne Schuchat from the CDC, thank you so much as always for giving us the updates.

SCHUCHAT: My pleasure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: For the latest information on H1N1, be sure to log on to that spot, our new website. We have a health page there, it has all the information you need. In fact, right now there's a closer look at how some hospitals are keeping up with the growing number of flu patients. Again, all at cnnhealth.com.

NGUYEN: And for the latest information period, you want to stay right here in the CNN NEWSROOM, it continues at the top of the hour with Fredericka Whitfield who is on her perch.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm laughing because I'm on that perch. I feel like Amazon woman, that's who I am for Halloween today.

HOLMES: You did a growth spurt over the week.

WHITFIELD: I feel huge. My feet aren't even touching the ground.

NGUYEN: You're dangling, that's something.

WHITFIELD: It happened maybe when I was four or five or something? It's been a while.

NGUYEN: We'll get you a better chair.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much. Oh yes, what's going on up here and down here and everywhere else? We're going to be focusing on some interesting political races, governor's races, New Jersey as well as Virginia. Our Paul Steinhauser is going to be joining us. And also a new interesting shift in a congressional race, New York race. Wondering if this kind of is a prelude to what may be anticipated in the next year of campaigning particularly as we approach the midterm elections.

Also 4:00 Eastern time today, I hope you join us. We're going to be talking about silent witnesses. Still aghast at what took place at Richmond High School earlier in the week, a gang rape. So many people were there, yet failed to do anything. Some were participating in it. Some of the arrests now. Six arrests have taken place.

We're going to be talking in this one hour, in the 4:00 eastern hour, exactly how does it come to this, something so heinous could take place, so few people would want to involve themselves in a positive way by seeking help stopping what's going on. We have a number of people, guests, psychologists. We also have a student with Richmond Heights who's going to be joining us. We hope you can be part of the conversation in the 4:00 Eastern hour about really, what's next.

NGUYEN: It has you scratching your head going what in the world happened? Why didn't anyone speak up? OK thank you Fred.

HOLMES: We'll see you in a minute.

NGUYEN: Listen to this story folks, it's pretty interesting. A musician actually takes revenge after an airline loses his guitar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. So, first United Airlines broke his guitar, now it lost his luggage.

HOLMES: The guy is not whining about it at all. He's singing about it. Jeanne Moos reports on one airline passenger's musical revenge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One thing we are all United on, when baggage handlers mess up a guy's guitar -- he writes a song about it. The airline should try not to lose his luggage the next time. He got famous for putting his complaint about United on YouTube this summer. Though he never got his $1200 repair bill reimbursed. He did get offers to speak on improving customer service. On his way to a speaking engagement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: United was the only way to get here and they lost my bag.

MOOS: Lost his bag, took almost three days to return it.

(On camera): Dave couldn't wear the dress shoes he wanted to wear to the presentation and he couldn't hand out CDs of "United breaks Guitars." Because they were all in the suitcase United lost.

(Voice-over): When Dave mentioned his guitar video, United reps said they knew it and suggested that in his next song --

VOICE OF DAVE CARROLL, MUSICIAN (via telephone): I write about how great the service reps were who were trying to return my bag in Denver.

MOOS: He's already written two songs giving his version of events.

CARROLL: While on the ground the passengers said from the seat behind me.

MOOS: A third song is on the way. The guitar saga has been great for the Canadian's performing career. He's even endorsed a line of hard shell instrument cases. He testified and sang at a congressional hearing on passengers' rights. (On camera): They really picked the wrong guy's luggage to lose.

(Voice-over): United says, "We apologized to Mr. Carroll for this inconvenience. It's unfortunate but it's also an anomaly, 99.6 percent of bags we carry arrive without incident." Unfortunately for United, this .4 percent sings.

But at least Dave's guitar was reparable. United didn't pull a Jon Belushi. A parody has even popped up suggesting Dave unite with United.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Maybe he should just carry it on next time.

HOLMES: You learn your lesson. There are always incidents.

NGUYEN: You have your own to talk about.

HOLMES: I have a long-standing feud with one airline as well that I won't mention.

NGUYEN: I've been doing OK so far. But I carry everything on. I don't ever check anything, unless I absolutely have to. For good reason apparently.

HOLMES: Obviously, Fredricka we have learned our lessons.

WHITFIELD: I have a combo experience. Combing your two experiences there, I have a long standing feud with a particular airline. I lost my luggage too, but now, just like you Betty I always carry on.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Because I never got all my stuff recovered.

NGUYEN: That stinks, too.

WHITFIELD: Everyone has had that experience I think, though, right?

NGUYEN: Unfortunately. That's why you wise up. We're looking forward to the show, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Have a great day.