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Washington on High Alert; Looking for Work and Solutions; Generic Vs. Brand-Name Medicine; Flood Evacuation Could End Soon; The Children of 9/11 Reflect; Thousands of Rounds of Ammunition Missing; 9/11 Memorial in PA
Aired September 10, 2011 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, new worries of a terror plot. Police are visibly out in force in New York and Washington this weekend. This comes after U.S. officials say they received information of a credible yet unconfirmed plot to attack those cities. There's new information on what and who police are looking for. We'll bring that to you in a live report in a few moments.
Meantime, a live picture from Ground Zero, the site of New York's World Trade Center. A memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral is under way right now to honor the 343 firefighters killed when the twin towers collapsed 10 years ago, that ceremony taking place in midtown. The picture you're seeing right now in downtown Manhattan.
So some ammunition is missing, by the way, from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, quite a lot of ammunition. About 14,000 rounds. They are the bullets used in the military's M-16 and M-4 assault rifles. Army officials locked down the post a couple of days ago. No one in or out allowed during the search. The ammo is still missing.
All right. Now to that new terror plot. U.S. officials announced this week they had credible yet unconfirmed information that a plot was under way to attack either New York or Washington or both. Let's get right to Susan Candiotti in New York. So Susan, are you getting important new details about what or who U.S. officials are looking for?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. We're learning interesting new information about the timing of this possible conspiracy. At least two of the three men involved in this possible terror plot have traveled to the United States last week. Of course it remains unconfirmed as does the plot as to whether these people arrived in the United States. The authorities are still working on the assumption however that they may have already arrived in the United States.
A third man that is believed to be part of this possible group was traveling in Europe. Now, two of the three men we've been telling you about have been described as U.S. citizens. We are also now learning that two of the three of them are also of Arab descent. Now it's been difficult trying to track down these men because their names are very common in the mideast. However authorities are using tools that include flight manifests and logs to try to determine whether these people exist and if they did, whether, in fact, they headed to the United States and made it here.
Now, this discovery, remember, is only 72 hours old. That's when authorities first intercepted a communication from an Al Qaeda operative located in Pakistan, someone that they have called who has had credible information in the past. Again, the target appears to be in New York and Washington involved in this alleged plot. And also the discussion was about using - the chatter was about the fact that they were going to use either cars or trucks to load up with bombs in carrying out their attack. Fred?
WHITFIELD: And meantime, Susan, how has this or perhaps even tomorrow's ceremonies - how has that already started to impact getting around in New York City?
CANDIOTTI: Well, it's been difficult certainly in the last couple of days because the NYPD has really poured on their efforts to carry out random checks in security checkpoints at trucks and bridges and highways and tunnels and the like and doing random searches of cars and trucks as well. Also we've learned that just earlier today, D.H.S. secretary Janet Napolitano got a personal briefing from New York's police commissioner and a tour of the joint operation center there where they conduct a lot of the surveillance. And she was given -- they had a thorough discussion, I am told, about the current threat environment here in the city.
WHITFIELD: all right. Susan Candiotti in lower Manhattan, thank you.
A short while ago, former presidents Bush and Clinton attended the dedication of a memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It honors 40 passengers and crew who died on Flight 93 on 9/11. CNN's David Mattingly joining us now from Shanksville. You were among the first reporters to actually get on the scene when that happened back in 2001. And now you get a chance to see how that field has transformed.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. It has transformed from a site of a tragedy to a site of inspiration, a very pastoral seen here, a beautiful rolling hills with wildflowers and grass planted here. Today's ceremonies were to open this memorial to remember the sacrifices of those passengers onboard flight 93 who turned on their hijackers and kept that plane from reaching Washington, D.C.. It has long been said that this is the site of the first victory in the war on terror.
And today it was former President George W. Bush who laid that out for the crowd here explaining that these people weren't soldiers. These were just ordinary citizens going about their lives who all happened to be on the same plane and made a very fateful decision.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: With their selfless act, the men and women who stormed the cockpit lived out the words "greater love hath no man than this than a man lay down his life for his friends." With their brave decision, they launched the first counteroffensive of the war on terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And everything you see back here behind me, it might look like that this memorial is ready for the public and to remember the memory of these -- the flight and the crew and the passengers of Flight 93. But it's not finished. Ten years after the crash of that plane here in the field behind me, they are still $10 million short of being able to complete this national monument. So what they're doing now, they're trying to make sure everybody is aware that the job is not done. And that fell today to former President Bill Clinton who spoke to the crowd. Listen?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Since I am no longer in office, I can do unpopular things. I told the secretary of the Interior, the head of your development program, that I was aghast to find out we still need to raise $10 million to finish this place. And Speaker Boehner and I have already volunteered to do a bipartisan event in Washington. Let's get this show on the road. Let's roll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: You heard him say there "let's roll" taking the words of passenger Todd Beemer made famous when he and others moved against the hijackers and eventually brought the plane down here in this open field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. David Mattingly, thanks so much from Shanksville.
The men who were president and defense secretary on September 11th, 2001, paying tribute to the 184 people who died at the Pentagon that day. Former President George W. Bush laid a memorial wreath there this morning. His defense secretary at the time, Donald Rumsfeld, and the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also in attendance.
And President Barack Obama spent part of this morning at Arlington National Cemetery, he and the first lady visited the section of the cemetery devoted mainly to U.S. military fatalities from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
And here's a sight you don't see too often in New York City. Strangers holding hands. Thousands of people participated in a human chain in lower Manhattan. It began at 8:46 this morning. That's when the first plane hit the World Trade center's north tower back in 2001 on 9/11. The theme of the event was unity.
And thousands gathered in New Jersey's Liberty State Park to dedicate the empty sky memorial. 746 New Jersey residents were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Their names are all etched in a stainless steel memorial on the Hudson River. At the dedication, Governor Chris Christie said people should focus on their loved ones, not vengeance.
Thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will pause tomorrow to reflect on the 10 years since the 9/11 attacks. Our Suzanne Malveaux talks with four soldiers who were serving at the Pentagon that day. After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: U.S. troops and those from several countries will gather at a base in Kabul, Afghanistan, tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. local time. It's for a somber flag ceremony to remember the event that precipitated the war in Afghanistan. The terror attacks of September 11th. Even though many U.S. service members were still in grade school on that day, plenty of senior military men and women take a very personal view of 9/11. Here now is Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thomas Carter was in room 4D 131 of the Pentagon when it was hit.
COL. THOMAS CARTER, U.S. AIR FORCE: I heard a loud, sonic boom, and then after that boom, it was like an earthquake had actually hit the Pentagon. That massive building actually literally shook. It was a feeling of surprise and shock and then anger.
MALVEAUX: Colonel Todd Key was also inside the Pentagon on the other side. He had just gotten off the phone with his wife.
COL. TODD KEY, U.S. ARMY: I swear, I thought she was dead. I just had that feeling that she was dead.
MALVEAUX: Key realized she was alive, when he reunited with her after escaping the burning building.
KEY: I realized, too, that everyone who died in the Pentagon, has a family and it made it real to me that was a - it was different at that moment, it was different.
MALVEAUX: Colonel David Komar was thinking about his five and two- year-old children when he began carrying out the toddlers at the Pentagon day care.
COL. DAVID KOMAR, U.S. ARMY: What was painful was the thoughts that went through my head that, perhaps, some of those children's parents had perished.
MALVEAUX: For Captain Jason Gracin, the pain of 9/11 was different. He had to leave his pregnant wife to identify the Pentagon bodies.
CAPT. JASON GRACIN, U.S. AIR FORCE: I was the one who was taken all the x-rays on all the victims and trying to match dental records. To be honest the toughest part was at the end of the day, they would take the victims that were ready to be transported back to the families -
MALVEAUX (on camera): It's OK. Take your time.
GRACIN: The hearse.
MALVEAUX: Take your time. It's OK.
Take your time. You want to join him? It's OK. It's OK.
GRACIN: The hearses would come, the military escorts, we would all line up and render that final salute. And you do that enough times, it wears on you. You know that could have been me, it could have been one of these guys, and they all had families and that was the worst part. That was the worst part.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And checking some other stories from around the world now, opposition forces in Libya have launched an assault on one of Moammar Gadhafi's last strongholds, Bani Walid, southeast of Tripoli. But they have met stiff resistance. Some of them have pulled back. The fighting broke out after a deadline for the town to surrender passed without a deal. Opposition leaders believe key members of Gadhafi's regime, including two of his sons, may be hiding in the area.
Meanwhile, tensions in Cairo, Egypt, have settled down a day after protesters attacked the Israeli embassy. At least three people were killed and hundreds more hurt in clashes between the protesters and security forces. Tensions between Egypt and Israel have been building since last month when Israeli forces killed five Egyptian police officers along the Israeli/Egyptian border.
And a ferry accident in Tanzania has killed at least 158 people. More than 500 others have been rescued. The boat capsized in the Indian Ocean off the island of Zanzibar. Authorities say it was carrying more cargo than allowed. And dozens of unregistered passengers were on board.
For hundreds of children, the September 11th terror attacks couldn't be more personal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anywhere you went, we're right away labeled as the 9/11 kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Hear from children who lost so much 10 years ago, their reflections and memories coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: At the top of the hour, CNN's Don Lemon will be coming up with more of the "Newsroom." But this one's a little different. Because instead of being here in Atlanta, he's going to be coming from Tampa. There he is right now. All of just a couple of days away from the Republican presidential debate. The Tea Party Express presidential debate. OK. So Don, what more can you tell us? A little preview?
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you first, Fred, I miss you because I haven't seen you in a month of Sundays.
WHITFIELD: Forever.
LEMON: I actually like - I know, what's going on? We're working, we have lives.
WHITFIELD: I know.
LEMON: Hey listen, I'm going - let me take you, I want to show you inside the debate hall and then you and I can chat about the debate coming on Monday.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: But let's give you and our viewers a little preview of this set-up we have here in Tampa, Florida. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON (on camera): All right. CNN is back on the road again. Last time you saw me, we were in Manchester, New Hampshire, and we had this huge set-up for the debate. Now look, everything loaded on to tractor-trailers. And we've turned another arena really into a studio for the folks who are going to be participating in the first-ever Tea Party debate.
Look at this. This was just a regular old concert hall, an event hall. Let's go up on the stage and see how we've transformed it. All right. This is just our little walkway right here. A little fancy CNN, as they call the lip. And these things up here, one that I showed you last time we called them the chandeliers here. They're doing the lighting test, check that out.
Lights going off. We want to make the candidates look good and of course, we want to make Wolf Blitzer look good, who's going to be doing this particular hosting in this particular debate. More than 30 large L.E.D. screens, large L.E.D. screens that we have. And remember these from last time? These big 30 x 20, I think - they're huge, let's put it that way, these screens. That will be remotes from people who are not here and will be answering questions - taking question in there.
And then this one will be for social media. And right on front, turn all the way around here, that's the podiums where the candidates will be standing there, put those on stage. And then right in the middle that's where the questions from people who have already been chosen from the audience, they're going to put seats up for them and then of course the rest of the audience back there.
So again, it's going to be great. Once again, we've transformed a regular old event hall into a super duper fantastic CNN studio. We'll see you Monday night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Fred, you can see it doesn't take much to get me excited.
WHITFIELD: You ought to be in picture. LEMON: I love - I know. I love doing this stuff. But, again, it's going to be eight candidates. It's history. It's the first-ever Tea Party debate and we have the honor of hosting it. And Wolf Blitzer is doing it. As a matter of fact, Wolf, I just him a couple of minutes ago. He's here. He's flying back to D.C. to host our coverage from the Pentagon tomorrow. And then he's coming back here to do this on Monday. Fred.
WHITFIELD: We're going to look forward to that. And then, of course, we'll be watching you this evening as well when you're bringing the "Newsroom" this weekend edition to Tampa. So we'll see you then, thanks so much, Don.
LEMON: All right, Fred.
WHITFIELD: I'm going to call central casting now for you. OK. So be sure to tune in Monday night as CNN, the Tea Party Express and other Tea Party groups co-host the Republican candidates debate in Tampa, Florida, the site of the 2012 GOP National Convention. That's Monday, 8:00 Eastern. You don't want to miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Action, drama and thrills at the movies this weekend. Two new films, "Contagion" and "Warrior" are in theaters. But are they worth your box-office bucks? Here to tell us, movie critic, Matt Atchity with Rottentomatoes.com. He's joining us live from Los Angeles.
So Matt, let's talk about this "Contagion," oh my goodness, the trailers are thrilling, all-star cast, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law.
MATT ATCHITY, ROTTENTOMATOES.COM: I should point out and CNN's own Sanjay Gupta makes an appearance.
WHITFIELD: That's right. He's in it, too. So this is centering about an outbreak of some deadly disease, right?
ATCHITY: Yes. Pardon me - no, just kidding.
WHITFIELD: Hope you're feeling all right. We (INAUDIBLE) you hot water (INAUDIBLE).
ATCHITY: No.
WHITFIELD: OK. In this clip that we're about to see, Matt Damon finds out that his wife, that's Gwyneth Paltrow, right? Has died.
ATCHITY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Let's take a quick look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As of last night, there were 32 cases. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately she did die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Can I go talk to her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your wife is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you talking about? What happened to her? What happened to her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's transmission.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were two people and then four and then 16. In two months, it's a billion. That's where we're headed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. It looks thrilling. You know what it's starting to remind me a little bit of "Outbreak," remember that too?
ATCHITY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. I digress. Let's talk about this.
ATCHITY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: All right. "Contagion." We'll stick with it.
ATCHITY: So this is a good movie. This is a much better movie than "Outbreak" was actually. I enjoyed it. It's Steven Sodderberg. It follows like some of his other movies like "Traffic," "Ocean's Eleven." It follows multiple plot lines at once. So everybody gets a nice little moment. The moment that we see where Matt Damon gets the news that his wife has died, that's not much of a spoiler because it happened very early in the film.
The biggest problem with this movie is that it's a little bit clinical at times in that, you know, that emotional scene with Matt Damon is probably one of the most gripping scenes in the movie. The rest of it, it kind of felt a little cold at times.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ATCHITY: But it is very interesting. It does. You know, there's a little bit of a distance to it. But that being said, it is a really solid movie. It's very interesting.
WHITFIELD: OK.
ATCHITY: If nothing else, you're going to come out of this movie knowing you need to wash your hands a lot more often -
WHITFIELD: Wash your hands, OK. ATCHITY: Because they go into - yes, there's these lingering shots of people touching things and you realize that's how the disease gets transmitted and you start to get kind of nervous. But it's a good movie. It is an excellent (INAUDIBLE). Yes, it's a good movie.
WHITFIELD: Great. And your grade is?
ATCHITY: My grade, I give it a "B." I think it's definitely worth seeing.
WHITFIELD: Impressive. You're a tough grader, let me tell you.
OK. The second movie - let's talk about "Warrior" now. Action-packed in a very different way, drama, two brothers who take very different paths in life, facing off in the world of mixed martial arts kind of fighting. Let's check out their story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know who the toughest man on the planet is. That's what we're going to find out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brandon, it's me, Pop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tommy's back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he say he wants to see me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm proud of you Tommy. What you did for that kid that day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was I supposed to do? Let him drown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tommy (INAUDIBLE), you saved my life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, Brandon, the bank has got to go by the new appraisal figures. You're upside down on your mortgage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much do you need?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't come here for a loan. I was hoping you would train me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you serious?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought we agreed that we weren't going to raise our children in a family where your father gets beat up for a living.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brandon, you're a teacher, you got no business in the ring with those animals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually I used to be one of those animals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So real quick, we only have 30 seconds, what do you think of "Warrior" and your grade?
ATCHITY: I got to tell you. This is one of the best things I've seen all year.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ATCHITY: I loved this movie. And I predict Nick Nolte is going to get an Oscar nomination. I strongly recommend it. I give it an "A."
WHITFIELD: An "A"? OK. You know what?
ATCHITY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: You know, somebody else who happens to be watching, Tyler Perry, movie-maker, he tweeted too that had he thinks it's kind of "Rocky-esque."
ATCHITY: Yes, absolutely. It does feel like "Rocky" in a big way. It's a very dramatic film. Great performances from the leads. You'll be really happy if you go see this. I will admit, I got a little choked up at the end.
WHITFIELD: Oh you did? You got a little bit clumped?
ATCHITY: I did. I got a little bit clamped.
WHITFIELD: OK. That's sweet. OK. It moved you in many different ways. Giving it an "A." All right. Very good. Matt Atchity , thanks so much. Always great to see you.
ATCHITY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Too little too late, in Pennsylvania, receding floodwaters but many people still face danger. Up next, a live look at the disaster.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Top stories, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, new worries of a terror plot. Police are visibly out in full force in New York and in Washington this weekend. This comes after U.S. officials say they received information of a credible yet unconfirmed plot to attack those cities. A government official tells CNN, two of the three suspects believed to be plotting against the U.S. on this anniversary are Americans but of Arab descent who traveled to the U.S. just this past week.
And take a look right now of this live image on Ground Zero there. That huge flag was just unfurled by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That flag ordinarily flying on the George Washington Bridge there in Manhattan. But it was hung on this eve to commemorate that 10-year mark for 9/11. It right now is on the south face of the 1 World Trade Center. All right. Meantime, some ammunition is missing from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Quite a lot of ammunition, in fact, about 14,000 rounds. They are the bullets used in the military's M-16 and M-4 assault rifles. Army officials locked down the post just a couple of days ago, no one in, no one out during the search. The ammo however is still missing.
And former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton spoke this afternoon at the unveiling of the 9/11 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania in honor of the 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Airlines Flight 93. And former president George W. Bush laying a memorial wreath at the Pentagon earlier this morning. Looking on is former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One hundred eighty-four people died at the Pentagon in the 9/11 attacks.
And we're going live to Washington, D.C. now. That's where the visible police presence is much higher today and will be tomorrow, of course.
CNN's Athena Jones is at the FBI Field Office to fill us in on the high security in and around Washington - Athena.
ATHENA JONES, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
There's a lot of them - law enforcement presence all around town, every department. We've spoken to the Capitol Police, the Park Police, Secret Service, Metro Transit and of course the Police Department. There are more officers out, all kinds of officers, specialty teams, officers in plainclothes and in uniform, on foot, on horseback, on motorcycles. So they've really got it covered.
The D.C. police have added 200 to 400 additional officers to the schedule, depending on - on the time of day. They're doing 12-hour overlapping shifts.
And one of the things they're emphasizing for the public is general vigilance, to pay attention and to report any suspicious activity. We spoke with the Assistant Director of the Washington Field Office here, James McJunkin, a little earlier today. Let's listen to what he had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES MCJUNKIN, ASS. DIR., FBI WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: We should and do give a lot of credit to the public for - for what they do. Because I think the public understands what they do, what their surroundings are, you know, what it looks like when they go to work in the morning, what it looks like when they get on the trains in the morning, what it looks like in their neighborhoods. And they're the best people to know when there's something out of place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so McJunkin said this is very important for the public to stay engaged. He estimated as much as 85 percent of the tips that the FBI gets comes from ordinary people just paying attention.
And I'll add one more thing, the D.C. Police Chief we spoke with earlier today as well said that in the last day they've seen a big uptick in reports of suspicious activity. They're getting about 30 an hour when usually they get 7 to 10.
And so they're running down all those leads. Not finding anything so far which is a good thing. But they want to encourage the public to continue to stay engaged, to pay attention, keep their eyes and ears open - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. Athena Jones, thanks so much from Washington.
So will President Obama's latest plan really help create jobs? We'll have reaction from two people who are unemployed and looking for work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Unemployment is still one of the biggest concerns for Americans right now. The president revealed his plans to help the long term unemployed this week.
And yesterday, I spoke with two women, who have been out of work for more than a year now to see if they are at all encouraged by his speech.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHANNA HILL, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: I think the plan will work. Of course, there's going to be some spending. But, you know - you know, like I said earlier, anything you do in order to make money, you'll have to spend some money.
I really think they should really work together, Democrats and Republicans. Stop the bickering. Stop the fighting, because actually we're suffering right now. As a nation, we're suffering.
WHITFIELD: And that's something you said a few weeks ago, you said the most discouraging thing here was the bickering and it seemed that the stalled efforts on Capitol Hill. We've already heard from some Republicans, including Eric Cantor and John McCain who said, there are some things in this proposal they like. But there are still some things they might not necessarily be on board with.
Is your worry that those things might hold up the entire plan?
HILL: Of course, definitely. I just - I hope that those people who are against part of the plan would look at it as a whole and see how it's going to affect us as a whole and know that we are going to have to spend something to get these millions of people back to work.
WHITFIELD: J (ph), among the things that would be appealing to you, the extending of unemployment benefits, that was something in the plan.
JETAYA MCGHEE, UNEMPLOYED WORKER: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And also incentives for employers to hire people who have been out of work a long time.
MCGHEE: Absolutely, because I think the problem now is that employers are looking at the long-term unemployed and not wanting - and they're leery about hiring us.
WHITFIELD: And maybe the incentives, then, being offered will -
MCGHEE: I think that the incentives being offered would definitely encourage employers to hire the long-term unemployed.
HILL: It will help.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. And generic or brand-named drugs? You would think the choice would be clear, whichever saved you the most money, right?
Well, not so fast. We'll find out if generic drugs always get you the best bargain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Times are tough and people are looking for ways to save and stretch their dollar. And the high cost of prescription medicine is forcing many to turn to generic drugs.
But are generic pills really best for your health and your budget. That's the subject of our weekly look at how to get healthy and stay healthy.
Dr. Bill Lloyd, our Healthy Living expert, joining us now from Sacramento. So, Dr. Bill, tell us the difference between generic and brand-name medicine.
DR. BILL LLOYD, HEALTHY LIVING EXPERT: Well, Fredricka, the active ingredients in a brand drug and the generic pill have to be identical. But it's the other stuff in these tablets that make up most of the weight of these tablets.
Here's today's word, "excipients." Those materials like fillers and binders and preservatives and buffers are not consistently used in generics. There's great variation. The point being, it can affect the potency and the metabolism of that drug.
So whenever a doctor prescribes a new generic or you switch generics, it's always important to get back to your doctor four to six weeks later to make sure the pill still works the way it's supposed to.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.
LLOYD: If not, switch to another generic or get back to the brand- name drug. WHITFIELD: So some generic drugs can be up to 80 percent cheaper than brand-name medicine. It's hard to overlook that kind of savings and lots of times it really is what makes people a decision.
LLOYD: It could make a big difference. So we see the ads for $3 and $4 generics. There's a long list of them. A lot of them are very old drugs. But you have to be careful and if you have insurance, you want to make sure, what's my copay and what's my deductible? This is doubly important, Fredricka, for Medicare recipients who are involved in Part D, that donut they talk about. It's true.
Some generics may cost these people more out of their pocket than the brand-name drugs. So you always check beforehand. What's the difference in my out-of-pocket cost using my insurance or Medicare to get this new medication?
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. And then generic pills usually white or pink. Any safety concerns for people when switching or considering even switching their prescription?
LLOYD: Sure. If all your tablets are white, you can see the great risk there in patient safety and somebody accidentally picking the wrong pill, again, particularly for older people or people with cognitive problems.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LLOYD: So there's a great push by health advocates to force makers of generic drugs to not only carry over the active ingredient, but also the appearance of the tablet. It should look like that little blue tablet or that red and green capsule just like the brand name.
Now, the manufacturers say, hold on now, the patent may have elapsed, but not the brand of that product. And we're going to be using it for an over-the-counter remedy or we're going to make the generic ourselves and we want it to look like our products. You're going to have to figure out some other solution.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So any other tips when deciding between generic or brand-name medicine?
LLOYD: Here's a couple of good ones. Any time a doctor writes a new prescription, always ask, hey, is it available as a generic? Could I actually save some money?
You can go to FDA website, FDA.gov. They have a directory there of all generic drugs that are available. Again, double-check your insurance on what your eligibility is for both the deductible and the co-payment so you only have to pay the least. Be sure you follow up. Get back to your doctor to make sure that the pill works.
WHITFIELD: Sure.
LLOYD: If it doesn't, they need to switch it to a different medication. And finally, Fredricka, always engage your pharmacist. Don't just grab the bag and leave. Actually take the time to look at the containers and say, hey, this name is not familiar. What is this all about and find out if your generics may have been switched.
WHITFIELD: Right. And people can make mistakes. It happens all the time, right?
All right. Dr. Bill Lloyd -
LLOYD: It totally can.
WHITFIELD: -- all right, thanks so much from Sacramento.
All right. On to Pennsylvania, a zoo has to make a terrible choice after rising floodwaters trap the animals and the animals begin to panic.
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WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Texas. It frees up federal funding for wildfires scorching Bastrop County. Blazes have destroyed almost 1,400 homes since wildfires started there about a week ago. The fires in Bastrop County have turned parts of the county into a nearly post-apocalyptic scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to get in and I can't right now. I want to have the peace of mind that, yes, my house is gone. I can actually look and see that my house is gone for my own eyes. I have to have that for my own eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have lost everything. We have no insurance on our house. We have nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Two people were found dead this week during a search of a charred subdivision. And since the beginning of the year, more than 3.5 million acres have burned in Texas.
And in New York and Pennsylvania, high water that chased people from their homes is finally starting to recede. Nine deaths are blamed on the flooding which was triggered by remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.
And then a horrifying scene at a Hershey, Pennsylvania, Zoo as rising water traps the two bison that you see right there. Well, in the end, zookeepers had to shoot the bison to spare them from drowning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINDY BIANCA, SPOKESWOMAN, ZOOAMERICA (voice-over): It looked like the animals were panicking, the two bison that were in the enclosure, their heads were barely above water and they were panicking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Too sad. And with water levels now dropping, people are now awaiting the evacuation orders to be lifted so they can get back and see what is left of their homes.
CNN's John Zarrella is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. So, John, what is the latest? When might people be able to get back to their homes?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, a few people have started coming back here. Harrisburg is the shy poke neighborhood, historic district here.
And, Fredricka, if you look down the street this way, you can see water, although it's receded. When we got here this morning, it was literally up above the sidewalks on both sides. If you look down the street this way, it's water.
Now, Tony lives over here. He's already started taking out the carpeting and pulling all that out. He had about three feet of water in his home.
If you look down the street that way, there's some guys coming back to their house, and there's water that way.
So, still, lots of miserable, dirty-standing water. There's a sheen on it. There's mud everywhere. There's debris like this log just floating in the water here. So it still going to be days before these people can get back in here, before the power's turned back on, before the gas is turned back on, before all the basements are pumped out here.
But the river has receded. It's about 200 yards from me here. It's back in its banks and it has been a beautiful sunny day here all day. So that's the good news. And the people here, they have flood insurance and they're used to it here. It floods here. It flooded in 2004. It flooded during Hurricane Agnus. So they know what to expect. And they're resilient and they just say, they don't move because most of the time, they've got a great view of a beautiful river - Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. It just comes with those trappings every now and then.
All right. John Zarrella -
ZARRELLA: Yes, yes.
WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much.
Jacqui Jeras is here in the Weather Center now. So, Jacqui, you know, this northeast flooding has been significant -
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: -- and it's not quite over, is it?
JERAS: Well, it's not. You know, like John mentioned that the rivers are receding and they have crested. But we still have a lot of high water that you could see standing in there. We still have a couple of days - WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: -- before those rivers are back below flood stage. On top of that, we have a little weak system here that's going to bring in additional showers. And we also have some dry, windy conditions yet in parts of Texas. So those two things are kind of working together. Unfortunately, more wet for the wet, more dry for the dry.
Let's talk a little bit more specifically about the wet. We still had flood warnings that are in place across about half a dozen states. We're looking at the rivers to be below flood stage on Monday and into Tuesday. Now, the additional rainfall is in that forecast. So it's accounted for. So this is still what we're expecting despite maybe an additional inch of rain potentially in some of those areas.
Now, as we look long term, that's our big concern. Because in the upcoming months, we have very little rain in the forecast for Texas and looks potentially wetter in the northeast. Why is that? Well, you've heard us talk about La Nina and El Nino. Well, unfortunately climate experts are telling us they think La Nina is making a big comeback. And what happens during La Nina years is that we typically have drier-than-normal conditions in the south and wetter-than-normal conditions in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley.
So what that does that mean to you? It means the drought continues for Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico with warmer temperatures across much of the southern tier of the United States. On top of that, you know, we're coming off of what was a very significant record winter for snowfall. And that was due to La Nina that was last fall into the early part of the spring.
This year, we had the record winter snow pack that brought a lot of melting later in the season than normal. So we had the flooding that took place in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers both. And we had our extreme drought that's been ongoing in Texas and Oklahoma. So, unfortunately, you know, we're going to stay dry in the south. Staying wet in the north. Certainly not something that people really want to see.
Now, let's also talk about climatology. And another note here for a second, this is the peak of hurricane season. Today is the day, September 10th is the climatological peak. And there you can see that map that we have more tropical systems than - than any other time of the year. We've got a couple of things out there. We've got Nate. We've got Maria. Neither we're too worried about right now. And we're also watching the remnants of Katia that believe it or not are going to make their way all the way over to the British Isles.
That's the latest on your weather forecast for you. Fredricka is going to be back in the NEWSROOM right after the break.
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WHITFIELD: Returning to New York City, just in time for the 10th anniversary commemoration of the Navy's "USS New York." A transport dock vessel named after the city and built in part from pieces of steel salvaged from the wreckage of the World Trade Center. The ship docked in New York Harbor yesterday and will serve as a backdrop for memorial events scheduled for tomorrow.
And for the children of 9/11, tomorrow isn't just the anniversary of an American catastrophe. It means it has been 10 years since they lost a mom or a dad. Looking at the World Trade Center site where so many lives were lost, you can't help but think about these young faces of tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COURTNEY LENOIR, AGE 9 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: On 9/11, I lost my father, John Robinson Lenoir.
TAJ CLARK, AGE 7 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: Benjamin Keith Clark. He's an executive chef.
GABRIELLA ROMERO, AGE 2 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: My dad was Alvin Romero.
SIMA LICHTSCHEIN, AGE 11 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: My uncle's name was Edward Lichtschein.
ERIN COUGHLIN, AGE 16 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: Sgt. John Coughlin.
BRITTANY CLARK, AGE 10 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: I was in my fifth-grade class and my teacher said, everyone look outside the window.
JESSICA MURPHY, AGE 5 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: My teacher said it was just a little accident. Then I realized that it was much bigger than that.
B. CLARK: My first thought was, is my father OK?
DONALD SPAMPINATO, AGE 6 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: We were all in her bedroom watching this TV show.
MATTHEW BRODERICK, AGE 7 ON SEPT. 11, 2001: I remember asking her, like, oh, mom, what movie are you watching?
SPAMPINATO: I remember she said that they're all gone.
BRODERICK: I guess that it just didn't click to me that what I was watching wasn't a movie.
SPAMPINATO: And like I remember looking out the window and just saying the whole thing was a dream.
LENOIR: Nobody else has lost a parent on national television, on the news. Nobody else has seen it happen over and over again. And that's something that we all have to live with.
COUGHLIN: Well, my mother sat us down and had every cop's kids worst nightmare talk that daddy wasn't coming home. My little sister at the time just screamed out loud. All of a sudden, I was the oldest of the family. I had to step up right at that exact minute.
T. CLARK: Like I was very, very angry. I know I punched a wall. LICHTSCHEIN: And I saw the world as like a gross, vulgar place full of hatred.
LENOIR: I do not remember a good two years of my life because I like just emotionally have blocked it all out.
A. ROMERO: Yes. I don't really - I don't really remember anything about it. Sometimes I think it was a better thing that I didn't know him and then he was like taken away from me or if it was the worst thing that I did and gets us to spend like it's the last time that I would have known him.
G. ROMERO: And when your friends complain like, oh, my dad's so annoying, or like he wouldn't let me go out or he wouldn't let me do this, it's like, you will get mad because you would do anything to have dad. And they complain and they don't really appreciate what they have.
SPAMPINATO: If we're talking about 9/11 in class -
A. ROMERO: Everybody would turn around and stare at me.
SPAMPINATO: -- because they always know that I was affected by it directly.
A. ROMERO: Sometimes it makes me feel a tiny bit agitated because it's not like I would want to be known as, oh, his dad died, his dad was killed. I don't want to be known as that. I just want them to know me as me, like for who I am.
COUGHLIN: And anywhere you went, we're right away labeled as the 9/11 kids.
LENOIR: You always get people who are trying to help saying, like I know how you feel, everything's going to be OK.
B. CLARK: Brittany, I'm sorry that this happened to you, or Brittany, is there anything we can do? It makes me feel kind of cornered when everyone is around me is like, oh, yes, Brittany, you lost your father, are you OK?
COUGHLIN: I think people expect us to fail sometimes.
G. ROMERO: Every night I need to talk to my mom and my brother right before I go to sleep because I'm always afraid something is going to happen to them, too.
MURPHY: Because I'm afraid if I lost one parent, I'm afraid on losing the other.
COUGHLIN: Life is short.
BRODERICK: It could be taken away in an instant, just like it did on that Tuesday morning.
B. CLARK: I cry more. I grieve more because now I recognize what I've lost.
COUGHLIN: My mother will stand in the middle of the kitchen be like, can you please stop acting just like your father?
MURPHY: But my mom always tells my sister and I that we have his smile or his sense of humor.
B. CLARK: It took me a very long time to, like, not move on from the situation but to accept the situation. But in the end, we came out pretty well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And join us for our special, "9/11, TEN YEARS LATER," live coverage of remembrance events beginning tomorrow at 8:00 A.M. Eastern right here on CNN.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Much more of the NEWSROOM coming up at the top of the hour with Don Lemon live from Tampa, Florida.
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