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Hurricane Frances Approaches Florida; Flights, Cruises Affected by Frances; Bill Clinton to Undergo Bypass Surgery
Aired September 03, 2004 - 13:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now of Newark, Ohio. Presidential Candidate John Kerry speaking at a rally there to supporters. We're actually monitoring this to see if the candidate talks about the former President Bill Clinton.
As you know, we've been talking throughout the day about the breaking news story that Clinton is now in New York, in a hospital, getting ready for bypass surgery. A lot of ins and outs of coronary bypass surgery that we're learning about. We're going to talk now with Emory University cardiologist Randy Martin -- a little more detailed look at the surgery and what the former president is in for.
Great to have you, Doctor. Maybe we should sort of set up -- coronary bypass surgery and what takes a person to this point. What does it mean?
DR. RANDY MARTIN, CARDIOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Kyra, good afternoon.
Certainly, coronary artery bypass surgery is one of the two procedures that are commonly done when people have blockage of the coronary arteries -- the little arteries that feed your heart muscle. Angioplasty is most commonly done.
Bypass surgery, though, is now done -- we don't know the extent of president Clinton's narrowing of his arteries -- but generally is done when somebody has significant narrowing of what's called the left main -- the main artery feeding most of the heart muscle -- or has severe narrowing of all three blood vessels. So, that would probably be why President Clinton would be undergoing bypass surgery.
PHILLIPS: And of course, any type of surgery can be dangerous. But sort of put in perspective for us how common it is, how -- a number of people have it. And what's the survival rate?
MARTIN: Yes, I think that certainly we would feel that President Clinton is in otherwise in good shape. He has not been a smoker. He's not currently overweight. I don't know anything about his medical history, but I don't imagine that he has any other lung or other problems. So, he enters this operation in good physical shape.
This is really a blockage of an artery, almost like a blockage of a pipe. And so, we would anticipate that he would do very well. He will most likely have an internal mammary artery -- which is the little artery that runs on both sides of our sternum or our breastbone -- those last longer. That will be one -- or both of those would be used. And then maybe a vein from his leg -- the so-called saphenous vein.
So, he might have three, four, or five bypasses. This procedure will take -- would take anywhere from two to four hours. And then, the president will be in the recovery room and in intensive care unit for anywhere from 24 hours or less. If he's in good shape, he might have the breathing tube taken out right away.
And it's not inconceivable, if he's had no prior heart damage, that he would be released from the hospital in four or five days. We commonly do this.
PHILLIPS: A surgery like this can create a little damage, can't it?
OK, Doctor, hold on just a second. We're going to go to John Kerry now in Ohio. I believe he's talking about the former president.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... bypass surgery that's going to take place, I think, tomorrow. But every single one of us -- every single one of us wants to extend to him our best wishes, our prayers, and our thoughts. And I want you all to let a cheer out and clap that he can hear all the way to New York! All the way to New York!
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I'm sure that from the response I just heard from John Glenn's mentioning of the convention, a lot of you watched the distortion and the anger...
PHILLIPS: John Kerry mentioning, of course, the convention. I don't know if he's talking about the RNC or the DNC. But you'll remember in Boston at the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, former President Bill Clinton was John Kerry's keynote speaker. Of course, as always, one to generate quite a reception from the crowd every time that he speaks.
So, John Kerry there at a rally in Newark, Ohio, talking about the former president, wishing him well as he goes through -- or is in the hospital now in New York for bypass surgery.
We're talking with a cardiologist from Emory University, Dr. Randy Martin, about this procedure. We've sort of set it up.
Now, just because I've experienced this in my family, Doctor, kind of put in perspective, it doesn't necessarily mean that the president is unhealthy. Something that takes a surgery like this can be genetic. I know with my father, no matter what he does, how well he eats, how much he exercises, he's just got high cholesterol. And it's tough to maintain a healthy heart.
MARTIN: Absolutely. You make a valid point, that this is -- doesn't mean that the rest of the president's body is necessarily in bad shape. Atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries, does affect all the arteries all over the body.
And we know that genetics plays a role. We know that elevated cholesterol, dietary factors, and some genetic causes of that clearly play a role, as does high blood pressure, smoking -- as I said, the president doesn't smoke.
So, this could be lifestyle issues that developed. And as I understand it, the president started developing chest discomfort and shortness of breath. Those are common symptoms in his age group that we certainly would worry about. And so, he underwent further diagnostic testing and showed that he did have the blockage of his coronary arteries.
PHILLIPS: Just one quick final question: He was on the South Beach Diet. That book was written by a cardiologist. So, it's possible the president knew he had to be working on his body in one way or another, because he was having some issues.
MARTIN: I think you're exactly right. The president did lose a lot of weight on that particular diet.
This does not occur overnight. The narrowing doesn't occur overnight. And modifying it takes some time. Lifestyle is very important. Diet, weight, exercise is very important. And if your cholesterol is elevated, many of us believe that you should be on medication that will help lower it.
Just one quick word, the president, we would think, would have a very good outlook. There are complications with surgery, but in today's environment -- and as I understand it, he's at Columbia Pres. in New York, which is an excellent hospital -- we would anticipate that he would do very well.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Randy Martin, Emory University cardiologist, sir, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow the former president's bypass surgery, in addition to other stories happening today.
More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With Hurricane Frances closing in on Florida, let's check the status of air travel in and out of the state. Our air traffic expert Rally Caparas from Travelocity Business is at the FAA Air Command Center in Herndon, Virginia.
Rally, what can you tell us?
RALLY CAPARAS, CNN AIR TRAFFIC CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, what I can tell you is they're busy. These people here are busy, and they're doing a lot of work. There's a lot of cancellations, a lot of delays nationwide.
With me this afternoon is Rico Short. He's the national operations manager of the Command Center. Rico tell me something, I lot of people believe that the cancellations, the delays, that's the big problem, but what is it that really hampers your operations here? What is it that primarily that bothers things?
RICO SHORT, FAA NATL. OPERATIONS MANAGER: Well, Rally, as you know, our biggest concern really is just the information flow. It's essential that we get accurate information. What we try to do with that, as you know, we have our hurricane desk position up and operational. With that, we try to funnel all that information to all the adjacent facilities. So, our biggest concern really is accurate, timely information flow.
CAPARAS: Well, that makes a lot of sense. To me, it all makes sense when you start talking about the information that comes out of here. We've seen a lot of times where people have panicked about bad information, and it all be for naught. But that's not the case today.
As a matter of fact, we have some very timely information for you. We're going to talk about delays now. If you're headed into or out of the airports in the northeast -- from Boston all the way down to Charlotte -- you should see no problems whatsoever.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, however, we were predicting some delays of about 45 to 60 minutes, but on of the specialists working here to my left just advised me that Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson has less than a 50 percent chance of receiving any delays. So, Dan Collier (ph), thank you for the good news. You're likely out of delays as far as that's concerned Atlanta.
Orlando, they're looking at a possible closure of the airport if the winds exceed 65 knots, and that was, as per Rico Short, just a couple of hours ago.
Fort Lauderdale Airport has canceled all flights. They've closed the airport. We have no idea when that airport is going to reopen. It could be days, for all we know, as far as what the storm is tracking at this point.
Miami International has already canceled 550 flights today. And it's likely to get worse as we move into tomorrow. And then finally, Houston George Bush Airport, they're going to see a little bit of delays later on, thunderstorms limited routes into that airport to the tune of about 45 to 60 minute delays.
And then Dan just hit me on the back a minute ago also and said Chicago O'Hare. You could see some. And Cincinnati Covington, look out, there are thunderstorms gathering in the central parts of the United States, limiting routes there, so chances are good for delays.
The Western half of the United States, it doesn't seem fair, ideal conditions, perfect schedules. You should run on time for most of the day, if not the entire day. I'll be back later on today with more for you.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Rally Caparas on the air-traffic situation surrounding the hurricane. Thank you so much.
Also want to let you know we're monitoring the president of the United States. He's speaking at a rally in Wisconsin. The president addresses the former president Bill Clinton and his bypass surgery.
Let's go ahead and listen in.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is in our thoughts and prayers. We send him our best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery.
(APPLAUSE)
In Florida, our citizens are bracing for yet another hurricane. Many people there are being displaced from their homes. The federal government stands ready to help the people of Florida in any way we can. And the people there need to know all America is praying for their safety.
(APPLAUSE)
And finally, in Russia, hundreds of agonized parents are worried about the fate of their children. This is yet another grim reminder of the lengths to which terrorists will go to threaten the civilized world. We mourn the innocent lives that have been lost. We stand with the people of Russia. We send them our prayers in this terrible situation.
(APPLAUSE)
And finally, I'm here to thank you for your help, thank you for registering people to vote, thank you for working hard. There is no doubt in my mind we will carry Wisconsin and carry this country.
(APPLAUSE)
We love coming to Wisconsin. It's the home of some really fine people. It's a beautiful state, and you play great football.
PHILLIPS: The president of the United States at a rally in West Allis, Wisconsin.
We went to the president to not only show you the president with supporters in Wisconsin, but a number of people commenting on former president Bill Clinton's quadruple-bypass surgery that he's going to be going under today. We heard from John Kerry in Newark, Ohio, sending out his best wishes. Now the president of the United States.
Now I understand Hillary Rodham Clinton, we have some sound with her from the New York State Fair.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), WIFE OF BILL CLINTON: He is scheduled to have bypass surgery. He went to our local hospital yesterday complaining of some chest pains and shortness of breath. And the initial testing was normal, so he spent the night at home, and we talked through the day, and he said he -- you know, he felt fine and not to worry. And he would see me at the fair.
But his doctors asked him to come back early this morning for some additional tests. And as a result of those additional tests at Westchester Medical Center, they did advise him to have bypass surgery, and to do it as soon as he could.
So, I'm leaving here, and I know you understand, and I'm sorry I'm not going to get a chance to see each of you personally, as I like to do every year. And I'm also sorry that I'm not going to be able to go through the fair and enjoy the booths and get to see a lot of people that ordinarily I wouldn't get to see.
But we have to, you know, really follow through on the recommendations that the physicians have made. He's in excellent hands. And he's at one of the greatest hospitals in the world.
But I'm going to leave now so that I can go be with him. And thank you all very much for coming again this year.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking a few minutes ago, thanks to our affiliate WIXT for that part of the interview. She was talking about her husband, Bill Clinton, who is getting ready for quadruple-bypass surgery.
She was saying that they took him to the local hospital because he was complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. She speaks at the New York State Fair every year, spends time there, but she's having to leave early, because she and her daughter, Chelsea, will be by her husband's side for that bypass surgery.
Now we've heard from John Kerry, the president of the United States, and former President Bill Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, all talking about his quadruple-bypass surgery that we're following as they send out good wishes, of course.
We're going to take a quick break. We are waiting for a hospital news conference also, where the former president is.
Hopefully hear from his doctors and an update on that surgery that's about to begin. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: On this Labor Day weekend, many of you were no doubt planning a trip to Florida. Disneyland maybe? Well, Francis might have changed your plans. Well, good chance she has. The question is, are you out of luck, cash? Travel consultant Tom Nulty is here to tell us what to do.
Tom, good to have you with us.
THOMAS NULTY, TRAVEL CONSULTANT: Great to be here.
O'BRIEN: First of all, let's look at our Flight Explorer software. This is realtime radar from the FAA transposed with some of the NEXRAD radar images. That's the green band of rain that's headed that way.
Those little blue dots on there, not -- I probably should be able to zoom in on that -- but nevertheless, those are all aircraft in flight over Florida as we speak. Significantly fewer aircraft than you would normally see at this time of the day on an average day in Florida. As a matter of fact, we've seen the traffic taper off.
I know you, Tom, were over there. The flights that you're seeing right now, most of them are headed either in the opposite direction or a few west coast...
NULTY: Most of them are headed out of town. Most of the airports have closed. And so, most of the airplanes that you see are departing and headed somewhere else. There are a few headed into some of the airports on the west coast, into Tampa and into southwest Florida, but most of those flights are headed out of town.
O'BRIEN: And obviously, the airlines, not only do they have problems because a lot of those airports are closed, but they don't want to leave their equipment there either.
NULTY: No.
O'BRIEN: So, there's a lot of -- quite an exodus.
NULTY: You do not want to have your planes on the ground in 140- mile-an-hour winds, that's for sure.
O'BRIEN: All right, now, we set the stage here. What -- for travelers, what can they do -- you know, we talk about trip insurance a lot. If you didn't elect to do that -- well, first of all, you should probably should say get trip insurance first.
NULTY: Too late, too late.
O'BRIEN: All right, now what do you do.
NULTY: Too late. But for starters, they can expect -- travelers can expect a lot of cancellations. They've already happened. Most of the airports are already closed.
And on top of that, there are going to be delays around the country, too. It's -- whenever you do something in one part of the country, it does cause delays elsewhere later in the day. But the airlines have relaxed all of their ticket change charges and refund policies. So, it's going to be much easier for a traveler to take care of that. But there are going to be long lines at airports and heavy wait times on telephones. So, I recommend people call their travel agent or something else rather than trying to call an airline.
O'BRIEN: All right, that's what air travelers can expect. What about -- let's say you booked a cruise.
NULTY: Well, cruises obviously are heavily impacted by what's going on here in Florida -- or going on in Florida. Most of them are canceled.
But some of the people have gotten very lucky, because they're out to sea already. And so, they actually get a couple of free days on the cruise ship, because they can't come in.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully well clear of Frances.
NULTY: They are. In fact...
O'BRIEN: Pass the Dramamine.
NULTY: ... I talked to the president of Royal Caribbean Cruises on the phone a little while ago, and he said that the captains are reporting blue skies and clear sailing. So, I'm sure they're sipping their pina coladas and listening to steel drum bands...
O'BRIEN: Here's to Frances.
NULTY: Right. And -- but other cruises have changed their ports of call, and they're out to cruises to nowhere, because they're not 100 percent sure where they're going, because they're staying away from that. And they, too, have relaxed their refund policies and others. And people that were planning to go out this weekend are all going to go on Monday on shortened cruises.
O'BRIEN: All right, bottom line here: What should travelers do, then?
NULTY: You know, they should contact their travel agent if they use one. Even the online travel agencies, like Orbitz, have people that can help you over the phone if you want. And in fact, they're actually going proactively trying to help people.
If you're going to travel, bring some food with you and snacks -- especially if you're traveling with kids, because when this whole thing starts back up, starting as early as tomorrow afternoon, things are going to be delayed. So, whatever they're telling you, it's probably going to be delayed.
Be flexible. And people can look for bargains after this. I mean, there may be good deals out there.
O'BRIEN: Yes, if you don't mind a hotel room that leaks a little bit, why not?
NULTY: Why not? O'BRIEN: All right. Tom Nulty, our travel consultant. If you're watching us on one of those cruise liners, hoist a pina colada for us -- you're in a good place, nice, safe place.
Back with more in just a moment.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors are taking profits following yesterday's triple-digit rally on the Dow. Stocks are weak on lackluster jobs data and a lower sales forecast from Intel.
The Dow Industrials are slightly lower; the Nasdaq is losing 1.5 percent. Trading volume remains light. The Dow right now off three points.
And that's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up, another hour of LIVE FROM. We'll be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 3, 2004 - 13:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now of Newark, Ohio. Presidential Candidate John Kerry speaking at a rally there to supporters. We're actually monitoring this to see if the candidate talks about the former President Bill Clinton.
As you know, we've been talking throughout the day about the breaking news story that Clinton is now in New York, in a hospital, getting ready for bypass surgery. A lot of ins and outs of coronary bypass surgery that we're learning about. We're going to talk now with Emory University cardiologist Randy Martin -- a little more detailed look at the surgery and what the former president is in for.
Great to have you, Doctor. Maybe we should sort of set up -- coronary bypass surgery and what takes a person to this point. What does it mean?
DR. RANDY MARTIN, CARDIOLOGIST, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Kyra, good afternoon.
Certainly, coronary artery bypass surgery is one of the two procedures that are commonly done when people have blockage of the coronary arteries -- the little arteries that feed your heart muscle. Angioplasty is most commonly done.
Bypass surgery, though, is now done -- we don't know the extent of president Clinton's narrowing of his arteries -- but generally is done when somebody has significant narrowing of what's called the left main -- the main artery feeding most of the heart muscle -- or has severe narrowing of all three blood vessels. So, that would probably be why President Clinton would be undergoing bypass surgery.
PHILLIPS: And of course, any type of surgery can be dangerous. But sort of put in perspective for us how common it is, how -- a number of people have it. And what's the survival rate?
MARTIN: Yes, I think that certainly we would feel that President Clinton is in otherwise in good shape. He has not been a smoker. He's not currently overweight. I don't know anything about his medical history, but I don't imagine that he has any other lung or other problems. So, he enters this operation in good physical shape.
This is really a blockage of an artery, almost like a blockage of a pipe. And so, we would anticipate that he would do very well. He will most likely have an internal mammary artery -- which is the little artery that runs on both sides of our sternum or our breastbone -- those last longer. That will be one -- or both of those would be used. And then maybe a vein from his leg -- the so-called saphenous vein.
So, he might have three, four, or five bypasses. This procedure will take -- would take anywhere from two to four hours. And then, the president will be in the recovery room and in intensive care unit for anywhere from 24 hours or less. If he's in good shape, he might have the breathing tube taken out right away.
And it's not inconceivable, if he's had no prior heart damage, that he would be released from the hospital in four or five days. We commonly do this.
PHILLIPS: A surgery like this can create a little damage, can't it?
OK, Doctor, hold on just a second. We're going to go to John Kerry now in Ohio. I believe he's talking about the former president.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... bypass surgery that's going to take place, I think, tomorrow. But every single one of us -- every single one of us wants to extend to him our best wishes, our prayers, and our thoughts. And I want you all to let a cheer out and clap that he can hear all the way to New York! All the way to New York!
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I'm sure that from the response I just heard from John Glenn's mentioning of the convention, a lot of you watched the distortion and the anger...
PHILLIPS: John Kerry mentioning, of course, the convention. I don't know if he's talking about the RNC or the DNC. But you'll remember in Boston at the DNC, the Democratic National Convention, former President Bill Clinton was John Kerry's keynote speaker. Of course, as always, one to generate quite a reception from the crowd every time that he speaks.
So, John Kerry there at a rally in Newark, Ohio, talking about the former president, wishing him well as he goes through -- or is in the hospital now in New York for bypass surgery.
We're talking with a cardiologist from Emory University, Dr. Randy Martin, about this procedure. We've sort of set it up.
Now, just because I've experienced this in my family, Doctor, kind of put in perspective, it doesn't necessarily mean that the president is unhealthy. Something that takes a surgery like this can be genetic. I know with my father, no matter what he does, how well he eats, how much he exercises, he's just got high cholesterol. And it's tough to maintain a healthy heart.
MARTIN: Absolutely. You make a valid point, that this is -- doesn't mean that the rest of the president's body is necessarily in bad shape. Atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries, does affect all the arteries all over the body.
And we know that genetics plays a role. We know that elevated cholesterol, dietary factors, and some genetic causes of that clearly play a role, as does high blood pressure, smoking -- as I said, the president doesn't smoke.
So, this could be lifestyle issues that developed. And as I understand it, the president started developing chest discomfort and shortness of breath. Those are common symptoms in his age group that we certainly would worry about. And so, he underwent further diagnostic testing and showed that he did have the blockage of his coronary arteries.
PHILLIPS: Just one quick final question: He was on the South Beach Diet. That book was written by a cardiologist. So, it's possible the president knew he had to be working on his body in one way or another, because he was having some issues.
MARTIN: I think you're exactly right. The president did lose a lot of weight on that particular diet.
This does not occur overnight. The narrowing doesn't occur overnight. And modifying it takes some time. Lifestyle is very important. Diet, weight, exercise is very important. And if your cholesterol is elevated, many of us believe that you should be on medication that will help lower it.
Just one quick word, the president, we would think, would have a very good outlook. There are complications with surgery, but in today's environment -- and as I understand it, he's at Columbia Pres. in New York, which is an excellent hospital -- we would anticipate that he would do very well.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Randy Martin, Emory University cardiologist, sir, thank you so much. We'll continue to follow the former president's bypass surgery, in addition to other stories happening today.
More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: With Hurricane Frances closing in on Florida, let's check the status of air travel in and out of the state. Our air traffic expert Rally Caparas from Travelocity Business is at the FAA Air Command Center in Herndon, Virginia.
Rally, what can you tell us?
RALLY CAPARAS, CNN AIR TRAFFIC CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.
Well, what I can tell you is they're busy. These people here are busy, and they're doing a lot of work. There's a lot of cancellations, a lot of delays nationwide.
With me this afternoon is Rico Short. He's the national operations manager of the Command Center. Rico tell me something, I lot of people believe that the cancellations, the delays, that's the big problem, but what is it that really hampers your operations here? What is it that primarily that bothers things?
RICO SHORT, FAA NATL. OPERATIONS MANAGER: Well, Rally, as you know, our biggest concern really is just the information flow. It's essential that we get accurate information. What we try to do with that, as you know, we have our hurricane desk position up and operational. With that, we try to funnel all that information to all the adjacent facilities. So, our biggest concern really is accurate, timely information flow.
CAPARAS: Well, that makes a lot of sense. To me, it all makes sense when you start talking about the information that comes out of here. We've seen a lot of times where people have panicked about bad information, and it all be for naught. But that's not the case today.
As a matter of fact, we have some very timely information for you. We're going to talk about delays now. If you're headed into or out of the airports in the northeast -- from Boston all the way down to Charlotte -- you should see no problems whatsoever.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, however, we were predicting some delays of about 45 to 60 minutes, but on of the specialists working here to my left just advised me that Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson has less than a 50 percent chance of receiving any delays. So, Dan Collier (ph), thank you for the good news. You're likely out of delays as far as that's concerned Atlanta.
Orlando, they're looking at a possible closure of the airport if the winds exceed 65 knots, and that was, as per Rico Short, just a couple of hours ago.
Fort Lauderdale Airport has canceled all flights. They've closed the airport. We have no idea when that airport is going to reopen. It could be days, for all we know, as far as what the storm is tracking at this point.
Miami International has already canceled 550 flights today. And it's likely to get worse as we move into tomorrow. And then finally, Houston George Bush Airport, they're going to see a little bit of delays later on, thunderstorms limited routes into that airport to the tune of about 45 to 60 minute delays.
And then Dan just hit me on the back a minute ago also and said Chicago O'Hare. You could see some. And Cincinnati Covington, look out, there are thunderstorms gathering in the central parts of the United States, limiting routes there, so chances are good for delays.
The Western half of the United States, it doesn't seem fair, ideal conditions, perfect schedules. You should run on time for most of the day, if not the entire day. I'll be back later on today with more for you.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, our Rally Caparas on the air-traffic situation surrounding the hurricane. Thank you so much.
Also want to let you know we're monitoring the president of the United States. He's speaking at a rally in Wisconsin. The president addresses the former president Bill Clinton and his bypass surgery.
Let's go ahead and listen in.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is in our thoughts and prayers. We send him our best wishes for a swift and speedy recovery.
(APPLAUSE)
In Florida, our citizens are bracing for yet another hurricane. Many people there are being displaced from their homes. The federal government stands ready to help the people of Florida in any way we can. And the people there need to know all America is praying for their safety.
(APPLAUSE)
And finally, in Russia, hundreds of agonized parents are worried about the fate of their children. This is yet another grim reminder of the lengths to which terrorists will go to threaten the civilized world. We mourn the innocent lives that have been lost. We stand with the people of Russia. We send them our prayers in this terrible situation.
(APPLAUSE)
And finally, I'm here to thank you for your help, thank you for registering people to vote, thank you for working hard. There is no doubt in my mind we will carry Wisconsin and carry this country.
(APPLAUSE)
We love coming to Wisconsin. It's the home of some really fine people. It's a beautiful state, and you play great football.
PHILLIPS: The president of the United States at a rally in West Allis, Wisconsin.
We went to the president to not only show you the president with supporters in Wisconsin, but a number of people commenting on former president Bill Clinton's quadruple-bypass surgery that he's going to be going under today. We heard from John Kerry in Newark, Ohio, sending out his best wishes. Now the president of the United States.
Now I understand Hillary Rodham Clinton, we have some sound with her from the New York State Fair.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), WIFE OF BILL CLINTON: He is scheduled to have bypass surgery. He went to our local hospital yesterday complaining of some chest pains and shortness of breath. And the initial testing was normal, so he spent the night at home, and we talked through the day, and he said he -- you know, he felt fine and not to worry. And he would see me at the fair.
But his doctors asked him to come back early this morning for some additional tests. And as a result of those additional tests at Westchester Medical Center, they did advise him to have bypass surgery, and to do it as soon as he could.
So, I'm leaving here, and I know you understand, and I'm sorry I'm not going to get a chance to see each of you personally, as I like to do every year. And I'm also sorry that I'm not going to be able to go through the fair and enjoy the booths and get to see a lot of people that ordinarily I wouldn't get to see.
But we have to, you know, really follow through on the recommendations that the physicians have made. He's in excellent hands. And he's at one of the greatest hospitals in the world.
But I'm going to leave now so that I can go be with him. And thank you all very much for coming again this year.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking a few minutes ago, thanks to our affiliate WIXT for that part of the interview. She was talking about her husband, Bill Clinton, who is getting ready for quadruple-bypass surgery.
She was saying that they took him to the local hospital because he was complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. She speaks at the New York State Fair every year, spends time there, but she's having to leave early, because she and her daughter, Chelsea, will be by her husband's side for that bypass surgery.
Now we've heard from John Kerry, the president of the United States, and former President Bill Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, all talking about his quadruple-bypass surgery that we're following as they send out good wishes, of course.
We're going to take a quick break. We are waiting for a hospital news conference also, where the former president is.
Hopefully hear from his doctors and an update on that surgery that's about to begin. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
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O'BRIEN: On this Labor Day weekend, many of you were no doubt planning a trip to Florida. Disneyland maybe? Well, Francis might have changed your plans. Well, good chance she has. The question is, are you out of luck, cash? Travel consultant Tom Nulty is here to tell us what to do.
Tom, good to have you with us.
THOMAS NULTY, TRAVEL CONSULTANT: Great to be here.
O'BRIEN: First of all, let's look at our Flight Explorer software. This is realtime radar from the FAA transposed with some of the NEXRAD radar images. That's the green band of rain that's headed that way.
Those little blue dots on there, not -- I probably should be able to zoom in on that -- but nevertheless, those are all aircraft in flight over Florida as we speak. Significantly fewer aircraft than you would normally see at this time of the day on an average day in Florida. As a matter of fact, we've seen the traffic taper off.
I know you, Tom, were over there. The flights that you're seeing right now, most of them are headed either in the opposite direction or a few west coast...
NULTY: Most of them are headed out of town. Most of the airports have closed. And so, most of the airplanes that you see are departing and headed somewhere else. There are a few headed into some of the airports on the west coast, into Tampa and into southwest Florida, but most of those flights are headed out of town.
O'BRIEN: And obviously, the airlines, not only do they have problems because a lot of those airports are closed, but they don't want to leave their equipment there either.
NULTY: No.
O'BRIEN: So, there's a lot of -- quite an exodus.
NULTY: You do not want to have your planes on the ground in 140- mile-an-hour winds, that's for sure.
O'BRIEN: All right, now, we set the stage here. What -- for travelers, what can they do -- you know, we talk about trip insurance a lot. If you didn't elect to do that -- well, first of all, you should probably should say get trip insurance first.
NULTY: Too late, too late.
O'BRIEN: All right, now what do you do.
NULTY: Too late. But for starters, they can expect -- travelers can expect a lot of cancellations. They've already happened. Most of the airports are already closed.
And on top of that, there are going to be delays around the country, too. It's -- whenever you do something in one part of the country, it does cause delays elsewhere later in the day. But the airlines have relaxed all of their ticket change charges and refund policies. So, it's going to be much easier for a traveler to take care of that. But there are going to be long lines at airports and heavy wait times on telephones. So, I recommend people call their travel agent or something else rather than trying to call an airline.
O'BRIEN: All right, that's what air travelers can expect. What about -- let's say you booked a cruise.
NULTY: Well, cruises obviously are heavily impacted by what's going on here in Florida -- or going on in Florida. Most of them are canceled.
But some of the people have gotten very lucky, because they're out to sea already. And so, they actually get a couple of free days on the cruise ship, because they can't come in.
O'BRIEN: Hopefully well clear of Frances.
NULTY: They are. In fact...
O'BRIEN: Pass the Dramamine.
NULTY: ... I talked to the president of Royal Caribbean Cruises on the phone a little while ago, and he said that the captains are reporting blue skies and clear sailing. So, I'm sure they're sipping their pina coladas and listening to steel drum bands...
O'BRIEN: Here's to Frances.
NULTY: Right. And -- but other cruises have changed their ports of call, and they're out to cruises to nowhere, because they're not 100 percent sure where they're going, because they're staying away from that. And they, too, have relaxed their refund policies and others. And people that were planning to go out this weekend are all going to go on Monday on shortened cruises.
O'BRIEN: All right, bottom line here: What should travelers do, then?
NULTY: You know, they should contact their travel agent if they use one. Even the online travel agencies, like Orbitz, have people that can help you over the phone if you want. And in fact, they're actually going proactively trying to help people.
If you're going to travel, bring some food with you and snacks -- especially if you're traveling with kids, because when this whole thing starts back up, starting as early as tomorrow afternoon, things are going to be delayed. So, whatever they're telling you, it's probably going to be delayed.
Be flexible. And people can look for bargains after this. I mean, there may be good deals out there.
O'BRIEN: Yes, if you don't mind a hotel room that leaks a little bit, why not?
NULTY: Why not? O'BRIEN: All right. Tom Nulty, our travel consultant. If you're watching us on one of those cruise liners, hoist a pina colada for us -- you're in a good place, nice, safe place.
Back with more in just a moment.
FRED KATAYAMA, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Katayama at the New York Stock Exchange.
Investors are taking profits following yesterday's triple-digit rally on the Dow. Stocks are weak on lackluster jobs data and a lower sales forecast from Intel.
The Dow Industrials are slightly lower; the Nasdaq is losing 1.5 percent. Trading volume remains light. The Dow right now off three points.
And that's the latest from Wall Street. Coming up, another hour of LIVE FROM. We'll be back right after this.
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