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CNN Saturday Morning News
Counting Down President Obama's First 100 Days; Swine Flu Outbreak Hits Mexico City: U.S. Health Officials Closely Following It; Hillary Clinton Made a Surprise Trip to Baghdad Today; Credit Card Companies May Have to Change How They Do Business
Aired April 25, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody, from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen.
It is 8:00 a.m. where wildfires are burning in Myrtle Beach today. 7:00 a.m. in New Orleans where the city is gearing up for a jazz festival. Thanks for joining us.
REGGIE AQUI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Reggie Aqui in for T.J. Holmes this morning. The only place I'd like be other than next to you is in New Orleans.
NGUYEN: I paid you to say that.
AQUI: We're so glad that you're here. It's April 25th, day 96 in office for President Obama. She's happy she's here.
NGUYEN: So we are counting down his first 100 days. So what does an iPod and a stack of DVDs have to do with the first days on the job? Do you know?
AQUI: We're going to talk about it. I know it involves gifts. Back and forth with the president and other dignitaries.
NGUYEN: And ...
AQUI: Do you know how to really shop online safely? A lot of people have questions about this these days, especially with headlines talking about the supposed Craigslist killer. So we're going to talk about some of the dos and don'ts when you're shopping online whether you're a seller or buyer.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Also we're going to talk about hidden fees, rate hikes and angry consumers out there. We know. We've looked at our credit cards as well. So we're answering your questions on how to fight the credit card companies.
So send us your e-mails this morning. Let us know some of the problems that you're facing whether it's a rate hike, if it's a higher fee, if they've lowered your limit. Hit us up, weekends@cnn.com or go to our Facebook and Twitter pages and we will read some of those questions on the air with an expert.
But we do want to start with this. A disturbing medical situation, an outbreak, in fact, of the swine flu virus in Mexico. Schools in the capital city were closed yesterday as a preventive measure. That's more than seven million students from elementary to college level. Now some Mexico City residents have started wearing facemasks. The flu has killed at least 68 people and sickened more than 1,000.
Now in New York, health officials tested 75 students at one school for the virus. Results could be released today, but our Randi Kaye says there are flu cases in California and Texas as well and for that reason, U.S. health officials are closely following the outbreak in Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swine flu on the move and now health officials say the same virus that's killed dozens in Mexico is also in the U.S. Just hours ago, another case of the deadly flu found here in San Diego. That makes eight. In Mexico more than 1,000 people infected, at least 68 dead.
DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING DIR., CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: We are worried as well. Our concern has grown since yesterday.
KAYE: All of the victims in the U.S. have recovered, but in Mexico City, schools are closed. Libraries and museums shut down, residents wearing masks. The Centers for Disease Control is working closely with California and Texas to learn more about the victims. Swine flu is typically found only in pigs or in people who have been around pigs. Health officials are stumped. None of the U.S. patients had direct contact with pigs. Only one had visited Mexico.
JOHN BARRY, AUTHOR, "THE GREAT INFLUENZA": Clearly there is evidence of human-to-human transition.
KAYE: Remember 2003 when SARS exploded? It spread from China to 37 countries in a matter of weeks. More than 770 people died.
BARRY: There is a real possibility that this is the next pandemic. You would find one community after another would have probably somewhere between 20 and 30 percent of the entire population would get infected with this virus. The overwhelming majority of those people would have terrible two or three days and a week later they're fine.
KAYE (on-camera): The World Health Organization says the world is now closer to an influenza pandemic than at any time in the last 40 years. On a scale of one to six the organization puts the threat level at three, a pandemic alert.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI: Despite that situation in Mexico, U.S. health officials say there is no reason to panic, but people at risk who have the symptoms, they should go see a doctor. Now what symptoms are we talking about? A high fever, so we're talking 101, 102, overwhelming fatigue, a lack of appetite and coughing.
Swine flu is a strain of influenza that is usually found in pigs. Typically people get it after coming into direct contact with an infected animal, although with this particular strain, officials say it appears there may be some person-to-person transmission. This is important to know. You cannot get swine flu by eating pork.
I want to let you know that right now our producers are on the phone with the CDC right now and we are told that a spokesman -- in fact one of the directors of the CDC is going to be speaking to us in the 10:00 a.m. hour. We're lining it up for you and have it for you then.
NGUYEN: We're looking forward to that because these folks in New York who have contracted what could be a strain of it, there's really a big question about that. If it started in Mexico, how did it get all the way to New York City if they didn't come in contact with the swine?
AQUI: And how are we going to protect ourselves if this doesn't become a pandemic like (INAUDIBLE)?
NGUYEN: We've got a lot of questions for the CDC director. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime though, want to tell but this. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a surprise trip to Baghdad today. She flew in to get an assessment of an uptick in deadly bombings there this week. CNN's foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is traveling with Clinton and she filed this report just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Arriving in Baghdad, Secretary Clinton was greeted at the airport by the brand new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill. She comes here on the day after yet another suicide bombing hit the Iraqi capital.
She says she wants a firsthand assessment from the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno to find out what the Iraqi government can do and also what U.S. troops can do to try to stop these attacks. She'll be meeting with a number of Iraqi officials and also with the top U.S./U.N. envoy to Iraq.
She also will be holding a town hall meeting with Iraqi citizens and with members of the U.S. military and finally, meeting with Iraqi women and the focus of that meeting will be on war widows and the fact that many of them are destitute.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AQUI: President Obama approaching his 100th day in office. We are on day 96. A hundred days is a good benchmark for assessing how he is doing so far. Joining us once again from Washington, D.C., our CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser.
So we have talked a lot about some of the good things that have happened, some of the things that haven't been orchestrated so well. But it seems like the public, they seem to be kind of still on his side.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They sure do. That's what public opinion polls show Reggie. I guess the best thing they ask is, as we near 100 days, what are his big successes? What has he been done that's been big and important? I think the White House would point out right away the stimulus package, right, that $787 billion package he got through Congress.
The main mission here is to pump up the economy, get the U.S. out of the recession. Reggie, I think the White House, two other things they'll point to, two bills that the president signed into law, one requiring equal pay for women and one expanding health benefits for children, health care for children. So I think they're going to point to a couple of these things that they've done over the first 100 days Reggie.
AQUI: That's the good news for the president. What about the bad news? Nobody is perfect.
STEINHAUSER: Nobody is perfect. Let's start with some of those cabinet nominations, right. Remember Bill Richardson? He was the first nominee for President Obama for Commerce secretary? This is even before the president -- before Barack Obama became president. That one didn't last. Richardson had to step down from that nomination and Judd Gregg was the second nominee for Commerce and that didn't work out either. He's probably on the third try he got that right.
What about Health and Human Services secretary? Tom Daschle was going to be President Obama's main man to do health care reform and this was a person Barack Obama really wanted as his HHS secretary. That did not work out. In fact, we still, as we near 100 days, Reggie, we still don't have an HHS secretary yet. Kathleen Sibilius, her nomination is yet to be confirmed by the full Senate. So I think those are two things.
And one other thing that I think people will talk about Reggie, the famous handshake just last week right with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Republicans were quick to criticize this one. I mean, they said this shows the U.S. isn't strong and they were really criticizing President Obama, even Senator Ensign came on our own CNN "STATE OF THE UNION" to criticize him. Just yesterday Hugo Chavez said it was great to shake his hand and all that but I still think the U.S. is an imperialist country. Democrats of course have a very different view of that handshake Reggie.
AQUI: All right, but let's look at what people think. We are going to look at the ratings. We said initially at the top of this that it seems like overall Americans are still on the president's side. What do the numbers show us exactly? STEINHAUSER: Well take a look right here. This is our CNN poll of polls. What we do is take the most recent national polls and average them together and 64 percent, nearly two in three Americans give Barack Obama the thumbs up, Reggie.
AQUI: Paul Steinhauser from Washington, good to see you again Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: All right, so let's check the president's calendar this week. On Monday, he speaks at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences and later he welcomes the top women's college basketball team, the University of Connecticut, to the White House. That evening he attends a reception with foreign finance and environmental ministers at the White House as well.
And then on Tuesday, he is going to present the national teacher of the year award. Wednesday morning he is in Missouri to host a town hall meeting and that night back in the capital for a prime time news conference. And Thursday he takes part in the kickoff of the wounded warrior project, "Soldier Ride." That event is to raise awareness of the challenges facing veterans with life-altering injuries. Friday a full day of meetings and it is a busy schedule nonetheless.
We do want to let you know that you can weigh in on the president next Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 Eastern in a CNN prime time event. You and the best political team on television will grade the president. Then at 8:00, President Obama will let us know how he thinks he's doing in his first 100 days during a live presidential news conference. That's Wednesday beginning at 7:00 Eastern on CNN and cnn.com/reportcard.
AQUI: And a plug for us, too, at cnn.com/live, we'll be streaming it for you on your computers.
NGUYEN: You'll be working very hard that day.
AQUI: We will, had to get that in.
NGUYEN: As today.
AQUI: So let's talk about the credit card companies because this is a real issue for so many Americans. They may have to change the way they do business. We're talking about monstrous late fees, unexplained rate hikes. Well, they're all in the president's radar.
Our national correspondent Jason Carroll maps out some proposed changes and what they could mean to you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've heard the anger on our phones.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Basically the government is letting the credit card companies be nothing but legal loan sharks. Credit cards are the bane of our society.
CARROLL: There's outrage on the street.
NANCY VON HELLENS, CREDIT CARD USER: This is my credit card. This has been my credit card since 1997 and I really feel, pardon me, shafted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as I'm concerned the banks should be eating this not the rest of us.
CARROLL: Card holders fed up with credit card companies, tired of excessive fees and high interest rates, out of patience over what some consumer advocates call deceptive tactics.
JOE RIDOUT, CONSUMER ACTION: You take out a car loan and you miss a phone bill payment, your auto lender can't turn around and raise your interest rate, but credit card companies do this every day. It's fundamentally unfair to consumers because credit card companies are essentially given a license to steal.
CARROLL: President Obama says enough. He has been a strong proponent of improving practices of the credit card industry and met with executives from the American Bankers Association.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our administration is going to be pushing for reform in this area. We think it's important that we get input from the credit card issuers as we shape this reform.
CARROLL: The president wants more protection from consumers including banning unfair rate increases, clearer statements with less fine print and easily accessible contract terms. The American Bankers Association released a statement saying the president did raise concerns about certain issues surrounding credit cards.
The card executives listened carefully to those concerns and agreed to work with the administration to address them. The Federal Reserve already put in place new rules expected to take effect next year to help protect card holders. Some bankers worry more legislation could make economic matters worse by making it harder for banks to offer credit. But some consumer advocates say that argument is just more financial spin.
RIDOUT: We hope that lawmakers will listen to what the public and the president are saying and ignore the calls of banking lobbyists to let them play fast and loose with the rules.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We know a lot of people are sounding off in that report so let's find out what some of you have to say.
AQUI: We've been asking this morning for your e-mail questions about your credit cards this morning and our finance adviser and author of my favorite title book "What Had Happened Was," Clyde Anderson is joining us now. So Clyde, I know you've been checking our in box. What are people asking of you?
CLYDE ANDERSON, AUTHOR, "WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS": We're hearing a lot of things right now and look at all these e-mails that we're getting. They're all over the place and so we're really trying to figure out exactly what people want to know and there's a lot of things that they want to know.
The first question I have, is my credit card payment was due on a Sunday. I made a payment at 9:30 a.m. the Saturday before and my -- and I was charged a late fee. It's ridiculous, first of all. I called the company and was told Saturdays are not considered and I needed to pay it Friday. Can a credit card company change a late fee or charge a late fee for paying the day before?
No, they cannot do that. That is totally wrong. You need to dispute that. You need to fight that. Make sure they're not doing things like this. This is what the new reform is going to do. Make sure these things are not done to consumers any longer because there's no reason that they should charge you a late fee for paying the day before. Write a letter. Tell them this is wrong. Document that you made that payment the day before and that's your proof. OK?
Another question that we got is, I have excellent credit. Bank of America has decreased my credit limit and this is not the first time we're hearing this. And I wanted to know how will it affect my credit rating? The limit went from 26 down to 13 and I'm assuming she is saying thousand. I've never used that much and hopefully never will. How can we help? What can we do and is there anything that we can do?
Yes, there is something you can do. Write them. Let them know. Look at other credit cards, also. Tell them that you have a better offer. I mean, truly get a better offer. Find credit cards that won't do that. Write a letter telling them that there's no reason or need to drop my limit. And just really document that and hopefully, again this reform will help those things. That's why I'm so excited about this reform because it would truly help these people.
The whole reform is going to look at over the limit fees as well. They've charged over the limit fees two times in one month on the same charge right now and that's just ridiculous. Also, they're sending bills 14 days before it's due. They really need to do a longer period, a longer gap.
You think about it, 14 days is not a long time to get a statement and make a payment. And so, they really need to stretch that out to 25 days. And also protect card holders who pay on time, just like the young lady mentioned, she's paid her credit card the day before and still marked her late. That's ridiculous.
NGUYEN: Hey, Clyde, I've got a question for you, this coming to me from one of my Facebook friends here. This from Andre who says I have an 820 FICO score and not only am I seeing higher rates and new fees but two of my credit cards, Chase and Citibank have started double monthly billing cycles. What's next? Weekly payments? How are they doing this, Clyde?
ANDERSON: Yeah, that's wrong, again the double monthly billing cycle -- and let me explain what the double monthly billing cycle is, is that you've gone ahead, you've been charged once. You make a payment and they're going to charge you interest the first time but before that actually is cleared off of your credit, they're going to charge you again interest and so you're paying interest twice for that one charge.
So you really need to dispute those things and that is addressed specifically in this new bill of rights and so really, again, we're looking at the bill of rights, the rights the consumer has to dispute these items, to fight these items and to not -- it's ridiculous. They shouldn't be charged these things.
NGUYEN: But we also have to wait for those bill of rights to take effect and that could be next year?
ANDERSON: It could be next year, again, we're looking at 2010 for these to take effect but in the meantime, we've got to be diligent about contacting your creditors and letting them know that you just won't stand for it.
AQUI: That is a good credit score, by the way, your Facebook friend.
NGUYEN: And then to have that kind of a billing cycle, that double billing cycle as Clyde just explained, really kind of doesn't make any sense at all.
AQUI: That shouldn't be happening.
NGUYEN: And that's why a lot of people are arguing. We're being taken advantage of and we will see what Congress decides to do with that consumers' bill of rights. Thank you, Clyde. We'll be talking with you a little bit later. He's going to be sticking around.
So we want you to continue sending in your questions whether it's your credit cards or it's your mortgage, e-mail them to us, weekends@cnn.com or you can go onto our Facebook pages. We're on Twitter as well. There are many ways to get in contact with us. Send us your questions, send us your concerns. Clyde will help you answer them today.
AQUI: Here is what's coming up next, our Josh Levs joins us with some amazing pictures, a World War II aircraft brought to the surface after 60 years. It was at the bottom of Lake Michigan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, you have to listen to these stories. A World War II aircraft brought up from the bottom of Lake Michigan.
AQUI: Wow.
NGUYEN: OK, not only that but this one. A family of four walk away from a stunning plane crash ...
AQUI: Give me one more. Give me one more.
NGUYEN: Well, some people might like this one. Teachers pose topless for a calendar. I can't even ...
AQUI: Say what?
NGUYEN: Exactly. I'm done.
AQUI: I don't know what high school this is. It wasn't mine. Those stories are all from our CNN affiliates and they're highlighted at cnn.com. Josh Levs, hot for teacher? What?
NGUYEN: Come on Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like it makes you want to go back to school doesn't it?
AQUI: I don't know, depends on the teacher.
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) Probably going to get us in trouble.
LEVS: We'll see. The other ones first, a good tease, this is pretty amazing, isn't it, 60 years at the bottom of Lake Michigan. This comes to us from our affiliate WLS and what they've said is that there was this team that went down basically to pull it up. This was a SBD Daltless (ph) dive-bomber that was down there. It had been lost in a training mission for all these years.
It was discovered and then they went through the whole process to pull it up there. This is one of the many stories you can see at cnn.com. It says U.S., but it's pretty incredible. You can see the scope of it. Apparently at the time it was critical and at the time they weren't even sure where it landed but found recently. Boom, they get to play with it now.
Now this, you guys won't believe this one, this is the plane that the family walked away from. Take a look at this. This is what it was like when it landed. In fact, we have some video of it. Let's go to that video.
This family walks away literally without a scratch, two parents, two kids get off that tiny plane. This comes to us from Jacksonville, our station in Jacksonville. Look at that. It's completely destroyed. I don't know how they walked away, but they managed to do it and so great news. Good to have happy news on a weekend morning.
And finally, it's really, it's more a story for Betty, isn't it? Hopefully you'll like this one. The story about the so-called topless calendar -- it's actually a fund-raising for cancer and this is it. Let's zoom in here. It comes to us from our station in Orlando. Teachers pose for calendar and I'll give you the one photo over here. Can you close in on that. Can we get to that, Cocoa Beach?
NGUYEN: We want to see the photo. LEVS: Zoom way in, Cocoa Beach junior/senior high, psychology teacher Matt Kellum (ph).
NGUYEN: Does he have a farmer's tan? What's going on here?
LEVS: It's actually all guys. I know, exactly. But it is apparently making some money and it's all in good fun because they're raising money for cancer research. So good for them. The school in Orlando and way to go high school psychology teacher Matt Kellum, nice work, all this and more at cnn.com.
NGUYEN: Poor Matt. He is never going to hear the end of this.
AQUI: We just made him famous. Are you kidding? He's on the calendar forever.
NGUYEN: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: We want to get to Reynolds Wolf now with a look at the weather outside. He's never been on any topless calendar.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Reynolds, we do appreciate it. We'll be checking in with you shortly. In the meantime, though, we're going to be talking about how to stay safe on Craigslist.
AQUI: When we come back, I'm going to talk to an expert about dos and don'ts of buying and selling online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The fiance of murder suspect Philip Markoff (ph) is in seclusion at her parents home in New Jersey. Though she's not talking publicly, her father spoke about her to reporters yesterday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MCALLISTER, MARKOFF'S FIANCEE'S FATHER: As expected not well. She's still confident in Phil. But other than that, we're saying a lot of prayers. She's got a lot of friends, a lot of family, friends and it's been a big help to us. Everybody's been wonderful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Law enforcement officials say Markoff has been placed on suicide watch at a Boston jail. The medical student has been charged with killing a masseuse who placed an ad on Craigslist.
AQUI: Less than two years ago Craigslist was implicated in the murder of another woman. Yet the man who founded the Web site as well as the CEO, they both say there's very little crime on the site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BUCKMASTER, CEO, CRAIGSLIST: You have to remember that there are 50 million Americans using Craigslist each month, most of them using it several times a month. Whenever you have that amount of human activity, there is a possibility of things going wrong despite everyone's best efforts to protect people.
But having said that, no incidents of violent crime obviously is OK and we're looking and seeing if there is anything that we could be doing differently to make people even safer when they're using the site.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AQUI: Yeah, and the point here isn't to freak people out. It's to make sure that you're making safe choices when you're involved in these online exchanges. We're going to go now to our Internet privacy and security expert, Parry Aftab. She's joining us from New York. You're on Craigslist right now, aren't you?
PARRY AFTAB, EXEC DIR., WIRED SAFETY.ORG: I'm on Craigslist right now looking for a wave runner and some garage sales.
AQUI: So basically what you're saying is this isn't an unsafe thing to do, but we can make it safer. So why don't you go through some of the things that we definitely shouldn't do.
AFTAB: Absolutely. But before we do anything, you need to use some good security software so you can go to mcafee.com and download it and they've got something called the cyber crime response unit that will launch next week that you can go to if anything goes wrong, they'll tell you where to report it. Now what you need to do is if you're buying, don't carry lots of cash and if you do bring a lot of friends, preferably sumo wrestlers.
Don't get cornered in somebody's garage or in their basement. Make sure if you're going with other people that you at least have someone outside or upstairs to make sure that you're getting out in one piece. Don't keep quiet if something goes wrong. And make sure what you're buying really is a bargain. You might be able to get it cheaper at Home Depot or some place else brand-new than someone is charging you there.
Now if you are a seller which is just as important, remember, you're inviting people into your house. So don't meet them alone. Again, that sumo wrestler is going to become very popular in all the neighborhoods.
AQUI: We need to make new friends obviously.
AFTAB: You'll have some new friends, preferably big ones. And get their name. Get their contact information. And when they drive up, use your cell phone to take a picture of their car, license plate and them getting out of it. Do it in a casual way so it's not so clear that you're focusing on who they are.
AQUI: And Parry, let me just stop you right there.
AFTAB: Sure.
AQUI: This is my question. If you do something like that and someone sees you doing it, you have absolutely every right, don't you, to say, look, I'm just here to protect ourselves, just to make sure this is a safe transaction.
AFTAB: What you can say is Parry on CNN told me to do it.
AQUI: There you go.
AFTAB: Blame it on me. I'll take it.
AQUI: We will. Go ahead.
AFTAB: You want to limit access to your house. You don't want them coming in and scouting out for where they're going to come back when you're not home. And you want to make sure that you accept cash only. Credit cards won't work unless you've got a merchant account. And if they come to you with a check and even a certified check, by the time it finishes kiting in six weeks from now, you learn that it's not a good check, you're out of luck.
AQUI: Should we sketched out that someone now knows where you live?
AFTAB: Well, everybody knows where we live. I mean, you can go to phone books, you can find a lot of other things. The question is what are they going to do with the fact that they know where we live? So they want to know what's inside your house. They want to know what you're like. They want to know if you've got burglar alarm systems. They want to know what other things you have that you're not selling.
So any of us who are selling anything or letting people into our homes need to recognize whether it's a Christmas tour or a lot of people coming in because you have a garage sale that you are now exposing your security, your home, and your privacy to anybody who wants to see it.
AQUI: Parry Aftab with some great tips there to keep us safe. We appreciate it. Thanks so much.
AFTAB: Thanks.
NGUYEN: Now I've just got to find some friends who are sumo wrestlers, right?
AQUI: Yeah, you know, they're going to e-mail you and Facebooking you, so.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
AQUI: You'll be in luck.
NGUYEN: You know, she makes a good point. You absolutely need to make sure that this is a safe transaction.
AQUI: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Because you just never know. and you don't want people in your house, you know, and for them to case the joint and maybe come back later. So you got to take all those precautions.
AQUI: Sure.
NGUYEN: All right, so we want to tell you about this. We're going to go one-on-one with Lexington, Kentucky, Mayor Jen Newberry and talk money, jobs, why he says his city needs a massive infusion of cash from the stimulus package.
AQUI: And later, we're going to have more with T.J. Holmes, his interview with African-American leaders. This time the topic is not the president. It's RNC Chair Michael Steele. So we'll hear what they think of him and why he is now in a critical position.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Now that's the way to spend the weekend.
AQUI: Good times.
NGUYEN: Smooth sounds, yeah, down at the New Orleans Jazz Festival down there. We're going to take you there live, in fact. So you want to stick around for that.
AQUI: That is a coveted assignment.
NGUYEN: Isn't it? We didn't get it apparently.
Welcome back, everybody. Thanks for joining us on this Saturday morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
AQUI: And I'm Reggie Aqui in for T.J. Holmes. Thanks for being here today.
Now while the president's performance in office is being closely watched, our T.J. Holmes spoke with the African-American leaders about Michael Steele. Now Steele, as you know, is the Republican Party's first black chairman.
Here's what members of the 100 Black Men of America had to say about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: What do you all think about Michael Steele?
(LAUGHTER)
JOHN THOMAS GRANT, CEO: I'll lead it.
HOLMES: All right.
GRANT: First of all, I'm proud of Michael Steele. You know, the fact that Michael Steele is in the position -- the two major parties in this country are headed by African-American men is an opportunity. I think that Michael Steele also is trying from his best vantage point and ability to lead the Republican party in a different direction. Now whether the party's willing to go is another question. And I think he's being hammered by that. But the fact that he is in the job, I take pride in that. And without being in the job, there's no opportunity.
HOLMES: But when I said the name initially, you know, so what was all that about?
JOHN HAMMOND, CEO: I know that the Republican party is at a point in its history where it is struggling to find leadership. I think that it's hard to be a leader if you're going to equivocate on issues that are central to moving forward. I think you know, you know, one has to pick a direction, and go in that direction, and defend a point of view in the face of incredible challenge. That's what determines and that's where leaders are made.
I've heard reports and seen reports about some equivocation around some important issues. I think it's important that if Michael Steele or any other black leader is going to rise to the level of scrutiny that he is, is going to live successfully and represent so many others, then it is important that he demonstrate leadership in a very consistent way.
BISHOP EDDIE LONG, PASTOR, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: Michael is a personal friend of mine. And I (INAUDIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: ...but the situation with him, and I wholeheartedly believe he's trying to lead the Republican party back into a great posture. The question is, will they follow? Number one.
And I think, that there was kind of a, as you were saying, being president is no real manual. It's on the job training. Even with that and new frontiers and the opportunities presented to him as an African-American, his heart and commitment towards everything he does is very, very positive. But yet with this on the job training again because you're going into new territory.
BERNARD TAYLOR, SR., ATTORNEY, ALSTON & BIRD: I think he's got a tough job, but we all know that many of our grandparents and great- grandparents were Republicans. And they were Republicans for a reason. And if Michael can tap into that, then I think he can make a big difference in regards to the appeal of the Republican party across the group of African-Americans and the rest of our society.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AQUI: T.J. also asked the men from that organization about President Obama's ethnicity. As T.J. refers to it, being a brother. We'll hear about that 15 minutes from now. How did I do with "brother"?
NGUYEN: You did all right.
AQUI: All right, hopefully T.J. won't be mad. You can also weigh in on the president Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 Eastern in a CNN primetime event, you and the best political team will grade the president. And then at 8:00 p.m., President Obama will let you know how he thinks he's doing in his first 100 days during a live presidential news conference. That's Wednesday beginning at 7:00 Eastern on CNN and CNN.com live. You can also grade the president right now by going to the Web site.
NGUYEN: All right and meantime, though, if you are interested in seeing the next great NFL star, you might be able to spot one in New York this weekend.
AQUI: That's right. The draft is about to get underway. A lot of people getting ready for this.
NGUYEN: Yes.
AQUI: But for some of these athletes making the transition from college to the pros is more than they can take.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AQUI: Appropriate song, we thought. So do you want to see the next great NFL star? Well, you might be able to spot one if you are in New York City. That is home of the NFL draft this weekend. So we're talking about names like Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, Michael Crabtree. Any one of them could become as famous as prior draft successes like Ben Roethlisberger. But they could find the transition from college to pros is a little harder than they imagined.
Rick Horrow is joining us. He's a sports business analyst. And he is in Palm Beach, Florida, this morning. All right, so high stakes here, huh?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Well, high stakes for everybody. The Lions have already committed Matthew Stafford $41 million in guaranteed money, but they're 0 and 16. He's got a long way to go. Let's remember something. This is a crapshoot. It is the merger of two great sports -- football and poker. There are 150 different draft, mock drafts. And nobody is right. And everybody's going to win the Super bowl. It's like picking stocks, only a little less harmful.
AQUI: All right, you know what they say, previous successes usually predict success in the future, but is that always true? I mean, let's look back at the number one draft pick for last year.
HORROW: Well, Jake Long, for example, who was the Dolphins' number one highest paid offensive lineman in history. $30 million guaranteed. Oh, big risk. Who knows if it's going to happen the way it should? He was all-pro. He was a linchpin of the 11 and 5 turnaround year. Steven Ross, the owner of the Dolphins, paid $1.1 billion. That was a risk. Everybody's happy with that.
Now they've got to build on that. The bottom line is, by the way, the NFL 15 years ago the average franchise value was about $280 million or so, the Cowboys anyway. Now that team is worth over $1.5 billion. Super Bowl contract, $25,000 a few years ago. Now the TV deal is $17 billion for the cycle. The bottom line is this is not for the faint of heart. High risk, high reward.
AQUI: All right, last thing, though, you know, these are college students one day, and the next day they're signing multimillion- dollar contracts and being watched by people across the country. So that's not a lot of pressure, is it?
HORROW: No, it's not a lot of pressure. We can all handle that. I would love to have the opportunity to have a $41 million guaranteed contract that holds up to those expectations.
But listen, for every Matthew Stafford, which is a question, there's a Ryan Leaf who really flamed out with his team and everybody in between. That's what makes the draft so special. So watch the turnaround teams. Watch the Detroit Lions. I could predict who will be number one in the draft, but I am quiet if there is a risk of being wrong. So that's it.
AQUI: Rick Horrow, I'm going to see you at my usual home, CNN.com live next week Thursday, right?
HORROW: Next Thursday, 10:10. We talk about the Kentucky Derby and some of the economics leading up to that. And then we follow through next week on CNN television.
AQUI: All right. Look forward to that. See you later, Rick.
HORROW: All right, bye.
NGUYEN: Ah, the Kentucky Derby, that's coming -- yeah, next week. It's already here. This year is flying by.
AQUI: People are getting their outfits ready. I am sure.
NGUYEN: And hats ready and all of that.
AQUI: Yeah, try to look good.
NGUYEN: Those bets ready.
All right, let's talk about a little bit about money as well, a score that hasn't been settled in years. It's on the football field. So don't make any bets on that one, but take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It was on this field that late in the fourth quarter Easton made that final drive. You now, all they had to do was just get the ball close, line up for a very short field goal, and then push it through the uprights. Simple enough. The thing is, that's not what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AQUI: How about that Reynolds Wolf? He can do everything.
NGUYEN: He said he did that in one take. I kind of doubt it.
AQUI: Yeah, we'll get to the bottom of that. And we're going to be showing you the rest of that story. It's actually a really good story in our 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour. Why the match may finally be settled after all these years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: So could you live without the television? How about air conditioning? Do you consider that a luxury? Well, more and more Americans are considering those luxuries. Gerri Willis is here to tell us about that.
Hi, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi, Betty.
Yeah, there's a new study out from the Pew Research Center. They say 83 percent of folks out there said a dryer, a clothes dryer was a necessity not a luxury. But this year, only 66 percent of folks think that way. Air conditioning 70 percent thought it's a necessity three years ago. Today that figure is 54 percent. The microwave is only essential for less than half of people. And the dishwasher is a necessity only to about 20 percent of people.
But there were newer items that remain relatively recession proof. Guess what they are? Cell phones, home computers. Those items are still deemed as a necessity for half of Americans. iPods, flat screen TVs are seen as necessities for a few small segment of the population. And one item that everybody agrees is a necessity, Betty, it's the car.
NGUYEN: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I've got to get to work somehow, right?
WILLIS: That's right. Get to work, look for the new job, you name it.
NGUYEN: Yeah, exactly. And a lot of people are looking for that new job. What are some of the other ways that people are trying to save a little cash these days?
WILLIS: Yeah, people are trying to just save those extra pennies at the margins. And what they're doing is this. 57 percent are buying less expensive brands and shopping at discount stores. 28 percent are cutting back on spending on alcohol and cigarettes.
So maybe there are some good things coming out of this recession. 24 percent cut or reduced cable and satellite television. 24 percent switched to a less expensive cell phone plan or even cut service. And 21 percent, count me among them, made plans to plant a vegetable garden.
NGUYEN: So I'll be over for dinner.
WILLIS: Yeah, you'll be over for dinner. Come on up. It'll be tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers.
NGUYEN: Oh, that sounds good. Hey, I may have to do that myself. That is a good way to save a little money, and you know what? Get some great vegetables while you're at it. All right, Gerri, what's coming up on the show?
WILLIS: We got a lot going on. You'll definitely want to catch "YOUR BOTTOM LINE". It starts at 9:30. We'll be talking, of course, about the first 100 days of President Barack Obama. We'll talk about, also, what it means when you're shopping at the home improvement store, what you need to know, and of course the cost of college. How do you figure out those letters you're getting now if you've applied to college, you're getting packages, and what it all means. We'll drill down "YOUR BOTTOM LINE", 9:30 a.m. right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: All right, looking forward to it. Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: Thank you.
AQUI: A new warning from America's top general on the war on al Qaeda and the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What have you seen him do that you really liked? And what have you seen him do that you really disapproved of?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And my co-anchor T.J. Holmes sits down with the 100 Black Men of America organization to discuss President Obama's first 100 days, what they liked, what they dislike, and why they say he's got swagger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AQUI: You guys play good music here in the morning, man.
NGUYEN: We rock it out.
AQUI: I've been missing out.
President Obama marks his 100th day in office on Wednesday. So far, supporters are giving him high marks and naturally, his critics aren't. Well, one group that identifies with the president is 100 Black Men of America. That's an organization of African-American business, religious, and political leaders.
Well, our T.J. Holmes sat down with members of the group who say the president, he has swagger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: What have you all seen, maybe you haven't said publicly, some interview or something, but you know, hanging out with the boys, having a beer somewhere. Did you see something that the president did and you were like, now that's a brother right there. Like he just had a bit of a swagger that is familiar to black men. It just is.
TAYLOR: You know, the one aspect of his relationship with his wife that I remember that made me think of being a brother was that there was an interview. And you all may remember this interview. And I can't remember if it was "60 Minutes" or one of the other shows, it may have been on your folks, CNN. But he said something and she corrected him. And he stopped, and he said okay, and he accepted that and moved on. And we all know what that's about.
(LAUGHTER)
HAMMOND: You know, there are those things that one might point to that are, you know, more stereotypical of brothers who operate in certain ways, but there is something that he is doing which I think is also stereotypical of our community. And that is being inclusive. And that is not -- I'm not saying that we have cornered the market on communication acumen, but being communicative and creating a community of change is something I would say is very typical of life in our community.
GRANT: You know, you've seen the president embrace people. That is very much typical as a part of an African-American culture that we embrace people. Not only do we shake hands, but we believe in closeness and embracing is fundamental to how we communicate.
And I've seen the president do that on more than one occasion. So I think that's a clear -- one of the clearer reflections of his actions, as you call it, as a brother because we do that. As a matter of fact, each of these men when we arrived today, we shook hands and we embraced. And it's just a communication of affection and certainly of comfort and with oneself and with those that you encounter. And I think he's done that well.
LONG: President Bush's last inauguration, he was home at 10:00. I was at a ball at 2:00 with President Obama. And one of the things when we look at that, they're already in Washington how the social scene has changed. (INAUDIBLE), he's invited various people into the White House. He's out in the public with his family.
HOLMES: What did you do until 2:00 in the morning?
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: Praying for those who -- and so I'm excited about that. It just -- it opens in a time where it looks like, you know, all is calamity and challenge, yet we still can move through this, deal with our challenges and face those and still be able to interact, have great relationships. And it keeps things going. Keeps people up tempo (INAUDIBLE). That's a brother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AQUI: And coming up next hour, we're going to show you the results of the latest CNN public opinion poll. We'll tell you how most Americans think President Obama is handling the country's top job.
NGUYEN: Right now, though, mayors all across the country, they are watching the president's every move as we count down to his first 100 days. And one of them is Jim Newberry, mayor of Lexington, Kentucky. He joins us now live.
Mayor, thanks for being with us today. OK, so my first question to you is this. Grade the president. How's he doing in this first 100 days?
JIM NEWBERRY, MAYOR: I give him a solid "A." He has done a magnificent job as far as I'm concerned. He's had an incredible number of challenges that have been put before him. And I think he's handled them remarkably well.
NGUYEN: A solid "A" but you have to have had some disappointments, though. What are they?
NEWBERRY: I wish he'd come to Lexington. Other than that, I really don't. I thought about the prospect that you ask that question. And I gave it a little consideration. I really had a difficult time finding much fault with his performance. I'm sure, you know, he has his fair share of critics, as anyone in that position would, but...
NGUYEN: Is he moving fast enough on the economy?
NEWBERRY: I think he's doing remarkably well. You know, as of yesterday, there was about $75 billion that had been injected into the economy as a result of recovery act. They've done it with great transparency. They've been great with communications effort. And so I think he's doing remarkably well.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's talk about the stimulus package because Lexington has proposed a whopping $565 million for stimulus projects. That's quite a bit. What do you have on your mind as far as shovel ready projects?
NEWBERRY: Well, that's ancient news. That was a list that prepared last January. And since then the recovery act has been passed and it really doesn't have any bearing on what we are currently doing.
NGUYEN: So was this just an issue that you just put everything in the pot, was hoping to get as much as you possibly could?
NEWBERRY: Well, they were examples of the types of projects we have that were shovel ready. But the way that the Recovery Act has been structured, there are funds coming from an assortment of different federal agencies and we put together a broad based commission of folks here in Lexington to assess what our priorities are in light of the way the Recovery Act has been structured.
So I think we're doing very well. We've probably identified about $30 million in stimulus funds that would be coming towards Lexington in the near future. I think that number can go up as we get into the competitive grants.
NGUYEN: Yes. We got a graphic that we're going to put up right now, looking at some $23 million and where that goes and very quickly, how much of this is going to support the horse racing industry. Because I know that is a major revenue generator for your city and other cities within Kentucky. We got the Kentucky derby coming up next weekend.
NEWBERRY: We do and Lexington prides itself as being the horse capital of the world. But really, all of this is going into public infrastructure. And so the horse industry will benefit from it just as every other citizen in our community will? But there is not any money that's targeted specifically for the horse industry.
NGUYEN: All right. Mayor Jim Newberry, thanks so much for your time today. We appreciate it.
NEWBERRY: Glad to be back.
NGUYEN: All right. Next hour, CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
From the CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
AQUI: And I'm Reggie Aqui, in for T.J. Holmes this morning. It is Saturday, April 25th. We are glad that you're starting your day with us.
NGUYEN: All right. So fingers are already pointing in massive South Carolina wildfire. One man may have started the blaze. We have the damage and the death threats straight ahead.
AQUI: All right. And just when you thought you got your FICO score up out of the tank, well soon you might have to maintain two, two separate FICO scores. We have an expert here. He's going to explain it. Confusing.
NGUYEN: Yes. In the meantime, let me talk about this, a deadly virus in Mexico. It has people on edge. Swine flu has killed at least 68 people and now public health officials in New York are concerned that a similar strain maybe at work there. What they're doing is testing 75 students from one Queens high school.
The flu outbreak in Mexico City led official there is to cancel school yesterday. We're talking seven million students from elementary to university had the day off. Now the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with the Mexican government. The agency's acting director calls the situation fluid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING CDC DIRECTOR: At the early stages of an outbreak, there's much uncertainty and probably more than everyone would like. Our guidelines and advice are likely to be interim and fluid. Subject to change as we learn more. We're moving quickly to learn as much as possible and working with many local, state, and international partners to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. So despite the situation in Mexico, U.S. health officials say there is no reason to panic but people at risk who have the symptoms should see a doctor. And let's tell you what those symptoms are. They include a high fever, 101, 102, also overwhelming fatigue, a lack of appetite, coughing. Swine flu is a strain of influenza that's usually found in pigs. Typically people get it after coming in direct contact with an infected animal. Although with this particular strain officials say it appears that there may be some person-to-person transmission.
Now we do want to let you know this. You cannot, I repeat, you cannot get swine flu by eating pork. The acting director of the CDC is going to join us live here on the air next hour. That's at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. You don't want to miss it.
AQUI: We're going to take to you Pakistan now where one official says the Taliban are pulling back after an aggressive move towards the capital. But even if the militants are no longer 60 miles from the capital, Islamabad, some U.S. officials aren't very relieved. We're going to take you to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson who is live in Islamabad.
So, Nic, has the Taliban withdrawn fully? What I heard last time was these were sort of visiting members of the Taliban but the local Taliban are still there.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we just talked to the army spokesman here, Reggie. He said there are about 50 Taliban, and I think it's very difficult to deal with numbers, he says about 50 are left in Buner. He says it's just the local Taliban, but they are supposed to put down their weapons.
All the other Taliban have moved back to the Swat Valley from where they came from. But what we're hearing from local residents and even some local officials in Buner is they are still seeing some Taliban around. They are still carrying weapons on the streets and this is not something - this goes against what the government has told them to do, to put down their weapons.
But it does appear they are just these local Taliban. But in a clear move by the government to reassert its influence over the area, it has fired the local official for that particular area. He has been moved on to other areas out of public interest is what the government said. And from what we understand, he was believed to have had very close ties with the Taliban.
What the army says it's doing at the moment is negotiating with the leader representative of the Taliban, Sufi Muhammad. But if that doesn't work, then they will go in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTAN MILITARY SPOKESMAN: There is one option he would be able to force the militants to lay down their arms and he is widely respected in the area. He has a following in the area. The government is trying its best that if it is done through Sufi Muhammad, there will not be any bloodshed in the area. But if Sufi Muhammad fails to force the militants to lay down their arms, then Sufi Muhammad will be sidelined and the state will decide its own option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And what we're hearing is those weapons haven't been laid down. When they say he'll be sidelined, the army will go in. The army spokesman said before the army can go in, however, they will have to evacuate the population and that could be hundreds of thousands of people, possibly as many as 1.5 million people, Reggie.
AQUI: Obviously, this is a situation that is not over yet. Nic Robertson in Islamabad, thanks.
NGUYEN: Well, secretary of state Hillary Clinton is in Baghdad this morning. Clinton's unannounced trip to the Iraqi capital comes a day after twin suicide bombings killed dozens of people. She's meeting with the top U.S. military leader in Iraq to get his assessment of the recent rash of attacks. Clinton's visit was not previously announced for security reasons.
AQUI: All right. There's a new CNN poll of polls out that shows most Americans believe the president is doing a good job. Let's take a look. 64 percent say they approve of the way Mr. Obama is handling the position. 28 percent disapprove. That CNN poll of polls averaged three national tracking polls taken between April 14th and April 21st.
But which president did better in their first 100 days? Well, we did some research and in April of 1961 Gallup poll shows that John F. Kennedy had an 83 percent approval rating. Only five percent disapprove. That's amazing.
NGUYEN: Wow.
AQUI: In fact, in 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower enjoyed a 100-day approval rating of 72 percent with only 10 percent disapproving. You can also weigh in on the president. Give him a grade, Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 a.m. Eastern in a CNN prime time event you and the best political team on TV will grade the president and then at 8:00 p.m., President Obama is going to grade himself during a live presidential news conference. Again, that is Wednesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN and cnn.com/reportcard.
NGUYEN: Yes. We just heard the Lexington, Kentucky, mayor say he gives him an "A." Do you feel that way? You can weigh in. This is your opportunity to take advantage of it.
AQUI: That is an interesting idea. I can't wait to see what people say.
All right. So, here is a change that you probably haven't heard about yet that could impact your credit score.
NGUYEN: Yes. The untold story about the new FICO score. Stay tuned for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
AQUI: All right. You are going to get the scoop right now. This is something that hasn't been announced but we are all over how your FICO score is about to change and this is going to affect everyone who cares about their credit. We've asked finance adviser Clyde Anderson to join us this morning, lay out the inside story on all of this. All right. So we're talking about, what, there are going to be two different scores that we have to keep track of now?
ANDERSON: Yes. It's not that you actually have to keep track of it. It's going to be a new score but it's a mortgage score so this is going to help the mortgage industry but it's also going to help the consumer in the end.
AQUI: All right.
ANDERSON: Because what they're going to do is better analyze the risk and what type of risk are you? Are you going to pay on time? What's the likelihood of you paying on time and how often will you pay? You know, are you going to pay every 30 days? Are you going to pay every 60 days? Those are the things that they're looking at. So, those are the key factors that are going to determine should they lend money to you? So they made mistakes in the past. They're trying not to go back and make the same mistakes.
AQUI: All right. So they're trying to, I guess, make it more accurate?
ANDERSON: Yes.
AQUI: Is that what essentially they are trying to do?
ANDERSON: They say it's 25 percent more accurate is what they are saying compared to the old beacon model that they used to use. So they've really gone in. They have scientist that go in and really determine what are the factors that are needed. They look at scores or credit reports from 2008 all the way back to maybe around 2003 to compile this new model and make it effective for lenders.
AQUI: So what do we as consumers have to know about all of this because you say that it could be good for us, but could it also be bad for us?
ANDERSON: Well, I wouldn't say bad. What they're going to focus on really is if you're a good house risk, not so much on the credit cards and some of the other things but are you a good lending risk to give a home to? So it's not so much that we have to monitor. It's going to happen regardless if we do anything. It's already underlying. It's in place and it's just like the credit score happens. It changes all the time and it's not something we can do besides pay everything on time and maintain that.
AQUI: Well, yes, there is nothing really we can do to prepare for this?
ANDERSON: Keep paying everything on time, maintain your credit score and that's the main thing. Then you'll always be a good risk.
AQUI: We're seeing people with credit scores, we were talking about this earlier, one of Betty's Facebook friend had a score in the 800s.
ANDERSON: A great score.
AQUI: It should be good, right?
ANDERSON: It's a great score.
AQUI: They're still getting treated like it's not good enough.
ANDERSON: Well, you have to understand, the credit card companies make most of their money off the people who pay late. The people that don't pay on time, the fees. That's where the money is coming from. So for you being a good customer, they don't make a lot of money off you. So they're still going to have to go in and you're going to be affected when they cut those limits, they bring that down. They have to do anything they can right now to stay afloat and so they're doing creative type of solutions to make it work and for them to stay in business.
AQUI: All right. So before we leave you right now, tell us this second FICO score, when can we expect that to come into our lives?
ANDERSON: They say fall of 2009. They have been talking about this for a long time. So there still maybe some changes that take place. But fall of 2009 is what FICO is saying right now that when we can expect to see these changes and start to see the effects. Hopefully it will keep more people in their homes, too.
AQUI: All right. We'll see how that goes. Trying to handle two of these scores. We can hardly handle one of them and now you're giving us more. All right. Well, thanks so much. I know we're going to be answering some more e-mails later on this morning with you.
ANDERSON: OK.
AQUI: Don't go anywhere.
NGUYEN: Good stuff there. All right. Well, they are letting the good times roll this weekend in the big easy. The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival opened last night with famed trumpeter and composer Winston Marsalis. Lots more though, big name musicians on tap for a little bit later today.
Our Sean Callebs is live in New Orleans this morning. Sean, we know how much of a good time it is and I know you're enjoying it. But how important is the jazz fest to the economy?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, without question it is key. It is one of the biggest events from the hot summer months roll around, a lot of tourists really don't flock to this area so this is something that they really depend on. A safe bet a lot of the people who came to the jazz fest yesterday are kind of knocking the rust off from the party the night before. We've heard them test the P.A., reloading the concession stand with ice, drink and food and really hoping for a big economic benefit over the next couple of weekends.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): To New Orleans, this is the sound of money. No matter how dire the economic conditions, it seems the jazz and heritage festival can always lift spirits and bolster the bottom line for area merchants, sort of just what the doctor ordered after months of talk of plunging 401(k)s and foreclosures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't see any worries, any tress here. This is a stress-free environment. Everybody loves it here. The music is amazing.
CALLEBS: The two weekends of jazz fest are expected to draw 400,000 people. Quint Davis is one of the event co-founders. He says about 40 percent of the crowd comes from outside Louisiana. And as you may imagine he is concerned the recession will take its toll on this year's gig.
QUINT DAVID, NEW ORLEANS JAZZ FEST: Our number one market is New York. Our number two market is California. We have 10 percent internationally, from overseas. Absolutely. And so those people, you know, there are a disproportionate number because they come and they go every day. They're here for the festival. So we were acutely aware this year that it would be, you know, a sacrifice to some people to make that trip.
CALLEBS: They embrace the blues, jazz, gospel and much more. And in between cuisine. Dig in the Cajun cuisine. The vendors like food for thoughts. Jeff Levy says crowds are being a little more tight with their money this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are here but it's a little light on eating. I think people are just being very, very careful and selective on what foods they really want.
CALLEBS: The festival ends at dusk every night but the party goes on. Patrons pour out of the fair grounds and into bars, restaurants and hotels. That means the patio and the rooms at the historic Columns Hotel are filled.
CLAIRE CREPPEL, OWNER, COLUMNS HOTEL: We are sold out a year in advance, always. CALLEBS: In good times and bad, before Reaganomics, before gas lines in the Carter years, before Watergate, there was jazz fest. 71- year-old Art Neville played the very first festival 40 years ago.
ART NEVILLE, MUSICIAN: You have to come to New Orleans. You have to come see the jazz fest. You have to be a part of it. Great food, you know, great everything you want, different artists, nowadays it is great.
CALLEBS: In a tourism driven economy, jazz fest has been the one constant, hitting sweet notes with fans as well as businesses in need of a little good news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: You know they are playing on the music acts. There are 5,000 musicians here during jazz fest. They can plan on the food. But the one thing they can't count on the weather. And Betty, that really has a huge, huge -- plays a big factor in how many people show up. And we got to tell you, our producer, Jason Morris, was out last night doing research well into the night at the blues bars, so if there's some shaky troubles on our end it's not from our shooter and I.
NGUYEN: Blame is on Jason. I'm sure you did a little research yourself. Hey, by the way, before you leave, you got to send me back some food.
CALLEBS: There is so much good food out here. Don't even start.
AQUI: (INAUDIBLE) is for Reggie.
NGUYEN: Yes, the list is long. We'll get you a list very shortly. All right. See you soon. Thanks, Sean.
And you know, as he mentioned, the weather is going to be key. Because this is a big part of the economy and they need it to be nice outside so people can come on out to jazz fest. Well, you know, I have a feeling they'll come rain or shine.
AQUI: They are. The drinks still taste as good, right? Whether it's raining or pouring.
NGUYEN: So, Reynolds, what's the verdict?
WOLF: The weather should be pretty good but have any of you been to jazz fest?
AQUI: I haven't.
NGUYEN: I've always wanted to go. I'm always working.
WOLF: I've had some blurred memories. It was a while back.
NGUYEN: You were doing that research, too, I see. WOLF: It was in college. A long time ago. Good times. Hey, guys, let me show you what we got in terms of good times. The weather in New Orleans should be just picture perfect. What we're going to be seeing in many location is just a breeze coming in out of the south. Really nice conditions, plenty of sunshine today and tomorrow in the Big Easy.
However, you go a little bit further back out towards the west, we could be dealing with some strong storms from Houston back into Austin and even into Dallas. But when you get into extreme north Texas, into parts of the panhandle of Oklahoma and parts of southern Kansas, near Wichita, strong storms possible into the afternoon.
They are just going to roll up all the way into the Great Lakes but back out to the east especially in places like Myrtle Beach where they are desperate for rainfall, they really need it to help fight the fires today, no such luck for them. Looks like it's going to be a rough time for them.
Speaking of rough, some stronger storms this morning in parts of, say, the western Great Lakes. But take a look at this. although we're seeing rain in Green Bay, in spots like Medford, and back later. Also a little bit of snow mixed up in parts of the U.P.. Again, the calendar, what's going on? It's April. We're seeing snowfall. Go figure.
Let's send it back to you guys. Let the good times roll.
NGUYEN: As always. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet, guys. It's a good thing.
AQUI: I want to know about the fuzzy memories that he has.
NGUYEN: Well, has President Obama kept his promises since his election? Josh Levs will be joining us with a breakdown of that.
LEVS: Hey there, guys. It's time to look at the Obameter. We are going to see how many campaign pledges this president has kept and how many he's broken.
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NGUYEN: All right. So we are just getting word that our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on a teleconference with the head of the World Health Organization regarding the swine flu outbreak. I do want to let you know we are understanding from "Time" magazine, a report there, that says the Centers for Disease Control is getting a vaccine ready in case, just in case, of a swine flu pandemic. But the director says it is too early to raise alarms of a pandemic at this point.
AQUI: Right now there are no travel restrictions, but they are warning people of where this is happening. We're talking about Texas and California ...
NGUYEN: It originated in Mexico. AQUI: Yes. it originated in Mexico. Of course, they're testing those kids in New York to see if this is the swine flu or perhaps something else. So there are a lot of questions about that. We're going to be speaking to the acting director of the CDC right down the street from us actually here in Atlanta, in our next hour. So you'll want to stick around. We have a lot of questions for him. We'll see what he has to say.
NGUYEN: And Dr. Gupta will give us a call as soon as he gets an update off of that teleconference and so as soon as we get more information on this, we're going to bring that straight to you. But in the meantime, President Obama has made a whole lot of promises both on the campaign trail and in office. So is he keeping those promises?
AQUI: Our Josh Levs is checking in on that. So, what do we know, Josh.
LEVS: For this, we turn to the Obameter, which is from Politifact.com who did a great job. I managed to talk with the head of Politifact and I asked him how is the president doing when it comes to keeping those promises?
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BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: He is off to a pretty energetic start. Just 100 days into his presidency or nearly 100 days, he has by our calculations broken only six. So now it's important to note that's 514 promises total that are in our database so he has a lot more to go but he has made some progress on some pretty significant ones and so I think he's got some early momentum here.
LEVS: Still, the truth is, people vote when promises are made. Promises should be kept. Obviously there's a change in circumstances. But if it's a promise and you guys have declared it's broken, that means it truly is broken not just the result of an outside situation. So talk to me about these broken ones. What should people know about that category?
ADAIR: You bet. Of the six promises broken they include things like a promise he made that he was going to post bills on the White House Web site and give people five days to comment. He didn't do that. He wanted to sign bills immediately after they were passed by Congress, and so we rate that had one a broken.
Another one that earned a broken was his promise about putting restrictions on lobbyists who wanted to serve in his administration. He claimed that he was going to end the revolving door for lobbyists but we found he put in so many loopholes into his policy that it really made the policy not what he said it would be. So he earned a promise broken on that.
LEVS: You also did something interesting, you rated what you think are the most important promises. And when I looked specifically at that list, it looks like he's doing particularly well on that list, right? ADAIR: When you look at overall at the major things and the theme that he had during his campaign, ending the war in Iraq, beefing up the presence in Afghanistan, those are things that he has made progress on. In the case of Afghanistan we rated that a promise kept because he's sending additional brigades to Afghanistan.
On some much of his other things, though, he's got some work to do. One of his big promises was a cap in trade program to create a system to limit global warming and he still has to push that through Congress and that's going to be a tough one.
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LEVS: For more info on this, you can see politifact.com and weigh in on our discussions right here. We'll show you we have a lot of discussions going on. You got my Facebook page, Josh Levs CNN, a brand new Twitter page, learning how to use it, Twitter.com/joshlevscnn. You got the e-mail address there. Weigh in, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the president's first 100 days. There you go, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks.
AQUI: We'll see you later, Josh. All right. CNN SATURDAY MORNING will be back right after this.
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AQUI: We'll see you in a half hour. "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Gerri Willis starts right now.
