American Morning
Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/28/art_arlen_specter_gi.jpg caption= "Sen. Arlen Specter was expected to face a tough primary challenge in 2010."]
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Veteran Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter told colleagues Tuesday that he switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party, Sen. Harry Reid says.
The Specter party switch would give Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.
"Since my election in 1980, as part of the Reagan Big Tent, the Republican Party has moved far to the right," Specter said in a statement posted by his office on PoliticsPA.com.
"Last year, more than 200,000 Republicans in Pennsylvania changed their registration to become Democrats. I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."
Family isolated with swine flu
The swine flu has hit one family right where they live. The Henshaw family has been in voluntary isolation since their son, their daughter and also the father were diagnosed with the swine flu virus. So how is the family coping? The Henshaws spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Tuesday from their home in Cibolo, Texas.
Kiran Chetry: Robin, you're still free of the swine flu. You are all wearing masks as a precaution and because our camera people are there filming in your home. Thanks for being with us. Patrick, why don't you start by telling us what happened. How did you guys find out that you, indeed, did have members of your family infected with swine flu and what happened from there?
Patrick Henshaw: Robin took Hayden to the doctor because he had had a fever, his throat was sore and we just assumed he might have strep throat or something. While she was at the doctor, a message came over the phone from our superintendent of education saying two children had tested positive for swine flu and so while they were at the doctor, I called her and asked her if they would see about checking Hayden and that is when he tested positive for that strain.
U.S. and Cuba hold meeting
U.S. and Cuban diplomatic officials met in Washington Monday, fueling more talk of thawing relations.
It was the second meeting between a top State department official and Cuba's chief diplomat here in Washington since President Obama took office.
There was no hard agenda, just an effort to overcome decades of hard feelings.
Swine flu cases — suspected and confirmed — rise
(CNN) — The number of suspected and confirmed swine flu cases rose around the world early Tuesday, as health officials announced new measures to contain the outbreak. By early Tuesday, the swine flu outbreak in Mexico was suspected in 152 deaths and more than 1,600 illnesses, its health minister told reporters.
So far, at least 90 cases have been confirmed worldwide, including 50 in the United States, 26 in Mexico (including seven deaths), six in Canada, three in New Zealand, two each in Spain and the United Kingdom, and one in Israel.
With at least 11 other countries suspecting infections, the World Health Organization has raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale.
The following is a sample of what some countries are doing to combat the virus:
CANADA
Cases: Six mild cases
Measures:
– Issued a travel health notice, saying its public health agency was “tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico.”
CHINA
Cases: None
Measures:
– Banned pork imports from Mexico, and from California, Kansas and Texas in the United States.
INDIA
Cases: None
Measures:
– Indian health officials advised citizens to postpone their non-essential travel to the swine flu-hit regions.
– Stepped up surveillance at ports and airports.
– States asked to review their preparedness.
INDONESIA
Cases: None
Measures:
– Increased surveillance; testing the temperatures of travelers flying into the country.
ISRAEL
Cases: One man who recently returned from Mexico has tested positive for swine flu, and is recovering at a hospital. Doctors are running tests on a second man who also traveled to Mexico.
Measures:
– The Health Ministry has not issued special instructions to the public, nor adopted measures for monitoring those returning from Mexico.
– The country is calling the outbreak “Mexico flu” so that citizens do not have to pronounce the name of an animal considered impure in Judaism and Islam.
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Apology not good enough for NY plane scare
By Frances Fragos Townsend
CNN Contributor
Editor's note: Frances Fragos Townsend, a CNN contributor on national security issues, served as President George W. Bush's chief anti-terrorism and homeland security adviser. Townsend has spent more than two decades in the fields of intelligence and criminal justice and has served during the past three administrations. Townsend is currently a consultant to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/28/townsend.art.jpg caption= "Former Homeland Security Adviser Frances Townsend calls the NYC plane scare 'felony stupidity.'"]
Yesterday, a Boeing 747 that functions as Air Force One and two F16 fighter jets buzzed the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan on what was described as a combination photo shoot and training mission. The over flight created panic and confusion among New Yorkers for whom the memory of September 11, 2001 remains seared in their minds. Like many New Yorkers, I lost a friend in the attack on the World Trade Center and was outraged by the insensitivity on display yesterday. Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office acknowledged responsibility for the gross lack of judgment in his decision and he apologized. That is not good enough.
President Obama and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel were described to me as rightly shocked and furious when they learned about the over flight. It is my understanding that they are looking into how this outrageous error could have been made. While the White House has said that it shares blame with two midlevel New York officials who were notified in advance, this is a weak and specious defense. After all, if Mr. Caldera had not approved the over flight there would have been no need for a notification. Furthermore, if the White House Military Office needed a training mission and a photo of Air Force One over a national icon there were more appropriate choices...say the Grand Canyon or Mt. Rushmore!
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Filed under: Commentary • White House