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Boy Taken at Gunpoint Found Safe; Customer No Service; Walter Reed in Need; Academy Awards Excitement

Aired February 23, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

He's safe. A Florida boy is found alive after an Amber Alert sparked a massive manhunt. The search goes on for the man who allegedly forced Clay Moore into his truck at gunpoint.

We're following the latest news.

LEMON: And it is "Fight Back Friday" here at CNN. Just ahead, how one woman's travel nightmare led her to push for a passenger bill of rights. Now a California congressman is taking the case all the way to Capitol Hill.

PHILLIPS: A body shop for the battle scarred. We'll take you to a monster military garage where vehicles damaged in Iraq are put back in fighting shape.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, hold the alert. The child is safe. If you've been with us in the NEWSROOM, you heard a Florida sheriff announce a happy ending to a kidnap drama that started at a school bus stop this morning.

Reporter Preston Rudie of CNN affiliate WTSP joins us now from Parrish, Florida. The

search still on for the suspect, though, right?

PRESTON RUDIE, REPORTER, WTSP: That's correct, Kyra. And, you know, the sheriff told us just a little while ago the nightmare is now over. Up until this point, he says that today really has been just that, a nightmare. And he says it is a heck of a relief that 13-year- old Clay Moore has been located and that he is OK.

Now, where I am right now is about a half mile from the bus stop where apparently Clay Moore was abducted around 9:00 Eastern Time this morning. He was located about 20 miles from here in what authorities tell us what kind of a cattle ranch.

We don't know whether or not he was able to free himself or whether his abductor had actually freed him. But we do know that he is now with sheriff's deputies. He's going to be questioned by deputies in the next hour, and then he will be reunited with his parents, who are obviously very happy that he is OK and that he will be returning to his parents here shortly.

Now, we can tell you, according to authorities, that at least there are no visible signs of Clay Moore being injured. But as you also said, at this hour, this is only half the story. There is a manhunt that is now continuing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Our investigation really is ongoing as it was an hour and a half ago, or up until the time that we received this news. We're on the same manhunt that we were. We just have -- we just have Clay.

Our suspect is still at large. We'll be doing everything that we can to locate him and bring him to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RUDIE: And the suspect, according to authorities, is described as a white male with tan or dark skin, about 5'7", 5'9". He has short, dark hair, and he was last seen driving a faded maroon extended cab pickup. That's apparently what he was driving this morning.

Authorities tell us they do hope to get more information as they interview Clay Moore as to what happened here this morning. But the good news, at least this 13-year-old boy is coming home alive -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Preston Rudie, thanks so much.

LEMON: One of the first to get in is one of the first to get out. Former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack is calling off the campaign he kicked off back in November for the Democratic nomination for president. The reason, of course, is money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM VILSACK (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This process has become to a great extent about money. A lot of money. And it is clear to me that we would not be able to continue to raise money in the amounts necessary to sustain not just a campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, but a campaign across this country. So it is money and only money that is the reason that we are leaving today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: No help, no service, no deal. It's a battle cry of the fed-up consumer. And CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff discovered businesses are taking note.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT, (voice-over): Plumber Lyndon Price (ph) tries to avoid shopping at Home Depot because, he says, sales people often can't find parts he needs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to go and search it out myself. Like, here, you know, I always get great service from these guys.

CHERNOFF: These guys, Victor and Richie Wishne (ph), have been in business longer than Home Depot. They say their store, Orange Valley Hardware, in Orange, New Jersey, is taking customers away from the giant competitor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If someone comes in here, they don't have to search a warehouse like Home Depot to find someone to help them. We're going to be able to accommodate them, take care of them, more of a personalized situation. And we'll take care of the business with them and they will come back.

CHERNOFF: Home Depot this week reported its first annual profit decline. The home improvement retailer says it hears the complaints and is working to improve.

JOSE LOPEZ, HOME DEPOT: Service is something you just can't take for granted. And a little bit of slippage can have a huge impact on your brand.

CHERNOFF: Home Depot is not alone. At many retail stores, it's become harder to find sales help. At the airport, too many passengers suffered through nightmare delays, not just on JetBlue. On the phone, it's tough to reach human help without navigating through voice mail hell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press 3. I'm sorry, I don't recognize your selection.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Why is it that good customer service is so hard to come by these days? Many companies under pressure to boost profits have been cutting service staff, figuring they can let customers do more of the work. Increasingly, we're becoming a self- service society.

(voice-over): It's not all bad. At the supermarket, scanning and even bagging your own groceries can save time, as can checking in by yourself at an airline kiosk. But in service businesses, those who still provide real service are thriving. Commerce Bank, one of the fastest growing banks on the East Coast, is open seven days a week and in the evening. One reason Florence Benjamin switched to Commerce.

FLORENCE BENJAMIN, COMMERCE BANK CUSTOMER: You get here by like 7:00 or 8:00 and they're open to you. And like I said, everyone's always friendly, available to you, ready for you.

KATHLEEN PETRONIS, COMMERCE BANK BRANCH MANAGER: It's all about the customer experience when they walk inside the doors. That is our model.

CHERNOFF: A growing number of customers are willing to pay upscale prices at service oriented Nordstrom department stores, where profits are soaring. Consumers are fighting back not just by switching to competing stores, they're doing more shopping online. And if they're unhappy with their shopping experience or their purchase, they can easily let the world know. Everyone is a critic at Epinions and other online review sites. Consumers may still get frustrated, but these days they are empowered, able to fight back as never before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you very much.

CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN, Orange, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The U.S. military says it was all a big misunderstanding. Troops today stopped an armed convoy near the Iranian border, detained the people and took their weapons. What they didn't know was that they stopped the son of a senior Shiite politician, one of the most powerful men in Iraq.

Amar al-Hakim's (ph) father is the leader of the United Iraqi Alliance, Iraq's dominant political coalition. The son and his entourage were held for several hours. The military is investigating and the U.S. ambassador has apologized.

LEMON: A U.S. military aircraft went down in Afghanistan today. Nobody was hurt. Nobody was even on board.

It was one of those unmanned aerial vehicles, a satellite- controlled predator equipped with cameras or weapons. An Air Force spokesman blames the crash on mechanical failure and said it went down in a remote and unpopulated region.

PHILLIPS: From the Korean conflict to the Iraq war, no place is more synonymous with best care anywhere than the Army's premier medical facility, Walter Reed. But Walter Reed's good name isn't quite as good as it used to be. And today the secretary of defense weighed in.

More now live from the Pentagon and our senior correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

Hi, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, after an early morning visit to Walter Reed this morning, an obviously angry defense secretary, Robert Gates, insisted that U.S. commanders will be held accountable for allowing wounded soldiers to live in what he called unacceptable conditions at the outpatient facilities at Walter Reed. Gates announced an independent panel will inspect Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as well as any other medical center it chooses, and report back in 45 days.

But Gates insisted it won't take that long to take action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The men and women recovering at Walter Reed and at other military hospitals have put their lives on the line and paid a considerable price for defending our country. They should not have to recuperate in substandard housing, nor should they be expected to tackle mountains of paperwork and bureaucratic processes during this difficult period for themselves and for their families.

They battled our foreign enemies. They should not have to battle an American bureaucracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, Kyra, the living conditions at this building 18, the outpatient facility just outside the gate of Walter Reed, are one thing. But many soldiers say the real problem is the mountain of bureaucracy that they have to go through to try to get -- navigate their way through the process there. And that's one thing they are going to tackle.

Now, CNN has learned that the company commander and two first sergeants in charge of that now notorious facility have been relieved of their duties for failing to report the unacceptable living conditions there. And as I said, Defense Secretary Gates says other heads may roll.

That could possibly include some additional scrutiny given to the Army's surgeon general, who, in a tour of the facility with reporters just yesterday, downplayed the seriousness of the problem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. KEVIN KILEY, U.S. ARMY SURGEON GENERAL: We have, frankly, fixed all those problems. So they weren't serious and there weren't a lot of them. Many of the rooms were in good shape. It's not quite the caliber of this building, which is a much, much newer building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: General Kiley there disputed the characterization in "The Washington Post" story that called the conditions at that building "substandard." He said he wouldn't call them substandard, but that was sharply disputed by Secretary Gates today, who said he took both of those articles into a staff meeting on Tuesday, when he demanded quick action, and he said in his inspection he didn't find anything in those articles that was substantially incorrect.

So he's promising that people will be held accountable as soon as he has all the facts -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jamie, can you just give a few examples of what the allegations were, what exactly was wrong in there? And do they have crews there this moment trying to fix whatever the complaints were about?

MCINTYRE: Yes. I mean, they've been working on it, actually, before -- even before "The Post" articles came out over the weekend. And, you know, I went and inspected this facility myself. It's -- you know, it's not squalid, but there were a lot of problems -- peeling paint, there were ancient fixtures, there was some mold in places, which is obviously you don't want to have in a facility. There were mouse droppings, indicating that there was a rodent infestation there.

So if you had checked into this facility as a hotel, which it used to be, you'd have probably checked out right away and looked for some place else. But again, part of the problem is not just the living conditions at this particular facility, but just the overall problem of the forms that these wounded soldiers have to fill out, the lack of help they get in getting to appointments for counseling and that sort of thing. And that's a big part of the problem they're going to tackle as well.

PHILLIPS: That's just unacceptable for the men and women who fight for this country.

Jamie McIntyre, appreciate it.

LEMON: Well, the so-called X-rated X-ray machine gets a little less explicit. But are critics of the system satisfied about it? Well, we'll take a look straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: The JetBlue nightmare struck a nerve with travelers everywhere and added fuel to Kate Hanni's fire. Up next in the NEWSROOM, the accidental activist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was supposed to be a direct flight from Dallas to Newark, New Jersey. Instead, American Airlines Flight 1354 made an emergency landing in Louisville, Kentucky, after smoke seeped into the cabin and cockpit. Four people were hospitalized. Others were treated at the airport. The problem apparently came from the air-conditioning.

LEMON: Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to be at the airport? The new X-ray machine at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix can tell, but don't be shy.

CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports the latest form of the controversial technology is much more PG than X.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The X-rated X-ray isn't what it used to be. The controversial backscatter technology, once called an electric strip-search because it produced explicit images of the human body, has been blurred up and toned down. But the Transportation Security Administration says backscatter can still detect plastic weapons and other threats that conventional magnetometers cannot.

ELLEN HOWE, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMIN.: We're comfortable that this machine will provide both privacy for the public and enhanced security at the check point.

MESERVE: Starting today passengers undergoing secondary screening at the Phoenix airport will have a choice -- a pat-down or a backscatter body scan.

HOWE: The whole process takes about 45 seconds. You have two scans. It's very low-dose radiation. That can see through the clothing, but not through the skin. And it's equivalent to the amount of radiation that you would get, say, in two minutes in an airplane flight at altitude.

MESERVE: To address privacy concerns the TSA employees who view the images will be in a different room from the people being scanned. Only men will view male images. Women will view women.

(on camera): But privacy advocates are concerned that those more detailed, embarrassing images are being stored inside the machine.

MARC ROTENBERG, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFO. CNTR.: It captures an image of a person as if they were wearing no clothes -- and in quite a bit of detail.

MESERVE (voice-over): But the manufacturer says this machine has been modified and only generates an outline. Never an explicit image, and nothing is saved.

JOE REISS, AMERICAN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING: It's absolutely not like a digital camera. The machine is actually designed explicitly so that it can't store or save any images.

MESERVE: Backscatter machines can be powered up at Los Angeles International Airport and New York's JFK before the end of the year, if this pilot program in Phoenix shows the public will accept backscatter, and that the $100,000 machine provides better security than an old-fashioned, cost-effective pat-down.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Phoenix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Make sure you stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

PHILLIPS: JetBlue passengers were more than bored while stuck on the tarmac last week. Just ahead, could an airline bill of rights, an actual law passed by Congress, prevent future travel nightmares?

We're going to take a closer look from the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: "Monster Garage," military edition. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we'll take you to the Red River Army Depot where a tune-up can mean the difference between life and death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: JetBlue made waves this week with its passengers' bill of rights. But what about a bill of rights for cell phone users?

On this "Fight Back Friday," Susan Lisovicz has the 411 on making better connections with your cellular company.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

You buy your ticket and you take your chances. But if your flight is delayed or canceled, do they owe you? And if so, how much?

It is "Fight Back Friday." And we're talking about a passenger bill of rights right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, we start with this at the bottom of the hour. It's show and tell at the White House. President Bush got under the hood of some alternative fuel vehicles today in the driveway of the executive mansion.

Let's check in with our Elaine Quijano. She's at the White House.

What did he find?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don.

Well, you know, you stole my line. That's exactly what it was.

Well, what he found, what they brought, were a couple of alternative energy vehicles. He had a truck there that was an electric truck, and he had a hybrid as well that was plugged in, getting juiced up, we presume.

The president came out and took a little bit of a look at both vehicles. And this was after a meeting with scientists, as well as entrepreneurs.

You know, the president laid out his energy proposals back in the State of the Union Address, and he's been touting them ever since. Well, today he looked at these two vehicles, really, as sort of ways to get his goals accomplished.

The president really would like to see over the next 10 years a 20 percent decrease in the amount of gasoline that Americans use. And he says these vehicles are examples of how the United States can achieve those goals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's necessary for national security purposes. It's necessary for economic security purposes. And it's necessary in order to be good stewards of the environment.

My question is, is it a practical goal? Can we achieve that goal? And the answer is, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, this is coming on the heels, of course, of the president this past week touting ethanol as well, and not just ethanol made from corn, but from other sources. The president again, Don, really looking to show the American people that there are areas of research that are quite promising in the area of alternative energy.

At the same time, this is an administration that of course has been very heavily criticized for its policy when it comes to global warming and climate change. The Bush administration, though, saying that achieving these energy goals will go a long way to helping the environment. Don?

LEMON: So Elaine, just looking under the hood, he didn't take one out for a test spin, did he?

QUIJANO: You know we asked his deputy press secretary earlier and they said they had to take the keys away, as a precaution, as a precaution, they took the keys away.

LEMON: Elaine Quijano, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Well we've heard the regrets from JetBlue and from Congress, calls for airlines to take responsibility. But will anything really change for airline passengers stranded by weather or scheduling? CNN's Randi Kaye takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kate Hanni and her family bought four seats on American Airlines flight 1348 from San Francisco to Dallas last December, final destination, Alabama. It was meant to be fun but bad weather diverted the flight to Austin, where it sat for hours. Hanni says tarmac rage kicked in.

KATE HANNI, STRANDED PASSENGER: We were begging them to take us to a gate or to send buses out and get us off the plane.

KAYE: Conditions on board Hanni recalls became intolerable.

HANNI: We had no toilet facilities that are usable. We had one package of pretzels in 13 hours and water from the sinks to drink.

KAYE: American Airlines says the plane was restocked with water and snacks and the toilets did not overflow. Not in dispute, passengers waited on the plane for more than eight hours.

HANNI: I heard the pilots begging for gates and them summarily being told, no, you can't have a gate.

KAYE: The airport was overflowing with other diverted flights. In the end it took Hanni and her family 57 hours to get to Mobile. She argues a passenger bill of rights would have changed everything. In less than two months, more than 12,000 people have signed a petition on her blog demanding one. But even if Congress passes a bill of rights, critics say it won't change anything. The reason? Weather.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well the airlines will drive a 747 through the loophole and everything that goes wrong was weather's fault. Nothing that you've mandated in the law will actually happen.

KAYE: What would have happened in 1999 when Northwest passengers were stuck on planes in Detroit for 8 1/2 hours? Or this past December when 5,000 stranded travelers spent two days at Denver Airport. And what about JetBlue's mess last week? Would a bill of rights really accomplish anything?

JOE BRANCATELLI, WWW.JOESENTIME.COM: They have no rights at all. Oddly, a pilot has more power than a policeman, a prosecutor and a judge put together. He is the absolute lord of that tube.

KAYE (on camera): So what exactly are your rights? We checked the Department of Transportation's Web site where most major carriers list their contracts of carriage, a fancy name for customer service policy. While most promise to make a reasonable effort to meet passenger needs, not one of the airlines listed actually limits, in writing, the number of hours passengers can be made to wait.

(voice-over): After its problems in December, American says it won't keep passengers on the tarmac more than four hours. But that's not mentioned in the carrier's contract. Senator Barbara Boxer is proposing a three-hour limit. JetBlue's CEO, who just introduced the airline's own bill of rights, doesn't want Congress mandating one.

DAVID NEELEMAN, JETBLUE FOUNDER/CEO: And at three hours and one minute the pilot comes on and says, we're ready to go, all systems are go, we would have had you in your destination in two hours, the Congress has mandated that we take you back to the gate and cancel the flight. That would be absolutely a travesty, and I hope they don't do that.

KAYE: Kate Hanni says something has to change. For her 57-hour ordeal, she got four flight vouchers worth $500 each. She would gladly have traded them for a trip back to the gate.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And when Kate Hanni spoke, a congressman listened. Up next in the NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with both about a passenger's bill of rights.

LEMON: Is a paternity test worth a whole season of Maury Povich episodes? Well, it is the latest drama surrounding the demise of Anna Nicole Smith ahead in the NEWSROOM, whose Dannielynn's daddy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Paternity is the issue, but proper jurisdiction comes first. There's more questions than answers from an emergency hearing over the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn. Attorneys for Larry Birkhead tried to persuade a judge in Florida today to turn over samples of Smith's DNA, but Judge Lawrence Korda says he's not convinced it's his call. Since Dannielynn lives in the Bahamas, he says the judge there may have jurisdiction. He says he wants to think more about it and maybe talk with his counterpart in California where the suit was originally filed.

LEMON: It is fight-back Friday and even if you were not there, we won't soon forget the pictures. Passengers stuck on planes, going nowhere. Hundreds of others stuck in long lines waiting to go anywhere. Just moments ago, we introduced you to one woman whose own travel nightmare sparked her to fight back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANNI: We had no toilet facilities that were usable. We had one package of pretzels in 13 hours and water from the sinks to drink.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well that was her story and here is Kate Hanni in person in Washington and in Sacramento, California, Representative Mike Thompson, the congressman she's been work with on a passenger bill of rights. Kate, I'm going to start with you. Are you over it yet?

KATE HANNI, BILL OF RIGHTS ADVOCATE: No.

LEMON: That's a one-word answer. Why not?

HANNI: Well, I've told the story probably 400 times now, and every time I tell it, I become passionate again. When I think through the number of times we were dismissed by the airlines and they blamed it on the weather.

LEMON: Yeah and you -- do you go right back there every time you tell the story? Do you get just as angry?

HANNI: Yes.

LEMON: Yes.

HANNI: Yes, I never felt like we were acknowledged.

LEMON: Now American Airlines, they do admit that they made some mistakes. I think their wording was that we did not make the right decisions on that day. So they agree that they made some mistakes and that they need some improvement. You want this passenger bill of rights and here's what it spells out. It says that the passenger bill of rights says you can deplane after three hours, right?

HANNI: Yes.

LEMON: Airlines must provide food, safe water, sanitary bathrooms and ventilation. That was a problem that day. Airlines must update passengers on cause and timing of delays. Airlines must disclose info on delayed/cancelled flights at the time of the ticket purchase. Representative Thompson, is this going to -- how is this going to make a difference? How are you going to enforce this?

REP. MIKE THOMPSON, (D) CALIFORNIA: Well, I think it would provide a greater level of comfort for the passengers. And that's what we're talking about. No one disputes the fact that weather plays an important role. Airport infrastructure plays an important role.

But no one should be held hostage for eight or nine hours on a tarmac. There's got to be some reasonable way to get people off of those airplanes. And for the time that they are on the airplanes, they ought to be able to have access to clean air, reasonable temperature, clean water, and some sort of food. We're not asking for a lot here.

LEMON: I understand -- I think most people agree with that. But here's the thing, people are going to say and here's the feedback we've been getting, people are going to blame the weather all the time because you really can't -- if mother nature is bearing down that day during your flight when it's taking off or landing, there's really not much you can do. So people are going to find a way around it or they're just going to start yanking planes off runways and people won't be able to get to where they're going. How are you going to enforce this?

THOMPSON: Well we'll have a provision in the bill that I'm going to introduce that says that passengers can deplane after three hours and there's got to be some sort of flexibility so if the pilot, if there is some reasonable expectation.

LEMON: Ok, apparently we have lost him and apparently, he's saying if there's some reasonable expectation. Do we have him back? Ok, go ahead. Continue what you were saying, sorry about that, a little satellite break up.

THOMPSON: So there's got to be some flexibility. So if there is a reasonable expectation that the flight can take off, we've got to provide that type of flexibility. So I don't want to -- and I don't think anybody wants to constrain the airline companies. But we've got to have some protection in there for passengers. They should not be held hostage on these flights.

LEMON: And Kate you know that old saying that you can't fight city hall. Can you really fight the airlines? Because you're kind of at their mercy when you're stuck in there. Do you think that you as an individual, a consumer, can make that much of a difference with this new passenger bill of rights?

HANNI: Well, I absolutely do. And Mike Thompson is my hero for being willing to take this cause and run with it so early. He saw the need. He agreed to take this on before I was aware anyone else would, and I -- our cause has grown.

We've got 13,000-plus people in our coalition now that are frustrated, stranded passengers that have all been on flights with different airlines. And are all passionate about this and are angry that airlines have the right to hold people indefinitely and that they weren't aware of the caveat regarding delays and that the airlines could blame it on the weather.

LEMON: Kate or Mike, either of you can answer this, do you think that -- I mean do we really need the federal government to be stepping in and doing this? Shouldn't the airlines, the industry as a whole take this on themselves?

THOMPSON: Well, they had an opportunity to do that. This isn't the first time there's been talk of a passenger's bill of rights. And it was the airline industry back in the young 2000's that said that they were going to deal with these issues. And as we know, they haven't.

I just want to say one other thing on your previous question, Kate and all those folks who were stranded on the tarmac in these different airports, they've already made a difference. There's already people looking at -- some airlines have announced that they're going to do their own passenger bill of rights. I've met with presidents of different airlines who are interested in working something through that makes sense to both the airline companies and the passengers.

And there's also other issues such as the regulations under which the airlines operate. We need to make sure that maybe you don't have to go sit on the tarmac. And if you wait at the gate, you don't lose your place in the queue. I think this is going to spark a whole new round of discussions that's going to make it better not only for the passengers, but for the airline companies as well.

LEMON: And I think it's a very interesting discussion because many of us have been delayed on runways and we've sat there and sat there. Just real quick, when are you going to introduce this legislation?

THOMPSON: I'm going to introduce the bill next week. We've already had a lot of interest from colleagues, from a number of people who want to co-author the bill. As you mentioned before, there's companion legislation in the Senate. And I think this is going to just create a better traveling situation for everyone concerned.

LEMON: Kate Hanni and Representative Mike Thompson, thanks to both of you.

HANNI: Thank you.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, entertainment news with Sibila Vargas. Sibila, it's a huge weekend for Hollywood.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It sure is and I have to tell you about one Cinderella story. I'll give you a hint. You're going to love her, when the NEWSROOM continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Former "American Idol" makes good and come this weekend, she could make real good. Is that proper grammar? Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins me now live with more good news. Hey, Sibila.

VARGAS: That's right. Grammar out the window, it's the Oscars, that's all that's important. But Jennifer Hudson, that's right. She is the Cinderella story this year. No one fits that description better than her. I mean this woman went from "American Idol" reject to taking the industry by storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS (voice-over): It would appear they do and for Jennifer Hudson, what a journey it's been.

JENNIFER HUDSON, SINGER/ACTRESS: When I was 19 years old, I cruised the seas working for Disney. When I was 21, I was on "American Idol", the number one TV show and I toured with the idols at 22. Twenty-three, 24, I was filming "Dreamgirls." And, what am I, 25 now, I'm a Golden Globe winner. And now I have a record deal.

VARGAS (on camera): Long before "Dreamgirls" made her a household name, 7-year-old Jennifer Hudson got her start here, singing at Pleasant Gift Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Back then the Oscar nominated songbird was hardly the star attraction.

HUDSON: And they never wanted to give me a chance. I guess because I was so young, they didn't think I could do it. But eventually it went from no, you can't have a solo to now I can't walk in a church without singing.

VARGAS: Hudson grew up in Chicago's rough Inglewood area where she attended the same school as music greats Lou Rawls and the Staple sisters.

HUDSON: And that's one of the things that inspired me growing up as a kid, knowing that I can be in the presence of. So that must mean I can achieve it.

VARGAS: But not without tremendous difficulty, including a very painful, very public seventh place dismissal from "American Idol."

SIMON COWELL, "AMERICAN IDOL": Let me sum this up for you. I think you're out of your depth in this competition.

HUDSON: Once again, even after "Idol" it's like there was absolutely nothing. Like, ok, God, what is next? What do I do?

VARGAS: Then came the call that would change Hudson's life forever. With no acting experience, Hudson beat out 780 actors the part of Effie White. The role has earned her a near sweep of this year's acting awards and catapulted her to stardom.

HUDSON: It's like, ah!

VARGAS: Now strolling through the Roosevelt Hotel where they handed out the first Oscars, the once defeated "Dreamgirl" is now on top poised to take Hollywood's biggest prize.

HUDSON: I'm just a normal girl, just like the girl next door who just had a dream and went after it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VARGAS: In just a matter of two days, Jennifer Hudson is going to be walking down this red carpet, which right now is actually covered by some plastic because you never know when it's going to rain and they want to make sure it's pristine. She'll be walking down this red carpet along with so many other celebrities, wall to wall celebrities. This is about 500 feet of carpet going down this entire area and it's about 33 feet wide.

On my left we'll have lots of media outlets, including CNN. We're going to be there covering everything, giving you every moment, every big star that comes down the red carpet, so you'll be able to see that. But this is just extraordinary right now. Everyone -- it just gets busy and busier every other day. And I guess tomorrow it's just going to be at a fever pitch and Sunday, forget about it.

But right now there are hundreds of people surrounding me. Everyone from producers to television shows. We've got the press conference. We've got people still working on laying down the rest of the red carpet and also just making sure that this place looks beautiful and pristine. Back to you guys.

PHILLIPS: All right, we look forward to your coverage. Thanks, Sibila.

LEMON: Well, rising energy costs are one thing but a billion- dollar electric bill. That's right, billion, with a B. Can you imagine? Mine is high, but not that high. A Texas shocker ahead in the NEWSROOM.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And this storm system, which is crawling through the Rockies about to set its sights on the central plains bringing heavy snow, large hail, maybe even tornadoes in time for the weekend. We'll give you the full scoop coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Hey Reynolds and Kyra, what's the biggest utility bill you've ever gotten? Do you remember?

PHILLIPS: Yes, 600 bucks. I do remember.

LEMON: Reynolds, both of you guys, watch this. When utility bills can be a real shock, but don't complain to the folks in Weatherford, Texas because their February bill shouldn't have come with spelling salts or it should. A reporter Jim Douglas of CNN affiliate WFAA has the story, check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you can see it was rather shocking when we opened it.

JIM DOUGLAS, WFAA: Think your power bill gave you a volt. Try this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $24,200,700,002.00.

DOUGLAS: You heard right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Billion, billion.

DOUGLAS: You can understand Susan Logan's surprise. I mean she's tried to conserve.

So ceiling fans everywhere, you have your aggie blanket over here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have the aggie blanket, use that pretty much every night. Got the warm dog.

DOUGLAS: What was the reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, we got to turn down the thermostat.

DOUGLAS: The Logans live in Weatherford, one of few cities that provides power to residents. This month's bills are a little off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then their bill is like $22 billion.

DOUGLAS: Customer service agents are taking some of the best complaint calls they've ever had.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am, are you going to be able to pay that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well it was really cold last night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had our billing company made a big error and they mailed out about a thousand bills that they shouldn't have.

DOUGLAS: City officials blame a computer problem at the printer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many phone calls do you think we've had about this today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We probably got at least a thousand.

DOUGLAS: City manager Bill Davis says Weatherford's utility rate is actually lower than what most people get from private providers. The real bills will come out next month. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wanted to make arrangements from $24 billion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you can just disregard that.

DOUGLAS: Don't you wish we could always get that answer when we complain about those monster utility bills?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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