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American Morning
Oil Spikes; NAFTA Leak; McCain Fight: Who's the Opponent?; Times Square Blast: Possible Border Crossing Link; Southwest Airlines Unsafe Planes; Google Earth: Ban on Military Bases
Aired March 07, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The NYPD's top cop joins us live.
Fear of flying. Southwest Airlines under fire. We talk live with Southwest's CEO.
And CNN exclusive. The parents who say vaccines transformed their little girl. The emotional debate over autism reignites on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. Welcome back to the program. It's Friday, the 7th of March, and Kiran, I wish I could say TGIF, but when you look at some of these indicators for the economy, not much to be thankful for this morning.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: No. A lot going on this morning, and most of it not good news today.
We start with your money. Collapsing home prices as well as skyrocketing oil prices and a key look at job security. That's coming out in just about an hour and a half. But oil spiked to a record again overnight, closing in on $106 a barrel. Most people are losing -- more people are losing their homes than ever before. Foreclosure numbers are in, and they also hit a new high. Markets were also rocked overnight overseas. Tokyo, Beijing dropping more than three percent, and it adds up to the biggest weekly drop since August.
Our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is watching it all for us this morning. And you have a little bit of an analysis on what we can expect when the markets open again today.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it will be rough. I mean, I was hoping on my first day back from that tour around Texas...
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: ... I was hoping I'd have some good news, but there we go. $105.47 is where oil settled yesterday, and after that, it actually went higher, as you said, close to $106 a barrel. $105.80 I think is where it was. It's been moving around all morning. So that's going to have some impact on the markets.
The other issue we've got is what that does to gas prices. Now, when you think of this, you might wonder why I'm showing you the price of a barrel of oil, because you can't buy one, but it's about 40 percent of the price of gasoline. It's determined by the price of oil. So if you see this, you know, a dollar a day or 50 cents a day, oil going up. I mean, there's 365 days in a year. This trend has got to stop at some point.
$3.18 is what you're paying for a gallon of self-serve unleaded in Texas, just a little higher than it was yesterday. Yesterday was $3.18 to $3.50, the highest we've paid for gasoline was set last May, $3.22. What that's doing is it's having an effect on markets right now.
On Friday, U.S. markets closed much lower. The Dow was down 1.75 percent. Nasdaq down more than two. Same as the S&P 500. That has bled over into Asia where we've got all the markets but Shanghai lower. Australia, India, Japan, Hong Kong, European markets lower as well. At 8:30, 1 1/2 hours from now, we're going to get the unemployment numbers for February. That is the most important thing to look at because that's where people make their decisions about whether they're going to spend or not. Do they have an income? We're expecting the unemployment rate in the U.S. to go up to five percent.
CHETRY: Also, where people are going to be making their political decisions upcoming...
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Absolutely.
CHETRY: ... here in a week. It seems like it's deja vu all over again, talking about the same problems.
VELSHI: That's absolutely right. We're heading into an election, and the economy's getting tough. And that's -- we'll keep a close eye on all of that stuff for you this morning.
CHETRY: All right, Ali, good to see you. Thanks.
VELSHI: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning, a tornado watch this morning for northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. Some heavy weather moving in there, and it means the conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Our Bonnie Schneider is at the weather update desk. She's tracking the extreme weather this morning. Bonnie, it looks pretty bad on the radar today.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMERICAN MORNING METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, and it looks bad pretty much everywhere across the eastern half and the southern part of the U.S. But I want to zoom in on Florida. Right now, that's where this tornado watch was just issued. You can see it's for northern Florida. That includes cities like Jacksonville and Gainesville. We are looking at the possibility of tornadoes breaking out at any time from these seriously strong thunderstorms until now until about 12:00 p.m., but we could see that risk extended, depending on how the weather shapes up. Here's some of the rain moving in, not too bad in and around I- 10, just north of Gainesville. But if you zoom out, you can see this powerful storm system is not only bringing the heavy rain to the panhandle of Florida and the southeast, but also snow to Texas. We had some serious snowfall accumulate across much of the region, and the winter weather threat for today extends all the way into New York and over the weekend into New England.
Let's take a closer look at Texas right now. Dallas, most of the snow has already passed you by, but we're still looking at some snow further off into east Texas. Here's some of the totals now. Up to nine inches of snow in some parts of Texas. We're expecting more snow for Texas and for Arkansas. And yes, we're likely to see flight delays in and around these areas where we're seeing the severe weather break out across much of the region.
So we'll be watching for this pretty much into Memphis, all the way northward into New England this weekend. And for you in New York, John, you'll be looking for heavy rain, thunderstorms Saturday night and also pretty much across the day on Saturday. It's going to be a rough weekend.
ROBERTS: All right. I'm in Washington, actually, but we're expecting much the same thing here. Just quickly, Bonnie, back to the tornado watch area. Do people need to take precautions at this point or just keep a watchful eye?
SCHNEIDER: Keep a watchful eye because we haven't had any tornadoes spotted as of now, but a watch means that at any time one could be detected on Doppler radar. So we'll keep you posted if we do get any reports of a tornado.
ROBERTS: All right. Send up a smoke signal or a flare or something as soon as you get that. Bonnie Schneider for us this morning. Bonnie, thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, there is a fight on the campaign trail. It's getting a little fierce. An aide for Senator Barack Obama now being forced to apologize to Senator Hillary Clinton after calling her a "monster." Samantha Power also told a Scottish newspaper that Clinton's inner circle was on a "warpath." Clinton's campaign also lashing out at Obama, accusing him of becoming another Ken Starr, after word that his campaign plans to increase a tax on Clinton's record.
And now both candidates are denying any reports that their tough talk on the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA was just political show. Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign denying reports that someone on her campaign told the prime minister of Canada, chief of staff, to take the senator's anti-NAFTA talk with a "grain of salt." Now, opposition parties in Canada are demanding the prime minister fire his top aide for meddling in American politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL IGNATIEFF, CANADIAN DEPUTY LIBERAL LEADER: -- find that their partisan games have gone international when it comes to the attempt to skew the vote in Ohio.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senator Clinton's denials come just days after claims the Obama campaign assured Canadian officials that his NAFTA criticism was just campaign rhetoric. The Canadian prime minister now calling for an internal investigation into who leaked that information.
Well, there's talk of a do-over in Michigan. Some of it fell apart last night, though. A $10 million price tag -- the stumbling block. The State Democratic Party doesn't want taxpayers to foot the bill. Senator Clinton says she's carefully watching the proposals being discussed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to let the leadership of both states see what they think is the best approach. I think that it would be a great disservice to the voters of Florida and Michigan to adopt any process that would disenfranchise anyone. And, therefore, I am still committed to seating their delegations, and I know that they're working with the Democratic Party to determine how best to proceed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Discussions are expected to continue today about that.
Meanwhile, Wyoming is the next battleground for the Democrats. There are 18 total delegates at stake in tomorrow's Wyoming caucuses. That includes six superdelegates, and you know we've been talking about what a wacky election year it is. The state with the fewest number of people living in it, Wyoming, and matters a whole heck of a lot, at least on the Democratic side right now in this primary race.
ROBERTS: Yes. I was talking to so many people here in Washington last night, Kiran, and they say just when you think something's going to happen, you blink, something else completely different happens.
CHETRY: It's true.
ROBERTS: And no one knows where this whole thing is heading. But on the Republican side, presumptive nominee John McCain is on a southern swing with stops in Atlanta and New Orleans today. He is preaching unity and trying to shore up that conservative base that will be so crucial to his candidacy come November.
Our own Dana Bash is live in Atlanta with more on McCain's top priority. And Dana, it seems that at least a few previously reluctant Republicans are falling in love with John McCain. Is everybody?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is certainly his hope, but that's part of what he's trying to do. You're right. But the other thing that John McCain is doing right now, John, is following the money. He came here to Atlanta last night for a fund-raiser, and this morning, he is where I am at the corporate headquarters of Chick-fil-A. He's going to have a town hall meeting. So what he is trying to do is unite the party. He is trying to look ahead and plan for the general election, but he is also trying to stay in the news now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: Good to see you all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain!
BASH (voice-over): At this diner in West Palm Beach, Florida, John McCain's first campaign stop as presumptive GOP nominee, and he's readying for a fall fight here on Barack Obama.
MCCAIN: I don't know if he is naive or not. I know he's inexperienced.
BASH: The reality is McCain doesn't know who his Democratic opponent will be, and he admits their gripping high-profile clash is a mixed blessing.
MCCAIN: I'm now no longer in a competitive race, and there will understandably be more attention to Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. But at the same time, it does give me an opportunity to go around and shore up our base of support, unite our party.
BASH: McCain's biggest challenge now is staying in the headlines. Knowing that, his advisers tell CNN they have a series of events planned to try. First, travel abroad. Later this month, McCain will go to Europe and meet with key allies and also go to the Middle East.
MCCAIN: I've spent my entire life addressing national security issues.
BASH: The goal -- not just words, but imagery of a leader comfortable on the world stage, hoping it provides a contrast to the Democrats' political brawl. Upon his return, McCain advisers tell CNN they plan a tour touting his storied biography. Aides say voters may know he was a Vietnam prisoner of war, but they are eager to fill in the details in a campaign where they think voters are looking for inspiration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And part of that tour, John, is going to take Senator McCain to various places, they hope, in this country will illustrate parts of his life. And beyond that, it is going to be about substance, which is obviously critically important to Senator McCain. We're told he's going to give a series of policy speeches on everything from the environment to national security to the economy. And for Senator McCain, the economy may be the most important because it is perhaps perceived as his biggest weak spot. So he's going to give a big speech on that. We are told that there is a McCain economic plan that is already in the works. He's working on it with his friend and former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who on the stump all the time, Senator McCain says is the best economic mind around, as Senate Gramm is apparently working on something that the campaign insists will be bold, but we don't have any details of it quite yet -- John.
ROBERTS: Hey, Dana, quickly, have they figured out what to do with President Bush yet?
BASH: You know what? They certainly do want him to go out and raise money, and they want him to do it as soon as possible. They're talking to the White House already about figuring out the schedule. We're told that they're probably not going to be together very much on the stump. They say that primarily that's because it's, you know, it's a divide and conquer kind of thing. But it's also because the reality is John McCain does need to maintain his presence as his own man.
Now, they obviously hear the Democrats saying that they are absolutely gleeful that the two of them will be together. They insist, John, they insist, they look at data, and they are very comfortable with the fact that John McCain is somebody who is his own man and is distant enough from President Bush, that it won't hurt him that much. But you know, you look at the polls -- independents, for example, those critical voters that Senator McCain really needs, President Bush's approval rating is only about 26 percent with them. So that is a reality -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, it will be interesting to see how they utilize him. Dana Bash for us this morning. Dana, thanks very much -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Our Alina Cho joins us now. She's got some other stories new this morning, including -- and we've been getting developments all morning in this Times Square story, breaking news that you saw first here yesterday morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. If you're just waking up, lots of developments overnight, Kiran. Good morning, everybody.
Some brand new information just in to CNN this morning on that bombing in New York's Times Square yesterday. Law enforcement officials say they're taking another look at a U.S./Canada border stop that may be linked to the attack. Meantime, there is brand new surveillance video showing the attack. It shows a person riding up to that army recruiting station on a bicycle, if you look very closely there. Then, a moment later, about a minute later, a flash and a cloud of white smoke. If you wait there, you'll be able to see it. And there it is.
We're going to be talking to the NYPD commissioner, Ray Kelly. That's New York's top cop in just a couple of minutes on AMERICAN MORNING. So stay tuned for that.
A stunning CNN investigation has found that Southwest Airlines flew thousands of passengers on more than 100 planes that were deemed unsafe. Now, CNN obtained congressional documents. FAA inspectors say planes that should have been grounded flew for 2 1/2 years past government inspection deadlines. The documents also allege that some officials at the FAA knew those planes were still in the air and did nothing about it. One congressman said it's one of the worst safety violations he's ever seen, and not surprisingly, Southwest passengers were shocked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's very scary, just thinking that they would allow something like that. You would think they would be more cautious with people's lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they should have them in the fleet, but I'm not going to be able to go out and check the side of the plane, either. And I've got to get where I need to go. So --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: And Southwest Airlines speaking out to CNN. We're going to be talking to the company's CEO, Gary Kelly, about these claims, coming up in about 20 minutes.
A drive to register young voters on Facebook, of all places. A group of students in Washington State have put together a voter registration application on the social networking site. Facebook members can also use that application, which is called your revolution, to connect to local groups and projects depending on their political interests. The students are also taking part in voter registration drives to spread the word about the new offer.
And that's a look at the latest news at this hour. Kiran, back over to you.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Alina.
Right now, we're going to head back over to Bonnie Schneider. She's following extreme weather for us this morning. And you have some new news about possible tornadoes.
SCHNEIDER: That's right. We have two tornado warnings. One was just issued about 10 seconds ago for parts of Jefferson and Wakulla County, and we also have it for Leon County. These tornado warnings are in effect until 7:30 and 7:45. And as you can see by the areas highlighted in pink, they extend just to the south and to the east of Tallahassee, Florida, all part of a larger weather system that's producing severe weather through the panhandle. Some of the heaviest rain is coming in right now. So if you're driving along I-10, you may want to pull over and let the storm pass before you proceed, because we are looking at some heavy rain moving through.
The tornado warnings are all part of a larger-scale system where we have a tornado watch, and that runs until noon today. And it does include a good portion of northern Florida, including Gainesville and Jacksonville. This means that we'll not only see the threat of strong wind, but also deadly lightning and possibly large hail. You can see the lightning strikes coming in off the Gulf of Mexico.
We're also watching for snow across areas to the west, including Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas. I'll have a lot more on this major weather system and how will it affect your travel, coming up -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Sounds good. Thanks a lot, Bonnie.
Meanwhile, there is a manhunt on this morning for the person who threw an explosive device in the heart of Times Square at a military recruiting center. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is going to be joining us next. He has the latest on the investigation and whether or not there are links to other unsolved, similar cases in the city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have some brand new information just in to CNN this morning on the Times Square explosion. You may remember this story broke yesterday right on our show. Police responding to an explosive device that was thrown at a military recruitment center in the heart of Times Square. Here is a surveillance video that was captured on the many security cameras around the area, showing someone riding up on a bicycle. You see -- we can't see something being thrown, but you assume that, because then you next see a flash, what appears to be an explosion there, caught on the camera.
Law enforcement officials now say they are taking another look at a U.S./Canada border stop that in some way may be linked to the attack. The source says that at least three people were stopped at a border crossing about a month ago and were being questioned. At least one of them took off and left behind a backpack with a picture of Times Square in it.
Joining us with the latest on the investigation is New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Commissioner Kelly, great to see you this morning.
RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good morning.
CHETRY: What can you tell us about this possible connection that's being reported this morning?
KELLY: It's being looked into by the federal officials. That stop did take place in Canada. Some pictures of Times Square, including the recruiting station were found. Our liaison officer in Montreal was notified. Our Nexus (ph) teams, these are teams of detectives that go around and talk to businesses, did go out and speak to the people in the recruiting station and told them about the fact that these pictures were found. So federal officials are going back to take another look and attempting to speak to Canadian officials about that stop.
CHETRY: I know we've seen these surveillance pictures now around. Presumably, you're hoping somebody knows something or has seen something. How helpful is it that this person on a bicycle, at least, you can't get a close look at him, but at least that that was captured on tape?
KELLY: Well, it's important that we know the route that he took. He goes south. Obviously, there's a lot of cameras in the Times Square area. We're in the process now of identifying those cameras, downloading them. We've got a lot of cooperation from the businesses in the area, and we're doing the normal investigative steps that you would expect in a case like this.
CHETRY: We also heard this morning, and this is appearing this morning to look more like a coincidence. But police said that hours after this explosion, these letters arrived on Capitol Hill to some Democratic lawmakers with pictures of a man in front of a recruiting station and the words "We did it." They were able to trace this back to Los Angeles. Any idea about what's happening with that bizarre situation?
KELLY: Well, the letters are really innocuous. It's really an advice to the Democratic Party as to how to win the 2008 election. It's a type of information that the pundits put out all the time on television. There's nothing particularly threatening in the document. And in the document, he claims that this was his holiday card that he sent out in 2006. "We did it," meaning that the Democrats took over Congress in 2006. So I think the FBI has come to the conclusion that this individual is not involved.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Not related? OK.
Another question is whether or not there is some sort of a serial attacker doing this. There was an attack on a British consulate here in 2005, the Mexican consulate back in 2007, and all of the explosions occurred around this same time in the morning. No one hurt, but do you think that there is the same person connected, and how are you exploring that?
KELLY: That certainly is a possibility. The times are very similar. All three of these incidents took place with an individual on a bike and leaving a bomb. So that's a possibility. We can't say with certainty that that's the case, but that's one of our investigative premises.
CHETRY: All right. Do you think you're going to figure out whether this is a copycat or whether it's the same person?
KELLY: I think we're going to solve it, but, you know, hopefully, we'll do it quickly. But we've devoted all the resources that I think are appropriate for this case.
CHETRY: Commissioner Ray Kelly, great to see you as always. Thanks for being with us.
KELLY: Good to see you, Kiran.
CHETRY: By the way, if you have any information, if you recognize perhaps the person or know anything, you're asked to please call the NYPD tip line. We're going to show that on the bottom of your screen in just a moment here -- John.
ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour now, Kiran. A tragic tribute on the University of North Carolina campus just days after the student body president was found murdered.
And Southwest Airlines accused of flying planes that it knew were unsafe. The CEO of Southwest will join us to explain. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Now to a security watch about Google Earth maps. Teams from Google are now banned from making detailed street-level maps of U.S. military installations. Security fears were raised last week after published reports suggested that protesters used Google Earth maps to help plot access to London's parliament building. And after a Google map of a U.S. base went online, its ground-level views clearly reveal base security.
CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon for us this morning. And Barbara, first question that comes to a lot of people's minds is who thought this would be a good idea in the first place?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Google Earth is one of the most popular features on the Internet. Everybody loves to Google the street where they live. The military now saying fine, but don't Google Earth our military bases. This notice going out after a Google Earth team went to Fort Sam Houston in Texas. It's a little bit mysterious as to what exactly happened, but they were granted permission, apparently, to go on base and make some of these 360- degree, street-level maps that were going to go on Google Earth. And the military says, hey, wait a minute, no, please don't. We're banning Google earth from doing this street-level mapping because it does show too much security.
Military bases, of course, coexist in American communities, but they are restricted. They don't want people seeing some of these key security features. Now, Google Earth says they don't regularly go on military bases or seek access. That's not what they do. But that they will continue to take pictures, they say, from public streets. And if they get military base areas, so be it.
You know, all of this led us to ask ourselves about some of the other popular Google Earth features. One of the most famous buildings in the world, the White House. If you Google Earth the White House, what do you see? Can you see some of the security features in one of the most secure buildings in the world?
Well, we took a look, and what you see is the roof of the White House. But, of course, you see some of those key security features on the roof completely blanked out. That's the kind of thing that concerns government officials, and they worked very closely with Google Earth to get those kind of security measures blanked out -- John.
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff. Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
Still ahead, Southwest Airlines accused of flying thousands of passengers on hundreds of planes that were unfit to fly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES OBERSTAR (D), MINNESOTA: This is the most serious lapse in aviation safety at the FAA that I've seen in 23 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, we're going to talk live with the CEO of Southwest Airlines about it, coming up next.
Also, is there a link between vaccines and autism? There's a court ruling conceding in one case that there is one, and this morning the family is speaking out. We're paging Dr. Gupta for parents who are concerned about this. He's going to break it down for us. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning again, Kiran. Yes, you're going to get to hear from the family directly about exactly what this case is all about. Also, answering questions about what parents should do with all this information. We'll break it down, as you say, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A shot this morning not quite as inviting as the sunrise shot we showed you a little bit earlier. It looks a little dreary there and a lot of scaffolding making up the skyline of New York City this morning. 36 degrees. It's going to shape up to a high of 48 degrees. Some evening showers as well, but you can make out the Empire State Building there, right in the left-center part of your shot. Welcome back this morning. I'm Kiran Chetry here in New York and John is starting early with his weekend down in D.C. this morning.
ROBERTS: Yes, starting early with the weekend, except I'm doing "Election Center" tonight at 8:00, so --
CHETRY: Oh, darn! At least you don't have to worry about flight delays. At least, that's the one bright spot for you.
ROBERTS: That's true. But if you think it's dreary in New York right now, wait until tomorrow. It's going to be really dreary there. Hey, you heard it here on CNN first. Southwest Airlines cited for allegedly flying thousands of passengers in planes that were deemed by the FAA to be unsafe to fly. The FAA wants to impose its biggest fine ever, over $10 million against Southwest. Southwest flew the planes even though investigators had already said that they were not air- worthy. The CEO and Vice Chairman of Southwest Airlines, Gary Kelly, joins us now. Gary, here's what the FAA claims, that you continued to fly 46 737s that you said had been grounded because they hadn't been properly inspected for fuselage cracks. The FAA in a release said "after Southwest Airlines discovered the problem, they continued to operate those same 46 airplanes on an additional 1,451 flights." So the question is, did you knowingly fly planes that should have been grounded?
GARY KELLY, CEO, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: No. In fact, thanks, John, for having us this morning. You know, Southwest Airlines is a great company. We've got a 37-year history of very safe operations, one of the safest operations in the world, and we're safer today than we've ever been. In this particular situation, we identified a gap in our documentation. We voluntarily reported that to the FAA. We worked out with the FAA how to fix that problem and we fixed it.
ROBERTS: So why is the FAA saying, then, that you continued to fly planes that you said were grounded?
KELLY: Well, we were surprised yesterday to get that notification by the FAA as well. The "Wall Street Journal" yesterday reported, as late as last month, the FAA had said that it had no safety issues with Southwest Airlines. So you know, I've ordered an investigation as to exactly what happened with this event. It occurred in March of 2007. These aircraft are inspected inch by inch. In this particular incident, over 99 percent of the inspections were completed, according to the documentation. When we discovered the error, we went back and reinspected those aircraft and we did that in a matter of ten days, so --
ROBERTS: And you discovered cracks on six of those aircraft? Four of them had cracks that were almost four inches long, which the FAA described as serious, but your company is characterizing them differently.
KELLY: Well, and in fact, we've called in the Boeing company. We've called in as part of our review of this situation outside experts, and Boeing issued a release yesterday saying that Southwest Airlines acted responsibly and at no time were the aircraft operated in an unsafe manner.
ROBERTS: But in terms of characterizing these cracks, a spokesperson for Southwest says they were minor, but the FAA says they were serious. So who's right?
KELLY: Well, there were 46 aircraft that needed to be reinspected. We found cracks on roughly half a dozen of those aircraft. They were repaired properly. With respect to those cracks, the expert, the Boeing company said that at no time were those cracks unsafe. Cracks do occur, and that's why we do inspections. We do inspections on those airplanes roughly every year and a half. When we found them, we correct them.
ROBERTS: There are also allegations in FAA documents that we have obtained that an inspector knew about the problem here but continued to allow you to fly these aircraft. Is that true? KELLY: Well, we have an ongoing relationship with the FAA. We have a very complicated system of inspection procedures and repair requirements. We thought that we had all of this covered with the FAA, and I think now the FAA --
ROBERTS: Well, there's a suggestion here that at the very least, safety guidelines were not followed, and at the very worst, laws were broken.
KELLY: Well, again, our interpretation of the guidance that we got from the FAA at the time was that we were in compliance with all laws and regulations. I think the FAA has a different view of that today. That's something that we're investigating as well, but the important point is that at no time were we operating in an unsafe manner and I think our history proves that.
ROBERTS: James Oberstar, who's the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, who's holding hearings on this said "this is the most serious lapse of aviation safety at the FAA that I've seen in 23 years. It reflects an attitude of complacency at the highest levels of FAA management." Did the FAA not fully do its job here?
KELLY: Well, I think what we've got with the United States of America is the safest aviation system in the world. And aviation is one of the safest not just forms of travel, but you compare it to any other product or service - I think the FAA does a great job --
ROBERTS: But back to the question at hand, in this particular case, did the FAA not do its job?
KELLY: Well, I think that nothing bad happened. We identified the problem --
ROBERTS: But could something bad have happened? Look at what happened to the Aloha Airlines plane in 1988 --
KELLY: Unrelated incident. And so according to the experts --
ROBERTS: But this is why they mandated these inspections, because of what happened to that Aloha aircraft.
KELLY: Well, of course, we completely agree that our airplanes need to be well maintained, and I think any expert will tell you that the Southwest Airlines are the best maintained in the business. So in this particular case, there was not a safety issue because the problem was found. It was voluntarily disclosed. The fix was agreed upon with the FAA, and it was executed properly.
ROBERTS: You've got 30 days to respond to the FAA's letter of this intention to fine you $10.2 million. What are you going to tell them?
KELLY: Well, we're disappointed, obviously, with the fine. It is unprecedented and we think it is unfair. So we are in the midst of doing the investigation that I mentioned, and we will be preparing our case and we'll make those choices -- ROBERTS: You have one of the highest levels -- you had the highest level of customer satisfaction of any airline. What do you say to your customers this morning?
KELLY: Well, first of all, we have an unprecedented 37-year history at Southwest Airlines, and our employees, I am very, very proud of. They are proud of what they do at Southwest Airlines. Our number one priority, number one priority is to operate a safe airline, and then also provide outstanding customer service, and that's what we've done and that's what we'll continue to do.
ROBERTS: Gary Kelly from Southwest, thanks for coming in this morning.
KELLY: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it. Kiran.
CHETRY: The University of North Carolina campus is in a state of mourning this morning after the death of its student body president. UNC students held a candlelight vigil last night to remember 22-year- old Eve Carson. She was gunned down near the Chapel Hill campus on Wednesday. "Headline News" Nancy Grace spoke with one of Carson's close friends who worked with her in student government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The passion that she presented her platform was second to none, and I remember the BTH, which is the campus newspaper, they're extremely critical in the editorial board, but when they wrote about her, they advised -- they recommended voting for her and said she will bring administrative skill and fresh ideas and not sugar coat while doing it, and that was her personality. She was so driven and motivated, but incredibly down to earth and fun. You could just not have a bad time with her. She was just so much fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Police say that Eve Carson's shooting appears to be a random crime. They say they have no suspects. Her car reportedly found about a mile from where her body was discovered. Authorities believe it was stolen during that crime.
To politics now. One of the most popular stories on cnn.com is Ron Paul admitting he has no shot at the Republican nomination. He put the statement on his own Web site overnight, saying that his campaign was entering a new phase. Now, he did not say he was dropping out. He says he wants to keep collecting votes and delegates to keep his movement for political change alive.
The next battleground for Democrats is set for tomorrow in Wyoming. 18 delegates at stake, and that includes 6 superdelegates.
The emotional debate surrounding childhood vaccines and autism. We're going to hear from the parents who won a court case over whether their daughter's vaccinations induced autism. We're going to talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Forty-two minutes after the hour. Breaking news this morning. A tornado watch for northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. Our Bonnie Schneider in the CNN weather center with more. What are we looking at, Bonnie?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now, John, we're still following a tornado warning that goes until 7:45 for Jefferson, Leon, Madison and Wakulla counties and that is in northern Florida. We're watching this system, because as we look at Doppler radar, we're getting what we see known a bow echo, meaning the shape of the thunderstorms are kind of taking an arch or bow shape. That's because the sheer force of the wind is pushing the leading edge of thunderstorms forward. We have wind gusts recorded in Tallahassee right now 43 miles per hour. A serious situation with straight-line winds, possibly damaging hail, and definitely strong winds. We're watching this closely because the tornado watch for this region will actually extend all the way until the noon hour today. So all of north Florida needs to be especially careful for the threat of severe weather today, especially this morning in Tallahassee, all the way to Jacksonville, Gainesville, to the south. So powerful weather system we're watching very closely here. John.
ROBERTS: All right. Bonnie, thanks very much. Good information. We'll get back to you with more on that. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the family at the center of an unprecedented settlement over vaccines and autism feels vindicated by the result. The parents of 9-year-old Hannah Poling spoke exclusively to Larry King after the news that they're being compensated because Hannah developed autism-like symptoms after vaccinations and federal health officials conceded that vaccines did worsen a rare disorder that Hannah had. They still, though, are saying that there is no evidence vaccines cause autism. The family will be paid from a federal fund that's been set up to compensate people injured by vaccines. It's a story that we have followed over the years, and our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, weighs in on this for us this morning.
First of all, what is this admission by federal health officials sort of mean moving forward and what can other parents take away from it?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure that it means a lot for the other 5,000 or so cases that are before this particular court or for the parents of autistic children out there. You know, I think it's one of those things -- we had a chance to sit down and talk to the Poling family. The father of Hannah Poling is a neurologist, the mother is a nurse. They are not anti- vaccines, and they were very clear about this. They were asked about this. This is how they put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. JON POLING, FATHER OF DAUGHTER WITH AUTISM: I'm certainly not anti-vaccine. I think vaccines are, you know, one of the most important medical developments within the past century plus. What we're trying to say, and the theory of what we felt happened to our daughter Hannah is that she has a susceptibility to injury from stress of vaccination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: What they're talking about specifically there, and I think this is important is that Dr. Poling is referring to this idea that Hannah might have had a mitochondrial, a specific abnormality beforehand and then the vaccine sort of pushed her over the age. So, it was sort of born with a pre-disposition and the vaccine was sort of a stressor that may have caused this autism-like symptoms. That's the specific language the government's using to describe Hannah. So you know, it's a little bit confusing, but this may be a more sort of unique case in some ways because of some of the features that Dr. Poling is describing there.
CHETRY: Right, so what's the takeaway for parents? You know, I mean, there are a couple points to this, number one -- and you and I were talking about this -- she had a large numbers of vaccines. I think she had nine total inoculations given in one sitting, and this was a time when they still used thimerosal, which is something that advocates of taking thimerosal out of vaccines is a problem.
GUPTA: Yes. There's a lot of different answers to the question, but I think the specific question about what parents should do, you know, we've asked that question a lot as well. Dr. Gerberding, who is the head of the Centers for Disease Control, has weighed in on this specifically and this is the official response. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CDC: We've got to set aside this very isolated, unusual situation. The court apparently made the decision that it was fair to say that the vaccines may have been one of the precipitants of symptoms in this child with the genetic disorder, but that has nothing to say about the thousands and thousands and thousands of children that need immunization day after day after day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Again, we hear that over and over again, I think an important point to reinforce is that vaccines obviously are a life- saving, very important mechanism to prevent otherwise common diseases. Now, but still, with regard to your specific questions about the vaccines overall, you know, I receive literally hundreds of e-mails from pediatricians and other doctors around the country. We've done a lot of research about this, and I think there is no science specifically to change the current recommendations. Having said that, what's a parent to do? Well, there's really three concerns as we sort of outline them. One was the mercury, as you mentioned. And really, since 2001- 2002, there hasn't been thimerosal specifically in vaccines, or it's been present in trace amounts, except for the flu vaccine. So, you know, I think, that's less of a concern nowadays. The second concern was specifically about the measles vaccine because it is a live virus as compared to some of the other viruses, which are attenuated or dead. Some pediatricians recommend holding off on that until after age 3. Again, no specific science to back that up. And then finally, the whole idea, as we mentioned, of giving so many vaccines at once.
Again, is that more of an issue of convenience? You know, you make one trip to the doctor's office, as opposed to spreading them out. A lot of doctors -- again, not specific science to back this up -- say you should spread that out if that's a concern. You know, that could be some information to sort of arm parents with.
CHETRY: All right. As you said, a lot of this is really left in the hands of the individual families to decide and take the best information that they can for now. Sanjay, great to see you, as always.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: And you'll find this interesting. We did ask as our today's "quick vote" question, do you believe there is a connection between childhood vaccines and autism? Right now 62 percent of you say yes, 38 percent of you say no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am and we'll continue to tally up the votes throughout the morning.
You can also catch Sanjay this weekend on his own show "House Call." It airs Saturday and Sunday mornings, 8:30 a.m., right here on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: A new threat from across the border. Americans snatched from their homes and held for ransom in Mexico. We've got that story for you, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up on eight minutes to the top of the hour. Now to our series "Uncovering America," a look at the faces and people of our changing nation. There is a troubling trend right now in towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. Well-organized gangs from Mexico snatching Americans off the streets, sometimes from right inside their own homes. The victims often wealthy American tourists.
Here now from San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Men and women are being snatched from homes in Mexico's border towns. Are these victims all people living in Mexico?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Some are U.S. citizens who live here. LAWRENCE: The FBI says last year the number of San Diego county residents kidnapped and held for ransom in Mexico more than doubled.
KEITH SLOTTER, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: The brutality that is inflicted on some of these people is unconscionable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They sliced my tongue.
LAWRENCE: This San Diego man told us kidnappers beat him with the butt of a rifle and tortured him for two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had bruises all over his body. He had his tongue cut.
LAWRENCE: We'll call it Joe, to protect his identity. His daughter described the first ransom call from her dad's kidnappers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, you know, you'd better cooperate or else, you know, you're going to find him dead. We're just going to, you know, throw his face or his head, we're going to drop it right there by your door.
LAWRENCE: The FBI says since Thanksgiving, at least 18 U.S. residents have been held for ransom near Tijuana. That's not the worst of it.
SLOTTER: We've had a number of cases recently where the abductors have come north of the border into the United States and they have kidnapped Americans in this country and then brought them back south.
LAWRENCE: That's right. Americans abducted from these San Diego suburbs.
SLOTTER: They have, in my mind, taken it to another level by doing that.
LAWRENCE: Joe was visiting Tijuana when 15 to 20 men busted into a home there. They were dressed like these federal officers with black masks and automatic rifles. Joe's family paid the kidnappers, but they didn't let him go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We didn't know at that point if they had already killed him or if they were going to ask for another ransom.
LAWRENCE: So they wanted more money?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They wanted more money.
LAWRENCE: Joe was released when the family paid. The FBI says kidnappers target victims they think can afford a ransom, people driving expensive cars, shopping in nice stores, or doing business in Mexico. Chris Lawrence, CNN, San Diego.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTS: The Mexican government has been trying to crack down on the gangs, but with thousands of Americans heading for Mexico on spring break in the next couple of weeks, it's definitely something to keep in mind. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, we have an update on your job security as well, and it could mean more bad news for the economy. In just about 30 minutes we're expecting new figures on the nation's unemployment rate. How those numbers will affect you? Ali Velshi breaks it down coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, that was my personal request for your travels. You needed a Johnny Cash "I've been everywhere" anthem.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That was a fun trip.
CHETRY: How was Texas?
VELSHI: That was really, really great. It was so great, the hospitality was fantastic and you know, you do learn more about business from people who actually have to spend their money on a daily basis rather than pouring through reports and things like that.
CHETRY: Standing outside of the Chicago Board of Trade --
VELSHI: I take those. I like Chicago, but I like those folks in Texas. Thank you for all of that. We've been talking about rising oil prices and stuff like that, but in a half hour we're going to get the unemployment numbers out, the monthly unemployment numbers. The unemployment rate in the country is 4.9 percent right now. We're expecting it to go to 5 percent. I want to show you a map of the country, how the unemployment rates in various states compare to the national rate. So, in green you've got states that are half a percentage point lower than the national unemployment rates. So, lower unemployment than the national rate. In red are the states that have a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the country. And that sort of orangey color is sort of around the national level. So, you can see California, Oregon, Nevada, Hawaii and then the counties in the mideast are higher rates than the national level. Texas has a lower unemployment rate, that whole swathe down the middle have got lower unemployment rates than the rest of the country. So, if you're looking for work, those might be the places that you can go to. I'll be back in half an hour with the new unemployment rate for February.
CHETRY: Sounds good. Ali, thank you.
VELSHI: OK.
CHETRY: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: New claims, new clues. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some pictures of Times Square, including the recruiting station were found...
ROBERTS: New information this morning on the Times Square attack.
Making millions on your misery, how bank CEOs cash in while mortgages melted down all around them.
Pain at the pump. Above $106 a barrel overnight. Gas above $5 a gallon. We pull over at one of the most expensive station in the nation on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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