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American Morning

Captain Freed, Pirates Killed; Thai Soldiers Clash with Protesters; Gas Prices Hold Steady at $2.05; U.S. Seeking Hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan; IRS Willing to Negotiate with Filers Having Financial Problems

Aired April 13, 2009 - 08:01   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning once again to you. It is Monday, April 13th. I'm Kiran Chetry along with John Roberts.

And as we just heard, some amazing new details about this rescue at sea. The vice admiral gave us more information about just how unbelievable. It was a split-second operation taking place at night, with the rough seas, as these snipers took out the three pirates, each with a single bullet to the head.

The Navy says it decided to act when one of the pirates was seen pointing an AK-47 at Captain Richard Phillips's back. Well, this morning, Phillips is safe. He's onboard the USS Boxer. And the crew of the Maersk Alabama is cheering his freedom in Kenya's port of Mombasa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE MURPHY, MAERSK ALABAMA CHIEF: I just got off the phone with our Captain Richard Phillips for the first time. And it was an extremely emotional experience for all of us to actually hear his voice and to hear the condition he was in. And he is absolutely elated and he couldn't be prouder of us for doing what he trained us to do. And that's really when this story unfolds, you'll see that's really all we did. We did everything the way we were trained to do. And we have the captain. Ultimately, everybody you see here before you today, has the captain -- Captain Phillips to thank for their lives and their freedom.

But, additionally, it was an entire crew-wide effort. You'll find there's going to be many stories of individual heroism that come out of this. But as a group, everybody played a part. Everybody in America can latch on to this maybe and use it as a sign of hope to show what being an American is about.

We would like to implore President Obama to use all of his resources and increase the commitment to end this Somali pirate scourge. Right now, there are ships still being taken. Right now, as we're standing here. And at sea, it's a global community. It doesn't come down to nations. There's a whole world out there at sea that we live together. We look out for each other. America has to be at the forefront of this. It's time for us to step in and put this to end this crisis. It's a crisis. Wake up.

This crew was lucky to be out of it with every one of us alive. We're not going to be that lucky again. And just for the record, we never had to fight to take our ship back. We never surrendered our ship. We fought to save the captured shipmates that were still aboard, but we never gave up. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Wow. You can imagine what that crew went through, and just how happy they are that it all came out well for Captain Phillips as well.

CHETRY: Yes. A lot of the members of the company, the Maersk company, as well as some of the Navy were saying that their primary concern was, what's going on? How is he? Is he OK? And they were just -- they didn't want to leave, but they had to continue on to go to Mombasa. It was what they recommended.

And they had -- it will be interesting as we just heard from the vice admiral. He said that there should armed details on those ships.

ROBERTS: Yes. Yes. Talk about civilian details, though. Civilian security guards.

CHETRY: Right.

ROBERTS: I don't think he was talking about military, so...

CHETRY: And that crew then had an armed security detail with them as they made their way to port.

ROBERTS: Yes. You know, they do have them, as he said ashore. Why not at sea as well?

Well, the pirates in Somalia are vowing revenge this morning, saying that they will get back at America for Navy SEAL shooting and killing those three pirates holding merchant Captain Richard Phillips. Yesterday, the head of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Vice Admiral William Gortney, who we're just talking about, who we just spoke to as well said there's no question that the Navy's action could escalate violence in that part of the world.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is live at the Pentagon this morning to show us exactly how it all went down.

Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I think the ships can do is -- you know, it's easier to board a ship from the stern so they can continue to spray the water as the pirates try to come on using their axes to try to cut the grappling hooks that the pirates use.

But in terms of heavier arms, there are some issues involved with that. You know, one is that some countries don't allow merchant ships to have arms. There is a fear of a possible terrorist attack, and if these ships are going from different countries, you know, that can get dicey. Another big worry is escalating arms race. The pirates have a lot more money. The merchant ships buy guns, the pirate ships buy bigger guns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): President Obama authorized lethal force on Friday night. Just 13 hours later, he issued a second order to an additional set of U.S. forces who would join the rescue.

VICE ADMIRAL WILLIAM E. GORTNEY, U.S. NAVY (via telephone): Authority came directly from the president.

LAWRENCE: The Navy had been using a boat like this to bring supplies to the lifeboat. But as Saturday wore on, the pirates became more agitated. The Defense official says shots were fired and the pirates were demanding ransom.

GORTNEY: And to make their point, they were threatening throughout to kill the captain.

LAWRENCE: Out of fuel, the lifeboat was now being towed 90 feet behind the USS Bainbridge. Early Saturday night Eastern Time, one of the pirates was shuttled to the Bainbridge for medical treatment. He'd been stabbed during the initial scuffle with the Maersk Alabama's crew.

GORTNEY: And we were working with him in the negotiation process.

LAWRENCE: Captain Phillips was tied up in a lifeboat. But in one of their last communications, the Bainbridge crew read him a letter from his wife.

GORTNEY: The note said, "Richard, your family loves you. Your family is praying for you.

LAWRENCE: At one point, a Navy SEAL team had parachuted in, and took up positions on the back deck of the Bainbridge. As the weather got rougher, negotiations broke down.

GORTNEY: And the snipers positioned on the fantail of the Bainbridge observed one of the pirates in the pilot house, two pirates with their head and shoulders exposed, and one of the pirates had the AK-47 leveled at the captain's back.

LAWRENCE: The on-scene commander believed the pirate was about to fire, so the Navy snipers shot first. The Defense official says each pirate was shot in the head. Then the special ops team shimmied along a tow rope to the lifeboat, made sure the pirates were dead, and took Phillips back to the Navy ships nearby.

CAPT. RICHARD PHILLIPS, MAERSK ALABAMA CAPTAIN: Thanks, guys. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LAWRENCE: Yes, that was Captain Phillips after a medical checkup and a phone call from President Obama himself. As for that fourth pirate, he is still being detained by the Navy on board one of the ships. And a Defense official tells me that he may be as young as 16 years old -- John.

ROBERTS: The big question this morning, Chris, is what to do about that detained pirate as well.

Chris Lawrence for us at the Pentagon. Chris, thanks so much.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

CHETRY: All right. Breaking news this morning. A state of emergency in Thailand. That's where army soldiers are clashing with demonstrators who want the new prime minister to step down. The streets have been blocked by protesters and buses that they set on fire in Bangkok. The prime minister says at least 70 people have been hurt.

Well, Madonna, hoping to win the minds and hearts of the people in Malawi in her attempt to adopt a little girl. In an e-mail to a Malawian newspaper, she says she hopes that the boy she already adopted and the girl she is trying to adopt will one day return to their native land to help their people. A judge in Malawi rejected her first attempt to adopt Mercy. Madonna is appealing that ruling.

Used car salesmen and lawyers, move over. You've been replaced. There is now a new least-liked professional in America. Can you guess? Investment bankers.

In the Gallup Poll says only 23 percent of Americans now have a positive view of bankers. Nurses top the list. They have an 84 percent favorable rating.

ROBERTS: God bless nurses.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: They are so important.

President Obama focusing on Afghanistan, where progress and hope seem to be slipping away. So how can the administration turn things around? We'll talk with columnist Joe Klein, who just visited the region.

And tax day nearly upon us. But if you're strapped for cash, you can't pay your taxes, no worries. The IRS may go easy on you. Gerri Willis has got details for you. I know. It's sounds like an extraordinary move, doesn't it? It's 10 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well, the clock is ticking down until April the 15th. Just three whole days now left to file your taxes. But what if you're out of a job or just strapped for cash and you can't pay? Then you need to hear about the kinder, gentler IRS. Oh!

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Why are you laughing?

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: It's like I can't believe those words came out of my mouth. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis here with us this morning.

Kinder, gentler IRS?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I know. I'm surprised, too. But it's a reality. Good morning, guys. Good to see you.

First off, you have to file. Even if you have financial problems right now. If you don't file you face as much as 25 percent higher take from Uncle Sam and penalties and fees. So you have to file. But, again, the IRS here is saying, look, if you're struggling, we're going to help you out. We talked to the IRS commissioner. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS SHULMAN, IRS COMMISSIONER: I think there's going to be people who filled out their tax return, realize that they owe money and they just don't have that money. The piece of advice I'd give them is send in the tax return, even if you can't pay, put a partial payment in. Or if you really can't pay at all, send it in anyway. Pick up the phone and call us, and we'll work through that issue with you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: Yes. No kidding. Call 1-800-tax-1040.

Now, what is the IRS commissioner talking about here? Well, let's look at the details. He's talking about possibly postponing collections for some people. IRS employees will have greater authority here to suspend collection actions in certain hardship cases. They may allow you to skip payments or have reduced payments.

And some more good news here for people in trouble with mortgages. Back taxes will take a back seat to refinancing. So if you have a lien against your house for back taxes, you may be able to go ahead, remove that for a while so you can get a new loan. Bottom line here if you're in trouble, get on the phone with an IRS agent. I'm going to give you this phone number one more time. You need to know this -- 1-800-tax-1040.

ROBERTS: All right. Gerri Willis for us this morning. Gerri, thanks so much. Some good tips out there for folks.

WILLIS: My pleasure. ROBERTS: And it's nice to see that the government is actually willing to help out. I mean, who knew? Huh?

CHETRY: Probably reality check for the IRS as well, right?

WILLIS: That's right.

And, of course, if you're unemployed, you still have to file as well.

ROBERTS: Right.

New Associated Press poll suggests Americans are being more frugal with their tax refunds. Fifty-four percent said they'll use the money to pay off credit card and other bills. Thirty-five percent plan to save or invest it. And just five percent say they'll take the cash and go on a shopping spree. So what are you going to do with your refund?

We'd like you to tell us about it and anything else that's on your mind. Call our AmFIX hotline at 877-my-amfix. You could make it on the air today.

CHETRY: I already know what I'm doing.

ROBERTS: Uh-huh.

CHETRY: I'm replacing every toilet in my house.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Because they're all in varying degrees of repair.

WILLIS: But your house is good.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Some of us have plans and some of us have plans.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: It's good to already know what you're doing with that money.

ROBERTS: It is.

CHETRY: Well, plans, speaking of, are in the works to bring home rescued Captain Richard Phillips. It's an emotional roller coaster ahead, of course. And after what he experienced this week, his friends are eager, to say the least, to see him here. We're going to talk to one of them, coming up.

Also, President Obama moving forward with his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan. But can his new envoy to the region actually turn things around? We're talking to "Time" columnist Joe Klein who was just on the ground in Afghanistan. It's 16 minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

You know, it was a stunning Easter Day rescue. Navy SEAL snipers taking out three Somali pirates to save kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips.

Joining me now from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, Captain James Staples. He's a friend and former colleague of Captain Phillips, who's also been through training for pirate attacks.

Thanks so much for joining us this morning, Captain Staples.

CAPT. JAMES STAPLES, FRIEND AND FORMER COLLEAGUE OF CAPT. PHILLIPS: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: I'm sure you followed this very closely. You've been friends for 30 years with Captain Phillips. What went through your mind when you heard about that daring Navy SEAL rescue of him in the early hours of Easter?

STAPLES: Just sheer joy, excitement, and very happy that he is safe. The great job that the teams did to get his release. The exemplary job that the Bainbridge did. The captain and the crew, just shadowing their lifeboat for days on end.

CHETRY: And what were you thinking as this dragged on? I mean, at first it seemed that there was optimism, that it was going to end rather quickly. Then we see this lifeboat just bobbing helplessly. It ran out of gas. Then it gets attached to the actual warship.

What was going through your mind in those -- as we learn that those negotiations were getting more and more tense?

STAPLES: I was optimistic the whole time. I knew that Richard would come out of this fine. And that the Navy would do what they had to do to get his safe release and bring Richie home, whatever it took.

CHETRY: You know, now, while the crew was certainly overjoyed, they also said this should serve as a wake-up call.

I want you to listen to what First Mate Shane Murphy said after the crew finally made it safe into port in Mombasa. He then served as captain. But listen to what he said about the future of the high seas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURPHY: America has to be at the forefront of this. It's time for us to step in and put this to end this crisis. It's a crisis. Wake up. This crew was lucky to be out of it with every one of us alive. We're not going to be that lucky again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Do you agree with Captain Murphy's assessment?

STAPLES: Well, this is an international problem. It has been for a long time. The United States is always at the front of anything. I believe we'll continue to be...

CHETRY: We lost you for a second. We'll see if we're going to get him back. In the meantime, it wasn't just First Mate Murphy. Actually, we have you back again, Captain. It was also the vice admiral who spoke to John moments ago, Vice Admiral Gortney, who said that he's calling on shipping companies to consider very strongly measures which they need to adopt, and that includes embarking security detachments that need to go along with these ships. Do you think that's the answer?

STAPLES: Well, the actual answer is for Somalia to step up to the plate and patrol their coastlines. That's the ultimate goal here. But right now putting on security teams is a great idea. I'm on the crews. I've been on vessels that have armed crews. This isn't something that's not being done. It is being done. It needs to be looked at very, very strongly, and companies need to step in and see what they can do to keep these ships and crews safe.

CHETRY: When you see Captain Phillips, what do you think the first thing you're going to say to him is?

STAPLES: Welcome home, Richie, and enjoy your time home.

CHETRY: I'm sure he will. For sure. Captain James Staples, friend and colleague of Captain Richard Phillips. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

STAPLES: My pleasure.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: I'm sure everybody is happy about how this whole thing turned out.

President Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan, vowing to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda terrorists. But is the real problem in Pakistan? We'll talk with columnist Joe Klein who is just in the region.

And imagine a high school just for kids trying to avoid a drug relapse. They're cropping up across the country. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes you inside Recovery High. It's now 22 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: You can use whatever you want. That's the great thing about being here, Joe. It's 25 minutes after the hour.

President Obama taking on the conflict in Afghanistan as the Taliban regains strength and poses a growing threat to the fragile U.S.-backed government in Kabul. Here's what the president said back in March. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are in Afghanistan to confront a common enemy that threatens the United States, our friends and our allies, and the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, who have suffered the most at the hands of violent extremists. So I want the American people to understand that we have a clear and focused goal -- to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan and to prevent their return to either country in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And joining me now is Joe Klein, columnist for "Time" magazine, who just returned from the region. He was traveling there with President Obama's special representative, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.

So we just talked off-camera here. You said the trip was great. You also said of the trip, when you wrote about it, that it's a demonstration of the Obama administration's emphasis on diplomacy and economic development. Almost a reversal in roles from the Bush administration.

JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Absolutely. Clearly, the State Department was taking the lead in this. Holbrooke set up the schedule. But just as clearly, Admiral Mullen loved every minute of it. We met with all sorts of different people, with Afghan farmers, with tribal leaders, with religious leaders, with political leaders, and Mullen was taking notes throughout. It was really interesting.

ROBERTS: At the same time, General David McKiernan, who is the commander of all forces in Afghanistan, is out doing very much the same thing, meeting with people on the grassroots level, explaining what the new U.S. troop deployments will do, even apologizing for some of the actions that U.S. and NATO troops have taken in the past.

And your impressions in the article, you wrote about it, where Afghanistan is in slightly better shape than you expected it to be?

KLEIN: Not in better shape. I think that there you can see a trajectory toward success in Afghanistan if it weren't next door to Pakistan, which is where all of the worse bad guys, are and they're coming freely across the border, and the Pakistani government is of two minds about what to do about that, because they've been supporting a lot of these bad guys over the years.

ROBERTS: So you said Pakistan is worse -- well, Afghanistan might be better than expected and Pakistan is worse?

KLEIN: Pakistan is clearly getting worse because there are more and more terrorist attacks, almost every day in Islamabad, which is the capital, and around the country. And the government, we met with the president, Zardari, who is Benazir Bhutto's widower, and, you know, we talked a good game, but he didn't seem to have a strategy for fighting this. And, you know, the question is how much control he has over the army and the intelligence service, which, in the past, has funded and supported the terrorists.

ROBERTS: Yes. In one of the meetings, I guess, you had with him, you quoted him as saying in one of your articles, that terrorist threat is a cancer eating my country. Zardari's words. What is he doing to treat the cancer?

KLEIN: I don't know. And, you know, he's talking a good game. The question is what is the army and the inter-services intelligence agency doing to treat the cancer. Holbrooke and Mullen had long meetings with the Army and the ISI, the intelligence agency chief. We'll see what happens over the months to come, but this is far more complicated than shooting some pirates.

ROBERTS: Do you think Holbrooke can make a real difference?

KLEIN: Holbrooke is kind of a David Petraeus of diplomacy. You know, he's got a lot of energy, a lot of creativity. I saw him work very successfully in the Balkans 10 or 12 years ago. If anybody can do it, it's Holbrooke.

ROBERTS: All right. Joe Klein, it's always great to see you. Thanks for coming in this morning.

KLEIN: Good to be back.

ROBERTS: Thank you -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Coming up on 20 minutes after the hour. A look at the stories on this morning's agenda that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.

We have some new details in the heroic rescue of the U.S. captain. This morning, Richard Phillips is safe after Navy sharpshooters killed three pirates each with a single shot to the head. Now, fellow pirates are vowing revenge, saying that America will be the one mourning.

The average price of unleaded gas down a bit to $2.05 this morning. But the price has gone up steadily, about a dime over the last three weeks. That's still more than 50 percent lower than it was in the summer high last year.

And newest White House resident makes his debut tomorrow. The Obamas will welcome a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog as America's new dog. The puppy is a gift from Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Sasha and Malia have named the dog Bo.

And the latest developments now on the end of a five-day hostage crisis at sea. American ship captain Richard Phillips is free. He's in good health this morning and resting comfortably on a U.S warship. He was rescued Sunday. Navy SEAL snipers killing three Somali pirates who took him hostage. A fourth kidnapper has been captured and could spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison. Somali pirates are already holding no more than a dozen ships and 200 hostages and are now vowing to retaliate.

The Massachusetts man is calling the president -- calling on the president to stop the -- to step up the fight against Somali pirates. He's an expert on the subject. He's also the father of a young man who was on board the cargo ship that was captained by Richard Phillips. Jason Carroll joins us now from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Hey, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you. And, you know, Joe Murphy is not the only one who has a message for President Obama. His son, Shane Murphy, has a message for him as well. You know, when you talk to the folks here at the maritime academy about Shane Murphy, they will tell you he's just like his dad in terms of his personality. He's never one to hold his tongue. Well, he stayed true to form overseas in Kenya when he spoke to reporters with a special message for the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE MURPHY, MAERSK ALABAMA CHIEF MATE: We would like to implore President Obama to use all of his resources to end and increase the commitment to ending this Somali pirate scourge. Right now, there are ships still being taken right now as we're standing here. And at sea, it's a global community. It doesn't come down to nations. There's a whole world out there at sea that we live together, we look out for each other.

America has to be at the forefront of this. It's time for us to step in and put this to an end to this crisis. It's a crisis. Wake up. This crew was lucky to be out of it with every one of us alive. We're not going to be that lucky again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: In addition to the message to the president, there was also a lot of gratitude to Captain Richard Phillips, the man who turned himself over to the pirates so he could help to save his crew. A message of thanks also coming from Shane Murphy's father, Joe Murphy, who teaches here at the academy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. JOSEPH MURPHY, SON ON MAERSK ALABAMA: I'd like to thank Captain Phillips and his family for his courage and his personal sacrifice. He has made tremendous sacrifice for his crew. Just incredible courage. We're very, very thankful he's done everything that he could possibly do and he has saved our son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: So, the next question for a lot of the folks here at the Maritime Academy is when they are going to be able to see Shane again. And there's one plan in place that is going on that perhaps Shane will fly to New York City's JFK Airport, his family, his wife and his two sons, two children will meet him there and then they will all fly back here, maybe sometime tomorrow. That is one of the contingency plans in place.

But as you can imagine, Kiran, it's a fluid situation so everyone standing by waiting for the homecoming that is sure to happen very soon. Kiran.

CHETRY: I bet you they all can't wait. And some very poignant words from Captain Murphy as well as he said, it's really a wake-up call for all of us out there. Jason Carroll this morning in Massachusetts, thanks.

ROBERTS: Thirty-three minutes now after the hour. Let's fast forward, the stories that will be making news later on today, a town full of Bernie Madoff victims is its day in court. Fairfield, Connecticut claims that it lost tens of millions of dollars in employee pensions in Madoff's Ponzi scheme. A judge will decide whether to lift the freeze on the assets of investors who allegedly served as feeder funds for the scam.

The New York Mets are getting ready to play their first home game today at the new Citifield. Bailout recipient Citigroup paid $500 million for naming rights to the stadium and that got a lot of members of Congress pretty furious about the whole thing.

And you're looking live this morning at the south lawn of the White House. The annual Easter egg roll under way there right now. They are expecting 30,000 kids and their parents at this year's event. Pop diva Fergie is scheduled to perform this morning. President Obama will speak there at 10:00 in the morning. And you know it's really interesting about this year's event, Kiran?

CHETRY: Yes?

ROBERTS: It's not raining!

CHETRY: That's very interesting. They also extended tickets to same-sex couples with children, saying they wanted to make sure that you know diversity is represented there. And also it will be interesting Fergie singing. She's got to keep it G-rated version for the kiddies.

ROBERTS: I'm sure she can achieve that.

CHETRY: There they go, rolling those eggs. All right. I hope everyone is having fun.

ROBERTS: Well, this week, we're following your tax money. Where does it all go? What does it pay for? We're taking a closer look this morning. It's 34 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: We're so blue this morning. It must be Monday. We have to show you some incredible video right now on cnn.com. A lot of people asking this morning, what was this woman thinking? She jumped into a polar bear pit during feeding time. Well, several of the bears took bites out of her. There you see the rescue attempts. They were handing her ropes and trying to help her pull her out of that enclosure.

In the meantime, they were throwing other things in the water to try to distract the bears. She is now recovering in a Berlin hospital. The zoo is the home of the famous polar bear Knut. He was in that same enclosure but did not bite the woman. Three other polar bears that were in there apparently did.

Well, also gunfire erupts in Bangkok as anti-government protests escalates. Thai soldiers spraying automatic weapons, firing into the air, to try to break up demonstrations there.

And a simple bend at the waist really has people bent out of shape when President Obama greeted the Saudi king, he appeared to bow. There you see the video. Was it a show of royal respect, was it a diplomatic blunder? You decide. But this video is still some of the most popular on cnn.com right now.

Well, you know, the deadline for filing your taxes just two days away. Well, today is the 12th, 13th, 14th, so you have three days, right?

ROBERTS: Three whole days.

CHETRY: Thirteenth, sorry. Thirteenth, 14th and then 15th. Because you have until midnight on the 15th?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, but you better make some time because it is coming up fast. It really is. And this is a country built, founded, frankly on a revolt against taxes, right? So April 15th and the days leading up to it. Boy this is the time of year we love to hate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS (voice-over): The price of admission to the most dynamic economy in the world is your federal income tax. Among other things, the money withheld each week from your paycheck paves roads, provides health care to children, buys tanks and fighter jets, and pays the interest on America's mounting debt.

It comes out of every paycheck, and you have until Wednesday to settle up the bill with the government. It might get a refund, or you may owe more.

LEN BURMAN, DIRECTOR, TAX POLICY CENTER: Generally, you end up paying more if you have additional income. Like, for example, you get some consulting fees or something like that, or you take on a second job. You earn more money or you get a big raise.

ROMANS: So we thought you'd like to know exactly how your hard- earned money is being spent and where. The largest portion goes to fund social security. After that comes defense programs, followed by Medicare. The remaining money supports programs such as food stamps, retirement and disability. But some of that money goes toward something you'll never see. About eight percent is paying the interest on the country's mounting national debt, which totals more than $11 trillion. The 2012 projections puts it closer to 16 trillion.

BURMAN: We will have more spending on interest than we spend on discretionary programs other than defense. It's a lot of money. Over time, the federal interest cost is going to get to be a serious problem, and it really worries tax and budget experts of both parties.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. He says health care costs are also the fastest growing large spending category, eating up an ever greater share of our tax dollars. Income tax is just one chunk of what you pay. Payroll taxes for Medicare and social security and excise taxes for gas and cigarettes, sales taxes, state and local taxes, property taxes! Tomorrow, we'll tell you who has the biggest share of taxes and how we compare with the rest of the world.

ROBERTS: You know, we should have been celebrating today and we weren't. Today is the day.

CHETRY: Tax freedom day! You start working for yourself today.

ROMANS: Every penny you earned up until this very moment this year went to pay all of these kinds of different kinds of taxes. And then now, you know, I mean, technically, your taxes are being paid a little bit every day, but today is the day of freedom. Your money works for you.

CHETRY: To put it into perspective, April 13th?

ROMANS: It's a little bit earlier than usual. Usually it's usually in May when you get to tax freedom day, early May. So it might be a little bit earlier this year.

ROBERTS: I'm going to go out and celebrate and buy a postage stamp or something.

ROMANS: The price of that is going up pretty soon.

ROBERTS: Conquering the nation's drug addiction. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows you the extraordinary steps that some students are taking to stay clean. He is taking you inside Recovery High.

And the New York Mets christen their new ballpark tonight, but some fans and politicians are up in arms about Citifield and they want it renamed. We're live in Queens for you this morning. It's 42 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: When President Obama traveling to Mexico this week we are taking a look at America's drug addiction and how it's fueling violence at the border. We're calling it "Drug Nation." Earlier, a debate over legalizing hard drugs heated up between former DEA agent Bob Stutman and Jeff Miron, an economist from Harvard University. We are not just talking about marijuana here. We are talking heroin and cocaine. Here is what they said about the issue.

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JEFF MIRON, DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES, HARVARD: I don't claim that legalization is a solution. Some people will misuse drugs just even if it's legal, just as some people misuse alcohol, but the magnitude of negative things would be vastly reduced if it were legal.

BOB STUTMAN, SPENT 25 YEARS AS A DEA AGENT: He's dead wrong on this issue. Virtually every study and every person I've debated for the past 20 years said you legalize, you will at least double, some studies say five to ten times as much. You give drugs to kids, they'll use them, period.

Anybody that thinks that's not true has never met a kid or a drug addict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And if you want to hear more of that argument, log on to www.CNN.com/amfix. Both of those gentlemen will be blogging about their particular points of view.

This week, we're also looking at how real people are working to get control of their drug addictions. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes you inside a very unique school where kids who had drug problems go to avoid a relapse. Welcome to recovery high.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I haven't really been in a situation like that since I've been clean.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't see classes like this at most high schools.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Obviously, some technical problems with that. We had a lock-up on one of our machines. We will try to recover that and get it back to you just as soon as we can. In the meantime, let's go over to Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. We're going to get that for you in a second.

Still ahead, Citigroup agreeing to pay $400 million for the naming rights to the New York Mets new ballpark. They took $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money so that has some in Congress and fans very riled up. We're live in Queens ahead of the Mets opening night. Also, the first photos of the newest White House resident, the much awaited, highly anticipated Bo Obama. He is cute and is he worthy of the new role? We've got details on the new first dog.

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CHETRY: A lot of excitement about the new Mets stadium. Maybe not so much excitement about the name of it.

Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

It was a big night for baseball here in the Big Apple. The New York Mets play their first official game tonight at Citifield. So that is why is there a cloud of controversy hanging over the ballpark and it has everything to do with the name.

CNN's Richard Roth is at the new ballpark in Queens. He joins us live. Before we get to the whole Citi controversy, how does it look?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks OK. I mean it depends on what kind of fan you are. A lot of these new stadiums have that retro look and they all kind of look the same if you traveled around. But as Americans waited for our national past time through the cold winter months here in New York, it wasn't just the names of the teams that will be playing tonight, the Mets and the Padres of San Diego. A lot of the controversy on the name of the stadium, Citifield.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1, 2, 3!

ROTH (voice-over): It was a countdown to controversy that few saw coming. The U.S. economy wasn't buried when Citigroup bankers and New York politicians broke ground on a new baseball stadium for the New York Mets back in 2006. But times have changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a resident of New York, I'm outraged.

ROTH: Outraged because Citigroup agreed to pay $400 million over 20 years for the right to call the Mets Stadium Citifield. The same Citigroup that needed $45 billion in U.S. taxpayer money after the financial meltdown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it should be changed since they got bailed out, the whole mess here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ballpark, with its high price tag, it's really being subsidized by we, the taxpayers.

ROTH: This Mets fan paid a lot less to purchase naming rights for his family on a brick outside Citifield.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people pay for advertisement every day. We shouldn't be ashamed of it. Taxpayer money go to waste on a lot of other things. Let's go Mets, I say.

ROTH: Earlier this year, a congressman demanded but failed to get the Treasury Department to cancel the deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is great advertising except for one thing. The American taxpayers have now invested heavily in these banks, and the bailout fund should not be used for this purpose.

ROTH: Citigroup denies taxpayer money will be used for the Mets stadium, and the bank's told the Mets it will honor the naming rights agreement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The contract is binding. I have no problem with it.

ROTH: Nevertheless, senior executives from the bank will not throw out the ceremonial first pitch or sit in the luxury boxes of the stadium for the opener. The Mets declined official comment. One of their stars didn't want to make any errors.

(on camera): How do you feel that you're playing for the taxpayers, in effect?

DAVID WRIGHT, NEW YORK METS PLAYER: You know what? I don't -- you know, comment on things that I don't enough about. I'm a baseball player so I go out there and worry about my swing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He struck him out. The ball game is over!

ROTH: In the end. the only numbers many fans will care about in Citifield are the Mets' victory totals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

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ROTH: One more scandal tinged note with Citifield. Bernie Madoff securities firm sold their season opener tickets on eBay, $7,500, the winning price -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. I guess someone has got to use those seats. Richard Roth for us this morning, thanks.

ROBERTS: Maybe as you were suggesting earlier, they should call it TARP field.

CHETRY: Either TARP field or taxpayer field!

ROBERTS: One of the two, yes, or bailout field. That would work on two different levels.

Military officials tell CNN it took just three shots to end that hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia. The Navy says it decided to act when one of the pirates were seen pointing an AK-47 at Captain Richard Phillips's back. This morning, three pirates are dead, Phillips is safe on board the USS Boxer. And the crew of the Maersk Alabama is cheering his freedom in Kenya's port city of Mombassa.

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SHANE MURPHY, MAERSK ALABMA CHIEF MATE: I just got off the phone with our captain, Richard Phillips, for the first time. And it was extremely emotional experience for all of us to actually hear his voice and to hear the condition he was in. And he is -- he's absolutely elated and he couldn't be prouder of us for doing what he trained us to do.

And that is really when this story unfolds, you'll see that's really all we did. We did everything the way we were trained to do and we have the captain. Ultimately, everybody you see here before you today, has the captain, Captain Phillips to thank for their lives and their freedom.

But, additionally, it was an entire crew-wide effort. You'll find there is going to be many stories of individual heroism that come out of this, but, as a group, everybody played a part. Everybody in America can latch on to this maybe and use it as a sign of hope to show what being an American is about.

We would like to implore President Obama to use all of his resources to increase the commitment to ending this Somali pirate scourge. Right now, there are ships still being taken right now as we are standing here. And at sea, it's a global community. It doesn't come down to nations. There's a whole world out there at sea that we live together, we look out for each other. America has to be at the forefront of this. It's time for us to step in and put this to an end to this crisis. It's a crisis. Wake up.

This crew was lucky to be out of it with every one of us alive. We're not going to be that lucky again. And, just for the record, we never had to fight to take our ship back. We never surrendered our ship. We fought to save the captured shipmates that were still aboard, but we never gave up. That's all.

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ROBERTS: The emotion of the moment coming out there with Shane Murphy, the first mate of the Maersk Alabama. And obviously they are very happy to be in the position they are in right now. It could have gone so wrong.

CHETRY: That's right. It's interesting that this incident when we talk about so many pirate incidents that have taken place. 200 people still being held hostage has really brought up the debate once again about whether these merchant ships should be armed.

ROBERTS: The commander of the 5th Fleet, Admiral William Gortney, saying this morning that he thinks that armed guards, private security on board these ships might be a good idea. So we'll see where that debate goes.

It's not as important as the economy or the captain rescued from pirates but the Obama girls as well as millions of dog lovers have been waiting an awfully long time for this. The big debut of the first dog! Bo Obama! We'll have him for you. It's 56 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Look at that. The White House lawn pretty crowded right now. It's the annual Easter egg roll taking place at the White House. This is new video that is just in to CNN. As many as 30,000 kids and their parents are expected on the south lawn today to take part in the yearly tradition and as John pointed out, bright and sunny for a change. It's rained so many years in a row.

ROBERTS: In the last few years it has rained. They had some good entertainment this year as well. Fergie is going to be there and Ziggy Marley and readings by people like James Cromwell.

CHETRY: Nice.

ROBERTS: Well, the president's promise to his little girls finally fulfilled. The first daughters are getting the dog that they have been waiting for. Our Carol Costello is unleashing details of the newest White House resident, Bo Obama. Good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, good morning. That's so bad, unleashing the dog! Well, here he is. His name is Bo. He will be officially debuted at the White House on Tuesday. He is a Portuguese water dog, a gift from the Kennedys, Senator Edward Kennedy who also has a Porty. It's a full -- I mean, it's a pedigreed dog, John. You know, the Obamas have said they were going to try to get a dog from the pound or a rescued dog, but Malia and Sasha have allergies so they couldn't do that.

Instead, they are going to give a big donation to the Washington Area Humane Society and that will make it all better. Who knows. But Bo will be following this closely. And Tuesday, we'll have the dog actually moving in and not just a picture.

ROBERTS: Yes. Tomorrow at the White house. Very cute dog. Carol, thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Sure.

CHETRY: He is six months old, and there's going to be a lot of moving, I'm sure. A cute little guy. Well, thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We hope to see you back here tomorrow.

ROBERTS: All right. Right now, here's CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.