Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
General Motors to File for Bankruptcy; Abortion Doctor Gunned Down; GM Bondholder Feels Robbed; Air France Passenger Plane Missing; FEMA Administrator Advises Storm Preparation; Town's Future Rides on GM Success; Judging Judge Sotomayor
Aired June 01, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, thanks very much for being with us on this Monday, it's the 1st of June. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We are following breaking news at 6:00 a.m. here in New York.
ROBERTS: Yes. We're given this information from AFP. It's the Agence France Presse quoting airport officials in Paris saying that an Air France jet with 215 people on board has dropped off the radar upon departure from Rio de Janeiro just a short time ago. Its destination was Paris.
Again, that's an Air France jet, 215 on board, dropped off the radar screen, just off the coast, the Atlantic coast of Brazil after taking off from Rio de Janeiro. Again, Agence France Presse reporting this. It's the only agency with any details on this.
At this point, CNN is tracking it down using our worldwide resources. We hope to have more on it for you in just a little while, but that is some breaking news that we're tracking for you this morning. Again, an Air France jet with 215 people on board dropped off the radar screen after taking off a short time ago from Rio de Janeiro over the Atlantic Ocean.
CHETRY: And we are following several other developing stories this morning. A look at those stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
In just two hours, General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy. Right now, we're learning brand new details of just how much it will cost you, the taxpayer, and what will be left of the American icon automaker and its workforce.
Also, the longtime target of anti-abortion activists killed in cold blood. Kansas doctor, George Tiller, gunned down at his church in Wichita. Tiller was one of the only U.S. doctors that performed late-term abortions. A suspect is now in custody. Police are still trying to figure out more about what happened. We're live in Wichita with this developing story.
And Defense Secretary Robert Gates says North Korea appears to be preparing to conduct its second long-range missile test since April. Reports out of South Korea this morning saying that the test firing could come within weeks possibly when the South Korean president meets with President Obama in just two weeks. Last week, North Korea conducted a series of short-range missile tests.
ROBERTS: The big story this morning, an American giant off the road. In just two hours time at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy. A short time later at 11:55 Eastern, President Obama will explain why the automaker is filing and why this could be the best route for a turnaround.
We're also learning new details of the government's plan in this morning. We're covering the story from all of the angles.
Stephanie Elam here in the studio with us this morning. Deb Feyerick live in Warren, Michigan. And Sean Callebs is live in Spring Hill, Tennessee, home to a one-time Saturn plant.
Let's start with Stephanie Elam this morning. Stephanie, a lot of questions this morning including what the eventual company will look like when it emerges from bankruptcy. But first thing I think we want to know about is how this is all going to work.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's what a lot of people are wondering. And at this point, we knew that today was "D- day." We knew that this was the day that GM really had to make it happen. This was the deadline given to it by the government to figure out what it was going to do or file for bankruptcy.
So, now we're here at this day and here's what we do know. Right now, the government is going to come out owning 60 percent of GM. This is all they said in an idea to get the company streamlined, back on its feet and hopefully recovering that money through this stake that it's going to get also $8.8 billion in debt and preferred stock so that they -- they're hoping that they can recoup that money for the taxpayers.
Also, $30 billion more is going to go to GM. This is on top of the more than $19 billion that the company has already gotten to make sure that it can keep operating. When you look at job cuts, that's what a lot of people are worried about here -- 20,000 additional job cuts.
Keep in mind, though, that's just GM. There's 300,000 more people who work for GM dealerships and thousands of people who work for auto part companies that will be affected by this as well. So there'll be more plant closures and dealership closures. They're expected to close a dozen plants by the end of 2010.
The other thing to point out here, current stockholders are going to see their holdings wiped out. It's going to take 60 to 90 days in bankruptcy they're hoping. This is what the Obama administration is hoping for. And it's going to be about six to 18 months before the stock starts trading again. So it's going to take some time to go through this. ROBERTS: All right. Stephanie Elam for us this morning with the latest again. Looking for that bankruptcy filing at 8:00 a.m. this morning.
CHETRY: And also this story isn't just about cars. It's really about the people who build them, the people that sell them, the people that buy them and where General Motors goes for better or for worse, they go, too.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick is live outside of a GM plant in Warren, Michigan. So today is bankruptcy filing. It really means job losses for members of the GM family. What are workers at that plant talking about today?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, there's a lot of uncertainty for a lot of workers here at this plant. Morale is low but at the same time there's also hope that GM gets a new life. It will be a meaner, leaner, more streamlined company.
What's likely to happen is that the more profitable parts of the company like Cadillac and Chevrolet, those will be revamped into the new GM. The rest of the company will be liquidated and that will take some time. That's what's going to affect workers because they're likely to see 11 plants closing, three more to remain idle. The union clearly not happy about this, but they knew that the only way to survive was to agree to this deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people are unhappy that they're helping us out, but they fail to realize how many people lose their jobs and how much the trickle-down effect is for everybody, because if we don't work, a lot of other people don't work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a real concern after all these years and facing the possibility of walking away with nothing especially when I still have a young son to finish raising. So, I don't want him to worry about it because we're going to be fine, and I think GM can survive this. I really do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: And so, it's not just the autoworkers that have a huge stake. Everybody has a huge stake in this. Taxpayers, the U.S. government now owns 60 percent of the new revamped GM. The union will own 17.5 percent. The Canadian government, 12 percent, and the bondholders 10 percent. And the success of this company now depends on being able to streamline the company and also people getting out there and buying new cars.
So, effectively, everyone is in this together. The U.S. government will not be micromanaging GM on a day-to-day basis. That gives workers some comfort that the government will be able to decide who at least is put on the board of directors or at least influence those decisions. And the government has said that it will back warranties on GM automobiles. So that will continue. So if you have one of those cars at least you won't be in trouble -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Deb Feyerick for us this morning outside of that plant in Warren, Michigan. And also remember -- thanks, Deb.
And also remember that the president is going to be addressing this issue, GM's bankruptcy coming in about three hours after GM makes that announcement. Four hours after that, it will be 11:55 Eastern Time this morning. You can see it on CNN and CNN.com/live.
And in the meantime, we'd like to hear from you. We've got caller show hotline. 877-MY-AMFIX.
We've known for some time that U.S. autos were in trouble. We've known about the GM story, but, you know, today at 8:00 a.m. it really is official. They once said so goes GM, so goes the world, and so goes the country. And now we're hearing that GM is going bankrupt. So we'd like to hear from you about it. 877-MY-AMFIX.
Also if you have a question that you like us to ask one of our guests, we're going to be covering the topic all morning long.
ROBERTS: An update now on the breaking news that we're telling you about this morning. CNN has confirmed that Air France Flight 447 which took from Rio de Janeiro bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has gone missing. According to the Agence France Presse, it dropped off the radar. According to airline officials, it has gone missing, 216 passengers, 12 crew members on board. Again, that's Air France Flight 447.
It was scheduled to be an Airbus A330 flying that route. Not sure if that equipment has been confirmed at this point, but that's what the scheduled aircraft equipment was to be. So again, Air France Flight 447, Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris dropped off the radar screen. Two hundred and sixteen passengers, 12 crew members on board, just after departure from Rio de Janeiro.
We're working this story with all of our international resources. We'll keep you up to date on it just as soon as we get some more information.
Another big story that we're following this morning. The suspect accused of killing a controversial abortion doctor is behind bars in Wichita, Kansas. Fifty-one-year-old Scott Roeder may formally be charged with murder today. His alleged victim, Dr. George Tiller, was gunned down Sunday morning at his church. Both pro-and anti-abortion activists have denounced the killing. President Obama is calling it a "heinous crime."
Ted Rowlands is following the story for us from Wichita this morning -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Dr. George Tiller has been a target for anti-abortion activists for more than two decades. He had a clinic bombed back in 1985. He's been the subject of threats throughout the last 20 years, but people are horrified at the idea and the reality that he was gunned down in cold blood while at church. You mentioned Scott Roeder. This is the suspect. He's a 51- year-old. He was picked up about four hours after the murder. He's expected to possibly make his first court appearance here in Wichita later today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed in the foyer of his church where he was serving as an usher. His wife, witnesses say, was singing in the choir.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's heart-wrenching that something in our community could happen as evil as this in his church.
ROWLANDS: Dr. Tiller was one of only a few physicians who performed late-term abortions and was a long-time target of anti- abortion extremists. In 1993, Tiller was shot in both arms while leaving his Wichita, Kansas, clinic. Police say the suspect in Tiller's killing was arrested about four hours after the shooting on Interstate 35 near Gardner, Kansas. At this point, they believe he acted alone, but say they're monitoring the Internet as part of their investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of information pouring on the Internet right now between the pro-life and pro-choice groups, and unfortunately we don't have the luxury of law enforcement to focus only on this case. We have to focus on a bigger picture. So, we have a whole other facet going. We'll be investigating it.
ROWLANDS: While most of the reaction from both sides of the abortion debate condemns the murder, Randall Terry, a veteran anti- abortion activist said, "George Tiller was a mass murderer."
Dr. Tiller was 67, married with four children, and ten grandchildren. A family statement says, in part, "We ask that he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And again, the suspect in this case, John, 51-year-old Scott Roeder, possibly could make his first court appearance today.
ROBERTS: We'll be watching for that this morning. Ted, thanks so much. Ted Rowlands for us in Wichita, Kansas this morning.
CHETRY: Well, coming up in less than two hours, GM will file for bankruptcy. This morning as General Motors fights to survive, so too are many small investors who have seen their retirement savings simply evaporate. In a moment, we're going to be talking with a small bondholder who says what GM is doing feels like robbery.
Also, we're continuing to follow breaking news that we just got this morning. An Air France flight with 228 on board dropped off the radar. CNN has now confirmed this happened. It was flying from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. According to the airline, this was Flight 447 of Air France.
And again, there were 228 people on board. It has dropped off the radar. That is all we know at this point. We're continuing to follow this story and we'll bring you new details as we get them.
It's ten minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: And welcome back this morning. It's 13 minutes past the hour.
We got some breaking news just a few moments ago about an Air France flight. This was a plane flying from Rio de Janeiro with 228 people on board. And we have confirmed that according, at least to the airline, it has dropped off the radar. This was a flight flying from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Brazil's air force, according to the "Associated Press" is also confirming that an Air France jetliner disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.
Now this would be quite a large jet, so the notion of it just dropping out of the sky is a little bit unusual. We're following the details and trying to get more information. Again, this was a flight with 228 people on board that was leaving Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, headed to Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport with 228 people on board. An Air France Flight 447, and again, its whereabouts unknown at this point. We're tracking this and we'll bring you new information as soon as we get it.
ROBERTS: And less than two hours time, General Motors will turn to bankruptcy in the hopes of finding a new start. The move comes after a majority of those holding $27 billion in GM bonds agreed to swap that debt for a stake in the new General Motors.
Joining me now is Debra June. She's a small bondholder who six years ago invested $70,000 in GM bonds.
Debra, thanks very much for being with us this morning.
DEBRA JUNE, GM BONDHOLDER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: We should mention to you coming to us from Riviera Beach, Florida. So you invested $70,000 in GM bonds some six years ago. As a result of this deal, that debt is going to be converted to equity shares. What's that investment worth now?
JUNE: Well, what happened, John, I got this booklet at the original thing. This is a 200-page booklet and they sent this in the mail and the offering was two shares of stock for every $1,000. That's 140 shares of stock.
They said originally in the book that it was going to be 225 shares, but they -- as you kept reading the booklet it said they were going to convert that to 101 reverse split which would be two shares of stock.
ROBERTS: Wow.
JUNE: $70,000 for 140 shares of stock, there was no way I was going to take the deal. Then they came out and they sweetened the deal. And I tried to contact General Motors. I left a message with the people I called up. I talked to the people on the phone. I e- mailed two e-mails, please let me know what the deal is.
I'm with GM Bondholders Unite...
ROBERTS: Right.
JUNE: ... and a 60-plus group, and also the Main Street bondholders. And what they're doing to the people is ridiculous. It's horrible. You're wiping out common people that saved money.
ROBERTS: Yes.
JUNE: I'm not a corporation.
ROBERTS: No. You're a school teacher, we should point out, right?
JUNE: Yes.
ROBERTS: So, $70,000 is a huge amount of money to you.
JUNE: It is. It is. And it's a shame. I mean what they're doing, they're saying 10 percent and this and that. I don't know what they're doing.
People out there have saved their money. We've done the right thing. I pay my bills and here all of a sudden, they want to give me two shares -- 140 shares of stock. I mean...
ROBERTS: Right. And that stock, all in total is worth what? About $200?
JUNE: I believe so like right now.
ROBERTS: Maybe less than that.
JUNE: Even less. And it's the -- when they regroup, even the stock was $10. That's unbelievable. I mean, I can't imagine someone doing someone like that.
ROBERTS: So, Debra, what was your reaction then when you heard that General Motors was going to go into bankruptcy? You said that you have resisted this plan. You didn't agree with it. The major bondholders were the ones who said, yes, go ahead and do this debt for equity swap. What did you think when you heard that they were going into bankruptcy and that was the deal?
JUNE: Well, I'm in shock. When I bought into GM, I thought, you know, it's a safe thing. I bought six years ago. I always thought it was safe even when the government came in. I was so excited. Well, they're going to take over. But Obama's task force, these people came in, they didn't negotiate.
We had no say. The private investor had no say in the matter. They dealt with the big corporations. Obama is for the people, he said. How can you be for the people? How can he do this? Yes.
ROBERTS: So, do you blame the task force? Do you blame the company? Do you blame the unions? Who do you blame for getting in this situation?
JUNE: I blame originally GM for letting it go like this. It's like Bernie Madoff was their bookkeeper. You know, it's ridiculous. But also for the task force to come in and not let anyone from the main sector just the representatives to go in there and try to negotiate, they never let us do that.
ROBERTS: Right.
JUNE: I would have given. I would have given, I'm not joking this. I would have said to GM, here, don't give me any interest, just take that. That would help them immensely.
ROBERTS: So...
JUNE: This booklet nobody even -- I mean, to send this booklet out...
ROBERTS: Right.
JUNE: ... the task force actually did this.
ROBERTS: So, do you have any hope of recouping your investment? If this, you know, company gets lean and mean and agile and it's able to come back, do you have any hope that you can recoup that $70,000 and maybe even beyond that if the price of the stock goes up?
JUNE: Nothing. Right now, I don't even have -- I'm not even in on the new deal, the sweetened deal. I -- they didn't -- I couldn't even get in on it. And that's -- and it's in the paper. They didn't care about the people. It's in the paper.
ROBERTS: So, you really feel robbed, do you?
JUNE: And I couldn't believe that when I read it. I feel robbed. And I know that there's an attorney out there for the GM Bondholders Unite that the gentleman, Lauria -- Thomas Lauria (ph), and he's supposed to represent the small people.
ROBERTS: Right.
JUNE: And I hope, I pray that the judge, whoever gets this, is going to say wait, this isn't right what's happening to the people. It's not right what's happening to the workers, the dealerships are going to close. It's going to be a trickle down effect, but they're taking income from me... ROBERTS: Right.
JUNE: ... and thousands and thousands of other people who are in worse shape than I am and it's not right.
ROBERTS: We'll keep following this and, Debra, maybe we can stay in touch with you and keep checking back to see how things are going.
JUNE: Please, please people out there, contact your congressman, do something. Say it's not right.
I remember Michelle Obama said she was not proud of her country until her husband was in office. I'm a school teacher. If I was teaching her children, would she say she was proud that this is happening to a common person like myself?
ROBERTS: All right.
JUNE: I mean you can't, you can't do it.
ROBERTS: Debra, thanks very much. We'll keep checking back with you.
JUNE: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Appreciate you coming on. Thanks.
JUNE: Thank you. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: And we're continuing to follow breaking news this morning. An Air France flight with 228 people aboard dropped off the radar. It was flying from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. When we come back, we're going to be joined by aviation expert, commercial pilot John Lucich on what maybe going on here.
Again, breaking news. A plane carrying 228 people simply dropping off the radar this morning.
Twenty minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHETRY: We're following the latest right now. News that an Air France flight carrying 228 people dropped off the radar this morning as it was flying from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. This is according to the airline.
Also seconding that situation, the incident, is Brazil's air force which also confirmed that an Air France flight did disappear. Air France also saying it lost contact with the plane as it was traveling from Brazil to Paris. Joining us right now is John Lucich. He is on the phone. He's been with us during other incidents in the air and is a commercial pilot familiar with flying internationally as well.
John, thanks for being with us this morning.
JOHN LUCICH, LICENSED COMMERCIAL PILOT (via telephone): Good morning.
CHETRY: What does it mean when they say the plane's gone off the radar?
LUCICH: Well it could mean, and I want to stress we don't know enough about what happened to this airplane yet but it could mean that the airplane is flying at a lower altitude than the radar can pick it up at, which means that once it travels below that level that the radar can no longer see that airplane but that doesn't mean that airplane is out of the air.
And one of the reasons that that might happen is if the airplane suffered some type of damage to it and suffered rapid decompression which is a loss of the breathable air (ph) for the people on board because the air is less dense at a higher altitude, they have to get that plane down to a lower altitude while everybody is on oxygen. So. it'll push that airplane over into a rapid descent and get down to an altitude. And they also may be out of not only radar contact but voice contact by being at that low altitude, depending upon where they are and how far they are out over that ocean.
ROBERTS: Hey, John, it's John Roberts. We don't know for sure what the equipment was on this flight, but Air France Flight 447 scheduled to take off tonight at 7:00 p.m., which we would assume is when this one took off last night. It's scheduled to be an Airbus 330 and they've got quite a good safety record, only a couple of incidents.
There was a test flight that crashed, killing seven people in Toulouse and then an Air Transat A330 ran out of fuel and had to make a dead stick landing in the Azores a few years back. But this is a fairly safe aircraft, is it not?
LUCICH: Right. Absolutely, John, and that's a great point which tends me to believe that, you know, it's more than just being low that something happened to this airplane because this is definitely out of the ordinary tour this type of airplane.
Like you said, it had such a good safety record. Had they been still flying, they'd still be in communication. They'd still be doing a lot of other things that people would know that they're still there. But because of the fact that they've been off radar for so long and because of the fact they hadn't been in contact with people for so long, it tells me that something more drastic might have happened to this aircraft.
CHETRY: Yes. And we're getting word also from the "Associated Press," as you mentioned, the radio contact, the air force said that they launched this search and rescue mission after the jet failed to make regular radio contact. This is Brazil's air force, and they say that they are now searching near the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha. What does that tell you when they're starting a search and rescue mission?
LUCICH: Well, it means that they noted this more than happened to this airplane. But let's not forget that miraculous landing of that airplane in the Hudson River. It's very, very possible that we could have something else going on where we had another great landing on the ocean. They had to ditch into the ocean for some unknown reason to this point.
But that I wouldn't hope that all is lost right now. Those airplanes are equipped with a lot of equipment on board to get people into lifeboats, to get them away from an airplane that might be sinking. I'm not going to assume the worst right now and I don't want anybody else, but there's a lot that they know a little bit more than we do right now because there's absolutely nothing reported but speculation right now. So I believe that their family should have our prayers and hopes but I believe the government is doing everything they can by launching that search and rescue immediately.
CHETRY: Right. All right. So we are finding out a little bit more information, as we said, Brazil's air force launching a search and rescue right now for this plane that disappeared over the Atlantic. It was coming from Rio de Janeiro bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
John Lucich, aviation expert, thanks for calling in. And as we get more details we'll bring them to you so that we can better inform our viewers on what may be going on here.
ROBERTS: You know, it's interesting to point out here and keep in mind, too, that the US Airways Flight 1549 that crashed in the Hudson was an Airbus A320. This is an Airbus A330, we think. That's what the scheduled equipment was to be. So they do quite well when you ditch them in the water.
So, potential that the aircraft is out there somewhere still floating. We don't know. Sunk, we don't know whether it broken in pieces. All yet to be determined whether or not it crashed at all. We haven't found any of that out, but they do land, you know, when Sullenberger is at least at the controls, quite well on water.
We're also following another big story. In less than two hours, General Motors expected to file for bankruptcy and this morning the future of one town as well of thousands of jobs and livelihoods are on the line. We'll have all that for you coming up.
It's 28 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ROBERTS: And just to update you on the breaking news that we're following this morning, CNN confirms that an Air France plane Flight 447 departed from Rio de Janeiro bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in France has gone missing. Brazilian authorities say it dropped off the radar screen. The Brazilian military, the air force says that it lost radio contact with the aircraft.
They are now searching and considered the island of Fernando de Noronha, which is off the northeastern coast of Brazil. They are searching in that area. That's some distance north of Rio de Janeiro, so it would appear that this plane made quite a distance before disappearing off of the radar screen. It launched a search and rescue effort.
As far as we know, this plane departed. It was scheduled, at least tonight's comparative flight, Flight 447, is scheduled to depart at 7:00 p.m. Brazil is an hour ahead of where we are here on the East Coast, so that would have been 6:00 our time.
So, some time has gone by since this all occurred. And just now, the pieces are starting to come into focus. Two hundred and twenty- eight people on board this aircraft, 216 passengers, 12 crew members. The equipment scheduled to fly on that route tonight under the flight number is an Airbus A330. We don't know if that's the equipment that was flying last night, but we can assume that they do fly the same aircraft on these routes.
And as we pointed out, airbuses, at least, if you look at what happened in the Hudson River, a few months back, U.S. Airway Flight 1549, that do quite well when you ditch them, if there's an experienced pilot at the controls. So, we don't know what has happened to this flight, whether it's ditched in the Atlantic, whether it's crashed, whether it's gone on somewhere else. All of this is way up in the air right now. Details starting to trickle in.
But, again, a search and rescue mission launched by the Brazilian military near the island of Fernando de Noronha on the northeastern coast. Just off of the Coast of Bahia. Really quite a distance away from Rio De Janeiro.
Other stories making news right now as well. Gas prices on the rise again. AAA reports the national average price for regular unleaded gas is up to $2.51 a gallon. It's the 34th straight daily increase. Gas prices have jumped 46 cents over that time. Here's the good news, though. Gas still down $1.60 from the record high price last July.
Pakistan citing progress in its ongoing offensive against the Taliban. This morning, seven towns in the Swat Valley are no longer under a daytime curfew. Thousands of residents caught in the crossfire can now leave their homes for food and other supplies. But there was violence elsewhere on the northwest. Official say a bomb went off at a crowded bus terminal. Reports say at least two people were killed and eight others were injured.
It's a big week on the health care reform front. Health industry groups are expected to delivered specific plans to the White House today, backing up their pledge to curve cost by $2 trillion over 10 years.
And tomorrow, Senator Ted Kennedy convenes his health committee to begin weighing his proposals to extend health care to all Americans.
CHETRY: All right, well, the Atlantic hurricane season officially begins today, June 1st. The forecast is for 9 to 14 named storms this season. That puts it in the normal category.
The Obama administration saying its committed to make sure that we are ready to weather any storms. There's a new poll, though, suggesting that Americans are woefully unprepared. Joining us now from Washington, the new FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate. Thanks for being with us this morning, Craig.
CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Well, good morning.
CHETRY: As we said, so, today is the official start of hurricane season. And you have the federal forecasters at NOAA and the National Hurricane Center predicting from 9 to 14 named storms. They call it a near-normal season. So, what does that mean? What do we know so far?
FUGATE: Well, it just means that any time we're in hurricane season, if you live in a state that's vulnerable to hurricanes, you get ready and get a plan. But what the forecast won't tell us is, will a hurricane make landfall, and will it hit your community? So, the plan is always going to be, get ready for hurricane season, get a plan and don't wait for a storm to threaten your community.
CHETRY: Yes, and you were FEMA head in Florida, so you're certainly no stranger to dealing with the unpredictable nature of these storms at times. What are the key things in your new position that you think this administration needs to focus on in terms of hurricanes?
FUGATE: Well, part of it is building the partnership in the team. You know, we oftentimes talk about government, the local, state and federal role where we work as a team, but also our private sector and volunteer groups. But probably one part of the team, as you pointed out, that still needs to do some more work as we continue to work is making sure that we the public are prepared.
You know, it's part of our responsibility to make sure we do everything we can to protect ourselves and our family. Because there's a lot of vulnerable citizens out there that are going to need more help, and if we're not ready, we're going to take away from their needs. And that's really the part of the team we want to focus on this year is making sure that everybody understands you have a role in getting ready for disaster. And most importantly for people in hurricane-prone states, find out now if you're in an evacuation zone, where you're going to go and make sure you have a family disaster plan.
CHETRY: Right. And reason you're saying this, we checked out this new poll that shows despite trying to spotlight preparedness, a lot of people are not heeding the warning. According to this Mason- Dixon poll out, 83 percent of people polled said they hadn't taken any steps in the past year to make their homes stronger, even after last year's season.
Sixty-six percent say they have no hurricane survival kit. Sixty-two percent say they don't feel vulnerable for a hurricane or even a tornado or flooding, and half the people don't have a family disaster plan.
So, if people are listening today, what are some small things they can do to be prepared?
FUGATE: Well, the easiest thing is to sit down now and plan. If you just do three things, things are going to go a lot better for you and your family. Get a plan, go take some training, learn first aid. And most importantly, after disaster strikes, if you and your family are OK, check on a neighbor.
We're going to save more people by working together in communities and taking responsibility to prepare ourselves and our families. Because there's a lot of folks that are going to need help. And if you're not ready, you're taking away from the most vulnerable citizens when you don't have a plan, your family's not ready, and you're putting yourselves at risk, particularly as we go into the next hurricane season.
CHETRY: You were, as you know -- you got a visit from President Obama. He came actually to check things out, to check out FEMA headquarters there, trying to differentiate itself from the prior administration when it comes to responding to hurricanes. What will be different this time around?
FUGATE: I think the emphasis is that it's a partnership and a team. Coming from a state and having served at the local level, I know how important it is to make sure we're working as a team. And again, the focus is oftentime on what government's going to do. But we need to recognize that, you know, we have a lot of capabilities in the private sector. We have a lot of very capable volunteer organizations and community-based groups, faith-based groups that assist in disasters.
But again, the lesson I learned from local, state, federal level, we will only be as successful as the public has prepared. And that's something that we have to continue to emphasize and work. And we really thank you for helping us get the word out today with the start of hurricane season.
Now's the time to get ready. Get a plan. Get ready. Enjoy summer. We shouldn't be fretting about hurricanes. We should get ready, have a plan and we know what we're going to do if one threatens our community.
All right. Good advice. Craig Fugate, FEMA administrator, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
FUGATE: Well, thank you. ROBERTS: It was supposed to be the brand that help saved General Motors, now Saturn is in terrible trouble as well as a result of this GM bankruptcy filing we're expecting today.
Sean Callebs is on the ground there to talk about the impact of this bankruptcy on folks who work for Saturn.
Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A little less than 90 minutes from now. General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy. And Saturn, once thought to be the future of General Motors, now driving down a bumpy road toward an uncertain future. But it's not just the brand that's in jeopardy. So is the once tiny community that blossomed after GM built the Saturn plant there.
CNN's Sean Callebs is live for us this morning in Spring Hill, Tennessee.
There's got to be an awful lot of anxiety there in Spring Hill this morning, Sean?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really, John. That's a good way to put it. If you think back a couple of decades ago, a lot of areas around the country were actually fighting to get this Saturn plant. Well, the success of the vehicle really never matched the hype.
And, today, boy, the future of this facility, which stopped making Saturns a couple of years ago. And now, when it is running, it turns out Chevys. Well, this facility and its thousands of employees are really up in the air.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Little League and General Motors, American icons.
But in the community of Spring Hill, about a 45-minute drive south of Nashville, one of these could be on the way out. GM could possibly shut down, phase out or sell off this factory in Spring Hill.
Among the more than 3,000 anxious employees, Johnny Miranda, who left a GM job in Van Nuys, California, 16 years ago to come work at this facility.
JOHNNY MIRANDA, GM AUTO WORKER: I want to think positive and a lot of people, everybody -- because it could bring you down, it can really mess you up if you think, you know, they're going to close it and you're going to lose your job.
CALLEBS: For years and years, this plant made Saturn vehicles. It was supposed be to the car and the business plan that breathed new life into GM by taking sales away from fuel-efficient Japanese cars. Saturn didn't revolutionize the industry, and two years ago, the Spring Hill plant, stopped making the Saturns and began turning out Chevys.
Sunday afternoon in the park is a welcome break, a chance to play with the kids and not think about the possibility of layoffs and mounting debts.
Almost everyone in Spring Hill knows someone whose job is on the line.
WILL BARNES, SPRING HILL RESIDENT: My father has worked for GM. He's worked for GM ever since the day he graduated from college. You know, and he's cut his yard five times this week, because he doesn't, you know, this is the level of uncertainty for him. And so -- and I hate to see him in that situation.
CALLEBS: Over the last two decade, subdivision after subdivision cropped up, and the town of Spring Hill blossomed in the shadow of the Saturn plant now called GM Spring Hill Manufacturing. But now that GM is filing for bankruptcy protection, this plant could be sold or closed in an effort to make GM leaner and keep the company in business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to hurt. No question. It will hurt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: You know, going up and talking to some of the employees at the Little League field yesterday, a lot of them said GM now stands for Government Motor. And, John, one source of frustration for the workers here, they say they really have no idea what to expect, pointing out that the media often knows much sooner than the employees what's going to happen.
ROBERTS: I think there are a lot of people who are in that same boat, Sean, not knowing exactly what's going to happen. Even though they might have some details of the plan.
Sean Callebs for us this morning there in Tennessee.
Sean, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: It's 43 minutes past the hour. We're following the latest on a plane missing now. It was an Air France plane that was traveling from Rio De Janeiro to Paris. It was carrying 228 people when it lost contact. An Air France spokesman is now saying that Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France Flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris.
Right now, they say that the Brazil Air Force is searching for that plane. And Air France is setting up an information center at Charles De Gaulle Airport for families of those aboard that plane. That plane was scheduled to arrive at 5:15 a.m. Eastern Time in Paris this morning.
So, we're following the latest developments as we get new information on this situation.
Stay with AMERICAN MORNING. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Forty-six minutes past the hour. We're following the breaking news of a plane that lost contact with air traffic control. This was an Air France plane 447. It was headed from Rio De Janeiro in Brazil to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris. It was due to arrive in Paris about an hour and a half ago.
And, again, the plane disappeared, they're saying, off the Brazilian coast. We're going to check in right now with Rob Marciano.
Any indication about the weather conditions at the time in that area? They were not far from Rio De Janeiro. They were still flying along the coast there when this happened?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Rio has a climate much like Florida, so this time of year for them is kind of like Florida's December. Weather there was mostly cloudy. It was raining a little bit at takeoff. Just recently it was raining a little bit. But visibility of takeoff was pretty good, and ceilings were about 10,000 feet.
But the route of this thing going from Rio up towards the north, it would parallel the coastline for a good chunk of its route. Probably first two or three or four hours as it heads off towards the north and east towards Paris itself.
And then is up through here. Just the northeastern most tip of Brazil. And this is the island that they're searching around right in through here. So the weather conditions there would probably be more tropical, meaning it would be warmer, more humid, that kind of thing and maybe there will be some thunderstorms in the area. Our radar doesn't reach down there.
Speaking of radar, the radars on islands or land only go out so far. So at some point when the plane gets over the open water, they're just communicating via radio. So whether this dropped off the radar like -- which was the kind of news that we're hearing. That kind of indicates, it probably lost contact close to land. Otherwise, it would be out in the middle of the ocean and just wouldn't check in.
The other point I would make is that water landings in the Atlantic are a lot more rough. So that would be a little bit more difficult as far as with the sea conditions there. I really can't tell you that. But I can tell you this, the satellite getting into the north. The north Atlantic looks OK. So Cape Verde Islands, that would be, probably the next stop once they started to make their trek. That would probably the next sport, where they would regain radio or radar contact. And the weather there looks to be all right. Back to you guys in New York.
CHETRY: All right. Good information for us, Rob. Thanks so much.
And, again, Brazil's Air Force is saying that this search is about 190 miles from Rio de Janeiro in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. We showed it a moment ago. So, again, that's where they're conducting a search right now according to Brazil's Air Force.
MARCIANO: Right.
ROBERTS: It's 49 minutes after the hour. Judge Sotomayor -- she's making the rounds on Capitol Hill. Does she have some controversy in her past that could hamper her chances of becoming the next associate justice of the Supreme Court?
We'll find out, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. President Obama's Supreme Court nominee heading to Capitol Hill this week for some face time with key senators who will decide her fate.
Republicans are raising questions about controversial remarks that she has made in the past involving race.
CNN's Jim Acosta has got more for us on that story this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So far, it's not a case in court, but a case of questionable semantics that's gotten Judge Sonia Sotomayor in the most trouble with Republicans.
On the now infamous quote, "I would hope that a wise Latina women would more often than not reached a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't live that life."
One top GOP senators says he wants more than just an explanation.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think she should apologize, but I don't believe any American wants a judge on the bench that's going to use empathy or their background to punish someone.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, HOST, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he's appointed one.
ACOSTA: But Democrats are also crying foul, calling conservative reaction to the pick over the top, noting how Rush Limbaugh compared Sotomayor to David Duke.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: She's been called the equivalent of the K -- the Ku Klux Klan by Rush Limbaugh. She's been called a bigot by other Republican like Newt Gingrich. I want to give her an opportunity to answer these kinds of people.
ACOSTA: The ranking Republican overseeing Sotomayor's nomination tried to turn down the heat.
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: We should not demagogue race. It's an important issue in our culture, in our country. We need to handle it with respect that it deserves.
ACOSTA: GOP leaders have focus on Sotomayor's appellate court decision against a group of mostly white firefighters claiming discrimination. But legal expert say her full record on race is much less controversial.
The respective SCOTUS's blog found a 96 race-related cases decided by Judge Sotomayor on the Court of Appeals, she and her fellow judges ruled against discrimination roughly 78 times and in favor of such claims in just ten cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to thoroughly examine her record. I don't know how long that's going to take.
ACOSTA: The trick for Republicans is to carry out that review without putting themselves on trial.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: If they line up uniformly in hostility to the first Hispanic woman to be nominated for the court, they risk paying a terrible price with the biggest and fastest growing minority in this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: It's too early to tell whether Republicans will filibuster Sotomayor's nomination. But GOP leaders are quick to point out President Obama as a senator supported a filibuster of Samuel Alito before he was confirmed to the high court -- John.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning, thanks so much.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, the latest on the General Motor. The company now just an hour away from filing for bankruptcy. We're going to have the latest on the implications for workers, as well as for people who own GM stock and for people that own GM cars.
We're also following breaking news. Brazil's Air Force now is searching for a missing aircraft about 1,500 hundred miles away from Rio de Janeiro. The plane was due to land about hours ago in Paris. The latest on that search as well.
It's 55 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's a landmark day for the American car industry. General Motors is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just an hour from now. The government expected to take over what was once a symbol of American capitalism.
A lot of people are asking this morning, what went wrong? To understand how an American icon wound up on life support.
Christine Romans takes us back to the days when GM was king. Big engines, big salaries and how it all went bust.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As goes General Motors, so goes the nation. It's a phrase that defined America's economic power for much of the last century. Labor economists Peter Morici.
PETER MORICI, LABOR ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: If General Motors was doing well, so many Americans benefited because so many folks were employed either at General Motors or the other two major carmakers.
ROMANS: Today, there are 74,000 rank and file workers. In its heyday, GM was the largest industrial company in the world, a technology leader. By 1979, 600,000 people were GM employees. So good jobs made America's middle-class the envy of the world.
MORICI: It created the wealth that made it possible to pay ordinary people very, very well. People without a whole lot of education, but just with a good instinct for doing things mechanically and with a good work ethic. Times have changed.
ROMANS: GM invented auto loans in the model year. It was the first to hire designers instead of engineers to create new car concepts, think big fins and chrome of the 1950s and '60s.
Peter Valdez-Dapena is the CNNMoney.com auto writer.
PETER VALDEZ-DAPENA, WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: Cars were supposed to say something about people. And a Cadillac was supposed to say something different about a person than a Buick or than a Chevrolet. Every brand had its own look, had its own meaning.
ROMANS: And every brand made its stamp on popular culture. The Pontiac GTO, the Corvette on Route 66, the TransAm in "Smokey and the Bandits." Archie Bunker's old LaSalle.
ROMANS: What happened?
MORICI: General Motors lost its way. It fell behind the Japanese. It paid its workers too well. It built a huge bureaucracy in Detroit that was incapable of getting anything done. And now simply, it's a sluggy old company with costs that are too high, that's simply not competitive enough.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
