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American Morning
Whistleblower Says FAA Ignored Warnings on Colgan Airplane Safety; President Pushing for "Paygo" Spending Plan; Accused Abortion Doctor Killer Speaks Out; First Guantanamo Detainee Brought to New York; Ambulances for Afghanistan; FDA Panel to Vote on Bipolar Drugs; Drug Violence in Mexico Spreads to Acapulco
Aired June 10, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Crossing the top of the hour now. Thanks very much for being with us on the Most News in the Morning on this Wednesday. It's the 10th of June. Thanks very much for being with us. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Right, as you said, 7:00 on the nose. A check now of the top stories.
An FAA whistleblower is saying that he was basically ignored when he warned the agency about safety problems in a plane that fell from the sky a few months ago outside of Buffalo. It's an interview that you will not see anywhere else.
If you buy it, you have to pay for it. It's a spending plan the president is wanting to push for Congress to pass. It's called "paygo," "pay as you go." But Jim Acosta tells us that the simple concept is already getting complicated and it's not without a lot of critics.
A CNN exclusive, Scott Roeder, the man charged with murdering a Kansas abortion doctor is talking with our Ted Rowlands. It's a jail cell interview that you won't see anywhere else. That's also coming up ahead.
But developing this morning, some new safety concerns about flying in the skies. The new FAA chief is preparing for a grilling on commuter airline safety on Capitol Hill today.
And one former inspector is now coming out with claims that his warnings were ignored about commuter planes, claims that may have helped prevent the deadliest U.S. air crash in seven years outside of Buffalo, New York. And this whistleblower spoke to our Allan Chernoff. Again, it's a story you will not see anywhere else this morning.
Allan joins us from Miami. What were some of the most startling admissions that you heard about these warnings?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, Christopher Monteleon says that he had complained about safety problems at Colgan Air for years. Last year, he was an inspector overseeing Colgan Air's acquisition of a new aircraft, the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. That's the plane model that a Colgan Air pilot crashed near Buffalo back in February.
Not only did Monteleon say that he complained for years about safety violations, but in particular, when that new aircraft was acquired, he says he saw major problems when he says the FAA ignored his warnings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): A year before the fatal Colgan Air crashed near Buffalo that killed 50 people, an FAA inspector reported trouble as the airline tested its first Bombardier Q400 turboprop.
CHRISTOPHER MONTELEON, FAA WHISTLEBLOWER: I've observed the pilots flying too fast for the design of the aircraft.
CHERNOFF: In his report, Christopher Monteleon noted the aircraft exceeded air speed limitation three times, and the pilots failed to note those violations so the plane could be properly inspected.
MONTELEON: If you flew too fast, you could cause the flaps conceivably to fall off the airplane.
CHERNOFF: That did not cause the February crash. But other problems Monteleon alleged that Colgan nearer issues uncovered in the Buffalo crash -- conversation in the cockpit near landing that had nothing to do with flight operations and pilot fatigue. Yet Monteleon says his supervisor told him to back off. He was instructed in a memo from an FAA manager not to have any contact with Colgan employees regarding Colgan Air business.
MONTELEON: My supervisor called me into his office and said, stop your investigation. He said that this violation, these violations, never occurred and that you are to erase the fact that you began the investigation from the FAA database.
CHERNOFF: When Monteleon's union filed a grievance, an FAA manager denied the claim, arguing the agency should be assisting Colgan's business plans, an approach that required management to immediately respond to the operator's scheduling needs. That operator, Colgan Air, was about to begin regional service for Continental Airlines using the new Q400 plane.
MONTELEON: And that's tragedy in the making. That's putting business interests ahead of safety.
CHERNOFF: The FAA later did investigate Monteleon's claims. He made changes in its oversight of Colgan. There is now a new manager in charge of inspections at the airline. But the FAA says it found no violations of its safety regulations.
Colgan Air told CNN, "Mr. Monteleon's claims against us are baseless. We have no control over what the FAA chooses to do and applied no pressure whatsoever to create a situation where he was reassigned. Colgan Air met or exceeded every single FAA requirement necessary to add the Q400 to its fleet." (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: A month after the Buffalo crash, Monteleon says he spoke out at an FAA town hall meeting saying he had warned the agency about Colgan Air. Two weeks later, he says, he was put on leave.
He says the FAA blames an argument that he had had with a lawyer at the agency. The FAA says the reassignment was not retaliatory, but it will not comment further about Mr. Monteleon because it says this is a privacy issue -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Allan Chernoff for us this morning. Allan, thanks so much.
CHETRY: And there is some breaking news this morning. Some engine trouble apparently forcing an Airbus to make an emergency landing. Spain's Airport Authority telling CNN that the jet experienced engine trouble shortly after taking off from the Canary Islands. It was then forced to turn back around.
The flight was headed for Oslo, Norway and was in the air for a total of ten minutes. A spokesperson says there were no injuries onboard. Also denied reports that there was an engine fire.
ROBERTS: In four short months, President Obama has committed to spending about $1 trillion. There's a $787 billion stimulus package and hundreds of billions to bail out the banks. So it's no wonder that there is so much controversy surrounding the president's latest project, "paygo." It's short for "pay as you go." His message to Congress, be frugal.
Jim Acosta is live in our Washington newsroom this morning. And this is supposed to be a pretty simple concept, Jim, but it's already getting pretty complicated.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not so simple, John. The deficit is not just a fiscal problem for the president, it's becoming a political one as well. Not only are Republicans trying to score points on the issue of spending. One key Democrat believes the president is going to have a tough time keeping a crucial promise -- cutting the deficit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Facing a nation drowning in red ink, a record $1.8 trillion deficit, President Obama is vowing to restore fiscal sanity to Washington. He's calling on Congress to adopt tough spending rules that would force lawmakers to pay for new programs dollar-for-dollar with budget cuts. The approach is called "paygo," or "pay as you go."
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Paying for what you spend is basic common sense. Perhaps that's why here in Washington it's been so elusive.
ACOSTA: But Republicans asked, what about the stimulus? They accuse the president of saying "pay as you go," not as I do.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: When Democrats are talking about "paygo," they mean you pay and they go on spending.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D-ND), BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We're headed for a cliff, a fiscal cliff.
ACOSTA: Even the Senate Budget Committee's Democratic chairman, Kent Conrad, doubts the president can deliver on his promise to cut the deficit in half in four years. He says the White House is already waving big portions of the budget from "pay as you go" worth $4 trillion over ten years.
How do you pay down the deficit by two-thirds over the next five years if you're waving $4 trillion in spending?
CONRAD: I don't believe you can that way. That's when the budget I wrote doesn't do it.
ACOSTA: Are you saying the president can't do it either?
CONRAD: I don't believe so. I don't believe anybody could.
ACOSTA: The White House concedes "pay as you go" only goes so far.
PETER ORZAG, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: "Pay as you go" embodies the common sense principal that he shouldn't dig the hole deeper.
ACOSTA: Despite promising to tackle spending during the campaign...
OBAMA: We know that we have to get spending under control in Washington so that we're not mortgaging our children's future under a mountain of debt.
ACOSTA: ... a Gallup poll finds Americans disapprove of the president's handling of both the deficit and spending, so Republicans are going with an issue that could pay.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm quite comfortable telling you yes we can balance the budget again if we have a majority and we are in charge.
ACOSTA: Senator Conrad says not so fast.
CONRAD: Their record doesn't merit much credibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Administration officials still defend piling all of that stimulus spending on top of the deficit arguing it was the best approach to get the country out of the recession. And the president is promising that his health care plans will not add to the deficit. And, John, the term here in Washington as you know is deficit neutral. They're saying that health care will be deficit neutral, but there are a lot of skeptics as to whether or not that's even possible, John.
ROBERTS: Yes, you know, when deficits start getting into the trillion dollar range, everybody is skeptical about the ability to save money in Washington.
ACOSTA: And it's still going higher.
ROBERTS: Yes. Jim, thanks so much for that.
We'd love to know what you think about the president's "paygo" plan. Call our show hotline. The number is 1-877-MY-AMFIX.
CHETRY: Well, also new this morning, the World Health Organization is wrestling with the decision about whether or not to finally announce the first flu pandemic in 41 years, holding a conference call with World Government today in order to verify swine flu reports before making any official announcement. The World Health Organization says that the virus has infected more than 26,000 people in 73 countries and caused 140 deaths.
Police are searching for more victims from a deadly plant explosion. It happened at a Slim Jim meat plant in North Carolina yesterday. Police said that two people were killed and more than 40 others had to be taken to hospitals after that blast blew workers right off their feet, collapsed a wall crushing some cars that were packed outside.
And your safety in the skies. How safe do you think you are on the short commuter flights? This morning there are some disturbing new questions about how some of those pilots are being trained.
Ten minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh, a little Jack Ingram. Wake up, Dallas this morning where the weather is looking a (INAUDIBLE). Partly cloudy and 83 right now. Thunderstorms and 93 a little bit later on.
You know, yesterday we woke up Dallas with Kylie Minogue. And I said, wouldn't country music be a little bit more apropos?
And I got an e-mail from somebody who said I don't know what your ignorant anchor listens to, but down here in Houston, we listen to classical and jazz. I'm not so well and good.
CHETRY: I told you, you were going to get hate mail.
ROBERTS: I tell you...
CHETRY: I told you you were.
ROBERTS: Well, I counted. There were eight classical music stations in all of Texas, 37 country.
CHETRY: Hey, there's satellite radio now. It doesn't matter where you are. You can always hear some Mozart and Beethoven.
ROBERTS: Thirty-seven country stations compared to eight classical. I think more people are listening to country music in Texas this morning.
Thirteen minutes after the hour. New this morning. The House has passed the "cash for clunkers" bill. It's designed to kick-start auto sales and clean up our air. It gives consumers a chance to trade in gas guzzlers for vouchers worth as much as $4,500 toward the purchase of a more fuel efficient vehicle. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The Obama administration working on a plan to regulate the salaries of top financial executives. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner meeting later on today with the SEC and the Federal Reserve to work on setting guidelines. And the White House is close to announcing new rules for restricting bonuses for executives whose companies receive federal bailout money.
And the White House is close to an agreement with the tiny pacific island nation of Palau to take in 17 Chinese Muslims being held at Guantanamo Bay. A federal judge ordered them released in the U.S. last year but an appeals court overturned that ruling.
CHETRY: Well, a lot of questions lately about safety in the skies. And today, the new FAA chief is preparing for a grilling on commuter airline safety. This is taking place on Capitol Hill today.
We heard from our own Allan Chernoff about some troubling questions regarding commuter flights. He spoke to a whistleblower who says that a year before that fatal Colgan Air crashed near Buffalo that killed 50 people, this FAA inspector reported trouble as Colgan was testing its first Bombardier Q400 turboprop, saying that some instances pilots might be going too fast for the design of the plane.
Joining us now to talk more about this is former managing editor of the NTSB, managing director, rather, of the NTSB. He's directed the investigation of aviation accidents and joins me from Washington.
Peter Goelz, thanks so much for being with us this morning.
PETER GOELZ, FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, it's raising a lot of questions just about concerns about some of these regional flights. These are half of all commercial flights taking place in the United States. How concerned are you?
GOELZ: Well, I think the hearing is very appropriate. The investigation into the Colgan crash raised a number of questions not only about crew training, but crew rest periods, fatigue, and, in fact, the whole economic structure of the regional system. And once you've got co-pilots, you know, starting out in salaries sometimes under $20,000 a year, so I think this hearing is well timed.
CHETRY: And it's interesting you talk about those rest periods and as we learned from the Colgan Air crash with the co-pilot, had really taken a cross-country, you know, all-nighter journey to get to where she had to go. And there were also questions about whether the pilot had a chance. Some reported that they saw him sleeping in the crew room which is not allowed.
But in the case of the FAA, I mean, what, I guess, power do they have to enact these changes and just start regulating that as, you know, I'm sure we'll hear from the airline lobby as well that, you know, we've got to try to keep these flights less expensive so people continue to fly?
GOELZ: Well, you're right. I mean, there's a basic conflict between the economics of the system and perhaps the safety of the system. And the new FAA chief, Randy Babbitt, is really going to have his hands full. Because what's happened is the whistleblower has raised the fundamental question about the FAA again.
Are they there primarily as a regulator? Or are they there to assist the operators in meeting their mission? And that's been an issue that's been debated on Capitol Hill.
The FAA has been instructed to focus on the oversight, focus on the safety. And there appears to be some question of whether that is permeated down through the ranks.
CHETRY: There's also an article that really seemed to be an eye opener, caught my eye when I read it.
"USA Today" reporting that in nearly every serious regional airline accident that's happened in the past decade, at least one of those pilots had failed tests of his or her skills multiple times. In eight of the nine accidents during that time which killed 137 people total, pilots had a history of failing two or more of these check rides.
How big of a problem is this? And how should this be handled?
GOELZ: Well, that article by Alan Levin was a real eye-opener for the FAA. And what it pointed out was, you know, it's not impossible if you're a pilot or a first officer. It's not -- you can, you know, blow a check ride once in a while. But this seemed to pinpoint a problem in which you've got two or more failures in critical flight aspects by crews in these regional airlines.
The real question I believe is in the mid 1990s, we went to one level of safety. When you get on a big plane, you've got a certain level of safety. When you get on a small plane, you get the same level of safety.
CHETRY: Right.
GOELZ: And the question is, have we implemented that? I think the evidence indicates that perhaps not. CHETRY: Right, because if you look at the comparison, right, when you talk about these failed check rides, I think that it was only one in 10 for the major carriers, right, in terms of that? So there are quite -- there is quite a stark difference in that.
Well, these are very good issues that hopefully will be addressed today in those hearings and we'll continue to follow them.
Peter Goelz, former NTSB managing director, thanks for your insight this morning.
GOELZ: Thank you.
CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: I smell a road trip. AMERICAN MORNING crew jumping in John's Winnebago, and we are heading to Daytona Beach. John, that's a gorgeous shot this morning.
ROBERTS: I think we should jump in T.J. Holmes's minivan.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Who could afford the gas prices, though? That's a long way from New York.
CHETRY: We're talking about this morning -- by the way, that is a beautiful shot, WFTZ, courtesy of. We want to be there so bad, Daytona Beach. Thank you.
Christine Romans is joining us now. She's "Minding Your Business" this morning. And we're all complaining about gas prices.
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: By the way, we talked about the average. They're over $3.
ROMANS: I get more complaints from viewers about this than anything else. They want to know why are they rising, what can we do about it, and they want to know if it's going to hurt the recovery, if there is a recovery, what it means overall. Why they're rising.
I keep trying to explain this. These are international markets. You can't really predict. We try to predict what's happening, but what -- the reason why they're rising is because there are feelings that the economy is going to get better.
At the same time, all of the borrowing -- all the borrowing to pay for all of these bailouts and for the, you know, the remaking of the American economy is causing concerns about the dollar and concerns about inflation down the road.
And so people are putting money into commodities like oil as a hedge against the dollar and a hedge against deflation. So when you put the gas -- when you put the nozzle in the tank, you're paying for expectations about the economy. You're also paying for, frankly, for concerns about all the bailouts. So, that's what's happening here.
$70 is what the crude prices hit. You've got $2.63, I think, on gas. It has been -- it has been relentless. It has been an unprecedented percentage-wise jump.
So, you know, look, every 10 cents it goes up a gallon for gas, it's $40 million a day out of our pockets. So that's money right out of our pockets that could go into the economy. That's why people are worried about the recovery.
ROBERTS: And last time I checked, the economy is still in the dumper, right?
ROMANS: Oh, it's still in the dumper. All right.
ROBERTS: OK.
ROMANS: We're just looking way out and trying to think if it's going to get out of there eventually.
ROBERTS: Time now for "Romans' Numeral." It's a number that we bring you every day here on the program. She gives us a number that's driving a story about your money today. So, with that, what's today's "Romans' Numeral"?
ROMANS: It is $77. So, you're all complaining to me about crude oil prices and gas prices. Everyone is angry. But $77 puts it into a little bit of perspective.
ROBERTS: Now you've got some Twitter responses here.
ROMANS: Yes, that's right.
ROBERTS: DeanB411 (ph) says, "$77 is how much more we paid per barrel a year ago." Goes on to add, "Regulate big oil, get rid of speculators."
And then cor_appler (ph) writes, "77 is the amount more per month that we spend on gas."
ROMANS: Our friend Dean is right. Last year we were spending $77 more a barrel for crude than we are right now. So right now what we're spending for crude is 77 bucks cheaper than we were a year ago. I mean, it doesn't hold comfort because you have a really kind of shaky economy, and so every penny that gas prices are rising at this point is a problem. Every penny that energy prices are rising are a problem.
CHETRY: When they were down, you were basically saying this is a mini stimulus for families living on a, you know, budget.
ROMANS: That's right. And when you look -- and you look at how much they've risen so far, it takes away the Making Work Pay tax credit.
ROBERTS: Yes. ROMANS: I mean, you're getting 10 or 12 bucks in a paycheck, you're paying more than that for gas just in the increase in gas.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. Christine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour now. From health care to John Voight to North Korea, you're calling in to our amFIX hotline. We have a few of the things that you are saying when we come back.
CALLER: The government is really having a hard time running itself right now. I'd really want (ph) them to stay out of my health care.
CALLER: I wonder if John Voight is on some kind of drug. I belong to the Republican Party for 40 years. I'm 60 years old. I am so ashamed of my party I could throw up. These idiots don't have a plan to defeat the Democratic Party, which I'm seriously considering becoming a Democrat.
I think it's time (ph) we do something with North Korea. Do something, damn it, this is bull.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's a story you'll see only on CNN. The anti-abortion activist accused of killing Kansas doctor, George Tiller, speaking out in a jailhouse interview.
Scott Roeder talking about a possible motive and also admitting that he's received what amounts to fan mail, where Ted Rowlands got this interview. He had a chance to sit face-to-face with Roeder for some 30 minutes. He's live in Wichita, Kansas this morning with more on what you learn by getting a chance to talk to him.
Hey, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Yes, we had 30 minutes inside the jail here. We were not able to bring in a camera or any recording device. We met in a visitation room with a plate of glass separating us, talking over a phone.
At one point, you mentioned Roeder said that he was feeling upbeat because he was getting "encouraging letters" from people around the country, people he didn't know. He also talked about the death of Dr. George Tiller.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Dressed in the same type of maroon inmate outfit he wore here at his first court appearance, Roeder said he didn't want to incriminate himself and didn't answer specific questions about Tiller's murder. But he did say if in the end he was convicted, "The entire motive was the defense of the unborn."
When asked what he thought of the fact that Dr. Tiller is dead, Roeder said, "The fact that Tiller's clinic is closed is a victory for all the unborn children. No more slicing and dicing of the unborn child in the mother's womb, no more needles of poison into the baby's heart."
Roeder said reports from his ex-wife and others that he was mentally ill, suffering from schizophrenia were "completely false." He refused to comment on what if anything he said to Dr. Tiller that day in Wichita and said he feared the possibility that he may face federal charges in addition to the murder charge he's already facing in Kansas. Afterwards, we asked Tiller family Attorney Dan Monnat for reaction.
DAN MONNAT, TILLER ATTORNEY FRIEND: Personally, I'm reluctant to, in any way, legitimize Mr. Roeder or anything he stands for by directly responding to his statements. Actually, I'm content to let law enforcement determine whether this defendant merits any attention.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Roeder did the interview with us against the advice of his attorney. He has yet to enter a plea to the murder charges he faces, or murder charge he faces here in Kansas.
One thing, Kiran, he never said was during our interview that he was innocent -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Very interesting. Ted Rowlands, glad you had a chance to give us some insight on this story that we're sure to be hearing a lot about, for sure. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much.
Coming up on half past the hour now. We check our top stories.
Trying to kick start Mideast peace talks, Middle East envoy George Mitchell meeting this morning with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Mitchell met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well. The State Department says Mitchell will travel to Syria this weekend.
A suicide blast at a five-star hotel killing at least 15 people according to police in Pakistan. Police say the attacker shot their way into the Pearl Continental last night and ram the building with a car full of explosives. Two U.N. employees were among those killed.
And a roadside car bombing killing an American soldier in Iraq. The military says he was one of five people killed early today by the blast west of Baghdad. Ten civilians also wounded. The bomb going off as a U.S. patrol passed through the town of Abu Ghraib.
ROBERTS: The first terror detainee from Guantanamo Bay arrived in New York City to stand trial yesterday and many from both parties don't want him or any other detainee here. The transfer is said by some people to be a key test for President Obama's plan to have the prison camp closed within a year of taking office.
Cully Stimson is a former deputy assistant defense secretary for detainee affairs. He has been to Gitmo several times. And he joins us now. Cully, thanks for being with us. As I said, this is being about by some people as a big test case for closing Guantanamo. Do you see it that way?
CULLY STIMSON, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT DEFENSE SECRETARY FOR DETAINEE AFFAIRS: I don't, John. Good morning. It's a unique case. Remember that he was indicted for his alleged involvement in the '98 East Africa bombings. His four co-conspirators have already been tried and convicted. So, this is unique. This is not as some are suggesting, you know, a huge test case beginning of a trend of removing a bunch of detainees from Guantanamo to the United States. So, I just see this as a one all.
ROBERTS: So, what is the significance then of this case?
STIMSON: It's significant in the sense that it's finishing up unfinished business from the '98 bombings. And so once you eliminate or move one detainee from Guantanamo somewhere else, that is one less person that you have to deal with at Guantanamo. But it's finishing up unfinished business. Obviously, he's presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But this is a strong case.
ROBERTS: So, Republicans came out, you know, heavily criticizing this move yesterday, saying it was the Obama administration importing terrorists to American soil. Is it?
STIMSON: Well, it is affording a person who is one of five people involved in the '98 bombings. So they are right, and I don't think this allays any of the concerns that Democrats and Republicans had expressed a few weeks ago that they would precipitously closed Guantanamo before a plan is in place. But again, I think this is a completely unique situation. People should take a deep breath and understand the politics as you do, John. But this is a unique situation.
ROBERTS: So, you know, just this idea of bringing these detainees to American soil. As you said, this is somebody who was wanted for the 1998 bombing for the embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Not a post-9/11 sort of thing even though he wasn't captured until 2004. We already had some what are considered pretty bad people in prisons here in the United States dealing with terrorism. Sheikh Omar Abdul Rakman, Zacarias Moussaoui, John Walker Lindh who, of course, was the, "American Taliban" captured in Afghanistan during the war. Did you believe that the U.S. penal system is able to handle these people?
STIMSON: I don't have any concerns, John, that these guys brought to the United States would break out of our federal pens or military prisons. We have a great record in that regard. I share the same concerns that Director Muller at the FBI said that bringing folks here to the United States may indeed increase the threat to the United States for terrorist attacks of our forces overseas or here in the United States. But I think that it can be managed properly. There is no risk-free solution at all. But I think what will eventually happen -- the question is what are the details of the plan?
ROBERTS: So, you're saying, yes, it might increase the risk. But that's not a reason to not do it?
STIMSON: That's right.
ROBERTS: So, how do you allay people's fears who think that, you know, you get these fellows into prison and they might not be able to perpetrate acts of terrorism themselves. They may not ever be released but they may influence people who are in prison with them, maybe even recruit them to terrorism?
STIMSON: Well, we already have people in prisons in the United States who are attempting to recruit people to jihad. But I think any reasonable plan -- and we don't know what the plan is yet, would segregate Guantanamo folks from any of the standard prison population to minimize that threat. So some have suggested either breaking up the Guantanamo population that you bring here and put them in separate prisons. I don't think that's necessarily a good idea. I think you put them all in one place that don't have any standard domestic what I call vanilla prisoners even anywhere in the facility to mitigate the threat of that.
ROBERTS: All right. Cully Stimson, it's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for being with us. Really appreciate it.
STIMSON: Thanks John. Yes.
ROBERTS: Take care.
CHETRY: Thirty-five minutes past the hour now. Clothing retailer Eddie Bauer may be filing for bankruptcy protection this week. The company stock lost half of its value yesterday. Shares dropping as low as 24 cents. Eddie Bauer posting a $44.55 million loss in its last quarter.
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is going to be appearing live in this Saturday's performance of "Rob Blagojevich Superstar." It's being performed by the Second City comedy troupe. The Chicago improv group's hit comedy pokes fun at the disgraced governor's political rise and fall. A spokesman says that the former governor's fee for that performance will be donated to a concert charity that was founded by the late comedienne and Second City alum Gilda Radner.
And imagine a city with hundreds of thousands of people, but not a single ambulance. A Massachusetts man found a city like that in Afghanistan, and he stepped up to help save lives. Jason Carroll brings us that remarkable story.
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(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Well, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's 39 minutes past the hour right now. In an emergency, you call 911 right?. And if you really need it, you know that an ambulance is going to get to you. But imagine an entire city without 911, not a single ambulance or EMT and no one to call if your life is on the line. Well, Jason Carroll is here now with an incredible story of one man who came to that entire city's rescue. Hey, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you. This is really, really a great guy. It started with a simple idea. Coming from a man who found a way to help people in need and build trust between two cultures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): An alarm sounds, an ambulance is called. Kevin Paicos takes notice, but not for the reason one might think. He's a town administrator. And here in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, just west of Boston, sirens hear reminds him of a call for help he heard thousands of miles away.
KEVIN PAICOS, AMBULANCES FOR AFGHANISTAN: I do this as somebody who wants to do something good and meaningful for people that are very deserving.
CARROLL: Two years ago, Paicos was deployed as a medic for a National Guard tour of duty in Afghanistan. Sent on a mission alongside Afghani's forces in the western city of Farah, their unit accidentally hit a young boy on his bike.
PAICOS: They called me up as the detachment medic. I got him stable.
CARROLL: Paicos was shocked when he asked the locals to get him an ambulance.
PAICOS: Sure, what's an ambulance?
CARROLL (on camera): Wait, wait, they said, "What's an ambulance?"
PAICOS: What's an ambulance?
CARROLL (voice-over): The city did not have one. Imagine a city with roughly the same population as Orlando, Florida without an ambulance. Paicos unnerved by the experience, called a friend, Paul Zbixowski, a fire chief back home.
CHIEF PAUL ZBIXOWSKI, ASHBURNHAM FIRE DEPT.: I just gave him this crazy idea, and said could you do it? He says, he, could you get me an ambulance? And knowing Kevin, he might have been only half joking.
CARROLL: Zbixowski found him an ambulance going out of service. With the help of volunteers, they refitted it, placed it through a year of military red tape and sent it to the people of Farah. Pictures with Paicos and Zbixowski showed just how grateful they were. ZBIXOWSKI: They wanted to make a bigger issue of it because it was a gift that was donated from the American Fire Service and the American people to the Afghan people.
CARROLL: Paicos said the gift giving will not stop.
PAICOS: It's a good ambulance.
CARROLL: This one is being refitted too. Paicos recruited more volunteers for his new plan. To find and send more out of service ambulances like this one.
PAICOS: Afghan people are wonderful, wonderful people. You know, they live in a war for three decades. They deserve a break.
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CARROLL: Well, Paicos said his volunteers have raised about $150,000. His ultimate goal is to send an ambulance to every city in Afghanistan and to train the local people there to staff them. And, you know, in addition to the ambulances, Paicos and his wife have also been very good at getting school supplies donated to many of the children there as well.
CHETRY: That's wonderful and you know, it does make you think of the things that you take for granted. If you call 911, you expect they're going to show up.
CARROLL: And also some of the simple things you can do to help people.
CHETRY: That's true as well. Jason, great story. Thanks.
ROBERTS: And here's what's on the "AM Rundown" coming up in the next few minutes. At 7:46, a report on severe storms headed for the Midwest. Hail and tornadoes in the extreme weather forecast. Then we are paging Dr. Gupta at 7:50. Sanjay is setting the record straight on the side effects of three new drugs that could be approved later on today for treating bipolar children.
And at 8:05 this morning, Christiane Amanpour with the upcoming presidential election in Iran and the key role that women could play in the outcome. All that coming up for you in just a few minutes' time. It's now 42 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: You know, that's one of those songs that actually brings back tactile emotions. Sights, sounds, smells, thoughts. When I was going to camp -- I was a teenager, that was a hit song on the radio. And every time I hear it, I'm transported back to Lake Couchaching -- canoeing and what was her name? Denver, cloudy, and 54 degrees, thunderstorms, 62 today for the high. Oh, my goodness. Karen Maginnis is watching all of the extreme weather across the country for us this morning. Do you have a particular summer song, Karen, that every time you hear it just brings back all those fond memories?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Believe it or not, John, it is Edgar Winter.
ROBERTS: Whoa. "Free Ride."
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MAGINNIS: I don't remember. It was the whole album. We used to sit in the car and sing to it before we went into summer school. I didn't go to summer school for remedial stuff. I was just, you know, getting ahead.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Good for you.
MAGINNIS: All right. We got some thunderstorms popping up around across the Midwest, especially across this area in Ripley and Butler counties. Here in southern sections of Missouri, already some pretty strong storms being reported across that region.
Well, look a little bit further towards the east and see some thunderstorms erupting towards the Ohio River Valley. Some strong storms here. But there would be even more intense as we go through the afternoon and start to make their way towards the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast once again where yesterday afternoon, New York City, Atlantic City, between an inch and just about two inches were reported there.
All right, now, this looks to be very complicated but we're looking across the central United States. And, in fact, an area from about Kansas City to Springfield to St. Louis, that's where we're looking at the potential for the heaviest rainfall in the next 48 hours or so. So pretty much in this pink shaded area, four to six inches of rainfall.
Now, this is pretty good springtime rainfall. But in Texas, quite a different story. So, any rainfall can be very welcome across that region. Let's go ahead and show you the forecast. Here's the frontal system. Frontal boundary draped right across the central U.S. It's going to tip just a little bit towards the south. Nothing dramatic. But in that red shaded area, that's where we're looking at strong to severe thunderstorms later on today. Could see some delays at the JFK Airport. We'll keep you updated. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: See if I can dig you up a little "Free Ride" too this morning. Karen.
MAGINNIS: OK.
ROBERTS: Thanks so much for that. See you again soon. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, it's 47 minutes past the hour. Time to fast forward through the stories that will be making news later today. The couple charged with spying for the Cuban government set to appear in court today. That's happening at 9:30 Eastern. Walter Kendall Myers and his wife Gwendolyn worked for the U.S. State Department for nearly three decades before being arrested for spying in April of this year.
Later today, the White House car czar Edward Montgomery testifies on Capitol Hill. He's going to be discussing what role the president's auto tasks force should play in restructuring the industry. That's happening at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.
And throughout the day, the police are searching the rubble of a North Carolina factory. It was factory that made Slim Jims after an explosion last night demolished part of the building. So far, police say two people have been found dead. The search continues for a third person missing. More than 40 people were taken to hospitals after that blast. They're still trying to figure out what caused the explosion. And that's what we're following for you this morning.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News In The Morning. It is often frustrating and certainly emotionally painful for parents living with a child who is bipolar. And treatment for the disorder can be tricky. Today an FDA panel is set to vote on whether to approve three powerful drugs for children with bipolar.
So, we're "Paging Dr. Gupta," our chief medical correspondent for more on that. Looking at some of these side effects for the drugs are pretty serious. Weight gain, high blood sugar, type 2 diabetes. Why would the FDA even consider allowing these to be prescribed for children?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is going to be controversial, no question about it. But like most things in medicine, Kiran, as you might imagine, it is sort of risk- benefit analysis. Lots of people weighing in on this particular issue, both at FDA hearings and also on the blogosphere. A very, very controversial issue. Several different antipsychotic sort of add issue here. Zyprexa is one of them. Geodon, Seroquil. These are some of the drugs that people may have heard of but exactly, as you said, it is a lot about the various side effects that you have with these medications.
The weight gain, high blood sugar, Type 2 diabetes, sudden cardiac death, while rare, can happen. And let me just tell you, when you talk about the weight gain -- you may read that and say that is not necessarily a big deal -- we're talking about really significant weight gain, up to 40 pounds in some of these kids, over just a couple of months. It seems to interfere with the appetite center in the brain and just makes kids crave food and everything else seem to follow from that.
I think what's even more concerning -- really has a lot of people's attention -- is how these drugs are being used. They're called atypical antipsychotic drugs. And about 37 percent of the time they are used for bipolar and schizophrenia.
But look at the rest of these numbers here, Kiran. A lot of off- label use for various purposes, including 29 percent for ADHD, 13.8 percent for nonpsychiatric diagnosis. Autism, it is being prescribed for that. So they really got to weigh how this all plays together, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, and it is tricky. The diagnosis of these as well for kids, right? How do you know for sure whether they're really bipolar or schizophrenic as well?
GUPTA: And so many of these testing -- both in terms of coming up with a clinical diagnosis as well as figuring out what the side effects are. Those testings are done in adults. So you got to translate a lot of that for kids as well. You know, we started twittering about this yesterday. And it was amazing. We literally got hundreds of responses in a very short amount of time. Just a couple of questions I want to point out to you from Hawkeye, what kind of drugs can be used now, I think he's asking, to treat kids with bipolar?
There are a couple of drugs, Risperdal, Abilify is another drug. Could the FDA's vote today affect teenagers already taking these drugs? Probably not. If kids are taking drugs already, they're probably being prescribed off-label by their doctor. But again, keep in mind, is there an accurate diagnosis, is the drug being used appropriately and are those side effects developing? Those are all the questions the FDA is going to be asking today.
CHETRY: All right. You can join the conversation as well, Sanjay Gupta, CNN. I'm following you. I hope you're following me.
GUPTA: All right. And I'm following you. Yes, absolutely.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Doc.
GUPTA: Thank you.
CHETRY: Fifty-three minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News In The Morning. Some trouble in paradise, literally. Mexico's escalating drug violence is now spreading to the spectacular ocean resorts of Acapulco. A bloody gun battle over the weekend rocked the tourist destination, sent vacationers scrambling for their hotel rooms.
Ed Lavandera is following this story for us from Mexico. And it's scary stuff because we've sort of seen this war, this drug war spill over into areas that didn't really see this type of violence before. ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, as we've talked about this issue over the last couple of months, it's really been focused on border towns with the United States, towns like Juarez and Tijuana. When you start seeing it in places like Acapulco, that raises not only a whole lot of concern for people in the U.S. but a lot of concerns for people here in Mexico as well.
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LAVANDERA (voice-over): Bursts of gunfire echoed through the darkness of Mexico's streets. It's the sound of a drug war, but this time it's different.
RUSTY FLEMING, AUTHOR, "DRUG WARS": You are seeing a new level of the war on drugs in Mexico. And now, of course, you've got an administration that has taken the war directly to these guys. You're going to start seeing them in places that we never thought they existed.
LAVANDERA: But it seems no place is immune. This gun battle took place in the tourist mecca of Acapulco. The battle started over the weekend when Mexican groups raided a suspected safe house of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel. When the smoke cleared, more than 3,000 shots had been fired, 50 grenades exploded and 17 people killed, including two soldiers and two innocent bystanders. Terrified tourists fled from the area.
And then yesterday, another rampage of gunfire and explosions. Two police stations were riddled with bullets and pounded with grenades in a coordinated near-simultaneous attack. Three policemen were killed and one wounded. Reports say state officials were investigating whether it was a retaliatory attack while Mexican soldiers in trucks and in helicopters kept watch over a nervous resort town.
Some 2,300 people have been killed just this year in Mexico's drug violence. The U.S. State Department has a travel alert warning Americans of the increased levels of violence. The Mexican government says its resort towns are safe, but Fleming disagrees and says open warfare in places like Acapulco is only just beginning.
FLEMING: All of those drugs have to come in this shipping lanes. And those are shipping ports. So of course they've got a presence there. And, of course, you're going to see, as, you know, these guys -- their operations become uncovered by the military, and military begins to pursue them, you're going to see more of this kind of violence.
LAVANDERA: A new front in the war on drugs, another town gripped with fear.
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LAVANDERA: And Kiran, one of the things that will happen now as investigators look to investigate this particular shooting, they will look into the background of the weapons used in this. Now, don't be surprised if perhaps one of these weapons turns out to have been smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico.
In fact, out of Houston, federal investigators have just -- are looking into a ring of men they suspect of moving weapons south. In fact, one of those men just pled guilty to a shooting of a police officer. The gun that he had funneled south was used in the shooting of an Acapulco police officers just a couple of years ago. So clearly big connection between the U.S. and Mexico when it comes to this issue.
CHETRY: Ed Lavandera in Mexico for us in Mexico covering. Thank you.
And also joining us live at 8:30, just about 30 minutes from now, we're going to be talking to Arizona's attorney general Terry Goddard. We're going to discuss how Mexican drug cartels are outsmarting custom agents. They're finding ways to launder money using gift cards. You don't want to miss that interview coming up in just 30 minutes.
