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American Morning
Wildfire Rages in S. California; Treasury Sees Returns on TARP Money; SATs Optional for Many Colleges
Aired August 31, 2009 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That brings us up now to a minute to the top of the hour. It is 6:59 Eastern, Monday the 31st of August. Thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here's a look now at the "A.M. Rundown." These are the stories we're going to be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
First, we're following breaking news out of California, where massive wildfires, fast-moving around Los Angeles, have killed two firefighters, and officials say that 10,000 homes are in danger. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calling the 42,000-acre fire huge and dangerous, ordering a state of emergency. Our Rob Marciano is coming up live right in front of the flames to show you what it looks like from the ground and what the prospects are today for any containment.
ROBERTS: New developments in the case of the kidnapped girl found and returned to her mother after 19 years. You will not believe what Jaycee Dugard's first words were to her mom. The stunning reunion taking place as authorities bring shovels and chainsaws to search a convicted sex offender's back yard. Our Ed Lavandera will be live there with the very latest this morning.
CHETRY: And almost every high school student stresses out over having to take the SATs. So, why are more and more colleges making the test optional? Today in our AMERICAN MORNING series, "Educating America," Carol Costello takes a look at whether it's really worth all those extra classes and all those extra thousands, or if optional really doesn't mean optional.
And in California this morning, we're following the wildfire situation out there, these fast-growing flames north of Los Angeles. This morning, the sad news that two firefighters were killed while battling one of the blazes. The wildfire already swallowed an area the size of our nation's capital, about 66 square miles. Right now thousands of homes are at risk. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency, as well.
There are also reports that ash is raining down from the sky in Los Angeles. There are mandatory evacuations underway to the north, to the south, and to the west of Angeles National Park inside the yellow zone you see there.
And that includes neighborhoods just north of L.A. in Glendale as well as Pasadena.
Our Rob Marciano is live at one of the firefighters' command centers on the south side of the park to update us on the progress that they've made in the early morning hours. Hi there, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. We have actually moved our position now to get a little closer to the fire. It's been flaring up at times, right now, just a glow behind me.
They are concerned that that fire will get over the ridge behind me and into this community of -- one of several communities just outside the Angeles National Forest which is heavily populated. Well over 12,000 homes threatened at this point, and that number is expected to grow as the fire continues to grow.
It is pretty much exploded over the weekend. Over 42,000 acres burned so far and only 5 percent containment. It stretches a 19-mile fire line east to west and it's growing both to the north and to the south this morning.
And the news, fatalities over the weekend is something that certainly firefighters and this community were dreading.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: The grim news came late last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, prayers for that family of our two brothers that we lost.
MARCIANO: Two firefighters killed when their vehicle rolled down a mountainside, part of a treacherous battlefield in these hills north of L.A., where the easiest approach is often from the sky.
Helicopters and planes attacking what seems to be an endless wall of fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid.
MARCIANO: On the ground, more than 10,000 homes sitting in the fire's path.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, all we can do is hope for the best.
MARCIANO: Police blocking off neighborhoods and ordering thousands of people to evacuate, a warning the governor urged them to take seriously.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, (R) CALIFORNIA: This is a huge and is a very dangerous fire.
MARCIANO: Not everyone listened. Some like this man stayed behind armed only with a garden hose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm trying my best.
MARCIANO: But most grabbed what they could and left the fire fighting to the professionals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Left them a shovel and our hoses.
MARCIANO: But nearly 3,000 firefighters in the fight taking mostly defensive positions, digging in and letting the fire come to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The weather, the fuels, and the topography are dictating our fire fighting actions.
MARCIANO: Their biggest problem this time not wind but unrelenting heat and too much fuel. The area hasn't seen a major fire in 60 years and is loaded with dense brush.
Up north, wind becoming a very serious threat. Eerie pictures from the town of Auburn near Sacramento where a number of homes and buildings burned to the ground, that fast-moving fire eating up 500 acres in just a few hours.
Back near L.A., neighbors can only gather on corners and wait, hoping to avoid the same fate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are still fires here, and like I said we have a fire coming down the canyon behind us here, too. So we're pretty much surrounded.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Eighteen structures have been destroyed in some of the more rugged areas. Homes in the suburban areas certainly threatened, but also high atop Mt. Wilson, 5,700 feet up there is the observatory that is so precious to this community.
And also important -- over 20 television transmission towers, radio towers up there, critical fire and police communication towers. Those are all threatened last night, and they really were afraid that that fire would take them over as soon as right now.
There's a strike team in place to help protect that very important facility. No word as of right now whether or not the flames have gotten there, but the fire incident commanders were quite worried about that particular spot. And we'll keep you updated on that throughout the morning.
Once sun comes up they'll get those planes in the air, an army of aerial attackers trying to hit this thing from all sides, including a DC-10 tanker that can drop like 12,000 gallons of retardant in a matter of eight seconds. They're hitting it from all angles and they're trying to get this thing under control.
But right now Kiran and John, they're telling me it could take well over a week before they get any sort of containment on this thing. Back to you.
CHETRY: Yes, they have quite a fight on their hands right now. Rob Marciano for us this morning, thanks. ROBERTS: We'll be talking with the incident commander from the U.S. Forest Service coming up in just a few minutes, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
Meantime, it's a story that floored us all, and this morning more dramatic new developments in the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard, the little girl who was hauled screaming into a car 19 years ago and was forced to spend her teen years and 20s as a virtual prisoner in a tent.
She is now finally reunited with her mom, and she is now a mother herself. Her first words are as stunning as the story itself.
Our Ed Lavandera live for us this morning in Antioch, California. And, Ed, this is such a tragic story of teen years and adulthood basically taken away from her and pushed into an alternate reality.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is interesting, her stepfather said over the weekend that Phillip Garrido had more time, 18 years, than her own family had with Jaycee Dugard, who was just 11 when she was abducted.
We understand she has spent the weekend reuniting with family. Her location is a tightly kept secret. We understand she's surrounded by law enforcement as well as psychologists, as well.
And according to her stepfather, one of the first things she said to her mother after seeing her was, "Mommy, I have babies."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: Jaycee Dugard appeared to have settled into an unimaginable routine during her 19 years of captivity. Behind the scenes she lived in this messy backyard prison. But to the outside world, she was the creative force behind Phillip Garrido's printing business, designing business cards for clients all over the town of Antioch.
Deepal Karunaratne describes her as intelligent with an attention to detail.
DEEPAL KARUNARATNE, GARRIDO BUSINESS ASSOCIATE: She was always having a very pretty smile on the face. She comes and talking to me and is always smiling. And she's very pretty girl, very pretty young lady.
LAVANDERA: Even Dugard's daughters appeared to live a normal life. These are pictures of the young girls obtained by CNN. The 11- year-old went by the name of Angel, the 15-year-old, Starlet. We have blurred their faces to protect their privacy.
The pictures were taken two weeks ago at a birthday party for Cheyvonne Molino's daughter. Molino says Garrido called Jaycee and the daughters "My girls," and often brought them to Molino's rec yard delivering bottles of water on hot days.
CHEYVONNE MOLINO, GARRIDO BUSINESS ASSOCIATE: They made it seem like these little girls were living like wolves or jungle kids in the backyard, you know, dungeon. Perhaps that is it. But they didn't give the visual to me that they were. They were polite, they were well mannered.
LAVANDERA: Molino says Angel and Starlet were huge fans of Hannah Montana. She says Jaycee dreamed of becoming a model, always clean and well dressed, no hint of the tragic reality.
Investigators have expanded the crime scene at Phillip Garrido's home. They have brought cadaver dogs to search the property next door. Authorities are looking into whether Garrido could be connected to a string of murders in the 1990s.
JIMMY LEE, SPOKESMAN, CONTRA COSTA SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: What we also know is that Phillip Garrido had access to that property. He used that property and it looks like he lived on that property in a shed.
LAVANDERA: As we've scoured Garrido's hometown looking for clues, we found this in a hardware store, the name "Phil G." on a donation card. On August 17th, this receipt shows Garrido bought a pressure switch and left a donation to the Children's Miracle Network.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And you know one interesting thing we have also learned from Dugard's stepfather is that Dugard has been telling relatives that she feels guilty for having developed such a tight bond with her captor Phillip Garrido. But as many experts in these types of situations will tell you, that is a natural thing to happen. -- John?
ROBERTS: All right. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks so much.
And, by the way, in just a few minutes time, Ed, we'll be talking with the incident commander from the U.S. Forest Service who's going to tell us what the plan is for today as they try to attack those flames.
Wind not a big factor as it typically is. You know, those Santa Ana winds roll down off the high desert, speeds upwards of 70 miles an hour. That is not the problem, though. But they're still having a terrible time getting the hands around these flames.
CHETRY: Yes, we're going to get the latest on that in a just moment. It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 12 minutes after the hour.
Back to our top story this Monday morning -- two firefighters dead this morning, the first victims of a raging wildfire in California that still threatens 10,000 homes. Crews are now racing to stop the flames before they reach the top of Mt. Wilson, home to the regions television and radio towers. More on that coming up in just a moment.
Mike Dietrich is the man in charge of the fight for the U.S. Forest Service. He's at the command center this morning in Los Angeles. And, Mike, first of all, our condolences to the families of the two brave firefighters who died in the line of duty. What happened last night?
MIKE DIETRICH, INCIDENT COMMANDER, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: The accident is still under investigation. And I do not have any additional information than that what has been released last night. We know that the firefighters did go over a steep embankment and perished either from the injuries or from the fire. We don't have additional information at this time.
ROBERTS: So they were high up on a hillside on one of those fire roads but with no barricade on the side?
DIETRICH: That's correct. And apparently went over the edge of the road and one vehicle approximately 700 feet down the hill, which is extremely steep topography.
ROBERTS: My goodness, what a shame.
What's the latest on the fires there? You know, as you wake up, or as people are waking up on Monday morning and they're wondering what's going to happen, give us kind of like the lay of the land here in terms of where the fire is, how many homes are threatened, how difficult the fire is for you to get the handle on.
DIETRICH: A few things -- first, the fire is over 45,000 acres, we know that that's grown. We still have only 5 percent containment.
The country is extremely steep and heavily dissected, so it's extremely difficult to get firefighters into the areas to work the fires.
Currently, the fire's mainly on the western part of the lower part of the Angeles National Forest. It has burned north to south across the forest boundary, and certainly structures up off in the northern part of the forest and then also along the foothill communities of Foot Ridge, et cetera.
ROBERTS: Right.
DIETRICH: We also know that the fire is working its way towards the Mt. Wilson observatory. I do not have any confirmation as of this morning that the fire has actually reached the observatory.
ROBERTS: In fact, Rob Marciano, who is out there, as well, was saying they were expecting that it might have been overtaken by this time, but it hasn't.
And there's a strike team up there. And if that fire burns so hot and so quickly, can that strike team keep all of those transmitters and cell phone towers safe, or might they have to abandon the position if the fire start coming up the hillside?
DIETRICH: My number one priority is our firefighter safety. And if they have to abandon the position, there's no facility that is worth a human life.
ROBERTS: You know, Mike, you and I were talking about this in the break just before we came up live. This time of year and on into fall, we see a lot of fires that are fanned by those Santa Ana winds that come off the high desert at some 70 miles per hour.
Wind isn't that much of a factor unless it's the wind that's actually created by the fire itself in this case, and yet you're still having such a tough time getting a hold of this. What are the factors that are all contributing to this really stubborn and tough fire to fight?
DIETRICH: The primary factors are the extreme drought conditions that we've had over the last ten years. The effect of two-plus weeks of 100-degree temperatures and single digit relative humidities, combined with the perfect conditions in terms of topography.
And when all that comes together in alignment, weather, fuel, and topography, the fire essentially can get up and run any time, and essentially has a mind of its own. And that's what we've experienced.
ROBERTS: You were saying of camera that it is almost like a perfect storm in terms of wildfires. Do you have any hope that you will get any kind of a break in the weather cooling temperatures, a little more humidity might help you fight the fire?
DIETRICH: The effects of the increased humidity are just slight. I'm not sure if there's much difference between 5 percent humidity and 10 percent humidity in terms of the effects of fire behavior, and the same with temperatures.
So we are in this for the long haul. We're going to do what we can to protect homes and properties, keep people safe to the best of our abilities, and continue with the firefighting efforts despite the tragic loss that we had yesterday.
ROBERTS: Well, Mike, we know it is tough work you've got ahead of you, and we wish you all the best in that. We thank you also for taking the time this morning. And again, our condolences to the all of you out there on the loss of the two firefighters, a real tragedy.
Appreciate your time, sir.
DIETRICH: Thank you and we appreciate everybody's thoughts and prayers.
ROBERTS: It's 17 minutes now after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Well, it's almost 20 minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We have with us Christine Romans. She's minding your business this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: One of the things we always talk about is how much money the bailout cost us, how much money it cost the federal government. Could we be actually profiting from bailing out some of the companies?
ROMANS: There are dividends and interest payments that are going into the federal coffers right now into the treasury that are the interest on the investment the American taxpayers made into a bunch of these banks. That's indeed the case.
Remember a year ago? Just rewind a second a year ago. It was in October when TARP was passed, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and many, many people saying give us our money back. We do not want our money going into the financial institutions. We do not want the government to become a banker. We just don't like it.
Well now, you are starting to see some money going back into the federal coffers from this. By the Treasury's own estimates here, $7.2 billion in dividends has been paid, $208 million in interest.
And we look at the "The New York Times," a nice pull out of all of this -- bailout profits from Goldman Sachs, $1.4 billion has gone back to the Treasury from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, $1.3 billion, American Express, $414 million.
And remember that the big banks returned some $68.3 billion of their bailout money. So some of the banks, they took the money, now they have given it back with interest and dividends.
And we're also watching, you know, investments in Bank of America, Citigroup, AIG, those, the stock investments are doing better.
But let me just be clear, however. We could still, all of the dividends and interest we've made so far could be wiped out by one of these big ones going under. So there's still a lot of risk. But there is some money coming back to the treasury.
CHETRY: The other fascinating thing, though, is that, it's interesting, you said at the beginning of this that not every bank wanted a bailout, not every back needed a bailout.
ROMANS: No.
CHETRY: So was it a shake down in a way? Like I said, they were made to take the money and pay it back with interest. They didn't want it in the first place.
ROMANS: When we look at the documents prepared for that meeting in Washington last year when the big banks were summoned with Treasure Secretary, then Henry Paulson, and you read the documents, of my goodness, the banks were sort of summoned and given a little permission slip and said, here, sign this permission slip. We're giving you money. You are taking it no matter what.
So in another way, people hated the banks for taking this money. Some of them were very happy to give it back and wanted to quite quickly.
The small banks have paid back about $35 million, not quite as much. But there's money going back.
I want to be clear here. The banking system still -- we have some issues. The FDIC is taking over banks pretty much every week now. But there is money coming back to Treasury.
ROBERTS: That's a good thing.
ROMANS: We'll take it. Keep it coming. It is our money.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
ROMANS: Sure.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we're going to be talking to Carol Costello. All of us remember prepping for the SATs, stressing out, fingers sweating, number two pencils breaking right and left.
Anyway, maybe now it's optional for kids. Well, Carol Costello kicking off our weeklong series "Educating America." It's 22 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
To most high school children, taking the SAT is like a root canal. The whole experience can be nerve wracking. And for parents, those extra help classes can be pretty pricey.
Today, as our new series "Educating America" begins, our Carol Costello found out that many colleges don't even consider the scores that important anymore. And she joins us now from Washington. Carol, what is this all about?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you remember the day you took your SATs, John?
ROBERTS: No, I didn't, because I went to school in Canada. They don't require an SAT.
COSTELLO: Boy, I remember mine. I was nervous, I didn't feel well. You're lucky, you did get out of it.
ROBERTS: I am lucky.
COSTELLO: We are lucky.
We place so much importance on what our child's score on the SAT. We know a high score can at least get them in the door at an elite, selective university.
But what does that perfect 2,400, or even a lesser score really tell you about what a child is capable of? Some are beginning to wonder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Never has one test caused so much angst. That's a-n- g-s-t, a feeling of anxiety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you nervous, are you excited?
MCKENNA BASKET, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I'm so nervous.
COSTELLO: Hence this class designed to beat the test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's enough to get d over e.
COSTELLO: Parents pay the Princeton Review and other organizations anywhere from $600 to $8,000 for special classes or private tutors so their child can literally beat the SAT.
Sixteen-year-old McKenna Basket from Missouri is spending her summer in SAT class.
BASKET: I'm a really bad test taker, and they're really hard questions. So I'm just hoping I can get through it.
COSTELLO: Imagine all of this a-n-g-s-t for a test that many say doesn't even measure how smart you are.
Ed Carroll tutors students to take the test.
ED CARROLL, "THE PRINCETON REVIEW": There are people who think naturally and incorrectly that the SAT is a measure of intelligence, and it never was. The only thing that the SAT is really good at is predicting how well you do on the SAT.
COSTELLO: Carroll says it's not that a student needs special courses to ace the SAT, but once a student realizes there are patterns involved, sort of like Sudoku, it's a whole lot easier.
CARROLL: A-squared plus b-squared equally c-squared is the Pythagorean Theorem. On this test, the numbers you will see most frequently, 3-squared plus 4-squared but 5-squared. So if I tell students, three, four, five, that's what need to know.
You don't need to know the whole Pythagorean Theorem and all different kinds of solutions. You need to know three, four, five.
LAURENCE BUNIN, THE COLLEGE BOARD: That's just wrong.
COSTELLO: Laurence Bunin oversee the SAT for the College Board.
BUNIN: The SAT is a test of the basic skills that one needs to succeed in college.
COSTELLO (on camera): Does it show how smart a kid is?
BUNIN: Well, it shows how much they've learned in schools.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But many universities are not saying the SAT says very little about what a student can do. Some 800 of them have now made the SAT optional for most applicants, including eight this year, some of them highly selective, top tier liberal arts schools.
COSTELLO (on camera): Would you like to see the SAT go away?
SHAWN TOLER, PRINCIPAL, KIPP UJIMA VILLAGE ACADEMY: I would love to see it go away.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Shawn Toler, principal at the kids' school in Baltimore for inner-city kids says the deck is stacked against lower-income children. They're generally not able to attend elite high schools or afford expensive tutors.
According to the College Boards own stats, in 2009, kids whose parents make up to $20,000 a year scored an average 1321 on a scale of 2400. If a kid's parents makes above $200,000 a year that score shoots up 381 points to an average of 1702.
BUNIN: What you're really seeing is that the playing field isn't fair. It is not the SAT that's the problem. It's any measure of educational achievement is going to show the same thing.
COSTELLO: But if the playing field isn't fair to begin with, educators like Principal Toller wonder why a perfect 2400 on the SAT seems to matter so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Now, keep in mind, universities use the SAT as one indicator of what a child is capable of in college. Still, with some 800 universities now making the SAT optional for most applicants, will we soon see the day when the SAT will go away?
Tomorrow we'll explain why critics say that is unlikely. Too many people, they say, are making way too much money off the SAT.
ROBERTS: Yes, and some of those figures are pretty staggering, as well.
Carol, is there a difference between the SAT or ACT when it comes to what colleges consider?
COSTELLO: Some of these colleges making SAT optional will take the ACT instead. The difference between the two, the ACT is based in the Midwest and usually Midwest students take that test. SAT, usually students along the northeast corridor take the SAT or out west.
This morning, we do want to know what you think about the SAT -- is it valuable? Is it fair? We want you go to CNN.com/amfix and comment on my blog. I'm very interested to know what parents think out there and also kids who are about to take the SAT.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, as a parent of two who took the SAT, I know there's an awful lot of stress that goes along with it.
Carol Costello for us this morning. Carol, great piece, thanks.
And tomorrow on our special series "Educating America," we're revealing the salaries of the people behind the SATs. It's a not for profit organization, but the CEO and the top executives are making, as we mentioned, big money. Why keeping it the most important test your kid will ever make a big business.
That's tomorrow as "Educating America" continues right here on AMERICAN MORNING."
CHETRY: I wish somebody told me it was just like Sudoku.
COSTELLO: If you figure out Sudoku you can figure out the test.
ROBERTS: The things you learn years after you need to know them.
It's 30 minutes past the hour, 7:30 Eastern. Thanks for joining us in the Most News in the Morning. Here are the morning's top stories.
This morning firefighters have lost two of their own fighting out of control flames north of Los Angeles. Right now thousands of homes at risk.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency. There are reports of ash raining down from the sky in downtown Los Angeles. Our Rob Marciano has got a firsthand look at what firefighters are up against live from southern California this morning.
CHETRY: Sarah Palin, once questioned about her lack of foreign policy experience, is making her first trip to Asia next month. The former Alaska governor will visit Hong Kong, where she's addressing an annual conference of global investment managers.
Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Alan Greenspan have all spoken at this event before as well. Palin's speaking fees were not reported.
ROBERTS: By air, by rail, by road, exactly one year ahead of the August 31st, 2010, deadline, the military has picked up the phase of the massive operation to remove all U.S. combat troops in Iraq and the planned exit could cost billions of dollars. It is being called the largest movement of manpower and equipment in modern military history, according to the Associated Press.
From tanks to antennae, they're shipping out more than 1.5 million pieces of equipment. Military officials say it's easy to move the troops but one of the biggest challenges is moving the tons of equipment, not to mention all those concrete barricades.
CHETRY: And we're learning more this morning about what life was like for Jaycee Dugard during the 19 years that she spent with her alleged kidnappers. This past weekend, she was reunited with her family. But there's still so many unanswered questions about the case and for more, let's bring in Ernie Allen, the president and CEO for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ernie, thanks for being with us this morning.
ERNIE ALLEN, PRESIDENT & CEO, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: There really is so much to talk about in this case. Certainly, cause for celebration on the part of the family that after thinking their daughter was probably dead they find out that she is alive and they're able to be reunited with her. But at the same time so much tragedy involved, the fact that she had two children as a result of being sexually abused and raped and held prisoner for 18 years. What are the most important things that need to be kept in mind now as she is starting to reintegrate with her real family?
ALLEN: Well, I think the most important test here is the need for patience. So often, parents had these children frozen in their minds as a 10- or an 11-year-old and everybody wants to go back to where they were. This is going to be a journey, a long process. This is going to be a process of lifelong recovery for Jaycee, but she is alive. There's hope for the future. She's young. We're very encouraged about the steps that are happening already.
CHETRY: What about her children? An 11-year-old daughter and a 15- year-old daughter, fathered, at least from what they're saying, and from what he - this man Garrido is saying, are his children, as well.
ALLEN: Well, that's another challenge. And it represents really a two-sided picture. One is to these children he's their father. You can't suddenly go from dad to Satan to this evil person. So that's going to be very sensitive. The other thing is, apparently the children have been very sheltered. They've never gone to school. They had never seen a doctor before. But our hope here is that Jaycee will be a mom and that it will help her in her care for them as she goes forward.
CHETRY: Ernie, I have to ask you that, you guys spend countless hours trying to work to help children that are missing, to help children that this has happened to. There have been multiple laws passed. As we know, there's a mandatory sex offender registrations. There's the Amber alert that go out.
Yet in this situation, we see how none of that seemed to have worked, meaning, this is a guy who is convicted back in the '70s of kidnapping and rape. He was sentenced to 50 years in a federal penitentiary of which he served 10. Parole officers visited his home repeatedly and never found this tent city, I guess, or backyard where they were living and then on top of that, deputies visited him. Neighbors tried to call over the years and said, things are strange. So what went wrong here?
ALLEN: Well, I think what we've seen is that there are nearly 700,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. More than 100,000 in California alone. The systems for monitoring, for follow-up, for supervision of those offenders are really overwhelmed. Obviously, it's disturbing that this wasn't identified.
One of the things I think is very interesting is like so many of these other cases, this case was resolved because one person paying attention saw something that disturbed her and acted. In every one of the cases, invariably there's an average citizen doing average things who sees something and alerts authorities about it.
Hopefully more of that will happen. There are more of these long-term missing children who are recoverable and what we hope is that communities across America will take a fresh look at those cases, provide some more hope for the searching families.
CHETRY: Yes and you said it is the everyday person who notices things wrong. And which is wonderful that in this case, eventually the outcome worked out. But what can be changed in terms of what law enforcement does, in terms of what we do as a society to try to prevent more of this from happening?
ALLEN: Well, I think enormous progress has been made. More missing children come home safely today than ever before. Law enforcement is better prepared in responding more effectively than ever before. We have the Amber alert which we didn't have in 1991. So a lot of progress has been made. But, for example, just with the issue of managing sex offenders, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act in 2006 that's not yet been implemented.
More needs to be done. We need to recognize that a significant number of these offenders represent a real threat to America's children. And the systems that are in place today are just not yet adequate.
CHETRY: All right. Well, Ernie Allen, great to get your perspective this morning. Thanks for joining us.
ALLEN: Thank you, Kiran.
ROBERTS: A lot of people will tell you if you want to know what the state of health care is in America, you want to know what to do about it, talk to a nurse. They're on the front lines of health care in this country. So guess what? We took the suggestion. We're talking to a nurse coming up. We're talking to somebody else who knows an awful lot about this. Stay tuned for that debate. Thirty-seven minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. With all the of the bickering over health care reform, we wanted to see how those on the front lines feel about it. Nurses treat the insured and the uninsured. They see both sides of that debate. And they know firsthand what's at stake. Faith Coleman is a nurse practitioner and a CNN hero, by the way, she established a clinic in Florida treating the uninsured after her own battle with cancer in 2003 as an uninsured patient. She joins us this morning from Orlando and Michael Knapp is a nurse and is executive director of the Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services at Children's National Medical Center in Washington.
Thanks both for being with us.
Faith, why don't we start with you? You had kidney cancer in 2003. To get treatment, you had to mortgage your home. You have since started this clinic in Florida. You know, what sort of patients do you see? What sort of treatments do you offer and what kind of condition are the patients in when they come to your practice there?
FAITH COLEMAN, NURSE PRACTITIONER: Sometimes most of our patients come in with very uncontrolled hypertension, uncontrolled diabetes. Those are the two main things that we treat the most which we would generally in my private practice, as well.
ROBERTS: So basically they come in seeing you after they've been letting these conditions linger for months or maybe even years at a time?
COLEMAN: Yes, unfortunately. I remember one patient who came in. She worked as a day laborer and by the time she could come to us and found out that we were open, her hypertension was so bad that her kidneys had ceased to function. So she was on dialysis and she lived about a year after that.
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness. Can you treat everybody who comes in through the door? Do you have to turn people away?
COLEMAN: We try to treat every one who comes in. We do have a cutoff on Saturdays of 60 patients. If we triage and there are more acute cases, you know, then we will increase that number but we're limited on our providers.
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness. I mean, just so...
COLEMAN: Heart breaking.
ROBERTS: It is. Michael, health care reform could bring a lot more children in the door if more people are brought into the roles of the insured. There are going to be a lot more people not waiting as Faith was saying until the last minute to get health care. We know that there is an extraordinary shortage of doctors out there. That by 2019, the health care system could be 200,000 primary care physicians in terms of a shortage. Could be that many short. And the situation for nurses is even worse.
MICHAEL KNAPP, EXEC. DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY MEDICINE & TRAUMA SERVICES, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, WASHINGTON: Right. I agree with you, John. The mean age of nurses now is around 45 and so certainly the work force is very challenged and how we're going to care for all the patients that need care as we move five, 10 years down the road. The salaries, for example, for instructors at universities are maybe not what they should be right now and thus people actually are turned away for nursing programs that have a great GPA and want to get in and be a nurse and get through those programs. Very challenging.
ROBERTS: So, Michael, as you see it, what is the biggest problem with the current health care system? What's the first thing you would do to fix it?
KNAPP: Well, it's a multi-prong issue, obviously, out there. I think one of the first things I would do is make sure that, you know, people do have the right access to the care that they need. I think that's something President Obama is desperately trying to do at this point. But there are many challenges such as subspecialties out there that just because you have access doesn't mean that you will necessarily get care so I think really taking a good look at the differences, for example, between adult and pediatric care is one thing that I would look at first because they're very different.
ROBERTS: As you were saying in some of the research that I read, you say that there was a shortage of people in pediatric specialties because...
KNAPP: Yes. Subspecialties.
ROBERTS: The pay scale just isn't there.
KNAPP: Correct. And the Medicaid reimbursement is not what it needs to be for those subspecialty providers to go into pediatric subspecialties such as ear, nose and throat or gastroenterology.
ROBERTS: And Faith, when you take a look at the bills that are making their way through Congress, do any of them address what you think are the critical aspects of medical care that need to be taken care of?
COLEMAN: One of the most critical things that I think is going on right now is what I call the "Chicken Little" effect where everybody's running around, you know, screaming but they're not taking the time to really read these - the reform that's been proposed and there's a vast difference between socialized medicine and socialized insurance and that's what's being proposed is the insurance part of it.
And in this country we already have socialized insurance. It is called Medicare which is run by the government, it works very well. Providers generally like Medicare because you file your claim, you're going to get paid within 10 days. That becomes your rent, your utilities. The big five as I call them are the Chubba (ph) companies. If you can figure out that acronym.
They're very punitive. You file your claim. The first thing they do is they're going to deny it. You have to re-file. Sometimes it's 30 days before you are reimbursed. But something has to change. And until it does, and granted it's going to take four years or more probably, groups like the free clinic and -- are going to have to meet the needs of our citizens.
ROBERTS: Right. Michael, do you think that a public option is the solution or is it part of the plan that you know, part of the overall solution? Does it need to be included in all of this?
KNAPP: Right. I think it is part of the solution but I don't think it's the solution. Again, I think there's multiple things that have to be addressed but certainly access and getting those people to the right sites is definitely one of the key issues.
ROBERTS: All right. Hearing from the frontlines this morning. And folks, we certainly do appreciate all the good work that you do. Michael Knapp and Faith Coleman, good to have you on this morning. Thanks for joining us.
KNAPP: Thank you.
COLEMAN: Thank you so much.
CHETRY: And it's 45 minutes past the hour right now. Here's a look at the "A.M. Rundown." These are stories that are coming up in the next 15 minutes.
Did the British government trade the Lockerbie bomber for an oil deal in Libya? Well one report says yes. British officials are denying that, saying, no, but the story is certainly controversial in the U.K. We're going to be getting more live from London.
At 55 minutes past. Williams, Federer, Nadal and Roddick, of course, are the titans of tennis are about to hit the courts at the U.S. Open right here in New York and our Richard Roth, poor Richard, got sent out to do a preview.
Also, at the top of the hour, we are following the latest in this terrible fire that's burning 66 square miles burned. Thousands at risk. This is right outside of the L.A. area. We are in California with the very latest. Our Rob Marciano is on the front lines of these wildfires. It's 46 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We have a developing story out of London this morning. The British government is denying there was any deal made with Libya for the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbesset al Megrahi. The Scottish government freed al-Megrahi as we have shown you. He is said to be dying of cancer. Three months to live and they released him on compassionate grounds.
And then there was a huge international backlash when he got this hero's welcome that you see here to Libya. The White House called it "outrageous, disgusting." And now British officials are fighting a headline in "Sunday's Times" that reads "Lockerbie bomber set free for oil." Part of that alleged deal is a multi-million dollar deal for BP.
Our Phil Black joins us with more live 10 Downing Street in London to explain more about this story. It's provoking certainly a lot of outrage, Phil. PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPODENT: Yes, it certainly is, Kiran. The British government is fighting very hard against these allegations but still the suspicion here persists and indeed it is growing. But at some stage al-Megrahi's freedom and other trade issues have been talked about between Libya and Britain at the same time.
It is causing increasing outrage here, politically and among the British people and it comes as new pictures of Megrahi have emerged out of Libya showing him to be an unwell man, undergoing treatment in a Libyan hospital.
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BLACK (voice-over): This is the Lockerbie bomber in a hospital on a drip, breathing through an oxygen mask. Abdelbasset al-Megrahi looks like a dying man. According to a British journalist invited to his bedside who was unable to independently verify the state of al Megrahi's condition. Asked if his release from prison in Scotland was linked to British trade deals, he would not or could not offer an answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you feel that you were released because of a commercial deal with Britain and Libya?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He can't - he's too sick to answer.
BLACK: But that is the question that is still being asked in Britain, especially after this story in the "Sunday Times" newspaper. Its headline, Lockerbie bomber set free for oil.
JACK STRAW, BRITAIN'S JUSTICE SECRETARY: The "Sunday Times" headline suggesting the Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi was released as a result of a deal for oil is wholly untrue. There was no deal over the release of Mr. Megrahi.
BLACK: The paper said an oil exploration deal between Libya and British company, BP, was only ratified by Libya's parliament after the British government agreed on a prisoner transfer deal between the countries will not exclude al Megrahi specifically.
Britain's Justice Secretary Jack Straw admits the government had pushed for al Megrahi not to be eligible for transfer under the agreement but Libya refused and Britain relented. But the deal always allow the Scottish government to veto any transfer.
Al Megrahi's application, under the transfer agreement, was refused by the Scottish government. Instead, he was released under Scottish law on compassionate grounds because he is dying of cancer. Scotland's first minister insists justice was his government's only consideration.
ALEX SALMOND, SCOTTISH FIRST MINISTER: If you have to make a difficult controversial decision, a challenging decision and for goodness' sake, let's take if for the right reasons and the right reasons were to release a dying man on compassionate grounds.
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BLACK: This latest report is not the smoking gun that proves the deal was done between Britain and Libya and al Megrahi but it is certainly fueling that growing suspicion here. And now opposition politicians are calling for an open inquiry to determine and examine just what Libya and Britain have been talking about in recent years and to what extent they discussed al Megrahi's future -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Certainly, sounds like we'll be hearing more about this in the future. Phil Black for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: Interesting story there.
Well, imagine that you're out at sea with two of your buddies and you're fishing and your boat suddenly flips over and you're out there in the middle of nowhere and nobody is around and nobody is coming to get you. All you've got is a box of crackers and the sketchy water that you used to wash down the boat. How would you survive? Well, we'll find out from a guy who did just that coming up in our next hour. It's 54 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. U.S. Open starts today, and our own Richard Roth got some inside information on the two biggest tennis champs who will be facing off against each other.
ROBERTS: Yes. One's got brand-new baby twins and his competitor is hoping that those baby twins have him all tired out by the time that the match comes around if they both make it that far. For all of the drama of the 2009 U.S. Open Richard Roth is here with us this morning. Good morning, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Yes, it's one of sport's rivalries, biggest ones, but interrupted by injury recently. A new contender filled the bill in London but now it's time for the final leg of the famed grand slam.
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ROTH (voice-over): He's the man who can't seem to lose in New York City. Roger Federer is playing for a record-setting sixth consecutive United States Open tennis title but now he is the father of twins.
(on camera): How do you feel coming into this U.S. Open?
ROGER FEDERER, WORLD TENNIS CHAMPION: I feel great. Obviously, a lot happened also in my personal life. You know, having twin girls, Maya and Charlene going great. It was our first, you know, big trip. You know, they're only five weeks old and they've already, you know, come here to America and had success already in Cincinnati, winning there. So obviously I'm very eager to start at the Open in a week's time and things are looking very good. ROTH: What do you like best and least about playing here in New York at the U.S. Open where you said the fans and the cab drivers love you but there must have been problems. Because it's New York.
FEDERER: Well, yes, I mean exactly. New York is not so easy sometimes. I used to travel and just handling the whole pace here in New York, you know, coming from Switzerland, things are a bit more relaxed over there. And then you come to New York and everything is buzzing. You know, the humidity used to be a factor. Playing in the wind used to be tough. But today, I mean, it's awesome.
ROTH (voice-over): Where there's Federer, there's Nadal, his Spanish super rival is recovering from an injury. Nadal had to sit and watch Federer win Wimbledon.
(on camera): Did you miss the challenge with him? Were you a little bit envious?
RAFAEL NADAL, CHAMPION TENNIS PLAYER: I missed the competition.
ROTH (voice-over): Can Federer be beaten?
JOHN MCENROE, FORMER TENNIS CHAMPION: I think he's human. I'm not sure. But the way he's been playing hasn't been that way but I would suspect after winning five in a row and breaking the record and having twins, that there's got to be a tiny bit of a letdown.
ROTH: Don't tell that to Federer's fans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, he's beautiful. Did you watch him play? He skips on the court like a Baryshnikov (ph) like. He's like a cross between martial arts and ballet and look at him. He's so cute.
I love watching him. He's like a god. I've seen him play. It is mind boggling.
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ROTH: Some of those comments I felt were aimed at you, John.
ROBERTS: I thought they were talking about you.
ROTH: I know you're interested in tennis. Federer reminded me of the times he used to take the subway out to Queens, where the tournament is held.
ROBERTS: It's an easy ride. You just jumped on the 7 train, a you know, a few stops and you're there.
ROTH: That's right. And of course, on the women's side, Serena, Venus Williams are some of the favorites. (INAUDIBLE) out of retirement. So there should be some good competition. I think for American sports fans, it's sad for tennis. It's college football season, baseball and the pennant races, U.S. Open is a big deal and then it kind of fades away a little bit.
ROBERTS: I love what McEnroe said. I think he's human but he hasn't been playing that way lately.
ROTH: Yes. That's right.
ROBERTS: Are you going out there today?
ROTH: I am going out there.
ROBERTS: I'll see you out there.
ROTH: I'm working. All right.
CHETRY: You're working. All right. Have you seen him play, Richard? I love that. That was the comment from all the people on the street.
ROBERTS: Good preview. Thanks, Richard.
