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Indonesian Earthquake; More Time in School; South Pacific Tsunami
Aired September 30, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, the death toll from yesterday's earthquake is becoming a bit more clear. It unleashed a deadly tsunami. At least 111 people are confirmed dead in Tonga Samoa and the neighboring U.S. territory, American Samoa.
As you would expect the death toll is likely to climb. We are keeping a close eye on the South Pacific and the disaster unfolding there. I want to check in with CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras. What's the situation right now, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the situation right now is that everything is calm. We could see some more aftershocks. So that is going to be something that we'll be watching in the coming hours and really the next couple of days this can happen. We've seen a lot of them by the way over, by the Samoa Islands. Lots of aftershocks but none of which are strong enough to produce additional tsunamis.
You know, I've had a lot of people asking questions about how these happen and why do some earthquakes generate tsunamis and others don't. Well, there are a lot of factors involved. But some of the main ones are the type of earthquake that occurs. As the plates come together they can slip side by side or one can subduct. The call it, one underneath the other, the subduction zone. Let me show you this animation.
There you can see where the plates come together. And one will kind of push underneath the other. And as that happens it will push the earth's crust up and it displaces the water so it moves that whole area of water and then the waves move out or propagate out from the center. And these can travel literally thousands of miles. But it's not just one big wave. It can be a series of waves and they can be farther apart than your regular ocean waves. You know, your regular ocean waves you're going to get those every couple of seconds as they move on through. And it just kind of basically moves the surface of the water.
But in a tsunami, it's a column of water that extends from the surface all the way to the sea floor and that whole area of water will be pushing at a rate of about 500 to 600 miles per hour. That's as fast as a jet plane. To put that into perspective for you. None of it moves up toward the continental shelf or it gets closer toward the shore, we'll watch that continue to push on up and it will all move in at one period of time. So it's a very powerful, very destructive wave. And we kind of see similar types of things with storm surge and hurricanes. You know, as all that water starts to rush in. And there's a lot of signals by the way, Heidi, whether or not one could potentially be coming. Of course, you know, those sirens can go off and when that happens, you want to get to higher ground.
If you go to www.weather.gov, I mean, try to get this up a little bit later in the hour and kind of do an interactive with you and show it to you but there's some incredibly safety tips on there to tell you how you know it's coming and what you should do when it happens.
COLLINS: Very good.
JERAS: Think go up.
COLLINS: All right. Jacqui, sure do appreciate it. Thank you.
And later on this hour, we're going to check in with CNN i- reporters from the views within the disaster zone. Josh Levs is going through some of those reports right now and he's going to show us the best of them in just a short while.
In Indonesia, the tsunami watch has been canceled from this morning's earthquake but over the last hour grim reports have been trickling in. In addition to the 13 confirmed deaths, hundreds of people are injured. There are also reports the number of people may have been swept away by a land slide. A state run news agency says hundreds of buildings have also been destroyed.
Hard work ahead in the Philippines after the massive flooding there. At least 246 people are people, dozens are still missing. Aid is getting to the victims though some say not quickly enough. Part of the presidential palace is now set up as a distribution center. Several countries are pledging help along with some U.N. agencies and the World Food Program.
Very quickly, we want to check out the big board. We have noticed some unfortunate downward activity. Just wanted to point it out to you. Quickly, last day of the month, last day of the quarter as far as the trading day goes. You see the Dow Jones industrial average is down by about 123 points. We'll keep our eye on it for you.
Meanwhile, should the U.S. send more troops to Afghanistan? President Obama is reassessing the military strategy today with his top advisers. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is watching that for us this morning. The president is going to be hearing from several people this morning, right, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be a big team, Heidi. Bringing his A-team, as a matter of fact, to discus the debate, even perhaps completely revamp the U.S. strategy in the war in Afghanistan. Now, the heavy hitters they got varying opinions on all of this. They'll sit at the same table including with the president, the vice president, secretary of state Clinton, Defense Gates, the chair of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen, top commander in Afghanistan, General McChrystal, national security adviser, U.S. ambassador Rice and many, many others.
The focus is clearly on defining the mission going forward in Afghanistan. How does the United States go after Al Qaeda and the Taliban at the same time work with this handicapped Afghan government? That's just one of many questions. Now, it was yesterday that President Obama emerged from his meeting with NATO Secretary-General to articulate what he believes is the goal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not an American battle. This is a NATO mission as well and we are working actively and diligently to consult with NATO at every step of the way. And I'm very grateful for the leadership that Secretary-General Rasmussen has shown in committing NATO to a full partnership in this process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, Heidi, this is the first in a series of meetings that are going to take place in the weeks to come before the president makes the critical decision of whether or not to deploy more U.S. troops. White House officials this morning telling me that this is a meeting that is going to last, they believe, at least three hours in the situation room where they'll have a video teleconference, secure video teleconference for generals overseas to participate.
Clearly, this is the beginning of a very important process about how do they define the mission and what does that mean in terms of resources, whether or not he actually does end up sending more U.S. troops.
COLLINS: Yes. Boy, it's a really, really tough one. Three hours. I don't know if that's enough time to get some of these issues talked about in full circle. I just wonder when we heard the president say after meeting with Rasmussen, they are expecting NATO to be a full partner in all of this. What does that mean? Will NATO commit more troops? More funding? What did he mean by that?
MALVEAUX: Well, Heidi, they certainly hope that NATO commits more troops. But that's far from certain. You already have some countries, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy, for example, who are saying that they're either going to reduce their troops or pull out their troops. But what they are hoping for is at least that they'll have greater assistance in working with the Afghan police and the Afghan military to train them to help them protect their own people.
So that if they have to do it with fewer resources that the Afghan people are the ones that are empowered to take that step forward. And so that's the way that they're looking for additional resources with NATO but it's far from certain they'll get exactly what it is they need. It may mean that it's going to fall on the U.S. military, U.S. troops but that again depends on whether or not this critical mission changes.
COLLINS: All right. We will be watching and watching closely. Thanks so much. Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, this morning.
Also this hour, members of the House Armed Services Committee are focusing on the other war. The one in Iraq. They're getting ready to hear from top U.S. commander in that country, General Ray Odierno, expected to talk about lowering the number of troops by 4,000 before the end of the year and says the U.S. is on track to end its combat mission in Iraq by this time next year.
The committee negotiating health care in the Senate is pressing on one day after rejecting a government run insurance program. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash explains why the nos had it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Conrad, no. Mrs. Lincoln? Mrs. Lincoln, no. Mr. Nelson? Mr. Nelson, no.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What you're seeing and hearing --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Chairman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
BASH: ... are Senate democrats opposing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eight ayes, 15 nays.
BASH: And defeating a Democratic priority. A government run insurance option for health care. The Democratic chairman who helped block a public plan called it simple math.
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D), FINANCE CHAIRMAN: I can count. No one has been able to show me how we can count up to 60 votes with a public option in the bill.
BASH: Senate democratic leadership sources privately tell CNN he's right. There aren't enough votes to pass a public option in the Senate but don't try to tell that to ardent Democratic supporters of a public plan determined to fight the fight any way.
SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Give people a choice. What is wrong with giving people a choice?
BASH: Arguing the only way to drive down the high cost of health care is to have a non-profit government run health care option to compete with for-profit insurers.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Public option every day in every way rules we haven't thought about will compete and bring those costs down. And serve the public as opposed to simply the shareholder.
BASH: The Democratic divide is so deep, a liberal democratic group is running this ad against the Democratic chairman. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Baucus, when you take millions of dollars from health and insurance interest that oppose reform and oppose families like mine the choice of a public option, you have to ask, whose side are you on?
BASH: With that running back home. It's no wonder, Max Baucus and other moderate democrats against the public option plus they let the Republicans do the talking here.
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (E), IOWA: The government is not a fair competitor. It's not even a competitor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you don't want Medicare.
GRASSLEY: It's a predator.
BASH (on camera): Supporters of government run health insurance option tried to put a positive spin on their defeat saying they got more Democratic votes on this conservative committee than they thought they would. Still there's no getting around the fact that losing is at the very least a symbolic blow to a huge democratic priority on health care, especially for the president.
Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A shot in the arm for the National Institutes of Health. This hour President Obama is touring a camp in Bethesda, Maryland, and he is expected to announce it will get $5 billion from the economic recovery fund. The money is aimed at supporting research for cancer cures and other diseases. It's also designed to create jobs.
A terror suspect denied bond. Now that he's behind bars, is the threat to New York City over? Find out what the city's top cop has to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We want to hear from you yet again this morning. We love when you guys send in comments to the blog. Cnn.com/heidi. Here's what we want to know this morning. Will students benefit from a longer school day or a full school year? No summer break? You can read a little bit of what's going on today.
President Obama is actually suggesting this. Go ahead and tell us what you think about that. CNN.com/heidi and of course, we'll bring some of those comments to air a little bit later in the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: No bail for the Afghan immigrant suspected of plotting a bomb attack in New York. Najibullah Zazi pleaded not guilty to a terrorism conspiracy charge yesterday in Brooklyn Federal Court. Authorities say Zazi plotted to make bombs from household chemicals including beauty supply products he bought in Colorado. The New York Police Commissioner says the plot has been broken up and the threat now neutralized.
On the heels of Zazi's arrest and a couple of others around the country, a Senate committee is hearing testimony this hour on domestic terrorism. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI director Robert Mueller are among those who will be testifying.
Let's head over to Jacqui Jeras now in the severe weather center to talk a little bit more - we've been talking all morning long about the tsunami. People want to know about the weather in the U.S. as well.
JERAS: Yes, I know. We got to let them know what's going on. We have some extreme weather today and that's really focused across the nation's midsection in particular. This is the first time, Heidi, literally in weeks that I have seen even a slight risk of severe weather. So refresh yourself on those severe weather safety rules and where you're going to go and what you're going to do when and if those sirens do go off.
We think this will be later today more of an afternoon evening event when things could trigger. So from the panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma stretching on up through the Dakotas. We're going to have some really, really windy conditions associated with this from both ahead and behind the cold front. Much cooler air coming in behind this by the way. We're looking at some snow into the higher elevations across the mountainous areas of the west.
We are looking at just rain right now into Salt Lake City area but you get up into those benches and we're seeing that mix and then the snow coming down. Not enough that we're going to see the ski resorts open any time soon but nice to see some of that winter weather in some of these areas. It is going to be impacting your travel and there you can see we do have some delays. A ground stop in effect in Salt Lake City which means you can't take off to get to Salt Lake. So if you're trying to get there, be patient. Hopefully we'll watch for improving conditions right now. At least it is rain and not snow. We're not having to deal with deicing as well.
Now, temperature wise take a look at this. It is just very cool for the most part across the country. We've got a bubble of heat still here down into the Phoenix area and across parts of Texas and Louisiana where we still have some 70s but feeling a lot like fall up north. 63 in Minneapolis as well as Chicago. 73 in Atlanta. Staying nice and cool and fall like across the east but eventually that cold front is going to come through. And fortunately it looks like it should be pushing into the east by the weekend. I know everybody really wanted to really hear that.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Jacqui, thank you.
JERAS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Are you hoping to enjoy a long and healthy life? Yes. A new study has found the key to staying lean is definitely the key especially in women.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Let's get a check of our top stories now. Chicago police are asking for the public's help in finding three more suspects in connection with the beating death of an honor student. Four people are facing murder charges for Derrion Albert's killing. The attack was captured on cell phone video though no one used phones to call police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPT. JODY WEIS, CHICAGO POLICE: You watched the video, there are kids walking around with their cell phones. They're on the phone. You got someone filming it. Why as a society someone doesn't call and try and help someone but we rather film it is beyond me to understand. It's very sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Police have asked the Secret Service to try to enhance the video so other potential suspects can be identified.
Actor John Travolta may testify again in the Bahamas this week but it was his lawyer's turn yesterday. The case involves a paramedic who drove Travolta's son 16-year-old Jett, to the hospital the day he died in January. Travolta's lawyers says the driver had documents which he believed would suggest the actor was negligent including ambulance dispatch reports and a release Travolta signed. The man is accused of conspiring to extort $25 million from the actor in exchange for those papers.
A Japanese judge has ordered a Tennessee man to stay in jail for at least 10 more days as officials try to resolve a custody dispute. Christopher Savoy was arrested Monday after he tried to grab his two children off the street. Savoy has custody according to a U.S. court but Japanese authorities believe Savoy's ex-wife should keep the kids. She brought them to her native Japan last month.
More evidence that losing weight can extend your life and reduce your risk of chronic diseases. Today a wake-up call from our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. All right. So what is this all about? Stay lean, stay fit.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly and you'll live longer, which you might think - oh gosh, we all know that instinctively, right? Stay fit in order to be healthy but when you really track it, it's interesting what you see. So researchers at Harvard looked at 17,000 women. So that's a huge group.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: So it's a huge group. And what they did is they track them from the ages of 18 to approximately 50. And what they found was that those women who were able to keep their weight or those women where the weight went up over that time from 18 to 50, their health directly went down. You can see it at age 70. You can see the increased rates of diabetes. You can see the increased rates of cancer and heart disease. You can see the direct correlation that what you do during those years between 18 and 50 really matters even on your 70th birthday.
COLLINS: Yes. Interesting.
COHEN: The worst off, of course, were the ones that were obese. I mean, they were really sort of off the charts.
COLLINS: I would imagine. What about if you gain the weight but then you lose it? I mean, is that all right?
COHEN: It helps you. There's no question that if you gain weight, let's say in your 20s and 30s and you lose it in your 40s, that is a helpful thing. However, you are still better off just keeping a steady weight throughout those years. I mean, lose it if you can but you're still better off just keeping your weight maintaining it at a low level.
COLLINS: Right. You mentioned obese women though and that they were really kind of off the charts and had the worst problems. People have different concepts of obesity or definitions. What exactly is obese?
COHEN: Right. Some people think that to be obese you have to be 400 pounds and falling out of your chair. And that's not true at all. So let's take a look. If you are 5'5" tall and you weigh 180 pounds, that's hard to see there but at 180 pounds, you are considered obese. By some people standards, that's not really all that much. That's all it takes to be considered obese.
Now, I should note here, Heidi that this study was done in women but the same results might be true for men. They just happened to look at women.
COLLINS: Yes, OK. Understood. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
Well, hitting the books. President Obama says our kids should spend more time in school. Hear what students, parents and school officials think about that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Obama says our kids aren't spending enough time in school and he wants to change that.
CNN's Alina Cho explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we get an extra day.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 3:00 in the afternoon and Steve Gallagher has just picked up his 10-year-old daughter, Sammy, from school. Right in the middle of the workday. A longer school day for Sammy what President Obama wants means a more convenient day for dad.
STEVE GALLAGHER, PARENT: It kind of works into our personal schedule. For example, I then have the ability to pick my daughter up after school as opposed to cutting my work day short.
CHO: The idea is gaining steam. Education secretary Arne Duncan is touring the country with unconventional allies, the Reverend Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich encouraging local districts and states to embrace the idea of longer school days and a longer school year saying the current system is outdated, a century old, when kids needed summers off to help on the farm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, this is the right word.
CHO: Duncan says students who thrive are in class longer.
ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Guess what, they're in school nine hours a day. They're in school on the weekends and they're in school over the summer. This is not a new idea.
CHO: American students have one of the shortest school years in the world. 180 days versus 195 for most European nations and 200 for East Asian countries and U.S. students spend fewer hours a day in the classroom. 35 hours a week. Swedish students are in class 60 hours a week. The nation's largest teacher's union says more seat time is good but after-school programs at school, better.
RANDI WEINGARTEN, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: We have them for mediation. We have them for enrichment. We have them for sports. We have them for art. We have them for music. Those are really good things.
CHO: Steve Gallagher is all for longer school days but summers off?
(on camera): Some might argue longer school day, longer school year, could work to our advantage.
GALLAGHER: I agree with that. But it's difficult to make that cultural shift within our country on just an edict from the president.
CHO (voice-over): So what does 10-year-old Sammy think about the president's proposal?
SAMMY GALLAGHER, STUDENT: Well, longer school days means more homework and for a lot of people homework can be very overwhelming in a way.
CHO (on camera): Something else that could be overwhelming, the cost. The National Taxpayer's Union conservative group says yes, it all looks good on paper but there are hidden costs involved like potentially more money for teachers, higher electricity bills when you keep schools open longer and who's going to foot the bill? Probably taxpayers. Alina Cho, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: All right. So let's talk about this. Longer days at school. Shorter summers. Do our kids really need more time in the classroom.
Here to talk about it, Tina Bruno of the Coalition for a Traditional School Calendar. Hello to you, Tina.
TINA BRUNO, COALITION FOR A TRADITIONAL SCHOOL CALENDAR: Hello.
COLLINS: And also Steve Perry, principal and founder of Capitol Preparatory Magnet School. He is also an educational contributor to CNN. Steve, hello to you once again as well.
I want to start with you, Steve, because you are a principal of a 12-month school. Have you found that your kids are learning more, and are learning better than the rest of the country?
STEVE PERRY, PRINCIPAL, CAPITOL PREP. MAGNET SCHOOL: Yes. In just two years, we became one of America's top high schools according to "U.S. News and World Report."
Our school year is 201 days, similar to that of many East Asian countries. If you look throughout the world, those countries that have the longest school years and good schools have the highest performing children. It's impossible to argue against children being better off academically in a 12-month school year than they would be academically in an 8-month school year.
COLLINS: Well, I think that the argument would end up being that you have to make very effective use of the time. There are plenty of...
PERRY: That is correct.
COLLINS: There are plenty of people that work from 7:00 in the morning and stay until 7:00 at night, and they don't get anymore done because they're not using time properly. So, isn't a bit about the curriculum as well?
PERRY: It absolutely is. It's not just quantity. It's also quality. One of the reasons why this is an important discussion is because it also brings up the importance of choice and school choice and parental choice. There are some parents who, for whatever reason, will be dead set against this.
It doesn't mean that they disagree that it's better. They just aren't willing to their children outside of the house during the summer. And I believe this is an opportunity for us to have a discussion around not just a longer school year, but also around issues of choice.
COLLINS: OK. That's a good point. Tina, it's hard to argue about people being able to have a choice to do this if they want to. What is all of this based on? We heard from Mr. Gallagher in the piece there, saying it's scary to base something like this on an edict from the president. Is there some research or a study that's been done that shows that yes indeed, children would be better off and smarter? Would get into college better and easier than other parts of the world.
BRUNO: Absolutely not. That's not what we see at all. Actually, there's no evidence to show just giving kids more of the same is going to do anything for our educational system except keep kids locked in classrooms more and off playgrounds and out of parks.
When we look at states that added days to their school year, let's look at college prep tests. Are they doing better eight years later? No, they're not.
Actually, I'm sitting here today in Indiana, and in the last eight years, Indiana has not added any days to their school year. Yet their cumulative increase on ACT scores was higher than the three states in our nation that have added days to the school year combined. That tells you something...
PERRY: Tina is absolutely wrong. Tina is absolutely wrong. In fact, the truth is that longer school years in a more effective school setting in fact does improve student performance. In fact, one of the things that happens over the summer is that children lose as much as two to two-and-a-half months rote learning. That's in math and science, two areas in which we have lowest performance internationally, especially when you look at historically disadvantaged populations.
While she may have an opinion, this opinion does not mean she's right. She's absolutely wrong. There's quite a bit of research, and research has been done in the early 1900s.
BRUNO: No. No. If you look at the calendar days...
COLLINS: I have to say - forgive me, Tina, but I've been looking for the research. I'm trying to find all of it to figure out where this is coming from.
I mean, it would be hard to disagree with either of you that people want the best two their kids. They want their kids to study well. They want their kids to get as much as they can out of school, and without bringing in the issues of cost, which we also saw in the piece by our correspondent, what needs to be done? Is this the best idea? Is this the number one thing that should be talked about with our education system? How much time is being spent in the classroom?
BRUNO: No. I mean, I think the reason this has been thrown out there is to get debate started. Because everyone knows the more people that have an opinion and the more information brought to the table, the better we can do for our children. We owe them more than simply saying, "Let's give you more of the same."
This principal, he's not giving his kids just more of the same. He's giving them a different curriculum, he's making sure they get enrichment opportunities they may not have had at other times, making sure that remediation is being offered when it needs to be offered. And those aren't necessarily things that have to be done simply by lengthening the regular school year.
But of course we should have options for our children. Education needs to be more personalized to the student's needs. That's very important. But just throwing more days out there? I don't think we'll get the biggest bang for our buck. We need to make sure teachers are prepared and can teach better, not longer.
COLLINS: Quickly to the both of you. I want to hear your very brief answer. If you were out on this listening tour with the secretary of education, Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton, what would you say to people? Steve?
PERRY: I would be saying that it's not just quantity. It is in fact quality. We need to begin to close failed schools. Tina's right. Not just at our school, but in many schools we have extended school years and charters and magnets and in private schools, what you find is these are schools that have a more compelling academic experience.
But we can't have one conversation without the other, meaning we can't have one conversation about quality without extending it, because our children as a fact are in school less and in less effective schools. It's both. It's not either or.
COLLINS: Very quickly, Tina?
BRUNO: I think before we expect the American taxpayer to put forth even more money, we need to make sure we're getting what we're paying for right now. We need to demand that the quality of our education system is the very best it can be.
Once we're to that point, then of course we can look at adding programs and adding days. But we need to make sure that while we have our kids captive in classroom, that we're engaging them and exciting them about school.
And adding more days of school may do the opposite. Kids may come dragging their feet. Excitement is very important in education. I think we owe it to our teachers and students to really investigate this issue, look at the best practices in our own culture and around the world and see how those can apply to our American schools.
COLLINS: Yes, we actually had a question that came in from one of our bloggers and e-mailers this morning who said this. "I am in favor of a longer year, longer day. I also think the standards need to be raised and students will rise to the level of expectations. The only problem is, where is the money to pay for this?"
PERRY: That's a great question. And it's important to understand that it's not just the money that we pay for this from taxpayers, it's the money that we pay to have more police officers on the streets during the summers when kids are home. It's the money that each family has to pay in order to try to find something meaningful for their child to do week by week over the summer...
BRUNO: (INAUDIBLE) difference.
PERRY: We have to look at what the money really is. One of the programs that was cited, they said it was an extra $1,300 a year. Thirteen hundred dollars...
BRUNO: Yes, but are we looking at the schools as being child care facilities or look at them as being educational institutions?
PERRY: Educational institutions. And that's exactly what...
BRUNO: Parents need options. Look at what our teachers go through each day. They're having to be social workers, nurses, police officers in the classroom...
PERRY: That's what you sign up for.
BRUNO: We need to make sure we have better discipline in our classroom to teachers can use the time better.
COLLINS: All right. We have started the discussion, definitely. We'll continue to watch as President Obama has these three individuals -- Arne Duncan, Al Sharpton and Newt Gingrich -- out doing this listening tour. We'll see what they hear from across the country. Appreciate the discussion right here. Steve Perry and Tina Bruno, thank you so much.
PERRY: Thank you both.
COLLINS: If you have kids, you will probably recognize his voice. If you're a sitcom fan, you recognize his face. You can wave. Actor Wilmer Valderrama is going to Capitol Hill today. Actually, he's already there today, as you can see. But first, he'll talk to us and explain why he's there in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Images of devastation continue to come into us from the Samoan Islands after an earthquake triggered a tsunami and leveled villages there. At least 111 people are confirmed dead, and that number could go up as crews reach the outlying areas. A FEMA team and National Guard troops are being dispatched to help with the relief effort on American Samoa.
I-reporters have been managing to send us videos and photos even as they try to recover from the devastation in the Samoan Islands. Our Josh Levs has been looking at them and collecting them and joins us now. Hi there, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Heidi. You know, in the midst of devastation, we often see the most powerful images from our iReporters, who are in a safe position to send us what they're sending us.
Let's get you this video that I want you to see from one of our new iReporters, Leona (ph). I'll show you a map pretty soon of where that is. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: He walks around the area. You see more and more of the devastation. You see homes that are gone. You see what appears to be people's livelihood washed away. We see vehicles on top of one another. Bits and pieces of everything.
At one point, he picks up -- you can see there -- a piece of what was apparently was someone's computer, and he says it is no more. You can see more of that at ireport.com. I want to get a sense of the area and where he is and what we're talking about.
So, let's -- let's do this. Come back to me for a second. I want to go to the screen. This is where he is right here. I pulled up a map. I've been telling you throughout this morning about Samoa and the area. This is Western Samoa. You have American Samoa. This is the area where he is down here. Keep in mind we're talking about this tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific. Right where that red mark is. It's way in there. That's the town that he was at just now.
Just looking at it like that for a second, seeing the water that surrounds it you can see keep in mind the kind of devastation that could come from a tsunami in that area. Couple more iReports to show you here. Some of the most powerful ones that we have been getting today, Heidi, have been these photos which are coming to us from Alvin Tagarino (ph). You can take a look here. He's in Samoa as well.
He has a lot of pictures of the vehicles that have been absolutely destroyed. We've been getting more and more pictures that show similar devastation throughout the day. Again, I'm going to say it, before we show any on TV, we make sure that people are in a safe position to be sending this. We'll have more for you next hour. We'll keep them pretty much -- I'm camping out here for the day, Heidi, following what we get here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Yes. Really helps us to tell the story there. All right, Josh. Thank you.
LEVS: First lady Michelle Obama now in Copenhagen, Denmark, to lobby the International Olympic Committee for Chicago to host the 2016 Games. President Obama will be in Copenhagen on Friday for his own pitch for Chicago. The committee will make its decision later that day. Other cities in the running are Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro.
Twenty years ago, the small, mostly Spanish-speaking city of Cochella, California, made an investment. Not in stocks. Not in real estate. But in a teenage boy who dreamed of becoming a doctor. Now as Soledad O'Brien tells us, it's paying off.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Raul Ruiz is a busy ER doctor.
DR. RAUL RUIZ, ER DOCTOR: Did you have that pain up here?
O'BRIEN: He's the only full time Latino physician on staff at Eisenhower Medical Center, the Coachella Valley's only nonprofit hospital.
O'BRIEN (on camera): How old were you when you knew you wanted to be a doctor?
RUIZ: Four years old.
O'BRIEN: Four?
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Not an easy feat for the son of migrant farm workers.
RUIZ: I used to type it as my practice typing, "all things are possible, all things are possible."
O'BRIEN: He was a good student but terrible test taker. English wasn't his first language.
RUIZ: According to my SAT scores, I should have never gotten to college.
O'BRIEN (on camera): What were your scores?
RUIZ: I'd rather not say.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The biggest obstacle wasn't grades, it was money. A family friend paid for him to apply to UCLA but it was the community of Coachella that helped put Dr. Ruiz through school.
Coachella is a small farming town with mostly Spanish-speaking immigrants. The average family income is less than $25,000 a year.
RUIZ: I started knocking on doors saying I'm from this community, I want to become a physician and I'm going to come back. I want to offer you the opportunity to invest in your community.
O'BRIEN: He handed out home made contracts to sponsors like Juan Torres, owner of the hardware store.
RUIZ: I was able to raise about $2,000.
O'BRIEN (on camera): That's a lot of dough.
RUIZ: There was $20, $50, $100 at a time.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): He was 17 years old. With the money and more importantly the community backing, Raul Ruiz went off to UCLA. After graduation, he went to Harvard Medical School to become a doctor. And hat's not all. RUIZ: I have a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School; it's the school of government. And I have a Masters in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Three degrees from Harvard. The first Mexican-American ever to achieve that.
RUIZ: My efforts are not just mine alone; it's my family's and my community's. So, you know, we worked hard.
O'BRIEN: He could have practiced anywhere but he came back.
RUIZ: A promise is a promise.
O'BRIEN: And he continues to give back, mentoring eight Coachella teenagers.
RUIZ: There's only two obligations: one is that they show up; and two, that they participate with me in community service. And then we'll see if we can make a difference.
O'BRIEN: To ensure there will be a next generation in Coachella who will also give back.
Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Cochella, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You probably remember him as Fez from eight seasons of That '70s Show. Now, among other things, he voices Handy Manny on the Disney Channel. But today, actor Wilmer Valderrama is away from the entertainment capital and in the nation's capital to talk about his work in the Latino community.
Before that, Wilmer is joining us from Washington right now. Nice to see you. Thanks for being on the program. Listen, here's what I learned. You're attending a congressional briefing on Latino civic engagement and attitudes toward current policy issues. What's that? What are you going to talk about?
WILMER VALDERRAMA, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: Well, we're going to talk about, you know, how to really embrace the national community, and really, actually, through entertainment and different types of outreach. And we're going to really kind of inspire a Latin community to take more of an active part in the world community, per se.
But yes, from entertainment point of view and from our platform, how can we better the image and the stereotypes of such culture? But I -- it's really exciting. I'm really excited to see what the ideas are and all that stuff, and what I can do from my place.
COLLINS: Have you been on Capitol Hill before?
VALDERRAMA: I have. I have. I have done a number of things here. I was here last time with Richard Linklater for "Fast Food Nation," where we talked about a bunch of different -- other issues that the movie actually talked about. So, it's always exciting to come out here and talk about things that matter.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean, I know you're the official spokesperson as well for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Institutes Ready to Lead. That's about being prepared for college, right?
VALDERRAMA: Yes. Basically, it's about giving this opportunity to these young kids who actually do want to learn and do want to be community leaders and leaders in general, you know, to take more active action, you know, into bettering their education and getting that shot and really inspiring young kids who know that they really are not just young Latinos. But kids in general and youth in general to actually understand that they also have a shot that is a ssimple as them wanting to do it and walking the talk.
COLLINS: Tell me from your perspective - obviously, you do a lot of work with young, young children as Handy Manny. But also as a young person yourself, what's the biggest challenge for Latinos in America?
VALDERRAMA: You know, I think that there's this -- really misconception. I think a lot of young Latinos don't understand that they have an equal platform that anybody else has.
Especially the young community, you know. They think that as they are underrepresented when this comes to some of the entertainment platforms, you know, and as that evolves into a better place, I think that, you know, little by little they become a lot more confident in understanding that they are just part of a society and of our national community as anybody else.
And I think that's really our first obstacle -- is to inspire them and letting them understand that they're just as part of something -- they're a part of something as special as everything else. I think that's exciting.
Also, the other big thing I want to talk about always is understanding and appreciating a second language. No matter what that second language is going to be...
COLLINS: You work with Dora the Explorer on that, right?
VALDERRAMA: I work with -- yes. We both work hand in hand. We work together. But yes, you know, that's one of the things that, especially starting with my little brother, it's very important that you understand a second language and in the United States, Spanish is becoming a big market. You know, and I think it's important to hiring (ph).
COLLINS: Well, very good. It's nice to have you on the show today.
VALDERRAMA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Wilmer Valderrama, we appreciate your time very much. Handy Manny.
VALDERRAMA: Nice roll of the r's, by the way.
COLLINS: Thank you. My executive producer doesn't think I could do that. Thanks again. Appreciate it.
VALDERRAMA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And next month, only on CNN. "LATINO IN AMERICA." A comprehensive look at how Latinos are changing America, reshaping politics, business, schools, churches and neighborhoods. See it right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Many economists say the recession may now finally be over, but a report out this morning on job cuts makes it hard for many of us to rejoice. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details and a look at who is hiring as we also simultaneously look at the Dow today, Susan, which is down by triple digits here.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. What happened with that is that shortly after the open, we got a disappointing report on manufacturing. That's really when the sell-off accelerated.
In the meantime, one of the things that certainly stymies recovery is problems in the job sector. We continue to see losses there. The most recent report this morning -- a quarter million jobs cut in the private sector this month. This from payroll firm ADP. Believe it or not, though, that 250,000 number is the smallest number since July of last year.
Remember, that earlier this year in February, that number was over 700,000. So, if you want to look at the silver lining here, ADP says the pace of improvement is widespread, and the service sector which is broadest part of the economy, which includes retail, hotels, restaurants, that kind of thing is improving the fastest. And that it expects job growth to resume early next year.
Of course, we get many economic reports this week on employment, but the biggest one comes on Friday, the government jobs report. More comprehensive, and we're expecting more losses there. But again, not as great as what we've seen. What we are seeing in terms of losses is on the market the Big Board, Dow, NASDAQ, S&P 500, final trading day of the month, all down 1 percent, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. We're watching closely. Many hours left in the day here. We'll see how this thing turns around and continue to watch those jobs reports. Susan Lisovicz, thank you so much.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Some people are saying it could be more dangerous than drunk driving, yet in many states it's not against the law, at least not yet. We'll tell you about the campaign to eliminate texting while driving.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: It is the dangerous crossroads where American streets are merging with the information highway. And it happens every time drivers take their eyes off the road to text on their cell phone. CNN's Jason Carroll has a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some drivers call it fallout from life on the road in the digital age, texting while driving. A graphic public service announcement produced in the U.K. widely seen on the web in the United States illustrates a violent end.
This issue now subject of a distracted driving summit in Washington, D.C., drawing safety experts and leaders from across the country. United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says organizers hope to develop recommendations for reducing the problem.
RAY LAHOOD, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: I think what we are attempting to do is raise the public awareness about how unsafe it is to text and drive, and then also talk with folks about the way forward in terms of some solutions.
CARROLL: Groups like the Governors Highway Safety Association plan to attend the summit. The group initially came out against laws banning texting while driving, then did an about-face, after meeting with the groups members who saw that violent PSA and some alarming studies.
VERNON BETKEY JR., CHAIRMAN., GOVERNORS HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSOC.: I think that as a result of those discussions the decision was made to readjust our policy.
CARROLL: Summit attendees will have access to recent studies, like the one from Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which found that truck drivers risk of accident 23 times higher while text messaging. Another study done by Professor David Strayer at the University of Utah found another disturbing result.
DAVID STRAYER, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH: Text messaging is a level of impairment that exceeds what we see with someone who is driving while they're drunk.
CARROLL (on camera): Exceeds it?
STRAYER: Yes.
CARROLL (voice-over): Strayer's researchers found a driver with alcohol level 0.08 legally drunk in most states is four times more likely to crash. Texting that driver is eight times more likely. Currently, 18 states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving. Secretary LaHood believes more will follow.
LAHOOD: I believe that sooner rather than later, there will be some very good laws to address this very serious problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN's Jason Carroll reporting.
I'm Heidi Collins.
CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Tony Harris.
