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Tsunami Hits American Samoa; American Man Arrested in Japan Trying to Bring Children Home

Aired September 30, 2009 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Pushing forward through waves of disaster. Two tragedies in the Pacific. A tsunami devastates Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. On its heels, a killer quake rocking Indonesia. The pictures are just in, and we don't know how many people are dead.

Plus, keep your eyes on the road and your thumbs on the wheel. The feds calling texting, e-mailing, browsing while driving a crime and a menace to society.

And big money, nice office, fancy titles. What out-of-work executives could resist all that? This hour, the CNN's special investigations unit on jobs too good to be true.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra's on assignment, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Boy, oh, boy, earthquakes, a tsunami and a typhoon taking a devastating toll in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Hundreds of people dead. This is what the people of American Samoa are waking up to right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see over here, the bridge. It's just totally wiped out by the waves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Look at that tsunami, smashes an island paradise. Dozens of people are still missing. A powerful earthquake is responsible for the tsunami and the mess that you're seeing there. Then hours later, another quake triggers a tsunami scare in Indonesia. The death toll from that disaster, also rising by the minute now. Thousands more people are believed to be trapped in all of that debris.

And in Southeast Asia, nearly 300 people are dead because of flooding from a typhoon sweeping across the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and now Laos. Quick action, though, from President Obama in the wake of the tsunami in American Samoa. Mr. Obama declaring the U.S. territory a federal disaster area. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My deepest sympathies are with the families who have lost loved ones and the many people whose lives have been affected by the earthquake and the tsunami.

To aid in the response, I've declared this a major disaster to speed the deployment of resources, and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is working closely with emergency responders on the ground, and the Coast Guard is helping to provide immediate help to those in need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was the president declaring a disaster area there, saying that federal help is on the way.

In the Samoa islands, people along the shoreline ran for their lives as the tsunami slammed ashore. And some, well, quite frankly, they didn't make it. Mike Sala joins us now by phone. He's from Pago Pago. He's a homeland security director in American Samoa.

Thank you for joining us. Can you give us an update on the situation now?

MIKE SALA, HOMELAND SECURITY DIRECTOR, AMERICAN SAMOA: Right now the power on the eastern district of the island has not been restored. It will take maybe 30 days to come on and resolve that issue. The water has been restored. But it's kind of low pressure.

This -- this morning there will be Coast Guard airplane bringing down some people from FEMA and off island to come down and help us to coordinate the damage assessment. So far, the toll of fatalities is about 24. Fifty-five people who are injured and treated and released home, and we have about 18 people who are seriously being operated and in the hospital.

LEMON: What are you doing now, Mr. Sala, for the people who are -- who have become homeless because of this? Are they getting help?

SALA: We are now -- we moved those people to seven shelters, about 907 of them being taken there.

LEMON: Uh-huh. You talked about the number of people who have either died or are injured. Now, there are still tons of debris to clear. Have you gotten any word from people there on the scene that they're hearing from people? In other words, are you expecting that there could be more injuries, more fatalities, sadly?

SALA: Yes. It will be more. There are reports of some people missing, unaccounted for. I would say maybe the next three days, and we'll find out an accurate toll.

LEMON: You mentioned FEMA and other agencies...

SALA: So, it could be -- it could be, right, increased.

LEMON: You mentioned FEMA and other agencies, international agencies. Are you -- do you feel that you're getting enough help from the international community?

SALA: We -- we're on the communications every four hours -- every four hours. We have a briefing, an update, with FEMA. It will be (ph) tonight. This about 8 this afternoon, tonight, we'll have another U.S. Coast -- Coast Guard airplane will bring in about, at least 45 and 50 people to come down. So, we receive a lot of cooperation and commitment and support from the federal government and other stakeholders.

LEMON: All right. Mike Sala, he's the direct of homeland security for American Samoa. Thank you so much for that update, and we wish you the best of luck there.

We want to give you some perspective now on the tsunami. This picture shows a beach at a resort in Samoa before the big wave sweeps ashore.

And then this picture shows all of the debris left behind after the wave moves in and then back out to sea. Quite a difference there. Total destruction.

American Samoa is about the size of Washington, D.C., and it has been part of the United States for just over a century. Our Josh Levs joins us now with a closer look at this American territory in the South Pacific.

Josh, you saw that picture there. Unbelievable.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, Don, you know, what's been happening is we've been getting a lot more photos and videos from inside American Samoa than from Samoa itself. But we know that the whole area of islands was affected by this. In fact, we can just go back to some of this powerful video Don was just referring to.

And what I'll do now is I'm going to tell you a few facts about Samoa and also about American Samoa, give people a sense of what we're stalking about.

Now, Samoa itself, the population there is 220,000. So, we're not talking about a very big place. When you look at the big scope of things, it's a little dot in the Pacific there. It's halfway between Hawaii, or down to New Zealand. And they dropped "Western" from the name in 1997. So if you still think of it as Western Samoa, no more. And the government there is a democracy. It's a parliamentary democracy.

Now, let's go over to American Samoa, where things are a little bit different there. And as I mentioned, we're getting a lot of video from American Samoa. And American Samoa, the population is a lot smaller, 66,000. So, again, we're talking a little tiny dot in the Pacific.

And what happened is, Don, you mentioned more than a century ago, there was this treaty back in 1899 between Germany and the United States in which that territory was ultimately divided up, so that is how it became that of the United States. The U.S. officially occupied it in 1900, and since then it's been unincorporated U.S. territory.

So, America clearly has responsibility to deal with what is going on there. And you can understand, Don, why U.S. officials are making efforts right now, and the president's talking about it. What will be done to get over there and get help to people whose lives have been devastated by this.

LEMON: Yes, a lot of people wonder. Even I wonder how tsunamis are formed, Josh. And I know that on CNN.com there's a good breakdown on how tsunamis form. Can you talk about that?

LEVS: There is. Yes, I'll show it to you for a second. I really like it, because not everyone has, you know, Jacquie Jeras or a Chad or somebody where you can just walk over and ask them for an explanation.

So go to the main page on CNN.com, and what you're going to see right here is a step-by-step breakdown of what happened and what happens. We actually have embedded video inside this section that traces you through the process of a tsunami forming after a quake, how one area is affected and why these major population centers, even thousands of miles away could potentially be affected. Gives you good insight into why the concerns and also into some of those advisories that you hear, why the advisories, why they then go away. It really is a good explanation. CNN.com, Don.

LEMON: Thank you, Josh Levs.

LEVS: You got it.

LEMON: You know, today's earthquake on Indonesia's Sumatra Island was along the same fault line that triggered the huge tsunami in December of 2004. More than 230,000 people across South Asia died in that disaster. The latest quake had a magnitude of 6.6.

Right now at least 75 deaths are confirmed. And authorities say thousands of people may be trapped in collapsed buildings and houses. Wayne Ulrich, the disaster management coordinator for the International Red Cross, is in Indonesia. He helped lead relief efforts in the 2004 tsunami.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE ULRICH, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: The Red Cross is in the province of west Sumatra. We're actually right in the middle of all of this when it was going on. So they mobilized about 90 of their volunteers out to the field to try and reach the victims and the people that were affected by the earthquake.

But, unfortunately, a lot of access to these areas is blocked by all different types of problems, people, frightened people, out on the streets, cars, kind of people trying to get out of the city in panic. And part of the process of actually getting information from the field has been quite difficult to get because of the problems of getting out to the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes, and this is -- this was a 7.6, as I said. I said it was a 6.6, but, again, 7.6 magnitude. Definitely a huge one triggered there. We'll continue to follow this.

And if you want to help the victims of this devastating disasters, both of them, you can log into our Web site, CNN.com/Impact. "Impact Your World."

Let's talk now about the war in Afghanistan. What happens today at the White House could set the course for the war in Afghanistan for months, even years, to come. President Barack Obama is bringing in all the big guns in U.S. national security to reassess a war that turns eight years old a week from today.

Now attendees include the vice president, Secretary of State Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and also joint chiefs chairman, Mike Mullen, and the commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal. The session gets underway about two hours from now, so make sure you stay with CNN for all the latest developments as they happen. We'll bring it to you.

And before he mulls over Afghanistan, Joe Biden's thought are on Iraq. Right now in Dover, Delaware, he is welcoming home the 261st Signal Brigade of the Delaware Army National Guard, a brigade that just happens to include Biden's son, Bo, who also happens to be Delaware's attorney general. The 261st had been in Iraq for a year.

An American father treks all the way to Japan to bring his kids home. His wife abducted them. So why is he sitting in a foreign jail?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Samoa islands out in the middle of the Pacific and totally at its mercy. Take a look at what people there are dealing with right now. Some thought the end of the world had come, and for others, it did.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Boy, oh, boy, you know, hundreds of people are dead as a powerful earthquake and tsunami rips right through parts of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. Our Chad Myers is standing by with a closer look at these powerful, natural forces. And powerful, I mean, there could be a bigger word than that, because it's huge.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We already know that. The Indonesia government is saying that thousands of people are buried under their homes, under their ceilings and things like that, so you know, we were complaining last week about 1,000 people in Georgia that got flooded out.

Now, we're obviously talking tens and hundreds of thousand of people, between the typhoon in the Philippines and Vietnam, and now a tsunami, and then an earthquake that wasn't even associated with the tsunami. It kind of puts it all in perspective, worldwide, doesn't it?

There goes Hawaii. There's the U.S. And here, we're going to take you right into American Samoa, the line right there, the plate, this plate significant because it's the subduction zone. This plate here going down into the Tonga Trench.

So what's happening here is that this plate is almost like a little bit of a bubble. The plate here, the plate of the crust going down below this bubble, it shifted. It popped. It popped upward. The water has to go up because the land is going up. And then all of a sudden, the waves rushed out from this spot, literally in all directions. But mainly a little bit off to the east and to the northeast.

And then another thing I want to kind of take you to is this western side of American Samoa. There's a bay right through here. And we know that this bay acted like a catcher's mitt. All of this water was coming in in waves obviously. And then got to this very shallow shoreline here. And eventually got pushed all the way -- literally pushed itself up into this bay and took these homes out right along the coast.

I can fly you right down. There's the shoreline right there. And that's how close these homes are. There's very little topography there, as well.

Now, to the other side of this same plate almost, really the Australian plate. But there's the earthquake of 2004, the 9.3, the Banda Aceh quake doing all that on literally hundreds of thousands worth of fatalities here.

But the earthquake was here today at a 7.6 along the same fault, general area. But really, this was not a tsunami event. This was a crust event, a quake event, and all of those -- all of those, Don, those are all homes.

LEMON: Boy.

MYERS: And I hope they're still there. But I'm afraid under a 7.6 earthquake, many of them may have been flattened.

LEMON: We hope the folks are still there, too. Our hearts and prayers, thoughts and prayers go out to them. Thank you very much. Chad Myers will be checking on this for us throughout the afternoon here on CNN.

Let's talk now to one of our iReporters, because they have been sending us incredible images of the earthquake and tsunami damage in American Samoa. What you see here is the destruction. It's in the capital city of Pago Pago. A shot today by iReporter Manny Lafuaina {SIC], Lafuana [SIC], I should say. Lagafuaina, get that correct. And he joins us now by telephone from Pago Pago.

Say your last name correctly for me, sir.

MANNY LAGAFUAINA, IREPORTER: Lagafuaina. LEMON: Lagafuaina. Thank you so much for joining us.

I saw your iReport, and it appears that you were riding through the debris in the car. And did you have a child with you? Were you surveying the damage with your family?

LAGAFUAINA: Yes, sir. It was me and my family. We were driving hours right after the tsunami had passed. Had an impact to Pago Pago.

LEMON: Uh-huh. What do you -- describe the video. Because I'm looking at just buildings that seem to be washed out, windows blown out, cars, trees turned over. Describe what you saw as you were driving through here.

LAGAFUAINA: Yes. Just -- just within the village of Pago Pago, the debris were just wood, lumber, homes that were destroyed, cars, boats that was brought up from the ocean, landed on land, cars that were tipped over. And just -- just debris all over the place.

LEMON: As you -- as this was happening, explain to our viewers the experience of this -- of when it happened, and then you coming outdoors and witnessing all the destruction.

LAGAFUAINA: The earthquake actually happened about 6:50 a.m. The first tsunami wave hit about 7:10 a.m. The impact itself was -- was tremendous. The only problem that we had was the whole entire island pretty much survived, except the village of Leonia (ph) and also the village of Pago Pago who suffered a great impact. Not only by the physical impact, but also by death toll.

As of right now, if I can read it right, we are pushing a little over 50 death toll as of right now. And it's still -- it's still climbing.

LEMON: Yes, that's what we're hearing from officials, that it is still climbing. Your reaction when you came out and saw this? I'm sure it was just -- it's unbelievable, as were -- as are most people there. They can't believe it.

LAGAFUAINA: Yes, sir. It was -- it was terrifying. It was terrifying. I mean, it's one of the things you've probably seen it more likely on TV and movies, and the feeling itself was just pretty much speechless. Because you consider -- you're considering threatened and also safety in that time frame.

At this point we're just trying to make sure that we try to regroup ourselves and gather ourselves, just for other families who are going through the loss and other families who are suffering as of right now.

LEMON: CNN iReporter Manny Lagafuaina, thank you so much. He's calling us from the capital of Pago Pago. We wish you all the very best as well as all of the people who are there, as well. OK? Take care of yourself.

LAGAFUAINA: Thank you. LEMON: Thank you.

And we have this reminder for you. Don't forget to sign up for CNN's new iPhone application, to get the very latest news, including this news, as well. You can send us your pictures, and we might even air some of them. So sign up for CNN's new iPhone app.

It is a story that reads kind of like "The Emperor's New Clothes," except this is more like the job placement firm with no jobs. And it's not a fairy tale. Job seekers getting insult on top of injury.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Top stories now. Our top stories here on CNN. On the wrong side of the law, but no smoking gun of an illicit nuclear weapons program. That's what the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency says about Iran's recent disclosure of an underground nuclear complex. Well, tomorrow Iran enters into talks with the U.S. and several other major nations.

John Travolta is back in a Bahamas courtroom today, testifying against a paramedic accused in an alleged shakedown of the actor. Travolta says the man wanted $25 million in hush money following the death of Travolta's son Jett from a seizure earlier this year.

Police in Nashville are looking for a woman who allegedly attacked a new mom and kidnapped her 5-day-old infant yesterday afternoon. Police say the woman was stabbed multiple times and, they say, the suspect posed as an immigration agent.

Where can you take abducted children and get away with it? Ask Christopher Savoie. He'll tell you Japan. Well, that's where his ex- wife took off with their two kids. But he is the one in a Japanese jail, despite his U.S.-court ordered child custody.

CNN's Kyung Lah explains his story to us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just a few steps away. That's how close American Christopher Savoie and his two children were to the front gate of the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka, Japan.

"He was screaming, 'Let us in'," says this woman, but Savoie never made it inside. Shannon Higgins, traveling with Savoie, could only watch as Japanese police arrested his friend in front of his two children, 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca.

SHANNON HIGGINS, CHRISTOPHER SAVOIE'S FRIEND: It's gut wrenching to see the kids in the situation that they were in, to see how things unfolded. And I mean, it just makes me have to ask, you know, was there any other option?

CHRISTOPHER SAVOIE, FATHER: I said, "They're what? They're what? They're in Japan?"

LAH: From his Tennessee home before he came to Japan, Savoie described his frustration that his ex-wife, Noriko, abducted the children to her home country. A U.S. court awarded Savoie sole custody, but under Japanese law, Noriko is the only recognized guardian. So, Christopher Savoie now sits in this jail, facing up to five years behind bars for kidnapping.

STEVE CHRISTIE, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PARENT-CHILD REUNION: It's a nightmare. It's a living nightmare that you can't escape.

LAH: Four years ago, American Steve Christie's son was abducted. Christie says there are upwards of 100 American parents who have had children abducted by Japanese ex-spouses.

CHRISTIE: The fundamental thing that really needs to change is Japan needs to change its family law and recognize joint custody.

LAH: The U.S. embassy says it is working to win Savoie's release. As far as Isaac and Rebecca, they've been returned to their Japanese mother.

HIGGINS: In the end, it comes down to the kids, that they are trapped in between two countries, two legal systems, two parents, two cultures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was CNN's Kyung Lah.

Earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," Savoie's current wife dispelled any notion that her husband is an unfit parent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY SAVOIE, CHRISTOPHER'S WIFE: She didn't see the value in his love and attention, and she would always say he's a terrible father, and I know for a fact he's not a terrible father. He's a wonderful father. He's an affectionate father, and his children love him. And you have all these photographs that will attest to that fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And last night on "AC360," Savoie's attorney suggested his client's -- his chances of getting the kids back are a long shot. Japan is one of a handful of nations that are not party to the 1980 Hague convention on international child abduction.

It is not the kind of multitasking you need to be doing, texting and driving. Do you have any idea how dangerous it really is?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what? Many of us are guilty of it. This little thing, having it in your hand while you're driving. But seriously, though, seriously, put down the phone and drive. I'm talking to you.

Back in the day, you know, we got all worked up about people reading the paper or eating or putting on makeup behind the wheel. These days it's all about texting. Taking your eyes off the road to tap away on your cell phone. It's a big enough and deadly enough concern, and matter of fact, the Department of Transportation says it's just opened a distracted driving summit. Jason Carroll will explain it for us from New York.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When I spoke to the Transportation Secretary, he told me he still doesn't think people realize just how dangerous this problem is. The summit is part of an attempt to raise public awareness and to get legislatures on the road toward passing laws banning texting while driving.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (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)

CARROLL: And the transportation secretary says following the summit, organizers will be working closely with Congress to help them develop laws banning texting while driving.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

LEMON: All right, Jason.

Well, Secretary Ray LaHood says if it were up to him, there would be a nationwide ban. As he opened the summit this morning, he went so far as to call texting while driving "a menace to society." A menace to society. Almost 6,000 people were killed in crashing linked to driver distraction last year according to the D.O.T. That's a lot of folks.

You know, it's an old joke that's actually been borne out by research. Most of us think that we're pretty good drivers, and it's those other maniacs tearing up the road, right? It's always someone else. Take CNN's Tom Foreman. He thought he could multitask just fine, until he went on a text drive for AC360.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These researchers have found that the six seconds before an accident is a critical time in which you might be able to avoid it, but texting requires so much thought and action it takes up almost all of that time. That's why this is a problem.

Researchers say people who are texting routinely take their eyes off of the road for nearly five seconds. And that's not to complete it. That's just at a time. So watch what happens.

Once again, here we go, 25 miles an hour. Right here I start texting. I do it for 4.6 seconds, and by the time I hit on the brake, look where I wind up.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360": Yikes.

FOREMAN: And I effectively drove this entire way blind, Anderson. Look at this. There's the mark from where I was talking on the cell phone, trying to dial the cell phone. Back here is where I got past the one. Here's where we started. And right along here is where I passed the one for loading the CD. So you get a sense of just how terribly far you can go with this, and that's traveling at 25 miles an hour.

COOPER: Yes. I mean, that is the interesting thing. You're only driving 25 miles an hour. Obviously, on the highway, you'd be going much faster.

FOREMAN: Oh, yes. At highway speeds, in five seconds, if you take your eyes off the road -- I want you to look at this, because it's just mind-blowing. If you take your eyes off of the road at highway speeds because you are texting -- look, here I'm waving down at the end down here -- and you keep going, in the five seconds that you're not looking at the road, you could drive the entire length of a football field and both end zones. And, again, you are essentially driving blind the entire time.

Think of how much can happen in that space.

COOPER: Five seconds, that's incredible.

FOREMAN: Yes, it is unbelievable. And that's why these researchers that have been at Virginia Tech are making some very strong recommendations. We have it right in the window of our truck here.

They think that there should be a ban on all texting at all times for all drivers. More than a dozen states have already started to do this. And they believe cell phone use should be banned for all newly- licensed teens.

And I'll tell you this, Anderson. This was a simple test, but it really made a believer out of me. Because I thought before I could get away with flicking my eyes up. They said everyone believes that, but the statistics prove that we all think we're better at it than we really are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Mm, that was from AC360. So, you know, a good chunk of the country has made texting while driving illegal. Right now, ten states and the District of Columbia have bans in place. Those are the red ones that you see there on the map. Eight other states have bans on the books, and they'll take effect between now and January 1st.

You know, so we wanted to know, we were talking about this in the NEWSROOM. We wanted to know what you thought about this today. Some of today's tweets.

Let's go to Kyra's -- this is on Twitter. NicholasQuah writes, "I think that texting while driving should be banned. I think about the couple of accidents I've had. All because of texting." This person's honest.

This person writes, "No cell phone use by drivers anywhere. How many deaths does it take to convince politicians about this?"

And MDmedia said "Cell phones are necessary for emergencies on the road, but we need on do something about texting and driving." That one is at Kyra -- what is it, twitter.com is it@kyra or kyraphillips? Just @kyra.

This one is from Twitter. Lady J. Moore, this is mine at DonLemonCNN, "That's a tough one. Maybe texting, not talking?

Okay, "What's next?" says cld123174. "Banning talking to passengers? Eating while driving? Makeup application while driving?" She says, what's next?

Marji1919 says "Good on the banning of the cell phones while driving! Driving is a privilege, not a right. Chatting on cell phones is a privelege."

I want to go up to one because there were some people -- yes, this one. Kashif01 says, "Banning cell phone usage while driving is ridiculous. And the administration should let states govern that issue." So, we thank you for your responses. A lot of people wanted to write in and give us their feedback. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Potentially dead -- deadly, I should say, floor mats. Kind of sounds like a bad joke. But it's the reason Toyota is announcing a huge recall. 3.8 million vehicles last month, at least four people lost their lives in an accident investigators think was floormat related. Apparently, the mats can cause your car's gas pedals to get stuck.

Seven Toyota and Lexus models are involved in the recall. We've got those up on our blog, CNN.com/kyra. There's also links to Toyota's information page and to a story about that awful accident.

"No way!" I'm not getting that swine flu vaccine. Well, you might have heard that from your kids, or even your family. But what if your doctor told you that? Hmm, makes you think, right? Physician, heal thyself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Okay, women, listen up. This is for you.

Forget about vanity. Here's a more important reason to battle the bulge, okay? New research reinforces the belief that being lean is the key to a long and healthy life. Certainly helps you look younger longer.

But, in fact, women who are overweight in middle age or nearly 80 percent more likely to be unhealthy in their golden years. And every time a grown woman gains just two pounds or so, she decreases her chances of surviving past age 70 by five percent.

Okay. Swine flu time, that's what we're going to talk about. The swine flu vaccine may be headed to a doctor's office near you, but some health care workers are refusing to take it.

So, we have asked our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to come here and explain to us. So, why won't they take it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are health care workers in New York. And New York state has now said, we're passing a law that requires, or a regulation, I should say, requiring health care workers, nurses, doctors, anyone who works in a hospital or health care facility to get the H1N1 flu shot.

And the workers, some workers, you see them here, saying, yes, I don't want one. I don't want one. And they are protesting. They say that they should be given the choice. Just like the rest of us are given a choice. They say they shouldn't be forced -- you see that word on that placard there -- to get the shot.

However, their employers in the state of New York say you are different from the general population. You're around sick people. We don't want you giving sick people swine flu, because those sick people could die of it.

LEMON: All right, before I get on to my other question. So, what happens to these people if they don't? If they refuse to do it? Are they in danger of losing their jobs?

COHEN: Well, you know what's interesting? (INAUDIBLE) doesn't have any penalties in it. It doesn't say you go to jail or get fined. However, some of these workers are tells us that they fear they will lose their job if they say no to the vaccine. So, it's sort of more of an employment issue than a criminal issue.

LEMON: All right, then. So, what does that say, then, to us and to the general public, and to our viewers, if you have health professionals who are refusing to take the vaccine, because they're concerned, right? They are concerned whether or not it has other side effects? What's their concern?

People that are concerned about the swine flu vaccine are concerned for different reasons. These are the concerns that I've heard.

One, this is relatively new. This is a new virus. We've never put it in a vaccine before. "I'm sort of scared of things that are new." It's only been tested for a couple of months now on, let's say, hundreds of people. How do we know if it's really safe?

Now, other folks would say, well, it's just a flu shot. It's just a different virus, so it is safe. But the big concern that I've heard is, it's new and they only took a couple of months to test it. Those are the worries that I've heard.

LEMON: Does that make it less stringent, the testing process, or less effective because it only took a few months?

COHEN: I think stringent is not really the right word.

LEMON: Okay.

COHEN: I think what you can say it was done pretty quickly. But, again, this is just a flu shot. It is a flu shot that contains a new virus, but they do flu shots all the time. We have decades and decades of experience with flu shots, and they do not cause major health problems, according to health officials. So, that's sort of the other side of it there.

COHEN: Thank you very much. Our senior medical correspondent, Miss Elizabeth Cohen, and tomorrow she's going to be addressing people's questions in our "Empowered Patient" segment, so stay tuned for that. Thank you, Elizabeth, we appreciate it.

All right. G.I. Joe will be rolling up his sleeves for a swine flu shot. U.S. troops are scheduled to get the vaccine in the next week to ten days. Those being sent to a war zone or other critical areas will be at the head of the line. The Pentagon has bought nearly 3 million doses of the vaccine.

Well, the Pacific and Indian oceans ground zero for huge relief and rescue efforts today. More than 100 people are dead after an earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Samoan Islands, and dozens are dead after another quake hit Indonesia, triggering more tsunami fears. Thousands are believed to be trapped in the debris.

The highest court in the land bracing for what could be a dramatic fight over the right to bear arms. Supreme Court justices will decide if some local and state gun control laws violate the Second Amendment. The case the Court is weighing deals with a handgun ban in Chicago. Stay tuned for that one. Pay close attention to that one.

A school day in eastern Minnesota ended early today for thousands of kids. They were sent home after a number of suspicious packages turned up around the city of Princeton. One was left at a high school. Another at a post office, and a third at a public utilities office. Police haven't revealed details about the packages' contents.

You wouldn't make your child eat your dog food or drink out of the toilet, would you? So, what kind of dad would make his kids wear dog collars, collars that pack a shock?

But first, have you ever wished you could be in two places at once? A new three-wheeled robot could help. It comes with wi-fi and its own spy camera. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout explains in today's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wish you had an extra set of eyes? Meet the WowWee Rovio, a $300 camera on wheels that's bringing spy-like technology into your home.

(on camera): What is unique about the Rovio?

DAVIN SUFER, WOWWEE: The most unique thing about Rovio is that anyone can quickly and easily set up a robot in their house. Anyone can have a robot at home. STOUT (voice-over): All you need is an Internet connection to sync Rovio with a computer, smart phone or even a video game console. Then you control where it goes and see what it sees from anywhere in the world.

(on camera): What are the applications that you've heard of the Rovio at home?

SUFER: Well, one thing it would be to keep an eye on your loved ones or your kids when you're not home.

STOUT: Or your pets.

SUFER: Or your pets definitely. Pets are fun, they'll really love the Rovio.

STOUT (voice-over): Rovio might work as a digital watchdog but it does have limitations. It can't climb stairs and has a restrictive range of movement unless you add extra sensors. We checked out Rovio in action at WowWee headquarters in Hong Kong.

And after a long day when this hardworking gizmo gets low on batteries, it could find its own way back to the charging station...

(on camera): I'm going to get in its way.

... even if there's an obstacle in the way.

Nice one, Rovio.

Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Pushing forward to the next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. Two years after this ceremony, in Detroit to bury the 'N' word, a child right here in Atlanta is breathing new life into the cause. You'll meet him live, and I'll read your tweets, so make sure you keep them coming to us.

And you may not know about fusion centers, but they may know a lot about you. We'll show you who's keeping tabs on whom and why.

Well, you may have seen or used those harnesses that look like leashes for toddlers. I can't believe this story. They hold a kid by his chest and shoulders, not his neck, and they keep him close to his grown-up. Everyone wins there.

But shock collars, though, are quite a different story. An Oregon man, Todd Marcum, is starting three years of probation for putting electronic dog collars on his four young children aged three to nine. Marcum pleaded guilty to criminal treatment, but says he has started counseling and promises nothing like this will ever happen again. OK.

The company claimed it had 100 percent job placement, but for at least one guy who put his career in its hands, it was at least 100 percent a sham.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, you're a former highly paid executive, pounding the streets in search of another big-time job. You keep striking out. Suddenly, you hit the jackpot. An executive search outfit finds just the job you want. And then? Well, the nightmare starts. It's an alleged scam that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. Here's Drew Griffin from CNN's special investigations unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you're an out- of-work executive, desperate and searching for a job, hope was being sold through these doors and up the elevators to the top floor. What appeared to be the most successful executive recruiting company in the Midwest.

MIKE MYSER, UNEMPLOYED EXECUTIVE: Had about 20 plus senior executive jobs listed on CareerBuilder.

GRIFFIN: Mike Myser just needed one. Out of work, caring for his father with dementia, the former vice president of a technology firm had quit to start a new business, but the economic downturn ended the business before it started.

So Myser went to CareerBuilder.com and was surprised. One executive recruiting company right in Minneapolis, the Arthur Group, was bucking the market and had plenty of jobs. Myser says the man who owned the Arthur Group actually told him his search was over.

MYSER: They've had 100 percent placement.

GRIFFIN (on camera): A hundred percent?

MYSER: This is what he told me.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): On January 13, Myser took the bait. The owner of the company at the top floor of this building talked him out of $3,000. Months later, Myser would learn, it was all a sham.

(on camera) This is all that's left of the Arthur Group. Court summons. File a complaint about the Arthur Group.

And the jobs that you had hoped for, saw, brought you to this company in the first place, either didn't exist altogether or were no longer available.

MYSER: I believe -- yes. I believe they never existed.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Ex-employees tell us it was all designed to ensnare the highly-paid, high-executive wage earners. Those, you might say, at the top of the business world food chain.

PAT POWERS, FORMER V.P. WITH ARTHUR GROUP: So, yes, you create this illusion that there's a bunch of jobs, but then the screening is nothing about the jobs. The screening is about, is this guy going to be a good candidate, a nice victim to spend $3,000 or $4,000 on resume and interview training?

GRIFFIN: Pat Powers, who worked at the Arthur Group as a salesman, says the victims were easy to find. Minneapolis had plenty of out-of-work executives who were reeled into the 12th floor office by fake jobs posted online. Mike Emerson admits he, too, was duped.

MIKE EMERSON, UNEMPLOYED EXECUTIVE: It really kind of played to my ego. You know, he really told me that, you know, I was one of the best candidates that he'd seen of my type in the last couple months. He could guarantee that he could find me a job over the next three, four months.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Guarantee?

EMERSON: Guaranteed.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The man who guaranteed all those jobs lives just outside of Minneapolis in this secluded home. On the two days we knocked on his door, the house seemed vacant. The man who lives there is Barry Trimble, the man who ran the Arthur Group.

(on camera) Barry, how are you?

(voice-over) Ever the salesman, he called me back to commend me for my, quote, "diligence" in trying to find him but declined an interview.

Instead, he sent this statement, saying the "Arthur Group was established to assist employers in finding new employees. We also provided services to improve certain candidates' materials and presentation skills." The statement says, "The Arthur Group was not immune to the difficult economic times."

It turns out Trimble was involved in something similar before. In 2005, he paid $75,000 for his role with a different job placement firm that the Minnesota attorney general successfully sued and shut down. He's also served 45 days in jail in 1996 after pleading guilty to a sex offense.

(on camera) You're a sharp guy, executive. How did it happen? How did it happen?

MYSER: I knew you were going to ask that, Drew, and of course, I ask myself that.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Arthur Group employees who spoke to CNN say Barry Trimble could have taken in as much as $3 million over the last three years from people who should have known better, literally, selling them hope for jobs that didn't exist.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The Minnesota attorney general says the Arthur Group used careerbuilder.com to find potential victims. In a statement, CareerBuilder said it would not discuss any specific client interactions, but pointing out -- pointed out that the site warns customers to be cautious and provides a mechanism to report suspicious activity.

The big question: if you're searching for a job, how do you avoid being ripped off? Time now for some answers. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, joins us from New York now with advice that you need. So, Gerri, what do you have to do? What do you have to watch for here?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, Don, this is so frustrating. Great story, first of all from Drew.

But look. Headhunters do not charge their clients. They charge the people who are doing the hiring. So, if anybody comes to you and says they're a headhunter and wants to charge you $3,000 or $300, ain't true. That's not how the business works.

Even if it's for the cost of testing or training or whatever, that's not what they're going to do. If they ask you for any kinds of fees upfront, maybe even for background checks, forget about it. That's not the way that business operates. It's a red flag.

OK. Job placement assistance that makes big promises, you know, these fellows were told, guaranteed, we'll get you a job. No. You know, that's a red flag, we don't know that's going to happen. Nobody can make that promise and come through on it, particularly not in this market.

And finally, e-mail that asks you for sensitive information, we've seen this. If they ask for your Social Security number, bank account, be cautious. I wouldn't play in this game, because somebody who's asking for that information, they're trying to rip you off.

LEMON: Yes.

There are no guarantees, and you saw -- Drew asked the question, you know, you're a savvy executive, how did you fall for this? So, people are really in dire straits now. Everyone wants a job. A lot of people, I should say, want a job, and people are out of work.

So, the question is, who can help you determine who the bad guys are here, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, Better Business Bureau, they often know if somebody is in the area and operating an illegitimate business like this. You should check with them. Put the name in front of them, and make sure you tell them about it.

Also, your state attorney general's office is a great place to go. They often know if businesses are legitimate. But really, look for those red flags, think about that.

You know, as we saw, even if you're working with Career Builder or another legitimate Web site, they don't always know everybody that's on that site. It's up to you to make sure you're dealing with somebody reputable.

LEMON: All right. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, with some practical advice.

Gerri, we appreciate it. Have a great day.

WILLIS: Thank you.

LEMON: Tens of thousands of people are feeling the impact of triple tragedies in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia. The reason, getting battered by a tsunami, an earthquake and a typhoon.

The tsunami flattened low-lying areas in American Samoa and Tonga. More than 100 people are dead. Whole villages have disappeared.

And in Indonesia, at least 75 people are reported in a major earthquake there. And authorities say thousands of people may be trapped under collapsed homes and buildings.

Hundreds of other people have died in floodwaters from a typhoon that hit the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Much more on these disasters straight ahead, right here on CNN.

But first, it is a who's who of American power abroad recruited by President Barack Obama to chart a path in Afghanistan. A strategy session gets under way an hour from now at the White House. It brings together all of these folks: Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen; CENTCOM Commander David Petraeus, and the senior U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.

Also attending, CIA Director Leon Panetta and the director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair; National Security Adviser Jim Jones and Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke; Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and Ambassador to Pakistan Ann Patterson.

Man, that was a mouthful, so take a deep breath here.