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Group to Draw Attention to Distracted Driving; Mark McGwire Confesses Using Steroids; Airlines to Increase Baggage Fees; Woman Who Hid Anne Frank Dead at 100

Aired January 12, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Tony Harris, thank you. We are pushing forward.

Before he killed seven CIA officers in a single blow, this Jordanian doctor duped them. Why would they believe he was really a double agent?

Education costs money, but lack of education costs all of us a whole lot more. It turns out dropouts aren't just hurting themselves.

And from the unfriendly skies of Afghanistan to CNN back story. how do you maneuver one of the world's biggest helicopters in a combat zone? Believe me, it takes skills.

We start now with your phone. It may be smart, but it can't make you put it down when you're driving. Only you can keep your hands on the wheel, eyes on the road, and avoid horrifying scenes like this. It's pretty intense, so you may want to look away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Dave.

The front-seat view of the car. It's funny.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get his number.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Yes, it's pretty gruesome, but that's exactly what happens. That is a public service announcement that aired last year in Britain, and we have showed it to you before.

In this country, in 2008, almost 6,000 people were killed, more than half a million hurt in traffic accidents caused by distracted drivers. Next hour, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood kicks off a campaign modeled after MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It's called "FocusDriven," and it aims to show drivers the dangers of phoning, texting, browsing, all of that behind the wheel.

Jennifer Smith is FocusDriven's president. She lost her mom, Linda Doyle, in one of those distracted-driving accidents in 2008. She joins me now, live from Washington, along with Janet Froetscher. She's president of the independent National Safety Council. Oh, wow, and I was reading your story, Jennifer, and just about your mom. And it sounded like she was one incredible human being. How did you find out what had happened?

JENNIFER SMITH, PRESIDENT, FOCUSDRIVEN: I live in Texas, so my sister called me and said, "The police just came to my house. There's been an accident, and Mom's at the hospital. So, you know, I'll call you back." I was hours away.

So, then shortly after, they told us she had passed away and that the driver admitted first thing that he was on a cell phone. He didn't even see the light.

PHILLIPS: Now, and I was reading that your mom was a careful driver. She had never had any tickets. I mean, this is something that we never even thought about until just recently, because it seems people have become more and more irresponsible.

SMITH: Yes. And I think people just didn't realize how dangerous it really was. Cell phones just came about so quick, and we just got so addicted to them. We didn't stop to think about how dangerous it could be and that there were lives at stake on the road around this.

PHILLIPS: How did it change your life, when you not only found out that your mom had been killed, but how it happened?

SMITH: You know, I just -- I started looking into it. I didn't understand. I was on the phone when I was driving, with my headset. I thought I was being safe. And if I was, then why did this happen to her?

So, I started researching, and I saw that, you know, there was science behind this, saying that your brain couldn't handle this type of dual processing, that something was going to be degraded because of it.

And I just -- I decided I had to do something. There were thousands of people that had already died. And it's got to stop. I've got two children. I can't -- this can't happen again to my family.

PHILLIPS: And I want to talk more about your mission in just a minute, the FocusDriven initiative. But I want to ask Janet, you know, it seems that driving and texting is sort of -- it's common sense that we should be responsible and not do it. And so that shouldn't cost money. We shouldn't have to do these initiatives that cost taxpayers when -- when it comes down to it, Janet, it's our responsibility to know it's just a stupid thing to do.

JANET FROETSCHER, NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL: It is a stupid thing to do. You're anywhere from 8 times to 23 times more likely to be in an accident if you're using -- if you're texting while you're driving. You're four times more likely to be in an accident, in a crash, if you're on your cell phone while you're driving. The problem is that we have 270 million people who are cell-phone subscribers, and at any given point in time, 12 percent of the people who are on our roadways are on their cell phones or they're texting while they're driving.

So, although it may seem common sense, we have a lot of people spending a lot of time using their cell phone while they're driving. They're not only putting their own lives at risk, but they're putting lives of Jennifer's mom, Jennifer and all our families and friends at risk when they do that.

And that's why the only way to change behavior that is as widespread as that is, is to educate folks and to put in place laws and to very visibly enforce them.

PHILLIPS: But let me ask you that, Janet. I mean, I totally understand the awareness thing and even that PSA we just looked at. It's heart-wrenching. You hear stories from Jennifer -- the one like we heard from Jennifer, and it just really puts it in perspective.

But bottom line, are these laws that, by the way, stand in 14 states right now -- or 19 states, I believe it is, and the District of Columbia, are they being enforced? Because I know people that live in these states, and, unfortunately, I though they're texting and driving.

FROETSCHER: Yes, they're just starting to be enforced. One of the things that we're going to make happen is have much more visible enforcement. What we know, if you look at traffic safety history, what we know is, for example, with seat belts, once you put the laws in place and then you visibly enforce those laws, that's when you're going to see the behavior change.

We're actually working with law enforcement across the country right now. They are all in the midst of creating pilots on how to visibly enforce these laws, and hopefully some of these pilots will be used as models across the country as we try to make this much more widespread.

PHILLIPS: Jennifer, I know you're highly involved with the FocusDriven, and you're a true believer in awareness and getting out there and telling the story, the tragic story of what happened to your mom.

But, bottom line, what is it going to take to get people to stop doing this? I mean, look at our world now, everything's so high tech, and we all have ADD, and we want to multitask.

SMITH: People are just going to have to really sit down and evaluate, you know, is this phone call important enough to be my last? Is it important enough to be the last phone call that I take to be responsible for killing someone else's mother or child?

You know, you just have to really get your priorities in order, and make the right decision. And slow down. I mean, that's the most peaceful time of the day now for me is when I'm in the car. I have my thoughts, and I can relax, and I get a lot more done during the day now.

PHILLIPS: That's a good point. All of that just causes more stress when you're behind the wheel. Well, it's a shame that your kids will not get to know their grandmother, Linda, but we lift her up and appreciate you telling this story, and we appreciate the efforts that you are putting forward.

And, Janet, we look to you also to be a big advocate and hold those people accountable and get the law enforcement to enforce those laws that already exist. I thank you both for your time.

SMITH: Thank you.

FROETSCHER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, as I mentioned, already 19 states and the District of Columbia have made it illegal to text while driving or drive while texting. Laws in Oregon, Illinois, and New Hampshire took effect, actually, just this month.

"Hey, about that amazing career I had? Well, there's something I got to tell you." It turns out Mark McGwire wasn't playing clean. Now he comes clean. Do you feel sorry for him? We'll let you decide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Quick check now on the story that CNN's been following in Morehead City on the North Carolina coast. Police there have been telling people to clear out of the downtown area. It seems that a forklift punctured nine shipping containers filled with explosives, including, get this, PETN. That's the stuff that was linked to the underwear of the Christmas day bombing suspect.

We're going to keep you updated on how police, firefighters, and ordnance crews are handling this. Should know a lot more this hour.

And were you really shocked to hear this? Mark McGwire now admits he took steroids during his career, including the year that he broke a record that had stood for 37 years: Roger Maris' single-season home-run mark.

McGwire had been keeping a low profile for the last two years, ever since he refused to answer steroid questions before Congress. Now, truth and a few tears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MCGWIRE, FORMER PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER: I wish it had never come into my life, but we're sitting here talking about it. I'm so sorry that I have to.

I apologize to everybody in Major League Baseball, my family, the Marises, Bud Selig. Today was the hardest day of my life. Yes, I've let a lot of people down. It doesn't feel good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does today feel better in some sense, because at least you're unburdening yourself?

MCGWIRE: I don't know. I mean, it just -- I mean, all I've wanted to do is come clean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: McGwire also says that he juiced to stay healthy, not to break records. At least one sports columnist isn't buying it. Here's "USA Today's" Christine Brennan talking to our Campbell Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, COLUMNIST, "USA TODAY": There is a word for taking performance-enhancing drugs to get better from injury. And that word is "it's cheating." It is absolutely, positively cheating.

So, if he wants to sugarcoat it and say he wasn't cheating to get bigger muscles; he was cheating to get healthy. The reality is Mark McGwire's career was marked by injuries so many seasons, and all of a sudden in the late '90s, as he was getting older, he was healthier. He was healthier for one reason. He was cheating. Obviously, a lot of players didn't do that, and he took advantage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, throw an asterisk next to McGwire's name and home- run numbers.

Check out the bottom number there. He smacked 583 in his career and joins a bunch of other guys in the asterisk club. That includes the all-time leader, Barry Bonds; Sammy Sosa -- remember he and McGwire were in a home-run race in 1998; all -- also A-Rod, Rafael Palmeiro, and also Manny Ramirez all have been linked to performance enhancers. Not all have come clean like McGwire.

Babe Ruth? Well, he got an edge from beer, hot dogs and cigars.

All right. You've been tweeting us.

CrayonColors writes, "An asterisk should be placed by this whole generation of baseball players and their records. Pretty much anything under Bud Selig."

This person wrote, "The home run record should be reset to mark before all the steroid users broke it, and if that is Maris' 61, then so be it."

FrazierHughes writes, "Lose the home run record. Honesty is the best policy."

And one of you tweeted this: "His record stays the same. Steroids didn't hit home runs, but skill. Mark McGwire has been hitting home runs before steroids."

What do you think? Tweet us at KyraCNN. Not really sure what's going to happen to McGwire's number. As far as the official record goes or what will happen to his 70th home- run ball, the one that made him the single-season, home-run leader for a while. Should the person who paid 3 million buckaroos for it 11 years ago today take a Sharpie and draw an asterisk on it, too?

And you know Jose Canseco has got something to say about this. Oh, boy, does he. He's on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. Remember in his book, he says that he introduced McGwire to steroids. "LARRY KING LIVE," tonight, 9 Eastern, only on CNN.

It's your luggage, but their revenue stream. Who do they think we are? Traveling money bags? Yes, brace yourself for the latest fee hike, boys and girls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "Issue No. 1," your money. You might remember 2009 as the year of America's economic meltdown, but it was the exact opposite for the Federal Reserve. The Fed posted a record profit of $52 billion, the biggest in the central bank's 96-year history.

Last year's profit is a 47 percent increase over 2008. You see, the Fed brought up a bunch of government bonds and other government securities to prop up the economy and ended up reaping a bunch of extra income from them.

The best new years for taxpayers? Most of the windfall gets funneled back into the U.S. Treasury.

In upstate New York, a crackdown on unemployment fraud. Fifty- three suspects picked up yesterday, most of them allegedly earning a real paycheck while getting unemployment at the same time. Prosecutors say that some bought casino trips, online dating service and sexual enhancement products on the state-issued debit cards. Nearly a quarter million dollars skimmed. The roundup has the D.A. making predictions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM FITZPATRICK, ONONDAGA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I guarantee you that sometime this week there's going to be a number of phone calls to the state Department of Labor, people suddenly deciding that they're no longer eligible for unemployment insurance, especially when you have a toll-free number, and you probably have a big mouth and brag to everybody how you're ripping off the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Most of those arrested will only have to pay restitution, but others could face more serious charges.

Baggage fees, we all hate them, but they're hard to get around. Now, well, get ready to pay even more. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with the horrible details. It's hard to keep track of all the increases. Where do we stand now, Suse? SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're going up, you know, Kyra. I mean, the fact is the economy still stinks. Oil prices are still high, and that nickel-and-diming, which we hate so much, adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh revenue.

So, the airlines are not only keeping them; some are raising them starting today. Delta's hiking its fees. Continental will raise them Saturday. For both, first checked bag online, online that is, $23, going up from $15. That's a big hike.

The second checked bag online is $32 from $25. Costs more, by the way, if you just go to the airport.

And both cases, if you are an elite frequent flier or are active in the military, you are exempt. But I don't think that -- that you or I qualify for either of those, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: True. And so, you know, we should point out the airline makes a lot of money off these fees. How do you know, you know, and is there a way to even investigate do they really need to be doing this to us? Are they suffering that much that they have to do this?

LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. Airlines are still losing money. They're not losing as much money, Kyra, but it is tough to be an airline when you think about a quarter -- recent stats that I looked at from the DOT, third quarter of 2009, a quarter of the operating expenses are fuel.

Well, fuel's going up again, big-time, and the estimate is that it will continue to go up. That's a huge, huge expense.

But, yes, to your point, carriers are making a whole lot of money: $740 million in three months for that third quarter. That's double the amount they earned from a year earlier. Delta made the most, followed by American, and U.S. Airways.

And don't forget, we're just talking about baggage fees. There are also fees for taking your pet, using frequent flier miles, overweight bags. And if they can think of new fees, they will do it, because they still have money problems. So it is the joy of travel.

And, you know, the estimate is that global airlines will lose nearly $6 billion this year.

Kyra, I thought I'd point you and our viewers to an interesting question raised by CNN.com. It's on the CNN.com/US page. Would an increase in baggage fees make you consider other means of travel? That's the question. So far, over 2,300 votes. Eighty-three percent say yes!

PHILLIPS: Really? So, but what would be...

LISOVICZ: The alternative?

PHILLIPS: Yes. LISOVICZ: No travel, car. I mean, if you're a family of four and you have to check all those bags, that's like another ticket.

PHILLIPS: That's true.

LISOVICZ: I mean, think about it.

PHILLIPS: I remember when this all started and how many big families were doing a lot more driving. They just made a lot of time for it and saved a lot of money.

LISOVICZ: It drives people crazy, even more than the security lines, even more than being packed like sardines are those extra fees. Everything.

PHILLIPS: Susan, thanks.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Other top stories right now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid getting a little help from friends on the other side of the aisle. Republican Senator John Ensign and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell downplaying calls for his resignation for racially-tinged comments that he made in 2008 about Barack Obama. Reid's expected to speak later this afternoon in Las Vegas on airport security. We'll keep an ear out, see if he says anything more.

A lack of readiness for Hurricane Katrina is the center of a lawsuit now being heard in a New Orleans court. A 73-year-old patient on life support died when the power went out at the Pendleton Memorial Methodist Hospital. The family says the death could have been prevented. Experts say the case could set a nationwide precedent.

President and Mrs. Obama, two of the hundreds of mourning attending today's funeral mass for Jean Biden, the mother of Vice President Joe Biden. She died last week at the family's Delaware home, after a brief illness. She was 92 years old.

She helped hide Anne Frank from the Nazis, and she helped preserve her legacy forever. We're going to take a look at her remarkable life.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Anyone up for a game of pool on the pool? That's right. That's how cold it's been in Austin, Texas. Our iReporter, Karn Clausen, set up a game of pool on his frozen swimming pool. Karn, you might have just invented a new sport. Winter Olympic committee, hope you're watching.

Isn't that great, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. You know...

PHILLIPS: I just love how creative people get. And then they send them in to us.

MYERS: Had I known it was going to be this cold in Atlanta, I would have put fish in my pool. And then I could have made a shanty, and I could have ice-fished right in my backyard!

PHILLIPS: And you wouldn't have had to go to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

MYERS: And I could have put satellite dish in there and the heater and the cooler and all that and felt right at home.

Anyway, here you go. This is what it looked like in Florida here from JR0504. That's not a playground that I want my child on at this point in time, icicles everywhere. And that's kind of what it's looking like in a lot of the country, although it is warming up.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: You've probably never heard of her, but without her help, Anne Frank probably wouldn't have had the chance to write her famous diary. The Dutch woman who risked her life to hide the young Jewish girl and her family from the Nazis has died. Her remarkable story now from CNN's Morgan Neill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "We did our duty as human beings," she said. Miep Gies, who helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis for two years during World War II, always denied she was a hero.

"I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more, much more, during those dark and terrible times years ago," she wrote in her autobiography.

Gies worked as a secretary for Anne Frank's father, Otto, in Amsterdam. After the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, when Jews were being deported to concentration camps, the Franks went into hiding in rooms above Otto Frank's office. Gies, along with her husband and three co-workers, brought food, books, and news to the Franks and four other Jews hiding with them for 25 months.

The Nazis raided their hiding place in August 1944 and took them off to concentration camps. Anne Frank died of typhus at Bergen- Belsen in March 1945, but her diaries were found and hidden by Miep Gies, who later gave them to Otto Frank, the only member of the family to survive. They later became one of the most enduring accounts of the war.

JAN SHURE, "JEWISH CHRONICLE": Anne put a human face on the Holocaust, which otherwise is such a vast tragedy that it's almost incomprehensible. She makes it real, the day-to-day life of being in hiding, which I don't think any of us can imagine.

NEILL: Miep Gies always played down her role in protecting the Franks, making it clear that what others called heroism was for her simply what people should expect of one another. Despite what she'd seen, she remained optimistic.

MIEP GIES, HID FRANK FAMILY: The past is never over. The past is always with you. And the good thing of the past, although terrible it was, is that you can learn from the past.

NEILL: Miep Gies died at 100 after a short illness Monday.

Morgan Neill, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Trusted by the CIA. That trust resulting in the deaths of seven agents. Red flags of deception? Our Nic Robertson finds them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: How do you know if a spy is telling the truth? Especially one claiming to have cut his ties to al Qaeda? A line from Graham Green's novel, "The Quiet American" seems to apply here -- "Sooner or later one has to take sides if one is to remain human." It's not the what the CIA and Jordanian intelligence were hoping when they decided to work with the suicide bomber who killed seven CIA officers.

CNN's Nic Robertson digs deep to find warning signs all apparently missed.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In the murky world of spying, there are a few rules, no right, no wrong, only shades of gray. Success is by its nature rarely noticed, but failure is catastrophic. So how was a Jordanian doctor from here in Amman able to play double agent and apparently outsmart his CIA handlers and prove he was better at the deadly game of espionage?

HASSAN HANIEH, REFORMED EXTREMIST (via translator): This is the biggest deception ever of intelligence agencies, whether CIA or Jordanian agents. From the beginning he was deceiving them.

ROBERTSON: He was once an Islamic extremist, but not a member of Al Qaeda. He has read the bombers radical blogs and says intelligence agencies made an obvious mistake in believing Dr. Humam al-Balawi could change.

HANIEH (via translator): We have never seen in the history of Al Qaeda a person who changed his ideas completely in this sudden way, a person who writes Jihadi stuff and then suddenly switches sides.

ALI SHUKRI, FORMER ADVISER TO KING HUSSEIN: This was always a red flag, and it should always be that. For somebody who has been doing this to be turned is not an easy thing to do.

ROBERTSON: According to the Shukri, a veteran of Middle East espionage, it wasn't the only mistake intelligence agencies made. Al- Balawi was in Pakistan only a few months before offering high grade tips, too soon for him to be trusted by Al Qaeda.

SHUKRI: Was he really that much on the inside? Or was it a competent intelligence operation?

ROBERTSON (on camera): Would that have been a warning sign for you, because he was providing information so quickly?

SHUKRI: So quickly, exactly.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Sources familiar with intelligence operations here tell us that Al Qaeda takes at least a year to screen new recruits, check out their family background, and get input from jihadists who know them.

ROBERTSON (on camera): And Al Qaeda would never trust an outsider who had been arrested, and al-Balawi blogged about his own arrest by Jordanian intelligence.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In this picture taken two years before the attack, al-Balawi looks calm and relaxed. But his family says he was under pressure. Sources say if he was pushed by Jordanian intelligence into infiltrating Al Qaeda, as his family believes, that made him potentially unreliable.

SHUKRI: Rules are broken when you put something on the fast track. You tend to break rules. Maybe this is what happened.

ROBERTSON: Another of the basic lessons of espionage -- patience and caution are everything.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Amman, Jordan. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: In the Afghan war zone, protesters claiming NATO forces destroyed copies of the Koran, and they clashed today with Afghan and foreign security forces in the southwest. At least two people were killed. NATO denies the allegations. Meantime, some U.S. troops are pushing ahead with efforts to train Afghan troops so they can do more of the fighting. We got this update from a U.S. general just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. BRIAN DRINKWINE, U.S. ARMY: As you know, Afghanistan's comparable to the size of the state of Texas, where my unit is spread about half of the state of Texas, which is the first for a brigade combat team. I'll tell you, we approached our mission through embedding and partnering with numerous Army, Afghan police, and border police units. It's a much less traditional mission than other U.S. brigade combat teams operating in previous deployments. Our overall purpose, as I said, is to increase the capability and capacity of our Afghan security forces by training, advising, conducting combined planning and conducting combined action operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is just back from a trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan. His take, far from upbeat. Speaking to reporters this morning, McConnell faulted the Obama administration for what he calls "operational confusion" over what to do with detained terrorists. He says the problem is the U.S. and NATO have different standards of detention. He also says U.S. troops should remain in country until Afghan forces are fully capable of taking the fight to the Taliban.

A cold wave so bad they are even shivering in Florida. So, why is it so darn cold? I know you're saying because it's January, Kyra. There's a whole lot more to it, I promise.

And now a moment of awe. Saw this on the web this morning. I had to share.

(VIDEO CLIP OF BOY SINGING)

PHILLIPS: Well played, young man. Twenty years from now, I can see you selling out on that stadium tour. And just in case you couldn't tell, our little ukulele playing web sensation was playing Jason Mraz. Here's the song, "I'm Yours."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Teeth-chattering cold down to Miami. Freezing temps even in Mexico. So, what's the reason for the big deep freeze?

Jacqui Jeras explains.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This time around we're not blaming el Nino and we're not blaming global warming either. The culprit? The Arctic oscillation.

It's a natural cycle -- we see strong periods of it and weak periods of it, and right now we happen to be in a really strong phase. If we think back to our general science classes that we took in elementary school, we know that this time of the year, up at the Arctic Circle, up at the North Pole, it's dark out 24 hours a day. And when it's dark it gets really, really cold. And that cold air can build up. And sometimes it becomes so strong that it weakens our polar jet.

Normally the polar jet will keep that cold air up here and at bay, but when it weakens, it allows that Arctic air to intrude down towards the middle latitudes, especially across the eastern part of the United States. It's not just the U.S. thing, it's all across the northern hemisphere, which is why we've been seeing extreme conditions in places like Germany as well as the U.K., even into Russia, as well as China. So, that allows more frequent cold air outbreaks.

Now, this negative phase, as we call it, is unusually strong. Sometimes it will last for a couple of weeks. Sometimes it will last for a couple of months. The current phase that we're this is the strongest that we've seen in 60 years. And as you can see on this chart, it began about the beginning of December, and went down very, very quickly. In fact, this is so strong, it's literally off the charts here.

The best thing that I can tell you is that in the last couple of days or so, we're starting to see this move back on up. So, hopefully we'll start to see more of a positive phase again, and bring in some of those warmer temperatures.

Now, a couple of other factors that are making this really extreme. Normally as that Arctic air comes on down towards the south, it will modify a little bit. It will move over the Earth, and the earth is warm and that will start to warm it up. However, this time around, we have got an extreme amount of snow cover in the lower 48. So, as that cold air comes down over that snow, it doesn't modify a whole heck of a lot, which is why we've been seeing those record temperatures all the way down into places like Florida.

So, the long-term forecast shows that we are expecting us to get out of this cycle a little bit and start to see some warmer temperatures. NOAA has issued a three-month outlook for February, March, and April, showing they're expecting above-normal conditions across much of the northern tier of the United States. And the southern tier should see those below-normal temperatures. So, while we continue to stay in this phase across the southeast, it looks like things should be improving slowly over the next couple of weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now. Nine containers of high explosive materials punctured this morning at the port in Morehead, North Carolina. The port is closed and officials are urging folks downtown to leave. No injuries reported. It seems that a forklift driver punctured those containers. New charges against an alleged Somali pirate. Prosecutors in New York say the suspect was involved in two additional ship hijackings. He's accused of being the leader of the gang that attacked a U.S. cargo ship "Maersk Alabama" back in April. But he denies all charges.

Get ready to pay more. That's right. Even more for your checked bags. Both Delta and Continental are jacking up their fees. And if you're paying online, Delta's charging $23 for the first bag, $32 for the second. And if you're checking bags at the airport, it'll cost you even more. Continental's matching Delta's fees now.

Call them high-strung, stressed out, anxious. Well, do students have more mental problems these days than kids in the Great Depression? We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it looks like chronically ill people can soon get medical marijuana in New Jersey. All that's left now is for the governor to sign the measure passed by state lawmakers. He's promised to do it before leaving office next week, and under that bill patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, or other debilitating diseases would get state-issued ID cards. The cards are good for up to two ounces of pot a month from state-approved dispensaries. New Jersey would become the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana.

So is your doctor giving you a thumbs-up for cutting your salt intake without you even trying? This might be the reason why. Some food makers have been quietly cutting back the salt content for years. Chef Boyardee, Campbell's Soup, V-8, just some of the big names that have made dramatic reductions. The makers say the key to not turning off customers to their low sodium products is to simply not make a fuss about the changes. So now we just told you and now you're not going to buy the products.

All right. Well, kids today, more unhappy, more stressed out than kids in the Great Depression? We couldn't believe this one either. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here. She actually looked at a study that showed that young people over several generations, you know, have proven be depressed, stressed out.

Why now? Why such numbers?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, isn't it amazing? I mean, more depressed than in the Great Depression.

PHILLIPS: We were talking about it because there are so many more pressures on kids and they can be in touch more through, you know, BlackBerry, cell phone, e-mail, internet. So, it's sort of --

COHEN: Well, I think what's going on is that they're in touch in all those electronic ways but they're not really sort of in touch -- the personal relationships aren't what they used to be. I mean, maybe that's part of it.

Another part of it might be -- this is sort of my own personal theory here -- another part of it might be is that kids today are sort of celebrity driven to a large extent. And so they want what the celebrities have and they want to be rock stars. And when they're not rock stars they're kind of disappointed.

Another reason might be helicopter parents protect kids these days, so when they're out there on their own they're sort of surprised by how difficult things are. But whatever the reason is, let's take a look at these numbers. This is a survey to assess mood. And what they found is that kids have more anxiety, depression and antisocial attitudes than other times when they've done this survey. They've done it several times since 1938. And when we say kids, we're talking about high school students and college students.

PHILLIPS: And, once again, I'm looking at the antisocial issues. I mean, kids don't write letters anymore or thank-you notes or get outside as much. It's TV, it's video, it's internet, it's computer, it's laptops.

COHEN: I must say I've had conversations with teenagers I know who I never saw their eyes.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

COHEN: They were on a BlackBerry, they were playing a game. I mean, there seemed to be sort of this disconnect. It was interesting.

PHILLIPS: And what do you think? What do you think is causing this shift generation to generation? I mean, you and I are giving our own theories here. But, what is proven?

COHEN: OK. I asked some actual experts.

PHILLIPS: OK, there you go. Since you and I aren't the experts.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: But the people who actually did this study -- they think that one of the things going on is, again, this lack of -- I mean, they really think it is this lack of personal connections. That things mean more now than they did in 1938. They didn't have as many things as we do. But that personal relationships meant more. So that people spent sort of more time person to person in real relationships and less time on things, whereas now they're spending more time on things.

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, that leads to our theory. That's working.

We got to go old school. The fact that we're in a bad economy, does that add to it?

COHEN: You know, it's interesting. What they found when they've done these surveys over various times, is that it's not the economy. Which, I guess -- I mean, as I said, in the Depression they weren't as depressed as we are now. And they think, again, that it has something to do with -- for kids it's not so much what's going on around them in the world, it's what's going on in their own heads. But a bad economy does not mean more depressed teens.

PHILLIPS: I got to start making a difference then at home.

COHEN: That's right. That's right.

PHILLIPS: Get rid of all the distractions. Yes, there you go.

Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a verb, it's a noun, it's an interjection. Adding I-N-G. It's adjective. It's so darn versatile. But did a teacher really need to spell it out in front of the second graders?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Pushing forward to the next hour, we've heard about him, we've cried for him. Now we're finally hearing from him. Doused with alcohol, set on fire, Michael Brewer speaks out.

Plus, what happens when a kid drops out of school? You might be thinking, who cares, not my child. Well, guess what? You might be supporting the next generation of dropouts.

The F-bomb, drop it at your own risk. San Antonio, Texas. A second grader drops one, actually writes one on a sign-out sheet. Spells it right, also. Anyway, the teacher sees a teachable moment. So, now decide for yourself if she did the right thing.

Here's Grace White from CNN affiliate KABB.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE WHITE, KABB REPORTER (voice-over): It's a word that kids may hear on the street but parents don't want them to learn in school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids, they shouldn't even have to hear it or see it.

WHITE: But they did in at SAIFD (ph) classroom. District officials say a second grade teacher at Smith Elementary found the F- word on a sign-out log that students use to go to the restroom.

ANGELA RODRIGUEZ, PARENT: She was teaching them, letting them know it was something bad. It wasn't something good to be writing around everywhere.

WHITE: Angela Rodriguez's daughter is in that class.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had to see the word that my friend (EXPLETIVE DELETED) wrote.

WHITE (on camera): The district says the teacher wrote the F- word on the board and then asked her students to write it down, as well. Both things they say she never should have done. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this was clearly inappropriate, this is not the right way to handle the situation.

WHITE (voice-over): While the district is still looking into what happened, Rodriguez is standing by the teacher's side.

RODIRIGUEZ: She's a very excellent teacher. I mean, I think she didn't do bad. If she wrote it on the chalkboard, it was maybe to explain to a student, that is a very bad word.

WHITE: But no matter what message she was trying the convey, other parents say it didn't work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And thank you, Grace, for not writing the word out on the board. The teacher isn't being fired, she's suspended by the way. But the school is looking into what happened.

The battle lines of Afghanistan. America flexes its Military might from above. It's our BackStory. You better buckle up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Drone planes. We hear and report on them so much in covering the Afghan war, but rarely do we talk about the Military's fleet of helicopters, another key part of the air war. It today's BackStory, so we're going to hitch a ride with CNN International's Michael Holmes.

And, buckle up.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We always talk about places like Iraq --

PHILLIPS: Our favorite place.

HOLMES: Where we had the same experiences.

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

HOLMES: But you remember in Iraq, in particular, Black Hawk helicopters were like taxi cabs. I mean, if you needed to get anywhere, you went down to the LZ --

PHILLIPS: It was your made mode of transpo (ph).

HOLMES: Jumped on board, yes. And I got to do a story once over there, on the (INAUDIBLE), the little birds, just two of you sort of strapped in with rockets and 50 cal (ph) on either side.

PHILLIPS: It vibrates a little bit more than the black hawk.

HOLMES: It's a little scary. Now, what you're going to see now is -- again, it's a great example of a BackStory. Atia Abawi, our gal in Kabul, and her shooter Scott Clockworthy (ph), they've been out on an embed in Helmand Province. And, of course, they hitched a ride on a helicopter. It's the only way to get around.

But this is the granddaddy of them, though, if you've seen the sea stallions. They are enormous helicopters, big, powerful things. They move troops and people around.

PHILLIPS: And mail, on occasion.

HOLMES: And, mail, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: But Atia got off and as she was getting off, she said, this is a good BackStory. I'm going to show people the sea scallion, or it's a CH-53 Echo, as it's called. So she and Scott went back and talked to the crew and everything.

Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We're here at Camp (INAUDIBLE) and we were just on (INAUDIBLE) in (INAUDIBLE) Helmand Province. But this is where it begins -- on this airfield. This is where we started with the helicopter that we took, but we didn't know what went on behind it until today. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of time and a lot of people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a pilot of a CH-53 Echo, the assault- support aircraft. CH-53 Echo is the largest assault support chopper in the United States Marine Corps inventory. And the Marines use it to transport troops and supplies into (INAUDIBLE).

ABAWI: What they're doing right now is they're washing the engine while it's still running, because the sand, the dust from Helmand Province -- it can degrade the engine, so they have to watch it off while it is hot.

It can get dusty here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very dusty.

ABAWI: What happens when you're basically, your vision is --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's probably one of the more scary elements of our job. The problem is that the 53 Echo puts up hurricane-force winds. So when we come over a zone unlike a Hewey (ph) or even a V-22, we can brown out, and that is what you are talking about -- the dust ball (ph) into the air. And if both pilots lose reference or if the crew also loses reference, we have to wave it off, which means to add our power, get out of that dust cloud and try again.

There's inherent risks of being in a combat zone. Having people shoot at you obviously heightens your sense of awareness of where you need to be. Every flight we go on, we're ready. We brief it as a combat mission. We make sure that not only our situational awareness is high, but that of the whole crew.

The job of the Echo crew chief is in charge of looking at the plane, making sure it's safe for flight, ensuring all the cargo and passengers come on safely and leave safely. Manning the door guns, on the stop mechanic, just the general knowledge of everything with this aircraft. Pilots fly and I do pretty much everything else.

ABAWI: Since May the 1, the Marines have being able to fly 85,000 people to various parts of southern Afghanistan. They've clocked over 24,000 hours and they've carried over 26 million pounds of cargo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in Iraq before coming here. We didn't move one-tenth of what we move here on a daily basis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day can range from just one or to two people to a full cabin, 24 people full of, you know, 10,000 pounds worth of cargo. And it gets moved and you get to a new spot, and there's 24 more people waiting to get on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is busy, but that's what we're here for. It is rewarding more than anything else to be able to understand that you're bringing people home.

I mean, we actually were down in Castle (ph) and Payne (ph), and we did the rip with second and fourth LAR. When we took off, there was a cheer in the background because they knew that they were going home. And that's an exhilarating feeling for a pilot, to be able to provide that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you know what it feels like, especially when it's not summertime.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes.

Now, as Atia was saying there, you can carry gear or carry people. And I remember once getting on. It wasn't a Sea Stallion, but it was a Chinook, which are almost as big in the back. And you never get on at first, because if you get on first, you end up near the gunner with an open hatch...

PHILLIPS: And you freeze.

HOLMES: ... in the middle of the night, in the desert, and would freeze. Never do that.

PHILLIPS: Note to self. All you viewers, you never want to be next to the gunners. Yes, especially in the wintertime.

Thanks, Michael.

HOLMES: See you later.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to see more from Michael and the BackStory team, check out CNN.com/backstory.

All right. We're going to push forward now this hour.