Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

U.S.-Iranian Tensions Rising; Haiti Government Accuses Ten Americans of Child Trafficking; President Obama to Unveil $3.8 Trillion Budget; Jobs "#1 Focus" in 2010; Vancouver's Security Blanket

Aired February 01, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and thanks very much for being with us on this Monday. It's the 1st of February, erase January, start a brand-new month off. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We have some big stories we're telling you about in the next 15 minutes, including, first up, things are getting tense between Iran and the White House.

The U.S. now beefing up defense systems in the Middle East. The airports also testing missile interceptors off the California coast. But what does it mean? Could Iran be ready to attack? A live report from the Pentagon ahead?

ROBERTS: Ten Americans arrested in Haiti accused of child trafficking. They were stopped trying to take more than 30 Haitian children out of the country. But the group, members of an Idaho-based charity, say it's all a terrible misunderstanding. A live report from Port-au-Prince just ahead.

CHETRY: President Obama's $3.8 trillion budget will be arriving on Capitol Hill in just two hours. It's projected to put us deeper in the red. The White House, though, is saying it is showing some fiscal discipline just like every business or family has been forced to do in a recession. We're live at the White House. And we're also speaking to the president's chief of the budget this morning.

ROBERTS: We begin this morning with the Obama administration turning up the heat on Iran. Take a look at this.

A missile intercept test conducted by the Air Force yesterday off of the coast of California did not exactly go according to plan, but the timing may be significant. The White House has been beefing up patriot missile defense systems in the Middle East for months now, fearing that Iran may launch a strike against Israel.

Our Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon this morning. And, Barbara, this weekend's anti-missile test, even though it didn't go so well, was it still a message for Tehran?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. You know, the test failed due to some technical radar problems but the intent and the capability remains the same, to develop the possibility of shooting down an Iranian long-range missile.

Why are tensions ratcheting up? Well, the U.S., the Obama administration is ratcheting up both rhetoric and action against Iran because of trying to pressure Iran to give up that nuclear program, of course.

Now, this buildup in the Persian Gulf, as you mentioned, has been going on a long time but the pressure now going public, talk about putting ships into the Persian Gulf and systems on land that could shoot down Iranian missiles. White House adviser David Axelrod talked about this over the weekend about why all of this is happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: Well, look, we have, we have partners in that region. We have a great interest in the stability of that region. And we're going to continue to do what's necessary to help maintain security in that region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But will putting all these U.S. weapon systems into the gulf country really make a difference with Iran? You have to keep in mind, many of these gulf countries have very lucrative commercial relations with Iran in the energy sector and in other businesses. You know, they may be encouraged to take these actions to show a tough stance against Iran, but in the Strait of Hormuz, you look at that water, it's a very narrow piece of territory. It's a neighborhood where everybody lives in the same region. Ratcheting up tensions may be one thing, but nobody wants to see it really turn into military action -- John.

ROBERTS: That would not be a good thing. Barbara Starr for us this morning from the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.

CHETRY: This morning, 10 American missionaries are in jail in Haiti. They were arrested for child trafficking when they tried to take 33 Haitian children out of the country without proper authorization. The five men and five women belong to the Idaho-based charity New Life Children's Refuge. They are denying they've done anything wrong.

Our Karl Penhaul was able to speak with them. He's live in Port- au-Prince, Haiti, for us this morning. What is their side of the story this morning, Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just want to show you what's going on behind me right now. Suddenly it became very noisy. Before I tell you about the 10 Americans, this is the second day of a new United Nations food distribution program. In fact, there's 42 tons of rice being given out just around the corner.

So, we have literally hundreds of women armed where a new coupon has been given them and they're hoping to get a 25 kilo bag, about a 50-pound bag of rice. That is to say part of a new U.N. food distribution program they hope will make food aid a little bit calmer, a little bit more fair, not just the survival of the fittest.

Back to those Americans. They spent another night in jail. They, as we have said, 10 American Baptists. They're accused of child trafficking after they tried to take 33 Haitian babies and children out of the country. None of those children had passports. None had documentation and this has suddenly become a very complex situation for those Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL (voice-over): They say they're answering Jesus' call. Now, these American Baptists stand accused of trafficking 33 Haitian babies and children. The Americans deny the charges and say they believe the kids were orphaned or abandoned. But some were not orphans at all and trying to go home to their parents. Haitian authorities and aid workers say, Haitian police allowed the Americans out of their jail cells to talk to CNN.

LAURA SILSBY, DETAINED IN HAITI: We believe we've been charged very falsely with trafficking which, of course, is the furthest possible extreme because, I mean, our hearts here, we literally all gave up, you know, everything we had, I mean, income and use of our own funds to come here to help these children.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God is the one who called us to come here, and we just really believe that this was his purpose.

PENHAUL: Team leader Silsby admitted the children had no documents, no passports nor official permission to leave.

SILSBY: They really didn't have any paperwork and my -- this is again probably a misunderstanding on my part but that I did not understand that that would need -- that would really need to be required.

PENHAUL: The children between 2 months and 12 years old have been temporarily housed here at a SOS children's village run by an Austrian charity in Port-au-Prince. Spokesman George Willeit said initial investigations show at least 10 of the youngsters have at least one surviving parent. He's now responsible for trying to reunite the families.

GEORGE WILLEIT, SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE: Some of them are for sure not orphans because immediately as she arrived her, another girl, she might be 9 years old was crying loud, I'm not an orphan, I do have my parents. Please call my parents.

PENHAUL: We met 10-year-old Benatine Poulime (ph). She'd been on the Baptist bus and was clearly frightened. She gave us the phone number of her mom, Adrianne (ph) Poulime. In a brief conversation, the woman said she'd agree to hand over her only daughter to the Americans and said she believed her child would be schooled and be well cared for.

"I said I wanted to get out of the bus, but they told me I had to say. I was crying. I said I wanted to go to my mom," she says. At least 10 of the children have either a mother or a father and they have the phone numbers of their mothers and fathers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I can tell you our heart and our intent was to help only those children that needed us most, that they had lost either both mother or father, or had lost, you know, one of their parents, the other parent had abandoned them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, I was talking to the Haitian prime minister about the Americans' case. He said he would fully investigate. He also opened the door to possible extradition of the Americans back to the United States to face trial, but he said on the basis of the evidence he has so far, he believes that this is a case of kidnapping -- Kiran, John.

CHETRY: Wow, all right. Karl Penhaul for us this morning. We're going to be speaking a little bit later to the pastor of the church that those members were part of and get his side of the story as well this morning. Karl, thank you.

ROBERTS: This morning, a critical lifeline is being restored for injured Haitians in need of medical treatment in the United States. The White House announcing that medivac flights will resume today. The airlifts were suspended on Wednesday after Florida's governor asked for federal funds and expressed concern that the state's hospitals were running out of room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHARLIES CRIST (R), FLORIDA: I wrote a letter to Secretary Sebelius expressing that federal assistance would be helpful to us and if we could share that with some of our sister states, it would make a big difference. Obviously because of Florida's proximity to Haiti, we've really bore the brunt of it but we're happy to continue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: A White House spokesman says the administration has been reassured that there is adequate capacity in the U.S. health care system to accommodate all of the injured Haitians.

And tonight, with so many children left orphaned by the earthquake, how does the U.S. help? We search for answers on a special edition of Anderson Cooper "AC 360" "Children of Haiti" tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

CHETRY: It's eight minutes past the hour right now. Other stories new this morning.

The White House is saying that no decision has been made over whether to move the trial of five 9/11 suspects including the self- professed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from New York City. There are many states and city and federal officials that are pushing for the change of venue. In fact the mayor of Newburgh in a small town in upstate New York says that his town is actually the perfect place to hold this trial. His county executive, however, says no. Both of them will be joining us at the bottom of the hour for more on the debate.

ROBERTS: In about 20 minutes' time, Toyota is scheduled to release a plan to fix the faulty accelerator pedals that led to the recall of millions of cars and trucks. Our correspondents are standing by to break it all down for you. Over the weekend, Toyota tried to calm customers' worries with news barrage (ph) across the country. The Feds, meanwhile, are investigating the manufacturer of those accelerators.

CHETRY: And at just 20 years old, Taylor Swift, the youngest artist to ever win the Grammy for Album of the Year, won four awards that she won at last night's show. Beyonce also setting a new record for the most wins by a female artist. She took home six Grammys including Song of the Year for her mega hit "Single Ladies." Our Kareen Wynter has a complete look at the star-studded event later this hour.

ROBERTS: When Taylor Swift, I have expected Kanye West to jump up on stage and say Beyonce --

CHETRY: Yes. You missed him, didn't you?

ROBERTS: Yes. Nine minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the weather center in Atlanta tracking it all.

Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Well, I guess Beyonce got her fair share so that's why Kanye was OK sitting down and shutting up.

Good morning, guys. Hope you had a great weekend. Check out some of the numbers across the Northeast, temperatures well below average for parts of the New York metropolitan area. Not so much the actual temperatures but the wind chills right now feels like it's 14, 16 degrees in Yonkers, down in D.C. looking at temperatures that feel like they're in the teens, as well.

Florida, you're going to see some rainfall today. The southeast will see a fairly wet week as we go through time. Freezing fog, the other issue right now from Dallas up to Oklahoma City where they're still dealing with the aftermath of last week's winter storm. Much more weather coming up in about 30 minutes. John and Kiran, back out to you.

CHETRY: All right, Rob. Thanks so much.

And still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, President Obama's is getting set to unveil his multi-trillion dollar budget. What's included and what's not? Suzanne Malveaux will be breaking it down for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 12 minutes after the hour right now. A check of the other stories new this morning.

He hasn't even been sworn in yet, but Senator-elect Scott Brown has already been called the GOP's Barack Obama. He's the man who won the late Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts shaking up the balance of power in Washington. Yesterday Barbara Walters asked him about the possibility of seeking higher office in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS SENATOR-ELECT: I don't even have a business card. I haven't even been sworn in. I don't have any exploratory committees started. I don't have anything. It's overwhelming and it's extremely humbling. I don't know what else to tell you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That wasn't a no, though. Well, Brown also said the entire health care package should be shelved and slammed the backroom deals that got it passed in the first place.

ROBERTS: And with health care on hold now, there is a new focus on issue number one, again. Jobs and the economy. The president will deliver his $3.8 trillion budget to Capitol Hill in less than two hours' time. The projected deficit is so high. It's more than 10 percent of our entire economy, something that can't continue without having extraordinary deleterious effects on the overall financial picture of our country in the long term. But the White House is promising that we are heading in the right direction.

Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House this morning. This is a big budget and then that deficit, $1.6 trillion. My goodness.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's even hard to wrap your head around all of this, John, obviously. But the director of OMB, the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Orszag, said in a conference call yesterday it's kind of setting the bar a little bit low, that they just don't want to make the situation worse. They're trying to balance these things between creating jobs for the American people. They say it's the number one priority of the president now at the same time being fiscally responsible.

So what are we talking about here? Some of the highlights, $100 billion of that for immediate job creation and then there's tax cuts for small businesses that are making new investments.

Also ahead, infrastructure projects like roads and bridges supporting those kinds of things as well as clean energy, alternatives and the way we fuel our cars our homes and our businesses, those kinds of things.

And then some things they're going to invest in, as well. Education. We're looking at $28 billion for elementary and secondary education. More than $61 billion that for research and development for new industries and new types of markets, and then $100 billion once again for that infrastructure that we mentioned, the roads, the bridges, trying to create these jobs that we had heard before last year but essentially putting this out for this new budget saying here is where we're going to spend the money -- John.

ROBERTS: At the same time, though, he's got to make some cuts. I mean, you know, if you remember, 10 years ago, Suzanne, we were talking about a -- a surplus of $5.6 trillion and perhaps retiring the debt. You know, that's not going to happen now.

But he's got to make these cuts. What -- what is he choosing to cut and how is he making those decisions?

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly, though -- at least the administration is calling this the tough choices, if you will, the things that are going or have to go or ways that they're going have to be fiscally responsible here. These are things they're throwing out to the Republicans, clearly, to try to appeal to their side as well, as well as some of those fiscally conservative Democrats.

So you're talking about things like this three-year freeze on discretionary spending, not in -- not in security matters like the Pentagon or the defense, that type of thing, but discretionary spending. You're also talking about charging fees for banks that owe money, that actually borrowed and have that money, that bailout money, paying them back, charging them fees. And finally, tax cuts, allowing those tax cuts to expire for families making more than $250,000 a year.

These are the kind of things that they say are their tough choices and this is a way that they say this is the -- the pay go method here. You can't spend anything unless you make cuts in some other areas -- John.

ROBERTS: Right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning from the White House. Suzanne, thanks.

So what stays and what goes? Coming up in an hours' time, we're going to talk to President Obama's budget director Peter Orszag. Stay with us here on the Most News in the Morning.

CHETRY: And coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, with unemployment in double digits and the president promising to create jobs, how soon will we see these results? Our Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business". She'll join us in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) Taylor Swift this morning. Twenty minutes after the hour. That means it's time for "Minding Your Business."

President Obama will deliver his $3.8 trillion budget to Capitol Hill less than two hours from now. Projects a $5 trillion deficit over the next five years, another $100 billion for job creation is included in the budget. The president made that his top priority during his State of the Union Address last week, but can he deliver on all of this?

Christine Romans digging deeper for us this morning and a memo to the president. Good morning to you.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: None of the other economic indicators matter, right? It's only about jobs. It's what people care about. And one of the president's top money men, Larry Summers, says the country is in a statistical recovery and a human recession. That's because jobs have not come back yet, not enough of them, and this remains a challenge for this president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS (voice-over): Mr. President, you've now put jobs front and center.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010.

ROMANS: But can you really create jobs, and how?

OBAMA: Hey, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Mr. President!

OBAMA: How are you?

ROMANS: In December, you visited this career training center in Pennsylvania's Leigh High Valley. At the same center today, former Marine Barry Hessinger is hoping the training will help him find new work after losing his job in carpentry.

BARRY HESSINGER, STUDENT: We were building more houses than we could handle three years ago, and it just -- within a couple months it totally died down.

ROMANS: Barry's job is just one of 7.2 million lost in this recession. That's a lot of people out of work. It could take years to recover from the loss.

Mr. President, where do you begin?

OBAMA: We should start where most new jobs do, in small businesses. We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities.

ROMANS: But some critics think those jobs wouldn't come fast enough.

PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: The president is not making sense when he pitches green jobs or sending mothers back to college. Quite simply, that's the economy of the future. In the here and now, we need to bring back a lot of the jobs that were lost during the recession.

ROMANS: When you took office, Mr. President, the economy was losing, on average, close to 700,000 jobs a month. Sure, that's slowed down, but unemployment has jumped to 10 percent and the unemployed are getting frustrated.

DIANE SWONK, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MESIROW FINANCIAL: One of the biggest worries we have right now is not only generating enough jobs to lower the unemployment rate, which is going to be difficult, but also reengaging those people who have been already unemployed for more than six months.

ROMANS: Think of it, nearly 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and only about 58 percent of the entire adult population is even working right now. That's the lowest level since the early 1980s.

You say help is on the way, Mr. President, but Americans need jobs now.

That's why Barry Hessinger has given up on construction and has gone back to school for physical therapy. He's getting free tuition funded by the stimulus package you signed last year.

HESSINGER: It feels good to finally get into a career where I think I'll be working every day.

ROMANS: Mr. President, you've called on Congress to come together on a jobs bill and you've said you want it on your desk right away. Americans are waiting, and many can't afford to wait much longer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Employers are starting to hire temporary workers. That's often a first step for companies who are just beginning to see the economy getting a little bit better, but a lot of these temporary workers are not translating into full-time jobs, and that's still a -- a sticking point.

And consider this, if the economy creates 200,000 jobs a month consistently, it would take until 2016 to get everyone back to work who lost a job in the recession and to absorb the new workers coming into the workforce. Last month the economy lost 85,000 jobs, so we still have a long way to go. We'll know Friday how the month of January was for the unemployment rate and the jobs loss.

ROBERTS: Still so much pain out there, though. Even if the numbers are coming down, there are so many people who are hurting out there.

ROMANS: It really -- and I've got to tell you, there's this -- there's this minority view that maybe because they cut so sharply, the employers did, that when things turn around they're going to have to hire aggressively, and that's still minority view, but you got to hope that there are some companies who're going to have to hurry up and hire fast when the economy really starts to gain traction this year.

ROBERTS: Let's hope. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: That's right.

CHETRY: And next on the Most News in the Morning, the best of the best will be in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. We're not talking about the athletes. We're talking about those that are coming to keep the athletes safe. Our Jeanne Meserve will have a look at the massive security involved.

It's 25 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-seven minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Top stories just a few minutes away, but first, an "AM Original", something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.

The opening ceremonies for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games is just around the corner now. Vancouver says it's ready, and of all the records that will be set at the games, perhaps none more impressive than the plan for security.

Our Jeanne Meserve takes a look for us this morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, for the Olympics the Canadians are mounting the largest security operation in their history, on the air, on land and on the water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): A Canadian Navy diver plunges into frigid water off Vancouver honing his underwater bomb detection skills, a small part of a massive effort to keep the Olympics safe.

ASST. COMMISSIONER BUD MERCER, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: We've prepared for the worst case scenarios, which includes terrorism, and we'll be able to respond to the worst case scenarios.

MESERVE: The murder of 11 Israeli coaches and athletes by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Games has hung over every Olympic since. The threat of international terrorism in Vancouver is currently assessed as low. The bigger concern, domestic political protests. The Olympic torch relay has been disrupted several times by demonstrators.

At critical locations in Vancouver, some roads are already closed. Police presence is heavy and 900 surveillance cameras stud security fencing. MESERVE (on camera): You see the cameras everywhere, but officials say there will be other technology to detect chemical, biological and radiological threats.

MESERVE (voice-over): Massive inflatable barriers keep boat traffic away from cruise ships that will house some of the 15,000 security personnel. Military, police and Coast Guard all patrol to keep the city safe and commerce moving in Canada's largest port.

LT. BRYAN PRICE, CANADIAN NAVY: We're going to see the container ships coming in, the tugs and tows, working (INAUDIBLE) the harbor. It really is very much business as usual over Vancouver.

MESERVE: But it is a big city with a multitude of potential targets like transportation hubs.

MICHAEL ZEKULIN, POLITICAL SCIENTIST, UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY: There are infinite places where things can occur and there cannot be a presence in all of them.

MESERVE: Some events will be held at the Whistler ski area two hours north of the city, requiring a whole different set of security measures.

REAR ADMIRAL TYRONE PILE, CMDR., JOINT TASK FORCE GAMES: Our soldiers are deployed up there with snowmobiles, tract vehicles, foot patrols, snowshoe, skis.

MESERVE: Connecting the two venues, just one critical road, much of which hugs the coast. It, too, will be heavily patrolled. There will be air restrictions policed by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and 4,500 members of the Canadian Armed Forces with special skills and equipment are in reserve if needed.

The budget for this multi-agency security effort led by the Royal Canadian Police Mounted Police, $900 million.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Despite this enormous mustering of personnel and capabilities, the Canadians say they don't want security to overshadow the games and the athletes.

John and Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks.

And tomorrow, part two of Jeanne Meserve's series on the Olympics. She'll take a look at what's happening on the US side of the boarder, how officials are preparing for a variety of emergency scenarios.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're half past the hour.

Developing this morning: Details are just crossing outlining Toyota's plan to fix the faulty gas pedals that led to millions of cars and trucks being recalled. The company says that it's shipping new parts to stop the pedals from sticking and also to keep excess friction from the occurring. The Feds are also investigating right now what went wrong.

And also, what do you do if you have a Toyota sitting in your driveway? There are new details of that announcement -- coming up right here on the Most News in the Morning.

ROBERTS: The White House is worried about a possible attack against Israel by Iran. That could be why the Air Force conducted a missile intercept test off of the California coast yesterday. The Pentagon has been beefing up land-based Patriot missile defense systems in the Middle East.

Just last week in his State of the Union address, the president warned Iran of serious consequences if it continues to ignore international concerns over its nuclear program.

CHETRY: And it is budget day in Washington. President Obama's $3.8 trillion plan will head to the Capitol in exactly 90 minutes. It includes another $100 billion for job creation, what the president says is his top priority in 2010. Deep cuts are also expected in other domestic areas.

Well, there's still no decision on the change of venue for the trial of five 9/11 suspects. The Obama administration is still reviewing its options after New York City officials did an about-face and rejected a White House plan to hold the trial in New York City, citing costs as well as security concerns. Well, just 60 miles to the north, the mayor of Newburgh, New York, is throwing his hat into the ring, saying that it could be held in his new courthouse.

Mayor Nick Valentine joins us now from Newburgh. He's also joined with Orange County executive Edward Diana, who wants no part of a 9/11 trial.

Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.

MAYOR NICK VALENTINE, NEWBURGH, NEW YORK: Good morning.

EDWARD DIANA, ORANGE COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: And, Mr. Mayor, let me start with you. So, you're pushing for the 9/11 trial to be moved to your courthouse. You say it was completed in 2009, and it's up to code and that, you know, it could handle a trial of this magnitude. Why do you want it, though, in your city?

VALENTINE: Well, we're a very, very poor city, I have to tell you. And any economic stimulus, especially to the tune of maybe $200 million that could come from the federal government, could certainly assist a city of my size and the situation that we have here. The courthouse we were mandated to finish was $22 million, and I have a debt on that.

So, when we were first asked about Hudson Valley locations, I certainly did not like Stewart Airport and I did not like West Point, but when the reporter asked me about the city of Newburgh, I basically said, "Look, I'll give it a shot. We've got nothing to lose. If we say yes, and the federal government steps up and helps up this city of four square miles, in the end, if it benefits us, then it's worth exploring."

CHETRY: Now, you would obviously need a lot of help. You have just 110 police officers. Do you have any idea about the cost or how disruptive it would be for everyday life for the people who live there?

VALENTINE: Well, interestingly enough, I had a one-on-one conversation with my police chief and I said, and he said back to me, "Mayor, if the cost is not going to be fully accepted by the federal government, then there's no deal." I mean, this has to be something to benefit the city of Newburgh and not cost the city of Newburgh. We run a deficit every year. Last year, it was almost $7 million. And in a budget of $59 million, that's a huge amount.

So, the only way I'd even consider something like this for the city of Newburgh is if all the costs were born by the federal government, and also, if there was some type of economic side benefit to the city, in either extra policing that we could hire or programs for my poor and for my needy. Those are the conditions that I would kind of put on the table, if it got to the point where we negotiated. I don't know what point it will get to at this time.

CHETRY: All right. And, Edward Diana, again, you're county executive of Orange County, which is where the city of Newburgh is within your county there. And you've said, you're, quote, "diametrically opposed" to this idea and will do everything in your power to stop it from happening. The mayor says, "Listen, the city could desperately use the money."

Why are you so against it?

DIANA: Well, Kiran, I look at it a little bit differently. As the chief executive officer of Orange County, the fastest growing county in the state of New York of 400,000 people, safety and security must be my number one issue. I don't look at this as a financial boom here for the city of Newburgh. I look at it a little bit differently than that.

I look at it as shutting down a city. Mayor Bloomberg himself -- and I agree with Mayor Bloomberg, that they should not be held in New York City. They shouldn't be held in Orange County and the state of New York and Washington, D.C.

My first press release said, "Send it to Chicago." That was to get the president's attention. I don't believe they belong to Chicago either. They've belong off our soil, I believe, in Guantanamo. But that's the different issue that the president will make on his own.

I see this city as being shut down. I don't look at financial benefit potentially. I look at the safety of the people. All it would take is one person being injured, one building being blown up here in Newburgh or around this area, and this city would come to an immediate halt.

It's certainly not a tourist attraction. The mayor said maybe a tourist attraction. We have tourist attraction in this county if you want to come here for terrorism. That's Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, that's West Point Military Academy. Not the city of Newburgh.

I don't want to be known as the terrorist capital of the world. I don't want them here. Nobody wants them here.

I am good friends with this mayor and we agree on many issues. This one, I will fight tooth and nail. I have directed our law department to look at all our avenues available to us to stop the trials from coming here.

If I have to shut roads down, if I have to sue the federal government, I will do just that. I don't want to go to those extremes. I hope somebody has some reason, takes them out of New York state and I believe, take them out of the country. That's my stance and I will never back off from there.

CHETRY: All right. And you certainly feel strongly about it.

And, Mayor Valentine, does it give you pause that, you know, someone who you consider a colleague and a friend and, you know, somebody who is just as concerned of the wellbeing of the residents there is so opposed to this. What about those security concerns?

VALENTINE: Well, you know, the security concerns would have to be borne, again, by the federal government. No matter where this trial is going to happen, that security has to be taken care of. We haven't looked that total picture of this. What we've looked at was the fact that some municipalities is going to be chosen within the Continental United States. And $200 million is going to go to that municipality.

I'm not saying that Newburgh is going to be the choice, but to saying no early on in this case just takes us out of the mix. What's going on right now is the city of Newburgh has the light on it.

I will disagree with the county executive that the overwhelming response that I have gotten, I mean, 90 percent to 10 percent, was in favor of me pursuing this at this stage until a decision is made by the federal government. That decision may come within the next couple days and this story may be an old story by Wednesday. But at least I know that we put the city of Newburgh in the proper light to say that if it's going to be a democratic process, then why not rule -- don't rule out, basically, the birth place of the republic which is the city of Newburgh.

CHETRY: All right. Mayor of Newburgh, Nick Valentine, as well as the county executive of the Orange County, Edward Diana, you two demonstrating right here for us this morning just how polarizing this issue is and we'll have to wait and see what is going to happen with these trials. Thanks so much for your time this morning, gentlemen.

VALENTINE: Thank you very much.

DIANA: Thank you, Kiran.

CHETRY: So, should the 9/11 trial be moved out of New York City? As always, we want to know what you think. Where should it go if it is, in fact, move out of New York City? Sound off on our blog CNN.com/amFIX.

ROBERTS: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning: California grappling with budget problems prepares for the unthinkable -- releasing inmates from prison. We've got that story just ahead.

It's 38 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour.

And just in to CNN, details are just crossing outlining Toyota's plan to fix the faulty gas pedals that led to millions of cars and trucks being recalled. The company says that it's shipping new parts to stop the pedals from sticking and also to keep excess friction from occurring. Toyota says it's also going to keep dealerships open extended -- open for extended hours to work on the problem.

And we're going to get more from our Deb Feyerick. She's covering this story coming up at the top of the hour.

ROBERTS: A Toyota CEO also joining us in our 8:00 hour. So, make sure you're around for that as well.

If you drive 125 miles east of Los Angeles, you'll come to a city called Indio, population: 50,000.

CHETRY: Yes. They used to have a real crime problem there, but now, they're concerned it could come back. As Casey Wian reports, it takes cash and prison space to keep criminals off the streets, two things in short supply in California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Indio, California, is a rapidly growing city that has worked hard to cut its violent crime rate by half over the last five years. But now, because of California's budget crisis, the police chief here says public safety is in jeopardy.

(voice-over): Just a few years ago, simply walking down these streets with Indio, California's police chief would have been risky.

BRAD RAMOS, INDIO POLICE CHIEF: This particular neighborhood was very, very violent. We would have -- in one particular point in time over an 18-month period, we had six homicides that all occurred within a four-block area.

WIAN (on camera): And this is where the police station is located, right?

RAMOS: This is just a few blocks from our police station.

WIAN: What used to go on here? What types of crimes?

RAMOS: We would have drive-by shootings. We would have shots fired called. We would have gang violence and gang fights.

WIAN: So, where are all the bad guys?

RAMOS: In prison.

WIAN (voice-over): Perhaps, not for long. This year, California is reducing the number of inmates in its notoriously overcrowded and violent prisons by more than 6,000 to save $1 billion.

MATTHEW CATE, CALIF. DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: We were just flat out of room and the state is out of money. And so, we had to take these steps.

WIAN: Cate says the only inmates with get-out-of-jail-free cards will be ones the state considers low-risk offenders and parolees who won't be returned to prison because of minor violations. The corrections department is also offering early release to inmates who obtain high school equivalency certificates and job training.

RAMOS: When they come home based on the budget cuts that we're seeing statewide, at the county and at the local level, there's not going to be any support mechanism. My concern is the state is saying, yes, you know, we are going to provide this and this. But how am I assured, as the chief of police that has a responsibility for over 90,000 people, that I kind ensure that the state is going to follow up on their work.

WIAN: At risk: a community that's been transformed, where parks have replaced gang turf and new mothers feel safe to walk the streets.

RAMOS: How do I tell a crime victim of a violent crime that the reason why you're a victim is somebody was out and wasn't being supervised?

WIAN (on camera): What's even more worrisome to law enforcement officials here is a federal court mandate that California reduce its prison population by 40,000 inmates over the next three years. That order is on hold pending a possible review by the Supreme Court -- John, Kiran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Casey Wian for us this morning -- Casey, thanks so much.

Coming up on 44 minutes after the hour: Rob Marciano is tracking the weather across the country and will have your travel forecast for you just as soon as we come back.

CHETRY: Well, things look cold out there.

Meanwhile, in just 10 minutes, having trouble waking up this morning? You're not alone. Maybe you're not as cute as some of the animals and critters that Jeanne Moos features. When cute things fall asleep.

Forty-four minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Right now, it's 47 minutes after the hour.

It's time for your AM House Call. It's the story that we've been following on AMERICAN MORNING. Some 55,000 Disney's princess and frog pendants, some are shown here, are being recalled due to high levels of a toxic metal cadmium. The movie theme necklace is sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. Disney is now requiring that all of its products be tested for cadmium.

ROBERTS: And at 30 minutes now to the top of the hour. We get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Weather Center tracking all the extreme weather across the country. Good morning, Rob.

MARCIANO: Good morning, guys. The winter cold continues now that we're into February. Typically, we start to warm up after the second or third week of January, but no such luck across the northeast. Our windshield is going to feel like if you are stepping out the door in Boston, 10 degrees and feels like 17 right now in New York with the wind, feels like 11 in Cleveland, and currently feels like 11 degrees in Detroit. If you are traveling today, you're going to see some wind delays I think at the New York metropolitan airports, as well as Boston, maybe some rain down across parts of Miami.

This is just like-effect snow showers and shouldn't be too much of a big deal especially say South of Poughkeepsie but south of the Georgia border into Florida, that is where we're seeing a fair amount of rainfall. Check out some of the snowfall yesterday across parts of Rocksboro and North Carolina. This mid-Atlantic storm in many spots dumped over a foot, but they cleared out quite nicely yesterday, cleared some of the roadways, and folks got out there to walk the dog.

If you're walking the dog today across parts of Dallas and through Oklahoma City where they're still battling the aftermath of that storm, something like 70,000 people still without power in parts of Oklahoma City, freezing fog to add insult to injury this morning, so be careful out there across Dallas and Oklahoma. John and Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: It was ladies' night at the Grammy last night. Beyonce living up to her album title "I Am Sasha Fierce," taking home a record of six trophies. That was a record for a female winner. Of course, we know Michael Jackson won eight back in the day, but country singer Taylor Swift's "Fearless" also scored the night's biggest prize.

ROBERTS: And an emotional tribute to the late pop legend, Michael Jackson. It was the first 3-D performance at an award show. From the red carpet to the final curtain, our Kareen Wynter has the full breakdown for us this morning from Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With Beyonce and Taylor Swift leading the nominees, it looked like it might be ladies' night at the Grammy's.

UNKNOWN MALE: Beyonce.

WYNTER: And indeed it was Beyonce had a fierce showing leading the way with six awards. The most ever for a female artist in one night topped off with song of the year for "Single ladies put a ring on it."

BEYONCE KNOWLES, ENTERTAINER: This has been such an amazing night for me, and I love to thank to Grammy.

WYNTER: Swift won four Grammys including the night's biggest prize, album of the year for "Fearless."

TAYLOR SWIFT, ENTERTAINER: This is the dream come true when you have crazy dreams, like, I wonder what it would be like to win a Grammy some day.

WYNTER: The Recording Academy crowned its queen, but it saved its most heartfelt tribute for the King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson. His two oldest children, Prince Michael and Paris accepted his lifetime achievement award.

PRINCE MICHAEL JACKSON, SON OF MICHAEL JACKSON: Through all his songs his message was simple, love. We will continue to spread his message.

PARIS JACKSON, DAUGHTER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: Thank you, we love you, Daddy.

WYNTER: Earlier, the A-list audience and folks at home donned 3- D glasses for a film of Jackson's pro-environment earth song accompanied by an all-star group of singers.

It wouldn't be the Grammy's without some amazing performances. This year's included Lady Gaga who opened the show paired with the equally flamboyant Elton John.

Rock album winners Green Day went Broadway. Beyonce marched on. Jamie Foxx was opera man, and Pink did some high-flying water soaked acrobatics.

Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli isang Simon And Garfunkel's classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water" in honor of Haiti. The performance will be sold online to raise money for disaster relief. On a night when the best in music was celebrated, it was a reminder of what music does best.

WYNTER (on-camera): And after the show I spoke with Mary J. Blige who said it was a very emotional performance. One she hopes will inspire others to help -- John, Kiran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Heck of a show last night.

CHETRY: Yes. It's nice to see a Grammy Award where so many of the winners can actually sing, beautifully.

(LAUGHING)

ROBERTS: No out of tune. This morning's top stories just minutes away, including the breaking story, Toyota's big fix. The world's largest automaker unveiling its plan to fix the sudden acceleration problems that prompted millions of cars to be recalled. We're live with their plan of this action this morning.

CHETRY: Also President Obama about to take the wraps off his $3.8 trillion budget. It's a lot of money, but will it boost the economy while reigning in spending and create jobs? We're going to White House Budget Director, Peter Orszag.

ROBERTS: And incoming Senator Scott Brown gets the rock star treatment back home. Our Kate Baldwin is in Massachusetts today and asks Brown about his plans for Washington. Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Five minutes now to the top of the hour. Time for the "Moost" News in the Morning. What could be cuter than kittens, puppies and babies.

CHETRY: How about kittens, puppies and babies falling asleep. Now, there's a Web site dedicated to all cute things falling asleep. And as Jeanne Moos shows us it's really catching on, so don't close your eyes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there's one thing better than watching a baby wake up smiling. It's watching cute things falling asleep. Be it a polar bear, swimming as it dozes, or a snoring dog, or a sleepy duck. Videos of a feather flock together at the website, cutethingsfallingasleep.org. It was dreamed up by this California comedy writer.

NICK MALIS, CREATOR, CUTETHINGSFALLINGASLEEP.ORG: We call it the head bob jerks themselves awake. That's universally funny. MOOS: Nick Malis rates each video on a one to five scale for cuteness and sleepiness. He's yet to give a perfect five for cuteness, so this duck on --

UNKNOWN MALE: Rusty, suffers from narcolepsy.

MOOS: Scored a five for sleepiness for suddenly keeling over.

MALIS: You get extra cuteness points if you actually fall asleep on something.

MOOS: But there's a table with a rung of a chair. It's even better if your head falls off something, preferably over and over and over again. What you won't see on the site are adult, humans, no vice president dozing at a cabinet meeting or former president at a speech.

MALIS: For cuteness, Bill would probably get a three.

MOOS: The website favors babies. Parents add their own music. Since the sight is called cute things falling asleep, the idea is not to show things already sleeping, but rating kids for cuteness can be touchy.

MALIS: I gave a baby a two, and then the next day, the mother wrote me and said, you know, I think my son is a little cuter than a two.

MOOS (on-camera): Now, if you're having trouble falling asleep, maybe you could pop a couple Ambien and watch a few minutes of cute things falling asleep right before bedtime.

MOOS (voice-over): Some creatures like this sleepy sloth are more creepy than cute. This hairless fink scored a measly one on the cuteness scale, but any pup that falls asleep in his water bowl deserves kudos, especially when he manages to do it repeatedly without drowning himself.

And don't you just hate it when you're so tired you can't keep your nose off the table.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Makes me want to go back to bed just looking at it.

(LAUGHING)

CHETRY: I know. So cute.

All right. Your top stories are coming your way in just 90 seconds. It's 58 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)