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American Morning
Dr. Conrad Murray May Turn Himself In to Authorities; Christmas Day Bomber Now Talking to FBI, According to Officials; Details Emerge about Religious Group That Attempted to Take Haitian children into Dominican Republic; Church Defends Group Accused of Child-Trafficking; Mortgage or Credit Card: Payment Priorities Flip in Bad Economy; Memo to the President on Tracking Terrorism
Aired February 03, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday, February 3rd. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts, thanks for joining us. Here are the big stories that we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
The last man to treat Michael Jackson and possibly the last to see him alive could be charged with his death today. Dr. Conrad Murray is expected to turn himself into authorities in Los Angeles no later than tomorrow. Our Ted Rowlands is standing by in L.A. with new developments this morning.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man who allegedly tried to blow up a plane with an underwear bomb is now cooperating with investigators again. The White House claims that he is turning over important intelligence. In a moment we'll have more on how FBI agents enlisted the help of his family to finally get him to talk.
ROBERTS: And tough talk from the White House in the battle against terrorism, but words did not win wars, and the threat against America appears to be growing. So what do we do now? In a moment Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr with a memo to the president.
CHETRY: We begin, though, with what could be the end of the Michael Jackson death investigation. We're waiting for his former doctor to turn himself in to authorities in Los Angeles. Conrad Murray has been the sole focus for months since Jackson's death was ruled a homicide from an overdose of the powerful aesthetic propofal.
Our Ted Rowlands is live for us in Los Angeles this morning. Good morning, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
We're waiting. One thing also should be pointed out, that Dr. Murray is waiting. He's come here from Houston to downtown Los Angeles. He's in the area anticipating a surrender, but they haven't been told when or where. It's just that they think it's going to happen.
And by coming to Los Angeles, what they are trying to avoid an arrest, avoid the images of Dr. Murray in handcuffs being led from Houston to an airport and then coming here to Los Angeles. So what they are trying to negotiate here or hoping will work out is a surrender of some sort.
And one of the scenarios is to actually surrender here at the criminal courts building in downtown Los Angeles. This building of course has been a home to a lot of high profile trials. The scenario would be he comes in here, goes in front of a judge, and avoids the police station.
There's no indication from the district attorney's office whether or not they're going to allow that. He's still not going to avoid the media spectacle of it all. This building has been home to a lot of high profile cases. And every time this area right here is completely filled with cameras. That will be the case starting this morning. People are already coming out, anticipating this possible surrender.
It's been six months since Michael Jackson died, over six months, and for the last six months they have been pouring over, investigators, not only what Dr. Murray gave to Michael Jackson in the hours leading up to his death but in the weeks and months leading up to his death.
And it seems clear now with Dr. Murray's presence here that indeed the district attorney is going to move forward with some sort of charge against Dr. Conrad Murray in the death of Michael Jackson. Kiran?
CHETRY: And Ted, is it too early, or do we know anything more about what this means for Conrad Murray? Is he going to launch a defense, will there be some plea agreement? What may be taking shape?
ROWLANDS: Absolutely they will launch a defense, a very spirited defense. They are confident and have been all along that Dr. Murray has not only told the truth to what he gave Michael Jackson, but in his opinion and his legal team's opinion what he gave Michael Jackson shouldn't have killed him.
If this does go to trial, which its anticipated it will, they will be dueling, obviously witnesses debating that fact -- did propofal, specifically the amount that Dr. Murray gave him, kill Michael Jackson, and then is he culpable in terms of gross negligence, and will a jury side with Dr. Murray or with the state here.
It's going to be a fascinating case when and if it does go to trial.
CHETRY: Ted Rowlands for us this morning, thank you.
ROBERTS: Breaking news out of Pakistan this morning to tell you about, a roadside bomb exploding near a convoy on route to an opening of a school for girls. Three American soldiers are among at least seven people killed. They were in Pakistan to help train the country's security forces, the U.S. calling the attack a "vicious terrorist bombing."
CHETRY: A disturbing assessment of the terror threat we're facing these days, the heads of the CIA and the FBI along with officers from the state and defense departments all testifying before a Senate intelligence committee yesterday. And they all came to the same unsettling conclusion. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D-CA) CHAIRMAN, SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE: What is the likelihood of another terrorist attempted attack on the U.S. homeland in the next three to six months, high or low? Director Blair?
BLAIR: An attempted attack, the priority is certain, I would say.
FEINSTEIN: Mr. Panetta.
PANETTA: I would agree with that.
FEINSTEIN: Mr. Mueller.
MUELLER: Agree.
FEINSTEIN: General Burgess?
BURGESS: Yes, ma'am, agreed.
FEINSTEIN: Mr. Dinger?
DINGER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Those intelligence officials also warned of an increased risk of cyber-attacks in the coming months and say they believe terrorists are determined to use the U.S. economy -- to harm the U.S. economy by attacking our computer systems.
ROBERTS: A secret trip overseas, a meeting with an alleged terrorist family, and now a suspect is talking big time. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to blow up a plane with an underwear attack on Christmas Day. And this morning we are learning that he is turning over information that may prevent future terrorist attacks.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House where official secretly commissioned by the FBI to flip the suspect by recruiting his family members to help them.
We begin though with our Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve. And Jeanne, what have you heard about the kind of intelligence that Abdulmutallab is delivering? JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John, we're told Abdulmutallab is providing a lot of information. According to law enforcement officials, he started talking last week and is providing useful, current, and actionable intelligence, including information about his training overseas, who he met with, people he worked with, and others that were part of this plot.
One official says you never know until you follow every lead, but the initial read is that this is extremely valuable information. Sources say counterterrorism officials from the FBI are doing the questioning, and all information provided is being shared with the intelligence community, which is tracking down every lead. John?
ROBERTS: Jeanne, you used the words "actionable intelligence." Do we know if any action has been taken as a result of that intelligence so far?
MESERVE: We really don't. Since Christmas Day there have been very serious concerns about the possibility of follow-on attacks. Intelligence officials have been very frank about the fact that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been probing and planning.
Republicans of course have said that when Abdulmutallab was given his Miranda rights on Christmas day, investigators lost the opportunity to get more information about those possible attacks. But a senior administration officials say now the information revealed by Abdulmutallab since he started talking again could be used to disrupt other attacks. No specifics, though.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks so much.
Now, let's bring in Suzanne Malveaux. And Suzanne, tell us about this secret FBI trip to Nigeria.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This comes from a briefing with senior administration officials late yesterday who revealed that the administration has been working with at least two family members, not identified, but two family members of Abdulmutallab.
It happened on January 1st they way when two FBI agents went down to Nigeria, that as you know is the home country of the suspect in this case, met with those family members to try to win their trust, gain their trust, and convince them this was a good idea for Abdulmutallab to work with officials.
It was January 17th they took these two relatives and they all flew back to the United States, and those relatives talked with Abdulmutallab and told him essentially that he would be treated well, he would be treated fairly, and they believed in the U.S. system.
And senior administration officials then said since then, as recent as last week, as Jeanne had mentioned, he has started talking, he has started giving up information, and this is valuable information, and he is interacting with these agents and investigators almost on a daily basis. John?
ROBERTS: So why are we hearing about this now, Suzanne? Something like this typically they might keep quiet while they are working on, as Jeanne was saying earlier, actionable intelligence or at least developing it. Are some politics at play here?
MALVEAUX: Certainly. Senior administration officials, White House officials very frustrated and acknowledged publicly and privately that they faced so much criticism over this case. Just over the weekend you had Senator Susan Collins, top Republican from the homeland security committee, saying they've got a blind spot when it comes to dealing with terrorism.
There's a lot of people who believe this administration botched the job, that they did not know what they were doing when they read the Miranda rights to this alleged terrorist and he had stopped talking and he clammed up, essentially. So they've gotten a lot of criticism.
The administration wants people to know, a, they are doing something about it, b, they know what they are doing, and so they've decided they are going to reveal it to the American people.
ROBERTS: Suzanne Malveaux for us live on the north lawn of the White House. Thanks so much, Suzanne, and Jeanne Meserve as well with her.
It's nine minutes now after the hour. Idaho church members, who are they? Were they experienced in creating and running orphanages? Were they even qualified? Dan Simon reports on the controversy in Haiti.
CHETRY: Also a hotly debated autism study now a stunning turnaround. Alina Cho joins us with this morning's ""A.M. House Call." You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now, 12 minutes after the hour, and that means it's time for a check on what's new this morning.
The military's top man in uniform says it is time to let gays serve openly in the military. Testifying before the Senate Arms Services Committee, Admiral Mike Mullen told lawmakers he believes the don't ask, don't tell policy forces people to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates also supports repealing the law but says he wants at least a year to review several issues. Both Mullen's and Gates' statements ran into stiff opposition from Republican senators.
CHETRY: A U.S. official says it is up to Haiti to decide whether or not to prosecute 10 Americans arrested for trying to take 33 Haitian children out of the country. Today a judge will question five men from the group. The five women were questioned for several hours yesterday.
Also this morning, we're learning more about this Idaho church group and their experience with orphans. CNN has uncovered that they have no experience running an orphanage and they also were not registered as a non-profit organization.
It's also not clear how they would have paid for the orphanage in the Dominican Republic. And finally, they are registered as an international adoption agency.
Our Dan Simon is in Meridian, Idaho, asked church leaders about all of this.
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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, we've been looking at both the group and plan, and it's fair to say some questions have arisen about her capability to effectively run that orphanage.
It's a 500 member church seemingly in the middle of nowhere. But church leaders like Pastor Clint Henry say its members have traveled around the globe performing good deeds.
REV. CLING HENRY, CENTRAL VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH: Our faith calls us to reach out to people in need. And we saw an opportunity to do this, and that -- the love of Christ is what compels us to do things like this.
SIMON: Of course he's talking about the trip to Haiti. Members were stopped with a busload of Haitian children at the border with the Dominican Republic. They said they planned to build an orphanage in the neighboring country.
SIMON (on camera): The idea came from two church members who established an organization called the New Life Children's Refuge. This is the mission statement right here. It says the group would rescue Haitian orphans abandoned on the streets and from makeshift hospitals.
They would then take those children to the Dominican Republic. The church fully backed their efforts.
SIMON (voice-over): But since being detained, questions have arisen about whether this organization had any business starting an orphanage at all. The U.S. government says New Life is not on the list of international adoption agencies and does not have non-profit status. So what was the church thinking? We came here to find out.
HENRY: There's a perception emerging that this is a group of inexperienced people who are totally unqualified to run an orphanage. I believe that the kind of knowledge that it takes to begin, you know, an organization that works that way was in place. The kind of employee that's it takes to successfully run an orphanage, those were going to be hired.
SIMON: Tom Difilipo was a world expert on adoption. He's blunt about the group's efforts.
TOM DIFILIPO, PRESIDENT AND CEO, JOINT COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN'S SERVICES: The first impression was that it was something obviously illegal, and almost bewildering as to how a group can attempt to bring children across the border with no documentation.
HENRY: My understanding is that they thought they had what they needed. When they came to the border crossing, they fully expected to be able to go across. And then they were told that they were just missing one document.
SIMON (voice-over): Most important, he says, their hearts were in the right place. Sean Lankford's wife and daughter were part of the mission.
SEAN LANKFORD, WIFE, DAUGHTER JAILED IN HAITI: I know their character. I know that they didn't -- that they were going there to help the kids, that was purely their heart. I know that they didn't do anything intentionally wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know we are trusting God.
SIMON: Now he and the others here are relying on their faith to see things through.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: This has really been an agonizing time for the family members here in Idaho because they don't know what's going to happen to their loved ones and they haven't been able to talk to the American detainees because their cell phones were confiscated.
John and Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: Dan Simon for us this morning. Dan, thanks.
President Obama not the odds on favorite in Las Vegas this morning. Some say that he has insulted the city again. Nevada lawmakers are angry over a comment that the president made about the city at a high school in New Hampshire yesterday. Listen to what he said.
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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Wow. One reason Nevada officials are so flopping mad it's not the first time President Obama has singled out Sin City. Here he is just about a year ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: You can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There you are. With unemployment in Nevada at 13 percent and tourism hurting, Nevada Senator Harry Reid says the president should lay off Vegas.
CHETRY: There you go. Well, Sarah Palin calling for the president to fire his chief of staff over Rahm Emanuel's use of the word "retarded" to describe liberal activists. Now the Republican, former Republican vice presidential nominee whose son Trig has Down Syndrome called Emanuel's language a slur on all of God's children on her Facebook page. The White House says that Emanuel has apologized to Tim Shriver, the CEO of the Special Olympics.
ROBERTS: Well, the Colgan aircraft that we reported on a year ago, the plane that went down outside of Buffalo killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground, the NTSB yesterday issued its final report. A lot of recommendations and some harsh words for the FAA. Will those recommendations get get implemented and why haven't they've been even though the stuff was talked about a year ago? We'll put that question to a couple of experts. One used to be with the NTSB, the other with the FAA, coming right up.
It's 18 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour right now. It's time for "Minding Your Business."
ROBERTS: Christine Romans here with us this morning. Good morning to you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We're looking at some new data that show how the great recession has shaped our priorities, and it's really showing what Larry Summers said this weekend that we are in a statistical recovery but a human recession. You can really see that how people are paying their bills, triaging their bills.
A growing number of Americans, according to Trans Union, are paying their credit card bills first before their mortgage. Conventional wisdom is that when you're in trouble, you pay that mortgage at the first of the month or the 15th of the month or whenever it is because you have got to pay that secured debt first.
What's happening is more Americans are going late on their mortgage but staying current on their credit card. Why is this? You can't pay your grocery bills with your house. The mortgage payment isn't going to put gas in your car. It's not going to help you buy your kid a pair of shoes. The credit card bill will. So people are paying more attention to making sure they're paying minimum payments on their credit card bill, a growing number of American than paying their mortgage. This shows we're in real -- go ahead.
CHETRY: And what are the implications of not paying your mortgage?
ROMANS: You go into default and you're going to lose the house. I mean, it's the first step to losing the house. It shows you that people are more concerned about having cash on hand right now making sure they have access to their credit cards than actually paying for their home. Part of the problem here is that millions of people are at least 20 -- owe at least 25 percent have lost like 25 percent of the value of their mortgage. So they're still under water. Millions, four, five million people are still under water on their loans that they just look at that mortgage payment and say, look, you know, I've got to put food on the table. Why am I throwing good money after bad?
There are other reports, a fascinating "New York Times" piece about people walking away, the implications of walking away. The growing number of people who are considering what's the math for me personally to walk away from my home. That is a very dire situation to be in and it shows just how much duress we're under.
There's also -- if you're worried about your house payment or what to do, look, there's a fantastic story today on CNNmoney.com, a guy named Les Christie (ph), a great story about deficiency judgments. You walk away from your house. You have a deal with the bank. You think you're out from under it, and then a year later, you get a letter in the mail from the lender saying, by the way, you owe $60,000. And now, you're still faced with these problems. So a lot of issues with housing still even though we're in this statistical recovery.
ROBERTS: A lot of financial stress out there.
ROMANS: Yes, absolutely.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Still ahead, a "Memo to the President" on terrorism. Not bombs or bullets alone will win the war. Barbara Starr reports right after the break.
Twenty-three minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Twenty-five minutes past the hour. Your top stories just five minutes away. First, though, an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
Since he took office, we've heard plenty of tough talk from the president when it comes to taking on terrorists. But there's a big difference between showing resolve and actually getting results. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr now with a "Memo to the President."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mr. President, you've said the war on terror is a top priority. You warned of the threat.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Al Qaeda and its extremist allies will stop at nothing in their efforts to kill Americans.
STARR: Your pledge to the public.
OBAMA: And we are determined not only to thwart those plans but to disrupt, dismantle and defeat their networks once and for all.
STARR: But 2010 may be a tough year to make it happen, according to one of your advisers, former CIA officer Bruce Riedel.
BRUCE RIEDEL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Al Qaeda is a very difficult enemy, very agile and very resourceful. And this isn't going to be won in a matter of months or even a couple of years.
STARR: Take Pakistan, the tribal areas, the major hideout for Al Qaeda's top leaders. You've stepped up U.S. drone attacks since you took office, but is that going to be enough?
RIEDEL: Pakistan is the hardest part of this problem. There is no made in America solution to the problem in Pakistan. We have to convince the Pakistanis that this is their strategic fight. That's going to take an awful lot of persuading.
STARR: Across the border in Afghanistan, you're sending 30,000 additional troops to fight the resurgent Taliban. Your commanders in the field say the combat power is vital. Bu, Mr. President, is your own team in Washington sending mixed signals? Bad news from your Joint Chiefs chairman.
ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS: We are in our third straight year of a very significant deterioration with respect to the security environment.
JAMES JONES, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: The good news that Americans should feel at least good about in Afghanistan is that the Al Qaeda presence is very diminished. The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country. No bases, no ability to launch attacks on either us or our allies.
STARR: But in December, a suicide bomber believed to be working for Al Qaeda got on to this base killing seven CIA employees, a disaster by any measure.
(on camera): And there's more to worry about. For Al Qaeda, national borders are irrelevant. Radical Web sites like these are now a major means for Al Qaeda to communicate and recruit fighters across the globe.
(voice-over): Look at Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula backed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's Christmas Day attempt to bring down a U.S. airliner. The U.S. has been secretly working with the Yemeni security services on raids against Al Qaeda hideouts and training camps. Aid to the military in Yemen is expected to double. But experts warn be careful. U.S. military assistance and strikes against Al Qaeda in Yemen could still backfire.
GREG JOHNSEN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: In these strikes, there were a number of innocent men and women and children killed. Their pictures then showed up on jihad forums and really these pictures I think serve as a recruiting field day for Al Qaeda.
STARR: And just across the Gulf of Aden in Somalia, the Al Qaeda-inspired group known as Al Shabaab (ph) is now on such a campaign of terror the United Nations has been forced to suspend food aid to more than one million hungry people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And, you know, Kiran, it's just as you said, the experts will tell you it's not the bombs and bullets that are going to win this war on terror. In all of the areas we've discussed, all of these countries it's the ability, they say, to offer the people a better economy, a better way of life that is going to make Al Qaeda's way much less appealing -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Tough challenge certainly. Barbara Starr for us with this morning's "Memo to the President." Thanks so much.
Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour right now. Time for your top stories.
The last man to treat Michael Jackson and possibly the last man to see him alive could be charged with his death today. Dr. Conrad Murray expected to turn himself into authorities in Los Angeles no later than tomorrow.
Well, three U.S. soldiers are dead and two others injured after a roadside bombing near a girls' school in northwestern Pakistan. Officials say that the attack killed at least seven, including school children. The troops were traveling with Pakistani security forces in what was considered a small U.S. mission to train members of Pakistan's military to be better equipped to fight Al Qaeda and Taliban militants.
The NTSB saying that a pilot pulled on the plane's controls column when he should have pushed instead leading to the deadly plane crash near Buffalo that killed 49 people on board and one on the ground. A year later, federal officials also ruled that mistakes made by the Continental Flight's first officer and also inadequate training by regional carrier contributed to that deadly crash. John.
ROBERTS: So when it comes to these regional flights, just how safe are we when we fly? Here for the "A.M. Breakdown," Jim Hall. He is the former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Michael Goldfarb, he is the former chief of staff of the Federal Aviation Administration. Gentlemen, great to see both of you.
MICHAEL GOLDFARB, FMR. FAA CHIEF OF STAFF: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: Like most crashes, Jim, this was a chain of events that led to the catastrophe, pilot error, fatigue, lack of professionalism in the cockpit. But the NTSB pointed to other outside influences well saying training, record keeping were also involved here. For you Jim, what was the most important takeaway lesson from the crash?
JIM HALL, FMR. NTSB CHAIRMAN: It focused on pilot proficiency and pilot performance. My concerns here is how those are impacted obviously by pilot pay and pilot scheduling in the regional airline industry.
ROBERTS: And Michael, for you what was the most important lesson of this crash?
GOLDFARB: John, I think Jim just hit the untold story. It's easy to blame the pilots that did just about everything wrong on that flight to Buffalo but the larger story is the regional airline industry itself, very, very low wages and fatigue that sets in when these pilots have to dead head across country, sleep in an airport terminal because they can't afford to have their own apartment and then get on an aircraft in winter weather conditions.
And unless the problem is looked at more broadly, I'm fearful we're not going to change a lot. Not a lot has changed, John, in one year since that awful crash.
ROBERTS: But, Jim, obviously these regional airlines will point to the economics of it saying we have to pay our pilots what we pay them because of ticket prices and Colgan Air, really seem to deny any responsibility in the statement they issues yesterday saying, "The pilots knew what to do in the situation they faced that night a year ago, had repeatedly demonstrated they knew what to do and yet did not do it." There was no culpability there on behalf of Colgan Air, at least not in that statement.
HALL: Well, these regional airlines need a wakeup call and the whole industry. You know, flying out of my home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I paid even an increased price for tickets than I would out of a major hub. So the economics of the passengers are not in control of the prices. And we need to be sure that the economics in the aviation industry is working.
ROBERTS: Right. But certainly, the NTSB did, you know, did intimate that the FAA and the bureaucracy of the federal government has some responsibility here as well. Debbie Hersman, the chairman of the NTSB said, you know, "we make these recommendations, we keep making these recommendations and they are not followed through on." She vented her frustrations yesterday. Let's listen, Michael, and get you to respond to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBORAH HERSMAN, NTSB CHAIRMAN: History is repeating itself. We are seeing issues come up in this accident that that we've seen before, training, pilot performance, record keeping, fatigue, sterile cockpit. These are issues that we have seen time and time again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Certainly, Michael, she put the blame on the industry but also said that the FAA has got some responsibility here, too, not implementing NTSB recommendations. You work for that bureaucracy, why are they slow to act?
GOLDFARB: John, they move like a glacier. I think the new FAA administrator is actually trying to move quickly on these things. One example was to increase the number of pilot hours that were required out of commuter aircraft from 250, which is minimal to 1,500 and ran into special interest problems on the hill just like every other piece of legislation.
So as long as interests continue to trump safety, we have an ability to move quickly on some of these vital recommendations. Most Americans don't realize, if they fly from San Francisco to Newark, and then on to Buffalo, the part of the flight on the 767, the pilots making $150,000, they have 15,000 hours of training. The plane flies above weather.
The hardest flying in America are on the regional commuter aircraft. They fly in weather up and down. $40,000 starting salary for some of these pilots, as much as a McDonald's manager makes, and no offense to the hard-working people in McDonald's. So we have structural problems in this regional airline industry that far exceed just the unfortunate actions of these two pilots on that cold February night last year.
ROBERTS: But you know, even a seasoned pilot like Sully Sullenberger who put -- who was the pilot in the miracle in the Hudson wasn't making enough money to make ends meet without getting some stuff on the side either. So maybe it's an industry wide problem.
But you know, Debbie Hersman also said, Jim, "Today is Groundhog Day, I feel like we're in that movie. We made recommendations time after time after time. They haven't been heeded by the FAA." Has this been a constant frustration by the NTSB that you make these recommendations, you forward them to the FAA and then they don't get implemented? Are they just slow to act? As Michael was suggesting? Are they not even listening?
HALL: Well, I think they are listening and we've seen improvement and obviously we have a fine record with the major airlines in terms of safety. However, the problems in the regional system I think are economic. And I'm pleased to hear that she also said that the NTSB and FAA are going to hold forums to focus on these issues this spring and hopefully they'll come up with some new solutions.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see what happens as a result of this. Jim Hall, Michael Goldfarb, good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much for coming in. Really appreciate it.
GOLDFARB: Thanks, John. ROBERTS: The time now, 36 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We're now 39 minutes past the hour.
The tea party movement is prepping for its first national convention this week but there also may be some trouble brewing within.
ROBERTS: We're kicking off the first of our three-part series that we call "Welcome to the Tea Party." And Jim Acosta is here now and he's bringing it up for us.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not master of ceremonies at the tea party but we did want to ask three questions. One was are they for real? They've been called Astro-turf. The answer is they are for real. The other question, should they be taken seriously? The answer to that, well, you can ask President Obama and Martha Coakley. And the third question is where do they go from here? The answer, nobody knows.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Take recession raging conservatives and independents...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Barack Obama is anti-American.
ACOSTA: Add a Democrat to the White House...
(on camera): Do you think having the president dressed up as the grim reaper is a little over the top?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I do not.
ACOSTA: You think it's appropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing disrespectful about this.
ACOSTA (voice-over): And you get the tea party.
There's more brewing in this rebellion against bailouts and big government than just Scott Brown's tea party infused upset in the Massachusetts Senate race.
MARK MECKLER, CO-FOUNDER, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: This is a major victory in what I would call the second American revolution.
ACOSTA: Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, founders of the Tea Party Patriots want this movement to blow the lid off Capitol Hill in this year's elections. They plan to back candidates who stand for tea party principles. And it doesn't matter if it's Republicans or Democrats standing in the way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if it had been John McCain, the same thing would have happened. I truly believe that.
ACOSTA (on camera): Really?
MECKLER: I do too.
ACOSTA (voice-over): In one year the tea party has gone viral from dozens to now hundreds of loosely-linked groups around the country. But Meckler and Martin don't tell them what to do. That's not the tea party way.
MECKLER: It's all bottom up. There are millions of leaders out there leading this movement.
ACOSTA (on camera): There may be leaders in the tea party movement but nobody is in charge. In fact, rival groups from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento, California, are battling over who will carry the tea party banner. And that fight has some tea partiers feeling hung over.
What do you think is happening at the tea party?
JIM KNAPP, TEA PARTY ACTIVIST: Well, I don't think the tea party knows what's happening to the tea party.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Sacramento party activist Jim Knapp fears the movement is about to be hijacked by one of the established parties.
KNAPP: I don't think there's any question the GOP has their tentacles into the tea party.
ACOSTA: Knapp points to the Tea Party Express, the conservative bus tour that crisscrossed the country last year. It run right inside a Republican political consulting firm. To the right, Sal Russo runs the firm and to the left, Joe Wierzbicki runs the Tea Party Express. Their offices are side by side.
(on camera): Do you think a lot of those tea party activists know that the Tea Party Express is based in an office that's run by Republican political consultants?
JOE WIERZBICKI, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: I think what you'll find is at tea party rallies a lot of those people who are mad at the Republican Party, many of them are Republicans themselves. Us, included. You know.
ACOSTA: You're Republicans?
WIERZBICKI: Yes.
ANNOUNCER: And that's why we at the Tea Party Express endorse Scott Brown. ACOSTA: After spending $350,000 to air pro Scott Brown campaign ads, these Republican consultants argue that the tea party's home is the GOP.
WIERZBICKI: The people who form this movement need a major political party.
ACOSTA: The movement's future is on an agenda. At the tea party's first convention set for this week but even with tea party favorites Sarah Palin headlining the convention, it's being boycotted by some tea party activists scoffing at the $550 admission fee.
MECKLER: There wasn't the kind of grass roots organization we are, so we declined to participate.
ACOSTA: Despite all that in-fighting, it's clear that tea party is on a roll, where it rolls is anybody's guess.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now there are some in this movement who would like to see the tea party become the a third political party, instead of the Rs and Ds next to the candidates name, we'll see a T. Not everybody is in favor of that. Those two major groups that we talked to in the piece, not in favor of that. They would like to see the tea party activist find a political home within the two political parties but Sarah Palin is going to be at that convention this week and she's going to be talking to those tea party activists out there. Some would like to see her perhaps run as a tea party candidate.
There are bumper stickers out there. You can find those at these tea party rallies. And it is unclear as to where it goes from here. Sarah Palin will be appearing with the Tea Party Express in Searchlight, Nevada, the home of Harry Reid next month to kick off the second version of the Tea Party Express, the second bus tour that's crisscrossing the country. So they are not stopping. They are targeting Republicans and Democrats all through this election.
ROBERTS: The fact that some are boycotting this convention because of the price, is that indicative of a potential beginning of a split in the tea party movement?
ACOSTA: You know...
ROBERTS: Grassroots establishment?
ACOSTA: Well, there's a saying in the tea party movement, patriots for profit. They don't like folks who are trying to come in and capitalize on the tea party movement. And that is why you had that one gentleman in our piece saying -- hey, we don't like the Republican tentacles coming into the tea party movement. We like these consulting firms trying to run tea party groups.
That remains to be seen. It depends on where it goes from here. I think you're going to find that a lot of these folks are going to drift back to the two political parties and we're going to talk about that in our next piece tomorrow. The big race down in Florida, Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. That's a big one.
ACOSTA: An establishment Republican versus a tea party darling. And they are choosing sides down there.
ROBERTS: Jim, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
ROBERTS: Great piece.
Rob Marciano is going to have the travel forecast right after the break.
CHETRY: Also coming up in 10 minutes, time for an "A.M. House Call" and a stunning turnaround in the fight against autism and really whether there's any cause between vaccine and the disorder.
Alina Cho joins us with the issue. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
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CHETRY: There's a look at Miami this morning where right now it's cloudy and 69 degrees. A little bit later it's going to be sunny and 77.
ROBERTS: Looks like it's going to be good for the weekend too. Miami set to host its tenth Super Bowl on Sunday night.
Here's a look at the Sun Life Stadium getting all spruced up, the rain -- and it was torrential rain at times -- finally let up yesterday, allowing workers to fill those spray paint guns and put the finishing touches on the field.
It's estimated that the game is going to generate up to $400 million in revenue for South Florida's economy, and, boy, could it use that.
CHETRY: Definitely. They're like painting in the fleur-de-lis there for the Saints.
ROBERTS: Yes. Very nice!
Forty-eight minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano's in the Weather Center in Atlanta with a check on the weather headlines. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey guys!
A couple of things going on. First, across the Northeast we have snow that's exiting there, and then another storm developing across Texas that will bring flooding rains, and also the Pacific Northwest.
Let's go over the snowfall totals from this storm that rolled through the mid-Atlantic last night, Damascus, Maryland 6.4 inches, Leesburg, Virginia 5.3, Bethesda, 5 inches, Dulles Airport 4.3, and 4 inches in Baltimore. The next storm that will be rolling in I think Friday to Saturday will bring even more, but is it enough to build one of these in your backyard?
Check it out. Greensboro, North Carolina, these guys said, hey, you know, if we can't go to the mountain and have a private SuperPipe like Shaun White, we're just going to build our own little track and rail system in the backyard. So they took all of the snow that they've gotten over the past few days and they built ramps and dad even brought in some lights. Go daddy-o! All right. Good job out there in Greensboro. Enjoy, kids. You know where to go if you want to go for a ride in the snow.
Here's the snow going for a ride out into the Cape Cod area, and that will be diminishing throughout time. Check out the numbers, 20s where the front is passing through and 20s behind the front. So not a terrible amount of cold air behind it. It will drop below freezing tonight but we might peak above freezing to melt some of that snow throughout the day today.
Here's our next batch of rain coming through Texas, heavy at times from San Antonio to Houston. If you are traveling today, Boston, New York metros we'll see that morning snow diminish and then a little bit of wind behind it but not a whole bunch. Low clouds lingering in DC and maybe some fog in -- in San Francisco. The high will be 55 degrees, 39 degrees expected in New York City.
Got to build you guys a little half pipe in the backyard there in Larchmont, New York, that would be a -- a good one for your husband, Kiran, to get a -- get to work on for the kids.
CHETRY: Goodness, I think he'd fall a lot if he tried that.
ROBERTS: That would probably end up in a great YouTube video.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. Like the -- the slip and slide one, except he wouldn't land in the pool.
Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Well, this morning's top stories just minutes away, including an eye-opening assessment of the terror threat facing this country from the officials who see these reports. Why the heads of every major intel agency think an attack is coming in the next few months.
ROBERTS: And a deadly morning in the war on terror, three US soldiers are dead after a roadside bombing in Northwest Pakistan. Why were US troops over the border?
We'll hear from the Pentagon and go live for the first report out of Pakistan today. CHETRY: And at 8:15 Eastern, there goes your money -- again. The AIG company now -- almost collapsing under the economy, reportedly getting set to pay out $100 million in bonus money. Christine Romans breaks it down for us.
Those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: It's coming up now on six minutes to the top of the hour. That means it's time for your "A.M. House Call".
It was a landmark study that has helped fuel the highly-charged debate over whether the MMR vaccine was linked to autism in children.
CHETRY: Now, more than a decade later, the medical journal "The Lancet" which publish the study originally is now retracting it.
Our Alina Cho joins us live with more details, and as we've said, this is a really highly charged issue about the causes of autism and the links to vaccines that some have argued.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and -- and a highly emotional issue, John, as you pointed out. Listen, there were a lot of questions about methodology over the years, but because this study was published in "The Lancet", a prestigious medical journal known around the world, parents took it as fact. They believed it.
Well, now "The Lancet" has made that rare decision to retract. So the debate over whether vaccines are safe should be over, right? Wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): For 12 years it has been hotly debated by doctors...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's much more complex than just vaccinated versus unvaccinated.
CHO: ... parents...
JENNY MCCARTHY, ACTRESS: Everyone's going, I'm too scared to vaccinate my child.
CHO: ... even Congress.
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: What we don't know is is there any causal relationship between the number of vaccines.
CHO: The controversy over whether childhood vaccines cause autism stems from a 1998 study published in the medical journal "Lancet". That study citing a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was the catalyst for widespread panic among parents, who wondered whether vaccinating their children would ultimately harm them. Now, in a stunning turnaround, "Lancet" is renouncing the study, saying "It has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper are incorrect."
DR. JEFFREY BOSCAMP, CHAIRMAN OF PEDIATRICS, HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Despite the fact that, you know, dozens of studies came out afterwards which didn't support an association between autism and MMR, everybody remembered this study.
CHO: The retraction was in response to a ruling by British medical authorities that lead researcher, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, acted unethically in the original study of just 12 children, carrying out invasive and unnecessary tests, even paying kids $8 to give blood at his son's birthday party.
In a statement to CNN, Dr. Wakefield said, "The allegations against me and against my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust, and I invite anyone to examine the contents of these proceedings and come to their own conclusion." Which begs the question, what does all of this mean?
Many say the case is now closed, while others still question the safety of vaccines.
Actress Jenny McCarthy is the mother of an autistic child and an outspoken critic. Her Generation Rescue Foundation condemned "Lancet's" retraction, telling CNN, quote, "This is nothing more than a witch hunt. The evidence finding a connection between vaccines and autism continues to grow unabated."
But parents like Harry Slatkin, father of an autistic son, David, say blaming vaccines would be easy. The "Lancet" retraction, he says, is evidence it's time to move on.
HARRY SLATKIN, PARENT OF AUTISTIC CHILD: I'd give anything tomorrow to have any answer in autism, that something has affected David and that's the reason he is the way he is. But it isn't vaccines, and we need to now put this to bed.
BOSCAMP: The shame of this is that what this does is divert resources and people's time in autism research towards something that's not the answer. We've wasted a whole lot of time chasing down vaccine theories that have been proven to be wrong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Money that could have gone toward other research, possibly toward a cure.
Now, the bottom line question remains, if you are the parent of a young child, should you vaccinate? And several doctors I spoke to, including the chief of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University, says yes, you should, he says not because "The Lancet" retracted this study but because of years of cumulative data, definitive studies that show that vaccines do not cause autism. This doctor told me there is an enormous risk, guys, when you don't vaccinate, literally life and death, long-term neurological and physical implications, not only for your child but for the children around them.
CHETRY: It's a conversation that you should have with your pediatrician as well. Each child's different.
CHO: Always consult with your doctor.
CHETRY: you know, some of them agree to split them up or just, you know, don't vaccinate if you're sick, just on the off the chance that you could be -- you know, that your child could be vulnerable.
CHO: That's right, and the number one thing, if -- if you have any questions, consult your doctor.
CHETRY: Yes. But thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way in 90 seconds. Stay with us here on the Most News in the Morning.
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