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American Morning
Toyota Announces Global Recall on Hybrid; Mid-Atlantic to Brace Another 20 Inches of Snow; More Snow to Freeze Flights Across U.S. Airports; Haitian Man Found Alive in Rubble After Four Weeks; Stocks Struggle: DOW Below 10,000; Toyota: A Company in Crisis; First Lady's Cause: Child Obesity; Jackson Doctor Pleads Not Guilty; Dementia & Your Diet; "Got Beer?"
Aired February 09, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. And hello to you, too. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Tuesday, February 9th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in for John Roberts this week.
CHETRY: That's right. And we start off with some big stories we're telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
Another embarrassment for Toyota. The once mighty automaker announcing a global recall of four hybrid models including the popular 2010 Prius. The company says it's to fix software blamed for brake failures. In a moment, we're going to take you live to Tokyo for new details this morning.
HOLMES: And those shovels. Just put them down for now because you're going to have to get them right back out. More snow on the way to the mid-Atlantic states, D.C. as well, possibly another 20 inches on top of the two feet and three feet they even got in some places.
We're watching this new storm. Also watching the board at Reagan National Airport. A lot of people are watching that board to see if they will ever get out this week.
CHETRY: And another miraculous survival story out of Haiti. He was pulled from the rubble, this man, in a supermarket in Haiti where he may have been buried since the earthquake struck almost a month ago. Dr. Sanjay Gupta live in Port-au-Prince with this remarkable story.
HOLMES: Oh, we do want to turn first, though, to what many people saw was coming. Another recall by Toyota, forced now to take another drastic step, a global recall this time for the world's number one automaker. We're talking about the brakes in the Ford 2010 hybrid models that are a problem now for this recall. They knew about this problem apparently months ago.
The cars affected, the Prius, both the hybrid and the plug-in versions of that Prius. Also the Lexus HS 250h. That is a new model just coming out. Also another model which is only sold in Japan is a part of this recall. In all, we're talking about some 437,000 vehicles being recalled.
And this morning we're tapping into the global resources of CNN. Our Kyung Lah live for us in Tokyo.
Hello to you. Again, it seems like the bad news just keeps on coming for the company itself and also for Toyota drivers.
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly does. If you're a driver of a 2010 Prius, you are going to want to pay attention, T.J., because there is another recall on the way. Now in just a few hours, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opens for business, it will be notified by Toyota that U.S. drivers once again affected by a recall.
As you mentioned, this is involving the Toyota Prius, the 2010 Prius and the Toyota Prius plug-in. Toyota's top man here in Tokyo making the announcement himself personally, unlike the other recalls. A bit of a different situation. And he made this promise to consumers, quote, "We will regain your confidence."
Now, the fix is actually quite simple. We got the whole layout from Toyota today. If you own a 2010 Prius, you're going to have to wait until your dealership contacts you, then you're going to drive your car to the dealership. It's about a 40-minute software fix. The actual fix itself only takes about 10 minutes. So Toyota says this won't take that long to get through all the customers in the United States.
But if you own the Lexus or the Prius plug-in, they don't have a fix for you quite yet. So Toyota is going to temporarily suspend sales of those models. So if you do have any of these vehicles, you're wondering should I be driving. Is my care safe to drive? Toyota is saying yes.
If you do feel that glitch where you feel like there's a split- second brake failure, Toyota says just press firmly on the brake, it should overcome it. They don't envision that there's going to be any major, major brake failure. What they're talking about is a split second, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes, a split second. But still, they thought that split second was important enough to do this massive recall. Kyung Lah, we're going to be checking in with you again this morning. Thank you so much.
And again, they're telling you can still drive your car. You shouldn't experience too much of an issue. Just a glitch. So pound on those brakes and it should stop the car. You can check the list of vehicles being recalled on our blog, CNN.com/amFIX. Also information for you on there on what to do if your car is on that list.
CHETRY: Well, the winter warnings are now up again for D.C., Virginia and Maryland. These are places that were buried under more than two feet of snow over the weekend. And now, they could get another 20 inches.
In fact, the federal government is still shut down this morning. Some flights still have not gotten off the ground from the last storm. And we're tracking this new storm now and the mess left behind from the last one.
Our Rob Marciano is watching the system move across the Midwest right now. We have Sarah Lee live at Reagan National Airport. First, though, we're checking in with Reynolds Wolf. He's live in Washington for us this morning.
Hey, Reynolds. Go, Reynolds. Go.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're coming to you from actually M Street right here in Georgetown. This is actually a snow removal route, snow emergency route.
If you take a look at what I'm walking on, you can still see there's plenty of snow, plenty of ice, plenty of goo out here. And the problem is, you get even more snowfall on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): Around the nation's capital, a symphony of snow. But after a brief intermission, few are excited about the second act.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no. No more.
WOLF: The coming storm could add a foot or more to the mounds of snow that brought life to a standstill here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Insult to injury I think is the term that comes to mind.
WOLF: So for those who could get rubber to the road, it was time to hit the store and stock up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to go and buy some more food.
WOLF: Others weren't nearly as lucky. In this neighborhood, no plows, which meant no way out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very frustrating, you know. If we run out of baby food, you know, we can't do anything.
WOLF: He's worried about his 7-month-old baby. His neighbors have a full house and their own concerns about the coming storm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be a problem. It will be a problem.
WOLF: They've been trapped since Friday, struggling to entertain their four kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is nothing more we can do but just sit and look.
WOLF: Also weighing heavy on rescue crews, the pure heft of all that snow. It was enough to partially destroy the roof on this fire station and send crews and shovels scrambling to rooftops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When something collapses, you really never know when it's going to happen.
WOLF: But that's far from the only concern. Power lines are still down and access to critical services remains spotty for many.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fell and may have fractured my arm, I'm not entirely sure. Of course, my doctor's office isn't open to tell me that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: It's mind numbing, isn't it? I mean, think of this for a moment. You still have the snow all over the place. It isn't removed from this roadway. And in the forecast, you've got a potential for another foot or even more right in this spot. Hard to believe.
Your forecast coming up in just a few moments with meteorologist Rob Marciano. That's moments away. Back to you guys.
CHETRY: And hey, Reynolds, are they going to get a plow to that neighborhood where the people were concerned about being able to get their groceries?
WOLF: I think there's a lot of concern about a little bit of everything. Just trying to get from one house to another, trying to get to the store, trying to get to the biz, just trying to get to the mailbox in some locations. So there are a lot of concerns for a lot of people, no question about it.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. Reynolds Wolf for us this morning, thanks.
HOLMES: We'll return to the situation at the airports, in particular Reagan National which has kind of been a ghost town the past couple of days. More snow is on the way, even though they were literally trucking out the stuff.
Sarah Lee is standing by. Sarah, you've been kind of a lonely woman there at the airport the past couple of days. So you're starting a little more happening behind you I can see in the picture there. But are the flights actually coming in and taking off now?
SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. You know, we got here around 4:30 this morning, T.J., and it is a much different picture from what we showed you when we checked in with you yesterday when it was pretty much us and the cleaning crew out here.
Taking a look behind me, you can see the steady stream of passengers that have been checking in, again, since when we got here around 4:30 that we've been able to see. These are people who have been stranded for the most part for the past four days. We even saw a bride coming through here carrying her wedding dress hoping to get to her wedding on time.
Again, the airport here, which normally operates on average about 700 flights a day, has been shut down since the storm so nearly three days. So they have a lot of backlog that they're dealing with here at Reagan National. Also out at Dulles, they're operating, too, but not yet quite at full capacity. But they do have two runways open there.
Checking in with Baltimore, Washington international airport, they also are up and running now, too, but again, they have their limitations as well. Everyone trying to clear out the backlog before this next storm comes in.
Checking in with the rails, Amtrak, they have limited service now from here along the northeast corridor. Again, they are keeping an eye to the skies because they know what Mother Nature can do with this second wallop that's coming around. So again, looking pretty good here out at the airport and it certainly will pick up when we check back in with you a little later -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Like you said, that small window to get in and get out before the next storm comes. Sarah Lee, thank you so much. We'll see you again soon.
CHETRY: All right. So when is this thing coming? Let's check in with Rob Marciano right now. He's in the extreme weather center for us in Atlanta with more on exactly who can expect to get hit yet again.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kiran. Hey, T.J. Yes, basically, if you have snow around your area right now across the mid- Atlantic, you're going to get more snow. Here it is on the radar scope.
It is quickly moving in. Will be there probably by about lunchtime, starting to evaporate a little bit running into dry air, but there's plenty of cold air ahead of it. And there is the whites on the radar from Chicago back to Minneapolis, spinning into Detroit. This is once again going to affect tens of millions of people in a deep moisture tap into the Gulf of Mexico. Six to 12 Midwest, Ohio Valley, 10 to 20 expected D.C., New York, and in through Long Island.
New York getting into the act as well with this one as opposed to getting nothing with the last one. We'll update this forecast in about 30 minutes. T.J. and Kiran, back up to you.
HOLMES: Yes, New York doesn't want to be left out.
CHETRY: No, not this time.
HOLMES: All right, Rob. Thanks, buddy. We'll see you again soon. Some other stories new this morning, reports that the Taliban leader in Pakistan is dead. Taliban sources say Hakimullah Mehsud (ph) died on his way to a treatment center in Karachi. Authorities have been investigating reports that Mehsud (ph) died after being wounded last month in a drone attack. Mehsud (ph) is believed to have ordered that bombing attack that killed seven CIA employees in Afghanistan back in December. A live report from Pakistan in the next hour.
CHETRY: Also, President Obama is remembering Congressman John Murtha this morning as a, quote, "tough as nails leader."
The 18-term Democrat from Pennsylvania died yesterday of complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was a decorated Marine who served in Korea and Vietnam. He won two Purple Hearts as well as a Bronze Star. He was also a vocal opponent of the Iraq war. Funeral arrangements are still pending this morning. Congressman Murtha was 77 years old.
HOLMES: And a homecoming like they have never seen before in New Orleans. The Saints are back. Check it out.
That is Coach Payton right there with his Lombardi trophy sticking out the roof of his Mercedes. And why not? The team got back. They have a parade that's scheduled for today, 5:00 Central Time. Schools are closing early in New Orleans today because if there's anything that should be taking a back seat to this celebration, it's education.
CHETRY: There are different types of education.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: They're experiencing it firsthand.
HOLMES: And this is -- come on, this is the biggest story. This is probably the best thing. All the money that has gone, the announcements about they're helping New Orleans. This might be the best thing that's happened since Katrina, a Super Bowl win. So congratulations.
CHETRY: So, one truck is going by with the trophy out of the moon roof.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: And the other three behind it all have BlackBerries and palm pilots and iPhones taping it.
HOLMES: Only one guy gets to hold the trophy. That's the coach.
CHETRY: They got to share.
Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, an incredible story out of Haiti. This is unbelievable.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: This man rescued. He says that he was buried under the rubble since it started. This is nearly a month, pulled out alive. How was it possible that he survived? We're going to be checking in with Sanjay Gupta.
Eleven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 13 past the hour. Want to give you an update on allegations against that group of American missionaries accused of trying to illegally take 33 children out of Haiti.
A Haitian police officer now tells CNN that he stopped the Baptist missionaries, including the group leader, Laura Silsby, in an earlier attempt to transport dozens of kids from Haiti to the Dominican Republic. The 10 Americans from Idaho being held in Haiti on kidnapping charges.
CHETRY: Nearly four weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, those still trapped in the rubble have been mostly were given up for dead. Too soon though for a 28-year-old Haitian man who was actually rescued yesterday. Now he may have been buried under the debris since the quake hit. He was emaciated, dehydrated, but in relatively good shape. So how did he beat near impossible odds and survive?
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is in Port-au- Prince. He joins us now on the phone.
And, Sanjay, this is an incredible rescue.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): No matter how you look at it, Kiran, there's no question about it. It's extraordinary in every way, as is the case with most of these rescues we've been talking about for some time. It is very difficult to absolutely establish the veracity of everything that has happened with this particular man, but we may never know all the details for sure.
But what we are hearing, what doctors believe, along with his family, is that at the time of the earthquake he was trapped in a marketplace where he was selling rice. Again, four weeks ago today that we're talking about now. And at that time he was trapped but not crushed or pinned in any way, which may have been a very important factor in all of this.
When he was -- he was rescued by some people in that area, taken to a small army clinic and eventually transferred to a larger hospital, we saw him there. He was exactly as you described, very emaciated, very dehydrated. I don't know if you're looking at some of the pictures, Kiran and TJ, but this -- this is a man whose family says lost over 30 pounds during this timeframe.
His vital signs are relatively stable, the doctors tell me. He had a lot of blood work done at that point, which was consistent with someone who would be very dehydrated.
You know, a couple of things to your point, one is that he -- he was sort of hallucinating, maybe even a little bit delusional at the time that he was brought into this hospital. He was describing that someone in a white coat was coming to him and bringing him water at various times over these -- these past four weeks. And he also didn't even realize that he had been rescued. He still thought that he was under the rubble when he was in this hospital as well.
But certainly, even as I'm talking to you now, he's being resuscitated and doctors are pretty optimistic. I asked the doctor specifically as well, what did they think of all of this, the doctors that took care of him. Here's what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MIKE CONNELLY, TREATING SURVIVOR TRAPPED FOR FOUR WEEKS: He was emaciated. It was obvious that he hadn't had anything to drink or to eat in -- in quite some time. He had open wounds that were festering on both of his feet.
GUPTA: Do you believe it? I mean, you believe it to be true? This would be what? This would be the longest survivor so far of this earthquake.
CONNELLY: Yes. Yes, I mean, the -- there's no reason for me to -- to doubt it. That's what the bystanders -- bystanders related to us. I mean, the patient was so incredibly weak and -- and frail when he came in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: He has two children, and I talked to his family yesterday as well, and they are telling his children today that their father is still alive. You know, they wanted to wait a little bit of time, but just -- just absolutely remarkable, no matter how you look at it.
HOLMES: Yes. No matter what, I'm sure we're going to get more details, Sanjay, about this. We're going to be checking in with you again as well. But thank you so much for that report. We thought we'd seen the last person pulled out alive, and we've got another one, so miracles still happening there.
Thanks so much, Sanjay.
Also, stay tuned to CNN tonight for a special "AC 360" investigation, looking at greed and corruption in Haiti before the quake. We'll follow the money in "Stealing Haiti", tonight, 10:00 Eastern time, right here on CNN.
Also coming up here on the Most News in the Morning, the market plunges below 10,000. Our Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" after the break.
It's 17 past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour. It's time to check in with Christine Romans. Good morning to you (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Good morning. That's right.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
It wasn't such a great morning on Wall Street yesterday. I wanted to update you on what happened with the DOW, and the Stock Market has been a little bit rocky lately. You know, after a really great year last year, a lot of people were saying it was time to take some of the -- take some money off the table, and the DOW fell below 10,000 for the first time in three months.
Why do we care about 10,000? We really don't. It's just psychological number, but some -- some people who track the numbers say that close there at 9908 may be part of this market trying to do a 10 percent correction from those recent highs which would bring it down to maybe 9653.
There's concerns about just the stability and the durability of the -- of their economic recovery. Maybe in this country we've already factored that into that big rally from -- from last year, and so there's really not much more to go until we get some more good economic news, and we know that the economic news is still pretty mixed and the jobs picture is still pretty dim.
Financial stocks led the way lower yesterday, some of those taking a big hit, 2 or 3 percent along the way. There's also some concern -- you're going to hear a lot about this, you guys, sovereign debt worries in Europe. What in the world does that mean?
They're really zeroing in on Greece, also Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain, but Greece in particular, they're a little concerned, some of the ratings agencies have been downgrading this, saying it might be having trouble paying the interest on its loans and that is sovereign debt worries. And when you start to have countries that are having trouble with their finances in Europe, it's perking up people's ears here, saying, OK, what's the next shoe to drop? We're going to -- we're going to have to keep a close eye on this.
So, very -- keeping a very close eye -- remember what Jill Schlesinger called it last week? She called it the PIGS -- Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. Still watching the -- the -- some of the worries in those countries as well, and they're talking about it on Wall Street, too.
CHETRY: All right. Christine Romans for us this morning, "Minding Our Businesses". Thanks so much.
Still to come on the Most News in the Morning, Toyota says it now knows what's wrong with the cars. It now knows how to fix the cars. But experts we spoke to say that they really don't know what's wrong.
We have a CNN Special Investigation, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-five minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Toyota is under the microscope again today, the auto giant announcing a global recall of more than 400,000 hybrids, this time due to brake problems. And that's on top of millions of other recalls because of sudden acceleration with the gas pedal.
Toyota's executives say that they have that problem under control, but there are a lot of experts who are telling us, no, they don't.
Drew Griffin with our Special Investigations Unit is digging deeper this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: We wanted to go beyond the company and beyond the Federal Highway Safety folks and ask the experts what is happening here to try to find (ph) out what is happening at Toyota.
They paint a picture of a company in crisis, trying to fix a problem and get a solution for that problem that so far, they say, that solution doesn't exist.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): It was a hastily called news conference and apology at 9:00 Friday night near Tokyo. The president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, saying he's sorry for the global recall but declaring, "Believe me, Toyota's cars are safe."
On the company's website, a clear explanation for the sudden acceleration problems -- stuck floor mats, sticky gas pedals, and a fix. It's all mechanical, the company says, and it's solved (ph). But is it?
SEAN KANE, SAFETY RESEARCH STRATEGIES: I would say unequivocally that Toyota's explanations do not account for the -- the share of unintended acceleration complaints that we've examined.
GRIFFIN: CNN talked with four leading experts in the field of sudden acceleration, car safety and automotive recalls.
Despite Toyota's statements, these experts independently conclude something very different. Toyota does not know what is causing the sudden acceleration in its cars, and, therefore, doesn't really know how to fix them. Why?
Sean Kane with Safety Research Strategies, an automotive safety consulting firm that has tracked the sudden acceleration complaints literally for years now, says follow the data.
KANE: We're seeing thousands of complaints from consumers that report very consistent types of problems across a number of years, makes and models. We're seeing these long duration on highway events, we're seeing short duration in parking lot events. There's a series of patterns that are emerging that cannot be explained.
GRIFFIN: Kane says electronics are the likely culprit, interference with the car's computer systems. Toyota insists that's just not true.
In a statement to CNN, the company says, "After many years of exhaustive testing by us and by other organizations, we have found no evidence of an electronic problem in our electronic throttle control systems that could have led to unwanted acceleration."
Inside the electronics lab at the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering, Professor Mike Pecht specializes in laboratory- controlled interference testing.
PROF. MICHAEL PECHT, DEPT. OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, UNIV. OF MARYLAND: They need to continuously be testing these products. You just can't test one day and say, ah, there's the product, unless they can make sure that there's been no other changes, and it's -- and that's very difficult today.
GRIFFIN: And that, he says, may be the heart of Toyota's problem.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Professor, I realize you're trying to be careful and maybe reluctant to say some things, but the floor mats don't seem to be the problem. A mechanical fix in the gas pedal doesn't seem to be the problem. In fact, the problem seems to be that Toyota at this point in time does not know the problem, and, therefore, does not know how to fix it.
PECHT: I -- I think that -- I think that the evidence is pointing that way. I think the evidence is pointing that way, absolutely.
GRIFFIN: So any fix is not a fix.
PECHT: So -- so they're in a -- they're in a little bit of a -- a quandary. If they announce that the electronics is a problem, they're -- they're going to probably be in a -- in a lot of trouble because nobody is going to want to drive the car.
So I think, at this stage, they don't want to announce that there's an electronics problem.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): In its statement to us, Toyota's spokesperson said, quote, "It's very easy to look from outside in and say, no, there is no problem with the pedal. But this is the problem, and we are fixing it."
In fact, Toyota says two days NHTSA said it will take a fresh look into the general issue of electromagnetic interference in the auto industry as a whole, not just related to Toyota.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GRIFFIN: The big question is why? Why would Toyota, a -- a company with a strong reputation of quality control and -- and obviously pleasing their customers, go through this kind of problem?
This is what the experts say, that Toyota is either misleading itself, or the other opinion is that when this is all over, that Toyota is going to be very, very unhappy with how they handled this crisis.
TJ, Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Wow, some scary implications there. They're not exactly sure even how to fix the problem in some cases.
HOLMES: Can you even believe what they're telling you, and they're telling people you can still drive your cars. Toyota's got a ways to go.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
All right. Well, right now, we're crossing the half hour. It's time for a look at the other top stories this morning.
And we've been mentioning Toyota. They are now talking about a recall of 400,000 hybrid models because of problems with the antilock braking system. The fix is a computer software update they say. The cars affected in the U.S. include the 2010 Prius hybrid and plug-in, and also, the 2010 Lexus HS 250h. Seven million Toyotas have already been recalled because of problems with the accelerators.
Well, they're not even out from under the first storm. Now, the Mid-Atlantic States are bracing for round two. A storm moving east across the Midwest right now is expected to dump another 20 inches of snow in and around the nation's capital. And they already have more than two feet on the ground already. Federal offices are again closed today.
And what are the odds that someone could survive being buried under earthquake rubble for almost a month? Experts would say impossible. But this 28-year-old Haitian man is living proof it can happen. He was pulled from the debris of a supermarket where he may have been trapped since the quake hit. He was emaciated, dehydrated, but, amazingly, in relatively good shape -- T.J.
HOLMES: That is amazing.
Well, an estimated one in three American kids, overweight. In just a few hours, First Lady Michelle Obama will unveil a new campaign to eliminate childhood obesity. So, is it the right fit for first lady?
Joining me now to talk about it, first lady historian, Professor Myra Gutin, and our own White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.
Good morning to you both, ladies.
Suzanne, I'll start with you.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.
HOLMES: Why did she go with this cause?
MALVEAUX: Well, obviously, she has two children. She emphasizes the importance of living right, healthy, as well as getting exercise. It is something that her own family has experienced, and also, it's a rather noncontroversial issue here. This is something that is fairly simple and straightforward.
And we'll see how far she takes her role. If she does take on, say, the food industry or the school lunches. But it is something that a lot of people are dealing with. And, as the first lady's office notices, just over the last three decades or so, childhood obesity, it's just a huge problem. It has tripled in this country.
And as you had mentioned, it's one in every three kids is either obese or heavily overweight. But this is really a very serious problem. So, we're going to see if the White House -- a number of people here obviously, a couple of mayors, some school kids from Bancroft Elementary School, local kids, Tiki Barber, the former NFL football player, they're all going to be emphasizing the importance of exercise and healthy eating.
HOLMES: Well, that's the campaign.
Ms. Gutin, let me bring you in on this now. And for a little historical perspective, this is just what first ladies do now. We expect them to take up a major cause.
MYRA GUTIN, FIRST LADY HISTORIAN: Yes, we do, T.J. And Mrs. Obama's project will be one in a long line of first lady projects.
HOLMES: Now, how large of a scale are we used to them being? Are they even evolving over the past few first ladies?
GUTIN: They've been pretty extensive. We go all the way back to 1960 and Jacqueline Kennedy and refurbishment of the White House; Lady Bird Johnson, an environmentalist, Barbara Bush and literacy. So, certainly, they've changed over the years. But there's been consistent action on the part of the first lady to bring an issue to the national attention.
HOLMES: Now, it's something Suzanne kind of hit on now. And, Suzanne, I'll follow up with you on this in a moment. But do we also see, Ms. Gutin, do, that usually, the first ladies will take up a cause and they campaign for it. How often do they actually get into the realm of trying to push for public policy changes and even legislation?
GUTIN: Periodically, over the history of their involvement, they have been involved. Lady Bird Johnson was involved in the highway beautification bill. Rosalynn Carter was involved in the uniform Mental Health Systems Act. So, if Mrs. Obama were, in fact, to become involved in some legislative initial initiative, she wouldn't be the first.
HOLMES: She wouldn't be the first. Suzanne, you kind of hit on -- we're not sure if that's the direction she's going to go, but what does the White House kind of a -- over the past year, in what we have seen how she has been out, do they try to keep her away from, I guess, that kind of stuff, the public policy of it, the legislation of it and let her take up her cause without, I guess, getting involved in political back-and-forth?
MALVEAUX: Well, I think what you're going to see, T.J., is real emphasis in changing people's behavior, because that's a really big part of this. Obviously, that kids are not making the right choices when it comes to food, that parents are not guiding their properly, that physicians need to be more involved, that the schools have to be more actively involved. So, I think you're going to see that kind of encouragement from the first lady, kind of in a community-based way to get people involved.
One of the things that was interesting -- I had covered the former first lady, Laura Bush, and her role really changed, in the gravitas of her role, really changed when she took on the military commanders in Myanmar and also with First Lady Hillary Clinton when she would travel the world, whether it was Africa or the former Soviet republics, talking about women's rights. Those are the kinds of things that really stick with them, they stick with me.
We'll have to see whether or not childhood obesity, as serious as an issue it is, is going to be taken seriously in this country and is going to stick with this first lady.
HOLMES: Well, Ms. Gutin, I'll wrap with you on this. What is a traditional first lady anymore? And does the public even know what it wants from a first lady? If she gets too involved, like Hillary Clinton in legislation, maybe there's some backlash there. If she's not involved enough, she'll get criticized for that.
GUTIN: Well, I think you pointed out, T.J., that maybe we walk an interesting line here. There are some people, I'm sure, who would prefer a more traditional model of a first lady, someone who focuses on ceremonial events.
But I think more of our population is interested in seeing someone in the White House who can use that national podium that supported to her. Whenever the first lady is focused on a project, she's attracted a good deal of attention, a good deal of positive press. And I think that's all to the good.
HOLMES: You know, you mention that. No matter what, she's going to get some attention. But, you know, it's always it seems -- it's always a line in that story that says what she's wearing and what her hair looks like. So, we'll still see that I'm sure.
Myra Gutin, thank you so much for being here.
GUTIN: Thank you, T.J.
HOLMES: Suzanne, good to see, as always.
And a reminder here tonight, don't miss, live Larry King exclusive with the first lady, Michelle Obama, on the family's first year in the White House. Tonight -- "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 Eastern.
CHETRY: We'll look forward to it. T.J., thanks.
Well, coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, the doctor at the center of the Michael Jackson death investigation faces a judge in court. The pop star's father is now telling Larry King why he knew -- why his son says he knew he was going to be killed.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: It's 40 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Michael Jackson's doctor is free on bail today, and according to his lawyer, Conrad Murray is ready to resume practicing medicine.
CHETRY: But Murray, meantime, is charged now with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's death. In fact, yesterday, he pleaded not guilty. Jackson's family was looking on and our Ted Rowlands was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Conrad Murray didn't acknowledge the cameras or the Jackson fans outside the courthouse. He didn't say much inside either.
JUDGE KEITH SCHWARTZ, L.A. SUPERIOR COURT: Conrad Robert Murray, is that your true name, sir?
ROWLANDS: After Murray pled not guilty, prosecutors tried getting the judge to set bail at $300,000 instead of the normal $25,000. The judge said no, setting it at $75,000. But he did restrict Murray's medical practice.
SCHWARTZ: I don't want you sedating people.
ROWLANDS: Michael Jackson's family, including his mother Katherine, took up the first two rows of one side of the courtroom. They were unhappy with the prosecutor's decision to charge Murray with involuntary manslaughter instead of something more serious like second-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not enough.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Not only were charges filed inside the courthouse, but also, the coroner's report, the full report, was released. And inside, not a big surprise, that the cause of death was homicide because of Propofol intoxication. That's that anesthesia that Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson.
But look at this, in the opinion section down on number three. It says, "The standard of care for administering Propofol was not met." Basically, the coroner is saying that Jackson was given this powerful drug outside of a hospital setting and Dr. Conrad Murray did not have the necessary equipment to bring Jackson back to life after he stopped breathing.
(voice-over): After the hearing, Murray's attorneys took a shot at prosecutors when asked if they thought it would be a difficult case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you how difficult it's going to be. I can tell you that if it took them eight months to get them this far, it must be difficult for them.
ROWLANDS: Murray is expected back in court in early April.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Michael Jackson's father, Joe, lashed out on "LARRY KING LIVE" last night. He says Dr. Murray got off too easy with those manslaughter charges. He repeated claims made by Latoya Jackson that some people close to Michael meant to hurt him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE" HOST: Are you saying, Joe, that these people wanted Michael to die?
JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: Michael said to himself that he would be killed. And he told his mother that, because he's afraid that -- he was afraid to even do all of these shows because he was afraid that he wouldn't get a chance to finish all of the shows because he couldn't. You don't do all of those shows back to back, even his kids said that -- he had told them that he would be murdered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Joe Jackson's attorney also promised last night that there will be civil suits filed in Jackson's death.
CHETRY: Well, it's 43 minutes past the hour right now. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on the big storm for us that's headed toward the east coast. He'll have this morning's travel forecast -- coming up right after the break.
HOLMES: And not sure if Rob will have to right his notes on his hand, but Sarah Palin certainly did. And in 10 minutes, Sarah Palin, we're taking note. Our Jeanne Moos weighs on the talking points scribbled on that hand. It's about 45 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It is it now 45 minutes past the hour. Time for your AM House Call stories about your health this morning. Eating a heart healthy diet could actually help your brain. Researchers say that the Mediterranean diet, people love that one for your heart; they say it may also help lower the risk of dementia. It includes a lot of fruit, vegetables, fish, olive oil, things like beans and lentils, and also it limits dairy and meat.
Got beer? A new study shows that beer could actually help make your bones stronger. See, we've been saying this all along. Researchers say that beers with a lot of hops and barley actually have high levels of silicone. Or is it silicon? I think it's silicon --
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: Which increases bone mineral density and could also help reduce the risk of osteoporosis. You can also get silicone from foods like granola, wheat, bran cereals, and oatmeal, but course, as we know, beer is just so much more fun.
HOLMES: They are not as delicious.
I haven't broken a bone in years.
CHETRY: And it's all thanks to your Bud Light.
HOLMES: It is. You know, Rob, they say milk that does a body good. That is supposed to promote strong bones. No, it's beer. We've been right all along, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I have some friends who considered beer to be mother's milk, so you know, to each his own. Hey, guys check out some of this piling up of the frozen milk. Cool video. We found this on YouTube from D.C. Some dude set up a Nikon and set a time lapse in motion of the snowstorm. We just kind of watch the snow as it piles up over the two-day period. When I was a kid I loved to look out the back window of my house and watch the snow pile up on the picnic table and that just did it right here with over two feet of it going crazy there.
More on the way, my friends. Here is the situation, double lows, lots of moisture. Deja Vu all over again in a way, but a little bit different with this scenario. It's affecting a little bit more people. Today, 12 inches of snow possible from Chicago through the Ohio River and then heavy rain expected down across the south. We've already seen a decent amount of snow with this system across parts of the Midwest; Finland, Minnesota 12 inches, Litchfield is seeing 11, Austin, Arkansas 10 inches, Little Rock actually saw a record with over 4 inches of snow, so some of this getting all the way down to the south.
The south does have a decent amount of moisture with this, but the heaviest amounts of snow will be when it gets toward the Atlantic and taps only the Gulf moisture but the Atlantic moisture as well. Six to 12 inches of snow expected from Chicago over towards Detroit, South towards Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and then 10 to 20 is still what we're going for here across parts of the northeast. Some of the computer models this morning may have backed off just a little bit, but that may be wishful thinking.
Look at this pretty solid moisture field in the way of snow from Chicago down about Nashville, and then south of that, we've got moisture in the way of heavy rain. Some of these thunderstorms will be heavy at time and drifting off towards the north with this system. The other issue, I think there's going to be more wind with this thing and that means blizzard conditions likely, especially along the coastlines of not only Jersey but Long Island. This was a little bit more difficult to forecast because it's going to intensify fairly rapidly once it hits the Atlantic Ocean
More of a traditional nor'easter, not just moist air moving into cold air, this thing is going to develop as it gets off the coastline here and that will make things a little bit more tricky, but I think from D.C. all the way to New York, everyone gets a little piece of this action, so enjoy it for you snow-starved folks in the Big Apple.
CHETRY: I love -- you know you got a lot of snow when the tiki torches. There's like three inches of snow on the tiki torches.
MARCIANO: That's a party.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
HOLMES: Rob, don't go too far. We got something to share with you, and we're going to ask you about it, but this is when those guys like Rob have to be on their game. We got a storm that people are called snowmageddon, so if that's big of a deal, this is when the weather guys need to be on.
CHETRY: That's right. Meteorologist, Jim Kosek of AccuWeather may have had a little trouble keeping it together, or maybe he's just really excited in the big moment. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM KOSEK, METEOROLOGIST: Fourteen to 22 inches of snow. Oh, boy. Our paralyzing, crippling, record-breaking storm comes today! Tertiary problem? Yes, I've been reading the dictionary. Blowing and drifting 3, 4, 5 feet drifts, so you shovel, drifts back over, shovel, drifts. Could I get a one-way ticket to New Orleans? Sun comes back Sunday, Monday. Listen, I love pancake --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHING)
HOLMES: That guy is funny. (INAUDIBLE)
CHETRY: He was really intense.
HOLMES: He was.
CHETRY: You know him, Rob? You guys hang out at meteorological conventions? MARCIANO: I don't know Jim personally, but he's been in the business quite a long time, and you know, in his defense, there's a lot of great information that weathercast. He had a minute-30 and he nailed it to the second. You know, some would argue that maybe he could tone down the delivery just a little bit, but I think there's valuable information there to be had, and I applaud his enthusiasm.
CHETRY: Blowing, drifting, shoveling, blowing. I mean, he was going crazy about that. I mean, it's a snowstorm.
HOLMES: We appreciate your calm approach, though, Rob. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you again here shortly.
MARCIANO: All right. See you guys.
CHETRY: I want a one-way ticket to New Orleans.
All right. This morning top stories moments away including another black eye for a company that was built on its reputation of quality. Toyota announcing a global recall of the 2010 Hybrid, the Prius and other Hybrid models as well. We're live in Tokyo where the world's largest carmaker is literally in damage control.
HOLMES: Also coming at 7:40 Eastern this morning, we thought we had seen the last survivor pulled from the rubble in Haiti. Four weeks and he is alive. How in the world did a Haitian man live for weeks after the odds say he was supposed to die
CHETRY: Also coming up at 7:25 Eastern, AM Original, you saw him pack his bags. You saw him say goodbye, survived 13 weeks of basic training. Now Private Will McClain (ph) invites us along as he gets ready to ship out in a soldier story. Those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour. Fifty-two minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: What are you talking about now?
CHETRY: Talking about the --
HOLMES: What?
CHETRY: You know, talk to the hand, you know.
HOLMES: Okay. We're talking about the Most News in the Morning. This got a lot of people going here.
CHETRY: Why you holding up your hand like that?
HOLMES: I just want to prove that I don't need the notes to remember who I'm sitting next to, what show I'm on this morning, but we got the Most News in the Morning.
CHETRY: Yes. Actually, it depends on how much sleep you get. You sometimes do have to write things on your hand. Some say that Sarah Palin's tea party convention appearance was highly memorable because of what she did not forget. Jeanne Moos takes a look at palmgate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Asked about the future, Sarah Palin resorted to palm reading, her own palm. It was a short list that went a long way. Newspapers and blogs called it her handy helper, hand jive, hand-gate.
UNKNOWN MALE: I mean, who writes notes on their hands? I thought that was a childhood thing.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Cheating?
MOOS: More like reminding. The words on her palm were "energy," "tax cuts," "lift Americans' spirits." She sure lifted the spirits of critics.
UNKNOWN MALE: If you cannot answer the question what are your priorities without reading the palm of your hands, maybe you're not the best leader to be leading people.
MOOS: When asked to name her top three things to get done, watch her go to the hand to remember energy.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: We've got to start reading in the spending. We have got to jump-start these energy projects.
MOOS: This after she just finished mocking President Obama.
PALIN: Charismatic guy with a teleprompter.
MOOS: Soon her hand was dubbed the palm-prompter and the telepalmer.
UNKNOWN MALE: Twelve things Sarah Palin wrote on her hand. Number one, "left".
MOOS (on-camera): This was a case where the right hand didn't know what the left hand was saying.
MOOS (voice-over): The right kind of handy list? Pick up eggs, milk, bananas, and some lunch meat.
Have you ever written on your hand anything? Like what do you write on it?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Not since fifth grade.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Equations, like formulas for math. You know, sometimes you forget.
UNKNOWN MALE: I did that for one time at speech. I did it for myself --
UNKNOWN MALE: In like second grade?
UNKNOWN MALE: Yes, like exactly. I was like for a palm and people thought I was cheating.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: It shows to me that she's really tried.
MOOS: Talk about a prophetic impersonation. Almost a year and a half ago, these two played anchor, Charlie Gibson interviewing Sarah Palin.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Putin is the prime minister of Russia.
UNKNOWN MALE: Do you have a cheat sheet on your hand?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: This, Charlie, is the hand that's shaken John McCain's hand.
MOOS: The real Palin is letting her hand speak for itself.
MOOS (on-camera): But Sarah Palin didn't just sanitize the evidence. She rewrote it.
MOOS (voice-over): She showed up a day later beside the governor of Texas with "hi, mom" written on her palm poking at critics. In words of one supporter, I like the way she likes to screw with their stupid heads.
UNKNOWN MALE: Number three, when in doubt, wink.
MOOS (on-camera): Now that's something the left wing and the right can applaud.
MOOS (voice-over): Careful, we wouldn't want this kind of behavior to rub off.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: It's amazing how it's taken off.
CHETRY: Yes. We'll see if she says anything on her twitter account, because she sometimes uses that to get her points across.
HOLMES: It's not the last we're going to hear about palmgate.
Our top stories, though, coming your way in about 90 seconds. Don't go anywhere.
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