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American Morning
Haiti Releases Eight of Ten American missionaries; Bittersweet Homecoming for Eight Missionaries Released from Haiti; Bickering Over stimulus; Job Scams: Don't Be Fooled!; Swabbing for Explosives; GOP and Tea Party at CPAC; Obama to Meet Dalai Lama
Aired February 18, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Thursday morning to you. Thanks very much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this February the 18th. I'm John Roberts.
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sara Sidner in for Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: It's great to have you here.
SIDNER: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: It's great to see you in the western hemisphere for a change.
SIDNER: Nice to see you in person instead of just hearing you in my ear.
ROBERTS: Yes. We've got a big day ahead of us.
SIDNER: We do. Lots of news. Here are the big stories that we're going to tell you about in the next 15 minutes.
They're back in the U.S. Eight of the 10 American missionaries who were charged with kidnapping in Haiti arrived in Miami overnight. We are at the airport at their church and in Haiti. What about the other two still behind bars?
ROBERTS: The White House blasting the GOP for hypocrisy this morning, accusing top Republicans of railing against the stimulus program on Capitol Hill while taking money and credit for stimulus projects at home. Jim Acosta is live in Washington for us this morning with the Republican response.
SIDNER: First, take off your shoes. Now, stick your hands out. Be ready for a new kind of screening at the airport. The TSA now swabbing for explosives. How this was a direct result of a close call on Christmas Day.
ROBERTS: Well, first new developments overnight. Eight of the 10 American missionaries who were arrested in Haiti are back in the United States this morning. Here are the first pictures of them arriving. They arrive in Miami overnight. Many of them going their separate ways at least for now. They were charged with child kidnapping and held for close to three days after they were stopped at the Haiti-Dominican border with more than 30 children in their custody. And we're learning some of those kids' patients gave the testimony that set them free.
We're all over this developing story this morning. Our John Vause is in Haiti with a look at what will happen to the two Americans who are still in jail. Dan Simon has got reaction from their church in Idaho. But first, John Zarrella standing by live at Miami international airport with the very latest for us.
Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, after more than two weeks in a Haitian jail, those Americans, eight of them finally arriving back in the United States late last night here at Miami international airport and they actually managed to get at least a little bit of sleep. Many of them, at least most of them staying in the airport hotel here overnight.
Now the plane landed at about 11:30 last night, a C-130 military aircraft landing on the tarmac here at Miami international. The eight were then taken into the United States customs enclosure here, spent a good hour, an hour and a half in the customs enclosure, and then were spirited out a side exit. They did not come out the normal exit where everyone else exits the United States customs area here at the airport. That exit took them right to an elevator that led directly to the airport hotel.
When they got on the elevator at the airport hotel, once they got into the lobby there, their faces were expressionless. They did not say anything to any of the media that were gathered there.
We did talk to the attorney representing Jim Allen, one of those eight. And he said that his client was obviously glad to be back and that he hope the focus would now turn back to the people of Haiti and not to this particular story. He also said that they are planning a reunion of sorts back in Amarillo, Texas, where Jim Allen is from. He's a construction worker, and that would probably take place sometime late this afternoon.
Now, yesterday late in the afternoon in the Port-au-Prince, the eight were released from the jail, taken to the airport in Port-au- Prince where they boarded that military C-130 aircraft and took the two, two and a half hour flight back here to Miami International airport.
Now, we don't exactly what time their flights are leaving today. Those that are here at the airport, if they're all going together or if they are all taking separate flights. But again, none, John, would speak at all to any of the media here at the airport -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if they have something to say before they leave. John Zarrella for us at Miami international airport this morning. John, thanks for the update.
SIDNER: Now, what about the two Americans in Haiti who are still in jail this morning? The judge in the case ordering Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter to stay because authorities want to know more about a trip they took to Haiti before the January 12th earthquake. The State Department issued a statement saying, quote, "The United States government respects the sovereign right of the government of Haiti to conduct its own judicial processes. The U.S. embassy in Port-au- Prince has been providing the detained Americans with consular visits and assistance to ensure that they are safe and receiving necessary care.
Our senior international correspondent John Vause has more from Port-au-Prince.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter are waking up again this morning in a Haitian jail cell. It's coming up to almost three weeks now since they were arrested. The judge in this case says he just has a few more questions which he wants answered. In particular, why were both women in Haiti last year long before the earthquake happen? A lawyer says this matter can be taken care of in just a few days even though under Haitian law, the judge can take up to two months.
Meantime, the eight other missionaries are long gone. They left on a military plane last night, a US C-130 flying to Miami just hours after that judge released those eight missionaries on unconditional bail. All they had to do was promise that they would return to Haiti should the authorities ask them to do so. And that, say lawyers, is a good indication that ultimately the charges of kidnapping and criminal conspiracy against these eight missionaries will ultimately be dropped.
All 10 Americans have maintained they came to Haiti simply to help orphans and abandoned children, but (INAUDIBLE) almost all of the children, almost all of the 33 children they had in that van close to the border with the Dominican Republic did in fact have living parents.
SIDNER: That was John Vause reporting for us there form Port-au- Prince.
ROBERTS: Well, most of the American missionaries belong to the Central Valley Baptist Church. It's in Meridian, Idaho, and emotions are mixed this morning in the Idaho community. That's because as we've said, not everyone in the group that went to Haiti is coming home today. Our Dan Simon is following that part of the story for us.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Sara, it was here inside this church in Meridian, Idaho, where members Laura Silsby and her nanny Charisa Coulter first began looking for volunteers to go with them to Haiti. Everyone who raised their hand is now coming home. They're staying behind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIMON (voice-over): Eric Thompson's wife Carla had been detained for nearly three weeks. She is now free. But her husband is hardly euphoric with two of the other Americans still in a Haitian prison.
ERIC THOMPSON, WIFE RELEASED FROM JAIL IN HAITI: Obviously I'm very happy about my wife coming home and excited that they all -- most of them are coming home but again, there are two that are still there that we are still praying for to come home.
SIMON: Laura Silsby and Charisa Coulter, leaders of the mission that went awry were not allowed to leave. Their church pastor never cracking a smile with the bittersweet announcement.
CLINT HENRY, PASTOR, CENTRAL VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH: We are going to pray and work toward their release believing that that will come soon as well.
SIMON: Over these last few weeks, he was one of the few to defend Laura Silsby. Another supporter, the owner of a secondhand clothing shop who told us Silsby began loading up on children's goods nearly a year ago.
VAL BATEEN, FRIEND OF LAURA SILSBY: Just in that nine months in talking with her, my wife and I feel that we know what her heart was, that this was -- she was sincere about this, about helping the kids out.
SIMON: Silsby's sister told CNN she's deeply disappointed with the news. For others though, there were tears of joy. We spoke with the mother of detainee Jim Allen just moments after she learned that her son was coming home.
(on camera): What would you like to say to your son?
PHYLLLIS ALLISON, SON RELEASED FROM JAIL IN HAITI (via telephone): I would just like to tell him that I love him and I'm so proud of him. I'm very proud of him. Very, very, very. And I can't wait to see him. I can't wait to see him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: 47-year-old Jim Allen is from Amarillo, Texas. He is a loader by trade. He volunteered for the trip because he's good with his hands. He's good at building things. He thought he would help turn that hotel into an orphanage.
John and Sara, back to you.
ROBERTS: Dan Simon reporting for us this morning. Dan, thanks.
SIDNER: It is now 6:07. Also new this morning, we now know who was behind a security scare at the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. Canadian authorities say a mentally ill man had fake credentials and that's how he managed to get within feet of Vice President Joe Biden. The 48-year-old slipped past three layers of security before he was apprehended. The Canadians stressed the vice president was never in danger. That man will not face any charges.
ROBERTS: More problems for Toyota today. The government plans to launch an investigation over potential power steering problems in some 2009 and 2010 Corollas. But the automaker is not considering a recall, at least not just yet saying that it's got fewer than 100 complaints from drivers, reporting that their cars begin to drift at high speed making it hard to stay in the lane.
SIDNER: Tiger Woods will finally break his silence after the Thanksgiving accident that ultimately forced him to admit that he cheated on his wife. The golfer is expected to apologize for his behavior in a public statement tomorrow at the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida. Of course, CNN will bring you live coverage of Tiger's apology tomorrow morning at 11:00 Eastern.
ROBERTS: And Britain again going public with its ex-files. The latest batch of stories documenting close encounters and mysterious incidents is 6,000 pages and that only includes sightings from 1994 to 2000. One of the reports grabbing headlines, fisherman spotted a round flat shiny object hovering above the North Sea, an object that suddenly disappeared.
SIDNER: And NASA showing off some stunning images from its new telescope nicknamed "wise." The shut is a picture of our nearest galactic neighbor Andromeda. It's located some 2.5 million light years away.
ROBERTS: One of these days maybe we'll go there.
SIDNER: I'd love to.
ROBERTS: Wouldn't be nice?
SIDNER: Yes. Only cost you about $20 million.
ROBERTS: That will only get you in the lower...
SIDNER: Yes.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano in the weather center for us.
Hey, Rob, what's on the radar screen today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A little bit more in the way of snow across the northeast in the favorite spots with the cold air spiraling across parts of the Great Lakes. We're getting some lake effects snow. So let's go over at parts of Syracuse, upstate New York and through Binghamton, Rochester.
You're seeing it. Pittsburgh, you'll probably see a little bit, more on the way of snow today. You may break your all-time record for a month of snowfall.
Meanwhile, still chilly across the south. Subfreezing temperatures Raleigh, Atlanta, National and Memphis, so we will be below average again today but trying to rebound. Note 60 degrees in Dallas. That is the hint of some warm air that may briefly infiltrate parts of the south.
Believe it or not, guys, January, globally was one of the warmest months ever. We'll talk more about that and how it relates to you in about a half an hour. Sara, John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that, Rob. Thanks. We'll see you soon.
The TSA announced swabbing passengers' hands for signs of explosives. How that close call on Christmas Day led to this extra layer of security.
SIDNER: And he's known as the flying tomato, one of the Team USA's flagship's stars at the Winter Olympics. And this morning, CNN is talking with gold medal winner Shaun White.
It's 6:10. It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning.
Democrats marking the stimulus program's one year anniversary with a new name for Republicans -- hypocrites. The White House leading the charge accusing House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of reaping stimulus rewards in his home district while telling the media the program hasn't helped the economy at all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't know what message Eric Cantor delivers when he tells you in Washington that it hasn't, but then tells his constituents, gee, I hope we get this grant to build high speed rail in the district and create jobs. In Alabama, we call that hypocrisy. In Washington, we call that par for the course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, there's plenty more partisan bickering over the $787 billion bill yesterday, a bill now estimated to cost taxpayers $862 billion over the next 10 years.
Our Jim Acosta live in Washington for us this morning. Hi, Jimmy.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Just because the stimulus is one year old doesn't mean the Democrats and Republicans have stopped fighting over the program. After spending weeks on its heels over the stimulus, the White House is trying to play some offense.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): One year out and the president and his cabinet were in campaign mode still selling the stimulus.
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: By every measure, this bold program's first year has made a crucial difference to our struggling economy.
ACOSTA: They even brought in some Republican muscle.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: President Obama announced the recovery act. I was one of the first governors to come out and support the recovery act and the stimulus money and put politics aside.
ACOSTA: But putting politics aside is not what the White House has in mind. Democratic Party officials have e-blasted Obama campaign supporters touting the stimulus as a job creator.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are those, let's face it across the aisle, who have tried to score political points by attacking what we did, even as many of them show up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects in their districts.
ACOSTA: And the president is pointing fingers at Republicans who opposed the stimulus then supported elements of the program. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor voted no, but, last April, he spoke in favor of a stimulus high speed rail project in his Virginia district.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), VIRGINIA: And the estimates of job creations are 85,000 to 160,000 -- some jobs for the Commonwealth, most of that in this area. That should be, and -- and, in my opinion, the -- the focus of what the stimulus bill should have been.
ACOSTA: Cantor is one of the targets in a new DNC web video on stimulus hypocrisy.
CANTOR: I do think it is fair to say that the stimulus is a flop (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We couldn't agree more. Tell Republicans it's time to end their hypocrisy on the Recovery Act.
ACOSTA: A Cantor spokesman responded to CNN, asking, "If you support one percent of the bill and oppose 99 percent, are you expected to vote for it?"
Here's a photo of Republican Congressman Phil Gingrey holding a stimulus check for a sidewalk project in his Georgia district. Gingrey also opposed the stimulus.
REP. PHIL GINGREY (R), GEORGIA: We call it the stimulus (ph) bill on the Republican side of the aisle.
ACOSTA: And this letter from Republican Congressman Paul Ryan is one of several from GOP lawmakers, asking the Labor Department for stimulus money for their districts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy anniversary.
ACOSTA: The Republican Senate Campaign Committee has its own stimulus anniversary ad showing a familiar-looking book/faux search engine named Boondoggle. It refers to the Recovery Act as an epic failure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one year anniversary of the stimulus.
ACOSTA: Stimulus critics argue the program has fallen short of administration promises at a huge cost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The point of stimulus was to help prevent another great depression.
TOM SCHATZ, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: The stimulus, the bailout, all the spending in Washington has created a great debt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, a spokesman for Congressman Ryan told is the Wisconsin Republican does not believe "a flawed policy", in his words, should get in the way of doing his job and providing a legitimate constituent service to employers in his district.
We should mention House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Congressman Gingrey and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell all declined interview request. Their aides say the lawmakers were traveling in their districts and unavailable for comment -- John.
ROBERTS: Oh, maybe over the coming days we'll hear something from them all (ph).
Jim Acosta for us this morning. Jim, thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet. Sure.
SIDNER: Members of the GOP and Tea Party getting together in D.C. today. They're kicking off a big conservative conference inside the Beltway. Do the two have a future together?
We're talking to one of the Tea Party's leaders, coming up.
ROBERTS: The United States and China, who needs who more? We're digging deeper on this critical and complex relationship ahead. The controversial visit to the White House today by the Dalai Lama.
Stay with us. It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIDNER: Perfect song for next story. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. The iconic Hollywood sign. It's more famous than most of the people who live in its shadow, but now it's in danger. A group have made a deal to buy land near the sign and build luxury homes that would obstruct the view and block nearby hiking trails. That land, by the way, once belonged to Howard Hughes.
A conservation group is trying to save it. The group has until April 14th to raise $2.5 million to do just that.
ROBERTS: You know, maybe they should dust off Alice Cooper and get him involved. Remember, he saved the Hollywood sign, a couple or three decades ago, I think it was.
SIDNER: They're going to have to do something. That's a lot of money.
ROBERTS: Gerri Willis is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She's in for Christine Romans, with all kinds of news about job scams to beware of.
Good morning.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes. Yes, good morning. Good to see you guys.
Yes, the Federal Trade Commission yesterday -- late yesterday, in fact, they say they're cracking down on con artists who lure people in with job scams. This is targeting the 14.8 million folks who are unemployed. Basically these websites offer you job listings for a price but they never deliver.
Let's look at some of the jobs here that offered. Movie extras. Doesn't sound bad, right? But when look at it closely, you see that the offer is for jobs in your neighborhood, kind of hard to figure that there's always a movie going on down the street from you. Mystery shoppers, work at home, which is always popular, mailings or ornament assembly. You name it.
So let's talk a little bit about some of the companies here who are involved. They actually went after seven and this is the 11th time this year the FTC has gone after these sorts of companies.
I want to talk about one of them, Abili-staff here. They say -- they clunk (ph) on their website that they have a scam-free job search, but it's not that at all. In fact, you pay $30 to $89. You get nothing in return.
This is typically what happens. People put money out there, but they get no help at all. And you should really take a look at that list because I -- I have heard of some of these companies, and they're familiar names to a lot of people.
Red flags here. If you want to avoid this since this has been a problem, especially since the stimulus money has been out, if you were promised no education but high pay, the job requires that you not have a degree, say, that pays a lot of money, that's a problem. Upfront fee for job placement, membership to web-based job opportunities -- of course, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
But let me tell you, when you're desperate for a job, you know, you're really likely to listen to some of this stuff and maybe be taken in by it.
ROBERTS: But how do you know when it's a legitimate job search website?
WILLIS: I have to tell you, there aren't a lot of legitimate job search sites that require that you pay them money for job listing. You go to Monster, you become a member, you know the name of that company, you're going to be fine.
Call the BBB if you're working with one of these and you're not -- and you think maybe it's not legitimate. Go to the Federal Trade Commission website and look at the names there. You really have to check these out.
Work at home promises, they're -- most of them, not legitimate.
SIDNER: So basically if you have to pay, sort of stay away from that.
WILLIS: Back away.
ROBERTS: Good tips this morning. Gerri, thanks so much.
SIDNER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Gerri Willis, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
SIDNER: Palm reading. Now the latest layer of security at the airports, the TSA now swabbing hands for traces of explosives. Could this have stopped the alleged Christmas Day bomber? An A.M. Security Watch is next.
It's 6:24.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We've got 26 minutes after the hour, so your top stories just about three and a half minutes away.
First, though, an "A.M. Original", something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
Another close call in the air has added another layer of security at airports across the nation. Get ready, yes, to stick out your hands.
Our Jeanne Meserve has got this morning's A.M. Security Watch.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hey (ph) John.
At the airport, be prepared for a new kind of screening.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): A swab run across the fingertips is analyzed for traces of explosives. The machines aren't new. They've been used for years on luggage, but experts say testing hands is more likely to turn up explosive residue.
The Secretary of Homeland Security got a demonstration of how the Transportation Security Administration will swab some travelers' fingers at checkpoints, in security lines and in the gate area.
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Right now we do it on a randomized basis, so somebody who is a -- a potential terrorist cannot predict if they'll be swabbed or not swabbed.
MESERVE: Like increases in canine teams and federal air marshal coverage, the expanded use of trace detection machines is a direct result of the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an airliner.
Unlike body scanners, the machines do not raise civil liberties concerns, with certain caveats.
JAY STANLEY, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: We would not want to see it implemented in a discriminatory fashion, for example in a disproportionate way against Muslims and Arabs.
MESERVE: The TSA says it does not profile.
Heart medicines and fertilizer can trigger the machines, but TSA maintains their expanded use should not cause significant inconvenience or delays for travelers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: The TSA has more than 7,000 of the machines, and the president's budget includes $60 million to purchase 800 more. They'll be used in different ways at different times at different airports, so terrorists can't predict when they'll be asked to put up their hands.
Sara and John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne thanks.
With more layers of security now being added at airports, demand is growing again for those so-called trusted traveler program, sort of an easy pass for frequent flyers, if you will. The biggest private company to do this shut down last year because it was losing cash, but the "Orlando Sentinel" reports that two companies are competing to bring it back, at least in Orlando.
Travelers typically pay up to $200 a year for the right to skip those long security lines.
I was a member for a short time...
SIDNER: Did it get you through faster?
ROBERTS: It was the clear pass. Oh, it was brilliant. But then it folded right after I gave them my $200 and the $200 never came back, and the pass was useless.
SIDNER: Really not fair.
ROBERTS: Yes.
SIDNER: It's 29 minutes after the hour, and that means time for this morning's top stories.
Eight of the 10 Americans jailed in Haiti for trying to take 33 children across the border into the Dominican Republic are now back in the U.S. this morning. They arrived in Miami overnight.
The missionaries were released after promising to return to Haiti if asked by authorities. The group's leader, Laura Silsby, and her assistant are still in jail, however, because the judge wants to know why they were in Haiti on another trip long before the earthquake.
ROBERTS: American Airlines' sister carrier in trouble again for safety violations. American Eagle could be hit with a nearly $3 million fine for not fixing the doors on landing gear.
This comes just two weeks after the FAA proposed a $2.5 million fine against the airline after it failed to make sure that baggage weight information was right on dozens of flights.
SIDNER: And we are now learning environmental contractor drastically underreported then omitted the level of cancer causing chemical found in the water at Camp Lejeune. Government records from 1980 show Marines who served at the North Carolina base with drinker water contaminated with high levels of benzene. But when the contractor issued its final report, it made absolutely no mention of the chemical. A Marine Corps spokesman called the conflicting information a mistake.
ROBERTS: Well, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference kicks off today in Washington. Members of the GOP and the Tea Party movement will be under the same roof.
SIDNER: It comes just days after a high profile meeting between the Tea Party leaders and RNC Chairman Michael Steele. So, are we seeing the makings of a political alliance?
For more let's bring in Karin Hoffman. She is the founder of the Tea Party group, D.C. workers for -- excuse me -- D.C. Works for Us. She also organized that meeting with the RNC chairman.
So, Karin, let's first talk about this. You've got a meeting with Mr. Steele. What did you talk about? What were the highlights about that meeting? And what do you want from him? What do you want from the Republican Party?
KARIN HOFFMAN, FOUNDED THE SOUTH FLORIDA TEA PARTY GROUP, DC WORKS FOR US: The whole reason for having this meeting is that from the get-go of being able to have the Patriots, the citizens throughout the country come out and response to legislation is that, we want to be heard by the political establishment. So, you know, here a year later, it really makes sense for gathering the leaders together of the grassroots movement to be able to be in a discussion with the political establishment.
ROBERTS: Karin, it's John Roberts here. Let me ask you about this idea of the grassroots movement, because the Tea Party calls itself the grassroots movement, but there are other folks who are little more skeptical about that, saying it's not grassroots, it's Astroturf. It's actually being funded, being led, at least behind the scenes, by some current or former members of the Republican Party.
Can you talk about that? How much of this is grassroots and how much of it is organized by people on the Republican side of the fence?
HOFFMAN: Well, thank you for bringing that up. That is a great question on there. I would love to see some funding from this and since the beginning, everybody that I know that has been involved in leadership has paid money out of their own pockets, myself included. I haven't seen the red penny come from anyone. And that is what's really making it a sincere movement.
In fact, for this meeting that we had with Chairman Steele on Tuesday is that every single one of the leaders there, we had 50 leaders there, 30 different grassroots organizations that were represented, and not one of them was being paid by a corporation or an expense account. Every one of them was paying out of their own pocket, giving up time at work, giving up their resources, because of realizing the importance of being part of the discussion.
SIDNER: Karin, let's talk a little bit about what it would mean if you did decide to put up a candidate. If you look at some of the poll numbers, it really shows that your candidate wouldn't necessarily win, seeing there that Democrats will get 45 percent , Republicans 33 percent and Tea Party candidate 16, obviously, impacting greatly the Republicans.
Do you need to pick a side of even your own -- the person who was basically your keynote speaker, Sarah Palin, saying that really the Tea Party needs to pick a side and decide of who they'd like to support. What do you think about that?
HOFFMAN: Well, that's implying that that the whole Tea Party movement is in favor of a third party. And that's not true. I said the consensus is, is that the grassroots movement is very unhappy with some of the aspects of the political establishment. But, the onus is on us, as the grassroots movement, to be able to pick our candidates and to be able to support them.
A third party, what happens with that is that until a third party would actually pull away from both sides of the equation, it really would be disruptive. In fact, it would kind of diminish what we're trying to do.
So, we -- our goal is in this, especially in this election cycle, as grassroots movement throughout the nation, is that on a local level, we identify the candidates that best represent us. Our constitutional conservative values, fiscal responsibility, free-market principles, smaller government, reducing the taxes -- this is what we want. This is what we've been talking about for this past year.
And we find those candidates and we push them hard and we get them through the election. And that's who we're replacing with what is existing in Congress right now. And that will happen.
ROBERTS: You know, Karin, you met with RNC Chairman Michael Steele, do you plan a similar meeting with the DNC. And are there -- you know, if you're supporting the best candidate, locally on the ground -- are there potentially some Democrats that the Tea Party movement might get behind?
HOFFMAN: Oh, that's another great question, too. We are open to have a discussion with the DNC, there's no problem with that. In fact -- but it's interesting because, right now, in the past year, the DNC and the Democrats at the House and the Congress and with that, they have had free reign of pushing legislation through. So, it's interesting because this whole pat year, the whole grassroots moment has actually been in response to the legislation that's been passed by the Democrat Congress.
ROBERTS: All right.
HOFFMAN: So, also, the interesting perspective too is that it -- there's been communication on the side of the Democrat Party as far as who we are...
ROBERTS: Right.
HOFFMAN: ... as a grassroots movement, as Astroturf, you know, just derogatory terms that really doesn't help endear us to have that conversation.
ROBERTS: Right.
HOFFMAN: Although, I think it would be time, just like, Karin, let's sit down and have a discussion about that, just like what we had this week with Chairman Steele and the RNC. That would be a good move to be able to have an open discussion with the DNC.
ROBERTS: You know, Karin, people are asking the question now, who the Tea Party is, but also, what it stands for, there was an interesting letter to the editor in "The New York Times" that I wanted to read today. This came from a fellow named John Georgiton from Columbus, Ohio.
He says about the Tea Party, quote, "Its members seem to want a strong military but don't want to finance it. They don't like social programs like Medicare but readily accept the Medicare benefits. They don't like the federal bailout of our financial markets, but would be angry if the government did nothing and their investments and retirements went down the drain. They want stronger border controls, but again don't want to pay for it. They are a mass of contradictions."
Is that -- at least part of that fair?
HOFFMAN: What I would say is, almost like you're looking at one side of the equation and you're trying to -- you can tell that there was not a discussion involved in those kinds of statements. For example, if you talk to any grassroots movement citizen throughout the nation, they want a strong military? Yes. Do they want to have security borders? Yes. Are they willing to pay the taxes for that? Yes.
Are you willing to pay taxes for wasteful government spending? Absolutely not. Can -- do you want to have legislation that is going to be putting an immense tax burden on every American citizen, not just now but years to come? Absolutely not.
So, there's programs that can be done away with that are not helpful for -- especially in this economy. You reduce the taxes and tax burden -- I mean, of all this legislation that's gone on even in the past year, huge tax burden. But if you reduce taxes, then you can actually free up money for businesses to be able to invest. They're able to create jobs with that money.
If you continue to take money out of the equation and out of the people's pocket, out of the business' pocket, then what happens is that that's what we're responding to. You're going to find these other issues like this, economy can turn around.
In fact, businesses -- you know, we have a family business. We put together educational tours. And our business, we respond to what's happening legislatively in Congress.
You know, so that businesses retract and protect. If you reduce the taxes, then you're going to find them to have the boldness to be able to expand, create and be true entrepreneurs. So, when you're talking about these situations, you can tell that, you know, there's not been an open discussion when they came up with statements like that.
ROBERTS: All right.
SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much. Karin Hoffman from South Florida Tea Party, DC Works for Us -- thanks for being with us this morning.
HOFFMAN: Thank you so much.
ROBERTS: All right. And, of course, we'll be watching CPAC closely today because Tea Party is going to play a fairly significant role in that conference this weekend.
White gold -- American Shaun White capturing the gold medal big time in the halfpipe. Our Mark McKay wraps up the action coming right up.
Thirty-eight minutes after the hour.
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SIDNER: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
In just a few hours, President Obama will meet with fellow Nobel Prize winner, the Dalai Lama at the White House. There would be no public photo-op. And that's by design because China is angry enough about the visit.
Why should the Obama administration be concerned about China's discontent?
Foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is digging deeper on that what makes the relationship between Washington and Beijing tick.
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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown -- a symbol of the old China Americans still think of.
(on camera): Was that a poor China at that point, we're going 150 years ago?
DOUGLAS H. PAAL, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: China was very poor and under a lot of stress. It had both civil wars and foreign invasions.
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): But Douglas Paal says that's out of date. He studied China for decades as investment banker, diplomat, CIA expert and presidential adviser. China, he says, is now a major international player, holding more than $1 trillion of U.S. debt and a burgeoning economy.
PAAL: China doesn't want to make cheap things. It wants to make better things. And if you have an iPhone or if you have an Apple computer, that came from China. It didn't come from the United States.
DOUGHERTY (on camera): What's happening with U.S. exports to China?
PAAL: U.S. exports are zooming to China. It's the largest export market for the U.S. -- largest growing export market for the U.S. It grew 65 percent this past year alone.
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): So, in spite of disagreements about the Dalai Lama -- and U.S. arm sales to Taiwan, neither China nor the U.S., Paal says, can afford a major falling out.
(on camera): There's often the impression that the United States, let's say needs China more than China needs the United States. What's the true story?
PAAL: Well, we both need each other. We need each other for a number of international security issues, to deal with the global climate crisis, to deal with the global financial crisis.
DOUGHERTY: For an average American...
PAAL: Yes.
DOUGHERTY: ... what is the most important trend in China that they should be looking at?
PAAL: The Chinese are always looking at America to see whether we're gaining strength or losing strength. And Americans should ask themselves: are we at home taking care of our economy and moving ourselves forward so that China will see us as a source of strength and not as a potential weak party to deal with and put pressure on? If that's done, everything else becomes easy.
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DOUGHERTY: And because of the diplomatic sensitivities of this visit, every aspect has been choreographed and worked out in advance. And one example is that the president will be meeting with the Dalai Lama in the Map Room, which is part of the Residence at the White House and not in the Oval Office -- Sara.
SIDNER: Thank you, Jill.
ROBERTS: All right. We got 44 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is tracking the extreme weather across the country today. He's going to have the travel forecast coming up right after the break. So, if you're at the airport or heading to the airport, you're going to hear -- want to hear what Rob's got to say and all those blue arrows, yes, bringing some cold air into the northeast today.
Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: It is now 47 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check on this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in Atlanta for us this morning tracking what looks like a lot of cold air coming across the northeast. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. It doesn't seem a lot of change. The Canadian flow continues across the Great Lakes and drives all the way down to the south. There will be a bit of a warm- up across the south today, but generally speaking, it will be slow and brief as another shot comes down next week.
All right. Today, though, lake-effect snow from parts of upstate New York into Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is this close to breaking an all-time monthly record for snowfall, and they may very well do that before the week is done. D.C. metros, New York metros, if you're traveling to those areas, some wind delays, snow, and maybe some freezing drizzle for Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
I want to show you some video coming out of D.C. or at least some steal pictures. There's service stuff if you like the cherry blossom festival in the spring there. There's the title basin, and we had a number of cherry trees damaged because of the heavy snowfall across Washington D.C., so they are going to have to remove some those or at least trim them back, and hopefully, they'll recover soon.
So, unusual cold air across parts of the northeast and snow for the past few weeks, but globally, wanted to touch on this, January, one of the warmest months ever. This is some satellite data of the lowest part of the atmosphere, and you can see across the U.S. and Europe is certainly as colder than average, but everyone else, it's warmer than average. That has a lot to do with what's going on in the pacific in the form of El Nino, a pretty strong El Nino, so that warms the Pacific Ocean. Waters on that in term will warm parts of the lower atmosphere.
So, even though it felt a lot colder than usual across parts of the eastern, two thirds of the country, John and Sara, the past month and a half really three months, January globally was a little bit warmer than normal, and we know that, of course, for our friends who are battling the lack of snow in Vancouver.
ROBERTS: Yes. We'll give you pull up that stupid groundhog now and everything gets cold again.
Hey, speaking of Vancouver, what's the weather forecast for Whistler like today because Lindsey Vonn got that combined downhill to race today?
MARCIANO: It looks pretty clear, but it will be warm, so at least the lower part of the course will probably be a little mushy.
ROBERTS: Okay. Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: You got it.
Speaking of the Olympics, the United States this morning back on top and dominating in total medals at the winter Olympics. The U.S. now has 14 compared to Germany's 10. France got 7. Team USA also set a new record, the six medals won yesterday. The most the U.S. has ever earned at a single day at the winter Olympics.
SIDNER: And this morning, America is looking to snowboarder Shaun White to bring home even more medals. Just yesterday, he won gold in the men's halfpipe. Our Mark McKay is in Vancouver and got a chance to meet the action sports rock star.
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Sara, Shaun White dazzled again at the Olympic games. He successfully defended his halfpipe snowboarding gold medal up on Cypress Mountain. Two gold medals, not bad for Olympian who grew up not near a mountain but instead by the sea.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MCKAY (voice-over): How does a kid from the sunny beaches of San Diego become the most famous snowboarder in the world?
SHAUN WHITE, 2006 SNOWBOARDING GOLD MEDALIST: I went under the wave, you know, right off the bet and got washed for a good couple minutes, get some air, go back under and wash, and then as I came out the board, hit me in the face, I was just like I don't want to ever do this again.
MCKAY: That's why Shaun White chose the snow over the surf, but how did he become so good living more than three hours from the closest ski resort with the halfpipe?
WHITE: It was like this like tree every time I got to go to the mountain, so I just made it count. I would cram months of snowboarding into like one day or two days.
MCKAY: Cheap tricks to pricey ski resorts proved to be educational in more ways than one for life.
WHITE: It's mountain town. It's super expensive to eat and everything, and so my mom would like cook a burritos and stuff in the room, and the fire alarm would always go up, and we even tried to like rig it so that the shower cap around the fire alarm, and it always go up.
MCKAY: If you haven't guessed by now, Shaun White is not your typical snowboarder, and yet, he has become the prototypical one, waiting virtually every competition in this sport at some point in the career that started when he was seven.
WHITE: I would win the event. I wouldn't even get the award, because it was in a bar.
MCKAY: He may have been ahead of his time, but since winning Olympic gold in 2006, times have most certainly changed and so have the bars.
WHITE: I'm like walking through the crowd. There's John and Tom Cruise and all of these crazy people, and I'm like this is wild, you know. Everybody seemed to know my name.
MCKAY: He's used his name to move the once outsider status of snowboarding into the mainstream with big time marketing deals that at sometimes called him to question the snow creed if you will of the man dubbed, the flying tomato.
WHITE: Heinz did call. Like no. It was definitely like, you know, my own personality in what I'm doing with these companies, so I don't know, I think I've been able to keep, you know, all of my credibility that way.
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MCKAY (on-camera): Two Olympic gold medals that will give you plenty of street cred. John and Sara, back to you. ROBERTS: That's the best interview I ever heard with him.
SIDNER: Fantastic.
ROBERTS: You know.
SIDNER: He was relaxed. He was funny. If I could just do one of those tricks, I feel so good about-- or even stand up on the snowboard, I think.
ROBERTS: You could do one of those tricks. You just might not land it.
SIDNER: I wouldn't make it out.
ROBERTS: You can bet one thing, though, not cooking burritos in the hotel room any more.
SIDNER: No, no.
ROBERTS: But he does still get smacked in the face. We saw the other day, he came down on his chin -- and we can't let an Olympic coverage go away without saying kudos to Lindsey Vonn for winning the very first gold medal in women's downhill skiing. Fabulous stuff. Fifty-two-and-a-half minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: We're coming up on 56 minutes after the hour and that means it's time for the Moost News in the Morning, and great Scottie. Wall Street is going to the dogs this morning.
SIDNER: Fresh offer best in show win. Sadie, the Scottish terrier will help ring the opening bell at the New York stock exchange. That's going to be interesting. Our Jeanne Moos with the tale of the toast of the town.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the brush on a shake, the terrier takes Manhattan.
UNKNOWN MALE: Sadie, Sadie, Sadie!
MOOS: Great scott, it's the hotty Scottie.
UNKNOWN MALE: Sadie, the Scottie.
MOOS: She barked her way from interview to interview.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: You are the baddest girl in the United States of America. Yes, you are, say, yes, I am. Say it girl.
MOOS: Ready for her close up except when the camera closing in freaked her out.
UNKNOWN MALE: She has great breed -- she has...
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MOOS: The toast of the town ran around in a two-van motorcade followed by flashes. She posed patiently for pictures, accepted endless treats. Her favorite dish...
UNKNOWN MALE: Chicken hot dogs.
MOOS: I heard it's organic chicken hot dogs.
UNKNOWN MALE: They are organic.
MOOS: Gabriel Rangele (ph) is Sadie's handler, lives in California like a normal dog in a house with three kids. Now, here she was riding up and down skyscrapers and elevators.
UNKNOWN MALE: Looks like a dog to me.
UNKNOWN MALE: The dog.
UNKNOWN MALE: We'll have Sadie up on the table.
MOOS: Before her appearance on "Inside Edition", there was the obligatory photo op.
Best in show shown getting fed off a silver platter. Though, her manners were no match for this Labradors.
We award the lab best in show on YouTube. Sadie dropped her chicken, the lab didn't drop a thing.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: So, what's next for Sadie?
UNKNOWN MALE: I think she wants to be a mama.
MOOS: As per who's going to be dad?
UNKNOWN MALE: She loves her friend. It's a Chihuahua. Yes.
MOOS: Is it a romance?
UNKNOWN MALE: I think so.
MOOS: Are you going to have any mixed breeds?
UNKNOWN MALE: No, we don't going to have any mixed breeds.
MOOS: The number one Scottie and the number one Chihuahua tag are doomed to forbidden love.
MOOS (on-camera): I hear you have a secret meeting with Donald Trump.
MOOS (voice-over): Actually, just another photo op, but he wants Sadie's hair to trump Donald, better brush it before the bow wow pow wow on the Trump Towers 26 floors.
No relation to Sadie. She won over 100 other competitions before winning at Westminster. It's enough to give a regular dog an inferiority complex.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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SIDNER: That was before YouTube. Seriously.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano, though, gave us some good laughs yesterday. He had a great one (INAUDIBLE)
SIDNER: Something about hair.
MARCIANO: Yes.
ROBERTS: He said I've never seen a girl with so much facial hair win a beauty contest in my life.
SIDNER: Rob.
ROBERTS: Rob, Rob, Rob.
Two minutes to the top of the hour. Stay with us.
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