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American Morning

Plane Attack on IRS; A Conservative Year; Credit Card Deadlines, Consumers Fuming

Aired February 19, 2010 - 07:59   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and thanks for being with us on the Most News in the Morning on this Friday, the 19th of February. I'm John Roberts.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Sara Sidner, in for Kiran Chetry. Great to be here with you this morning.

Here are the big stories we're going to tell you about in the next 15 minutes.

We are learning more about the man behind the terror in Austin, Texas, a man whose frustrations with the tax man mushroomed to the point where he set his own house on fire then took a small plane and crashed it into an office building. We're live in Austin with the latest on the investigation and hearing from people who thought they knew him really well.

ROBERTS: It's the high-tech system that allows you to start your car with just the push of a button, but this keyless ignition could be the start of trouble in an emergency. Our Deb Feyerick with important information on how you kill the engine when there is no key.

SIDNER: And conservatives are fired up this morning and plotting their political future in Washington, and yesterday one man stole the show at the CPAC Convention. Dick Cheney, and what he had to say brought the crowd to its feet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think when we can achieve the kind of results that we've achieved in places like Virginia and New Jersey and Massachusetts, the -- the sky is the limit here.

I think 2010 is going to be a phenomenal year for the conservative cause, and I think Barack Obama is a one-term president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I think that was the one that got the standing ovation, but will that Republican excitement mean victory in the midterms?

We'll ask John Avlon and Candy Crowley.

ROBERTS: But first, investigators are busy this morning piecing together the exact string of events that led a lone pilot with grudge against the government to fly his plane into a building. The crash ignited a massive fire in Austin, Texas, yesterday.

Two bodies have been pulled from the wreckage of the building. One of them is believed to be the pilot. His name: Joe Stack, a man apparently furious after battling the government over his taxes. The years of struggle chronicled in a six-page rambling online rant.

Earlier, I spoke to Stack's former bandmates about what he was like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING)

BILL ELI, FMR. BANDMATE OF JOSEPH STACK: I spoke with Joe was early December, and he was the same Joe Stack that he had been the three years that he played in my band. You know, he did not seem distraught or anything like that, just, you know, regular, easy-going Joe.

RIC FURLEY, FMR. BANDMATE OF JOSEPH STACK: I did not see it, and I'm not real sure, you know, what to think about all this, that he was hiding or had this buried deep inside of him somehow, and we never knew it. And if it was going on at the same time while we were working together, it's even more of a surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Our Ed Lavandera is live in Austin, Texas, for us this morning, covering the latest on this.

And, Ed, any word of the identity of the second person who was pulled out of the wreckage of that building yet?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do not have an identity of that person. That body was found -- two bodies were found late last night here at the crash site. But authorities still have not determined or have not released the names of those -- of who those people are. So, that will perhaps happen at some point today.

But that story ended here, John. And we thought it would be a good idea, everything unfolded here so quickly yesterday. We thought it would be good idea to kind of retrace what we believe Joseph Stacks' steps were yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: The events of the day appeared to have started in this neighborhood in north Austin, Joseph Stack owned that red brick home, and neighbors tell us that shortly after 9:00 in the morning, they found it completely engulfed in flames.

(voice-over): The flames shot out of the house intensely, neighbors rushed to call 911 as they saw Stack's wife and stepdaughter run up to the house. But no one could imagine what was about to unfold across the city.

SHANNON HOUSTON, NEIGHBOR: I saw, of course, the flames and the smoke. And a little while later, I saw a little girl crying. She was crying really hard and she ran into my neighbor's house. And it appeared to be her mother was an older woman, she ran in behind her.

LAVANDERA: From this neighborhood, it would be a 20 to 30- minute drive to the airport where Stack's small plane was allegedly waiting for him with a full tank of fuel.

(on camera): This is the Georgetown Municipal Airport, authorities say Joseph Stack took off from here at 9:40 in the morning. He was in a four-seat Piper Cherokee aircraft. And a witness actually told CNN he waved to him as he left the hangar, and the only runway here takes off toward Austin, right over that tree line.

(voice-over): Sixteen minutes later, at 9:56 in the morning, Stack's aircraft emerged on the horizon, the building with nearly 200 employees inside in sight.

(on camera): Witnesses tell CNN that Stack came out of the sky here, appearing to aim for a building. He probably would have flown fast the home that he owned and seen it engulfed in flames before the flight ended here, crashing into that building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw something fallout of the sky and a big fireball kind of shoot out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The building shook and the lights up and then the lights flashed on, and then the roof came in and it felt like stuff fell on top of us.

LAVANDERA: The crash killed the pilot, Joseph Stack and one person in the building, 13 others were injured, two of those taken to hospitals. Despite an angry online message railing against the IRS, investigators aren't saying what motivated Joseph Stack.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: I personally consider this a criminal act by a lone individual.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How do you -- how do you make that definition? How do you differentiate domestic terror versus criminal act?

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Well, it is a person that attacked a building. What his motivations are will be released at a later date.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, John, you talked about that six-page letter or suicide note that is believed to have been left behind by Joseph Stack. At one point, he described how he had started off as therapy way -- therapy of, being kind of therapeutic for him to work through some issues. But it turned into a long diatribe over his frustration and anger with the IRS.

And at one point, he was saying the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again, and that brings him to saying I am finally ready to stop insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different. Take my pound of flesh and sleep well."

John, back here at the site, at the crash site, we've seen authorities -- local authorities say they had wrapped up most of their work at the site, but firefighters back here this morning presumably putting out still some hot spots of what was a very intense fire here yesterday -- John.

ROBERTS: All right. Ed Lavandera for us this morning in Austin, Texas, with the latest on that -- Ed, thanks so much.

SIDNER: Three of the American missionaries released from the Haitian jail are back home in Idaho this morning. Nearly 200 people were there to greet them, tears, balloons, and you see there hugs. It's not clear what will happen to their kidnapping case, but for now, they say they are just really happy to be home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLA THOMPSON, FREED FROM HAITIAN JAIL: This is certainly an emotional moment. I'm overwhelmed. We're all very happy to be home. We're very grateful for all of your prayers.

REV. CLINT HENRY, FREED MISSIONARIES' PASTOR: In spite of everything that they endured, one of the things that I noticed right away as I spoke to the team is that they had an incredibly upbeat attitude, and besides that, I also noticed as I talked to them that their faith is much stronger than it ever was before they went down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The other missionaries who have been released are back in their hometowns as well this morning, but two members of the group are still being held back in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

And the first commercial flight since last month's earthquake in Haiti took off from Miami this morning bound for Port-au-Prince. America Airlines is one of the first carriers to resume service there. The company says they plan to start with three flights out of south Florida each day and four a week from JFK right here in New York.

ROBERTS: New this morning, the mission in Iraq has a whole new identity today. The Obama administration will rename it "Operation: New Dawn," to reflect the changing mission these troops draw down there. The idea came from the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno. Officials say the change takes effect in September.

SIDNER: And more gold for the USA at the Vancouver Olympics. Evan Lysacek won the men's figure skating gold medal in dramatic fashion, shocking everybody, including himself by upsetting the defending champ, Russian Evgeni Plushenko. I know I got that wrong.

It ends...

ROBERTS: Again.

SIDNER: OK. OK. Sorry, guys. It ends a 22-year drought for U.S. men's figure skating. The last time an American won gold in the Olympic event, Brian Boitano at the Calgary Games. That was 1988.

The U.S. has stretched its medal lead to seven over Germany. They have 18 medals in all, six of them are gold.

ROBERTS: Our Rob Marciano is tracking the extreme weather across the country today. He's at the weather center in Atlanta and joins us now.

What are we looking at today, Rob?

SIDNER: Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More warm weather for the Vancouver Olympics. I'll tell you, it looks like the U.S. does pretty well up there in Canada, when you judge the 1988, and my friends in Canada are not quite owning the podium. Maybe the second half of the Olympics will be better for you.

All right. A little bit of cool air across the northeast, and breezy, but not terribly cold. That's good news. Temps dropping into the 30s before you head out the door across New York. And then some rain developing across the extreme coastline of Texas, trying to feed into this system which isn't all that much of a system, maybe four or five inches of snow with this, but a mix around Kansas City up to Saint Joseph, sliding across Columbia.

And as mentioned, temperatures will be in the lower 50s across Vancouver. We'll talk more about that, more about the drought and a series of storms heading into the west coast where California has already been beat up pretty much this winter.

We will see you, guys, in about 30 minutes -- John and Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Rob. Stick around for this one.

Police in Atlanta have their hands full during rush hour last night. They caught a zebra. There it is there. On extremely busy section of Interstate 75, right through downtown. And yes, the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus is in town, which could explain why he's still there. We're told the animal got spooked and got away from his trainer, even passing near our global headquarters before ending up on the interstate.

ROBERTS: Yes, I got to tell you, too -- it's a long way from the CNN Center to 75-85 as it runs through town. So, the zebra was running wild for a while there.

SIDNER: Well, you know what? In India, for me, it's like normal to see, you know, every now and then...

ROBERTS: But not a zebra.

SIDNER: ... you see an elephant, but never a zebra.

ROBERTS: There you go.

SIDNER: So, that is unusual.

ROBERTS: Unique for everybody this morning.

Well, the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., got off to a rousing start in the last couple of days. It's running this weekend. Dick Cheney is saying after he got a standing ovation, "Hey, it almost makes me feel like I want to run for office again," but he won't.

So, what is -- what is the CPAC conference going to do in this election year? What kind of an impact is it going to have? And what about the tea party folks -- what kind of an impact are they going to have on the Republican Party? John Avlon and Candy Crowley coming up with more on that right after the break.

Nine and a half minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

The who's who of the conservative movement have gathered in Washington, D.C., for the CPAC convention. There's a lot of excitement as Republicans define their message and take aim at the Obama administration.

But will they be able to harness that momentum going into the mid-term elections?

From Washington this morning, "Daily Beast" columnist John Avlon, and Candy Crowley, our senior political correspondent and host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," join us.

John, let's start with you. You've been on the ground, roaming around at the CPAC conference. What do you think the headline is so far?

JOHN AVLON, THEDAILYBEAST.COM COLUMNIST: What a difference a year can make. You know, one year ago, these folks were dispirited, they felt deep in the wilderness, and now, they really feel they've got the wind at their back. Conservatives, they not only seen as being resurgent nationally but resurgent in the Republican Party. There really is a feeling that conservatives are going to be calling the shots going forward, that the tea party only strengthens the activists hand and try to determine the direction, ideology and policy of the party.

ROBERTS: All right. So, Candy, the conservatives believe that they're going to be calling the shots going forward, and I think they would have liked to think the same thing in 2008, and yet, John McCain became the nominee for the party.

So, what influence will they really play here not only in the 2010 elections, but looking ahead to 2012? Because CPAC likes to think that, you know, that the candidates for president will emerge out of their conference.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, it is true that you cannot win a nomination in the Republican Party without having a good part of the conservative base behind you. It becomes more problematic in the general, and that's where sometimes people complain that because on the Republican side, the conservatives sort of drive the primary process, you sometimes get a candidate who maybe too conservative for the general electorate.

But, you know, why did they think this is different? They look around and they see the poll numbers of the president declining. They see what they believe is an uprising against the particular brand of a health care reform that's on the Capitol Hill right now and they believe that is a winning issue for them. They believe the huge deficit is an issue for them. They believe that spending is a very big issue for them, because all the polling is showing that not just conservatives but moderates and independents believe those three things are all issues.

And when you're going in the election year and the issues are on your side, you think that you can really move things.

ROBERTS: Big change, John, at this year's CPAC conference is the prominent possession that the tea party, the grassroots movement, is playing. What role do they have there at CPAC this year and what role d o you think they're going to have and what influence do you think they'll have in the 2010 mid-term elections?

AVLON: Well, here's what's fascinating. One year ago, the tea party movement didn't even exist. The first tea parties were held February 27th of the last year. And now, their primary influence at the moment is folks at the podium trying to send a message to tea party leaders, "We're with you, we want to listen." So, there's a real shift. They are trying to form a common cause with the tea partiers.

And I think obviously, that's one of the reasons they feel they have the wind at their back. But the danger here is at conferences like this, that it's always people talking to themselves. It's conservatives talking to conservatives.

And as Candy said, that ends up leaving independents sometimes saying, what is this, a debating society or is this actually going to perform solutions? Well, they can build bridges on fiscal conservatives and independents, but the consensus here is that what they're really fighting is socialism and fighting for freedom, and that's the ideological message that strikes some independents as being a little far out.

ROBERTS: Candy, the CPAC conference used to be the vanguard of conservatism, now it is more or less the establishment. The tea party now playing the role of the vanguard of conservatism. Do you think that the tea party will begin to really shake up the Republican party this year?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it already has shaken up the Republican party this year. I think you can look across the country and see races where tea party bag candidates have made some inroads against established Republican candidates that would have been surprising six months ago, much less a year ago.

So they already have had some influence. And there is a commonality. A purpose here. I think it's fairly safe to say that while tea party people believe that there are independents out there also part of this movement, that may be true. The bulk of them are conservatives, the bulk of them are sort of trend Republican.

So the question is how do you get all that passion and really the tea party is the only place where politics has had huge passion in the last six months. How do you take that and infuse it into the Republican party without making the Republican party smaller because you are turning off the moderates and the independents that John is talking about.

ROBERTS: Right.

CROWLEY: So they are trying to come to some sort of commonality and purpose and walking around there yesterday, I can tell you what the commonality and purpose is. It is winning. And so if they have that in common, and one of the -- one of the big applause people yesterday was the new senator from Massachusetts.

ROBERTS: Yes, Scott Brown.

CROWLEY: He is not exactly Mr. Conservative on a lot of issues.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CROWLEY: So winning is a good thing and it may bring them all together.

ROBERTS: Candy, I take it you will be covering a lot of this "State of the Union" on Sunday?

CROWLEY: We will, indeed.

ROBERTS: All right, looking forward to that. Candy Crowley, John Avalon, good to be with you this morning thanks so much.

And be sure to catch Candy Crowley, hosting "State of the Union" this Sunday morning, that's at 9:00 eastern, right here on CNN.

SIDNER: Starting Monday, credit card companies will be playing by new rules, good news. But what has happened before the deadline has consumers fuming. Gerri Willis explains next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: I love that song. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. He has written anthems about the working man and the American dream, now some people want him to take a step further. Online groups are trying to draft John Melencamp to run for the Indiana Senate Seat being vacated by Democratic Senator Evan Bayhe. And on camp spokesman says no comment.

ROBERTS: Leonardo Dicaprio's new movie "Shutter Island" opens today. And there is word that the actor may team up again with director Martin Scorsese in a story based on the life of Frank Sinatra. It would be their fifth film together. Dicaprio has reportedly been taking singing lessons to try to mimic Ol' Blue Eyes, but Scorsese knows better, saying he will let Frank sing himself.

SIDNER: And the National Inquirer is now eligible for a Pulitzer Price an historic move. Pulitzer prizes has decided that the Inquirer does qualify as a newspaper, and they accepted the tabloid application. The Huffington Post was the first to break that news. The paper's up for the award for single handedly breaking the story about the John Edwards sex scandal.

ROBERTS: Wouldn't that me something. We got an eye on some new credit card laws that go into effect on Monday and what they could mean for your wallet.

SIDNER: Gerri Willis joins us live again, "Minding Your Business" this morning, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN SENIOR FINANCIAL EDITOR: Good morning guys, yes that is right, starting Monday credit card companies will be playing by new rules. That's good news, but what happened before the deadline it has consumers fuming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS (voice-over): Consumers have had it with their credit cards.

KATHLEEN DILLON, OPTED OUT OF CREDIT CARDS: I paid my bills on time I've been penalized for no reason.

REV. ROGER GENCH, FACING INTEREST RATE HIKE: They don't care that I have been with them for 30 years and that I might have a history with them. That's the bottom line.

WILLIS: Kathleen Dillon and Reverend Roger Denture dealing with the unintended consequences of credit card reform. Facing tighter regulations credit card issuers have been changing policies before the law goes into effect on Monday.

Among the new credit card rules, interest rates cannot be raised on existing balances or accounts that are less than a year old. And above minimum payments must be applied to highest rate balances first. Those changes will cost banks money, $11 billion each year, and lenders are looking for new sources of revenue.

NESSA FEDDIS, SENIOR COUNSEL, AMERICAN BANKERS ASST.: Interest rates will be a little bit higher across the board. It will be harder for people to get cards, limits will be lower. And beyond that card companies are looking at annual fees, a reduction in the promotional rates, maybe a reduction in rewards programs.

WILLIS: That's already happening. Roger found out his Citi Bank credit card was raising his interest rate for future purchases from 18.99 percent to 29.99 percent.

GRENCH: They said it was due enough all to my own.

WILLIS: He was late with two payments in his 30-year history before he received the notice of his future increase.

WILLIS (on camera): So what is it like opening that letter from a lender you had worked with for 30 years. And they are telling you they are going to jack up your interest rate?

GRENCH: You know, I think this now, it's a faceless, compassionless, exploitive, institution.

WILLIS, (voice-over): For its part, Citi Bank says quote "price increases are necessary given the doubling of credit card losses and regulatory changes." Kathleen has had to opt out of three credit cards, because of impending interest rate hike.

DILLON: It was scary for me because I work two jobs and don't have a lot of money and that left me with very little access to emergency funding if need.

WILLIS: The consumer experts say the Card Act does level the playing field.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are some unequivocal wins for consumers in the new credit card legislation.

WILLIS: It's estimated consumers will save at least $10 billion a year because of the new law. But for Katleen this is one relationship that's already soured.

DILLON: I am just paying them down and I won't use the companies again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: Bottom line, you really have to open up your mail from your credit card companies because that is the only way you'll find out about got you fees or rate hikes. If you've gotten to notice the changes you don't like. You do have the opt right to opt out, meaning you can keep your terms on your existing debt the same. But then you have to go out and find a whole brand-new credit card.

ROBERTS: Makes you just want to forget the whole idea? WILLIS: Oh absolutely and I'm telling people, you know people are coming up to me all the time. What can I do? I'm so mad about what is going on. And I tell them, vote with your feet. If you don't like the way you are being treated, get a new card.

ROBERTS: I voted with a pair of scissors a couple of times with my credit card. But it always came back.

SIDNER: Yes, but the thing is that they come in the mail, and all this junk mail and there's all this, you know what I mean, it's almost like -- do I really need to read through every single detail?

WILLIS: Yes, you do.

SIDNER: I think a lot of us get caught by that, right.

WILLIS: It's especially important this month and next month because they are making changes right now that could effects your rate, your credit limit, how much you have to pay each and every month.

ROBERTS: Gerri Willis this morning, "Minding Your Business", Gerri thanks so much.

WILLIS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Next week here on the Most News in the Morning we begin a special series on broken government. Evan Bayh says Congress isn't functioning the way it should when he announced that he was not going to stand for re-election. We'll get a preview of our special series coming up next, the government: is it hopelessly broken or is there some hope for the future. It's 25 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The president of Toyota pulling a 180, saying that he will now testify before Congress in next week's hearing about the automaker's recalls. President Akiya Toyota originally declined the invitation to go before Congress saying is an American President would be a better choice to answer questions about the recalls. The automaker's president has been criticized for not speaking up sooner about Toyota's trucks.

SIDNER: And this morning, Toyota is considering changes to its push button ignition, a feature on a growing number of cars. But as it turns out, many drivers don't really understand how the system works. Unable to shut the car off when there is an emergency. Here is Deb Feyerick with an "AM" Original.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): John, Sara, what would you do if your car went out of control? Well the Toyota recall has prompted a lot of drivers to think about that. What would they do in the event of an emergency. With new high tech and electronics and push button ignition it's more complicated than you think.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Wally Brithinee was driving his 2007 Toyota Avalon last August and have just merged on interstate 5 in San Diego when the car started to act strangely.

WALLY BRITHINEE, TOYOTA OWNER: That's when I noticed the acceleration that the engine was speeding up and I was -- my feet were not on the gas pedal.

FEYERICK: Brithinee has said the car jumped from 50 to 70 miles an hour seemingly on its own and he was starting to panic.

BRITHINEE: I believe I pushed the stop button to try and get the car to stop, and I can even push it now, and the car is still running. You know, it's not stopping.

FEYERICK: Like many new models, the Toyota Avalon has no key. Instead a push button activated by a small transmitter or FOB turns the car on and off. Brithinee had not read the car's lengthy manual cover to cover and had no idea that in an emergency the only way to stop the car was to hold down the ignition for three seconds.

FEYERICK (on camera): Was it surprising?

BRITHINEE: What was surprising was to be totally feeling like you are out of control and somewhat helpless.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Toyota says that the three second delay is a safety feature to prevent accidental engine shutoff while driving. The company acknowledges the feature may not be well understood.

Five years ago 19 car models had key (UNINTELLIGIBLE) systems. Today that number has soared nearly 140 have push buttons not traditional keys, and those push buttons vary from car to car.

FEYERICK (on camera): Everybody takes for granted that driving a car is something simple. But because of the changes it's not as simple as you may think it is.

BRITHINEE: No, it's become a far more complex thing with far less standardization across many manufacturers. And it leave open a lot of potential problems when an emergency situation arise and you have no idea how to control the car from a fundamental level.

FEYERICK: Ken Brauer is editor and chief of the popular auto website, Edmunds.com.

BRAUER: There should be a standard way to stop the car that everyone knows as intuitively of turning the key used to be.

FEYERICK: So far the government does not require those standards, but an automotive industry group says it is working on developing a uniform keyless system so that all models shut down the same way, especially in an emergency.

We don't have how to turn a car off if it's accelerating out of control, for example.

BRAUER: And I think you will see that. That is coming.

FEYERICK: It did not come in time for California highway patrol officer Mark Sailor and his family involved in a fatal crash. The officer may not have known about the three-second shutoff rule in the Lexus sedan he was driving.

Toyota denies the keyless starter was a contributor in that sudden acceleration accident. That incident happened a week after Wally Brithany's (ph) incident, which he describes as frighteningly similar.

FEYERICK (on camera): Did that accident validate what you had experienced?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it definitely validated it and reinforced the feeling that I had to do something to find a solution. Yes, it was clear there could have been a really horrible outcome as it was in his case for him and his family.

FEYERICK: He traded it in for a 2009 Avalon after two Toyota mechanics failed to find the cause of the acceleration. One thing to keep in mind, if you do shut off the ignition you lose power steering and braking, making it hard but not impossible to control your car. John, Sara?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Deb, thanks so much.

Crossing the half hour and checking our top stories this Friday morning, two dozen U.S. marines are behind enemy lines in Marja, Afghanistan. They were air dropped into an area where Taliban marksmen are known to operate.

The commander of the U.S. marines in Marja says allied forces now control "the spine of the town."

SIDNER: Iran's supreme leader says this morning that it's not seeking and doesn't believe in pursuing nuclear weapons, and that's in response to a draft report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency saying Iran may secretly be developing a nuclear warhead. The report outlines the way the country is defying U.N. direction.

ROBERTS: And a school district in the Philadelphia suburbs is accused of using web cams on school issued laptops to spy on students. A federal lawsuit says officials can turn the web cams on remotely, and that some students were captured as they were undressing and also in other private situations.

And as you can imagine, some parents are furious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN GOTLIEB, DAUGHTER HAS ONE OF SCHOOL'S LAPTOPS: How do I trust this school district when they have done something like this? It's a complete violation of the privacy. This is no different than sticking a camera in a locker room at a fitness center or in a changing room in a department store.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Families got wise when an assistant principal talked about inappropriate behavior that happened outside of school.

SIDNER: From outraged tea partiers to frustrated lawmakers, Americans right, left, and center are upset with the way government works or doesn't work. It's an issue highlighted by Senator Evan Bayh's sudden retirement this week.

ROBERTS: Not only that, but a new poll finds that just a third of voters think that members of Congress should be reelected. We're launching a special CNN series next week "Broken Government" in conjunction with "Time" Magazine.

Peter Beinart has the magazine's cover story on broken government. He joins us now from Washington. Peter, great to talk to you this morning. And in your article at the top, you talk about the polarization of government. You do suggest that it's not as bad as it used to be. What do you think about this idea of government being broken?

PETER BEINART, CONTRIBUTOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think what is unique about our time today is that Americans out there in the country are not that polarized. Nobody is killing each other and setting off bombs over political disputes as they did during the Civil War even during the civil rights movement and Vietnam.

But our government is extremely polarized in that there is little cooperation between the two parties to solve big problems.

SIDNER: Let's talk about moderates for a second. Some are pointing to Senator Bayh saying he is leaving as a sign that the center is getting smaller. Do you see that happening here?

BEINART: Yes, if you go back to the 1960s, there were a lot of conservative Democrats often from the south, and a lot of liberal and moderate Republicans from the north. Those groups have been sorted out.

So now the Democratic Party is overwhelmingly liberal in Congress, the Republican Party is overwhelmingly conservative, so you don't have a lot of people that occupy that center. Those used to be by and large the dealmakers.

ROBERTS: Peter, when we had Evan Bayh on earlier this year, he was encouraging voters to vote out the ideologues and vote out the partisans. Recent polling has shown 63 percent of Americans don't think most members of Congress deserve to be reelected. Look at the poll there, a CNN independent research corporation polled.

But on average, 80 percent of Senate members and 90 percent of house members get reelected. So how is anything going to change in Congress if the same people keep getting elected?

BEINART: Well, there are a number of problems. In the House, one of the problems you have is redistricting, which creates safe, overwhelmingly partisan seats. If you had a system like Iowa does in which the redistricting was in the hands of independent, nonpartisan officials you might have districts in which you could have more competition.

The fundraising is also a huge barrier to challengers. It's very difficult for them to raise enough money to take on an incumbent. Those are part of the reasons you have the continued polarization and the difficulty of Congress in kind of shifting in response to public wishes.

SIDNRE: With the two-party system, do you think there is a place, a larger role, maybe, for independents because of the polarization?

BEINART: We have had a very stable two-party system for a very long time. But I think the value of independents and third parties can be in scaring the two major parties into making changes. Ross Perot convinced the two parties that Americans were so upset about the budget deficit that they have to take the issue more seriously.

ROBERTS: You also talk about some of the things that can be done to try and change-up the game, and you suggested Iowa's redistricting could be repeated across the country and also say in terms of the electoral process you need more New Hampshires.

BEINART: Well, in terms of New Hampshire -- what is interesting about New Hampshire is they allow independents to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary, and that means the candidates in the Democratic or Republican primaries have to appeal to people outside the party even in a primary.

If you expanded that to congressional elections, imagine if Democrats and Republicans even to get the own party's nomination had to appeal to independents. They would move to the center and think more about how people other than their hardcore partisans feel.

On "Crossfire," it got a bad name as I am sure you remember, but the value over a show like "Crossfire" is it had both sides being represented.

Oftentimes today what you see is a trend towards shows where basically you hear one side, and not surprisingly people who already agree with that side tend to go to that show or that blog. I think it would be -- we should look for more opportunities to interrogate one another as you saw with Obama when he went to speak to House Republicans.

ROBERTS: Peter, great to talk to you.

BEINART: Thank you.

SIDNER: It's 39 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: It's 41 after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

CNN heroes, they're ordinary people doing extraordinary things. This morning we want to introduce you to this week's hero, once a crack addict and six-time inmate, Susan Burton got out, got clean, and transformed her life. Now she has created a program to help female offenders do the same.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN BURTON, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I am writing in regards to my parole plan. I am 21 years old with two strikes. I am scared to relapse again. I want to be a success story.

We all leave prison saying I am going to get my life on track, and you end up getting off a bust downtown Los Angeles, skid row. People know who you are when you come off that bus, and you are targeted. Many times you don't even make it out of the skid row area before you are caught up into that cycle again.

My name is Susan Burton. After my son died, I used drugs and I just spiraled into a pit of darkness. I went to prison six times, and finally I found rehab. And I thought that I could help women come home from prison.

I picked them up, and bring them back into the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is like a mother to all of us. She offers you a warm bed and food, and like a real family.

BURTON: I want to see you shine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She made me want to change my life.

BURTON: You came a long way.

I want the women to realize they have something to contribute. That's what it's all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Nominate someone who you think is changing the world. Just go to CNN.com/amfix.

ROBERTS: Well, the winter chill is taking a bit of a break, at least for now. Rob Marciano is tracking the extreme weather across the country. Stay with us. It's 44 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: A good morning look at Air Force One there at McCarran Airport right outside of downtown Las Vegas; President Obama spending a little bit of his college money there in Vegas. No, just kidding. Partly cloudy 48 degrees right now and mostly cloudy it's 65 a little bit later today.

SIDNER: Let's toss it over now to Rob Marciano. He is in the weather center for us this morning. How is the weather there in Las Vegas? It looked very sparkly out there.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes always sparkly and it looks pretty good, a great day to spend tax dollars flying to Vegas and producing a huge carbon footprint at the same time.

All right, we're looking at a high pressure across East Coast looking a little bit warmer today and tomorrow looks even warmer than that. A little storm moving across the plains, it's not that big of a deal but it's creating a little bit of a mess in the form of wintry precipitation. You might see of up to about five inches of snow in spots.

Sleet, freezing rain across parts of this area, just slowing things down but really not much in the way of watches or warnings or advisories with this. So it should be moving through fairly quickly. A hardy Midwesterner should have a decent time with this but Manhattan and Wichita, Kansas seeing some heavy rain.

Heavy snow in the forecast for the (INAUDIBLE) and also the San Juans of Colorado, two, maybe three feet in spots.

I've got some video coming out of California. It's San Dimas, this is just east of Pasadena, where yesterday the land just gave way and a huge landslide because of saturated ground there. This is just south of the station fire burn area.

So they are worried about more this happening this weekend as our next weather system comes into the Pacific Northwest and the California coastline, 57 expected there in San Francisco.

By the way, the drought in 2008 was as you know pretty severe across much of the country and then rolling into this year, we've gotten rid of almost all -- about 7 percent of the country, into a moderate drought, most of which is actually in Hawaii, so a nice rebound as far as the water woes go. John and Sarah back up to you.

ROBERTS: Rob are you joining the Sierra Club Division of the TEA party?

SIDNER: That's my comment, wow, that was like a real slap there.

MARCIANO: I just see that big plane and that long trip and...

SIDNER: You get a little frustrated.

MARCIANO: Get a little bit frustrated, it's my money.

SIDNER: We got it, we understand. We're here with you.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

SIDNER: Now, let's check in with Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM" for a look at what's ahead in the next hour. Good morning Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi guys, so what do you do if you can't pay your mortgage? Take a listen to what this guy did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It took three years and eight months to build it. It only took two hours to take it down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's right. He bulldozed it. Terry Oskins (ph) of Moscow, Ohio, he says he's been struggling with the River Hills Bank over his home for nearly a decade. And it was coming to an end, because the bank began foreclosure proceedings on him. It's a $350,000 home and he said, quote, "When I see I owe a $150,000 on a home value that's $350,000 and someone decides that they want to take this, I wasn't going to stand for that so I took it down." And we're going to hear from him rather, in the next hour. He wasn't messing around.

ROBERTS: Yes, I'm sure that the bank was a little upset, too.

SIDNER: Yes.

ROB: Because they wanted some value out of their property. And I mean, now all they got is the land, right?

PHILLIPS: No and you know what, he could care less. That was his way of getting even.

ROBERTS: I say, that's pretty obvious, yes.

SIDNER: Maybe not the best thing to do legally.

ROBERTS: Yes, perhaps.

SIDNER: Yes.

ROBERTS: All right, Kyra, looking forward to that one.

PHILLIPS: Yes, well, it continues, will he be arrested or not? We'll find out.

ROBERTS: All right, today's outrage with Kyra Phillips coming up in just a couple of minutes.

SIDNER: It's 50 minutes after the hour and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning. It's 53 and a half minutes after the hour. That means it's time for "AM House Call," stories about your health.

You know that a little alcohol can be good for your heart but too much and those benefits go right down the drain. A new study suggesting that even occasional binge drinking increases the chance of coronary heart disease by 45 percent. Researchers define heavy drinking is five or more standard sized drinks a day at least 12 times a year.

SIDNER: You might want to keep this next one under wraps, don't let the boss hear about it. But just planning a vacation might actually be better than going on one. A European study found the highest and most long lasting happiness rates in people who are just getting ready to go away. Once someone returns home however, their level drops back down to neutral.

Researchers say that's due to the stress of returning to work and in some cases a bad vacation. I've got to say, I don't like planning, I just like going.

ROBERTS: Yes, well, obviously there's the anticipation and the excitement about going and then no question there's the depression of, uh-oh, vacation is over and I'm going back to work.

SIDNER: Go back to work.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos has got a very interesting piece for us this morning. A little bit of foot-in-mouth disease. And haven't we all experienced that from time to time. Wait until you see what she found out.

Fifty-five minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Three minutes before 9:00 on the East Coast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": Tiger Woods is making a televised public apology -- a televised public apology tomorrow. He needs three more to tie my record. Good luck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That's why we love him.

ROBERTS: Yes. Good when you can laugh at yourself.

Three minutes before the top of the hour, 9:00 Eastern. That means it's time for the "Moost News in the Morning". It's been quite a week for bloopers.

SIDNER: Not your run-of-the-mill on-air oops, we're talking really awkward foot-in-mouth whoppers.

Here's Jeanne Moos. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sometimes it's the little things that you can't get out of your head.

KAY BURLEY, NEWS ANCHOR: What happened to his head? I'm sure that's what everybody is asking at home?

MOOS: A British Sky News anchor was asking the network's Washington correspondent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I don't know. There is a simple answer.

BURLEY: Ok. It looks like he walked into a door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe we'll get a chance to find out a little later.

MOOS: And with that, she walked into the Austin Powers trap.

MIKE MYERS, ACTOR: My mole-stake --

MOOS: The British journalist's mistake was forgetting that it was Ash Wednesday, and that VP Joe Biden is Catholic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has been up in Vancouver for the Olympics. So whether there was some accident on what little ice there's been up in Vancouver, we don't know.

BURLEY: Probably having to go on those (INAUDIBLE) down the luge or something. Certainly doesn't quite (INAUDIBLE) doesn't it. Anyway, never mind.

MOOS: But Ash Wednesday called someone's mind in time for Kay Burley to make amends.

BURLEY: Ok. I know that I'm very bad Catholic. I know now that it is Ash Wednesday and I know that those are ashes on his forehead. I hang my head in shame.

MOOS: Hey, the vice president probably didn't mind. He had his own problems back when he was trying to praise a state senator in a wheelchair.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chuck. Stand up Chuck, let them see you. Oh, God love you, what am I talking about?

MOOS: Now normally Oprah knows what he is talking about. But the other day, she evidently didn't know about the birthmark the quarterback Drew Brees has on his cheek.

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": All right. Who just kissed you? There's a big old --

MOOS: Posted one person, "Let's just pray she never has Mikhail Gorbachev on the show." But come on, who hasn't embarrassed themselves. Maybe an innocent mistake like that, sometimes we just don't see things for what they are.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Peter, are you going to ask that question with those shades on.

MOOS: It turns out the reporter has macular degeneration.

BUSH: I'm interested in the shade look, seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I'll keep it then.

BUSH: For the viewers, there's no sun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It depends on your perspective.

MOOS: From Oprah's perspective, it sure looked like a lipstick kiss. There's no way we could just kiss birthmarks goodbye with a rub.

WINFREY: All right, who just kissed you?

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --

BURLEY: What happened to his head?

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Could hang your head in shame. Oh, brutal.

ROBERTS: And then there is a writer from a daily in the U.K. that says "Kay Burley might be a bad Catholic, aren't we all? But I could not agree more with her comments about Joe Biden on Ash Wednesday. What happened to his head, she asked? Looks like he walked into a door? Frankly, she was right." This guy says. It's an epidemic.

SIDNER: Something's wrong there.

ROBERTS: Epidemic.

Continue the conversation on today's stories. Go to our blog at cnn.com/amFix.

That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks for joining us. We will be back bright and early on Monday morning.

Here is "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips -- Kyra.