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American Morning

Prius Owner Claims Car Accelerated Uncontrollably; President Pushes for Congressional Health Care Vote; Missionary Charged with Kidnapping Released from Haiti; Democratic Congressman Resigns Amid Allegations of Ethics Violations; Eric Massa Set Up by Party?; Tax Help for Job Seekers; The Cost of Saving Carlos

Aired March 09, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Glad you're with us on this Tuesday, March 9th on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for joining us today. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes here on the Most News in the Morning.

There's a brand-new report of a runaway Toyota this morning. A man says he was standing on the brakes of his Prius as the car broke through 90 miles an hour on a hilly San Diego highway. Hear him recount what could have been his last bright (ph).

CHETRY: President Obama back in campaign mode pushing health care reform and taking direct aim at its critics, but as a new energy, a little bit too late to make a real difference? We're going to talk that. We're live at the White House this morning.

ROBERTS: And finally back home, American missionary Charisa Coulter is out of a Haitian jail and in Miami this morning. She was behind bars for more than a month. One of ten people accused of kidnapping more than 30 children in the aftermath at Haiti's deadly earthquake. But the future remains unclear for the group's leader who is still in jail. We'll have the latest coming up for you.

CHETRY: First, we're following breaking news from Columbus, Ohio this morning where police say one person is dead and two others injured after a shooting took place on Ohio State University campus. What we know at this point is someone opened fire from inside of a maintenance building according to reports. It was near the campus power plant.

ROBERTS: CNN affiliate WCMH is reporting all people involved are campus employees. Police also say they have a suspect in custody this morning. We'll have more as we get additional information for you.

CHETRY: Another story developing right now, a new and terrifying account of a runaway ride in a Toyota. The company is now sending investigators to California where a driver claims he almost flew over a hill that he was going 90 miles an hour and was unable to stop his Prius yesterday.

The Prius, you may remember was recalled but for braking problems, not any acceleration issues. Deb Feyerick is following all the details for us as she has been throughout this Toyota ordeal. And the latest, he claims he was literally standing on brakes and couldn't stop his Prius.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is not first time somebody used that description to describe how they tried to stop their vehicle. But this could be an important development, because if this is sudden acceleration, Toyota now has a car they can analyze to see exactly what's going on.

Here's what happened -- the driver, Jim Sikes was cruising east on Interstate 8 outside the San Diego area when he tried to slow to pass another vehicle. Well Sikes pushed down on pedal and says the pedal did something kind of funny. It wouldn't come back.

The car accelerated to 90 miles an hour, Sikes desperately tried to avoid other drivers and slow the car and keep from going over a cliff. At the news conference he relived part of the frightening runaway ride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SIKES, PRIUS DRIVER: My thought was going over the side of the hill. There was too many hills and angles. That's why I wanted to shut the car off. But there was no straight place to do it and nobody to protect me from behind.

There was a few times I got really close to vehicles, especially a truck twice, once early in the game and then another one when he was on the side of me. I came real close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Sikes managed to call 911 for help, and dispatchers tried to instruct him on how to stop the car by nothing worked. At one point he reached down, he says, trying to pull up the gas pedal by hand but it "stayed right where it was."

A California highway patrol officer did catch up to the runaway Prius and using the PA system helped Sikes bring the car to a stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIKES: I was just holding on the steering wheel with my left hand down at an angle trying to pull it back. I thought it was maybe stuck. My mat was perfect. There was nothing wrong with my mat. And the pedal, it wouldn't do anything. It stayed right where it was.

He got up on the side and told me what to do and I was standing on the pedal, on the right pedal looking out the window at him. And he said, push the emergency brake too. I laid on both of them. And it finally started slowing down right then, down to like 55. It had been at 94, I know that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And that The California highway patrol officer was able to get his car in front of the Prius helping it slow down.

Toyota issued the statement she have been notified and sent a field technical specialist to investigate report and offer their help. Keep in mind, the Prius was recalled recently for brake problems not sudden unintended acceleration, this could definitely add to Toyota's growing problems.

CHETRY: It will be interesting to see what they find in that investigation. Very scary. He got lucky.

FEYERICK: He really got lucky. Everybody is looking at cars a whole new way right now.

CHETRY: Scary stuff. Thanks, Deb

ROBERTS: President Obama on the road and bringing that vintage campaign fire to the issue of health care reform. The hard sell comes before critical votes in Congress later this month. In the president's arguments He ripped into the insurance industry and Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: My question to them is, when's the right time? If not know, when? If not us, who?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House. Suzanne, the president very critical of the insurance industry, ripping them 22 times during that speech as he tries to get health care across the goal line. We will he be able to do it?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, he's certainly is trying very, very hard. It's a big whether he'll be successful at this. Obviously they picked a populist message here, realizing that the insurance companies are the bad guys in this scenario, so they are going after them, vilifying them, if you will.

It is not surprising, either, John, that you see the campaign like event. It looks like a campaign, sounds like a campaign, feels like a campaign, that he is resurrected his fired-up, read-to-go message. It was very successful during the campaign in terms of getting people riled up.

He was in front of a friendly audience campus, a liberal campus, even got cheers and wild applause just for taking his jacket off. But essentially he is trying to create quite a bit of stir, if you will, a lot of support.

But also these kinds of pictures, emphasizing that he believes that it's the insurance companies that are the ones that are hiking up the premiums and that his solution to this is health care reform. Take a listen, John.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I'll be honest with you. I don't know how passing health care will play politically. But I do know it's the right thing to do.

(APPLAUSE)

It's right for our families. It's right for our businesses. It's right for the United States of America. And if you share that belief, I want you to stand with me and fight with me, and I ask you to help us get us over the finish line the next two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The president being very strategic about the places he is selecting. The Philadelphia area, as you know, great hospitals, great doctors, but a lot of doctors and specialists don't take on Medicaid patients because the state of Pennsylvania doesn't pay them on time. The reimbursements to take on those patients is just not worth it to them. That's one of things he's talking about with health care reform.

And another thing interesting, it's like a campaign event. You had a couple of hecklers as well, putting up signs trying to say that health care reform, abortion not the same kind of thing.

We're going to see this play out again tomorrow in St. Louis, obviously the president trying to create once again last minute, if you will, this big push for health care reform, delivering that populist message and going after the insurance companies.

ROBERTS: Trying to drag it across the goal line.

Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House, thanks.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, American missionary Charisa Coulter is free and back in the U.S. She was one of the ten charged with kidnapping 33 children in the week of Haiti's deadly earthquake. Coulter was released from a Port-au-Prince jail. Her father says that they are still worried about the group's leader, who is still being held, Laura Silsby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEL COULTER, FATHER OF CHARISA COULTER: Her family is extremely proud of what she tried to do to help people who are in desperate need of help. We just look forward to having a big family reunion with all ten, if possible. And when Laura gets out, then we'll celebrate together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Laura Silsby went before a judge in Port-au-Prince yesterday. She told our Sara Sidner that she was happy Coulter was released and she hopes to be freed soon as well.

ROBERTS: Police in Milledgeville, Georgia, say they plan to interview Ben Roethlisberger in the next few days. A 20-year-old college student claims the quarterback sexually assaulted her last week in a Georgia nightclub.

His attorney insists no crime was committed. Roethlisberger is already facing a civil suit by a woman who alleges he raped her two years ago in a hotel in Lake Tahoe.

CHETRY: And the tiny town of Hammon, Oklahoma, no match for a tornado that touched down last night. Five homes were destroyed. The twister was captured by storm chasers who got up close, as you can see there, getting really, unbelievable images of the funnel cloud and the destruction as it tore a path through this tiny town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY GABRIELSON, STORM CHASER: We were about 80 yards away at the time it crossed the road. And it was an amazing event to experience. It was very frightening when it started to impact the homes of several of the residents of Hammon.

The excitement turned to fear and concern immediately once that happened. But finding out there was no injuries was a great relief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That's right, no injuries reported from that twister. Hundreds of homeowners are still dealing with the aftermath including a loss of electricity in many places.

ROBERTS: Some pretty amazing pictures. You don't get any closer to a twister unless you're inside it.

CHETRY: And as Rob was saying yesterday, it was ironic, he said that we haven't seen as many this season. Only one reported in February.

ROBERTS: When you get up close and personal like that, you only need to see one.

CHETRY: That's true.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHETRY: Coming up on the Most News in the Morning, a Democratic congressman is stepping down, and he says he was the target of an attack by his own party because of his stance on health care reform. We're going to get details on this ongoing controversy.

It's ten minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We're back with the Most News in the Morning, and other stories new this morning -- look at them go.

The sled dogs are off and running in this year's Iditarod race -- 71 mushers and their teams will try to make the brutal 1,100 mile trek to Nome, Alaska. Front-runner Alaskan Lance Mackey, who is a survivor of throat cancer, is trying to become the first musher in history to win four consecutive races.

CHETRY: Look at the kids. There are kids in this thing.

ROBERTS: Ever see the statue in Central Park?

CHETRY: I love that statue. I love that dog. It's gorgeous.

ROBERTS: The statue of Balto, the lead dog to get the diphtheria vaccine to Nome 70 years ago.

CHETRY: There are so many beautiful statues in Central Park, but yes, that is one of my favorites.

Democratic leaders in the House are denying they forced Congressman Eric Massa to resign because of his opposition to reform. Massa, a conservative Democrat from upstate New York, announced last week he would not seek reelection because of health problems.

He said that's when he learned he was the target of an ethics investigation so he decided to step down. Now he's insisting he was pushed because of s his stance on health care.

Brianna Keilar joins us live from Washington. And so Massa certainly not going quietly, but what is the buzz about what his some of his claims are?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Massa has really taken aim at the new two Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer. He says that Hoyer has intentionally drawn attention and even maliciously drawn attention to his ethics woes.

He says this is because Democratic leaders wanted him out of Congress and it has everything to do with this impending health care reform vote, because, as you know, Kiran, this vote is going to be very close and Massa was planning to break with Democratic leaders and vote no.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC MASSA, FORMER REP., (D) NEW YORK (FROM WKPQ): I was set up for this from the very, very beginning. If you think that somehow they didn't come after me to get rid of me because my vote is a deciding vote in the health care bill, then, ladies and gentlemen, you live today in a world that is so innocent as not to understand what's going on in Washington, D.C. KEILAR (voice-over): A spokesperson for Hoyer's office says that's completely false and there is zero merit to that accusation. Massa is facing an ethics inquiry for making one of his male staffers uncomfortable, according to a senior Democratic aide, who says the allegations involve a sexual implication.

Massa has acknowledged "my own language failed to meet the standards that I set for all around me and myself." But on a local radio station in his upstate New York district, he said the incident in question took place at the wedding of one of his staffers, painting a picture of lewd locker room banter.

MASSA: A staff member made an intonation to me that maybe I should be chasing after the bridesmaid and his points were clear and his words were far more colorful than that. And I grabbed the staff member sitting next to me and said, well, what I really ought to be doing is fracking you. And then tossed the guy -- tousled the guy's hair and left, went to my room, because I knew the party was getting to a point where it wasn't right for me to be there. Now was that inappropriate of me? Absolutely. Am I guilty? Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, Hoyer's office says he was not intentionally trying to draw attention to these allegations. They say that Hoyer was asked by a reporter point blank, did he know about these allegations before the story broke? And Hoyer said that he did. That was on Wednesday. And then after that, Hoyer's staff put out a statement explaining that when Hoyer was aware of these allegations he had his staff tell Massa's, look, you need to go the ethics committee. They need to deal with this and if you don't go, I'm going to go. Kiran, they insist it has nothing to do with the health care vote.

CHETRY: Very interesting stuff. We'll see. I'm sure it's to be continued for sure. Brianna Keilar for us this morning. Thanks.

ROBERTS: Well, coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, there is a little bit of good news for job seekers this tax season. Our Christine Romans "Minding Your Business." She'll explain coming right up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour.

Detroit may consider a drastic step to try to stay alive as a city. It was an idea that was first raised in the '90s. It's gaining traction again. And the idea is to shrink the city, literally, sending neighborhoods back in time before when the car was king. Fruit trees and farm land would replace neighborhoods littered with abandoned homes and vacant lots.

It sounds like they're talking heads on, nothing with flowers. This was a parking lot, now it's a peaceful oasis. In terms of population, Detroit has gone from being the fourth largest city in America back in 1950 to the eleventh largest today -- Kiran. CHETRY: All right. John, thanks.

Christine Romans here. She's "Minding Your Business" for us this morning. And you were helping us out with figuring out tax deductions --

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

CHETRY: -- that you can claim if you're looking for a new job.

ROMANS: If you've been out of work, millions of people have been out of work, you probably have some expenses in the job search. You can itemize those on your taxes. So this is going to help probably millions of people who are out of work. They're going to bill you this. But we wanted to kind of make taxes fun, folks. We have a little quiz for you.

CHETRY: Because they're such a blast.

ROMANS: They are a blast. No, but it is a little bit complicated and you can look at publication number 529 on the IRS Web site if you want to know more about this. OK? So that's where all of the ins and outs are. But how about this? OK, you've got a new interview suit. You're going out on all these interviews, got a new winter suit? Can you write that off?

CHETRY: You got to look nice. Can you write it off?

ROMANS: Yes.

CHETRY: Well, we'll reveal that unfortunately --

ROMANS: No.

CHETRY: -- the answer is no. Why can't you write off that?

ROMANS: You can't write off that manicures or anything like that to make you look good for an interview. They have never allowed that. They're not going to allow that. But employment agency fees, yes, you can write off. That's considered a legitimate expense for job seekers.

Travel expenses to a job interview, say you're going to Dallas from Wisconsin, like our gentleman earlier for a job interview. Yes, you can do that. Now you can't go to Hawaii for two weeks to just drop your resume off with your family. The IRS is going to give you a hard time. So there you go.

Resume expenses, everything you're paying at the coffee shop, even a consultant to help you with the resume, yes, you can write that off. How about a new laptop to follow the job force?

CHETRY: That's right. Because it's so much easier if you have a Mac book?

ROMANS: Right. A $4,000 or $5,000 beautiful piece of equipment --

CHETRY: I had a feeling that was going to be a no.

ROMANS: No, you can't do that. OK, so just a couple of more here I wanted to show you. A new job in your current field, are you eligible?

CHETRY: This is if you already have a job?

ROMANS: If you want a new job in your current field or you don't have a job and you're staying in your current field. Yes, you can write off all these deductions. But if you're a career changer, if you, let's say, looking for a job in nursing after you've been in manufacturing, no. That's something to pay very close attention to because a lot of people are changing careers.

First-time job seekers, you're right out of college, you want to write off your -- no. If you're a first-time job seeker you can't. And if you're a long-term unemployed, if you haven't been working for three or four years, you're coming back in --

CHETRY: Not surprising.

ROMANS: -- you're a stay-at-home mom, you're stay-at-home is trying to get back in, you can't write it off. You have to be a recent member of the labor market. Business market is murky. I would consult a tax attorney on something like this because it is murky.

CHETRY: Because there are some people who have been unemployed for a long time. What did you talk about the average? Two hundred days?

ROMANS: Right. Forty percent of people have been unemployed for six months or longer, this is longer than six months. People who have been unemployed for longer than six months, you might have more trouble writing it off.

So, look, publication 529 from the IRS, call a tax attorney or tax consultant if, you know, you have any money. And otherwise, read all the fine print. But some of these things you can itemize. If you itemize deductions, there are many of these things you can itemize, keep every receipt. Even a babysitter, you can write off the babysitter if you have to get a babysitter to go to a job interview.

CHETRY: Good stuff, Christine. Thank you.

ROMANS: Thanks.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, our series "Saving Carlos" continues. The 8-year-old boy showing improvement now that he's getting therapy. But now because of budget problems in California, that care could be in jeopardy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Your top stories about four minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original," something that's you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.

Yesterday we introduced you to a second grader named Carlos. He's 8, uninsured and struggling with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and severe anxiety.

CHETRY: And he also lives in a state that's been in the midst of deep budget cuts, California, and it's putting his future and many other children like him in jeopardy. Is it fair to put a price on something like that?

Thelma Gutierrez takes a look at both sides of this difficult debate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Carlos. He lives in south Los Angeles. His mother is the homemaker. His father a street vendor. Carlos says he wants us to understand his world.

CARLOS, EIGHT YEARS OLD SUFFERING FROM ADHD: My sister's name is Alejandra. That's my skateboard. That's a picture I'm reading the bible.

GUTIERREZ: And although he's only a second grader, what struck me most over the month we spent with him is that he's only 8, already he says he wants a new life.

CARLOS: I was going to change my life -- a little better.

GUTIERREZ: Carlos suffers from ADHD and severe anxiety.

CARLOS: I draw a picture about my family because they were fighting. Sometimes when they fight, it's because my dad -- when my dad drinks --

GUTIERREZ: Carlos's father didn't want to be on camera, but acknowledged he has had a hard time lately and financial pressures have only made things worse at home.

Carlos' mother Leticia wants to keep the family together. She knows she needs help. Her son was failing in school and becoming disruptive at home. But when Leticia went looking for help, what she found were clinics grossly overburdened.

(on camera): In Los Angeles County alone, $216 million was slashed from its mental health department. So now they're only taking children who are physically violent or suicidal.

(voice-over): Not kids like Carlos whose condition may not be as urgent but still just as serious. It took nearly a year for her Leticia to finally find St. John's, a free clinic that would help. I asked her why she was so emotional. She told me her kids are everything to her.

Sometimes you and George get into fights. And she allowed us to shoot her son's therapy sessions because she wanted to put a face on California's bruising budget crisis.

ELENA FERNANDEZ, CARLOS' THERAPIST: And what did we learn last week?

CARLOS: We learned about when my mom fights with my dad, I have to read a book.

FERNANDEZ: Good job. Good job.

GUTIERREZ: Now, just as Carlos is starting to make progress, Leticia learns St. John's clinic is having its mental health care budget slashed.

JIM MANGIA, ST. JOHN'S FAMILY CENTER: Just from this one clinic, 7,000 people will not receive mental health services.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): Out of that number, how many are children?

MANGIA: Out of that number, probably 4,000 are children.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): This is where kids like Carlos are pulled into a political tug of war.

MIKE SPENCE, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY: I know it sounds mean. All the money trees have been cut down in California, so we have to deal with it by reducing spending as best we can.

MANGIA: Does this state have a responsibility to care for its children? Do conservatives think that we don't have that responsibility?

SPENCE: The government has overpromised to people.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): But this is a program for children who are mentally ill.

SPENCE: And there are lots of programs for children, mentally ill, the disabled, and the problem is government keeps overspending and overtaxing.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): But it's a tough tradeoff.

FERNANDEZ: You're going to use your words, right?

GUTIERREZ: Carlos's therapist, Elena Fernandez, says taxpayers will pay the price now while he's in therapy or much later if he doesn't get help.

(on camera): Why the taxpayers? FERNANDEZ: Because eventually we end up paying for the emergency services, the psychiatric wards, the cost it takes to imprison someone.

GUTIERREZ: In California, it costs about $45,000 a year to keep someone behind bars. Fernandez worries leaving a generation of kids like Carlos untreated, could mean losing them forever.

But numbers aside, what about the price Carlos would pay?

(on camera): What do you want to do in the future?

CARLOS, EIGHT YEARS OLD: In my future, I want to do -- in my future, I want to be good.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): After six months, some hope. Elena says Carlos is finally ready to leave therapy. Meanwhile, his mother says the drinking and fighting at home have stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at number one.

GUTIERREZ: And at Carlos's new school, his teacher told me he's noticed a big difference. Now he's thriving in the classroom. And on the playground. The cost of saving Carlos, about $2,000.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Thelma, thank you. We'll keep you posted on that situation. Meanwhile, it's half past the hour. It means it's time for our top stories this morning. There is a suspect in custody right now at this hour after an early morning shooting at Ohio State University.

CNN affiliate, WCMH, is reporting that all people involved in the shooting were campus employees. One person was killed, two others injured. The university says that no Ohio State University students were involved.

ROBERTS: A man saying that his Prius took him on a runaway car ride in California claims that he was standing on his brake as his car broke through 90 miles an hour on the hilly San Diego Highway and it definitely was not a result of the floor mat being stuck. The company says it is sending investigators to check out his claims.

American missionary Charisa Coulter is back in the U.S. this morning. She was jailed in Port-au-Prince along with nine others for more than a month, one of 10 accused of kidnapping children after Haiti's devastating earthquake. The group's leader, Laura Silsby is the only one still being held in Haiti. She talked briefly with our Sara Sidner while coming out of court yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA SILSBY, AMERICAN MISSIONARY JAILED IN HAITI: I'm very happy that Charisa went home today. I'm very happy for her and her freedom. And I expect that mine will soon follow.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Why are you the last person left? Why do you think you're the last person?

SILSBY: Because I'm the leader of the team. They are still finishing their process.

SIDNER: Did you try to kidnap these children?

SILSBY: Oh, of course not. I came here to help the children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: We're going to have the latest from Port-au-Prince live with our Sara Sidner in 30 minutes. John.

ROBERTS: Kiran, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan visiting with U.S. ground troops whoa re trying to drive the Taliban out of Kandahar. But weeding out militants across the border in Pakistan, a much more complicated task.

The U.S. now stepping up attacks on suspected terrorists there by launching hellfire missiles from unmanned aerial drones. CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen is here with us this morning. Peter and a colleague from the New America Foundation have created an on-line interactive map of U.S. drone strikes in the region.

We have loaded this, Peter, into our magic wall here. What did you find in terms of drone strikes between the Bush administration and the Obama administration?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, in the early years of the Bush administration, sort of 2004, 2007 time frame when the drones started being targeted in Pakistan, you can see that there are relatively few of them.

ROBERTS: We'll bring this up for you.

BERGEN: Waziristan, where Al Qaeda was -- a number of Al Qaeda and the Taliban located. And then up north there, this is an area where call Damadola, they try to kill Al-Zawahri, the number two in Al Qaeda. But you can see, they are relatively few.

ROBERTS: Right.

BERGEN: It changes pretty dramatically by 2008.

ROBERTS: OK. Let's take a look here. 2008. We'll bring up the number of drone strikes that there were in 2008.

BERGEN: OK. You can see that there are many, many more both in north and south Waziristan. In the second half of 2008, President Bush authorized a considerable increase. And then when you hit 2009, you can see a dramatic increase.

ROBERTS: Look at all these. BERGEN: Fifty-one drone strikes under President Obama in 2009. Forty-five in the entire Bush administration. So President Obama has already done a lot more.

ROBERTS: So who are they targeting with all of these drones?

BERGEN: These are mostly Taliban leaders in the south Waziristan, north Waziristan, Al Qaeda and then --

ROBERTS: We'll go to 2010 and see the number of attacks as well.

BERGEN: Yes. We've had 19 in 2010, mostly directed at sort of foreign militants in north Waziristan.

ROBERTS: But there was a couple of significant hits though, correct?

BERGEN: Yes.

ROBERTS: Some fairly large or prominent at least, Taliban leaders who were hit from the sky.

BERGEN: -- in the sky, here.

ROBERTS: Let's get that a little pop --

BERGEN: Thank you. Abu Khabab al Mashi. Abu Khabab was in charge of Al Qaeda's WMD program, killed in the summer of 2008. Fairly important Al Qaeda leader. This guy Osama Al Kini was behind, one of guys behind the American embassy attacks in Africa that killed more than 200 people killed in the dying days of the Bush administration.

ROBERTS: And this was a big one over here. This strike?

BERGEN: Yes. Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban responsible for hundreds being killed in Pakistan. Sending suicide bombers into Afghanistan, died in summer of 2009.

ROBERTS: So when you take a look at all of these drone strikes here, Peter, one of the criticisms, one of the controversies about the drone strikes and let's just bring up 2010 so we can see for folks at home exactly how many strikes there have been so far this year. Civilian casualties. You hear different stories from each side. What did you find out in your research?

BERGEN: Well, based on reliable media reporting, we found that the overall rate has been about 32 percent. Under President Obama, the number is around 24 percent. There's a debate, you know, whether is that too many, is that, you know, given the fact that you're killing a lot of people who also killed civilians, is that sort of OK?

We just wanted to point out -- relatively good information. Some people claimed that, you know, it was 98 percent civilian casualty. Some other people have said there are almost none. So we're just trying to put some information out there to give people some information to make a decision -- is this legal? Is this moral? Is this ethical?

ROBERTS: Just for folks at home. What I've done here is I've just layered all of drone attacks on top of each other.

BERGEN: Right.

ROBERTS: How did you determine the veracity of these reports about these drone attacks?

BERGEN: We used, you know, CNN, "New York Times," "Washington Post," major Pakistani news organizations have very aggressive reporting capabilities -- these aren't secrets when, you know, a missile drops out of the sky, kills people, people --

ROBERTS: But it was independent reporting?

BERGEN: Independent reporting. And then we sort of looked at all of them and then we assembled -- these are 115 drone attacks since the program began.

ROBERTS: Now, this has provoked outrage in Pakistan. There has been controversy in the international community about it as well. Some people see this is nothing short of assassination.

BERGEN: Right.

ROBERTS: It's just you do it from the sky with the predator drone firing a missile at somebody and you kill a bunch of people, why is it a useful tool for the United States in going after --

BERGEN: Well, here's --

ROBERTS: Given the controversy.

BERGEN: Here's Afghanistan, you know, when American soldiers have come over the border, the Pakistanis have gone ballistic and done a huge amount of pushback. So the 82nd Airborne is not going to go to north Waziristan unless you know there is a massive attack in Manhattan. So you know, the drones are really the only tool in the tool kit. It is unpopular in Pakistan. There are civilian casualties but also there are, you know senior militant leaders are being killed.

ROBERTS: The fact that there have been, we take a look at the number of strikes since 2004 to 2007 versus the number of strikes in 2004, 2007 alone, what does that say about the cooperation of Pakistani intelligence in trying to locate these militants and give the U.S. a target to look after?

BERGEN: Oh, I think the cooperation recently has been particularly pretty good. Partly because, you know, concerning the 2009 time frame which, you know, killing Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban and American interests and Pakistani interests have sort of more closely aligned. So, you know, right now, the Pakistani government isn't saying what it used to say, which is we don't like this program and it's wrong.

ROBERTS: Yes, of course we're finding again these captures in Karachi that we were talking about yesterday.

BERGEN: Yes.

ROBERTS: Peter, it's a fascinating look and great research.

BERGEN: Thank you very much.

ROBERTS: Congratulations putting it all together. By the way, you can see the map on-line at counterterrorism.newamerica.net/drones. I know it's a handful. You can also go on newamerica.net and you can find a link to it. Kiran.

CHETRY: John, thanks.

All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, he's got a job but there's a catch. There is 1,000 mile commute associated with it. How one family is struggling in a tough economy to try to make things work. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty-two minutes past the hour right now.

What we're about to show you really is an eye-opening example of the squeeze that this recession has put on the middle class. A GM worker faced with a choice, he can either follow his job south or start all over with two kids, a wife and a mortgage. So instead of uprooting his entire family, he decided to try to commute from work, from outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin to outside of Dallas, Texas.

Carol Costello takes us on that grueling ride on this "A.M. Original."

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 5:00 p.m. on Monday, and Steve Kerl is off to work. Wisconsin is his home but it's not where he works.

STEVE KERL, GM EMPLOYEE WITH 1,000 MILE COMMUTE: I have a job in Texas that pays me good.

COSTELLO: You heard right. Twelve hours after saying good-bye to his wife and two teenaged kids, Steve Kerl arrives at the GM assembly plant in Arlington, Texas. His 1,000 mile journey has taken him from Janesville, Wisconsin where there used to be a GM plant to the Milwaukee Airport and then a two and a half hour flight down to Texas. Steve puts fenders on SUVs, 10 hours a day, sometimes six days a week.

KERL: It's tough out there. It's everywhere. It's not just the auto industry, it's everywhere. I feel fortunate that I got the job. COSTELLO: 1,933 GM workers lost their jobs when the Janesville plant closed in December of 2008. What happened next is another side of the recession's toll.

KERL: In hat house there was a General Motors' worker, too. So there's one, two, three, four gone.

COSTELLO: About a quarter of the Janesville workers accepted jobs at GM plants outside of Wisconsin, but that forced them to choose between selling their homes at huge losses or staying put while a parent move out of state. The Earls chose to stay. The sacrifice is palpable.

KERL: I missed all of my daughter's gymnastics meets. I missed her birthday.

KRISY KERL, HUSBAND HAS 1,000-MILE COMMUTE: Sixteenth birthday.

KERL: Sixteenth birthday. I miss the my boy's birthday. I miss get their driver's license. So they are things you'll never get back.

JENNIFER KERL, THE KERLS' DAUGHTER: It's overall been very hard. I mean what other 16-year-old doesn't want their dad around?

COSTELLO: For husband and wife, the pain of separation often goes like this.

KRISY KERL: Steve will talk to me on the phone and you know, get me through it, hang in there. And then there's the days that when the calls come in that he's like, you know what, I'm not doing this any more. You know, I want to come home. And I'm like, no, hang in there.

COSTELLO: On one of his rare weekends home, we found Steve working the barbecue. Taking the family to a local basketball game and playing surrogate dad to her Janesa's (ph) friend, Grace. She's staying with the Kerls until her parents get settled after moving to work at a GM plant in Indiana.

STEVE KERL: She's a good girl. We like to have her here.

COSTELLO: As much as the Kerls love Wisconsin -- the separation in the end has proved to be too much. They just sold their house at a loss and decided to move to Texas.

STEVE KERL: This will always be our home.

KRISY KERL: Yes, you'll never take Wisconsin out of us no matter where we're at.

STEVE KERL: It's always going to be our home.

KRISY KERL: We'll return some day.

STEVE KERL: Yes.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: So, what would you do? Would you commute the 1,000 miles? Would move there? Roll the dice?

We let Carol weigh in on the blog. She wants to hear from people as well, cnn.com/amfix.

Christine and I were talking about it. Christine said she'd move. I said it's hard when you've got -- and, you know, you went through this as well, when you have kids in high school, when your kids have put down roots.

ROBERTS: It is difficult.

CHETRY: It's hard to tell them, you know what? We're out of here.

ROBERTS: It is -- I didn't want my daughter to hate me forever, so I left her in her high school and -- and made the commute. And that's the story that is repeated thousands of times across this country.

How about people who have bicoastal relationships?

CHETRY: I know.

ROBERTS: Oh my goodness!

CHETRY: I don't know.

ROBERTS: That's difficult.

CHETRY: We -- we did that -- we first were engaged for six months, I lived in California, he lived in Pennsylvania. It was not fun.

ROBERTS: Wow! Well, it's amazing that you hung it together.

CHETRY: Oh yes.

ROBERTS: Congratulations. It's great.

Forty-six minutes after the hour. We got severe weather returning, lots of rain, thunderstorms and snow even.

Rob Marciano tracking the forecast for us. He'll be with us in just a moment.

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ROBERTS: A touch of blue out there this morning as opposed to a touch of gray if you're living in Detroit. Partly cloudy, 31 degrees right now, but unfortunately the weather is just going to deteriorate. Showers today. It will be fairly mild, though, with a high of 52. Rob Marciano is tracking the rest of the weather across the country. We've got some bad stuff in certain parts of the country, particularly out west.

What are we looking at, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, a number of things, including severe weather. We get you started, though, with what happened in Colorado, shutting down I-70, a massive rock slide yesterday. Huge boulders the size on semi-trucks crashing down on I- 70.

They had to get crews in there to try to clean them out, but they had to drill holes and set explosives just to break them apart in pieces small enough to haul them out of there. As of right now, I-70 around Glenwood Canyon is still closed and probably will be for a couple of days.

All right, speaking of things that are blowing up, this one all Mother Nature. Tornado touching down in Hammon, Oklahoma yesterday, western part of the state. Damage -- you bet. Five homes completely destroyed, a number of homes also damaged. No injuries, thankfully, but a storm chaser got up close and personal to see this thing.

No word on how -- how strong the winds were. It was certainly strong enough to do the damage you're seeing there. Watch this home just be completely obliterated.

Good. All right. Here's a storm right now and it is continuing to move off to the east, weakening as it does so. Today, a lesser threat for seeing severe weather. We do have the (INAUDIBLE) we're seeing now from Chicago almost all the way to Minneapolis, so those are the spots you're going to see potentially some travel delays, Chicago, Minneapolis, some rain as well. Houston, some thunderstorms, Los Angeles and San Francisco some wind.

Tomorrow, we're looking at a more severe weather threat in a more favorite spot for this time of year, the mid-South, mid-Mississippi River Valley, down across the southeast and into the Tennessee Valley. That's where we typically expect it -- this in March and in April. You go through May and in June and then we just switch it to hard core tornado alley (ph). So yesterday's tornado across western Oklahoma, at least for this time of year, is certainly a rare event.

We're getting towards primetime severe weather season. Hopefully we'll have a repeat of February, which was pretty much nothing. That would be nice.

John and Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks so much.

Well, our top stories are just minutes away, including it's her first taste of freedom in more than a month. An American missionary thrown behind bars in Haiti on child kidnapping charges is now back in the U.S. We'll have the latest live from Port-au-Prince.

ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour, a Democratic congressman steps down, claiming he was the victim of a power play in Washington. Is he out because he stood in the way of health care reform or was it something else?

CHETRY: Also at the half hour -- half past the hour, gamers spend 3 billion hours a week playing games online, but could a new online universe help change the real world? We'll talk to a video game creator who's betting on it.

Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifty- five minutes past the hour right now. Time for your "A.M. House Call", stories about your health.

There are some new research suggesting the chances of developing Alzheimer's or another form of dementia could actually depend on your racial or your ethnic background.

ROBERTS: Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now in Atlanta with the details.

What are the racial differences, Elizabeth, when it comes to developing dementia?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what? Those differences are pretty stunning. I have to say, I think a lot of people will be surprised, because you usually think of Alzheimer's as a pretty random disease.

But take a look at this. Among white people, the chances of developing Alzheimer's in the 75 to 84 age range is one in 10. One in 10 people in that age range, if they're white, will develop Alzheimer's.

Now let's take a look at Hispanics. Hispanics, your chances are 1 in 4 that you'll develop Alzheimer's, so that's obviously a much greater risk. Among African-Americans, the risk is even higher. It's one in three.

So, as you can see, there are big differences based on your race -- John.

CHETRY: How much of this is genetics, do they think, and how much of it could be lifestyle, you know, and -- and some food choices, exercise choices, things like that?

COHEN: You know what, Alzheimer's experts don't think it's genetics. They're pretty clear about that. What they think it is is really pretty simple socioeconomics. Minorities just statistically have poor health care, and so they have less access to care, they don't go to the doctor as often, and that's part of the reason why they have higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. And having diabetes and high blood pressure puts all of us at a higher risk for developing Alzheimer's.

So it's really a financial issue, not a genetic issue.

ROBERTS: And no matter who you are, Elizabeth, is there anything you can do to try to ward off the development of Alzheimer's?

COHEN: Yes. There are some studies that show there are some things you can do. Now, this isn't going to guarantee, by any stretch of the imagination, that you wouldn't get Alzheimer's, but certainly there are some things that we can all do to increase the chances we wouldn't get Alzheimer's. So let's take a look at these.

First of all, you can eat a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. You can exercise. And you can be social. Being social sort of keeps your brain going. You have a lot of interaction with other people, and considering these are all good things to do anyhow, why not do them?

ROBERTS: Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning. Elizabeth, thanks, and good tips from you.

COHEN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Three minutes to the top of the hour. We're back with our top stories right after the break.

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