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American Morning
Former Boyfriend Speaks Out on "Jihad Jane"'s Alleged Double Life; Former Obama Campaign Adviser Issues Warning to Dems; "Can You Come Really Fast?"; Corey on Corey; Deficit: New Record; Slamming Brakes on College Dreams
Aired March 11, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Thursday. It's March 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Acosta, good morning. John Roberts is off today, but we do have lots to tell you about. Here are this morning's top stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
This morning we're learning more about the Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane." There are reports she is talking to authorities. Plus, we spoke with the suspect's former boyfriend. Did he have any idea about her alleged double life?
CHETRY: Plus an ominous warning from someone who use to be inside the president's inner circle. Former Obama adviser telling Democrats bring the reform you promised or get ready for a beating at the ballot box this fall. Our Ed Henry goes one on one with the man behind that warning.
ACOSTA: And this is an amazing story. You'll meet a 7-year-old boy from California whose quick thinking may have saved his entire family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLOS: They have guns and they shoot my mom and dad.
911 DISPATCHER: Right now?
CARLOS: Yes, can you come really fast?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: How a child turned the tables on three armed robbers who broke into his home and held his parents at gunpoint. That's coming up ahead.
CHETRY: But first, we're learning more about the Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane." This morning the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that Colleen LaRose is speaking with and cooperating with authorities. We're learning that the blond hair, blue-eyed woman from the Philadelphia suburbs provided information that then led to the arrest of seven people in Ireland accused of plotting to kill a Swedish cartoonist.
Our Susan Candiotti has been digging into the background of Colleen LaRose. She joins us now from Pennsburg, Pennsylvania.
And, Susan, you had a chance to speak with the suspect's former boyfriend. What is he saying about this this morning?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran. I spent quite a lot of time with him yesterday. And frankly, this is a man who is bewildered that a woman he lived with for almost six years is now accused of having a dual life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Did Colleen LaRose aka "Jihad Jane" lead a double life? Her ex-boyfriend says the charges left him stunned.
(on camera): What do you think when you see her dressed up like that?
KURT GORMAN, COLLEEN LAROSE'S EX-BOYFRIEND: Can't believe it. Doesn't make any sense.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The person Kurt Gorman he says he knew was a twice divorced woman he met in 2004 on a visit to Texas. They hit it off and she moved to Pennsylvania with him.
(on camera): Did you feel like you really knew her.
GORMAN: Oh, yes.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): But apparently his girlfriend had demons. A 2005 police report says LaRose attempted suicide mixing pills and alcohol. Gorman did not think she was suicidal.
GORMAN: I know a couple of years earlier after her father passed away from cancer she was very depressed.
CANDIOTTI: The Colleen LaRose he knew took care of his ailing father who lived with them. Not someone who used his home computer allegedly to help recruit and help terrorists overseas.
GORMAN: Doesn't seem like her personality.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): In what way?
GORMAN: Well, if you're a nice person taking care of an elderly man there, I mean, that doesn't in my mind go with somebody that wants to hurt somebody else.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): No one in the small town of Pennsburg outside Philadelphia seemed to know her. Yet on the Internet, LaRose made the rounds. CNN found online postings and evidence she tracked groups including Revolution Muslim that advocates attacking Americans overseas.
(on camera): She called herself "Jihad Jane."
GORMAN: Yes, I don't know. Doesn't make any sense. I don't know if there's ways that people are manipulated or not.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Last August, Kurt Gorman says LaRose bolted a few days after his father died, took her clothes and left without a word. Sometime later he noticed his passport missing and reported it. A month later the FBI showed up. They took his computer hard drive and questioned him.
(on camera): Did you worry that she might be involved in something?
GORMAN: I was worried she might not be -- in my words something might have happened to her.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): A few weeks later she was arrested after a trip overseas.
(on camera): Anything you'd say to her? Want to say to her?
GORMAN: Hope she's well. I just don't understand it. So it's just a shame.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And since last fall she has been sitting in jail. And one week from today, she is expected to enter a plea in court -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Susan Candiotti for us this morning in Pennsburg. Thank you.
ACOSTA: Meanwhile, Kiran, President Obama is pushing on with his health care message. The latest stop just outside of St. Louis. It was another campaign flashback, a fiery rally not just a speech. And the president promised a common sense plan to cut costs, not a government takeover of health care as his critics have suggested. He also accused lawmakers dragging their feet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that Congress owes the American people a final up or down vote on health care reform.
(APPLAUSE)
The time for talk is over. It's time to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Back in Washington, a sobering warning for Democrats from one of the men who helped put President Obama in the White House. A former campaign adviser for Barack Obama when he was a candidate says that Democrats are not making good on their promise to reform Washington.
ACOSTA: And he's warning that could mean disaster, even, quote, "a slaughter" on election day this fall. Our Ed Henry is tracking the story this morning. He joins us now live from the White House.
Ed, I was really surprised to hear what Steve Hildebrand had to say. Pretty amazing stuff.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good morning, Jim. Because, you know, we've heard maybe from pundits, from outsiders but not really from someone inside the Obama inner circle. And I can tell you Steve Hildebrand came here to the White House yesterday to warn some of his old colleagues that without a big course correction, he thinks Democrats are going to take it on the chin in November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): Steve Hildebrand was one of the top advisers that help put President Obama in office. But now, he has a stark warning for his old friends.
STEVE HILDEBRAND, FORMER OBAMA CAMPAIGN OFFICER: There's a real shot that we're going to get slaughtered in elections this fall if we aren't leading the efforts to reform Washington. It's what we campaigned on in '06 and '08. And if voters don't see that change, we haven't lived up to our promise.
HENRY: Hildebrand, who helped deliver Iowa for the president, is now an outside consultant pushing issues like campaign finance and lobbying reforms. He came to the White House Thursday for a quiet meeting with the president's senior adviser David Axelrod to express a fear Republicans are seizing the high ground on cleaning up Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Charlie Rangel stepped down after breaking ethics rules.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Hildebrand is baffled his party is allowing Republicans to capitalize on scandals, the same way Democrats did in the last two elections.
(on camera): Is the president doing enough on this?
HILDEBRAND: I don't think anybody in Washington is doing enough on this.
HENRY (voice-over): Hildebrand is known for speaking his mind. Last summer he told "Politico" he was losing patience with the White House, and the president needed to be more bold in his leadership. But a few weeks later, the president praised Hildebrand at a White House reception celebrating gay rights. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Somebody who helped ensure that we are in the White House, Steve Hildebrand. Please give Steve a big round of applause.
HENRY: Hildebrand who is openly gay gives the president credit.
HILDEBRAND: You know, when the president signed the bill, the hate crimes bill last fall, it was the first piece of legislation ever in the history of Congress to affirm the rights of gay people in this country.
HENRY: And overall he says the president deserves a B plus for his efforts to stabilize the economy and reform health care.
HILDEBRAND: I'm thrilled that we're on the cusp of passing health care reform. You know, this is something that we've waited for for so long. And it's so important, so necessary. And so, you know, I'm thrilled that the president has not given up and that he's been persistent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now I spoke to David Axelrod last night after this meeting, and he acknowledged that Steve Hildebrand has some fair criticisms of the Democratic Party right now. But Axelrod insisted that the president has been aggressive about trying to curb the influence of lobbyists in the executive branch, kicking them off boards, in commissions, for example, but said that he realized there's a lot more that this administration needs to do and said the president is just as committed now as he was on day one of the administration to try to curb the influence of special interest.
But when you've got one of your former advisers coming out this tough and warning about being slaughtered in the elections, it clearly has to be a wake-up call -- Jim and Kiran.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. He has their attention. No doubt about it this morning. Thanks very much. Ed Henry live from the White House.
Also in the nation's Capitol, a bit of drama on the floor of the House. It happened as lawmakers debated withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy rose and suddenly turned his anger on the news media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (R), RHODE ISLAND: If anyone who wants to know where cynicism is, cynicism is that there's one, two press people in this gallery. We're talking about Eric Massa 24/7 on the TV. We're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, a thousand lives, and no press? No press?
You want to know why the American public is fit? They are fit because they are not seeing their Congress do the work that they're sent to do. It's because the press, the press of the United States is not covering the most significant issue of national importance and that's the laying of lives down in the nation for the service of our country. It's despicable. The National Press Corps right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Wow. Strong words from Patrick Kennedy. And you know a lot of people say he's got a point. You know, that we've been covering Eric Massa all week and talking about tickle fights and so forth. And meanwhile, there are some very big issues like Afghanistan going on that gets much less attention.
CHETRY: Yes. I mean, there are a lot of issues that less attention and he is, by the way, referring to Congressman Massa who resigned. He's a former New York congressman amid these allegations of impropriety --
ACOSTA: Right.
CHETRY: That he groped and sexually harassed male staffers.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean, in defense though, the bottom line is if you're not doing anything bad, there's nothing to talk about.
ACOSTA: Right.
CHETRY: And I understand that, I mean, these are elected officials that, you know, in many ways the job of the press is to sort of call them out, to question it, to figure out what's going on. And he, Massa, put himself out there. Did, you know, two shows.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
CHETRY: And the story just --
ACOSTA: Every time you talk to him, he made it worse.
CHETRY: Every time the story just kept changing.
ACOSTA: Right.
CHETRY: First, he said it was because of a health issue, then he said it was because of some of these ethics allegations.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: And then he said it was because they were trying to push him out because of health care. Health care, of course, a huge issue that many Americans care about as well.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. I can tell you though coming up from Washington yesterday, folks in Washington sort of changed from talking about Eric Massa all the time to saying, can we move on please? You know, they had sort of OD'd and had enough.
CHETRY: I hear you. I hear you on that one.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it's 10 minutes past the hour right now. We're going to switch gears and get a check on the weather.
Our Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center with us this morning. And things are certainly changing, extreme weather in the country's midsection that could be heading toward us.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's all rolling to the east. And yes, things are changing and we're finally starting to get out of some of the winter weather and then transition into spring. And unfortunately, that means severe weather especially across the south and that's what we've seen.
Several tornado reports yesterday. We start you off in Arkansas where there were three, damage and injuries in places like Center Hill and Pearson, Arkansas. And all this action is moving a little bit to the east. You see on the radar there we still have a tornado watch that's in effect for portions of Mississippi.
That's about to expire and getting into a more general but at times flooding rain across parts of southern Georgia and the panhandle of Florida. And some of the storm is getting up towards Chicago as well, so maybe some flight delays there as this all progresses off to the east. Biggest threat for severe weather will be across the Florida peninsula later on this afternoon.
We'll talk more about, much more about the severe threat and the potential for more cold air coming in --
ACOSTA: Stop.
MARCIANO: -- in about 30 minutes. Yes, that's the way it is.
ACOSTA: You know, it felt really good in New York yesterday.
CHETRY: I know we fired up the grill. We fired up the grill because you said --
MARCIANO: Oh, men, so did we.
CHETRY: First time, how good do burgers taste? The first burger or the season outside?
ACOSTA: I ran out and I got that kerosene at the supermarket. I said they're going to be running out. It's so nice outside.
CHETRY: I think we got propane.
ACOSTA: I don't know, is it propane or kerosene? Propane, propane
CHETRY: How long do you have to cook for on kerosene?
MARCIANO: Kerosene. You will be banished from the south.
ACOSTA: There's actually two sticks and a pile of leaves.
CHETRY: Yes, Jim's out there with the flint, you know, going like this -- boy scout.
All right, Rob.
ACOSTA: I watched too much "King of the Hill." I'm sorry.
CHETRY: Thanks.
All right. Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, you have to see this story, this next story. It's amazing.
We have a 911 call. A seven-year-old boy, quick thinking saved the life of his family after a robbery and burglary.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
CHETRY: Basically a home invasion at his house. We're going to hear from him.
Twelve minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: It is 6:15. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Emergency dispatchers in California are still in awe of a fast- thinking 7-year-old named Carlos. He may have saved his entire family Tuesday night.
CHETRY: Yes. Detectives are still searching for the three armed robbers who broke into Carlos' home and held his parents at gun point.
Thankfully, Carlos kept his cool. He locked himself and his little sister in a bathroom and then dialed 911.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MONIQUE PATINO, 911 DISPATCHER (voice-over): 911, state your emergency.
CARLOS, 7-YEAR-OLD HERO (voice-over): There are some -- some guys. They're going to kill my mom and dad.
PATINO: Where are you at?
CARLOS: Norwalk, California, 11B (ph)...
PATINO: OK. What's your name? What's your name?
CARLOS: Carlos.
CARLOS (on camera): One of them was having just a jacket and -- and they both have guns, but there was three of them. CARLOS (voice-over): And they have guns. They shoot my mom and dad.
PATINO: Right now?
CARLOS: Yes. Can you come?
CARLOS (on camera): They were next to the door with my mom and dad. My mom was -- were putting their hands up and their head down.
PATINO: And where were you?
CARLOS: Me and my sister were at the bathroom, calling 911.
PATINO: Listen to me. Take a deep breath. I already have the police coming.
CARLOS (voice-over): Can you come really fast? Hurry up!
PATINO (on camera): I still hear his little voice on the phone, so to hear him talking in person, it kind of just brought back the memories of that phone call.
PATINO (voice-over): Tell me exactly what happened, OK? Just stay where you are and don't hang up, whatever you do.
CARLOS: OK. OK. The -- the guys, they have a --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SCREAMING).
PATINO (on camera): I'm very proud of myself that I kept it together as long as I did, but once I heard the screams toward the end, I mean, honestly, I'm holding the phone and I'm in tears.
I can barely talk. I'm shaking. I'm in tears because all I hear is them screaming, and it was very, very tough for me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Wow.
CHETRY: Wow! She --
ACOSTA: And you have to take your hat off not only to the kid, but to the dispatcher.
CHETRY: For keeping her cool. And -- and she didn't know at the time whether or not they were going to be shot. I mean, he had talked about guns being there. He said --
ACOSTA: Unbelievable.
CHETRY: -- they are coming to shoot my parents.
ACOSTA: Well, deputies arrived at the scene within three minutes of Carlos' phone call. The armed robbers had already left empty handed after realizing the child had called 911.
CHETRY: Thank God, because it could have been so much worse.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. Great kid.
Also new this morning, despite the pleas from parents, Kansas City -- get this -- will close nearly half of its public schools at the end of the school year to avoid bankruptcy.
The district is trying to wipe out an estimated $50 million budget gap. Nearly 300 teachers will lose their jobs and some will have to reapply for the jobs they already have.
One board member said it was the most painful vote he had to cast in 10 years.
CHETRY: The tragic death of actor Corey Haim has shocked many of his closest friends.
The '80s teen movie star died early yesterday. Police say it may have been an accidental overdose and they also recovered four prescription medications at the apartment.
Last night Corey Feldman, who was Haim's close friend and reality co-star, spoke publicly about it for the first time in "LARRY KING LIVE." He said that Haim seemed to be winning his battle against drug abuse in the weeks before his death.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COREY FELDMAN, ACTOR: We all are aware of the fact that Corey Haim has had a long and detailed drug history and -- and battled addiction for many, many years.
I know it better than anybody because I've been the guy stuffing charcoal down his throat when he was OD-ing. I've been the guy trying to make him, you know, stand up or -- or say a complete sentence. I've been there with him through it many, many times, and it -- it's happened very badly and very intensely through the years on many occasions.
However, most recently, he's been honestly in the best frame of mind that he's ever been in in the past year. I mean, I would say with his mom battling cancer, he's really showed up. He's really become a man. He's been there and he's been there for her, taking care of her, being responsible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: What a sad story.
Well, coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, the monthly deficit sets a record, and it's one we don't want to be proud about.
CHETRY: That's right. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" with the numbers for us. You don't want to see them, but she's going to break it down for us in a moment.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes past the hour right now. It means it's time for "Minding Your Business." We have Christine Romans with us this morning with some -- a dubious distinction, for sure.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A dubious distinction, new records on our -- on our public deficit, the deficit.
We -- this country, we spend vastly more money than we take in. We've been doing this for 17 months in a row now, and February, according to the Treasury Department set a new record -- a new record of $221 billion.
The reason why those bars are red is because that means that is red ink. We spent $221 billion more than we took in in February. The deficit so far for this fiscal year, that means if you go back to October, $652 billion.
How much more are we spending than we're taking in? Well, tax receipts are plunging, basically, because of the recession. Also, February is always a -- a kind of a tricky month because that's when the government starts sending out the tax refund checks. Look, the government's writing a lot of checks in the month.
Look, the biggest categories of spending are health care, social security, defense. Many of these things in the eyes of politicians are simply not negotiable, so they -- they will continue to spend the money as needed in these programs, even as the money we're bringing in, we get -- gets less and less and less.
This is a -- a recession story too. This is -- this is a story of us spending a lot of money we don't have to try to blunt a recession and get the economy back to growth. The solution for these kinds of numbers is a lot of growth, a lot of big, robust exceptional growth.
ACOSTA: Because nobody wants to talk about raising taxes.
ROMANS: Because nobody wants to talk about raising taxes, because nobody wants to talk about cutting these benefits --
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: -- health care, social security.
ACOSTA: Yes. All these sacred cows.
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: And if you don't have a job, you know, taxes don't matter any way because you're not paying into the system.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
CHETRY: You know, there's -- they're not getting any tax revenue.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
CHETRY: So, what's the solution, Christine?
ROMANS: The solution is a lot of growth. The solution is a lot of growth.
There's a fantastic piece in "The Financial Times" today by Mohamed El-Erian who's a -- who's a very well-known money manager and successful money manager.
ACOSTA: Right.
ROMANS: And he says that, look, you know, we are looking at excessive sovereign debt through the prism of Greece. It's not about Greece. It's about a lot other countries liker ours, and there's not a playbook for really how to get -- I mean, history tells us that we start to figure how to fix it way too late.
CHETRY: But you and others have said that the type of growth that we have to have is something that -- that could be a little bit unrealistic.
ROMANS: It's -- absolutely. I mean, what is going to -- what's going to drive that growth? Is it going to be green technology? Is it going to be some kind of new Iternet? So we don't know what it is.
Is something about the American economy just going to light on fire and we're going to have this really big growth?
We have a very, very big share of our economy right now gobbled up by debt, and we pay a lot of money to service -- in interest on this debt, to other countries in many cases.
So it's a very tricky situation and something that I think that -- that the people are keenly aware of because you couldn't run your own family finances like this.
ACOSTA: No. Deficits matter.
ROMANS: Deficits do matter.
CHETRY: Christine, thank you.
ROMANS: Sure.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Christine.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, 14- year-old Maria. She's a -- a young student who drives basically an hour and a half to try to go to a good school. Now, that ride may be over because of budget cuts, so what is she to do? An "A.M. Original", next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- eight minutes past the hour right now. Your tops stories just a couple minutes away.
But first, an "A.M. Original." It's something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
A severe budget crisis could end up leaving more than 1,000 children, mostly minorities, literally on the street corner. Some of them have big college dreams, but soon their high school may seem like it's a world away because the buses may stop running.
Casey Wian shows us how this could knock one girl's future off track.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyday these buses bring about 1,200 mostly minority students from some of the grittiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles here to Pacific Palisades, home to movie stars and some of the highest priced real estate in all of Southern California.
WIAN (voice-over): But budget cuts threaten the busing program and also a better education for thousands of students, including one highly motivated 14-year-old freshman.
WIAN (on camera): Maria Morfin is arriving to begin her school day, but her journey began more than an hour and a half ago at her home 27 miles away.
WIAN (voice-over): It's 5:00 A.M. and Maria prepares for school. Both of her parents work, so Maria piles into the family van with her father and stepbrothers and heads to the bus stop, destination, she says, a brighter future.
WIAN (on camera): How long have you been doing this? When did you --
MARIA MORFIN, HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN: Oh, I've been doing this since, like, I was a fifth grader. It's (INAUDIBLE) because I have to wake up every day at 5:00 to go all the way here to the bus stop and go somewhere that -- I know I must succeed, and I think it's worth it, though.
WIAN: Tell me about what -- what life is like at Palisades High School?
MORFIN: Home. It's like home right there. It's like, if I leave, oh, God. It's going to be hard.
WIAN (voice-over): Maria's neighborhood high school ranks in the bottom 20 percent of the state. Her dream is to attend UCLA.
Every day, about halfway into her bus ride, she passes signs that remind her of where she wants to be. But for now, she's worried about just staying where she is.
MORFIN: Right here, the teachers, they push you. They want you to succeed here.
WIAN (voice-over): The Los Angeles Unified School District pays for the buses with a federal grant. But because kids, like Maria, and 1,200 others Palisades High, an independent charter school, it, not the district, receives nearly $7 million a year in state funds. Facing a $640 million budget deficit, the LAUSD wants to use the federal money for other purposes and says it can no longer afford the long bus trips.
AMY DRESSER HELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PALISADES CHARTER HIGH: What we're looking at is 1,200 students. So, 40 percent of our student population coming from, you know, the most underperforming schools in L.A., losing access to a great high school.
WIAN: Palisades High says it can't afford the bus rides, either. Both sides say they're trying to find a solution before L.A. Unified's June 30th budget deadline. For students like Maria, time is running out.
(on camera): But the bottom line, the district says, is it will save $1.2 million a year by cutting this bus program. That would be enough to pay the salaries of 14 teachers.
Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Wow. Casey, thanks.
It's half past the hour right now. It means it's time for our top stories this morning. The former boyfriend of the Pennsylvania woman accused of recruiting terrorists online is speaking out to CNN. Kurt Gorman says that the Colleen LaRose he knew took care of his ailing father and is not somebody who allegedly went by the name of "Jihad Jane." LaRose is scheduled to be arraigned next week in Philadelphia.
Police say it was the quick thinking of a seven-year-old boy that may have saved his entire family. This is Carlos. He locked himself and his little sister in a bathroom Tuesday night after three armed robbers broke into his home and held his parents at gun point.
The second grader called 911. When police arrived, the gunman took off. They left empty-handed after realizing that the little boy had actually called 911. There he is with the dispatcher who talked him through the ordeal.
And a campaign-style rally. His jacket off, his sleeves rolled up. President Obama had a message on health care reform for Congress. The time for talk is over, it's time to vote. But back in D.C., there's a stern warning for Democrats. A former Obama insider says that because they haven't delivered real political reform, Democrats could be, quote, "slaughtered" this election day in the fall -- Jim.
ACOSTA: Kiran, as for President Obama, he's going to keep his health care message on the road with another stopover planned for Monday in Ohio. And he says he wants a vote from Congress on a bill by this time next week.
Here for the "A.M. Breakdown": Kelly Cuvar. She is unemployed and battling cancer. And Arnold Gee, who's been diagnosed with chronic kidney problems. They're both in Washington this morning after attending a Capitol Hill forum yesterday.
And, Kelly, I want to start with you. You've been dealing with some issues with your medical care for some time. You're dealing with a rare form of cancer in your leg and you're on Medicaid right now because of your problems getting insurance. What has this ordeal been like for you over the last couple of years?
KELLY CUVAR, STRUGGLING TO GET HEALTH CARE COVERAGE: Well, I was diagnosed 11 years ago. I've never been in remission. And I can tell you that -- without any exaggeration -- that dealing with insurance has been more stressful than dealing with my disease over the past 11 years.
ACOSTA: Really?
CUVAR: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: Really? And, you know -- obviously, you're in Washington to talk about the issue of health care reform and there's a big vote coming up next week on this issue.
CUVAR: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: The president is calling on the Congress to act.
As you see the legislation right now -- and I don't want to get into the specifics of it -- but is this something that you can live with and that you would like to see passed?
CUVAR: I do want to see it passed and I think --
ACOSTA: And why?
CUVAR: I think it's a very important first step. It's not exactly the step that I wanted or that I even think will help me right off the bat, but I think that we have to pass this. We have -- we have got to do this and get this started.
ACOSTA: And, Arnold, let me turn to you, because you're also dealing with some medical issues, kidney problems. You're unemployed. You have no insurance. And what has it been like? Because Kelly said she's had as tough a time or tougher time dealing with insurance companies as she has with the cancer. Have you had a similar experience?
ARNOLD GEE, SUFFERING FROM KIDNEY DISEASE: Well, I don't have problems dealing with insurance companies at all.
ACOSTA: Because you don't have one?
GEE: Correct. I'd much rather be working and dealing with insurance companies.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GEE: It's the fact that I can't do it that bothers me the most.
ACOSTA: I mean, and that is the issue with this health care legislation right now, is that it essentially preserves the private insurance system. So, you're OK with the legislation as it's crafted now. If you were to suddenly find work again and be insured by your employer, that would be OK with you.
GEE: It would be OK with me. But it's the fight over the details that's frustrating for me. I would much rather that both sides took the things that they agree upon, put them in another bill and we could get that passed right away.
ACOSTA: And do you think the folks in Washington get it? Do you think they understand? They have health care. They get it through the federal government. And as a coincidence, they get it through an exchange, which is something that the legislation that's currently pending before the Congress would create for people who are uninsured.
Do you think -- as you're dealing with lawmakers and staff members of those lawmakers on Capitol Hill -- do you think that they get it? Do you think they understand where you're coming from?
GEE: I'm not quite sure that they understand where I'm coming from. But they have their own little set of problems that they are working with. I shouldn't say little set.
ACOSTA: They got a lot of problems that they are dealing with.
GEE: Yes, they do.
ACOSTA: And, Kelly, what do you think? I mean, you've had a lot of contact with the folks there in Washington, up on the Capitol. Do they get it?
CUVAR: I had the privilege of being able to tell my story at the forum yesterday, sitting alongside Anthony Weiner -- Representative Anthony Weiner -- who I respect a lot. And I think he gets it. My former representative, John Boehner, I don't think he gets it. But I'm lucky to be represented in New York by progressives.
ACOSTA: And what happens if health care dies, if this reform effort doesn't pass? Kelly, what would happen to you personally?
CUVAR: I don't know. I'm not sure. I think I would be OK. I would go on and hopefully get a job and reenter the private insurance market. But --
ACOSTA: And, Arnold, very quickly, how would it affect you if this doesn't pass?
GEE: If it doesn't pass, then we'll keep fighting. We'll keep the process going and go pass something.
ACOSTA: OK.
GEE: Again, there are things that everybody agrees on. If they got that and brought that up in a bill -- it would shoot through like a rocket.
ACOSTA: Yes. Well, Arnold and Kelly, thank you very much for your time. And sorry to hear about the very difficult medical problems that you're dealing with. We wish you only the best and we really appreciate you sharing your story with us this morning.
CUVAR: Thank you so much.
ACOSTA: Thank you.
GEE: Thank you, Jim.
ACOSTA: Thanks for joining us.
And we'll be back in just a few moments. It is 37 minutes after the hour. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
President Obama renewing America's commitment to help Haiti rebuild after the devastating earthquake. But two months after the quake, now there are spring rains and they're threatening to cause landslides and other health problems for more than 500,000 people still living in these makeshift camps.
ACOSTA: It's tough. But Sara Sidner is Port-au-Prince, digging deeper on what happened to all of that aid money and what Haiti's government is doing to prevent a second disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seventy-year-old Anoise Pierre says he feels he's living in a prison and wants out. He lives among roughly 40,000 earthquake survivors in one of Haiti's largest tent cities.
"No one has told us what they will do for us. We are here like children in a prison who they feed a little bit every day," he says.
Nearly two months after the quake, all of these people simply don't know what to do or where to go. More shocking, neither Pierre nor his neighbors have heard one word from their government.
"The government should know what to quickly do for us," he says.
And then there's Dr. Luigi Letiko (ph), a psychologist volunteering in the camps.
(on camera): What do you think of the response so far from the government?
DR. LUIGI LETIKO (ph), PSYCHOLOGIST: No response from the government. I haven't seen the government here.
SIDNER: No response at all?
LETIKO: I see the American government here, not the Haitian government.
SIDNER (voice-over): Most troubling of all, the fast approaching rainy season. There's a U.N.-backed plan to help move some 150,000 people who need to get to higher ground. But no one has started to move. And most people we talked to know nothing about it.
The U.N. says it has already distributed tarp or tents to more than 700,000 people. Look at them though, it doesn't bring more confidence.
(on camera): It is scorching hot in here right now. But they are extremely worried about the rain and here's why. There are lots of gaps in the tarp where the water can come in and wash out everything that they have.
(voice-over): And these are the lucky ones.
(on camera): Here. You don't have a tarp?
FARRAH MERISMA, EARTHQUAKE VICTIM: What?
SIDNER: You have no tarp, only this?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
SIDNER: So, after all the attention paid to Haiti, how is this possible? We went to talk to the Haitian government to find out. It admits the country is not yet prepared for the next potential disaster.
ABY BRUN, HAITIAN COMMISSION FOR RECONSTRUCTION: There's a high risk of loss of lives. We have some mudslide risk because of the weight has been built on the other side. And thirdly, a lot of camps are overcrowded. So, we have epidemics.
With the wet soil and with concentrated feces, et cetera, we have to move out 150,000 people very quickly. That is going to require about $126 million.
SIDNER: Do you have that money right now?
BRUN: No.
SIDNER: Where is it?
BRUN: The money is in the hands of the donor countries.
SIDNER (voice-over): But the U.N. says much has been accomplished.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think you should -- you shouldn't underestimate the amount which is being achieved in terms of getting 4.3 million people with food and 2.3 million people that received water.
SIDNER: Haiti will make a final push for the pledged money at the end of the month, but nothing is guaranteed. In the meantime, all of these people wait. They wait for word from their government and they wait for the usual torrential rains.
Sara Sidner, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: You know, CNN and Sara and Anderson and Sanjay --
ACOSTA: That's right.
CHETRY: -- they have not forgotten and they've been there reporting on all of this, because half a million people, as she said, are still living in these makeshift tents.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. We have to stay on top of that story and that was a great report. And it really goes to show you what they are dealing with.
CHETRY: I know.
ACOSTA: Even all of these days later.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
Well, right now, we're 44 minutes past the hour. Rob will be along in just a moment with our travel forecast. Things are changing and there are storms -- severe storms heading east.
ACOSTA: Oh, boy.
And in 10 minutes, was it a tickle or not? I think we know where we're going here. Jeanne Moos takes a look at the Eric Massa scandal.
It's 44 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Good morning. A shot of Memphis, Tennessee this morning where right now it's 59 degrees. The rain is ending, and a bit later, it's going to go up to a high of 71 --
ACOSTA: Nice.
CHETRY: And sunny. Not bad. Always reminds me of T.J. Holmes. He just got married in Memphis last week.
ACOSTA: Is that right? Great city.
CHETRY: Congratulations to him, by the way, and the beautiful new bride. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty-eight minutes past the hour and it means it's time for your AM House Call, stories about your health. A government panel is now urging doctors to encourage woman who had a C-section that delivering their next baby vaginally can be safe. The panel says only 10 percent of women consider this option, because in some places, doctors and hospitals actually forbid it. Fifteen years ago, nearly 30 percent of women who had a C-section were able to deliver their next baby vaginally.
Salt-free fries. Some are saying, no thanks, but in New York, some women is proposing a bill making it illegal for restaurants to use salt in prepared foods. That measure would actually fine restaurants in violation $1,000. Lawmaker pitched the idea after his father developed high blood pressure from using too much salt and eventually had a heart attack. Critics are calling the measure absurd saying the consumers can modify their sodium intake for optimal health.
ACOSTA: Interesting.
CHETRY: I can't imagine fries without salt.
ACOSTA: Yes, that's a tough one. That's a tough one because, you know, fries and burgers and I mean, all of that stuff, can we make that healthy? I don't know. Is that possible? I think it kind of goes with the territory, right?
CHETRY: Yes. Agree.
ACOSTA: Speaking of territory, it's 6:48. It's time to get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano, he is no stranger to salt.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. You know, sodium is good for the soul.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
MARCIANO: Not so much for the heart but good for the soul for sure. Good morning, guys. Hey listen, severe weather running across the south. A little bit less of a threat right now, but later on the day, Florida may be under the gun, though. Red watch box you're seeing disappear from your screen, that's a tornado watch that was in effect earlier that has been allowed to expire. It's becoming more moderate to heavy rainfall especially across parts of the Florida panhandle where there are flood watches out.
It's a little less intense as you go up through Chicago. See everything kind of wrapping around a low right that's right here, and that's not making a whole lot of movement toward the east, so that's good news to folks across the New York City metropolitan area. Not going to be quite as nice as yesterday. I even see a little bit in the way of drizzle, but it will be better than tomorrow. I can guarantee that.
A threat for severe weather today will be across parts of Florida. They are heats up there, and this front gets a little bit closer to that, and air travel delays are going to be in Atlanta, Charlotte and Memphis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, and then later on today with those thunderstorms rolling through Florida, Miami, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale. Fifty-nine degrees in Atlanta, 57 degrees expected in New York.
You know, Jim, I follow Kiran's husband on twitter, and last night around 5:00, 6:00, he said he was firing up the grill, and then about an hour later, he said something like the wife just had her fifth margarita. I don't know --
CHETRY: Yes, right.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: It wasn't the second part. I usually look for him for, you know, weather information out in New York, but last night I got the grilling report which was quite nice.
CHETRY: Yes. I follow him on twitter to see what he's up to as well.
MARCIANO: It's a good way to really keep an eye on him.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you, guys.
ACOSTA: Too much information, but that's okay.
CHETRY: There were no margaritas unfortunately. This morning's top stories just minutes away, including the man who dated the woman who called herself Jihad Jane. For five years before she took off in the middle of the night, did he have any clue that she would stand accused being a terrorist?
ACOSTA: And at 40 minutes after, another fallen child star, Corey Haim called himself a serial relapse. We'll take a look at why this keeps happening in Hollywood.
CHETRY: And at 50 minutes past the hour, if we can't waste taxpayer money, you can't either. Democrats and Republicans going back and forth over pork. Will it accomplish anything? Those stories and much more coming up in our 7:00 hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back. It is 6:54 and that means it's time for the Moost News in the Morning, Jeanne.
CHETRY: That's right. Former New York Congressman Eric Massa finding himself the subject of a media blitz, and of course, Jeanne's take is priceless this morning. Let's check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He barely mastered his name.
UNKNOWN MALE: New York Congressman Eric Massa --
MOOS: But not since Rod Blagojevich.
UNKNOWN MALE: Did they push out Massa so Obama care can passa.
MOOS: Have we and the press been so tickled by a political character.
UNKNOWN MALE: The guy is one taco short of a happy meal.
UNKNOWN MALE: We lost a couple of wheels off the back car.
MOOS: So here we go with some of Former Congressman Massa's top ticklers. You can't say the guy hasn't owned up to things.
UNKNOWN MALE: I owned this misbehavior. I own that. I do own my own behavior.
MOOS: The question is what he is owning up to.
UNKNOWN MALE: I own this.
MOOS: How can you not appreciate a guy who brings tickling into the national conversation.
UNKNOWN MALE: Yes, I did. I groped him. I tickled him until he couldn't breathe.
UNKNOWN MALE: Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe.
UNKNOWN MALE: Tickle fights.
UNKNOWN MALE: Over tickle fights, you would step down --
UNKNOWN MALE: No, it's not a tickle fight.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: More creepy to me like he said anybody grope him. I tickled him until he couldn't breathe. MOOS: All of the tickle talk has inspired a, "don't tickle me I'm a republican T-shirt." It's been fun watching table TV hosts grope for answers.
UNKNOWN MALE: Did you ever touch anybody sexually or grope anybody sexually?
UNKNOWN MALE: No, no, no.
UNKNOWN MALE: Okay, but is it true you groped male staffers?
UNKNOWN MALE: No.
MOOS: Listening to Mass's top ticklers had Glenn Beck (ph) looking like he had a tickle he couldn't scratch.
UNKNOWN MALE: Bull crap sir. Listen to me.
UNKNOWN MALE: Okay, go ahead.
UNKNOWN MALE: Please don't be a commercial.
MOOS: Another thing we were tickled by were the Former Congressman's down to earth massaism.
UNKNOWN MALE: This isn't exactly a Dunkin Doughnut fest. It's the whole shimazole (ph). I'm collateral damage. I'm road jelling. In 72 hours, nobody is going to remember who I am.
MOOS: Do you know who Eric Massa is?
UNKNOWN MALE: No, thank you.
MOOS: AMERICAN MORNING, do you have any idea who Eric Massa is?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: No.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Crap, no.
UNKNOWN MALE: Talking about the restaurant upstairs, right?
MOOS: Wrong. Wrong Massa.
UNKNOWN MALE: Oh, absolutely. The one who got in the contest with the scum of the world Rahm Emanuel? That one?
UNKNOWN MALE: When was the last time you had a political argument with a native man?
MOOS: Forget tickle me Elmo.
This season's hit is --
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Tickle me Massa.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: I agree with Patrick Kennedy, it must stop.
CHETRY: And it will, some day. All right. Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. Your top stories coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
