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American Morning
Moscow Subway Explosions Kill at Least 37 People; Midwest Militia Roundup: Group Preparing for End Time Battles; Wall St. Rally: What's Next?; Out of this World "Chicks Network"
Aired March 29, 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 Monday to you morning. Glad you're with us. It is March 29th on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us. And here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
Breaking news out of Russia this morning. Two explosions rocking Moscow subway stations. It happened during a rush hour there. The platform jammed with commuters as the time. We're on the scene from Moscow in just a few moments.
CHETRY: Also severe weather slamming the southeastern part of the country packing winds, rain and damaging hail. There were reports of as many as eight tornadoes touching down across North Carolina alone. This morning homes are damaged. Power crews are working to restore the electricity and now the northeast is under the gun yet again. We're going to check in with Rob Marciano.
ROBERTS: Sources say a militia arming itself to fight the coming anti-Christ was the target of raids across the Midwest this weekend. We're going to find out more in court this morning and show you their recruiting videos on YouTube.
And, of course, as always, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. We'd like to hear from you about what's in the news this morning. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX and we'll be reading your comments throughout the morning.
CHETRY: We begin, though, with breaking news. Terror in Moscow. Two deadly explosions tearing through subway stations in Russia's capital this morning, just as they were jammed with rush hour passengers. Investigators now say that female suicide bombers blew themselves up around 8:00 a.m. local time when it would have been standing-room only on the rail. The first bomb ripped through a train killing dozens of people inside as well as on the platform. The stop is right underneath what used to be KGB headquarters.
Matthew Chance is on the phone for us this morning with more on what happened -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Thanks very much, Kiran. Well, a very chaotic morning here in the Russian capital, the height of rush hour. About 500,000 people on the metro system at a time when the first explosion was detonated at 8:00 in the morning local time on a packed commuter train carriage running deep underground.
As you mentioned there, the Lubyanka station is very close to the former KGB headquarters, now the headquarters of the FSB (ph), the Federal Security Services. Twenty-three people confirmed as dead in that explosion. Another 20 or 30 people injured, some of them very severely indeed and treated at the hospitals.
Just 30 minutes later on the same line, another explosion ripping through another train in another location. Park Kultury is the name of this place. Another 12 people killed there at least and 20 injured according to the emergency workers that we've been speaking to. So bringing to about 35, the number of people who have been killed, to what the authorities describe as a terrorist attack carried out by two female suicide bombers who obviously detonated their explosions at this peak rush hour morning to cause maximum casualties -- Kiran.
CHETRY: What more do we know about them, who they were?
CHANCE: Well, the finger of blame in instances like this points and their relatively rare is Moscow these days. But the finger of blame points towards Chechen separatists that have been fighting for an Islamic state in the south of Russia. They haven't carried out an attack like this in Moscow for some six years, about six years in fact. And so the Muscovites I think felt they were insulated from the insurgency that still very much rages away in this south of this vast country.
There has been a claim of responsibility in fact on a Web site often used by these Chechen separatists and extremists, trying to say carried out this attack. But that claim of responsibility has not yet been acknowledged as legitimate by the authorities although clearly the finger of suspicion is pointing towards the Chechen rebels on this occasion, Kiran.
CHETRY: Matthew chance for us this morning in Moscow following the latest on this twin explosions taking place there. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Also developing this morning, a dangerous storm system on the move and spawning what are believed to be several tornadoes across the southeast. In high point, North Carolina, authorities are going door to door after the storm damaged homes and blew down trees and power lines yesterday. These remarkable pictures from YouTube show one of the funnel clouds just as it was forming.
To the southwest in Belmont, North Carolina, bands of violent weather damaged mobile homes and peeled the roof off of at least one industrial building. And in nearby Charlotte, the big city there, the storm's strong winds blew trees onto homes and produced hail the size of tennis balls. Almost amazingly no storm-related deaths have been reported so far.
Our Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center this morning, and he's tracking the movement of the storm system.
Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Good morning, guys. A pretty wide swath of action last night and you're right. Amazingly only a couple of people injured with this deal of storms. But we still have action this morning. So North Carolina, the hardest hit starting things off last nine in through Winston, Salem and just west of Charlotte. That's where we saw the most damage as you saw in those pictures now.
I want to show you the radar right now, which is highlighting a tornado warning now that's in effect for south Florida now. Right now, this is just across Alligator Alley but it's moving across the I- 75 corridor, about 25 miles an hour towards the north and east, Broward and Palm Beach in Collier County under this tornado warning until 6:30 a.m. Plus this particular cell should eschew to the north and the east of Miami. But the entire area under a tornado watch for the next several hours officially posted until 11:00 a.m. that maybe dropped. But I think the next -- I think the most action will be over the next, really two to three hours. So we'll keep you posted throughout AMERICAN MORNING, of course.
Up the I-95 corridor, we're looking at more rain than severe weather but heavy rain is going to be the issue especially across the northeast and there are flood watches and warnings posted already. Three to six inches of rainfall expected and should last right through tomorrow. So already saturated and soggy is the tri-state area as you know, John and Kiran, and more rain expected tonight and tomorrow. And we could see several or many rivers up and over their flood banks and this could be a big issue over the next 48 hours. We'll talk more about this in about 30, 35 minutes.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. And also, I mean, the saturated ground, as you said. I mean, these trees, it's not going to take much wind this time to knock them over.
MARCIANO: Hopefully the wind won't be -- the wind shouldn't be as bad as the last go-around. But as you mentioned, the more saturated the soil is, the easier it is for those trees to topple.
CHETRY: All right, Rob. We'll be checking in with you throughout the morning on this one. Thanks so much.
MARCIANO: You bet.
CHETRY: Meantime, a self-proclaimed Christian militia group says it's preparing for war with the Anti-Christ. It's believed to be the target of a series of FBI raids that took place over the weekend. Here's some video of them now.
Federal authorities arrested at least seven people in three states. A member of another militia group says the Feds even moved in during a wake for one of the group's members.
Our Susan Candiotti joins us live now with more on this developing story. So who is this group in the first place?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, everyone has a lot of questions about this group. Frankly, I never heard of them until we started looking into them a little bit over the weekend. But according to the U.S. attorney's office, we're supposed to be getting more details when they're unsealed today in Detroit.
A busy weekend for federal agents in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. A federal law enforcement source says the FBI executed raid that netted at least seven arrests and an operation that officially remains under wraps. A Michigan militia leader says the targets are some members of the Christian militia group. The FBI won't confirm any of this. However, let's show you what we found on the group's Web site and YouTube.
It's called Hutaree.com. There's a video of people whose faces are covered, wearing uniforms and carrying guns, possibly rifles, and underneath it all a bed of music and gunshots are heard. Now Hutaree's insignia is a cross with what appeared to be two spears crisscrossed across the bottom.
On the Web site, these statements are posted. Now, quoting here, "We believe that one day as prophecy says there will be an anti- Christ. All Christians must know this and prepare just as Christ commanded." It adds, "preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive."
A big show of force complete with helicopters Saturday night, agents swooped in and closed some roads while arrests were made. Some who said they're familiar with the group said they train in the woods sometimes at night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE LACKOMAR, SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN VOLUNTERR MILITIA: They're gearing up to fight alongside Jesus against the forces of Satan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now what does Hutaree mean? The Web site's message for us says it's from the group's own dialect. A federal law enforcement source says the arrests are not related to any terrorist plot and the suspects are not planning attacks on government targets.
So, again, the FBI would not confirm members of Hutaree are among those arrested. In a media report, a different Michigan militia claimed the Hutaree was targeting Muslims. CNN has not been able to confirm that. However, the Council on American Islam Relations says it's asking the FBI for more information. And again, we should know more when details are expected to be unsealed in federal court today in Detroit.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, Susan.
ROBERTS: Checking other stories new this morning at eight minutes after the hour. The White House is scrambling to fill the open spot at the head of the Transportation Safety Administration. President Obama's TSA nominee, Major General Robert Harding withdrew his name late Friday after some lawmakers questioned his work as a defense contractor. Harding was the White House's second attempt to fill that spot.
CHETRY: Former First Lady Barbara Bush is still in a Houston hospital this morning. A family spokeswoman says Mrs. Bush hasn't felt well for about a week and doctors are performing routine tests. Former President George H.W. Bush drove her to the hospital Saturday morning. The former first lady had a heart operation last March. She also underwent surgery on an ulcer in November of 2008.
ROBERTS: Officials in New York City have suspended the license of a crane operator. He was the last person behind the controls of a 250-foot high crane before it crashed into a 25-story building. Investigators say he failed to secure it properly but mechanical failure might have also played a role in the accident. That happened late on Saturday night just a few blocks from Wall Street. No one was hurt.
CHETRY: And a new study suggests that binging on junk food has the same effect on the brain as using drugs like heroin or cocaine. Scientists at the Scripps Research Center in Florida found that rats who consumed a diet of bacon, sausage and cheesecake not only became obese but their brain chemistry actually changed. Researchers say that the rats developed compulsive eating habits much like a drug addict. They say overeating leads to an overload of the brain's pleasure sensors just like drug use.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Well, it works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And the high-flying 3D tale, "How to Train Your Dragon" debuted number one this weekend at the box office. Dreamworks says the film took in $43.3 million. The "Dragon" has received glowing reviews and the studio thinks that it will benefit from strong word of mouth as well. Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" got pushed back to number two. And MGM's raunchy comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" debuted at number three.
CHETRY: Must be a little bit of "Avatar." This (INAUDIBLE) huge dragon-like creatures as well.
ROBERTS: A little more friendly, that's what I think.
CHETRY: Yes. I think so, too.
Well, a surprise trip to the war zone. At 6:15 Eastern Time, President Obama's message to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and to the Afghan leader he's counting on to hold the country together. We're going to be checking in with Suzanne Malveaux live at the White House.
ROBERTS: At 6:30 Eastern, is there a doctor in the house? Health care reform means more patients filling waiting rooms across the country. We'll hear whether doctors think they can handle the load.
CHETRY: At 6:40 Eastern, Pennsylvania Democrat Arlen Specter is already campaigning for re-election ahead of this fall's mid-term elections, and he's facing opponents on both sides of the aisle. You see, he used to be a Republican but he actually decided to run as a Democrat because he probably wouldn't have made it out of the primary. Now, he's facing a tough primary challenge on the Democratic side.
Our Jessica Yellin is breaking down the race coming up. It is 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fourteen and a half minutes after the hour. President Obama now making the long trip home after a surprise weekend visit to Afghanistan. He's expected to arrive in Washington in just a few hours. It was his first trip to the war zone as commander in chief. The president met with U.S. and coalition forces at Bagram Air Force Base outside of Kabul and rallied the troops with the message about their mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- slides backwards, if the Taliban retakes this country and Al Qaeda can operate with impunity, then more American lives will be at stake. The Afghan people will lose their chance at progress and prosperity. And the world will be significantly less secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The president also met with Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his cabinet. Let's bring in our Suzanne Malveaux right now. She's up early for us at the White House.
So what was the goal of the president's trip to Afghanistan? Because he's been getting back some reports from his diplomats in the region that Karzai hasn't exactly been the best partner since he was reelected.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, you're absolutely right. We saw some pictures there, the president with the U.S. troops. Obviously he came there to say that he was grateful for their service, that he was very proud of their sacrifice.
But equally important was that meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president that lasted about 30 minutes or so. It was a red carpet treatment. But behind the scenes, John, a lot of frustration from President Obama and administration officials over the state of Afghanistan since Hamid Karzai took office -- re-elected back in August. Largely concerted, widely concerted a corrupt election.
A couple of things here, first and foremost that Karzai is not dealing with key problems in Afghanistan. That is fighting corruption that he promised before. Also, taking on the drug trade, that -- which supports -- financially supports the Taliban. It has made Karzai largely without credibility at this point.
The other thing, John, here is that he has really distanced himself from his allies in the West. We have seen this leader now meeting just within the last month or so with the leaders of Pakistan as well as China, Iran. As a matter of fact, he was visiting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran over the weekend and had just flown back to Kabul hours before President Obama landed for this very important visit.
So President Obama wanted to make it clear that the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan is critical for this military and the civilian mission to work. Take a listen, John.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We have seen already progress with respect to the military campaign against extremism in the region.
But we also want to continue to make progress on the civilian (ph) -- the process of ensuring that agricultural production, energy production, good governance, rule of law, anti-corruption efforts, all of these things (INAUDIBLE) resulting in an Afghanistan that's more prosperous, more pure, independent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: John, it's significant that the president is saying this publicly. What was also striking was the National Security Adviser, General Jim Jones, also aboard Air Force One, was talking to reporters, publicly saying that we need to improve the strategic rapport when it comes to the relationship with Hamid Karzai.
Back when I covered President Bush, you saw Hamid Karzai, President Bush, pretty much a much closer relationship than these two. Nothing warm and fuzzy between President Obama and Karzai. They have to work on this relationship.
We understand that the president did extend an invitation to the White House May 12th. That is when Hamid Karzai is going to come here. Hopefully they can improve on that relationship, but this is a very business like relationship because President Obama, he wants some things done --John.
ROBERTS: Suzanne Malveaux for us live at the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, I'm not sure if you noticed or not, but the stock market is up dramatically in the past few weeks, now flirting with 11,000 as investors brace for a week of crucial reports on jobs. What does it mean for us?
Christine Romans "Minding Your Business."
Eighteen-and-a-half minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Everyone's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the control room this Monday morning. It's 6:22 Eastern time.
We're "Minding Your Business" right now. Christine Romans is back, and you're really, really excited about the Dow.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, last week I realized the Dow was up 1,000 points, almost, in 45 days. If you have the Dow's performance over the course of a year that we have seen in a month and a half, it would be a very good year for stock investors.
It's happened in a -- in a quick period of time. It's happened over the past year, but it's -- it's been a powerful rally that has continued. It's been a rally fed by corporate earnings. This is the gas for the stock market.
Corporate companies are making money again, even though you and I aren't. Companies are making money again, and that been driving the stock market forward.
So you've got the Dow up 4 percent this year, you've got the S&P up almost 5 percent this year, the NASDAQ up almost 6 percent this year, and that's despite all these big concerns in the economy we've been talking about, unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, consumer spending has been a little tricky, people are trying to pay down their debt and take care of their personal finances, not necessarily going out there and spending a lot of money.
CHETRY: But they are spending more money than we've seen in a while.
ROMANS: They are, and they're strategically spending money because they pulled back so hard over the last couple of years.
But you've got the big picture folks saying that the American consumer has changed forever, that they're not going to be as prolific with borrowed money, that everything is changing. We're deleveraging. We've got other people about sovereign -- sovereign debt in -- in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Spain, you know, the PIG countries we've been talking about. Yet the stock market keeps going up.
So, I've been asking people, they either think we're going to see a 30 percent pull back right away or they think we're going to 14,000. no one knows where it's going to go but Friday --
ROBERTS: A lot of fears, though, over another dip.
ROMANS: That's right. They were talking about a double dip.
But, in the meantime, as we've been agonizing over all of the weaknesses in the economy, the stock market keeps going up. Up 45 -- over 45 days of 1,000 points. That's an incredible, incredible performance. No one knows where it's going from here, but stock futures this morning are pointing a little bit higher.
CHETRY: It will be interesting to see if people are happy about this.
Are you not afraid to look at your 401(k) statements again? E- mail us at --
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: -- cnn.com/amfix, because, as you said, we don't feel it, but the corporate earnings are --
ROMANS: If you -- if you don't have a job, you're -- you're hearing me talk about the Dow and you're saying, this is -- this is crazy.
ROBERTS: Right.
ROMANS: But this is the way -- this is just the way it's going right now.
ROBERTS: All right. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. Thanks so much.
Cady Coleman, our AMERICAN MORNING continuing series. Cady Coleman is going to be going to the International Space Station in the not too distant future. We're going to check back in with her.
John Zarrella talks this morning about the network of women in space. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
American astronaut Cady Coleman is preparing for a trip to the International Space Station in the not too distant future. Our John Zarrella has been following her on this year-long journey. He's live in Miami.
And so, we've seen her grueling training, we've seen a lot of the stuff she does, but this morning we're getting a look at where she gets a lot of her support. It's the women's network of NASA that you wouldn't even know about.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right. It's the underground women's network, Kiran.
You know, I got an e-mail from Cady -- you talk about all that training -- an e-mail from her last night saying that today she's got a full day of medical testing. Last week they stuck her in her space suit, put her in a pressurized environment to leak check her suit. She also did another one of those training runs underwater. So she's been very, very busy.
But I wanted to ask her -- and I did -- what's it like to be both a woman and an astronaut?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Cady Coleman puts on a space suit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does it feel OK?
CADY COLEMAN, NASA ASTRONAUT: Yes. But this (ph) the shoulder thing --
ZARRELLA: Her friend, Nicole Stott, prepares for a walk outside the International Space Station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And one of the very important pieces of equipment that we have is our comm cap. It allows us to talk to each another.
ZARRELLA: (INAUDIBLE) repossessions storage racks on the shuttle.
There's no special attention. None of this is a big deal, because women flying in space is no big deal -- not anymore.
COLEMAN: In items of the astronaut thing, I have to say that when I grew up, you know, I was born in 1960, girls didn't really do this.
ZARRELLA: Cady was 18 when they started doing it. Six women made history and helped make Cady's future possible. They were part of the astronaut class of 1978.
Sally Ride, America's first woman in space, was one of them. Those are tough footsteps to follow in. There's pressure standing on the shoulders of giants.
COLEMAN: Being a woman there, you are just by, you know -- just by when people look, you are more visible, by definition. And so, by being more visible, you'd always like that to be good visible.
ZARRELLA: And good advice is a heck of a lot easier when you're looking out for each other.
NICOLE STOTT, NASA ASTRONAUT: We kind of have like this little chicks' network set up, I think.
For the EDA, I've compiled a list of things that I thought might be interesting to you and the rest of the ladies.
ZARRELLA: Nicole Stott spent three months on the International Space Station. Cady's headed there in December.
The e-mail is one of many Nicole sent down to Cady while she was up there. It dealt with the challenges of space walks for women. Other e-mails were more down to earth.
STOTT: I think we feel an obligation to each other, you know? There's -- there's no reason why somebody should go up there and have to figure out that they should have brought hair conditioner, you know? I mean, it's just -- you just should know it.
COLEMAN: Sometimes the women astronauts will get together, the ones flying on station, and talk about, you know, just hygiene up there and -- and just, you know, what you're going to wear.
ZARRELLA: The bond they share makes it easier to focus on why they are there.
COLEMAN: I think I can say that it's probably true for all of us, that we do what we do because we feel very passionate about it and it -- we don't do it because we're women, we just really want to be part of exploring the universe.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): And they are -- because being a woman and an astronaut is no big deal, not any more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: In a couple of days, Tracy Caldwell, an American astronaut, she's going to be flying up to the International Space Station on a Soyuz, and a week from today, Kiran, at about this very minute, the shuttle Discovery is going to be, we hope, lifting off from the Kennedy Space Center with three women astronauts on it. For only the third time in the history of the U.S. space program, three women flying together.
Cady Coleman is expected to be our guest that morning. So, we'll get to talk to her live next Monday morning -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Exciting. All right.
ZARRELLA: Yes.
CHETRY: They'll be looking out for each other up in space. John Zarrella for us this morning -- thanks.
ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour and that means it's time for this morning's top stories.
And breaking news out of Russia to tell you about. At least 35 people are dead in explosions that ripped through two subway stations. Moscow's mayor says two female attackers blew themselves up during the morning commute when the trains and the platforms were packed. One the train stations that was attacked right underneath the site of the old KGB headquarters.
CHETRY: Well, we're learning more about a self-proclaimed Christian militia, the target of an FBI round up in three states over the weekend. The group shows off its guns in a recruiting video on YouTube and says it's preparing for the end battle with Satan. Seven suspects are expected to appear in court this morning. As our Susan Candiotti tells us, the indictment will be unsealed as well this morning. So, we should learn more shortly.
Also caught on tape, the tornado that damaged at least 20 homes in High Point, North Carolina. Forecasters say it may have been one of eight twisters that touched down, flipping mobile homes, tearing trees out of the ground during a violent spring storm. Teams will be going door-to-door this morning checking on people, making sure no one's hurt. So far, no storm-related deaths have been reported -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, across the nation, Kiran, health care is about to change dramatically for doctors and patients alike. There is the potential for 32 million new patients now paying customers. But that also puts a strain on the number and type of physician that will be needed in the future.
Joining us now from Washington with more on this is Dr. Christina Johns. She's an ER specialist at Children's National Medical Center.
And Dr. Lisa Sanders is in Connecticut this morning. She's an internist and teaches at the Yale University School of Medicine.
Good morning to both of you.
Christina, let's start with you. How do you expect health care to change under the newly-signed health care bill?
DR. CHRISTINA JOHNS, ER SPECIALIST, CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: Well, for me, I think it's really going to be interesting to see. I work in a very busy urban emergency department that sees over half of children with Medicaid, and so, I think we're going to have more and more insured children. I am sure that they're going to be coming to me as well.
What I hope to see happen is that they will be able to access primary care physicians. This is going to bring up some workforce issues that I think we'll need to discuss, but I think that the exciting thing is, more children -- certainly more people -- but in my case, more children will be insured. I'm hoping that adequate coverage will, in the very relative near future, equal appropriate access to care. That's the sticky wicket. But I think that's what we'll see.
ROBERTS: You know, there were a lot of arguments, Lisa, over how to get there. But I think the fact that more and more children in particular will be covered by health insurance can only be a good thing for them and for this country. But the fact that as many as 32 million more people, more insured people, may be coming into the system, what kind of strain will that put on the primary care system?
DR. LISA SANDERS, ASST. CLINICAL PROFESSOR, YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Oh, it's going to be a big strain. There's no question about it. I mean, it's great that all of these people, mostly working people who, you know, people who don't have jobs get unemployment -- I mean, get Medicaid. So they are already covered.
So, this gives an opportunity for people who are hardworking and deserve health care coverage and deserve to have -- to be cared for when we're sick, can get it. But it is going to be a strain on the system. I mean, we barely have enough primary care doctors now. My practice, which is a very large practice, is closed to new patients and we're not alone. I think that everybody is going to have to reconsider what their capability.
But I think, primarily, we're going to have to take a hard look at how we train doctors and where the incentives are and how we encourage more doctors to go into primary care. It's going to be a crisis. Massachusetts has shown us that the demand is going to very rapidly overrun the supply. And we have to be ready to deal with that or try to start to get ready.
ROBERTS: Let's talk about that in just a second, Dr. Sanders. This idea of how you might be able to channel more medical students into primary care specialty.
But first of all, until we get to there, you've got some problems to deal within the interim -- because, Christina, a lot of people will use an E.R. as primary care if they can't get into, you know, say, Lisa's practice because they're not taking new patients. So, over the next few years, as more of these people join the ranks of the insured, and maybe don't have access to a primary physician, what kind of a burden is that going to put on you and your hospital?
JOHNS: Oh, I think it's going to be really tricky. And this is -- I'm trying to view this as an opportunity for physicians, certainly my emergency group to try to be as efficient, try to think outside the box, try to do what we can in this interim time -- because I think Lisa brings up a really important point.
Hey, this is -- I think, where we are right now is really the end of the beginning. We're really just on the launch pad here in terms of overhaul and trying to figure out what we're going to do. We are going to need to brace ourselves that I believe that the overburdening of the emergency system is going to continue until we can reach that point where we have -- where we're paying primary care doctors enough and get -- recruiting more people into those specialties so that people can get -- have a what we call a "medical home," a primary care place where they can see -- get the right care by the right person in the right setting at a right time.
ROBERTS: You know, Lisa, when you look at the pay scale of doctors, you know, you got the high-flying heart surgeons and neurosurgeons way at the top there, and then primary care physicians are somewhere closer to the bottom of the pay scale. So, how do you encourage medical students who are paying so much money in places like Yale for an education to go into internal medicine, go into primary care, and you suggest that the government may be able to help out here?
SANDERS: Well, in a couple of ways, absolutely. I mean, I think that we can encourage people to go into primary care by relieving some of the debt. We already do this in some special programs that are very limited.
And I think if we really have a thoughtful approach, maybe we can relieve some of the debt that many of these medical students graduate from. But more -- and I think that's going to be really key. More than that, I think that the government, who pays for the post- graduate training -- you know, nobody goes straight from medical school into practice.
ROBERTS: Sure.
SANDERS: We all have these residencies -- that's paid for by the government. And they exert no pressure at all about how that money is spent and what kind of specialties people go into. And I think that a thoughtful use of considering -- thoughtful consideration of using those funds to help direct institutions to put people into primary care, there's no incentive for institutions like hospitals and medical schools to encourage people to go into primary care because, of course, they get more grants, they get more donations from people who make more money.
So, I think we have to make it easier for the institutions to let doctors do what they actually would like to do. Many -- many medical students go into medical school thinking that they want to do what I do, primary care. And I think if the incentives were aligned, they would be allowed to do that thing that they really want to do.
ROBERTS: A lot to chew over as this bill rolls out.
Dr. Christina Johns, Dr. Lisa Sanders, great to talk to you again. Thanks so much.
SANDERS: Thank you.
JOHNS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Thirty-eight minutes after the hour now. Stay with us.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter made headlines when he switched parties for the second time last spring. Now, the former Republican-turned-Democrat, again, is already campaigning for re- election this fall. But he's facing fierce competition from both sides.
Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak is trying to beat Specter in a May party primary. And the latest poll from Franklin and Marshall College shows his Republican challenger, Pat Toomey, out in front by four points with a huge number of voters still undecided.
Our Jessica Yellin got a chance to talk with the five-term senator and his two competitors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): In his 30 years in the U.S. Senate, Arlen Specter has survived a lot -- prostate cancer, rousing partisan battles --
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Mention of Judge Thomas's private parts --
YELLIN: And more recently, health care town hall rage.
SPECTER: Wait a minute --
YELLIN: But this could be his Waterloo.
TERRY MADONNA, PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROFESSOR, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE: We're ready for a heavy weight fight in Pennsylvania that is likely to go to the very last round.
YELLIN: Facing almost certain defeat from a more conservative opponent in the Pennsylvania Republican primary, Specter did the unthinkable.
SPECTER: As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy.
YELLIN: He switched parties, becoming a Democrat, and incurring the wrath of plenty of home state voters.
(on camera): Sir, what do you think of him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I consider Senator Specter a traitor quite honestly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think he has any allegiance to anyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like party switchers in general. I think that's a little bit over-political.
YELLIN (voice-over): His political opponents keep asking, who is Arlen Specter, really.
REP. JOE SESTAK (D), PENNSYLVANIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Sestak, I'm running against Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate.
YELLIN: His Democrat challenger --
SESTAK: I won't change a position because of an election. That's the big difference between the two of us. He'll vote as it's necessary.
YELLIN: And the Republican he faced in the general election --
PAT TOOMEY (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: He just reversed himself on position after position and started moving in lock-step with the most liberal Democrats. So, he's really, I think, undermined his credibility.
YELLIN: The new Democrat can explain and takes crowds back to his childhood.
SPECTER: I became a JFK Democrat.
YELLIN: It sure sounds like he wants us to believe he was never really a Republican.
SPECTER: I have been an independent voice, probably voted more often on the big issues with the Democrats than with the Republicans.
YELLIN (on camera): Do you regret ever having become a Republican?
SPECTER: I did my best for a long time to moderate the Republican Party. And the break day when they refused to talk about the stimulus, which was necessary to avoid a depression.
YELLIN (voice-over): He has the endorsements of President Obama and Democratic establishment, but it might not be enough.
(on camera): For Specter to win, he'll need a huge turnout here in heavily Democratic Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. But polls show these voters are demoralized by the gridlock in Washington that they're not feeling terribly inspired to come out and vote. At the same time, Republicans are sounding energized and ready to hit the polls.
(voice-over): This week, he's hitting the trail, trying to inspire his new Democratic base to make him a survivor yet again.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Jessica Yellin for us -- thanks so much.
We want to remind you that we love to have you weigh on our live blog. It's been taking place all morning.
We have one e-mail from Aldrin on blog, talking about this situation in Moscow, those two bombings that took place overnight: "My sympathies and condolences to the victims of the tragedy. However, my concern is that the Russian government would use this event as an excuse to tighten its grip on its citizens under the guise of preserving state security."
ROBERTS: Yes, www.CNN.com/amFIX. That's how you can get to us. Here's what the blog looks like, so you know you're on the right page. It never works when you want it to work, though.
There you go. That's what it looks like on our home page. You just click on the live blog and give us your comments and let us know how you're feeling about the news this morning and let us know how you're feeling about life in general. You know, it's Monday. Let's start the new week with that. Rob Marciano is going to have this morning's travel forecast right after the break. Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: Forty-eight minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning and quick check on this morning's business headlines.
Federal official say the theft of personal information from a company that guarantees student loans may be the largest such case of identity theft on record. Data on some 3.3 million borrowers was stolen last week from educational credit management in Minnesota. It could affect as many as 5 percent of all people with federal student loans.
CHETRY: Selling at a lost. Ford sealing a deal to sell its Volvo unit to a Chinese carmaker for nearly $2 billion. The price tag, though, is considerably less than more than $6 billion that Ford paid for the Swedish company just ten years ago. Officials say that Ford plans to focus on its core brands in the U.S.
ROBERTS: And pricing food and drink the Wall Street way. A New York City restaurant plans to have prices fluctuate according to demand, like stock values would, the Exchange Bar and Grill, appropriate name, which opens this week will have a ticker tape flashing menu prices in red lettering as they rise and fall.
CHETRY: It is now 49 minutes past the hour. We're going to get a check on the weather this morning. Pretty rough and brutal out there in some parts of the country. Rob Marciano is in Atlanta for us this morning. It is just raining and raining and raining.
MARCIANO: Yes. Up and down the east coast. Everybody is getting a little piece of this weather system. Last night, importantly (ph), was the Carolinas and parts of North Georgia that saw the damaging thunderstorms, and some of those thunderstorms now have shifted at least the energy has down across South Florida. We have a tornado watch in affect for this area through the morning until 11:00 this morning.
We did have a tornado warnings posted. Now, some more action coming in across the keys and that will just instigate and aggravate the atmosphere just a little bit more. Severe thunderstorms now rolling across into (INAUDIBLE) out of the alligator alley into the more populated areas near the I-95 corridor, and again, there's more action behind that. Damaging winds possible, and there's certainly some frequent lightning and heavy rain and a potential for some rotation with that. So, tornadoes a possibility for sure.
We just had our tornado watch across parts of Eastern North Carolina let expire. Now, it's just going to be a heavy rain event from Raleigh and then north towards Virginia Beach up through Jersey. The rain that you see right now on the coast line is going to increase and expand the rain shield. Tonight is going to be pretty expansive, could see several inches of rainfall and a little bit of wind. It's going to be a stormy night tonight across the Tri-State area. I wouldn't be surprised to see trees down and power out because of the wind and the rain.
Three to six inches of rainfall. So, places like Washington, D.C., that saw the cherry blossoms this past weekend. A lot of those blossoms may be very well be down because of the rain and wind. So, I hope you get out to enjoy that. If you are traveling today, the usual spots, including the west coast will see some delays. A storm rolling into the pacific northwest with a blizzard watch posted for parts of California. We'll talk more about the pictures that came in with the damage and the storms across the Carolinas at the top of the hour. John and Kiran back up to you.
ROBERTS: These cherry trees just can't catch a break this year, can they?
MARCIANO: No. They got hit hard with the winter storms and then just maybe about a week of prettiness, and I think after today and tomorrow, it's going to be done.
CHETRY: I feel like that always happens. We get one little tiny trickery of, hey, spring may be early and then sun's out and the cherry blossoms come out and then boom. The rain.
MARCIANO: Mother Nature is a cruel jokester. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Drops the hammer all the time. Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: See you, guys.
ROBERTS: This morning's top stories just minutes away now including breaking news out of Russia. Explosions terrain (ph) through the Moscow subways terrorizing the city. Imagine what it would be like if the metro stop by our nation's capital was hit. That's what it's like in Moscow right now. Our Matthew Chance will be live to set the scene for us.
CHETRY: Also at three minutes after, President Obama on his way home from Afghanistan after a surprise stop reminding the troops why they are there, but will this visit get the Afghan government to shape up?
ROBERTS: And at 40 minutes after, only superman could have done it cheaper. We'll talk to the man who took these incredible pictures. These incredible pictures, tell you what, they're so special, we're going to save and them and we're going to show to you later.
CHETRY: Aren't these incredible? The pictures are incredible.
ROBERTS: Just imagine if you will. He did it with the balloon and digital cam and some duct tape.
CHETRY: Sounds like MacGyver to me.
ROBERTS: Duct tape is the best stuff in the world. Those story and -- since we don't have the photo of him, we'll show you the picture of the space shuttle. Why not? Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour as we blast off toward a short commercial break, and we'll be right back.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 56 minutes past the hour. Time for Jeanne Moos. A new twist on an old game. Whack a kitty has become quite an internet sensation.
ROBERTS: The name sounds, of course, just plain wrong, but even the biggest pet lovers admit that it's far more cute than controversial. Here's Jeanne Moos with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know that old arcade game whack a mole. Holy Moly, look what it spawned?
UNKNOWN MALE: It's time to play Whack-A- Kitty.
MOOS: Maybe you're asking yourself, am I allowed to laugh at this?
ROBERT BELLUSO, CO-CREATOR, WHACK-A-KITTY: No kittens were harmed in the making of this video.
MOOS: Family doctor, Robert Belluso of Monongahela, Pennsylvania made the video. Now, Whack-A- Kitty has gone viral with hundreds of thousands of views. Animal websites have gone batty over it. Comments are almost all favorable. I just cried laughing. Weird about funny. One website called it a case of cruel and unusual cuteness.
MOOS (on-camera): Now, maybe some of you out there think it's just not nice to Whack-A -Kitty
MOOS (voice-over): And maybe you would like to whack a reporter just because I'm telling you this story. As one person posted, what kind of sick so and so are you? Time to call Peta. But we called the people for the ethical treatment of animals and even they didn't mind. The video is cute. We don't see any abuse. Though, Robert has been subjected to occasional abuse for this.
BELLUSO: They want to kill me.
MOOS: On the web, cats have turned the tables. Tink here tried to whack a fake mouse. One website compiled the five best Whack-A- Kittens. Though, the cats were the ones doing the whacking from fingers to our favorite whack a ferret and we mean a real ferret. As for the five stars of Whack-A -Kitty, Timothy here was the last one waiting to be adopted, whether it's a cat whacking a ferret or kitties being whacked by humans. The cats aren't commenting as they say, the cats could talk, they wouldn't.
Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: How long did it take her to make that box?
ROBERTS: I like the whack a reporter. Sarah Palin holds the world record for that.
CHETRY: That's true. We're going to be talking about that a little later today as well.
ROBERTS: Two minutes to the top of hour. Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us.
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