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Michigan Militia Members Arrested for Plotting Against Law Enforcement and Government; Bullied to Death: Nine Students Arrested for Teen's Suicide; Student Loans From Uncle Sam; A Soldier's Graduation Day

Aired March 30, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks so much for joining us on this Tuesday, the 30th of March -- one more day in the month to go.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And a rainy one at that for many people. Here are the big stories this morning -- a tense standoff in Michigan last night. A ninth suspected member of an anti-government militia arrested. The FBI says the group was plotting to kill cops.

We're live on the ground in Michigan as state and federal authorities wrap up a three-day raid.

ROBERTS: A dreary deja vu in the Northeast. Yet another storm blasting its way up the eastern seaboard and threatening to dump up to seven inches of rain. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on the storm.

CHETRY: And the holding pattern at the TSA continues, a key security post still empty. It has been every day of the Obama administration, and the White House can't seem to get the nominee right. Another one just pulled out of the running. We're live in Washington with a look at why it's taking so long.

And of course, the "A.M. Fix" blog is up and running. We want to hear from you about what's interesting you in the news this morning. Go to CNN.com/amfix.

ROBERTS: Developing right now, the ninth man accused of belonging to an anti-government militia is behind bars. Joshua Matthew Stone is due in court today. The FBI says he is part of his father's so-called Christian Warrior Militia, the Hutaree. Eight others, including Stone's father, are also in custody.

The group is accused of plotting to kill police officers, and their website says they were preparing for the coming of the anti- Christ. CNN's special investigations correspondent Drew Griffin is live with our security watch. Good morning, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John. It's very interesting to hear the conversation you had with the militia member from Michigan because it was this group based not far from here in Adrian, Michigan, that was actually planning according to the government to have other militia men join them in their fight against the government.

Here's what they were plotting. They would kill a police officer. Somehow then plant IEDs along the funeral procession and blow up more police officers, and then slink back in the woods fighting a defensive war against the government, and they would hope other militiamen would come to them.

All of this a shock to the people in Adrian who couldn't believe this was being planned under their noses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: They are frightening videos, training for assaults and firing weapons. All the more scary to Jane and Bruce Holey, who found out about the Hutaree from news reports, went to a Web site and looked them up and literally saw their neighbors practicing war on tape.

BRUCE HOLEY, LIVED NEAR ALLEGED MILITIA MEMBERS: There's things on the Web site showing this training, and it's obviously, we can pick out landmarks, done in our neighborhood.

GRIFFIN (on camera): So this training or military filming that they were doing, although you didn't know it was happening, it was happening right here.

BRUCE HOLEY: It was happening right there.

JANE HOLEY, LIVED NEAR ALLEGED MILITIA MEMBERS: An done shot is them walking down the street with their guns and everything. How did we not know?

GRIFFIN (voice-over): What they didn't know was that members of the Hutaree militia allegedly were preparing for a major battle against their own country. Describing themselves as Christian warriors, they have used their Web site to declare war on law enforcement and all foot soldiers of the federal government.

According to that Web site, they are driven by biblical teachings they believe command Christians to take up arms in defense of one true church of Christ. How attacking the federal government fits into that plan is unclear.

This weekend authorities moved in on this set of trailers in a rural corner of Michigan and arrested 45-year-old David Brian Stone, the man identified as the group's leader, also known as Captain Hutaree. Stone's wife Tina was also arrested as was his 19-year-old son David Brian Stone, Jr.

All told, eight members of the group were rounded up over the weekend. The ninth, Joshua Matthew Stone, arrested Monday night. Prosecutors allege the group was plotting to kill a police officer then set off bombs at the funeral in order to kill even more law enforcement agents.

David Brian Stone's ex-wife was not surprised by his arrest.

DONNA STONE, EX-WIFE OF ALLEGED MILITIA LEADER: He's got a temper and he can get radical and he wants things done his way.

GRIFFIN: But the younger Stone's fiancee said he had done nothing wrong.

BRITTANY BRYANT, FIANCEE OF ALLEGED MILITIA MEMBER: Once we had a baby together and we got engaged, he stopped doing it for a while.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: John Josh Stone, the man arrested last night, should be in court today. The rest of them will be back in court tomorrow. Hopefully we can find out more about what they were planning and, I think more importantly, what their real capability was in carrying out this bizarre plot.

ROBERTS: As the militia leader we talked to earlier, he didn't know about the capability of the entire militia, but thought the leader was somewhat of a wildcard. Drew Griffin for us this morning. Drew, thanks so much.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, a day of mourning in Russia after investigators say that female suicide bombers attacked two subway stations in Moscow and 38 people were killed in yesterday's attack. Russia's federal security service says that Chechen rebels are responsible for the bloodshed.

ROBERTS: Right now at Mt. Shasta in California, crews are waking for a break in the weather to resume their search for a missing hiker. The man is believed to be near the 14,000 foot high peak. His hiking companion was rescued yesterday after making his way down the mountain for help.

CHETRY: Also, state and federal disease detectives are in Georgia right now investigating a spike in the number of people hospitalized with the H1N1 virus. In the first two weeks of this month, officials say 70 to 80 people have gone to the hospital because of H1N1.

ROBERTS: And one step closer to no mail on Saturdays. Today the U.S. Postal Service will file a plan to cut one day a week from the delivery schedule by early 2011. The move is a way to cut debt and save the agency $5.1 billion by the year 2020.

CHETRY: Are you ready for Verizon iPhone? According to "The Wall Street Journal," Apple plans to unveil two new iPhones this summer, including one that could work on the Verizon network.

ROBERTS: A state of emergency declared in Massachusetts. A storm is threatening to dump up to seven inches of rain flooding roads and basements. Already more than 11 inches of rain have fallen in Boston this month, making it the wettest March on record.

(WEATHER BREAK) ROBERTS: Nine students in western Massachusetts face criminal charges right now for allegedly bullying a 15-year-old classmate so badly that she committed suicide. Up next, an attorney and expert on cyber bullying has interesting insights in the torment that Phoebe Prince was forced to endure and the sentenced faced by the students who are charged with bullying her.

CHETRY: Also, at 7:25 Eastern time, training day is over. Now it's time for graduation day. Part seven of our continuing "A.M." original series, "A Soldier's Story." We're with our recruit on the biggest day so far in his army career.

ROBERTS: And at 7:30, the big unveiling of the new Chevy Volt. Will it put a charge in the U.S. auto industry or fizzle out? The head man at GM joins us in just a moment to show off the new electric car. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

We're following latest in a very disturbing story, the tragic case of bullying that led to a suicide of a Massachusetts high schooler according to allegations from the district attorney. Nine teenagers indicted yesterday for allegedly tormenting this little girl, 15-year-old phoebe prince so relentlessly she committed suicide.

The charges include criminal harassment, stalking, statutory rape, and violation of civil rights. We wanted to dig deeper into the story now with Parry Aftab, the executive director of Wiresafety.org, and she follows cyber bullying and other aspects of this. Thanks for being with us this morning, Parry.

I want to give people a back story of these allegations, this is a girl who recently moved to this town South Hadley, Massachusetts, from Ireland. According to students, she was called names online, books were knocked out of her hands, items were flung at her face, scribbled out of photographs at the school, got threatening text messages, and was so tormented, the D.A. alleges she took her own life because of that.

PARRY AFTAB, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WIREDSAFETY.ORG: She did. They were throwing bottles and full cans at her. This child was being tortured pretty much from the time she started at the school.

CHETRY: Why do they say this was happening?

AFTAB: She was too pretty. A lot of the other girls were upset their boyfriends were interested in her. There was a lot of mean girls that started that way but turned into physical violence.

That's interesting because Phoebe didn't even have her own Facebook page. She was tormented online because the other kids were using it as a way to organize the torment better against her.

CHETRY: And according to what the D.A. said, she was called an Irish slut, a whore, and this was on these Facebook pages, and after her death apparently there were still nasty messages?

AFTAB: There were four memorial pages set up by her friends in honor of Phoebe, saying how much they loved and missed her, and these bullies went online and trashed those.

We need to remember, these are not just words. The words were horrible and demeaning and really hurt, I think enough to cause the suicide. But she was physically tormented and assaulted.

CHETRY: A lot of people are weighing in on our blog, saying why did the school sit back? What did the school do?

AFTAB: The school brought in a bullying expert about a year ago. They also said they were going to put together groups to look in the situation. But the school didn't do enough at all. Somebody was either asleep at the switch or some of these kids got preferential treatment.

CHETRY: And speaking of the kids, the statutory rape charges, she was involved with two of these boys that were charged?

AFTAB: I don't know the full facts, but there were statutory rape charges made from this D.A., who knows what she's doing, there had to have been sexual relations, and there was too large of an age difference between the boys and Phoebe for her to be able to give consent.

It doesn't mean they forced her, it just means by law she was too young to legally give consent.

CHETRY: In Massachusetts, it's anybody under the age of 16 and under can't give consent. But those statutory rape charges carry potential life sentences.

AFTAB: They are very serious. If convicted, they will be registered sex offenders. So even if they get out of jail, they'll be tagged with this for the rest of their lives. This is very serious.

And the thing I love about it is this district attorney stood up and said not on my watch and took it very seriously, and she's sending a message to this town and all towns that if you start doing this kind of thing you'll be held accountable.

CHETRY: What about the parents? How much did they try to bring this to the attention of the school? How much did other adults including her parents and educators know?

AFTAB: The educators knew everything. We had at least two teachers who tried to step in and four students who tried to step in but didn't know how. We had a school that knew about it, had been reported to the school. These people knew about it but did nothing. And that's inexcusable. It may not be criminal but it's certainly going to be something that's actionable.

I expect the school system and many of the individuals are going to be sued. There is at least $8 million judgment that came against the school in a similar situation in Florida. Look for big numbers here.

CHETRY: What about the parents of the children that are facing these charges right now? I mean, are parents unaware of what their children do when they're not at the home or does bullying start at the home, thinking it's OK to treat a person that you deem weak in a cruel way?

AFTAB: Well, you know, there's no one answer here. It depends on the kids. It depends on whether they felt they were forced into it. These parents are all shocked. They probably think that their kids are now being victimized, but kids have to be accountable, whether we love them or not. They have certain rules in society. And these kids acted outside of those rules.

And from what I understand, it may not have been the first time that they were doing that. And there have been allegations, I don't know how real they are, that these kids were favored and the school may have looked aside because there was some type of favoritism because of who they were.

CHETRY: All right. Parry Aftab from Cybersecurity.org -- WiredSafety.org, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

AFTAB: No problem. You go to stop cyberbullying.org, one of our sites to learn a lot more about how to protect your kids any time.

CHETRY: We'll link that up with our Web site for sure. Thanks so much.

AFTAB: Thank you.

CHETRY: Have a lot of comments, by the way, coming in on the live blog right now. Ron writes that the teachers if they knew what was going on should be just as guilty as the students. Somebody else wrote that really putting a stop to cyber bullying needs to start with bystanders who say this is not acceptable and to stand up. That comes from Dale.

So a lot of comments this morning. Please keep them coming. What do you think should happen to the nine children under arrest? Go to CNN.com/amFIX and leave a comment on our blog.

It's 17 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes now after the hour, and Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business." And we're going to change it up just a little bit. We don't want you to ever get complacent with what we're doing here in the morning show.

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

ROBERTS: We're going to start with the "Romans' Numeral."

ROMANS: And the "Romans' Numeral" is $22,375. What (INAUDIBLE) do you think you could spend that kind of money on routinely in this country?

ROBERTS: Average amount of debt that the student at private college --

ROMANS: Yes, John, that because you went to college, I put it right there on the bottom. The median student debt at a private college in this country.

Look, most people graduate with all of this student debt and the president is saying that in this country the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world you shouldn't have to go broke trying to get education. He has set -- he has set a goal of the year 2010 to have the highest proportion of its students going to college. And today, the president is going to sign more of this health bill stuff that includes a big overhaul of how you go college and how you pay for it. In fact, taking out the middleman in the student loan business and making the government the one-stop shop for federal student loans.

Here are the new choices that the White House -- that will be law actually. If you enroll in college in 2014 or later, your debt, when you graduate, your payments will be only 10 percent of your income. You will not be one of these people who pays $850 a month in student loan payments any more, eating up more than half your income. It will forgive the remaining debt after 20 years. So you're going to pay religiously for 20 years and after that the debt will be forgiven. And if you become a nurse or a firefighter, or a teacher or a police officer or any number of careers in public service, after 10 years your debt, your student debt will be forgiven.

The idea here is that you shouldn't penalize people going who are going into lower paid categories and lower paid fields that are important for the country and important for the growth of the country and only reward those people who get this really high dollar degrees and the like.

So a real vast change here. Some people worry about how we're going to pay for it. The government says we're going to pay for it by taking out those middlemen, stop paying billions of dollars in subsidies to other companies to administer these programs. Others are a little concerned. How is the government going to quickly do this and do this efficiently? But this is what the goal is. The president is going to talk about it more today.

ROBERTS: Just gave me a great idea.

ROMANS: What?

ROBERTS: Well, we're talking yesterday about the lack of primary care physicians in this country.

ROMANS: Right.

ROBERTS: Maybe make that a public service.

ROMANS: Maybe. You know, I will check. Maybe primary care -- nurses specifically on the list from the White House but I'll see maybe --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: You were just saying like pay their way --

ROBERTS: We forgot those heart surgeons.

CHETRY: You know, pay their way so that they then do service much like, you know, the GI bill.

ROMANS: There are some programs actually that do help pay student debt of doctors if they go into public service in very underserved neighborhoods, but it's a smaller program. Yes.

ROBERTS: Take a look at it.

ROMANS: Sure.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Kiran.

Twenty-three minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Top stories just a couple of minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.

Over the past several months, the Army has given us incredible access to follow recruit Will McLain through basic and also advanced training. And he is now headed to Fort Stewart Georgia.

ROBERTS: But today, we're with Will for graduation day. And Jason Carroll is here with part seven of our "A.M. Original" series "A Soldier's Story".

Good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

CHETRY: He made it.

CARROLL: He made it, right. It's been a long time coming.

CHETRY: Right.

CARROLL: It's been a long time. You know, he's met all of the qualifications. All of the hard work and discipline for Will McLain has finally paid off. But that was not the case for everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next, come on over.

CARROLL (voice-over): When Will McLain looks in the mirror these days, he sees a different person. In his 15 weeks of training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he's dropped 54 pounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off the ground.

CARROLL: He tackled the physical challenges, the mental, the psychological and completed weapons qualifications.

Now, the day has come for Will and the other members of his company to graduate and move onto their next assignments. Will is ready.

WILL MCLAIN, U.S. ARMY: I want nothing to do with Missouri. I want out of here.

CARROLL: This is the last time members of Alpha Company 35th Engineer Battalion will stand together.

(on camera): Right now, we're backstage as Will is about to go through his ceremony just a few minutes. Will, how are you feeling?

W. MCLAIN: I'm feeling good. It's good to finally be here. You know, like after starting out you wait so long for it and now it's finally here. We're graduating here and moving on.

CARROLL: Any butterflies for any of you guys?

UNIDENTIFIED MALES: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't wait to get this over with.

W. MCLAIN: Yes.

CARROLL (voice-over): Will knows his family won't be there to share in his accomplishment. The cost of travel from California too much.

LORI MCLAIN, MOTHER: We should have been there.

CARROLL: So we showed Will's mother the tape.

L. MCLAIN: Will looked great in that video. Looks very proud, like he achieved something that was all him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Private William McLain, Rosamond, California.

CARROLL: But it was another soldier Will missed on this day as he received his combat engineer crest, his battle buddy, Demitrius Daniels, the recruit assigned to him for every step of training back in the barracks.

DEMETRIUS DANIELS, BATTLE BUDDY: Disappointed I wasn't able to participate, but hopefully everything will pull through in my favor.

CARROLL: His graduation hanging in the balance. Daniels was disciplined for disarming an alarm to sneak off base to play pool. His future plans continuing on with Will to Fort Stewart now uncertain. DANIELS: Very immature decision. Definitely if I could turn back the hands of time, wouldn't have actually did it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, McLain. Congratulations.

CARROLL (on camera): Does it hurt when you think about Will, your battle buddy, and some of the other guys going through what they went through today?

DANIELS: Yes. Definitely the hardest part is disappointing myself, drill sergeants and people who have faith in me.

W. MCLAIN: We all make mistakes. Hopefully, he'll be all right for me. You know, he's a smart kid. He just made a bad choice.

CARROLL (voice-over): As Will says his goodbyes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. McLain, congratulations.

W. MCLAIN: Thank you, drill sergeant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

W. MCLAIN: I appreciate the training.

CARROLL: He can't leave without thanking Drill Sergeant Rix.

DRILL SGT. JOSEPH RIX, U.S. ARMY: Get outside and get him in here. Move.

CARROLL: Who pushed him and the others every step of the way.

W. MCLAIN: He screamed at me once. But they're just doing their job.

RIX: You know, you really get to see people transform and become soldiers. And it does give you a lot of pride in what you do.

Dismissed.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIERS: Yes, drill sergeant. Move, drill sergeant.

CARROLL: After 15 weeks, Will McLain and the others leave as soldiers. Will's new life as a combat engineer is about to begin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Well, 174 recruits started, 156 graduated. According to his superiors, Demetrius Daniels is considered a good soldier with very strong skills. I'm told that we'll be taken into account while the Army decides his fate.

CHETRY: That, though, that -- you know, that error in judgment caused him being able to graduate with Will and they work so hard together. CARROLL: Yes, it's really too bad. But you know, he learned a valuable lesson. And in terms of speaking to them who are out there. They tell me that that will be taken into account. So maybe that leads us to believe that he will be there with Will at Ft. Stewart. We'll see. We'll let you know.

ROBERTS: Too bad he didn't think more about it before he did, but should have, could have, would have, I guess.

CARROLL: But you know, (INAUDIBLE) remind that these guys are young. They are very young and they make mistakes like we all do when we were young.

ROBERTS: Jason, great piece. See you back here again tomorrow. Yes.

Because coming up tomorrow, Jason's got the next installment in our series. It's back to basic training with a brand-new recruit, her name is Latricia Rose. We're following this wife and mom as she starts her new life in uniform. That's "A Soldier's Story" tomorrow, right here on the most news in the morning.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's half past the hour right now. Time for a look at our top stories. Many homeowners are afraid they'll lose everything again. It's been raining now for more than a day in the northeast. Forecasters say the third major storm this month has at least another day and a half in it before it moves offshore. There's a state of emergency in Massachusetts. Neighboring Rhode Island may be under the biggest threat with the National Weather Service predicting serious and life threatening flooding of the Pawtucket River.

The a ninth person accused in an anti-government militia plot is due in court today. The FBI says the 21-year-old Joshua Matthew Stone is part of a group called the Hutaree. Eight others, including Stone's father said to be the group's leader are also in custody. The feds say they are plotting to kill a police officer and then set off explosives during the funeral to kill even more officers.

And federal investigators are so baffled by the cause of Toyota's runaway cars they are turning to NASA for help. The transportation officials saying that they plan to ask space agency scientists to answer their questions about Toyota's software, hardware and other potential electronics issues. A panel from the National Academy of Sciences will also begin a 15-month review of vehicle electronics and incidents of unintended acceleration across the auto industry. John.

ROBERTS: Well, the 2010 New York City Auto Show kicks off tomorrow and the folks at General Motors are hoping that everyone gets all charged up over the new Chevy Volt. The electric car is set to hit showrooms later on this year. There it is, right outside our headquarters here. It first debuted as a concept car back in 2007 at the Detroit Auto Show. And three years later there it is, the final product. Here to show off the Volt is Bob Lutz, the retiring vice chairman of General Motors. Bob, great to see you this morning. We really wanted to be outside to see the car. BOB LUTZ, GENERAL MOTORS, VICE CHAIRMAN: Yes, I know. It would have been great to do a walk around on the car but it's pouring out there. We won't have enjoyed it.

ROBERTS: It's an electric car, it's OK in the rain?

LUTZ: It's obviously fine in the rain. But it's electric for 40 miles and then as you hit the depleted stage of the battery, the gasoline engine kicks in and gives you another 250 miles which is what makes it such a great flexible car.

ROBERTS: Now you have called this General Motors' finest achievement. And auto writers during the bad times at General Motors went through last year were saying that this could be the car that saves GM. Is it going to be?

LUTZ: Well, I think GM is saved any way. But I certainly think it's going to reestablish our reputation for advanced technology. I think every auto maker on the planet is going to be adapting this kind of technology. That is an electric vehicle but with the range as extended so that you don't get stuck if you deplete the battery.

ROBERTS: Now, for folks at home who might not know the difference between a parallel hybrid and a series hybrid, which this is, a parallel hybrid is the Prius, what's the difference?

LUTZ: Well, in a parallel hybrid, the gasoline engine in the electric drive constantly interact with each other, depending on the demands of the car. And then when you're cruising on the highway, a parallel hybrid is almost constantly running on the gasoline engine.

In the case of the Volt, which is an extreme series hybrid, you're basically running on battery and electrical power all the time. And then when you reach the end of the battery charge in the case of the Volt after 40 miles, the gasoline engine kicks in. It never drives the car. It only charges the generator which recharges the battery so that you can keep going.

ROBERTS: Now we're looking at -- I guess this is the power --

(CROSSTALK)

LUTZ: This is the power flow. That big T-shaped thing in the middle is symbolic of the battery. We have various screens where you can check the power flows, check the state of charge and see what the battery is doing, check the systems on the car and so forth.

ROBERTS: Right.

LUTZ: And then in the screen in front of the driver, it's not lit up right now, but in the screen in front of the driver, while you're driving -- oh yes, there you see that over on the right. You see the batteries --

ROBERTS: Yes, it's like a gas meter. LUTZ: That's like a gas gauge. And when you get to the end of the battery charge that symbol is replaced by a gas pump which then shows you the amount of gasoline you've got left.

ROBERTS: And we should mention to folks at home that this is a plug-in hybrid as well. At the end of the day, you come home, you plug it in the wall.

LUTZ: Actually with a 40-mile electric range, we don't refer to it as a hybrid. We call it an electric vehicle with an extended range when you need it. It takes -- either a 110 charge or it will take eight to nine hours for a full charge if you run it on 220, it takes two and a half to three hours. There you see the charging port cover which looks like a --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Just basically like a gas filler cap.

LUTZ: Yes, like a gas filler cap.

ROBERTS: So it costs about a dollar, you think, to charge it up?

LUTZ: It depends. You'll be able to set the computer on the car to where you plug it in. If you know your electricity rates in your area, can you set it to where it will charge at your minimum rate, say you're off peak or let's say from 1:00 in the morning until 6:30 in the morning, so it can be about a dollar, it can be less.

ROBERTS: So a lot of people might say OK, 40-mile range strictly electric before (INAUDIBLE) starts running the generator that starts to charge it back up again. That might not seem, you know, when particularly in a city like Los Angeles to be far enough to do a commute purely on electric. Are you trying to extend that out with new battery technology?

LUTZ: Well --

ROBERTS: -- as time goes on.

LUTZ: A new battery technology will obviously -- I think in the next couple of three years lithium ion batteries will progress to a point where you'll at least double the energy storage which give you 80 miles. But the 40 miles actually do cover the commuting needs of 78 percent of Americans and you can extend the electric range but then your price goes up, your weight goes up.

ROBERTS: What about the -- speaking of the price, it's ball park around $40,000 and government rebate of $7,500?

LUTZ: Well, that's a point. We're expecting a $7,500 approximately federal rebate. Some states are talking about incentives. Many progressive companies are out --

ROBERTS: Well, Chinese manufacturer BYD is thinking of bringing a plug-in hybrid in for low 20s. Will you be able to compete with that?

LUTZ: We shall see.

ROBERTS: Yes.

LUTZ: So far, that's mostly (INAUDIBLE) but they may ultimately have a car.

ROBERTS: Now, as we said, you're retiring from General Motors after a long, long career. And when you look back over the troubles that the car company ran into last year, the federal bailout, the anger of taxpayers of having to bailout an entity like General Motors, now it's getting back on its feet. You're predicting profitability in 2011 -- maybe --

LUTZ: We never predict profitability. We have a hope and a reasonable expectation.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: So I mean, how is the company going to go forward? Can taxpayers be confident they're not going to have to bail it out again?

LUTZ: I think everybody is supremely confident about General Motors. You know, over the past years it wasn't that the products weren't good, it was that we ran out of cash. Now --

ROBERTS: The whole business model had problems.

LUTZ: Which is why we ran out of cash. But it was sort of -- we had about a 30-year period there from 1970 to 2000 where we did not do a really great job of running the car business. But now we're back, we're refocused. I tell you what happened, the company lost its focus on the customer. We were all -- everybody was looking at internal goals, which is the wrong way to run the business.

We are now radically focused on the customer. We're doing great cars which have fantastic acceptance. And in terms of quality we can match anybody in the world in terms of styling and features, I think we beat everybody. This company is going to be just fine. And of course, post bankruptcy, we no longer have all those legacy burdens.

ROBERTS: We'll see if it works. Bob Lutz, great to see you this morning. Thanks for bringing in the car. Again, I wish we could have been outside.

LUTZ: Yes, me too. Next time.

ROBERTS: Next time, take care.

The White House's search for a leader at the Transportation Security Administration stalls again. Who is going to be the top security agent for transportation? And when will that person come along? We'll find out. Thirty-nine minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Forty-two minutes past the hour. You know, for more than a year now, there has been a big hole at the top of an agency created to keep terrorists off planes and keep us safe. The help wanted sign is still out at the TSA after President Obama's second nominee to lead it, Retired General Robert Harding, withdrew from consideration Friday.

With so many unanswered questions about safety and security, why hasn't the administration been able to get this one right? Well, Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live for us in Washington. What are your sources telling you about this latest nominee, you know, appointee to step down?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, the TSA is in charge of rail security too. In yesterday's bombings in Moscow, just another reminder of how critical this position is. The White House, in fact, has called it the most important unfilled job in government.

Former Army General turned businessman Robert Harding withdrew his name from nomination Friday night issuing a very brief statement which said in part "I feel that the distractions caused by my work as a defense contractor would not be good for this administration nor for the Department of Homeland Security. It was a shocker, Kiran, during confirmation hearings last week.

Questions about over billing on a government contract had been asked and answered. But "The Washington Post" reports that it discovered a $100 million government contract which Harding's company won after he certified that he was a service disabled veteran. His disability, sleep apnea. It was after "the Post" asking questions that Harding withdrew. Of course, there's a lot of guessing going on in Washington but the White House won't speculate on when it will next nominate someone for the post or who it could be. Kiran.

CHETRY: You know, I mean, it's a tough situation for them. They are 14 months now into the Obama presidency and is anyone really to blame for this critical post still not being filled?

MESERVE: Well, there's probably blame to go around, Kiran. It took eight months for the administration to nominate Errol Southers for the post. His nomination was held up for months by Senator Jim DeMint over the issue of unionizing TSA workers. Then it came to light that decades earlier Southers had inappropriately accessed law enforcement records to check out a man his ex-wife was dating. So he withdrew.

Harding was nominated very quickly after Southers' withdrawal. But one unanswered question is whether the White House knew about his classifying sleep apnea as a disability. If it did, why was he nominated? If it did not, why didn't the vetting process catch it. Kiran.

CHETRY: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning on this issue, thanks so much.

MESERVE: You bet.

ROBERTS: Heavy rains, high winds in the northeast as we saw, which is why we couldn't go out to see the new Chevy Volt right now. Look at it coming down on the radar. The northeast bracing for record flooding. Some of the rivers are swollen to their breaking point in Rhode Island and New Jersey. It could be a lot of problems. Rob Marciano is tracking the forecast for us and he's got the very latest coming right up. Stay with us.

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ROBERTS: Yikes. Not a very nice day in Providence, Rhode Island this morning. Lovely town, hate the weather, rain and 46 right now. Later on today, heavy rain with a high of 52. But the temperature is not really what matters, it's the rain.

Rob Marciano tracking the forecast for us from Atlanta this morning. Another northeast -- another nor'easter. What's going on, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More rain, especially for New England. It looks like Jersey is not seeing as much heavy rain as folks in, say, Rhode Island and the Massachusetts, but you saw that shot of Providence, Rhode Island.

Well, just south of there in Cranston they are evacuating along the Pawtuxet River where it's expected to crack in (ph) 16.1 feet at midnight tonight. The record stage is 15 feet, so they do expect it to be worse than the flooding just about two weeks ago, not good news for the folks who are evacuating for the second time in the month of March.

Record rainfall for the month for both Providence and Boston, and we may set a record for New York City as well as this rainfall continues to come down.

There is your low. We've got to get it out here before we start to wind this moisture down. You'd see it's all coming up from the south, and the rainfall is going to be heavy at times, especially the I-95 corridor from New York to Boston.

Also, the wind, it is just nasty out there this morning. In some cases the rain is blowing sideways. Some of the -- at the airport from New York up to Boston, winds gusting to about 30 to 39 miles an hour, so you bet that's going to slow down some of the airports today across this corridor.

Boston, New York, D.C. metros, Philly as well, rain and wind, and also rain out in San Francisco, this powerful storm coming into the intermountain west. High wind warnings posted. It's going to be nasty here.

We're starting to see a shift in the weather pattern, a trough building out west, and this trough which is bringing the cool to wet weather across the northeast, that will be shifting towards the east and that will allow warmer, drier air to build in as -- as we get towards the end of the week and in towards the weekend. But until we get rid of this rain, which isn't going to be until at least later today and these rivers are going to -- not going to crest at least tonight, flooding is certainly going to be the main problem here over the next 48 hours.

John, Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: Wow. Just unreal how quickly this happened right on top of the other one that was so devastating for -- for many people up and down the northeast.

MARCIANO: The good news is we don't see much rain after this for at least a few days. So just try to get through the next couple days.

ROBERTS: All right, Rob. Thanks.

CHETRY: You know, we've been getting a lot of comments on our live blog about the story about the suicide in Massachusetts, the girl who prosecutors say basically was bullied to the point of suicide.

David Stuart -- Swart writes, "I lost a son in 2007 to suicide. Parents, teachers and the public as a whole need to realize the times are changing. It used to be confined to just harassment at school but now with e-mail, texting, and cell phones, it father -- follows kids no matter where they go."

ROBERTS: Yes, but we (ph) talked too about the fact that school officials apparently were aware of this, but -- but didn't do much about it, some people weighing in on this.

But listen to this one from Ron who's got personal experience with all of this. He says, "I was bullied in high school when I was 15. That was 20 years ago. The major difference between now and then is it seems the school faculty and administrators don't seem to care anymore.

It's a sad day for America when a school cancels a prom because a lesbian student can't wear a tuxedo and an entire district can't stop the excessive torture of a young girl from Ireland leading to her suicide. Those students should be punished to the fullest extent of the law and sent away for a long time. Maybe then they will learn."

CHETRY: And a different opinion. Melon writes, "How do you know she wasn't mentally unstable before? Suicide's never an option. You're assuming the bullying is the direct cause. There's no evidence of that," and then people weighing in.

Dan writes to Melon, "Do you have a heart? This young girl was physically and mentally abused by peers who also do not have a heart. Where is your morality?"

So, generating a lot of conversation on the blog this morning.

ROBERTS: Yes, and keep it going for us this morning. Cnn.com/amfix. Join the conversation. Tell us what you think.

CHETRY: This morning's top stories are just a couple of minutes away, including at five minutes past the hour, the RNC picking up the tab for a donors' night at a strip S&M type club, and what a night it was, $2,000 worth of meals, according to the bill.

Now both sides want to know who knew about this.

ROBERTS: And it 50 minutes after the hours, a new standard for high standards. We will tell you the university that is almost impossible to get into.

Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-five minutes past the hour. Time for your "A.M. House Call", stories about your health this morning.

Health officials in Georgia are investigating an increase in the number of people hospitalized with the swine flu virus in the southeast. In the first two weeks of March alone, Georgia had 70 to 80 people hospitalized with H1N1. That's the most since last September's fears of swine flu outbreaks.

Well, the FDA meets today to investigate the harm of menthol cigarettes. Critics say that the minty cigarettes mask the harsh taste of cigarettes and are specifically marketed to young and black smokers, who have the highest rates of smoking related disease.

Although a ban is unlikely, the FDA could demand lower methol levels, added warnings or even higher prices.

And President Obama will be in Northern Virginia today. He's giving a final signature to his health care fixes bill. The House approved it last Thursday although no Republicans backed the measure. Democrats say that the new law expands subsidies for lower and middle class families.

So we'll see how many more pens he has to use today, and a lot of pens to give away.

ROBERTS: It's -- it's a grand tradition (INAUDIBLE).

But back to the smoking thing, it's amazing when -- when you're, you know, in a city that's got a smoking ban in restaurants and bars like New York City or Los Angeles and so many other cities as well, if somebody lights up somewhere, it's, whoa, where's that coming from?

CHETRY: I know.

ROBERTS: And smokers always get really upset when I talk like this, but, you know, what a different world we live in now.

CHETRY: And -- and once you quit, it bothers you so much more, you know? You didn't notice it before. ROBERTS: If you -- you know, you go back in time and you think, how did you ever do that?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: We're back with your top stories this morning right after the break. Stay with us.

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