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American Morning
Life-Threatening Flood Risk in Northeast; More Students Expelled in Phoebe Prince's Death; New Offshore Oil Drilling Plans; To Buy or not to Buy?; The "Female Engagement TEAm"; TEA Party Women; Interview with Roxana Saberi; Robotic Therapy; Historic Flood Forecast
Aired March 31, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Wednesday morning to you, and thanks so much for being with us as we prepare to kiss March goodbye. It's the 31st. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. And we have a lot of big stories we're going to be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
Back to back storms now in the northeast have many, many areas on flood alert this morning. We're live along the Pawtuxet River. That's in Rhode Island and that could be ground zero in the story.
ROBERTS: Drilling down on the president's plan to open new areas along the East Coast to oil and gas development. Today, he's going to announce some major change in the rules regarding offshore drilling in an effort to boost domestic energy production. A live report from the White House just ahead.
CHETRY: And more Massachusetts teens kicked out of school. They're part of the clique accused of bullying Phoebe Prince, the 15- year-old girl who then killed herself. Nine students are now charged in the case. Alina Cho is live in South Hadley, Massachusetts, with Prince's family. They're calling this this morning a hate crime.
And, of course, the AMfix Blog is up and running so you can join the conversation right now. We want to hear from you about this story and all the others today. CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: But first, this morning, they are talking about flooding that could rewrite history. Right now, rivers are rising across the northeast. The bad case of deja vu for thousands of people. Many who aren't yet finished getting rid of everything that was ruined in the last storm.
In Rhode Island today, forecasters say the flooding will be serious and life threatening along the Pawtuxet River. The water could shatter records that have stood since before World War II. The National Guard is helping fill sandbags and building makeshift levees across Massachusetts. And it is now officially the wettest March ever, ever in the New York City area where the street gutters were streams and mudslides stopped the train, and major highways are completely washed out.
Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm for us which still had some punch left overnight. First, Reynolds Wolf, though, live along the Pawtucket River in Cranston, Rhode Island, this morning. What's it look like where you are, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, John, plain and simple. We have right now we still have a little but of that light mist that continues to fall and the waters continue to rise. To just give you and our viewers across America what's going on, I'm actually on Youlden (ph) Street near Cranston, Rhode Island. And right to my back, just way beyond the very stretch of the lights you have the Pawtuxet River and the whole river, of course, the waters have come right up here on the street.
Yesterday our crews were out here just surveying the site. And what you see here, this is actually a dry street but obviously the waters are coming through and it's still expected to rise. Now many of the places behind me, a lot of these buildings have been abandoned. The people have been evacuated, but it is not a mandatory evacuation, rather a voluntary evacuation. There are many people that are still holding out. Right now, we just hear the signs of, of course, the generators in the background. We certainly hear some birds and, of course, there is, again, the feeling of a lot of dread as these waters continue to rise up. It's certainly, though, not the only place that is dealing with those rising floodwaters, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): Hundreds of Rhode Island residents were forced in their homes by yet another torrential downpour, which the governor's office calls the worst in the state in at least a century.
MAYOR ALLAN FUNG, CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND: It absolutely is a record breaker.
WOLF: All across New England and the northeast, rivers are approaching record levels. But the one everyone is watching is the Pawtuxet River in Cranston, Rhode Island.
FUNG: A lot of it is historic right now. It's unprecedented. We're dealing with something that's been classified as a one in 500- year storm.
WOLF: It's expected to crest this morning at 20 feet, scary high, considering that's 11 feet above flood stage. The storm that just sat over the region for days dumped more than eight inches of rainfall in some areas that were already saturated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. It just started crashing in the solid windows like a waterfall, real bad. So we just said, you know what? I have to go.
WOLF: People were still trying to shake off the effects of the last nor'easter. Many people who had just cleaned all the moldy furniture and spoiled food lost power all over again.
RICK COGEAN, CRANSTON RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE) I mean, which is already -- throw the keys on the counter and walk out of the houses, you know. It's at that point now, you know. I mean, four of my neighbors down the street had U-haul trucks yesterday --
WOLF: It is now the wettest March on record here. Just north of Massachusetts, a state of emergency this morning. National Guard soldiers are filling sandbags. The governor says almost every river in the Commonwealth is at risk right now. And just outside New York City, police officers saved a 77-year-old man who is up to his neck in water inside his submerged pickup after driving around a barricade.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: You know what they need is they need a break in terms of the forecast. I'll tell you, Jacqui Jeras is coming up in a few moments to give you the very latest on the forecast what they can anticipate. And it looks like things will be a bit more favorable as we get a bit closer towards the weekend.
That's the latest. Let's send it back to you in New York.
ROBERTS: All right. I think they need bigger barricades as well. Reynolds Wolf for us this morning. Reynolds, thanks.
CHETRY: He's a lucky guy. That car was completely submerged in water.
ROBERTS: Very fortunate he got out.
CHETRY: Meantime, when is all of this going to get away? Jacqui Jeras has been tracking this monstrous storm from the extreme weather center and she joins us this morning.
Hey, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys. The worst of the weather is going to be pulling out today. But many of these rivers that are in flood and in major stage right now are going to stay in flood at least into the weekend. So even though some cresting is going to take place, this is going to continue to cause some major problems right through your Sunday.
Let's show you some more pictures here. Now the worst of the flooding really has been focused in Massachusetts, Connecticut, as well as Rhode Island. These pictures from Fall River, Massachusetts, and they're comparing the flooding here to August of 1955 when we had back to back hurricanes Connie and Diane that just devastated New England. So this is kind of a real historical perspective in many, many records have been shattered.
And this is the Pawtucket where we saw Reynolds Wolf, the Sudbury River in Saxonville, Massachusetts, also already shattering records this morning. It's up to 13.5 feet in that area. Now, I want to show you real quick on the maps, the record rainfall. You guys mentioned New York City where we had record rain for the month of March in Providence, Boston, Portland and Islip. And these records were beaten by like 12 inches. The rain will come to an end today. It will be heaviest in Maine and we'll watch for much drier weather and warmer weather. We're talking 70s in the northeast before the week is out -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Good change and we need it. Jacqui, thanks.
Well, now, to a story that we've been following here on AMERICAN MORNING, the story of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old Massachusetts teen who prosecutors say was relentlessly bullied until she took her own life.
"Boston Herald" is reporting two more Prince's accused classmates have been expelled. In all, nine students at South Hadley High School have been charged. Prosecutors say that it was a clik (ph) that attacked Prince for three months both online and in person.
Alina Cho is live in South Hadley, Massachusetts, this morning with the latest on the reaction of her family and also the community.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, good morning to you. We have canvassed this tiny town of South Hadley, population, 17,000. We've talked to parents. We've talked to close friends. And what is coming into focus this morning is a clearer picture about exactly who Phoebe Prince was, what may have led to the bullying and what happened in the moments before she took her own life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): By all accounts, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince was fun, approachable and popular. A pretty 15-year-old transplant from Ireland with a nice brow and a nice smile.
(on camera): Why on earth would people want to bully her?
NICK SHENAS, PHOEBE PRINCE'S FRIEND: Jealousy probably. I would imagine that they are all jealous of her because she got a lot of attention from people, positive attention.
CHO (voice-over): Nick Shenas was Prince's close friend and Paul Bearer at her funeral. He says the cryptic explanation the D.A. gave about why she was allegedly bullied.
ELIZABETH SCHEIBEL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Appears to be motivated by the group's displeasure with Phoebe's brief dating relationship with a male student.
CHO: To friends, it's clear.
SHENAS: It was just all a secret thing. I don't know.
CHO (on camera): They were dating in secret?
SHENAS: Yes.
CHO (voice-over): Shenas says Prince, a freshman, caught the eye of a senior, football player Sean Mulveyhill. The two started dating. But Mulveyhill, he says, already had a girlfriend, Kayla Narey, another student at South Hadley High School. If the two look familiar, that's because Mulveyhill and Narey are among the nine students facing criminal charges in connection with Prince's death.
(on camera): When you saw this on the front page of the "Boston Herald" today, what did you think?
DARBY O'BRIEN, PRINCE FAMILY SPOKESMAN: True. You know, that's been the fight since the beginning.
CHO (voice-over): Darby O'Brien is the spokesman for Prince's family.
O'BRIEN: The word bullying is probably not even accurate. I mean, really, when you look at what happened with her, it's persecution. I mean, this thing was a hate crime.
CHO: Prosecutors say verbal and physical abuse so severe every day and over several months that on January 14th Prince took her own life.
In addition to the taunts she allegedly endured in the hallways, in school library, in plain view of faculty, more details are emerging about her final walk home.
(on camera): She walked home.
O'BRIEN: A car went by and threw -- one of the girls threw an energy drink at her. And they yelled out of the car, you Irish shut, you Irish whore -- I mean, supposedly said, why don't you kill yourself.
CHO (voice-over): So when the 15-year-old arrived home.
O'BRIEN: She walked into her house, took a scarf that her sister had given her for Christmas and hung herself.
CHO: An act that not only ended her life but shattered the community. People like Shenas' mother, Susan Smith.
SUSAN SMITH, SHENAS MOTHER: I could not imagine it, honestly. It's unimaginable. And to happen in your own town a mile from your house, it's unimaginable.
CHO: How could this happen? Why didn't anyone stop it? Shenas says because Prince was able to hide behind her smile.
SHENAS: It was just like a sense of shock and disbelief, just that something like that could happen to a close friend.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: What is also becoming clear this morning is that bullying sadly appears to be part of the culture here. Generational, cyclical, some call it a deep rooted problem. A one-long time resident said to me the attitude here really is not in my town, not my kids. But that attitude, Kiran, appears to be shifting, appears to be changing this morning with the news of Phoebe Prince's death.
Of course, this happened two and a half months ago. But with the indictments of these nine kids, these kids' parents, everyone in this community really, they are reliving this nightmare again. And so many people I must tell you that I've spoken to are outraged by this. They are now calling for the superintendent and the principal of South Hadley High School to resign -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Alina Cho for us with the latest on this disturbing story. Thanks so much.
And although police say that school officials knew Phoebe Prince was being bullied, they won't be charged in this case. That's not good enough for some parents. They're calling for the superintendent and also the high school principal to step down.
Coming up at 7:30 Eastern, we're going to be joined by another father who says his daughter was also bullied by one of students charged in the Phoebe Prince case. We're going to hear what he thinks should be done.
ROBERTS: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, at 6:15, President Obama's new energy plan. He wants to expand offshore drilling for oil and gas along in the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. He's going to unveil the details later on this morning. We are live at the White House.
CHETRY: At 6:25, an "A.M. Original," America's female engagement TEAm. Two female Marines stationed deep in the heart of Helmand province in Afghanistan face-to-face with the enemy surrounded by roadside explosives. Their mission, to win the hearts and minds of the women of Afghanistan.
ROBERTS: And at 6:30 Eastern, the face of the TEA Party. A new poll suggests women make up a majority of the movement. We'll find out why they are drawn to TEA party politics.
It's coming up now on 12 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifteen minutes after the hour. In just a few hours' time, President Obama will unveil plans to expand oil and natural gas drilling off of the Atlantic coastline and in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposal calls for new offshore drilling from the tip of Delaware down to the central Florida coast.
Suzanne Malveaux is following developments. She's live at the White House for us. Good morning, Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
It's something that President Bush had tried to do before, and we heard that mantra, drill, baby drill. Well, that was coming from the McCain-Palin campaign, so it's unusual that we're hearing from this -- the Obama administration on offshore drilling. It's a very controversial proposal.
But here's what it looks like. Here are some of the areas that they're proposing be open for offshore drilling. We're talking on the East Coast from Delaware to Central Florida, and then also the Northern Coast of Alaska.
Now what's off-limits here -- they say they're not going to include this. This would be from New Jersey northward to Canada and then also the entire Pacific Coast, that from Mexico to Canada, including Alaska's Bristol Bay. All of those areas off-limits because they say, obviously, there's commercial fishery as well as tourism, that the environmental concerns trump this, and so they are trying to form a compromise, if you will, to open up some of these areas, John.
ROBERTS: So some people will be happy about this, other people not so much. What's the political impact for the White House?
MALVEAUX: It's a little too early to say what the political impact is because, obviously, as you know, there's a process to go through this -- applications, environmental testing to see if people will open the bids to see if they'll go ahead and even have interest in offshore drilling.
But let's assume that this does happen. If that's the case, clearly the environmentalist are not happy about this. There are also senators from various states along the coastline who've expressed concerns already from New Jersey, Maryland, Oregon, et cetera, so they're not happy with this either.
But it could -- it should not come as a complete surprise to them that this president is interested in offshore drilling. It's something that he had mentioned in the campaign, and he also pushed this idea in the State of the Union. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development, and, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So John, really, what's behind all of this, the president have kind of hinted and essentially that is getting comprehensive energy climate change reform passed in Congress. That is what he is trying to do.
The Senate is expected to take up that legislation before the mid-term election, sometime in the next couple of weeks. So he is trying to capitalize off of this, get some momentum going here. He's trying to attract Moderate Democrats and Republicans who would likely be on board with this plan, and that would be the -- the group that he needs the support from.
He's also doing this because he feels that he's rather strong now. He's building on the momentum from health care reform being passed, the nuclear pact with Russia, as well as his Afghanistan trip. So he's pushing something a bit controversial forward, trying to get that comprehensive energy reform done in the next couple of months, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Asserting the power of the presidency, and we of course will be covering that announcement this morning live here on CNN and cnn.com.
Suzanne Malveaux, thanks.
CHETRY: We also invite our viewers to weigh in. What do you think of the proposal? Cnn.com/amfix.
By the way if you're in the market to buy a home, time is running out to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit. Christine Romans is here with a little bit of a preview.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And it looks like it will not be extended. At this point, there's not a lot of appetite to extend that free money from the government for you to buy a house or to trade up either $8,000 or $6,500.
I'm going to tell you where it makes a lot of sense to rush out and try to do it and where it doesn't and how to get your money from the government.
It's 18 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. It's 22 minutes past the hour right now, and Christine Romans is here, "Minding Your Business," talking a little bit about whether or not we're going to see this homebuyer tax credit expanded or whether it's run its course.
ROMANS: I think it's run its course, and I think time is running out on this and you need to assume that the new homebuyer tax credit has run its course here and you have a little bit of time left to sign a contract on a new home if you've been putting it off.
You must sign the sales contract by April 30th and close by June 30th. Form 5405 is for first time homebuyers who've already done this. We want to make sure you get your money back from the government. There are no E files on this if you're preparing your taxes and you're trying to -- you're trying to seal the deal from last year.
Look, you can also amend your 2009 taxes if you've already filed your taxes and you need to go back and do this. First time homebuyers, you get $8,000, repeat homebuyers $6,500.
A couple of interesting points about this, according to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of the first time homebuyer who took advantage of this was 30 years old. Interesting as well that last year I think they said there were 2 million people who qualified for it, this year just 900,000 are going to qualify for it.
There's a real -- a real discussion about the effectiveness of this. In the beginning it was very effective. It pushed people in. But did we run out of the available supply of young first-time homebuyers who want to get in, who were priced out who now have got the available stock at the right price? Now, I mean, maybe we have -- you know, we've already washed through that entire group and there's not a lot of oomph left here.
Also, home prices might be falling in some parts of the country. It doesn't make sense to take $8,500 if you're going to lose more than that in the value of the house the next year. So be careful where you're picking and (INAUDIBLE) the way you're looking for a house.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Christine, thanks so much.
Our Chris Lawrence is in Afghanistan, embedded with U.S. forces. Coming up after the break, he introduces us to the real G.I. Janes in Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A lot of comments coming into our live blog on cnn.com/amfix this morning, a lot of them having to do with Phoebe Prince and that bullying situation.
Bob from Houston writes, "These students should be charged with negligent homicide. I believe that their actions contributed to her death and that if she wasn't bullied she might still be alive today."
Cynthia Cramer writes, "The cause is definitely jealousy. I was bullied and my mother was the one who stopped it. Those involved in the school should be fired immediately." And we're hearing a lot of that in Massachusetts today as well.
And here's one from Aldrin -- people who were bullied in school are really weighing in this morning. Aldrin says, "I'm shocked at how Phoebe was treated in her school. As a bullying victim myself, I experienced the pain and trauma of what it's like to be in such an environment.
I'm saddened at how Phoebe ended her life. Her future was taken away by those bullies who continually harassed her. Schools should take more stringent measures to protect their students and not simply watch helplessly." So join the conversation, cnn.com/amfix -- Kiran.
CHETRY: John, thanks.
Well, there is nothing unusual about women serving in the military now, thousands of them stationed in Afghanistan right now and most of them assigned to bases far from enemy contact. Except for two young Marines who are on a mission deep inside Helmand Province, in a location littered with roadside bombs.
Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence introduces us to America's female engagement TEAm in this "A.M. Original".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just about everyone told these two Marines, sure you deploy to Afghanistan, but you'll never leave the base.
LANCE CPL. GIADA WITT, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They're like, yes, there's zero percent chance that you'll be leaving the wire ever.
LAWRENCE: But here they are, in a remote, heavily IED part of Helmand Province, on foot in Afghan villages.
WITT: Salaam Alaikum (ph).
LAWRENCE: Lance Corporal Giada Witt and Corporal Christina Arana are part of FET or Female Engagement TEAm.
The Marines realized they were only reaching half the Afghan people, but Witt and Arana can go where male Marines can't -- into the homes of Afghan women.
CPL. CHRISTINA ARANA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Since this culture believes that the women can't meet with the men, they have to keep themselves covered.
LAWRENCE: Even our crew has to stop at the gate to avoid offending the man who owns this home.
LAWRENCE (on camera): I know they seem to be marginalized, but do you think that Afghan women have a good deal of influence within their family?
WITT: Absolutely. And they're definitely a key player in getting information.
LAWRENCE: In a counterinsurgency fight, if a woman tells the TEAm they need a new wall and the Marines get it built, it improves their acceptance in the village. And the women may know from their husbands who the bad guys are.
Women only make up 6 percent of the U.S. Marine Corps and they're not allowed to join infantry or recon.
ARANA: Or it can always (INAUDIBLE). You have to meet with the people. You have to understand them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Yes, and to do that, they receive some training before they're deployed here. Some of it is a cultural awareness, specifically about the area of Afghanistan that they're going to.
The other is a more extended refresher course on combat training. In fact, one of them said, one of the drills they had to do was just do a tremendous amount of push-ups, hop up, go in a full sprint, stop and then fire accurately. It's supposed to get them used to firing under pressure, which is something they may have to do here in Helmand.
CHETRY: Wow.
LAWRENCE: Kiran.
CHETRY: Intense training, but an intense mission.
Is this a permanent program, by the way, a full-time job for them?
LAWRENCE: No, it's not. These TEAms are kind of thrown together by female Marines who also have other jobs, and that's one of the things that critics say. You know, they're getting pulled back into their own units.
They say, if this is yielding good information, if it's yielding good relations, then it should be more of a permanent full-time thing where they are allowed to spend months and months at a time, you know, cultivating those relationships.
CHETRY: All right. Chris Lawrence giving us a firsthand look. Just amazing, amazing situation going on right there, a lot of intensity and a lot of brave men and women out there. Thanks so much.
We're checking our top stories now at half past the hour. It's day four of these torrential storms that have really ripped across the Northeast. The rain is still falling in many places and local officials are warning, several rivers could hit historic highs, several feet above flood stage. Rhode Island is bearing the brunt of the storm right now. Thousands across the entire region do not have power this morning.
ROBERTS: The trial for five Americans accused of terrorism in Pakistan has started in the town of Sargodha, south of the capital of Islamabad. The so-called "D.C. Five" are charged with multiple terror-related crimes and the local police chief testified that the men were planning to attack specific targets. If convicted, they could face life in prison.
CHETRY: Sandra Bullock's husband, Jesse James, has checked into rehab. His rep is telling "People" magazine that James is dealing with, quote, "personal issues." The report says that four different women have come forward to say they've had affairs with James. That's when the Oscar-winning actress, a source tells "People," that Sandra Bullock has moved out of the couple's home and is considering her options.
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin is the woman most closely associated with the TEA Party movement but she is in good company. Many of the grassroots and national leaders are women, and a new poll says they make up a majority of TEA partiers.
So, why are women drawn to TEA Party politics?
Joining us now from Atlanta is Jenny Beth Martin. She's the national coordinator of the TEA Party Patriots. And from Washington, Rebecca Wales, communications director for Small Girl Politics.
Good to have you both with us this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
And, Jenny, let's start with you. Let's take a look at these numbers. The new Quinnipiac University poll shows 55 percent of women who call themselves members of the TEA Party -- 55 percent of TEA Party members rather are women; 45 percent identify themselves as men. It might be surprising to some people.
What is it about the TEA Party that is so attractive to women?
JENNY BETH MARTIN, NATIONAL COORDINATOR, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: Well, the main -- our main values in TEA Party Patriots are fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets. And women, they are at home. They're making the tough decisions and having to cut the budget, figure out how to cut spending in their own homes and they understand that translates to businesses and to government.
ROBERTS: Do you agree with that, Rebecca? Is that one of the reasons why the TEA Party is attractive to you? That you handle a lot of the responsibilities at home, and so, that just -- immediately becomes a part of your politics?
REBECCA WALES, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, SMART GIRL POLITICS: I think most certainly. You have women who are not just mothers, they are small business owners. They are also daughters. And both the stimulus package and moving onto the health care reform package, these are things that affect women so directly on so many different levels.
ROBERTS: And, Jenny, to read a lot of the coverage of the TEA Party movement, you would think that it's a bunch of disenchanted white men. Why is it, if women are playing such a large role in the TEA Party movement, that there participation seems to fly so far below the radar?
MARTIN: You know, I'm not really sure why it falls so far below the radar. We really -- we have a lot of women involved in our movement on our national coordinator TEAm. Nine -- we have nine people; five of them are women, which is just the same percentage that shows in this poll.
ROBERTS: Yes.
MARTIN: And women -- they care about the future. So, it's very -- you know, they really either worried about their children and their grandchildren, and they are concerned about liberty in America.
ROBERTS: Rebecca, conservative women seem to have found a star in Sarah Palin. She is quickly becoming one of most prominent, if not the most prominent face of the TEA Party movement. Is it Sarah Palin's star power --
WALES: No.
ROBERTS: -- that is drawing women into the movement?
WALES: I don't think so. I think she helps start the conservative movement by making the word conservative no longer a bad word in politics. But we have so many leaders, you know, not just Sarah Palin, but Liz Cheney, Representative Bachmann, Blackburn. We're lucky to have such wonderful women who already consider themselves conservatives. And that helps the grassroots, the women that -- like Small Girl Politics founder, that didn't have any political experience at all, really get involved and want to see what's next for them.
ROBERTS: All right. So -- on that point, Rebecca, and let me stay with you for a second. You mentioned a number of prominent women in Republican politics. But when you -- when you look at Congress, when you look at statewide elected office, there are far more women in the Democratic Party in elected office than there are in the Republican Party.
Why -- why is that? And how might the TEA Party movement change that?
WALES: I think what the TEA Party movement, the conservative movement, is doing for women is giving them the tools to really know how to be involved in politics. So, if that is indeed helping them be candidates, that's wonderful. But there are so many other ways. And I think women didn't see that before.
I think the Republican Party has always been the good old boys, I think, for a long time, at least how it's been seen. But what we're doing is we're enabling women to really get the training that they need and become activists in so many different levels.
ROBERTS: Jenny, you know, the bulk of the TEA Party movement, regular folks who just want to have their voices heard about what's going on in politics, but at the same time, there are some extreme elements that have embedded themselves in the TEA Party movement. We've seen the racist signs at some of these rallies. We've heard some of the extreme language.
Are you troubled by that? Have you seen any of it yourself?
MARTIN: I haven't seen it myself. If I did see it, I would ask the people to leave. We don't have any place for that in TEA Party Patriots. It's not what we're about. We're about reclaiming America's founding principles.
And I want to touch on something about Smart Girl Politics, what Rebecca said. Smart Girl Politics was one of three organizations that really founded and started the TEA Party movement, along with top conservatives on Twitter and Don't Go. And Smart Girl Politics played an instrumental role in getting this movement started. And that it's a group of conservative women who care about America.
ROBERTS: And the face of TEA Party politics. Jenny Beth Martin and Rebecca Wales -- great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us.
WALES: Thank you.
MARTIN: Thank you.
CHETRY: You know, American journalists Roxana Saberi -- we've covered her story a lot on this show. She was jailed in Iran last year, spent 100 days in Evin prison and her future was very uncertain.
Well, she's out and she wrote a book about her experience there. And she is speaking out. I had a chance to speak to her about the accusations that she was a spy, what was it was like to be interrogated by the hard line regime, and what she thinks will happen in Iran now. We're going to hear a little bit of that interview -- next.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi -- this is the lady that we're going to be showing you. We're going to talk to her in a second. She basically survived something that most of us cannot imagine.
While working in Iran, she was detained. She was thrown in jail. She was convicted of spying for the United States -- a charge that she completely denies and she was released last May after an appeals court suspended her eight-year sentence. Well, now, she's published her story in a new book called "Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran."
I had a chance to sit down with Roxana and talk to her about what happened that day, January 31st of last year, when she was arrested.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROXANA SABERI, JOURNALIST DETAINED & RELEASED IN IRAN: So, that day, they took me to an unmarked building somewhere in Tehran and they interrogated me for several hours. And it was a wide range of questions, but it seemed like their focus was on a book that I was writing about Iran in society.
And they kept saying, "Why did you interview these people or those people? Why did you interview reformists?" And I said, "Well, I also interviewed conservatives." And they basically said, "Yes, you shouldn't have done that either."
It seemed like everything that I've done, especially it is my book, they were sensitive about and they said, "Who has copies?" And I said, "Well, my mother does. I emailed her a copy." Does anybody else saw a copy? No.
Who's paying to you write this book? And I said, "Nobody. I'm paying it out of my own pocket." And they said, "No, no. We know somebody is paying you to write it."
And in the end, I found out they were -- that day, that they wanted me to say that the book was a cover for espionage for the United States, which is not true at all. Later on, I found that they knew I wasn't a spy but were pretending to think so.
CHETRY: Why do you think they wanted to accuse you of espionage even though you say they knew that you were not spying for America?
SABERI: Right. They do this for a lot of people -- political prisoners and prisoners of conscience were arrested for peacefully standing up for their rights. I think that they also wanted to get this false confession out of it, which they claimed is not false in the beginning, because they also wanted to use it as blackmail against me because they wanted me to spy for them. They said this is one of conditions for my release.
CHETRY: What made you decide to confess in the first place?
SABERI: The pressure -- psychological and mental pressure -- was immense, not only was I cut off from the world and I wasn't allowed to have an attorney and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone my whereabouts, and they put in solitary confinement and they said you're not getting out until you cooperate and confess to being a spy, even though that wasn't true.
And then they started threatening also my family. They said we have agents in different parts of the world and we can also find your family.
And they told me also I could stay in prison for 10 or 20 years until I became an old lady. Can you imagine what you'll look like who you're an old lady? And, you know, also, espionage can result in the death penalty.
So, under all of these pressures, I thought, well, this is the way things work in Iran?
CHETRY: Well, what did you think is going to happen to you? Did you think there was a chance that you were going to be killed?
SABERI: Yes. In the beginning, definitely, especially when I was cut off from the world and nobody knew I was there. And my captors make sure of that.
CHETRY: How torturous was it for your family as well? I mean, your parents -- knowing that they were helpless to get you out of there?
SABERI: I think it must have been very difficult. They tried not to show it when they came to see me in prison because they knew that I wanted to see them happy. But one day, my mom cried a lot. And -- sorry.
CHETRY: It's very emotional to talk about.
SABERI: I think my parents were pillars of strength and patience and courage. And without them, it's very likely that I would still be in prison today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: An amazing story, how she eventually was able to be released because of enormous international pressure and some of the stories that weren't really true about what they were claiming about her.
And coming up in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to talk to her more about that. She talks about what happened since she was released, and whether or not she thinks there's going to be real change inside of Iran. We're going to hear more from Roxana Saberi -- coming up.
It's 44 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: They are waking up to quite a mess this morning. This is a live look at Cranston, Rhode Island. It's along the Pawtuxet River where forecasters say the worst is yet to come. That's because it has not crested yet. The river could crest at about 11 feet above flood stage later this morning after a torrential rainstorm that just didn't move for two days setting rainfall records across the east coast. We're keeping our eye on the water, and we'll have updates for you throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: Meantime, Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center at Atlanta with the last look at this storm as thankfully it moves off out into --
CHETRY: I know.
ROBERTS: The ocean but leaving behind it, quite a legacy, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely. It's kind of a lingerer, but it's finally going to come out at here, we think, late tonight, and the heaviest of rain now is going to be focused into parts of Maine. I want to show you some new pictures, and we have new information for you out of Cranston at this hour and that the river stage has now been upped to 20.6 feet, and it's expected to crest now in the next hour or two at 20.7. So, it's already at record levels. A 100 people have been evacuated from the valley view neighborhood. That happened late last night.
And you can see that emergency crews are out there monitoring the situation, and hopefully, everybody is heeding the warnings from then and getting out as necessary. Now, the rainfall totals today are going to be really, really light across this region, but we've already had so much. And this map shows you just in the last 24 hours, all of this bright red area that you can see from Massachusetts down through Connecticut, that's about 6 to 8 inches of rain fall. So, you just can't keep up with this. And we've had monthly records which have been broken.
And this record just shuttered. I mean, more than a foot above where you should be for this time of the year, so just incredible what's been taken place. Now, even though the rain is light, we're still lingering with the low clouds. So, travel delays can be expected across the northeast. Best thing I can tell you about today is that we have a frontal system coming in across parts of the west. That's going to allow high pressure to control the east.
And so we're going to see this nice warm-up here, and this is going to last right into the weekend. So, much drier weather on the way. Cool today with the clouds but watch for the 70s to be pushing all the way across the eastern sea board as we head through the week -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: That would be a lovely respite from the weather that we've had throughout this winter.
JERAS: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: I know.
ROBERTS: Jacqui, thanks so much.
Many people who have a stroke never ever regain their independence. The same is true for many children with cerebral palsy. They struggle with simple tasks like turning a doorknob. But now doctors and therapists are using advances in robotic technology to help change all of that. Gary Tuchman has this "Edge of Discovery" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These stroke patients are getting some cutting edge therapy that combines the human touch with technology.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: So, that's with robotic system.
TUCHMAN: By gently assisting patients repeat movements over and over, the so-called robotic therapy helps rebuild connections between the brain and the rest of the body.
DR. BRUCE T. VOLPE, PROFESSOR OF NEUROLOGY: The robot adjusts as the patient gets better. The robot increases the challenge so that the movement needs to be faster and more accurate. This challenge is something that patients find compelling.
TUCHMAN: In some cases, the therapy has helped patients regain partial use of limbs that's were once completely paralyzed. Here at Blythdale Children's Hospital in New York, these kids are participating in one of the first controlled studies measuring robotic therapy's impact on children. Researchers say because the brains are still developing, this kind of therapy is especially effective for children with cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injury.
DR. JOELLE MAST, BLYTHDALE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: We want to take children who have plaTEAu (ph) or head injury and are not making progress to see if the robotic therapy can enable them to take the next step up to improve their function more. And so far, we've had very good results.
TUCHMAN: Gary TUCHMAN, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning with Jeanne. A roving band of former pick pockets have been spotted working the streets of London.
ROBERTS: Only this time, rather than taking, they're giving something back. Jeanne Moos introduces us to the put-pockets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Questions, what do you call the opposite of a pickpocket?
UNKNOWN MALE: The guy on the right distracts her, then the guy on the left slips his hand into her bag and snags her wallet right there.
MOOS: This guy used to be a pick pocket.
UNKNOWN MALE: Now, I'm a put-pocket. This means I'm putting money back into people's pockets.
MOOS: No, it's not charity. It's marketing. A British broadband company called Talktalk hired 20 former pick-pockets and magicians to roam around London. Their goal, to slip notes ranging from 5 to 20 pounds into pockets and purses.
MOOS (on-camera): A 25-pound note, the equivalent of $32.
MOOS (voice-over): Along with the money comes a card saying another brighter idea from Talktalk.
UNKNOWN MALE: I'm completely okay (ph) with it. There's nothing criminal about it whatsoever.
MOOS: Sort of like that old Burger King commercial come to life.
UNKNOWN MALE: I reached from my pocket and I found this extra money.
UNKNOWN MALE: The grease pick-pocket.
UNKNOWN MALE: Hey, hands on your crown.
UNKNOWN MALE: Easy!
MOOS: So far, nothing like that has happened in London and nothing like this either.
UNKNOWN MALE: Hey, don't you dare (EXPLETIVE WORD) on my pocket.
MOOS: Not a single put-pocketer has been smacked by someone mistaking him for a pick-pocketer. Check out Chris Fitch's (ph) technique practiced on a reporter.
UNKNOWN MALE: I just stand as I overtaking you, distracts you over here with the --
MOOS: Put-pocketers say it's far easier than pick- pocketing. Easy enough for total novices. I found dropping a dollar bill into an open bag was easy enough, though most of my victims did detect my presence and turned around or searched their bag.
Everyone knows something happened.
I got away with it six times and got nabbed twice.
Caught, but I'm giving you money. I'm not taking it.
UNKNOWN MALE: It's okay. It's okay. Thank you.
MOOS: He even gave back the dollar.
Oh, sorry, excuse me.
For a second, I thought I got over on this guy, but he's a security officer.
UNKNOWN MALE: I was looking through the glass.
MOOS: Oh, you caught me in the glass?
UNKNOWN MALE: You're not running right here.
MOOS: People next to glass houses shouldn't throw money.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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