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American Morning
Baja Quake Rattles U.S.; U.S. Consulate Targeted in Pakistan; Tiger Takes on Augusta; Iran Sending Taliban Weapons; China's Currency Pegged To U.S. Dollar; Hollywood's Pill Problem; Astronauts Set to Visit International Space Station; The Web and Your Whereabouts
Aired April 05, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Monday morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning.
It's April the 5th. I'm John Roberts.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Kiran Chetry has the morning off.
Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
At least 20 million people may have felt the earth shake in three states and two countries. Reports of damage are widening this morning along the U.S./Mexican border after the largest earthquake in the region in nearly two decades and more strong aftershocks are expected.
ROBERTS: An all-out deadly assault of the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, apparently but the Pakistani Taliban, the consulate targeted by as many as four bombs.
A live report from Paula Newton in Pakistan just ahead.
CHO: And Tiger Woods is making his return to pro-golf this week. Before teeing it up at the Masters on Thursday, he's going to meet the media today for the first time since the sex scandal that threatened his marriage and his endorsements.
And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running this morning. Join the live conversation right now. People are already sounding off on Tiger and other stories. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments throughout the morning.
ROBERTS: We begin though with a developing story this morning.
Southern California is bracing for the possibility of more aftershocks after the largest earthquake to hit the region in nearly two decades. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake was centered in Baja, California. But the U.S. Geological Survey says 20 million people may have felt this quake from Tijuana to L.A. and from Phoenix to Las Vegas.
Homes shook on this side of the border. Some fell on the other side of it. Officials in Mexico say two people died -- one when a building collapsed, the other, when he ran out of the building and was hit by a car.
Our Ted Rowlands has an up-close look at the aftermath as we know it so far.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Alina, we are in Mexicali, Mexico. And the biggest problem is the fact that it is pitch-dark here. The power is out throughout the city.
To get the idea of the damage, this is what we're seeing. Basically, most of the buildings are standings but you can see the destruction in terms of the glass everywhere and you can see that -- this is a furniture store. And there is significant damage here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: These folks are outside the furniture store. They work here. And they want to make sure that nobody comes and loots anything. This is something we're seeing throughout the city here.
Meanwhile, there are issues because there is no power with medical care. The hospitals are functioning but they are treating people outside.
RIGABERTO LASOYA, MEDICAL COORDINATOR, STATE OF BAJA: We haven't stopped giving the assistance, humanitarian assistance. We have two clinics working right now in Mexicali, two clinics. And we have some resources from all state of Baja deployed to this special part of the state so to reinforce the medical attention, the medical assistance and these clinics.
We're helping the people on the outside. There is no electricity and there's no water on the inside. So, we are doing it on the outside. But we are keeping on working.
ROWLANDS: This is the clinic and they are working off generators, mainly. There is a physician here on staff. We talked to them earlier. They said they've seen about 100 people here alone -- injuries ranging from broken legs and scraped arms and legs because of falling debris.
This woman back here is pregnant. She is concerned for her baby -- one of the many people that have come for medical attention.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: The big problem here at this point is power. There's no power, no water, and no fuel. They are hoping that they can restore power as soon as possible.
We'll get more of an idea of what they're dealing with when the sun comes up in a few hours -- John and Alina.
CHO: All right. Ted, thank you.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we spoke to Amy Vaughan -- she's a USGS geophysicist -- about whether we'll see more damage as the sun comes up on the west coast and if this one is just a warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: For folks in southern California and up in San Francisco, where the San Andreas fault runs right through, what should they be thinking this morning?
AMY VAUGHAN, USGS GEOPHYSICIST (via telephone): Honestly, probably the same they might be thinking any time. Just -- you know, the unexpected could happen, at any moment. We do that this is a very active region and large earthquake could occur any time, not necessarily because of this one but just that's the way earthquakes are triggered. As we all know, anywhere in the world, they could happen at any given point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rob (INAUDIBLE) -- excuse me -- Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center this morning. He's monitoring all of the aftershocks.
And, Rob, how many have we gotten so far and how strong have they been?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, at this point, they're well over 100 aftershocks. But most of them have been very, very small and probably not felt in many spots.
But you mentioned trigger quakes. When Haiti happened, we had a trigger quake in Grand Cayman not too far from that. It's in a different zone. We had another quake near Grand Cayman, of a 5.0 magnitude. So, often, when you get a large quake on one plate boundary, you can get a trigger quake on another, kind of (INAUDIBLE) tries to and kind of relieve some of that stress
All right. Back to Mexicali, we got this -- the big quake happening through this part of the world, about 36 miles from Mexicali, obviously, south of the border. But notice that all these aftershocks -- again, most of them are very small -- run up the fault line north into southern California.
Now, this is not on the San Andreas Fault, but it runs parallel to the San Andreas Fault. But it is main plate boundary of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate -- obviously, a very active zone here across southern California and will probably continue to be active in the way of small aftershocks over the next several days, if not several weeks.
John, Alina, we'll talk more about this and, of course, weather, which is also interesting in California, in 40 minutes.
CHO: All right. Rob, thank you.
You know, we are following developments from Pakistan this morning. The U.S. consulate in Peshawar is targeted by a series of rapid fire explosions, as many as four blasts going off near the building. You see one of them there. Officials say at least six people have died, including two Pakistanis who worked at the consulate.
Paula Newton is live for us in Islamabad, Pakistan, this morning.
Paula -- so, the Taliban is now claiming responsibility for this?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alina. Confirming to CNN, Azam Tariq, the spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, says they do, indeed, claim responsibility for this attack, as well as an earlier attack today -- a suicide bombing that killed at least 30 and injured 50 people. They say they will continue to hit U.S. targets across Pakistan.
This really was quite a bold attack. As you can see from the video, quite dramatic, coordinated. They had hand grenades, perhaps suicide vests, a car bomb detonated first and foremost just to confuse the situation.
U.S. officials confirming to me, Alina, that they were trying to penetrate that outer perimeter of security to try and gain access to that U.S. consulate. They also say, Alina, that all U.S. consulate staff right now is safe and secure and accounted for, and they're just waiting to make sure that the area is still safe -- Alina.
CHO: We know you'll be watching all the developments for us. Paula Newton live for us in Islamabad -- Paula, thank you.
Well, the stage is set for Tiger Woods' return to professional golf in the year's first major tournament, the Masters. He is coming back to one of the most celebrated sites in golf. That would be, of course, Augusta National.
ROBERTS: Woods has won there four times -- the last time in 2005. But more importantly this week, it's a place where he hopes that he can control the chaos.
Samantha Hayes is in Augusta for us this morning.
SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina and John.
Tiger Woods always brings star power to this tournament, the first major of the year. But this year is unique in so many ways.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HAYES (voice-over): While the glory of a fifth green jacket is Tiger Woods' primary focus, he may have other reasons for his much- anticipated return to the game of golf in Augusta, a city full of southern charms and southern manners.
Golf pro Chris Verdery says Woods appreciates the respectful tone and tightly-controlled atmosphere.
CHRIS VERDERY, GOLF PRO: This makes sense. People really love him here in Augusta. He's been wonderful for the Masters, for the city of Augusta. And everybody is excited to have him back.
HAYES: While Augusta is accustomed to hosting one of the biggest events in sports every April, the sorted drama now associated with Woods is new. The four-time Masters champion recently admitted to multiple extramarital affairs.
Augusta mayor, Deke Copenhayer, says the spotlight is less on the sport and more on the spectacle.
MAYOR DEKE COPENHAYER, AUGUSTA, GEORGIA: TMZ, "Entertainment Weekly" and "People" magazine, along with "Extra" are once again just typical calls that I don't get come Masters week.
HAYES: As a star athlete, Tiger Woods is supported in Augusta. Lots of folks are rooting for him.
DICK BENCK, MASTERS TICKET HOLDER: I love his golf. And that's what we're here for. It's what I like to see. And I really don't care about his personal life.
HAYES: But ask about his personal life and at least off the course, you get a different answer.
MICHAEL O'ROURKE, MASTERS TICKET HOLDER: That kind of humiliation is very hurtful, and I'm sure that he's -- you know, he wakes up and wonders, you know, what the hell was I doing?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HAYES: Woods starts with a practice round this morning, followed by a solo news conference in the afternoon.
In Augusta, Georgia, I'm Samantha Hayes.
John and Alina, back to you.
CHO: All right, Samantha.
You know, Tiger Woods is scheduled to meet the press at a news conference at 2:00 p.m. Eastern today. The big question is: what more will we learn, right? We're going to carry that for you live at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: And unlike that announcement that he had last month, this time, people will have an opportunity to ask some questions. It will be interesting to see what comes out of that.
CHO: It will be.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery are nearly two hours into a 13-day mission. They're rocketing toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station. The shuttle should reach the ISS with fresh supplies on Wednesday. This mission marks the first time that four women will be in space together at the same time. CHO: Michael Jackson's former doctor, Conrad Murray, could lose his California medical license at a Los Angeles hearing later today. The state's attorney general wants his license suspended ahead his trial for the pop star's death, citing a serious lack of judgment. Murray has already admitted to investigators that he gave Jackson the powerful drug Propofol to help him sleep.
ROBERTS: And they are ready to roll at the White House. The president and first lady will host 30,000 people for the annual Easter egg roll today. Some live pictures there on the South Lawn of the White House. Fourteen thousand five hundred eggs were hard-boiled, died and scattered across the South Lawn.
Later on today, the president throws out the first pitch at the Washington National season opening baseball game.
CHO: He's busy.
ROBERTS: Great weather.
CHO: Oh, 79 degrees in Washington today -- almost too warm.
ROBERTS: It doesn't get much better than that.
CHO: It's just perfect.
Still to come on the Most News in the Morning: new revelations about a connection between Iran and the Taliban. Barbara Starr will be live from the Pentagon coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHO: Thirteen minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning on this Monday, 13 minutes past, as I'd just said.
More evidence piling up that Iran is supplying weapons to the Taliban. Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, says he was taken aback to learn that a significant shipment of weapons from Tehran ended up in Kandahar, where U.S. forces are about to launch a new offensive.
ROBERTS: Our Barbara Starr has got new details about another shipment that's going to be leaving Iran any day now. She joins us now live from the Pentagon with the very latest.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John.
Well, indeed, U.S. officials believe there is about to be more smuggling from Iran into Afghanistan and they have good reason to believe it. A senior Pentagon official tells CNN there is now what he calls an Iranian source -- he won't identify it any more than that, obviously, very sensitive. But an Iranian source is talking about this rat line of weapon smuggling from Iran into Afghanistan. In fact, the U.S. is preparing to brief Congress on all of this, calling the shipment ongoing and possibly significant and frequent.
What are they finding? Well, they are finding Iranian rockets, grenades, manufactured explosives, very similar to what they found back in Iraq several years ago.
And when you look at the map, this tells you the story. The concern, of course, is this rat line of smuggling across the border from Iran into Afghanistan, into possibly the southern city of Kandahar. That's what everyone is looking at.
Kandahar, of course, already announced that that is going to be the next place that U.S. forces will be fighting the Taliban on a large scale effort. And this weapons' smuggling could, in fact, be the first signs that there will be stockpiling of Iranian weapons to fight U.S. forces -- John, Alina.
ROBERTS: So, they've got a source, Barbara, that's telling them that all of this is going on. And they've got the weapons there. But they're absolutely certain that this is coming over the border from Iran?
STARR: Well, there's good evidence, because what the official tells us is that they have now located Iranian weapons inside Afghanistan with recent serial markings and dates of manufacture in Farsi, of course, coming from factories they believe in Iran. And it's those recent dates of manufacture, those recent serial numbers, of course, that cause the most concern because that means this just isn't old stuff lying around the house, if you will. This is new and this is organized smuggling all the way into Afghanistan -- John, Alina.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That is troubling. Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thanks so much.
Well, still to come in the Most News in the Morning, new questions about China's currency. What it means for you. Christine Romans here with a preview. The U.S. has been upset about this for years, nothing has ever been done.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Upset about this for years and has never done anything about it. We are talking about China's currency which is pegged to the U.S. dollar. And critics say, millions of American jobs have gone to China permanently because the U.S. has not gotten tough on China. Now, why the Obama administration has put off another deadline on China's currency. I will have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business." Eighteen and a half minutes after the hour. We are talking about the Chinese currency, the Yuan renminbi, how it is pegged to the dollar and the constraints that it is causing our government, but are not prepared to do anything about it.
ROMANS: Our government and our factory workers looked for years. We have been hearing people say, we are losing a lot of these manufacturing jobs because they are being shipped to China. They will not come back because the Chinese currency is pegged to the American dollar, and that gives the Chinese exporters a 25 percent to 40 percent advantage over American exports.
You have seen these going on for years and years and many people thought that the Obama administration was going to get tough. And that you are feeling like Congress was going to get tough for the first time since maybe 2006.
But the Treasury Department had a deadline for next week to actually declare whether or not China was a manipulator of its currency, something that many economists say it definitely is. The Treasury Department has delayed this big decision, a decision that everyone was waiting for, the Treasury Department has put it off.
If you are a critic, you would say the Treasury Department punted on this decision. Others say that this was the right thing to do because we have a bunch of meetings coming up and Timothy Geithner, the Treasury secretary, and others, maybe they can do more through diplomacy than just labeling China currency manipulator. The Treasury secretary saying meetings are the best avenue for advancing U.S. interests at this time, but still saying that China must move to a more market-oriented exchange rate.
Look, many of our trading partners, the Europeans, a lot of other people have been screaming about China's currency for a long time. They all say that they have been losing jobs because of this. And this was a chance, April 15th, for the Treasury Department to put a stamp on it. It hasn't.
ROBERTS: They are also engaging China at the U.N. Security Council on Iran and its nuclear programs.
ROMANS: Right, and some of the China heads are saying that American factory workers were sold out for American foreign policy on other levels, and that's just the path of least resistance. We have lost so many factory jobs. We will continue to lose factory jobs, they say, unless something is done.
Others say that just fixing the currency itself wouldn't solve all of our problems. And that's probably true, that's probably true as well. It is a complicated, complicated issue. China is our banker, it is also our big foreign policy partner. There is a lot of diplomatic dancing that goes on.
CHO: As always, you have our "Romans' Numeral" which is --?
ROMANS: I do. It is 2.4 million. This is a number, 2.4 million, spans 2001 to 2008. ROBERTS: No clue.
ROMANS: Jobs lost. Factory jobs lost, specifically because -- not just to China. Specifically because of the currency manipulation. Others say there is even more than that number of jobs lost to China. But 2.4 million, this is according to Economic Policy Institute a leftist-leaning think tank that really stays on top of all of this. Others say if the number is even half that, a million jobs lost because of currency peg is just not fair. People who support this peg say, look, this is not a mature economy or a mature currency system and it would be dangerous to let this free float. And if it did, we would all pay more for our Barbie dolls and perish the thought.
CHO: Christine Romans, thank you. Next on the Most News in the Morning, prescription drug abuse, one of Hollywood's dirty little secrets. Kareen Wynter with an "AM Original" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour, which means your top stories are just five minutes away now. But first, an A.M. Original, something you will see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
Friends say actor Corey Haim was trying to get clean before his sudden death last month, but California investigators linked his name to a massive, illegal prescription drug ring. His desire to be drug- free may have been no match to the line of doctors who are more than willing to keep him hooked.
Our Kareen Wynter is taking a look at who is supplying Hollywood in our new series this week "Addicted."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Corey Haim, Anna Nicole Smith -- their deaths raised questions about one of Hollywood's dirty little secrets, prescription drug abuse that in recent months has dominated the headlines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two doctors charged with conspiring to furnish Anna.
WYNTER: Smith's doctors pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to supply her with controlled substances. At the time of her death, at least four different sedatives were found in her system, including Klonopin and Valium. Drugs made readily available to celebrities says actress Mackenzie Phillips.
(on camera): Is it as easy as just picking up the phone saying, I need that prescription, I need that medication?
MACKENZIE PHILLIPS, ACTRESS: I have been to doctors who never even touched my body or took my blood pressure, and I walked out with a prescription for 130 Hydrocodone tablets. I mean, yes, I guess it's easier for famous people. WYNTER (voice-over): A teen star and the daughter of a famous musician, Phillips writes in her book "High On Arrival" about her long-time battle with drug addiction and how some doctors willingly overprescribed pills despite her history as an addict. She says she has been clean for a year and a half now.
(on camera): There are some doctors out there, many doctors perhaps, who may be enamored by a star and they are trying to please their clients. But come on, you have to have stars on the other end who may be using their fame to get these drugs.
PHILLIPS: Well, I am sure that that is definitely something that helps them to get the doctor to give them whatever they want. And I know I have been in that position myself.
WYNTER (voice-over): Addiction specialist, Dr. Drew Pinsky has worked with stars like Phillips and says the power of celebrity addicts can present unique challenges for doctors.
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: I tell my peers that are trying to take care of celebrities, do not go there alone. You must have a team. It is too seductive. Addiction is too powerful. You will get sucked right into it.
WYNTER (on camera): How does it work? You have a celebrity with so much power and they want to get their hands on these drugs, they are addicts?
PINSKY: They would not be consciously thinking that way. It is not like, I have to get my Vicodin. They are thinking, I hear Dr. Smith is pretty good; translated, gives lots of good medication. So they go see Dr. Smith and they offer Dr. Smith a lot of money and they tell Dr. Smith, you are the best doctor. You made me feel so great. I have lots of important friends. I am going to tell them all how great you are and I am going to pay you a lot of money. That patient starts getting out of control with their medicine.
JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When you get the high anxiety that celebrity, as temporary as it is, that then feeds the addictive propensity. And then on top of that, if someone is a celebrity, then these obscure doctors get a bit of a contact high, if I can call it that, by prescribing and being part of the mix.
WYNTER (voice-over): California's Attorney General Jerry Brown says it is a problem that goes beyond Tinseltown. His office has launched investigations into more than 200 prescription drug cases involving addict patients and physicians who helped them cross the line. An underground drug world Mackenzie Philips says she is glad she has left behind, and cautions --
PHILLIPS: We have become this society that just takes, I am sad, take a pill. I'm in pain, take a pill. Take a pill, take a pill. And really it is just so dangerous. People are dying.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WYNTER: What makes prescription drug abuse so dangerous, addicts, they eventually build up such high tolerance levels. We are talking someone popping 100 Vicodin pills a day. And so, you can see why an overdose is almost really inevitable here.
ROBERTS: And Kareen, a large number of these people who overdose are fairly young, people who oftentimes don't have to look very far for these drugs?
WYNTER: Can you believe that? Teens, roughly 70 percent of teens who abuse prescription drugs, John, guess where they get them from, from home. So Mackenzie Phillips and Dr. Drew Pinsky, they really emphasize here, that parents, you have got to keep that open dialogue going with your children and tell them how easy it is to get hooked on this stuff. And most importantly, keep them out of those medicine cabinets.
ROBERTS: All right. Kareen Wynter for us this morning. Kareen, thanks so much.
Tomorrow, by the way, we are going to take a look at prescription drug abuse outside of Hollywood. The cocktails that are getting people high. How easy is it to start a habit? How hard it is to break? Why experts say we may need twice as many rehabilitation centers that we have now to deal with the problem.
CHO: Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. That means time for this morning's top stories. Reports of damage are widening along the U.S./Mexican border. And more aftershocks are expected in Southern California following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Two people in Mexico have died. The quake was felt as far away as Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
ROBERTS: The Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for an all-out terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan. The consulate targeted by as many as four bombs in rapid succession. One of the blasts was captured on videotape. You saw it there. Two Pakistani consulate employees were killed.
CHO: Seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery are a little more than two hours into a 13-day mission. They are rocketing toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station. It marks that first time that four women will be in space together at the same time.
You just saw Kareen Wynter's piece about how Hollywood is hooked on prescription drugs. The combination of money, power, and doctors with loose ethics in some cases is proving to be deadly in too many cases. Joining us now from Los Angeles to talk about this, Bob Forrest from VH1 "Celebrity Rehab" and "Sober House," and Ken Seeley, the founder of "Intervention 911." Both are former addicts and have extensive experience dealing with substance abuse.
Thank you both for joining us. Ken, I want to begin with you. We have had so many famous celebrities overdoses lately, Michael Jackson being the most famous of late, Corey Haim being the most recent.
What is going on here? How bad is the prescription drug problem among celebrities?
KEN SEELEY, FOUNDER, INTERVENTION 911: Prescription drugs is the leading addiction in this country. People are dying every single day. I think it is important that we don't take their death in vain and we get the people to see the red flags.
We are watching it on the media every single day with these celebrities that suffer from the disease and notice the red flags and take action.
CHO: What are those red flags?
KEN SEELEY: Well, do you remember Anna Nicole Smith when she was dying? You had seen it three days prior and she is zoning out in it. When the family members like Michael Jackson's are trying to get him help and he shuts them out.
If the addict is shutting you out, then the people around them, it is their responsibility to fight to get them into recovery and treatment.
CHO: That all sounds great, but sometimes that doesn't happen. A lot of times, sadly, it doesn't happen.
Bob, I want to ask you, your colleague, Dr. Drew Pinsky says that celebrities tend to be 17 percent more narcissistic than your average person. And they also say that no amount of applause, fan mail can fill that void, so that's why at times they turn to addiction.
So I'm curious, is it something about their personalities that makes them predisposed to addiction, or is it just that they have money and access to get to these doctors?
BOB FORREST, VH1'S "CELEBRITY REHAB" & "SOBER HOUSE": It seems to be their personality. Once they are into addiction, it is hard to get them out. Like Ken said, they are embedded. There is no way to get them out. No one has leverage over them. The doctors are overprescribing to them. The doctors are enamored with them. It is a perfect storm for a drug addict to die.
CHO: But then, don't the doctors bear some responsibility? Why isn't more being done to crack down on this?
FORREST: I think we have to ask ourselves, is symptom management that medicine has become? I can tell you I'm anxious, my back hurts, I can't focus, and I couldn't sleep last night, and I could get four medications from any doctors in America.
CHO: That's right. You hear Mackenzie Phillips saying doctors never touched her body and she got the prescriptions. Michael Jackson used a dozen aliases including his child's name to get prescription drugs. Ken, I want to ask you, because authorities say that Corey Haim's name was found on a fraudulent prescription obtained from an illegal prescription drug ring. How exactly does this happen? Is there a general way that this happens? What's the supply chain like?
SEELEY: I've been watching that for over 20 years where people are either stealing prescription pads or calling up pharmacists with illegal doctor's names and DEA numbers, and they are getting the prescriptions that way. It has been happening for over 20 years.
But the message here is that what has to happen is people need to be accountable. We have to hold the DEA and those that are getting the drugs out to the public accountable and let them suffer the consequences. We need to set the example that this is not acceptable.
Even though you are a physician and you have the privilege to write these prescriptions, you can't continue to kill these people. They are dying every day.
CHO: But what's the best way for that to happen? Do laws need to be passed? There clearly needs to be more monitoring. What's the practical solution for this? It's continuing to happen.
SEELEY: I agree. The laws need to be changed, and also the DEA has to be a little bit more aggressive on the freedom that they give on these high level prescriptions. These are deadly, deadly, worse than heroin, as you said earlier. The disease is killing way too many people and we have to do something about it.
If it was anything else killing the amount of people out there, with he would be doing everything in our power as a nation to find something to help. If it was that earthquake that we experienced yesterday that kills 6,000 people within a year in the state of Florida alone, we would be doing something. We would be doing something about it. And we have to do something. It's time.
CHO: Bob, I have one quick question. There is something called the "27 club," which I am sure you are familiar with. A lot of celebrities have died at the age of 27 through overdose, including Heath Ledger and some others. Is there a reason why this is happening? You see Michael Jackson, he died at 50. A lot of young people seem to be getting addicted, right?
FORREST: Young people are dying, like Ken said, in droves all across America from prescription drug addiction. My own nephew died of prescription drug addiction. He would dentist shop, not so much doctor shopping as dentist shopping.
And so it's a huge problem. Education information -- that's why I got up at 4:00 in the morning to come here. You have to get the information out. People are dying from prescription drugs they are getting from doctors, not only in Hollywood but all across America.
CHO: Well, let's hope they are listening. Bob Forrest, Ken Sealy, we thank you for joining us.
SEELEY: Thank you.
FORREST: Thank you.
CHO: It's 36 minutes after the hour. We are back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Right now, the space shuttle Discovery and its seven- member crew is heading for a rendezvous with the International Space Station. And all morning we have been asking for you questions about this mission and the future of NASA.
For some answers, let's go to Cape Canaveral and our John Zarrella, plus AM's own real live NASA astronaut Cady Coleman.
Great to see you this morning, again.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.
CADY COLEMAN, TRAVELING TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IN DECEMBER: Good morning.
ROBERTS: We have been getting all kinds of questions on our blog. I thought this one doesn't deal with the nuts and bolts of what they are going to be doing up in space but it is kind of a thought- provoker here.
Joseph Daniel Brian Lawler writes, "Question for the astronaut -- are you anxious for first contact to assist and advance our own space agency?"
Not to say that we are waiting for little men from wherever and women too to come down and meet us for the very first time. But it does kind of beg the question. I am wondering, Cady, what you think about this, knowing what you know about the science and space exploration. Are we alone in the universe?
COLEMAN: You know, I wouldn't think that we are. Yet, that's something we just don't know yet. If I was a betting person and I was wondering whether they would contact one of the six people in orbit on the International Space Station or one of the many millions people down here on earth, I would be betting on that space station.
We don't know enough to know whether we are alone yet.
ZARRELLA: There are plenty of earth like planets that they are discovering out there that may well hold some sort of life out there in the universe.
CHO: Cady, it is Alina here in New York. We never get tired of hearing what it is like to be in space. A viewer asks how does it feel like to go into a frontier in which only a few have gone? Tell us.
COLEMAN: You feel a great responsibility really to use all that time up there wisely. It is a pretty exciting time to be going to the space station.
You look at the mission that just took off today. The last mission actually took the big node up there. That's going to be our place where we exercise, go to the bathroom, sort of kind of a living space there. That meant that some of those racks went out of our laboratory. Our laboratory has holes in it waiting for science experiments.
This mission that launched today brings those new racks up of science experiments that people like me will do when they get to orbit.
ZARRELLA: A lot of the science that Cady wants to do when she is up there and will do is going to be things that you will do with kids in classrooms, right?
COLEMAN: I would say education is a very big part of things in that we are hoping it is not just six months that I spend in space. But if I can touch some kids down here and make them realize that what they do in school is kind of like what we do up there -- we have to study hard, work hard, and we have to practice.
And we do that by talking to kids in school in a calculated way, though, so that when I am talking to a classroom, actually that is connected to a lot of other classrooms. We put a big focus on that.
ZARRELLA: You will do that real time?
COLEMAN: Real time, real questions from real kids.
ROBERTS: A lot of work to do when she is up there for that six months. I'll tell you, Cady, if I were an alien and there is some speculation as to whether maybe I actually am, and --
(LAUGHTER)
I knew you were up there in the space station, you'd be the first one I'd make contact with.
COLEMAN: I knew there was one at CNN, I had a different suspicion about who it might have been.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Thanks so much, guys, great to see you.
It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines and some information about the earthquake in northern Mexico.
Rob Marciano in Atlanta for us this morning. Hey, Rob. MARCIANO: Good morning, guys. It'll start you off with that record-breaking heat across the East Coast. Again today, temperatures will soar to the 70s, and even lower 80s across D.C., egg roll happening this morning at the White House, a perfect weather for that.
86 degrees is expected in Atlanta and some of these numbers over the weekend were a record-shattering. And here is a couple of them. Boston, 77 degrees yesterday, that set a record; Providence, Rhode Island, 76. Trying to at the very least to evaporate some of that flooding.
But the main story today is going to be severe weather that's going to break out across parts of the central part of the country and a pretty powerful storm into the West Coast.
This storm, across the Midwest, which yesterday did bring some severe weather, four reports of tornadoes and certainly some wind damage. We're going to have a similar setup today, Chicago west towards St. Louis and Kansas City. We're seeing it right now in Kansas City, we show you this out early this morning. And now, a severe thunderstorm watch box has been posted for Kansas City and the surrounding area until noon local time.
Back to the earthquake we go. Several aftershocks, probably over 100 small aftershocks and getting -- creeping up into southern California and that will probably last for the next few days if not a couple of weeks.
John, Alina, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob thanks so much for that.
MARCIANO: You bet.
ROBERTS: A lot of comments coming into our live blog this morning. A lot of people talking about Tiger Woods; he has got that press conference this afternoon at 2:00, makes his debut at the Masters.
Carol Young writes, she's is a sports fan. "I can't wait to see Tiger play. He tries hard and never gives up and he's just exciting to watch. I really don't care about his personal life."
CHO: That's right, Marcial writes in to us, "I stopped watching golf when Tiger stopped playing. It's great to have him back." A lot of people say golf without Tiger is a little like U2 without Bono.
ROBERTS: And Melon, who is a frequent contributor we should say to our blog, writes, "People's interest in Tiger's personal life is based on jealousy. It's none of their business what his personal life is about. That's why it is called a personal life.
CHO: The problem is when you're a public figure sometimes your personal life bleeds into the public, well, public realm, right, yes.
ROBERTS: Well, it all depends to on, you know, how you live your life in the public eye too. If you are a role model to people and you behave as something less than a role model. Then that's where the problem is.
CHO: Well, it'll be interesting to see what happens at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. We'll be carrying that news conference live. Tiger will be taking answers from the media or taking questions from the media rather for the first time. So you know, he's famously private. We will wait to see what he says.
ROBERTS: And we want to hear from you, by the way. Contact us, CNN.com/AmFIX, our live blog. And let us know what you think about anything that's on your mind this morning.
We'll be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eight minutes now to the top of the hour. New this morning: cheers in northern China, as more than 100 miners are pulled alive from a flooded underground shaft. The mine flooded more than a week ago. And more than three dozen people may still be trapped under there.
CHO: About 212,000 people will see their extended unemployment benefits expire today. That's all because the Senate could not agree on a one-month extension before its spring recess. The lone holdout, Republican Senator, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who said there was no way to offset the $10 billion cost.
ROBERTS: More back slash from the RNC's $2,000 tab at a bondage themed Hollywood nightclub. They are not -- they aren't asking Chairman Michael Steele to resign over the scandal but two senior GOP Congressmen say they have lost confidence in him.
CHO: Evaporating revenues are driving up water rates around the country. Bills are rising by as much as nine percent in some places. Home foreclosures and failing businesses mean, guess what, water usage is down and that's forcing utilities to raise prices to make up for losses.
ROBERTS: And Apple's new iPad blew away sales expectations. An estimated 700,000 of them were sold during the first day they were offered. Analysts predicted less than half of that number would be purchased.
CHO: Yes, people are standing in line, I think at the Apple store on Fifth Avenue they were even handing out breakfast.
ROBERTS: Pretty incredible.
CHO: Making it easy for them.
ROBERTS: Hey, something Alina Cho knows a lot about, social networking is FourSquare, the next big social networking thing.
CHO: We'll show you next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: When it comes to the Web, the next big thing is all about location, location, location; applications that let your friends know where you are so that you can meet up with them. The biggest contender right now is a social networking site called FourSquare.
CHO: Yes. But a lot of people haven't heard about it. They want to know, how does it work? Is it a really good idea to let people know where you are all the time? There are those privacy issues.
I recently talked to FourSquare's cofounder and some users to find out for this "AM Original".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: It is Friday and Twanna Hines (ph) wants to meet up with friends at Sweet Revenge, a wine and cupcake bar in New York. So what does she do? She sends out a virtual all-points bulletin using FourSquare, a free application she has downloaded on to her cell phone.
TWANNA HINES, FOURSQUARE USER: If I had a friend three blocks away, it sends them a ping and they can say, oh, wow, Twanna is nearby.
CHO: All of Twanna's friends who are also on FourSquare and live in New York get the message.
HINES: So it kind of eliminates the need to like call five people and say, "Hey, what are you doing tonight? Or where are you right now?"
CHO: It works Twanna is already with one friend when another shows up.
MICHELLE STEPHENS, TWANNA HINES' FRIEND: It facilitates serendipity but I think that's really what it is. It's to facilitate, you know, meeting up with people at a moments' notice.
CHO: FourSquare, Gowalla (ph), looped and whirl, even Google is getting into it, mixing social networking with where you are.
PETE CASHMORE: Really this face is so large, it's the next wave of the Web -- what makes FourSquare different from its competitors is that it is also a game. Members earn virtual badges, like those who check in often at the gym can get gym rat badges. Some also vie to be mayors of their favorite joints by being a repeat visitor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from North Carolina. And trying the mayor of a hotel in Minneapolis I am going to check in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from North Carolina and sort of the mayor of a hotel in Minneapolis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been in very fierce battles with my wife being mayor of my hope.
CHO: Yaw Etse, is the mayor of jay's pizza in New York because he has checked in here more than anyone else.
YAW ETSE: It is great to brag, especially if you really like the place.
CHO: it is not embarrassing that you are the mayor of a pizzeria?
ETSE: Absolutely not.
CHO: I guess it's good, right? The pizza's good.
ETSE: I think it's great pizza.
CHO: Being mayor can also mean perks, like discounts and freebies which is how FourSquare, through partnerships with businesses will begin to make money.
Thirty-three-year-old Dennis Crowley is FourSquare's cofounder and CEO.
CHO: Everyone wants to be the next Facebook. Everybody wants to be the next twitter. Why do you think you might be the next twitter?
DENNIS CROWLEY, FOUNDER & CEO, FOURSQUARE: Some of the stuff we are doing, it changes the way that people experience their Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights. We see this all the time. It is helping people make decisions about where they should go and the places they should explore.
CHO: How much money could these founders make?
PETE CASHMORE, CEO, MASHABLE.COM: The bottom level of accusation of social networking start-ups, you are talking 50 million. I would imagine if they are able to build traction, they could be hitting the $100 million plus mark.
CHO: so far, 700,000 people have signed up, including -- Twanna Hines.
HINES: I compare FourSquare now to what cell phones were many years ago. The value that it provides, it's like I can't imagine how I went out without FourSquare. It makes it so much easier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: How did we do anything before any of this? In the days before fax machines and e-mail and Internet.
CHO: I know. I mean you think about that all the time. You know it's interesting, you ask about those badges, the gym rat badges. It is part of a game. It is a game. It is part city guide. It is part Friendster type of thing. But what's interesting is that the founder of FourSquare said to me, we thought, what if we offer a gym rat badge, would people go to the gym more. And you know what, their research shows that people do. That's interesting.
ROBERTS: Interesting.
CHO: The question is, how connected do you want to be to your friends? What's interesting is you can send a check out and it goes out to potentially hundreds of your friends and some of them need to show up.
ROBERTS: Does everybody need to know where you are all the time. How about this though? You send out a check to all your friends no one shows up. There's a problem
CHO: Yes, well, that's -- there's that problem too.
ROBERTS: That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for spelling off Kiran today.
CHO: Thank you so much for having me. Always good to be here.
Here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips.
ROBERTS: There she is.
