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American Morning
White House Holds International Summit on Nuclear Nonproliferation; Phil Mickelson Wins It Again; Ron Paul Emerging Frontrunner in GOP; GOP Rallies the Troops; A Letter to Toyota
Aired April 12, 2010 - 06:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you on this Monday, the 12th of April. Thanks for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. You were gone for much of last week down in West Virginia, and it was hard unfortunately that the ending to that story couldn't have been a good one, but they found the last four miners, unfortunately, did not survive that blast.
ROBERTS: Yes, that's what they had expected, but it just doesn't make it easier. Even if the families were prepared for it. It was a terrible ending of that story.
CHETRY: And now -- this week, it looks like, I mean, the president spoke out about it in Congress. I mean, they want to try to make some changes.
ROBERTS: Yes. An investigation will take place, and we see always after these disasters that there's new legislation, new regulations put in place. The sad thing about it is that regardless of how many regulations are put in place, how many steps they take to try to keep these miners safe, something always seem to happen.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: And this was the worst one in 30 years.
CHETRY: Right. We'll see what is decided in Washington.
ROBERTS: Forty years, actually.
CHETRY: Yes, it was. In the end, it ended up being, yes, in four decades, but we're going to continue to follow that story and also will bring you big story this morning including the spread of nuclear weapons and how to stop it. It's the focus of one of the largest international meeting ever held on American soil, and in a moment, we'll take you live to the White House with new details on the president's Nuclear Security Summit.
ROBERTS: CNN has obtained a letter written four years by Toyota assembly workers in Japan, it was sent to the CEO and expressed concern about corner cutting and outsourcing compromising safety. The letter also predicted the crisis facing the company today, but the whole thing was ignored.
Toyota acknowledges it received the letter and never acted on it saying, "We are not perfect."
CHETRY: The price of doing business with China, is it good for America? There are some that say China's gain actually hurts us when it comes to keeping jobs here. A special report, "China Rising, Opportunity for Threat" is just ahead.
ROBERTS: But first, President Obama kicking this morning's nuclear security summit by warning terrorist organizations are still after these weapons of mass destruction. The White House invited dozens of world leaders to Washington, and for the next two days the discussions will focus on keeping these nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
Our Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House for us. Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Obviously the security is very tight here in the city. I worked late last night, overnight at a hotel right here. The White House woke up to concrete barriers outside the hotel. Not so bad here outside the White House, but certainly even stricter security outside the convention center.
Obviously this summit is all about nuclear security, the president making it very clear that he sees an eminent threat here. The threat now is not from nuclear war as in the time of the cold war from states and countries with nuclear weapons, but now he is saying the threat is from nuclear terrorism, the possibility of terrorists getting a hold of nuclear materials and attacking the United States or other countries like Al Qaeda.
The president making it very clear that he believes that this is the most important and serious danger that is threatening the world. Take a listen, John.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short term, medium term and long term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon. This is something that could change the security landscape of this country and around the world for years to come.
If there was ever a detonation in New York City or London or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically and politically and from a security perspective would be devastating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: John, White House officials are saying for the two-day summit the target is very specific -- to get the world leaders together and for them to sign off on an agreement essentially to try to secure those vulnerable nuclear materials within four years around the globe.
ROBERTS: So 46 countries represented there today. Are there specific pledges they are asking the other countries attending to make?
MALVEAUX: We do expect they'll be specific pledges and we expect that those leaders will talk about them. One of the things that is a priority obviously is trying to make sure that nuclear materials are not smuggled out of the country and into the hands of terrorists.
The other thing we're going to be hearing from these leaders, the idea of stressing regulations. A lot of the private industry controls the nuclear materials, so strengthening those regulations and make sure they don't get outside of the private industry's hands.
The other things is toughening legal punishments in the legal system against those who try to smuggle those materials. And then to try to secure things like plutonium and highly enriched uranium, the things that make up nuclear explosives.
Those weapons that they are talking about, Chile is one example of a country that says we're going to give our materials to the United States, you guys deal with this and secure it. There are other countries who want third parties to get involved to secure the materials.
And then finally, finding alternatives to highly enriched uranium, perhaps using lower grade fuels for energy purposes and so they don't end up having to use those type of dangerous materials that could get into the hands of terrorists. These are just some ideas and pledges that we expect in the next 24 hours, John.
ROBERTS: We'll be watching that very closely all day today, the big summit coming up on nuclear weapons. Suzanne Malveaux for us live at the White House. Suzanne, thanks.
CHETRY: Other stories new this morning. Poland is observing seven days of mourning after the death of Lech Kaczynski. On Sunday the presidential palace in Warsaw was a sea of candles as people played respect. Kaczynski and more than 90 other polish leaders died in a weekend plane crash in Russia.
Investigators found no mechanical problems with the plane and are looking at pilot error as a possible cause.
West Virginia governor Joe Manchin is calling for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of last week's deadly mine explosion. The tribute will mark one week since 29 miners died in Montcoal. Dangerous levels of toxic gas prevented clues from recovering the last of the miners.
Investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of that blast.
CHETRY: And the Senate back from a two-week recess expected to take up a measure that extends unemployment benefits through the first week of May. We could see another partisan showdown over this discussion. Democrats need at least one Republican to vote with them to get the 60 vets they need.
Republicans are saying they don't object to extending benefits but they want to offset that expense with spending cuts.
ROBERTS: It started with a circus complete with a Tiger. Tiger Woods returned to golf in pursuit of another Masters title, but it quickly turned into Phil Mickelson's weekend.
CHETRY: Lefty, as he's known, won his third green jacket, and celebrated with his mom and wife, both battling breast cancer. Tiger Woods, by the way, finished five strokes back. But did he win the PR war?
Carol Costello joins us live from Washington. I watched this weekend out in part out of interest in Tiger Woods, but then Phil Mickelson, he was on fire and he made it really interesting.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not really a big golfing fan, but I watched as well, and Phil Mickelson made it so emotional. You just forgot about Tiger Woods. Now we can talk about what happened to his swing.
The story of this masters turned out to be the good husband and aggressively spectacular golfer phil mickelson. There he is after shooting a bogey-free 67 on Sunday. He did that by taking chances, especially on the 13th hole, made that spectacular shot through the pine trees.
That of course is Mickelson, and so is this, so emotional. There's his wife Amy recovering from breast cancer. She struggled to make it to the tournament to the 18th hole. And Phil Mickelson held her for a full 30 seconds. It is an endless hug. It was fabulous.
Then he put the green jacket on and his wife Amy was on his mind in his moment of glory too. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL MICKELSON, MASTERS WINNER: I really want to recognize my family. My wife -- we've been through a lot this year. And it means a lot to share some joy together.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Kiran, didn't that make you cry? I was crying.
CHETRY: It was an emotional moment. He did say he was suspending golf indefinitely when he first learned of her diagnosis of breast cancer. But it turned out they did catch it early, right?
COSTELLO: She's recovering but she's very weak from taking the medication that she needs to get rid of it. That's why she struggled to make it to the tournament today. They live in California, it was a long flight for her.
Then six weeks after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, his mother was diagnosed. So he's been going through that too.
What a contrast though. Woods finished fourth, his wife Elin nowhere in sight. Mostly Tiger Woods was surrounded by security, his caddie and, oh, yes his agent. He did not do well. In fact he muttered some not curse words but not very nice words as he took a bad swing. But at least we can stop wondering about his sex life and wonder what happened to his swing.
ROBERTS: At any rate, Phil Mickelson, great guy, great golfer, deserved win yesterday. It was a good one for the Masters. Carol, thanks so much.
(WEATHER BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten minutes after the hour. He almost scored the top spot in the GOP presidential straw poll over the weekend after he won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll. Congressman Ron Paul on what's right and wrong with his party and whether this is the GOP's year.
CHETRY: Also at 7:18, a warning from the assembly line, workers who say they saw Toyota cutting some very dangerous corners. We'll show you the letter that sadly may have been ignored and may have come true.
ROBERTS: And a new "A.M." original series, "China Rising." Is that a threat or an opportunity for us?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 12 minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Republicans are now looking ahead and eyeing a major political comeback. They rallied the troops at a leadership conference that took place this weekend in New Orleans where a straw poll gave an early indication of potential GOP candidates in 2012.
ROBERTS: Mitt Romney topped Ron Paul in the ballot by one vote. There you see all of results there. Sarah Palin was third and Newt Gingrich fourth, both well back from the frontrunners.
Congressman Ron Paul joins us now this morning now from Texas. Thanks for being with us.
REP. RON PAUL, (R) TEXAS: Thank you, John, nice to be with you.
ROBERTS: Over the weekend we heard a little bit of back and forth and difference of opinion between Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich about whether or not the Republican Party should be the party of no, Gingrich saying you can't be the party of no, you have to be the party of yes and tell people what you're for, Sarah Palin saying it's OK if you don't like something to say no. Where do you, congressman, come down on that?
PAUL: I agree with them both. If you don't like something you say no. There's an opposite to no, you're saying yes to something. I have to say no to most of the legislation in Washington, but I am saying yes to the Constitution and principles of liberty. So in a way they are both right. I don't think there's too much disagreement there.
CHETRY: Right, but I think what Newt Gingrich seemed to be saying is that you have to sort of stand for something you can point to. Maybe its legislatively or on principle, standing up and explaining, because I think right now obviously when you're the minority party in Congress it's harder to show, this is what we want to get done.
So what is your role as the minority party in Congress when it comes to trying to let people know what you stand for?
PAUL: I think that's the goal. That's been my goal all along.
Some people say when you're in the opposition all you do is knock down the other side because they are doing badly and you'll pick up the pieces and then tell them, because if you tell them specifically what you'll believe in, they'll start challenging you.
But if you believe something and believe it's correct, you should come across saying this is what I believe in -- I believe in sound money, noninterventionist foreign policy, I believe in civil liberties and free market. So that's all yes.
And I, of course, believe that sincerely. I don't run for office. I run to see if I can get support for certain ideas, so when I can get the support or the votes to win something, that to me is a sign they are accepting these ideas which I consider very positive.
ROBERTS: And you were there over the weekend, did very well, as we said, in the straw poll. Sarah Palin was there as well. Of course, she's become a very popular figure, draws huge crowds. To some degree, she's become the face of the Tea Party.
Your son Rand said that she would be a great candidate. Did you agree with that? Will she be a viable candidate in 2012?
PAUL: Well, I don't make predictions like that at all because -- you know, I've been watching this for a long time and I've been always waiting for a great president. And I -- quite frankly, there's been a few get into office who have very, very few qualifications. And those who have qualifications, I don't see a whole lot of difference.
To me, it's back to the ideology of the people. The president and the Congress reflect the people. If the people want welfare and warfare, that's what the Congress and that's what the president give.
To me, it's a change of attitude -- as long as the people want to be taken care of by the government, no matter what that individual say or does, or whether they are popular and they don't think a whole lot, they're going to -- they're going to do what the attitudes are.
But also, there's a conflict between what the prevailing attitude of people actually is versus the power of the lobbyists. You know, the people might not want, you know, government medical care, but the lobbyists might. So, then there's a fight, and that, of course, that fight is out in the open now, what the people want versus what the lobbyists want.
CHETRY: And one big player in that whole fight has been the Tea Party. We've sort of seen it evolve over the past year, especially through the health care debate. But it seems like it's hard to define.
What are the main issues that the Tea Party stands for?
PAUL: I think, clearly, there's a lot -- a fair amount of disagreement on exactly where they come down on, say, the war on drugs and foreign policy. But I think what unifies them is they are disgusted with hearing promises and not being fulfilled by the politicians. They don't trust the government.
But they also are very, very concerned about the size and scope and failure of government and, really, the bankruptcy of government -- because it doesn't go unnoticed that the national debt is rising so rapidly. Last week, the national debt went up $108 billion in one week.
CHETRY: Right. But what about all the other things that we see in this Tea Party?
PAUL: And the people are sensing this.
CHETRY: What about, that some have argued, the elements of perhaps racism, some of the other things talking about Obama as a socialist, Obama as, you know, a communist --
PAUL: I think --
CHETRY: -- they are present at some of these rallies?
PAUL: Yes. I think that's 1 percent or 2 percent and it's blown out of proportion when some media -- person in the media can pick this up and play that up, and forget about 99 percent of what they're saying. They want limited government and these are good people.
And yes, there are elements like that both on left and right. But I don't -- I don't think that's their theme at all. But, you know, there's always risk in politics, whether you're on the left or right, of people who join you for ulterior motives and they tend to want to discredit you.
And that's why the individual who is presenting the case has to present the issues. I have to defend my views. I can't defend the views of everybody who ever shows up at one of my events because that would be impossible. I mean, we don't screen people.
ROBERTS: Congressman, just before we go, see if we can get you on the record on this. Michael Steele, the RNC chairman, he was also down there. A growing number of people is calling for his resignation, saying that he's not the best person to be leading the party.
What are your thoughts on that? Should he step down?
PAUL: I don't think so. You know, I think he's doing a pretty good job compared -- I mean, there are some blunders, but once again, it might be a little lack of control of some of the people that work for him, and did something I don't think he was personally involved, but it's a big operation. He's been winning some elections and --
ROBERTS: So, you got faith?
PAUL: He's raised a lot of money. So, in any way, he's winning -- he's the first Republican chairman who has had, you know, at least reached out to me, at least would talk to me. You know, generally, the Republican leadership don't want to have anything to do with me and they don't want to have anything to do with the Ron Paul people. They should be looking to us and saying, you know, why don't we help these young people who are so anxious and interested in what I'm talking about? Maybe they can be and sure should be in the Republican Party instead of being excluded.
He's reached out. And he has imperfections. He's admitted that. We all have those.
But to kick him out of office right now, that's not going to happen and it wouldn't make any sense, as far as I'm concerned.
CHETRY: Great to talk to you this morning. As always, Congressman Ron Paul -- thanks.
PAUL: Thank you.
CHETRY: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, a letter to Toyota's president warning safety problems. This one coming from, actually, workers who build the cars right there on the assembly line. We'll tell you how the company responded.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
In the days when Toyota enjoyed a stellar reputation for safety, a group of their assembly line workers in Japan became concerned.
CHETRY: Yes. They didn't like the way the company was starting to build cars. So, they wrote an urgent letter to their CEO. It was ignored.
Deb Feyerick now with the explosive warning in that letter that sadly came to past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 45 years, Tadao Wakatsuki worked at the assembly line at Motomachi factory in Toyota City, Japan. He took pride in his work, pressing metal to shape the outside of cars, believing it was for the good of society.
TADAO WAKATSUKI, RETIRED TOYOTA WORKER (through translator): It was a good life I had.
FEYERICK: But in the last decade, as demand for small fuel efficient cars skyrocketed, Wakatsuki and the small union he represented began to fear the company was dangerously cutting corners and compromising safety. So, they took a risk.
(on camera): Four years ago, the men wrote this letter voicing serious concerns about what they saw as Toyota's move to cut costs, outsource critical design work, limit car testing on new models, and hire more workers they believed were less qualified.
WAKATSUKI (through translator): Workers without skill become in charge of making cars. As a result, naturally, the quality had to be compromised. We were very anxious of the danger.
FEYERICK (voice-over): From 2000 to 2005, the number of Toyota recalls had been rising steadily. The letter warned the company could face a serious crisis if it failed to act. The company's reply --
WAKATSUKI (through translator): We do not reply. That's it.
FEYERICK: Toyota now acknowledges the letter and says it "strictly adheres to all Japanese and U.S. labor laws and regulations."
This February, company president, Akio Toyoda, admitted priorities got confused, competition to be fierce, along with consumer demand outpaced quality control.
AKIO TOYODA, PRES., TOYOTA MOTOR CORP.: I fear the pace of which we have grown may have been too quick.
FEYERICK: Toyota set the gold standard for its lean manufacturing model, minimizing cost, maximizing efficiency.
But economic research specialist Cliff Waldman says the company forgot a key goal.
CLIFF WALDMAN, MANUFACTURERS ALLIANCE: They over-emphasized efficiency and rapid growth without the goals of careful new product development, efficient information sharing.
FEYERICK (on camera): That information sharing or lack of it will come to haunt Toyota, executives in the U.S. seemingly kept in the dark during Toyota's major car recall in more than 30 European countries last September -- just before similar recalls hit the U.S.
STEVE ST. ANGELO, CHIEF QUALITY OFFICER, TOYOTA N.A.: We're not perfect. And we didn't share the experience that we had in Europe. We didn't know about it in North America.
FEYERICK (voice-over): In March, Steve St. Angelo was named chief quality officer for North America, to ensure U.S.-based engineers have a greater say in warning and fixing potential defects.
Still, veteran Toyota worker Wakatsuki who is now retired is skeptical, saying his former bosses hide rather than deal with problems.
WAKATSUKI (through translator): They would avoid announcing defects as recalls if they can. They would call it service campaign or anything else to fix the problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Clearly, the focus for Toyota is making things right. But the company seems to have ignored a key asset, and that is listening to the voices of its own very loyal and talented employees.
ROBERTS: Very surprising that they spoke up about this in the first place.
CHETRY: Yes.
FEYERICK: Well, absolutely. It's very -- this gentleman just happened to retire just a couple of months ago. He was there for 45 years, saw what was going on and got very concerned. Toyota now says, yes, we did get the letter, but, you know, again, it's a big company. You're not going to look at all letters. Still, this was a union and it was pointing out problems that they saw as potentially a safety risk.
CHETRY: Deb Feyerick for us this morning -- thanks so much.
FEYERICK: Sure.
CHETRY: Next on the Most News in the Morning, the U.S. economy continues to recover. In China, it's quite a different story. Next, Christine Romans with a special series "China Rising: Opportunity or Threat?"
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way in just a couple of minutes. But first, an "A.M. Original" -- something that you will see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
Before the turn of the century, you had to be in China. For U.S. businesses, it was considered a no-brainer. Fast-forward 10 years, China's economy is booming while ours is sagging. And you have to ask the question: Has China been good or bad for Americans?
Christine Romans is now kicking off a week-long special report, "China Rising: Opportunity or Threat?"
Good morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
With China's economy just surging and the United States still suffering from chronic unemployment, the question then is: Nine years after China was admitted to the World Trade Organization and officially welcomed to the world economy, has China's rise been good or bad for America?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Meet Steve Udden -- husband, father of two daughters and a trade statistic.
STEVE UDDEN, LOST JOB IN CHINA: I felt like a baseball player that got traded from a team that he loved playing for and loved the fans. I loved my customers. My co-workers were like second family to me.
ROMANS (voice-over): His job as a telecom projects manager went overseas to China when his factory moved there. Classified by the U.S. government as a casualty of foreign trade qualifies him for a stipend and money for re-training. Unemployment benefits and Cobra health insurance helped fill the gap.
UDDEN: We're keeping it level and steady and holding the line. And right now we're OK.
ROMANS: He's the face of the increasingly strained relations between the U.S. and China. One think tank estimates 2.4 million manufacturing jobs went to China between 2001 and 2008. And with China's explosive rise comes a nation that is now a key player in America's domestic and foreign policy. Take its currency. Anything made in China is cheaper than made in the U.S.A.. Why?
DAN SLANE, U.S. CHINA ECON. & SECURITY REVIEW COMM.: They arbitrarily control the value of their currency and they do not allow it to float like most other currencies in which supply and demand for the currency set the value of it.
ROMANS: That means $1 is always equal to about 6.83 yuan.
SLANE: The manipulation of their currency gives them about 40 percent advantage and it puts our exporters at an enormous disadvantage.
ROMANS (on camera): The Treasury secretary abruptly postponed releasing a report this week that could have listed China as a currency manipulator, opting for backroom diplomacy and a closed door meeting in Beijing. This just before China's president, Hu Jintao comes to Washington for nuclear talks.
ROBERT KAPP, CHINA BUSINESS CONSULTANT: That's good. We're not going to hang him out to dry while he's here, which should be politically disastrous.
ROMANS (voice-over): And then there's this. Pressuring China is tricky, China is America's banker, the world's factory floor. It's building its military by more of the world's natural resources to fuel its growth and it doesn't like Americans telling it what to do.
GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR "THE COMING COLLAPSE OF CHINA": The Chinese showing a new assertiveness and aggressiveness that took many Americans by surprise. I think that it's partly because they are starting to listen to what we say about this being China's century, and then they started to internalize it and say, "well, if this is our century, we should determine what goes on."
ROMANS: At the same time, the U.S. needs China's influence with emerging nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran.
KAPP: Thus far, The United States and China have not clearly been a one mind. The Chinese emphasize over and over again, "do it diplomatically, let's negotiate and the Americans have gotten more and more impatient and try move the world in the direction of difficult sanctions.
ROMANS: As the temperature many wonder, is China an opportunity or a threat?
CHANG: It's going to be both. And the question is on balance, is it better or is it worse.
ROMANS: A question unanswered for Steve Udden. He is still out of work in (INAUDIBLE), Massachusetts. His job is now somewhere in China. His outlook, quintessential American.
UDDEN: I'm completely optimistic and believe in the marrow of my bones that I'll find something that's good for me and my wife and children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Publicly the Chinese dismiss the Obama administration's calls to let the currency rise publicly. And Chinese officials insist the U.S. is using Beijing as a scapegoat for its own economic troubles. The premiere Wen Jiabao in rare public comments recently scolded the president of the United States and called America's attitude protectionist and he said the U.S. has too many of its own problems to interfere in how China chooses to do business.
Privately, however, John, many are saying there seems to be some progress. There could be some progress behind the scenes on some of these issues and that some of these tensions are simmering down over the past few days.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's talk more about that. Chinese President Hu Jintao is going to be in Washington today and tomorrow, attending the nuclear summit. His appearance a victory of sort for the Obama administration. Relations with China, as Christine was mentioning, have been shaky for quite a while now.
So does this meeting signal a new beginning? Joining us now is Ian Bremmer. He is the president of a Eurasia Group, a global political risk researching consulting firm and Christine Romans remains with us. Ian, what's the state of the relationship between the U.S. and China now, and of what significance is Hu Jintao's visit to Washington today?
IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT, EURASIA GROUP: Well, the visit, as you suggest is a bit of a victory for the Obama administration. Things had been deteriorating on almost every front. There's really no area of U.S.-China relations that you can say decisively better now than it was a year ago. Most are worse. Whether on the security front, the economic trade, currency, geo-politics, you name it.
And so getting Hu Jintao to come here, pushing back on the public announcement of whether or not they would be declared a currency manipulator and instead trying to do that behind the scenes definitely paves the way. At least at the highest level for improved relations. The problem is this talk is coming as both these countries are only going to be batting each other more on all of these other issues. It's going to be harder for Obama to tow the line going forward.
ROBERTS: Christine, the big question here is what are China's intentions? Remember back in the 1990s Bill Clinton called them a strategic ally. President Bush called them a strategic competitor. You know, they've got a long-range view of things that not many people in America have. So where are they going here. Some people have suggested that, you know, they are sort of where Japan was in the 1970s.
ROMANS: China is going where it's best for China. China has a very distinct national strategy that is thought out, laid out and planned by the government and followed. The United States does not have a national strategy like that for its business. And the other thing that people need to know about China is that China's business and its politics and its social policy and its military is all the same thing. It's a big complex, it's all the same thing.
So nothing is done without knowing how that will affect and prosper the rest of the country. In this country, we have competing interests and we have different stake holders as they like to say in Washington. And sometimes they are working at odds. It is the quintessential culture clash. And sometimes critics of our relationship with China say that in Washington, we think about China's strategies with our own perspective and we don't think like the Chinese and that's a big problem.
ROBERTS: You probably heard Gordon Chang talking in Christine's piece that this held by many people to be China's century. Do we risk -- does the United States risk taking a back seat to China and if we do, when could that happen? BREMMER: Well, Gordon Chang, of course, thinks China is going to collapse. He's been saying that for a long time. I think it's pretty clear at least for the next 10 years China's ability to maintain social stability, maintain economic growth is pretty strong.
We need to recognize that the average Chinese feels well more disposed towards their government today after 30 years of 10 percent growth at the hands of the Chinese government than the average American does about our own government. And that's something I think not a lot of Americans aren't really prepared to hear. We shouldn't be thinking in terms of centuries. Things are moving much too quickly. China still an emerging market. It's political institutions are still relatively mature.
We have things on the horizon, nuclear proliferation, climate change. You can't do centuries any more. But if you want to talk about the next 10 years, China is increasingly going to be posing a challenge to the United States. At base level, their economy is much more state controlled than closed. And as they don't need our currency any more and as an investment and as they increasingly don't need much of our technology, we're finding that the world's two largest economies have economic systems that are fundamentally incompatible. And that's a real problem for us when we're facing 10 percent unemployment.
ROBERTS: Well, Gordon Chang said that China was going to collapse by 2010. So time is running out (INAUDIBLE) we should point that out.
BREMMER: It is quickly running out on Gordon.
ROBERTS: It is. Ian Bremmer, good to talk to you this morning. Christine, as always thanks so much.
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: And tomorrow, part two of "China Rising: Opportunity or Threat." Christine Romans examines how China has changed American businesses. One look at your dinner table will tell you everything you need to know. That's tomorrow only on AMERICAN MORNING. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead. There is an outcry this morning after a Tennessee mother sent her adopted Russian son back to Russia on a plane by himself, saying he was a danger and that he was threatening her family. Now there is a huge international controversy. We're going to have the very latest coming up. 38 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour. We're following a developing story right now, one that could leave hundreds of children and potential adoptive parents in limbo this morning. Russia says it is not allowing any more Americans to adopt children from their country after one Tennessee mom sent her seven-year-old adopted son back to Moscow, put him on a plane alone, a one-way ticket, 10-hour flight.
Now the boy's adoptive grandmother said that he terrorized the family, even threatened to burn down the house and they were simply at their wit's end. Martin Savage is following this story for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVAGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began when this seven-year-old little boy stepped off the plane in Moscow on Thursday, alone with a note from his adoptive American mom saying she was returning him because he was mentally unstable and violent. Russians were outraged. The country's foreign minister even threatened to suspend all adoptions to the U.S. and the media flocked here to the small town of Shelbyville, Tennessee looking for the family that sent the kid back. Only that family doesn't want to be found.
(on camera): This has been a regular routine here at Shelbyville for the past couple days of days. We come to the door every couple of hours. Knock on it. Never have any response. Yesterday there were a bunch of notes here from journalists. But they're gone. Now there's this edition, a fruit basket. We're told it's from "People" magazine.
(voice-over): We would like to get the family's side of the story. Because right now, they don't look too good in the headlines.
(on camera): So what we've been trying to do is track down the Henson family with the former addresses that they have. They are listed in at least four different states and there are a lot of listings also here in Tennessee. This is one of them. 2441 Q, (INAUDIBLE), Tennessee. It's not a home, it's a post office box.
(voice-over): Another address we had for them turned out to be a vacant lot. We aren't the only ones looking for Tory and Nancy Hansen here. So are the Russians. Reporter Evgeny Popov is one.
EVGENY POPOV, REPORTER, RUSSIA STATE TV: We need to get more -- to get more attention on American television on this story. Because it's not a first story with adopted -- tragic story with adopted children from Russia.
SAVAGE: You see, that's why the Russians are so upset by this case. Russian authorities say since the mid 1990s, at least a dozen children adopted from Russia have died at the hands of their American families.
(on camera): But in this case the family says the Russian child was threatening them. The phone call with a CNN, Nancy Hanson, the boy's adoptive grandmother described him as "violent and psychotic." "That he had a hit list of people that he wanted to hurt," number on that list is his American mom who Nancy says the boy threatened to kill for her house.
The last straw last week when they caught him in the act of trying to start a fire in the home. Nancy said she was "afraid he was going to burn the house down and kill everyone in it."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVAGE: Nancy Hanson also says that she honestly believes that taking that little boy, putting him by himself in an airplane and sending him back to Russia was the very best thing, the best thing for their family and the best thing for the little boy.
In the meantime, it's anticipated that the attorney for the Hanson family is going to meet with local law enforcement sometime this week. Kiran.
CHETRY: You know, and Martin, that claim from Russia, that about half a dozen adopted Russian kids have died in America since the mid- 1990s, have you been able to verify that as indeed true?
SAVAGE: Well, in fact, we did start digging on that and found in at least a half dozen instances, probably more, the Russians are right. That in fact, there were cases of adoptive American families that have now been charged as a result of the death of Russian children.
In fact, one of the most recent cases took place in August of last year in Pennsylvania. A seven-year-old Russian boy died, according to authorities, as a result of abuse and malnutrition. His parents are currently being held in jail awaiting trial, those are the adoptive parents. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. So this is certainly generating a lot of controversy. Martin Savage for us. Thank you.
Coming up at 8:30 Eastern, in just about 45 minutes we're going to be talking to Michael Kirby, State Department official about the welfare of this boy and what this means for so many other children now in the same situation. Does Russia need to be more transparent about some of the needs and psychological time of the children, or do parents need to be more careful? We're going to talk about all of that coming up.
ROBERTS: All right. We have some weather across the country. Rob Marciano is tracking it for us. He's got the forecast coming right up after the break. It's 45 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: You're waking up to a great day in New York. It's 53 and sunny right now, later on today going up to a high of 67, and it will remain sunny.
You can see there's not a cloud in the sky right now. We expect it's going to continue that way.
Rob Marciano, tracking the weather across the country. He 's down in Atlanta for us this morning. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes, it's going to continue for a couple of days. Dry trend remains in place across parts of the east and two thirds of the country. All the action, really, as far as Extreme Weather has shifted off towards the west, but that's only helping them as far as knocking down the pollen, which in some cases is at a level higher -- the highest level we've seen in like 10 years.
So extreme pollen levels pretty much everywhere south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and those trees are just cross -- doing their thing to procreate.
San Francisco down to San Diego, seeing some -- some rain here, and snow at the higher elevations. Still, winter storm warnings posted 16 to 26, the height level of the Sierras, and even 6 to 12 inches potentially above about 5,000 feet along the grapevine near in L.A., so that's more like a February or a March storm than it is mid- April, for sure.
Some rain across parts of South Florida. This will continue today and onshore winds will continue as well. So, rip currents are going to be a bit of an issue there and temperatures obviously very mild. So, sunshine out there. People will be kind of drawn to the beaches, so just be aware of that if you are going to dip your toes into what is probably still a pretty chilly Atlantic Ocean.
Rain and wind out west, if you're traveling out there, so some travel delays because of that. Temperatures are very nice, 60s and 70 out east, 80s across parts of lower Texas and 62 degrees and wet in Los Angeles.
John and Kiran, if you decide to go out swimming in Jones Beach, just be careful out there. (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Sure. Yes, probably not this week. In fact, last week, when it was 92 for a high that day, maybe we would have thought about it.
MARCIANO: That would have been refreshing.
ROBERTS: I was in Virginia Beach over the weekend. Plenty of people out there on the sand, but didn't see anybody going in the water. Not just yet.
MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE) this time of year, for sure.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
ROBERTS: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including GOP excitement on display in the Big Easy over the weekend, divided over the future of their leader, united that we need a change in Washington.
We'll show you the early contenders for 2012.
CHETRY: At 50 minutes past the hour, the E.R. that rolls onto the frontlines and saves lives.
Chris Lawrence takes a look at the armored mobile hospital that is helping keep soldiers alive on the battlefield in Afghanistan.
ROBERTS: And at 55 minutes after the hour, hold the buns, KFC launches its new sandwich that replaces the bread with pieces of fried chicken.
Jeanne Moos takes the taste test.
Those stories and more, coming your way at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Seven minutes to the top of the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning and it's time for your "A.M. House Call," stories about your health.
The Food and Drug Administration is taking a closer look at a chemical found in anti-bacterial products.
CHETRY: Yes. The chemical is called triclosan and it's been -- it's in most of the everyday household products that labeled themselves as anti-bacterial, but it's also been linked to altering hormones regulation in animals, and the FDA also coming out saying that some of these products are no more effective than plain old soap and water at reducing and killing germs.
Joining us now from San Francisco is Dr. Sarah Janssen. She's a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is a nonprofit, environmental action organization.
Thanks so much for being with us this morning, Dr. Janssen.
DR. SARAH JANSSEN, SCIENTIST, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: So we're just -- we just brought a little sampling in of the things that you see every day, soaps, toothpastes, dish soap, hand soap, and a lot of this stuff contains triclosan or its cousin, tricloban (ph). What exactly do these chemicals do and what is perhaps the concern about them this morning?
JANSSEN: Well, these chemicals, triclosan and triclocarban, have been added to these products to promote anti-bacterial -- bacterial resistance. But, it's really a falsity (ph). The chemicals don't do any better than regular soap and water.
And our concern is that they are actually interfering with hormones in the human system, in particular thyroid hormone and your sex hormones. And, in addition, they could be promoting drug resistant bacteria in the environment.
ROBERTS: You know, the Food and Drug Administration says that triclosan is not known to cause any kind of harm to humans, but in a letter that was sent to Congressman Ed Markey, who I know has been working with your organization, they -- they seem to share at least some of his concerns.
Here's what they said in the letter, quote, "It is the FDA's opinion that existing data raised valid concerns about the effects of repetitive daily human exposure to these anti-septic ingredients."
The industry continues to maintain, Dr. Janssen, that it's all safe, but can you tell us what is the existing data that has raised concerns both among your organization, Congressman Ed Markey, and the FDA?
JANSSEN: Well, the data that have -- we've seen from animal studies is that triclosan interferes with thyroid hormone and the male sex hormone, testosterone. And we know from other animal studies that when this happens, the long-term effects can be behavioral changes, learning abnormalities and long-term effects on reproductive health, including infertility.
Triclocarban is a little bit different. It seems to actually boost sex hormones, which is a concern for people who have hormone- dependent cancers, like breast cancer or prostate cancer. And, of course, we don't have any data in humans because this has only been done in animals, but animals do share the same hormone systems as we do, and so this is deeply concerning.
CHETRY: You know, and what do you do then? I mean, as we said, it's in so many different products. I mean, we have a list right here, and, I mean, we already linked it to our website as well, cnn.com/am fix so people can check it out.
But it's in toothpaste, it's in hand soaps, it's in dish washing liquid, deodorants. It's also put on things like socks, cutting boards, you know, to inhibit the growth ob bacteria. How do you avoid it?
JANSSEN: That's right. It's in a lot of different products, and, in particular, in the personal care products, like the liquid soaps where triclosan is found in 75 percent, and some of the bar soaps where triclocarban is in about a quarter.
It's actually going to show up on the label, so you can avoid these chemicals by simply l reading the label and not buying things that say triclosan or triclocarban.
ROBERTS: Now, some nations, Dr. Janssen, around the world have moved to limit the inclusion of these two chemicals in products that come in contact with food or cosmetics. Canada, the E.U., Norway, Germany, Japan all moving to -- to at least kind of rein in the spread of triclosan and triclocarban. Should the United States do the same thing or do we need more empirical evidence?
JANSSEN: No, I don't think we need any more empirical evidence. We have enough data now to be concerned.
The FDA has been evaluating the safety of these chemicals and personal care products for over 30 years and they've essentially given them a pass because they haven't finalized any regulations of them, which means they've been allowed to be in our products without any oversight or regulation and it's time to rein that in and pull these products off the shelves.
CHETRY: All right. As we said, you can check out our website to find out more about which products we're talking about this morning.
Dr. Sarah Janssen with the National Resources Defense Council. Thanks for being with us.
JANSSEN: Thanks for having me.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break.
It's 57 minutes past the hour. Your top stories when we come back.
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