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American Morning

Deadly Quake Rattles China; A Spat Over Space; Missing Girl Found Alive After Five Days; Obama Takes on Wall Street; Boy Sent Back to Russia

Aired April 14, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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


JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Wednesday, April 14th, one day before Tax Day. I am Jim Acosta, in for John Roberts.

No pressure, Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Fingers crossed -- yes. Fingers crossed, everything gets there where it's supposed to go.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

ACOSTA: You -- you put the stamp on the envelope.

CHETRY: Yes, but, however, I just discovered today that my husband put it in the envelope where the address is not facing correctly, so --

ACOSTA: Oh, no.

CHETRY: I'm going to change it up before I send it today.

ACOSTA: And did you do the Meg Ryan thing? Remember that, where she opened up the mailbox to make sure that the letter went in the mailbox over in --

CHETRY: No. We haven't even sent it yet. Oh, goodness.

All right. Well, welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. We got a lot of big stories we're telling you about in the next 15 minutes.

Right now, there is a situation taking place in China after a powerful earthquake. Rescue crews desperate to get to an area, a very remote province where they say at least 400 people are dead and thousands more wounded there. It was a 6.9 magnitude quake.

Our John Vause is heading to the scene. We're getting a live report coming up.

ACOSTA: And the president has a new vision for NASA. He wants to shift funding away from human space flight, emphasizing scientific research and robotic missions to other planets instead.

But one former astronaut who happens to be the first man ever to walk on the moon says the White House is about to send NASA on a slow journey to mediocrity. CHETRY: And police are calling it a miracle, a young girl lost in a dangerous, alligator-infested swamp for days found alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES KING, FOUND MISSING GIRL: Hey, I've got her. I've got Nadia. I'm holding her right now, yes.

She's OK. She's got bites all over her. She's got some scratches. She's very lucid. She has -- she has no major injuries, just exposure.

I've got some -- I'm going to give her some liquids. I've got some stuff prepared for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The amazing story of how she was found, and we're going to be talking to the man who set out alone, believing that God would help him find her, and he says he did.

ACOSTA: An incredible story. And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Others already have.

We want to hear from you about what's happening in the news this morning. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX. We'll be reading some of your comments throughout the morning -- Kiran.

CHETRY: First, we start with this powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled the western Qinghai province in China early this morning. It was followed by a string of strong aftershocks. A top official says that at the very least, 400 people are dead, and thousands may have been hurt. Many are still trapped under the rubble.

Kristie Lu Stout is live in our Hong Kong bureau right now with the latest on what's going on.

Kristie, good morning.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kiran.

Rescuers are trying to stop a cracked reservoir from overflowing. It's been nearly 13 hours since the first quake hit Qinghai, but the area has been rocked by several strong aftershocks. Houses and temples are flattened. Power supplies and phone lines have been knocked out.

And police are using shovels and even their bare hands to reach survivors because they don't have any heavy earth-moving equipment.

Thousands of Chinese soldiers -- they're making their way to this remote western area of the country. They're bringing tents, quilts, and coats for the earthquake victims. Now, Qinghai sits about 12,000 feet above sea level, so it gets very cold at night. Mind you, right now, it's 8:00 p.m. local time. But some people who live near the epicenter say they haven't received any help yet.

Now, CNN's Beijing bureau, they spoke to one resident of Yushu, the quake zone, his name is Zha Xi. They got him on the phone. And he says this, quote, "We have no food and no water today. I bought some mineral water and instant noodles for my children. We have never seen anything like this, people are terrified."

Now, Chinese media report that at least 10,000 people are injured and the government is sending a medical team that specializes in high altitudes, but the roads near the airport have been damaged, and strong winds are also making rescue efforts more difficult.

Back to you, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Kristie Lu Stout for us reporting on the latest on this situation -- it's going to be tough, as you said, a very remote area. So, they're still waiting rescue in many of these cases. Thanks.

ACOSTA: Kiran, First Lady Michelle Obama is in Mexico right now. Mrs. Obama plans to spend the next two days visiting schools and talking to kids there. The first lady arrived in Mexico last night after a surprise stop in Haiti with Joe Biden. They toured Port-au- Prince, getting a firsthand look at the damage that remains three months after that devastating earthquake that killed 200,000 people.

And the White House is branding it as a bold new approach, but the first man who ever walked on the moon, Neil Armstrong, calls it a mistake. The president's new plan for NASA creating something of a space spat this morning. The administration thinks it's time to consider a new direction for America's space agency.

Ed Henry is live at the White House this morning.

Ed, the president heads to Florida tomorrow to present this plan. What do we know about it so far?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, you're right. It's almost two plans, because the president had an original plan that's taken some flak. Tomorrow in Florida, we expect him to sort of come up with a compromise plan to deal with some of that criticism -- mostly stemming from the fact that, originally, he wanted to cut off funding from some of the existing rocket programs. That's upset lawmakers on Capitol Hill, especially from states like Florida -- obviously politically important, but also there are states very hard hit by potential layoffs at Kennedy Space Center.

And it's also, as you noted, really riled some of those rock stars among that small fraternity of former astronauts like Neil Armstrong. And they wrote a letter to the president, saying, quote, "Without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity. America must decide if it wishes to remain a leader in space."

Now, the White House position has been -- look, these are tough times. You got to make some tough budget choices. They want to do all they can for NASA, but right now, they feel that they've got to make some drastic changes, privatize some of the operations.

That's not going over too well, Jim.

ACOSTA: And this is -- this is a painful time, obviously, for the country. I mean, the president is under pressure to do something about the deficit. As you noted, I mean, this is an increase for the NASA budget that the president is talking about.

But when you see the shuttle program ending and you see missions like the trip to the moon that was -- that was talked about so much, and a lot of folks were really hanging their hopes on down in Florida, this is going to be difficult for the president to sell.

HENRY: It is, and that's why he's going there directly tomorrow, as you noted. He's going to lay out $6 billion over the next five years in new money for NASA. That's important, obviously. He wants to talk about jump-starting new industries with privatizing some of these operations as they noted and also wants to modernize Kennedy Space Center.

By doing that, the White House claims that they'll save about 2,000 jobs that were going to be mothballed, basically layoffs that were going to be coming. Nevertheless, despite these changes that are proposed, there are several thousand people at Kennedy Space Center who are still facing likely layoffs.

The plan is also going to have a revamping of the Orion system and basically, rather than this going up into space on its own, it's going to be sort of reused and recast as sort of an emergency escape vehicle for the International Space Station. The president is also going to speed up development of the deep space rocket, also talking about more shuttle flights in the long run, years down the road.

But, you're right. There's deep concern about what kind of changes are being made in the short term that are going to result in some layoffs down there in Florida -- which has already been very hard hit, Jim.

ACOSTA: Ed Henry at the White House this morning -- thanks, Ed.

CHETRY: Well, she may be known as -- probably the best-known Republican politician, but Sarah Palin has plenty of work to do if she plans on running when America votes for president in 2012.

In a CNN/Opinion Research Poll, Palin finished behind Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney and just ahead of Newt Gingrich. None, though, fare very well in a race with President Obama. The poll shows Obama topping the others by about 10 percentage points.

ACOSTA: And -- but leaving state politics has been quite a boon for Sarah Palin. Get this, Kiran -- she now makes 100 times her salary as the governor of Alaska, earning at least $12 million. That's according to an ABC News breakdown.

Her memoir "Going Rogue" brought in a $1.25 million paycheck. She'll snag $1 million an episode for her upcoming reality show "Sarah Palin's Alaska." And her speaking fee starts at 100 grand. And that's not to mention the "Sarah Palin Network," which is -- oh, that's -- that was Tina Fey. I'm sorry.

CHETRY: Yes. Her stock's risen, too, right? Everybody can thank John McCain.

ACOSTA: Exactly. That's right.

CHETRY: Well, it's six minutes past the hour right now. Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras right now with a look at the forecast for us.

Hey, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.

Not a bad day overall, but we're keeping our eye on some showers and thundershowers that are tracking across the nation's midsection. We have kind of a stalled-out system here that's not going to be moving a whole heck of a lot the next couple of days. We expect continued active weather. That line of shower should hold together as it moves through Minneapolis, Des Moines, into Kansas City later on this morning.

In the east today, things are looking pretty good, clear skies, comfortable temperatures. We've got some cloudiness from the mid- Atlantic down through the Carolinas. So, watch out for some patchy fog in areas.

The west is looking pretty good today, but cooler than average conditions.

And temperatures in the nation's midsection: 10 to 20 degrees above normal.

We'll talk more about our travel delays when I see you again in the back half hour -- Kiran and Jim.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Well, this is such an amazing story out of Florida this morning.

ACOSTA: It is.

CHETRY: An 11-year-old girl described by her family and friends as mildly autistic missing. She went for a walk outside of her neighborhood and was gone in an area that many say was infested with alligators. Well, she was found alive after five days. How did she survive?

Eight minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Eleven minutes past the hour right now.

There is a reason to celebrate in central Florida this morning. An 11-year-old girl missing since last Friday found alive in an alligator-infested swamp.

ACOSTA: And how Nadia Bloom was found has left everyone amazed. A man who said he was guided by God actually rescued the young girl.

Our David Mattingly joins us live now.

And, David, big question is: how is Nadia doing this morning?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, doctors at the hospital say she's doing remarkably well, and that's really amazing here because in cases like this, you normally don't hear a lot of good news -- someone who's missing out in the wild with no food or water for almost four days. But this little girl was able to beat the odds and she did it because of a very timely rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Her tiny hand waving from the stretcher was Nadia Bloom's way of telling everyone she was OK. It was an amazing and to a 3 1/2-day search in which the 11-year-old seemed to vanish without a trace, until a remarkable 911 call from her rescuer's phone.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

NADIA BLOOM, RESCUED GIRL: Hi. This is Nadia. I'm the girl who got lost.

911 OPERATOR: Nadia, are you OK? You're not hurt in any way?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: This mildly autistic Nadia was dehydrated, hungry, barefooted and covered with insect bites.

Volunteer James King says he was calling on his faith when he found her.

JAMES KING, FOUND MISSING GIRL: Speaking scriptures and yelling "Nadia!" And then I heard, "What?" And I said, that way, right there.

MATTINGLY: It was in one of the densest, muddiest parts of a swamp near Nadia's central Florida home. At first, the 911 operator couldn't believe it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

KING: I'm almost right in the middle of the swamp. 911 OPERATOR: Sir, you are in contact with her?

KING: I'm holding her right now, yes. She's OK. She's got bites all over her. She's got some scratches.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Working alone, King was able to do what scores of trained officers, divers, and a specially-equipped helicopter could not.

After spending four nights in the snake-infested thicket, Nadia told the 911 operator she was doing some praying of her own.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BLOOM: I kept saying over and over to myself that God would probably lead me home.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: King and Nadia's family once attended the same church. Tuesday night, that church and the community around it celebrated, what some are calling a miracle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: The police chief of Winter Springs, Florida, calling James King now a hero.

I spoke to King briefly last night. He's got an incredible story to tell. He's going to be talking to us later this morning. And I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

CHETRY: Yes. We're looking forward to it, as well -- just coming up in 15 minutes, David. We're going to be talking to the man who rescued Nadia Bloom, James King.

We're going to find out how he did it, what he felt -- you know, how he felt that he was so sure he was going to be able to find her safe and sound. He says that he was reading Scripture. He says that, you know, God led him to her and ultimately, he was there and he found her in a place many rescuers weren't even looking.

ACOSTA: And the unspoken thing about this story -- these stories don't always end this way.

CHETRY: No, they don't.

ACOSTA: Which is why this makes this so remarkable that this happened. I mean --

CHETRY: And you hear 11-year-old girl, you hear missing for four days and your heart just sinks.

ACOSTA: Right. Absolutely. CHETRY: And you don't expect a happy ending. In this case, there was one.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

We're sharing with that with you in just a few minutes. Stick with us on that.

And in the meantime, changing your computer password -- I've done that before. I'm sure you've done that before.

CHETRY: Yes. I just changed mine this morning to "James Acosta rocks." Dude, do I say that out loud?

ACOSTA: Everybody knows now and you're going to have to change it again. Why that may actually encourage hackers to break into your accounts. That's coming up also right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Right.

ACOSTA: Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ACOSTA: I think that's officially a classic.

CHETRY: Yes. If you know enough to call them STP, you rock.

ACOSTA: Then you know what you're doing. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is 8:16. Time for "Minding Your Business." Toyota is temporarily suspending sales of its Lexus GX- 460, the automaker promising to get to the bottom of a potential safety problem with its luxury SUV. Consumer Reports Magazine found an increased rollover risk while making turns in the GX-460. Toyota now asking its Lexus dealers to stop selling the vehicle until the problem is identified and corrected.

CHETRY: That is amazing. We just heard that story yesterday, we talked about it. And Toyota did not have a response yesterday but now they're weighing in on it. Facebook, meanwhile, launching its redesign safety center. You know, Facebook has been the subject of a lot of attention when it comes to how to police this, how to keep sex offenders off of these sites. They have new tools for parents, for teens, for teachers and police to deal with threats. The changes comes the day after Facebook officials met with child advocacy groups who have been pushing for something like a panic button that users can use or push it to report problems.

ACOSTA: And speaking of the Internets -- you hate to do it.

CHETRY: Internets.

ACOSTA: I just like to throw that out. It's a pain in the neck to remember mixed uppercase, lowercase, a number or a symbol. Well, it turns out regularly schedule password changes are a big fat waste of time, and a Microsoft study says if a hacker gets your password, they're likely to use it right away. So Microsoft estimates companies spend about $16 billion a year to have users change passwords.

CHETRY: Well, let me ask Stephanie about this. Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business," by the way, this morning. What I don't understand is, yes, but doesn't changing your password regularly protect you from somebody finding out your password?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: But I guess the argument being is, if you change it and they get it, as soon as they get it, they use it. They don't hold onto it and use it later, right? So that is what they are saying. So, it doesn't really matter when you change it. They're not like, look at our list of potential people we'll hack. They use it right way.

ACOSTA: And building up America?

ELAM: We are talking a little bit about building up America today.

ACOSTA: Tell us about that.

ELAM: I'm going to tell you about that. Well, actually, I am going to tell you about what's going on today in Washington because President Obama will be meeting with some of the top Democrats and Republican lawmakers basically to talk about financial reform. This is something that's pretty important, obviously, for a lot of people out there.

President Obama moving on to talk about this after getting health care out of the way. Basically saying that this is something that needs to happen so we don't have another great recession like we've seen this time so we don't have a near collapse of the financial markets. However, Senator Mitch McConnell, he is saying that he's telling his party, don't vote for it. He's basically saying that if you do, you're just setting up a whole system of bailouts and bailouts and bailouts, perpetually, there will be no end to it. In fact, take a listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MINORITY LEADER: The fact is this bill wouldn't solve the problems that led to the financial crisis. It would make them worse. This bill not only allows for taxpayer-funded bailouts of Wall Street banks, it institutionalizes them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: All right. Of course, the White House going on to say that this claim is false. They're saying that the Senate Bill clearly bans perpetually bailing out companies using these funds to do so. The Obama Administration says financial reform is necessary and this is something that they need to do, but overall the bill would create a resolution authority, something to be able to wind down these companies that need serious help. It would also boost oversight on banks and capital markets and it would also provide some financial products coverage for consumers out there to help them out so that they don't just fall by the wayside.

ACOSTA: The White House doesn't like to hear that, but they should remember that Mitch McConnell, almost every day during the health care debate that was going on in Washington, took to the floor in the Senate. They were calling him basically the iron man of the Senate on the Republican side because every day, he would lay out the opposition to health care reform. And folks are predicting what he was just talking about on the floor about bailouts and this financial reform, is exactly what's going to happen again.

ELAM: And people do listen to what he has to say.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

ELAM: The House has already done their version of it, Senate looking to do it now, hopefully by the end of the month. That's their plan.

CHETRY: Stephanie thanks so much.

ACOSTA: An 11-year-old girl found alive after spending five days in an alligator-infested swamp. Hero rescuer James King says, God showed him the way. He is here live.

CHETRY: And the adopted boy from Russia that was returned to Russia after his American adoptive mother said she just couldn't deal with him anymore, we had a chance to speak exclusively with the airport driver who had no idea that when he was picking up this boy from the airport and driving him to the Ministry of Education that he was getting in the middle of this international dispute and all this controversy. He's going to tell us exactly what it was like to meet the little boy and what he experienced. Twenty-one minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is 8:24. Time for top stories and those top stories only five minutes away. But first an "A.M. Original," something you'll only see right here on "AMERICAN MORNING." Authorities in D.C. and Russia still dealing with the fallout this morning after a boy was sent back to Russia alone by the family in Tennessee who had adopted him.

CHETRY: Yes, that is right. They sent him back with a letter that said I don't wish to parent this child anymore. I think he's psychotic and he is a threat to our family. Well, meanwhile, in a CNN exclusive earlier, I had a chance to talk to Arthur Lookyanov. He is basically the driver who unknowingly was hired in Russia to pick this boy up at the airport and then take him to the Ministry of Education. And I began by asking Arthur, I said, tell us what the boy's adoptive grandmother said when she hired him for the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ARTHUR LOOKYANOV, RUSSIAN DRIVER, TRANSPORTED RETURNED ORPHAN: I just received a message just for transportation and during our correspondence on 6th of April, I thought that she is coming to Moscow and I have to meet her and drop her off at the Ministry for -- Ministry of Education and Science.

CHETRY: Yes. At the time you had no idea that you were just going to be picking up an 8-year-old child by himself, right?

LOOKYANOV: No. During our long correspondence, many messages, she didn't mention the purpose or who will -- who I have to -- whom I have to meet.

CHETRY: Right.

LOOKYANOV: So --

CHETRY: Right and this is interesting because then you did get an e-mail from her that says the pickup Thursday will be for an 8- year-old boy named Artem Hansen. A United Airlines customer service agent will escort him to the hall to meet you. I would like for you to please escort Artem to the Office of the Ministry of Education. Now, after you got that e-mail, did you have any concerns about the fact that you'd be picking up a young boy and, indeed, the mother or grandmother was not coming along?

LOOKYANOV: It was actually strange request. I hadn't, like, request like this before. But she was -- assured me that somebody has to meet the boy at Ministry of Education and I thought it was just for the purpose of exclusion or study purposes or something else. I didn't thought anything about bad things.

CHETRY: Right. So tell us a little bit about what it was like when you met Artem, Justin, at the airport and what was he like on that ride to the Ministry of Education? Just tell us a little bit about that.

LOOKYANOV: Boy was looking good. He wasn't scared. And during our ride to Moscow, Moscow City, we had a chat, tried to -- tried to speak and learn some Russian words. And I was very, how to say, amazed how I didn't know he's Russian and I was really amazed how fast he was learning Russian words, like we tried to, repeat, what is, like, car in Russian, Machina or dog like Sobaka in Russian. So singing abcdefg -- so it was fun.

CHETRY: But then you did say that there was a time in the car when he did start to cry, right? He started to cry. He also talked about missing Grandma Nancy.

LOOKYANOV: Yes. Yes. Right before nearby Ministry of Education, we stuck in traffic jam, and in the mirror I saw he started to cry, and he responded that he's missing very much his Grandma Nancy. So, I didn't know all background and I responded that be strong, be man, and you will see Nancy soon.

CHETRY: Yes. And so what happened after that as you finally did get to the Department of Ministry, you go there, you have those papers that Nancy asked you to deliver, and this is when you realize what happened, because they weren't expecting him there, right? And there was a lot of shock and many people were upset when they realized what had happened.

LOOKYANOV: Yes. It wasn't any receptionist who had to meet us, as she mentioned in her message. And it was only a guard, like a police in nearby entrance. I asked them that somebody has to meet us from the Ministry. We are coming from airport and the boy's name is Artem Hansen. So they stared at me like a crazy man because they didn't know anything about it.

CHETRY: This has got to be so hard for you in this situation. I mean, you fell into it not knowing what was going on. How are you feeling right now about what happened and also what is going to happen to little Artem?

LOOKYANOV: Of course I wish him from my heart to -- good luck and to find -- to find a good parents who will be taking care of him. Of course this is very sad situation and maybe this is -- this is not common, but just -- this has happened and it's very sad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Unbelievable.

CHETRY: I know, and he did not feel like he could leave the boy. I mean, they said to him -- they questioned him at the police station and then said you're free to go and he just didn't feel right. He said that he still felt that the boy was a little helpless and needed him. You know, hopefully things will work out for the best.

We spoke with an expert that deals in psychology of adopted children, especially from the Eastern European country, and he said they need to have more support for orphanages but also once the children are adopted for the adoptive parents.

ACOSTA: You have to wonder what this is going to do to families out there who want to adopt.

CHETRY: And who are in the process in Russia.

ACOSTA: Who are in the process of adopting. All of this could be thrown into chaos because of this very poor decision that was made.

CHETRY: Unfortunate, but hopefully things work out for the best for little Justin.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour right now. We're covering a breaking story out of China this morning, an earthquake there. Here are some of the new pictures that are just in. Officials there are saying that 400 people at least are dead and that thousands more are hurt after a powerful 6.9 magnitude quake hit Qinghai province in western China. Aftershocks continue to rattle the mountainous region overnight, making rescue efforts extremely difficult. Homes flattened, roads covers with debris, and they are still searching for survivors this morning.

ACOSTA: President Obama has a new vision for NASA and will unveil it tomorrow when he visits Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The White House wants to cancel a program to send astronauts back to the moon. Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to step foot on the moon, writing a letter to the president calling the idea "devastating."

CHETRY: Also, the president is taking a bipartisan approach to selecting a nominee for the Supreme Court. He is planning to invite Democrats and Republicans to the White House next week where they will discuss the vacancy on the high court. It's going to be created when Justice John Paul Stevens decides to retire this summer.

ACOSTA: We've seen the president try bipartisanship in the past with health care reform and we'll see what happens with the Supreme Court.

CHETRY: He started with bipartisanship, ended with reconciliation, right?

ACOSTA: Exactly, that's right.

It is being called a miracle. An 11-year-old girl is found alive after spending five days in a dangerous Florida swamp. Nadia Bloom, who has a mild form of autism, was discovered about a half-mile from her home by James King.

CHETRY: He set out alone to search the swamp early yesterday morning, and about this time yesterday police got a call from him deep inside the brush. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I've got Nadia. She's OK. She's got bites all over her. She's got some scratches. She's very lucid. She has no major injuries, just exposure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: James King is here with us now in New York this morning. It's great to have you with us in the studio. A lot of people are calling this a miracle. How do you see it this morning?

KING: I see it as an answer to a lot of people's prayer. And I'm just very thankful, thankful that god used me as a part of it to be able to find her.

It's definitely a miracle. I mean, I didn't know where she was. The only person who was where she was was god, and so I asked him, and he led me directly to her, straight -- well, as straight as you can go through the swamp.

ACOSTA: And, James, this was not a stab in the dark, as you put it.

KING: No. I don't believe in luck. I believe in god. And, you know, I trust in him. And I trust in his word. And his word said that he will be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And I needed him to guide me.

In Proverbs 3 it says "He will direct my path." He did. I stood on that scripture and I shouted it out as I trudged through the swamp, and as I prayed, and the Holy Spirit led me directly to her.

CHETRY: The reason this is so amazing is they had a search crew that was looking. I mean, they had, you know, professionals. You were out with actually people earlier, and as it turns out they were not looking anywhere near the location she was.

You say you literally were led right to her. You didn't make any prong turns. It was hard to get through this brush. It took rescuers, once you gave them a call and they were able to trace it on the GPs, it still took them two hours to cut through all the brush.

ACOSTA: You were poked in the eye along the way.

CHETRY: You have a little red eye from being poked.

KING: Sure.

CHETRY: But a lot of people find this unbelievable, how you were able to find this girl missing for four days in some of the toughest terrain.

KING: Well, god -- you know, god will speak to us if we listen, and so much we want to listen to all the other noise of the world.

But through my life I begin to tune a lot of that out and, you know, while I'm very thankful to be on television, I watch very little of it. I don't listen to as much music, or even talk radio, although I could enjoy it, because I try and spend my time more listening, reading god's word, and learning to hear his voice because that's ultimately where -- that's what leads my life.

And so I knew he wanted me to go. I prayed. And in some cases when there's water in front and there's water to the left and water to the right and trees and brush and bushes, and I said, which way to go? And I looked up, and he said go that way. I'm looking at water. I said, lord, you sure? He said, I gotcha.

And as soon as I start walking, the ground turned the water solid, only about a foot and a half deep. He took care of me all the way, leading me, directing me. At one point he said follow the sun. I went east until I found her.

ACOSTA: And what was that moment like when you found her? What was she like?

KING: Well, I wasn't surprised. I was expecting to hear her voice. And so I'm yelling, "Nadia?" And at one point, I yell, "Nadia!" And I hear, "What?" And I started going that way.

And when I saw her there was a little bit of back and forth when I made my way to her, probably about 40 yards. I was surprised at what good shape she was in, her demeanor. She was not panicked. She looked like she had been sitting there waiting on me.

CHETRY: She knows you, right? You're a family friend?

KING: She said she recognized me. I'm not a family friend. I attended the same church she was a member of at one point.

ACOSTA: A familiar face.

KING: Yes, I was a familiar face. I said, "It's Mr. King, I'm coming to get you." She said "OK."

CHETRY: What did she tell you about how she ended up there? We talk about how difficult and remote it was to get there. How did she get there?

KING: I don't know. I know she said, I went on a nature walk and I got lost. I said, well --

CHETRY: You really got lost.

ACOSTA: That sums it up.

KING: Yes, it did. It's amazing. It was in the middle of the swamp. It took me two hours of rough time getting -- and if she came in the same, you know -- I know where she came in at, and she must have been about two hours trekking through the swamp, as well.

ACOSTA: There's more to this story. We need to hear how they got out of there.

CHETRY: We need to hear how they got out and what the reaction has been after all of this. We're going to take a quick break, so stick with us, James.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back. We are back with James King, the Florida man who rescued Nadia Bloom down in Florida out of that swamp. And I guess we want to show a little video here just to give you a sense as to how desperate it was for Nadia out there. If you look at this video --

CHETRY: She's waving there.

ACOSTA: She's waving there, but that tarp-like gurney that she was carried out on almost, when you look at that image, it doesn't look like it turned out very well, but obviously it turned out as well as it possibly could.

And James, tell us about her condition. Why was it she had to be literally carried out of there? KING: She -- I didn't try and stand her up when I had her. I held her on the log. But she may have had a difficult type standing. Her feet were not in real good condition. And the terrain was so terrible that even if she was able to walk we would have had had to carry her out, she would have been on somebody's back or something, because it was very, very rugged.

It took -- at any one time there were at least six guys carrying the thing. We would have to switch off going through the water and through, you know, stepping in holes and everything else. So there were typically six to eight people, not counting the police officers that were up ahead with the machetes, cutting a path for us to even get out of there.

CHETRY: You also explained that just by the nature of the terrain and the trees and everything they couldn't even do a helicopter extraction. You got creative, though. Well, after getting her hydrated and giving her what you had, an apple trail mix you said and ensure, one of those drinks, you also threw toilet paper, you found a way to signal through the tree where is you were.

They were able to use your blackberry to locate you but it was still a challenge to actually find you guys.

KING: Right. The helicopter kept circling and circling and circling. And I was talking to the dispatcher saying he needs to go a little north or northwest, or I would say he's right over my head but they couldn't find me or see me through the canopy.

And before that I'd gone over at the request of the dispatcher and brought toilet paper for signaling. And so I covered the top of a couple of Bushes that were in more of an open area than I was in. And they still had a hard time finding it.

But I used that on the top, and finally they were able to locate it. And then the Winter Springs police department, very professional gentlemen that arrived. They had been specially trained for swamp rescue and they had a medic with them, a former marine, and when they arrived they were able to assess her medical condition.

ACOSTA: That was the cavalry.

KING: Yes. There was no way I could have hauled her out of there on my back. That was a rough area.

ACOSTA: Let me ask as you, as you mention, the police there, were you surprised after it was all over they had to go through the routine questioning and talk to you about --

KING: It was unexpected --

ACOSTA: -- because it's almost impossible to believe.

KING: Right.

ACOSTA: Here the authorities were looking on the opposite side of the swamp and you made a bee line, almost, right to her.

KING: Well, you know, there are those who did believe. There are those who spent probably a lot more time on their knees than I do, but there are a lot of them who don't. But they also have a job to do. They have a responsibility to the community to make sure there was no foul play.

ACOSTA: Right.

KING: So I understood that. I understood it completely. And certainly most of the Winter Springs Police Department that I met were topnotch professionals. I was very glad to be on the team with them.

CHETRY: What about Nadia's parents? What did they say?

KING: It was a blur. I had a lot of people hugging me. One gentleman I heard was her grandfather had some blood on him. He looked so thankful. I hope to be able to reunite back with them and probably lots more crying and hugs and see Nadia again. She said me she might invite me to her pizza party.

CHETRY: Might. I love it.

(LAUGHTER)

Well, just a great story. And, you know, I'm sure there are so many who know you who are so thankful that you were there and your faith carried you through. Thanks so much for joining us.

ACOSTA: Thanks for coming by. I want to shake your hand.

CHETRY: Quite a hero. Thanks, James.

KING: Thank you.

CHETRY: All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, Jacqui Jeras has the weather forecast for us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: A shot of Atlanta this morning. Not looking that great right now, right? Is it?

ACOSTA: It's OK.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it's going to get better, mostly sunny, 82 degrees right now. Is it just the shot, Jacqui?

ACOSTA: I love the weather in Atlanta.

CHETRY: It looks a little soupy out there right now, Jacqui?

JERAS: Well, you know what, it's not -- it's all the pollen in the air.

ACOSTA: Oh. CHETRY: Is that it? You guys are having a tough time, aren't you?

JERAS: Oh, my gosh. So many people are so miserable, you know not just in Atlanta but the southeast in particular has been seeing crazy pollen levels. And what happens is when you get this high pressure type of weather pattern, the air just sits there and nothing moves around so all the pollen that gets kicked up just stays there until something comes through to wipe it out.

And unfortunately no wipes this week, our weather pattern really staying put where it is, so what you see is what you get. I hope you're enjoying what you get because that's pretty much it throughout the rest of the week.

The nation's midsection will be the focus of all the shower and thundershower activity. We're a little concerned on the backside of this high bringing in that Gulf moisture here and that could bring some heavy rain throughout the week, kind of accumulating, bringing that potential for some flooding.

In the meantime today that system bringing some showers and a few thundershowers across the upper Midwest. This line itself has been weakening pretty significantly but we do think it'll hold together to bring a few sprinkles in Minneapolis down I-35 and in Des Moines as well as into Kansas City, and then we could see additional showers and thundershowers fire up later on this afternoon.

The East, they're waking up to some beautiful conditions in the northeast. You get down towards the Carolinas. You've got a little bit of fog this morning but that's going to be burning off a little bit later. Our back door cold front bringing cooler temperatures in the Northeast. But really nice across the nation's midsection; temperatures are going to be well above average; today it's mostly 83 in Atlanta. How about 83 degrees in Kansas City?

ACOSTA: Wow.

JERAS: Not too shabby.

CHETRY: Not at all. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

ACOSTA: Good for Kansas City. Yes, thanks.

Now, I'm just curious. Why do I seem to always get the tosses and the teases to Carol's story about men?

CHETRY: To your -- to the lack of manliness?

ACOSTA: To this Menaissance that we're hoping is underway any second. Men lagging behind in graduation rates, jobs; is feminism to blame? But men are now fighting back Carol says. Carol Costello checks it out -- the rise of manpower. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 8:51, time for your "A.M. House Calls", stories about your health.

You know next time you visit the doctor, you might be seen by a nurse. America is short-changing or experiencing a severe shortage -- excuse me -- of primary care physicians and it's expected to get worse. Twenty-eight states now considering laws that would broaden the authority of nurse practitioners to compensate for the doctor shortage. I must really got that badly off.

CHETRY: No, I mean, you just -- you know?

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: It's early.

Doctors say that they think they've identified a gene that could tell if you're at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. More research still needs to be done. They also say that ancient medical practices from India could be offering Alzheimer's patients new hope. Researchers in Europe found that they help boost mental agility in the same way as some conventional drugs.

ACOSTA: All right, the 1960s. Back then it was a man's world, right? It was all about bringing home the bacon, cars, feats of strength.

CHETRY: How would you know, you weren't there.

ACOSTA: I don't know; I wasn't there.

CHETRY: OK, but today the tides are turning. Studies are showing that women are the ones who are better educated, they're the ones making more money and in some ways it's leading to a save the males movement.

ACOSTA: I already have that bumper sticker on my car.

CHETRY: I'm sure you do.

Our Carol Costello is live in Washington.

Good morning, Carol. What's going on with our dudes?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With our dudes? Well, let me tell you, Kiran, there is a Menaissance going on, a return to rugged masculinity, as in good-bye metro-sexual, hello, retro-sexual. But that's not all. There is also a movement, albeit a small one, to introduce a new academic discipline in universities across the country -- Male Studies.

All of these things aiming to do just one thing: save the American male.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): "Mad Men", the TV show with many a contemporary man's fantasy. In 1960s America, men were men. Today -- (on camera): What would you say the state of men is right now?

LIONEL TIGER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Males are at a point now where they're experiencing a considerable amount of dismay and uncertainty and somewhat scorned in principle by females.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Lionel Tiger is one in a group of professors, all men, who support a new academic discipline, Male Studies. It explores the biology behind masculinity. It was born in part out of a concern our culture is feminizing boys.

TIGER: Don't, by any means, let them drug your child to turn it into a girl, which is what effectively they do.

COSTELLO (on camera): You think that's really true that if you give a kid Ritalin and it's a boy that they want to transform him into a she?

TIGER: Becomes less active, more physically compliant, less likely to bounce around the room.

COSTELLO (voice-over): While you may or may not agree with that one, the fear of feminization is out there. Other men are fighting it, too. Not by studying the problem but by going retro a la "Mad Men". They're dismissing less than masculine heroes like the guys in HBO's "Entourage" -- and embracing the macho heroes of old like Theodore Roosevelt and Steve McQueen.

BRET MCKAY, CO-AUTHOR, "ART OF MANLINESS": What does it mean to be manly?

Bret McKay supports the retro-sexual movement. Along with his wife, he wrote "The Art of Manliness" and says men can end the confusion by embracing the kind of machismo that includes honor and self-reliance.

MCKAY: I think it's just a reflection of this idea that men, young men, particularly, want to grow up. They're tired of, you know, feeling like they're a teenager still.

COSTELLO: While a Male Studies class may help, McKay says a good first step is simple.

MCKAY: You're going to take the wide in here and wrap it around --

COSTELLO: Dress like a man. And men seem interested in going elegantly macho. Both Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers are now selling retro looks. As for whether clothes or Male Studies will re- establish a manly man's place in the world, who knows?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: As for what women think in light of the fact men still dominate the top of the corporate ladder and still dominate all three branches of government, many women roll their eyes. And then there's this. We've been asking for your comments this morning. CNN.com/amFIX.

From a woman, Donna. She says, "Welcome the return of the man's man. There are too many guys throughout who can't use a hammer or change a tire. My husband is and always has been the voice of reason and responsibility in our family. These qualities make it possible for me to work an easy part-time job." She also enjoys watching CNN.

And Jim Acosta, even though he's not quite the manly man he should be.

ACOSTA: What? I just want to know, does this mean we can go back to not asking for directions? That's what I want to know. Because that's awfully manly, you know, not asking for directions.

CHETRY: Now that you have a GPS, you guys don't need to ask for directions anymore.

ACOSTA: Oh, that's true. That's true.

CHETRY: There you go. A nice lady tells you, because you have a woman's voice on the GPS --

ACOSTA: That's right. Turn left.

COSTELLO: Some interesting comments we got, by the way, were from men. I want to read you one from Sherman.

CHETRY: Yes. Go for it.

COSTELLO: Sherman says, "Maybe we should return to those days when certain men felt more in power and control of not only their lives but others' as well. How about taking out the controls on wife beating and child abuse? Let us not forget public intolerance for minorities and inequities in pay, legal rights and accommodations. All of us men do not want to go back to the world of our fathers or grandfathers. Progress for everyone can be painful, guys, so buck up and join the 21st century."

Although I'm pretty sure that some of the men in my story do not want to go back to that part of that day.

CHETRY: No, but --

ACOSTA: Right.

CHETRY: I agree with -- John wrote something that was interesting -- John Marshall. He said that the emasculation comes from two sources. We live in synthetic nature, not real, you know, not like real rugged forests. And he says media advertisements where men are portrayed as stupid and dumb -- you know, all the guys seem to be that the guy is dumb and his wife has to tell him what to do or he can't remember this or he doesn't know how to dress.

Do you know what I mean? I notice that a lot and it kind of bugs me because I think that that's also saying that a woman is not strong enough to marry somebody who's intelligent, who can do things for themselves?

COSTELLO: I know. Watch any football game and look at the commercials.

CHETRY: Right.

COSTELLO: Like, my least favorite is for the beer commercial where the guy is sitting there and he has to choose between the beer and the woman and he chooses the beer. That's not macho, that's just dumb.

ACOSTA: I watch that commercial. That commercial is awesome.

CHETRY: Jim, we're trying to stick up for you here, Jim --

ACOSTA: I'm getting out of here.

CHETRY: -- and there you go. Thanks.

ACOSTA: It's a man's world.

CHETRY: All right. Carol thanks so much.

ACOSTA: Some beer commercials.

COSTELLO: Dream on, Jim Acosta.

CHETRY: Yes. Exactly.

ACOSTA: I do. I will.

CHETRY: Two minutes and you can open up your brew.

ACOSTA: There you go.

CHETRY: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, that's going to wrap it up for us. We'll see you back here tomorrow. But you can continue the conversations on any of the stories you saw today on our show, CNN.com/amFIX.

ACOSTA: Thanks for having me. That's all for AMERICAN MORNING for now but stay with us, here is CNN's "NEWSROOM" with Fredricka Whitfield.

Good morning, Fred.