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American Morning
Russia Suspends U.S. Adoptions; Lexus GX460 Production Halted; Jail Cell Tax Scam; Baggage Fee Fight; West Virginia Governor Orders Inspection after Coal Mine Tragedy; The Two Sides of China
Aired April 15, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome to the 8:00 hour here in New York on AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday, April 15th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Hope you get your taxes in by midnight tonight.
And here are the stories we'll be telling you about coming your way in the next 15 minutes.
Russia is suspending all adoptions by American families after an adoptive mother in the United States sent her 7-year-old son back to Russia alone on the plane with a note saying, "I can't take care of him anymore." We're live in Moscow with the latest developments -- just ahead.
CHETRY: And drifting ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland shutting down airspace from Sweden to the U.K. We'll tell what you it could be like for transatlantic flights to and from the U.S. and show you more of the amazing video.
ROBERTS: Here's a new one for you -- an unbelievable tax scam making millions for Florida jail inmates. Prosecutors say they are filing bogus tax returns. The IRS knows about the fraud. The inmates are turning that scam into an awfully successful business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. PENNY PHELPS, MONROE COUNTY DETENTION CENTER: What they would do is go to other inmates and suggest to an inmate, I can get you $4,500 in a tax return. It will cost you $500.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The IRS has done its own investigation of the fraud, but experts say it's slow. Inmates are still filing falsified returns in the meantime. All of this, of course, is at the expense of -- the expense of the American taxpayer.
CHETRY: And of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. You can join the live conversation right now. We want to hear from you, CNN.com/amFIX and we'll be reading some of your comments throughout the show.
ROBERTS: But, first, new fallout his morning over the case of a Tennessee woman who sent her 7-year-old adoptive son back to Russia on a plane alone with a note. Her actions drew international outrage. Now, Russia is suspending all adoptions to American families.
CNN's Ivan Watson is following the developments for us. He's live in Moscow for us this morning.
Good morning, Ivan.
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
The Russian government is now saying that unless there's a new agreement put in place that will allow Russian officials and American agencies to follow up on the treatments and the caring for the Russian children who are adopted by American families, until that agreement is reached between the U.S. and Russian governments, it is going to freeze future American adoptions.
Let's take a listen to what the Russian foreign ministry spokesman just said on Russian TV.
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ANDREI NESTERENKO, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN (through translator): Further adoptions of Russian children by American citizens which at present have been suspended will only be possible in case such an agreement is reached.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: Now, John, before hundreds of American families that are desperate to adopt Russian children who are going through this lengthy and costly process, before they should despair, they should know that both the Russian and U.S. governments appear to be working quickly towards trying to resolve this matter and to sign this agreement. The U.S. -- the Russian foreign ministry, rather, just put out a statement that next Tuesday, U.S. and Russian diplomats will meet to discuss this matter.
Again, the Russians, what they want is some kind of monitoring process so that the kids that are adopted and more than 50,000 Russian children have been adopted by American families in the last 15 years, so that they can be better monitored after they're adopted. And they're pointing to a number of the cases, not only the case of Artyom Savelyev who is shipped back to Russia with this letter and that triggered a lot of outrage here, but there have also been a number of cases, at least 15, according to Russian authorities, of Russian children who died after being adopted by American families -- John.
ROBERTS: And we heard what the Russian President Medvedev said about all of this. He called it a monstrous act. What else are we hearing from the Russian people about this?
WATSON: Well, there has been outrage. But it's interesting, the Russian agency "Interfax" just did a poll, and it said that 68 percent of Russians asked said it would be a bad idea to completely ban adoptions -- foreign adoptions. Only 17 percent, John, were in favor of that. But a majority of those asked, some 40 percent, said there needed to be better laws in place to regulate international adoptions.
ROBERTS: Ivan Watson for us this morning in Moscow -- Ivan, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, there are some new developments this morning out of South Hadley, Massachusetts, as the school committee chairman announces he will be stepping down. At last night's board meeting, Edward Boisselle faced, once again, intense criticism over the way the school handled the bullying that prosecutors say to Phoebe Prince's death. Boisselle says his decision is not related to that, but rather that he feels the chairmanship should rotate every year. Boisselle served on the board for the last decade. He'll still be on the committee.
The parents, meantime, are very upset. Many of them are out there last night, demanding action. In fact, some were removed from last night's meeting after things got out of hand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB CRACK, SOUTH HADLEY RESIDENT: I don't know what -- who you guys -- why you're trying to cover up this. Everybody knows --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. Hold on, hold on. Cover up -- cover up what?
CRACK: You know they dropped the ball. They blew it. And everybody knows they blew it, all right? You got to get rid of them. All they are is just a noose on the neck of this town.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. Hold on! You're done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Six teenagers have been formally charged for their role in Prince's death.
ROBERTS: Well, happening now in the U.K. and parts of Europe, a travel nightmare, flight delays caused by spreading ash cloud from a volcano that erupted in a glacier in Iceland. Right there what you're seeing is you're seeing torrents of water flowing down the sides of this glacier, almost instantaneously melted by the hot magma coming up from underneath.
Airports across Europe have cancelled flights or they've shut down completely, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.
CHETRY: Yes, the disruptions are likely to a ripple effect across the Atlantic as well. Our Rob Marciano is following all of it for us.
Quite an unusual sight to say the least -- but affecting people across the globe.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you remember, we had a similar story probably about six months ago when Redoubt was erupting there over Alaska. Airliners having to avoid that airspace. But, obviously, this is streaming into the U.K. and some serious population. So, air travel and traffic very, very high.
Here's a list of some of the airports that are affected. The airspace over much of the U.K. is going to be restricted if not closed over the next few hours. So, if you're traveling there, obviously, you definitely want to call ahead.
We just got word from Delta that they're going to be restricting and canceling some flights because of this. The jet stream is kind of making a right turn from that volcano that's erupting over Iceland, and then driving across Scandinavia and U.K. and the western parts of Spain. So, those are the areas that are going to be most affected
Stateside, we're looking pretty good. We'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes.
John, Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ROBERTS: We've got breaking news this morning out of Tokyo.
Toyota announcing that it's going to suspend production of the Lexus GX460 for the next couple weeks. The move comes after "Consumer Reports" magazine warns its reader at the beginning of the week not to buy the luxury SUV because of high risk of roll-overs during tight turns, especially when exiting a highway or driving on curvy roads.
For nervous GX460 owners, Toyota is offering a free loaner car until the problem is first identified and then fixed. The automaker is now conducting safety tests on every SUV they make to find out if the problem extends to more than just the GX460.
CHETRY: Right. As this stands now, they're just saying that they're concerned about the 2010, but they want to be sure.
Also in to CNN this morning, Wal-Mart has knocked ExxonMobil from the number one spot of those "Fortune" 500 rankings. And as American consumers continue to struggle to make ends meet, it looks like Corporate America's bottom line is staging a resurgence for the record books.
Stephanie Elam joins us now.
You know, you hinted at this. We've talked a lot about this. You know, the stock market is doing great, companies doing great and the average person not feeling so good.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. And it's definitely true, if you take a look at the numbers that we have here, to see that things are looking a lot better.
You know, you got the "Fortune" 500 companies. You're gaining 335 percent as far as their earnings are concerned in 2009. So, $391 billion. That's the second largest jump in the list's 56-year history. Just put it to perspective there.
Sales were down, close to 9 percent. That is true. And that's the largest percentage decline since 1983.
But you also take a look at how these companies are dealing with job cuts, and they were actually cutting -- they cut more than 3 percent of the workforce, losing 821,000 jobs. And that is the biggest job loss in "Fortune" 500 history as well.
So, all of these companies rank by revenue. When you take a look at it that way, you can see that Wal-Mart is the company that came out on top, taking ExxonMobil out of the top spot. This was the seventh time that Wal-Mart was actually at the top of this list.
But, really, if you take a look at it overall, financial services, consumer cyclicals and health care. Those are the three sectors that really should rebound.
ROBERTS: People shopping big box to save money.
ELAM: Yes. A lot of it is that and these companies are doing well because the cost, they cut jobs. And as the economy's gotten better, they're still making more money.
CHETRY: So, when you see that huge percentage in their revenues, I mean, can we extrapolate from that that down the road, hiring is going to start up again?
ELAM: Yes. You know, we have started to hear some more of this already. We've heard of like a bank this week saying they're going to start hiring more. Intel, same thing. So, you're starting to hear more of it. But right now, they are making more money because they're paying less for costs.
ROBERTS: Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business" this morning -- Steph, thanks so much.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: Well, wait until you hear the latest IRS scam. Boy, you don't make any money, you send in a tax return, and you get money back. Guess where they're doing it from? That's the most stunning part. We'll tell you -- coming up next.
Ten minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.
Now, something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING -- a huge tax scam going on from behind bars: inmates filing phony tax returns.
CHETRY: Yes, experts are saying that it's happening, the IRS knows about it, but the government isn't doing anything to stop it.
John Zarrella joins us live with more.
It sounds pretty crazy, given -- I mean, people are talking about the increase in people being audited. And the IRS really cracking down and this is happening?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it sure is. And it was for a long time. In fact, for years, the inmates at the correctional center down in Key West, Florida, were using the IRS, law enforcement officials say, as their own personal ATMs. So, Tax Day for the inmates was a really big day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Just a routine search of a jail cell. Officer Mark Lindback didn't expect to find much.
SGT. MARK LINDBACK, MONROE COUNTY DETENTION CTR.: After the inmates have exited the cell, I went over, basically pulled up the mattress. He had some of the items under his mattress, additional items underneath the bunk.
ZARRELLA: The items, tax forms and address book with Social Security numbers, birth dates, and cheat sheets for filling out returns. That was December of 2006. What Lindback had stumbled upon was a lucrative income tax fraud scheme run by inmates at the Monroe County Jail near Key West.
Before they were busted, the inmates filed for more than $1 million in tax refunds, involving half the jail population.
CAPT. PENNY PHELPS, MONROE COUNTY DETENTION CTR.: But what they would do is go to other inmates and suggest to an inmate, I can get you $4,500 in a tax return, it will cost you $500.
ZARRELLA: In some cases, with the help of friends and family, the prisoners would fill out a 1040EZ short form and then attached a 4852 form with names of businesses that didn't exist and income they never earned. A 4852 is a substitute used when an employer doesn't provide a W-2.
The initial investigation was handled by county prosecutor, John Ellsworth. Phone calls were recorded.
JONATHAN ELLSWORTH, FORMER ASST. STATE ATTORNEY: One of the main guys at one point is telling one of his cohorts that he's not going to white collar -- street crime anymore, because Uncle Sam is taking good care of them. ZARRELLA: Before they were caught and the jail started intercepting incoming checks, the inmates collected, Ellsworth says, at least $100,000 from the IRS. One inmate had checks sent to his brother's house.
(on camera): Dozens of checks were going to one address? And that didn't raise any red flags with the IRS?
ELLSWORTH: Apparently not, I mean --
ZARRELLA (voice-over): By 2007, Ellsworth turned over boxes of evidence to the IRS, case closed, right? Not so fast.
RICK ROTH, FORMER MONROE COUNTY SHERIFF: And they said, well, we're working on it, we're investigating it. We can't take your investigation and prosecute from your investigation. We have to do our other investigation.
ZARRELLA: Earlier this year, nearly three and a half years after the scheme was busted, federal indictments were finally brought against a couple of the ringleaders and family members. Why so long? The IRS wouldn't say.
(on camera): Now, don't think this inmate-get-rich-quick scheme start here at the Monroe County Detention Center. Oh, no, authorities tell us it's been going on for decades at State and federal prison all across the country.
PHELPS: One of the inmates that I interviewed said he had learned of it when he was in a federal prison.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): In a statement, the IRS told CNN that it has programmed to combat this. But the IRS said, quote, "It is not a simple process, particularly considering the fact that some inmates are entitled to tax refunds and that the prison population is not static."
According to congressional testimony, in 2004, more than 4,000 bogus refunds were issued to prisoners for almost $15 million, but the IRS blocked more than $53 million in false claims.
ROTH: The system has a flaw that needs to be fixed. And it should be easy to fix by changing a form or changing submission.
ZARRELLA (on camera): And while the IRS is now prosecuting the Monroe Jail Case, guess what some inmates are still doing, filing fraudulent returns and still getting checks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we had one here that came in, about 5,000 --
ZARRELLA: There it is, so this is an IRS check that was sent to just --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To that inmate.
ZARRELLA: For $5,920?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): At least here, the checks end up in the hands of the FBI.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: So, of course, you're wondering where did the inmates get all of these social numbers to file all of these returns. Well, one of the things they were doing, law enforcement officials say, was they had their own intake process, so on occasions when you would get who would people come in overnight, for DUI, or homeless people, what they would do is, they would offer those people honey buns, 79 cent honey buns that they would buy in the canteens in exchange for the social security numbers and it worked -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS Quite a honey pot to get that honey bun. You know, what is amazing though, John, is that opening up the inmates mail is the last line of defense here that IRS can't employ the checks and balances to figure things out. It is when they get the mail and say, oh, so-and-so is getting a check, let's go see if he actually earned some money.
ZARRELLA: Yes. You know, it's incredible that, on the one hand, one arm of the IRS was investigating for three years, the other arm of the IRS was still cutting checks. And the big question is this has been going on for a quarter of a century, they say, at prisons and institutions all across the country so nobody really knows, you know, how much has been defrauded from the IRS over all of these years.
CHETRY: You'd have to make a lot of license plates to earn that kind of money.
ROBERTS: Or sell a lot of honey buns. John, thanks.
CHETRY: Thank you, well still ahead, senators saying to the airline industry enough with these fees. Should airlines be taxed for trying to charge us for carry-on. Chuck Schumer, live, next.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Did you read about this? President Obama is launching a new $6 billion space policy that will ultimately take astronauts to Mars. Of course, of course, the $6 billion and $45 if the astronauts have a carry-on. That's still --
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CHETRY: Well, Spirit Airlines' decision to charge a fee for stowing bags in the overhead compartment may have been the last straw. New York Senator Chuck Schumer says that these charges are really a slap in the face for travelers. He's actually introducing a bill to reign in Airlines and to block fees for carry-on bags. Senator Schumer joins us now from Capitol Hill.
Great to talk to you this morning.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Morning.
CHETRY: You know the airlines, people love to hate them right now and there's a lot of frustration going on, but what are you proposing when it comes to these additional fees not only in the chase of checked baggage, but in the case of Spirit Airlines, for carry-ons?
SCHUMER: Yes carry-on baggage steps over the line. Everybody understands that the airlines are having troubles, they took away the meal, and then they took away the bag of peanuts and the no pillows. They charge you for luggage that you had to check in.
But this is a necessity of traveling, people need their carry-on bags. It's part and parcel. Parents need it to feed their kids. Business people need it because they need stuff to look at. So this goes beyond and what we've said is -- basically, we've said that the Treasury shall no longer allow this to happen. They get a tax break to do this, that's why they try to do it, and we'll take away that tax break.
The bottom line is very simple and that is, this is one of the -- you know, it's a quality of life issue. We all travel, we're all now accommodated to stuffing things in a little suitcase that can fit right on top, and they ought not to charge for that.
CHETRY: Right. I mean and so they claim, Spirit Airlines has left diaper bags exempt, if you can fit your laptop underneath your seat --
SCHUMER: Oh, please.
CHETRY: -- that's exempt. But the interesting thing is, you are right, a lot of people have huge carry-ons now because they're being charged fees to check bags as well. Spirit, though, I mean, right now is the only airline doing it. Are you putting up this legislation because you think others are soon to follow?
SCHUMER: Well, you got it Kiran. The pattern in the airline industry is a little guy goes forward, sticks his head up the foxhole and if no one shoots at it, they all do it. So we are making sure there's a barrage against this so that they won't do it.
And I'm hopeful the Treasury secretary can do this on his own. I'm talking to him, I'm hopeful that he will. But if he doesn't, we'll put in our legislation. It has broad support, a lot of my colleagues are very positive on it.
CHETRY: Well I want to read you a little bit of this op-ed written by Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ben Baldanza -
SCHUMER: Right.
CHETRY: He says that the company no longer allows free checked baggage. That's why he says it's unfair to 50 percent of customers who don't check bags. Why should we raise fares so that everyone's fares includes a checked bag?
So they basically say that the policy says the airline doesn't charge for purses and briefcases and other things, but that they also want to makes sure that these lines in the security check points are sped up and that this a la carte pricing of customers actually like it.
SCHUMER: I'll bet if you surveyed a hundred of his customers, 90 would be against it.
I mean, we've gotten -- since we've started talking about this -- and this is not just through me, but colleagues throughout the country -- the phones are ringing off the hook. This is one of those indignities.
I had the head of a major federal agency in yesterday, a different agency, not related to airlines. I said, what can I do for you? He said, get your checked bags bill passed.
Everyone cares about this. You know, life is difficult these days. It gets more and more complicated, more and more difficult. Let's keep a few things like they were.
CHETRY: Spirit Airlines CEO, as I talked about, Mr. Baldanza, says he's going to be reaching out to your office to argue for why he doesn't think this is a good idea. Has he talked - have you talked to him yet?
SCHUMER: I'll be happy to talk to him. I don't have anything personal against him, I'm just trying to fight for something that I think most people see as just crossing the line, the straw that breaks the camel's back when it comes to air travel.
And one other thing, I would say to him and everybody else, these days, checking bags is worrisome -- (A) your bag may be lost; and (B) because of the hub system, you have to rush to get that second connection and if you have to check the bag, you can't do it.
CHETRY: What about critics who say, hey you know what, you are jumping on this legislation pandering to get potential votes?
SCHUMER: Isn't that our job when we see a problem? I mean that's a silly argument.
CHETRY: All right, well keep us posted on how this goes, if you hear from them, and we'll see whether or not the legislation gets through. But thanks for joining us this morning and showing your perspective, always great to talk to you.
SCHUMER: Thanks, thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: Nice to talk to you.
SCHUMER: Nice to talk to you, have a great day.
CHETRY: That was Chuck Schumer this morning. You too -- John.
ROBERTS: More fallout from that West Virginia mine tragedy last week. The governor of West Virginia calling on mines in his state, all mines in his state, to suspend production for one day tomorrow to go back over all of the safety procedures that they have in place.
So will all of the mines comply? And what else needs to be done to make sure that something what happened a week ago Monday never happens again. Governor Joe Manchin is joining us in the next few minutes.
Stay with us, it's coming up on 27 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: We're crossing the half hour. Time for a look at the top stories this morning.
Russia suspending all adoptions now to American families, until the country can reach an agreement on adoption procedures. All of this comes in the wake of a Tennessee woman sending her 7-year-old adopted son back to Moscow on a plane by himself. She claims that the Russian orphanage misled her about the boy's severe psychological problem.
ROBERTS: Developments in the Phoebe Prince bullying death as a Massachusetts school chairman announces that he is stepping down. At South Hadley's board meeting last night, the head of the committee denied the decision had anything to do with Prince's case, saying, "The position should rotate every year." Two parents were thrown out for the comments that they made. Six teenagers have been formally charged in that case.
CHETRY: And Toyota announcing this morning it's halting production of its Lexus GX-460 SUV until April 28th. The decision comes after a rare warning, a do-not-buy warning, from "Consumer Reports" magazine about the vehicle they say that they're testing uncovered an unacceptable risk of rollovers. Toyota is not recalling the GX-460, but right now, it's offering owners a loaner car until the problem can be identified and corrected.
ROBERTS: And later this morning, President Obama meets with labor secretary Hilda Solis about mine safety. Production at coal mines across West Virginia is going to come grinding to a halt tomorrow. Governor's orders he wants more than 200 underground mines in his state inspected right away to see if there is a risk for explosions. He does not want a repeat of the disaster that claimed 29 lives at the Upper Big Branch Mine earlier this month.
West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin joins us now live from Charleston this morning.
Governor, great to see you again. Thanks for joining us.
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: So you have requested that some 290 underground mines halt production for a day, not only in memory of the 29 miners who died a week ago Monday, but also to review safety. The Charleston "Daily Mail" newspaper estimates the deaths would have result in $60 million in lost revenue for these mines, so do you expect that all of them will comply?
MANCHIN: I really do, John. We've asked for a day of honor, a day of mourning, a day of honor. What better way can we do that?
You were there with me for many, many days, John, and you saw every family member. Even though they knew that the chances of finding a loved one that survived was very slim, they told me time and time again, make sure the rescuers are safe. Make sure everyone stays safe.
What better honor can we give those fallen miners than to say we're going to dedicate this day, re-evaluate, have seminars, re- inspect, and those who have repeated violations will be heavily inspected? That's all we can do in honor of those miners so that we never have another family or miner go through this.
ROBERTS: Governor, one of the many conversations that we had last week, you told me that you would seek legislation in the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster to protect miners if it was deemed that it was necessary. You know, there's plenty of legislation on the books, a whole revamping of the regulations after the Sago Mine disaster, and yet, we still have the worst mining disaster in four decades. What's going wrong?
MANCHIN: Well, John, basically, you know, if you look at statistics and this and that, it does not ease the pain we have in the lost. And we're not standing still for that. The bottom line is this, we believe that we can do it better. That we basically have to take time out, it's a time out if you will, or stand down, to re- evaluate, to look at what we're doing, to have seminars.
You know, people, everybody can get complacent in the workplace. And I told every miner, I've empowered every miner. And you and I have talked about this, if you see something wrong and you feel that you can't come forward for what any reason or whatever that reason may be, please, you owe it to your fellow workers, you owe it to your family, to let us know to stop that production to make sure it's the safest workplace. That has always been.
And we have so many responsible miners, so many responsible mine owners, but when you have a mine that has a high violation rate, those have to be checked much quicker and sometimes, maybe shut down. We don't know, but we're going to find out, John.
ROBERTS: MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, has appointed Norman Page to head up the investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine. Page has been criticized for numerous problems that occurred on his watch, including a mine fire in Kentucky, an explosion in 2006 that killed five people.
Are you confident that Page is the person for this job?
MANCHIN: I don't know Mr. Page. I worked for five days and watched Joe Maine. I watched Kevin Strickland. I watched -- I watched our people. I know how dedicated and committed. I know how hard they work, and I know they're doing it for the right reasons, and they're going to make sure. I have a lot of confidence and faith in them and we're going to work side by side.
I want this to be a joint effort and I'll tell you the reason why, John. If you separate this thing, you start bringing these families back and bringing them -- regurgitating this, if you will, they don't need that. They need basically to find closure, but they also need to start healing and we need to owe it to them to do it as quickly as possible.
ROBERTS: So at the same time, though, governor, you say that you have faith in the MSHA investigation, and certainly, I've got to know Kevin Strickland somewhat last week, and he seems like a fellow who really is concerned about miner safety, wanted to make sure that all the men and women who go down in those mines are safe.
But you have asked J. Davitt McAteer, who was a former head of MSHA, to head up an independent investigation. If you have faith on what MSHA is doing, why are you looking for an independent investigation?
MANCHIN: No, I think what you're doing -- we have Davitt from the states, from our state. We did that with Sago and Aracoma. I have all the confidence and faith in Davitt, but you need a third party. You need somebody that's not connected to give you a transparent look.
And that's what we've asked for, John. And we will be doing that and hopefully, a joint investigation, and maybe joint public hearings. Davitt will be coming to me and say, "I see this, I see this. This is not right. This should be done differently." Or I agree and concur with what's going on.
ROBERTS: Right. And, governor, one final question, there are some major shareholders in Massey Energy Corporation who are calling for the CEO, Don Blankenship to step down. You had a lot of interaction with him last week.
Do you have confidence that he is putting miner safety first and foremost in his operation?
MANCHIN: John, that's a corporate decision that the shareholders and their board of directors are going to have to make -- how the administration, how that company is run. We're looking basically at the safety. If there's been excessive violations, and for whatever reason they were not shut down or they are allowed to let go, there's something wrong. It needs to be fixed and we have to wait for that investigation. But we don't have to wait to dedicate and rededicate ourselves to safety. There are so many good operators. There are so many good miners. These are the most experienced people in the world. And they want to do it right. They built America. And they want to keep America strong and free.
ROBERTS: Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia, it's good to talk to you this morning.
Thanks so much for joining us again.
MANCHIN: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: And later on this morning, at 10:50 Eastern by the way, President Obama is going to deliver remarks on mine safety from the White House Rose Garden after he meets with the labor secretary. CNN, of course, will carry that live. We'll also be streaming that live at CNN.com.
CHETRY: Also, still ahead, it's a side of China that's rarely seen. Hundreds of millions of Chinese, and how they really live. It's our special series "China Rising," an "A.M. Original" -- next.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now on 20 minutes to the top of the hour. And it's time for an "A.M. Original." Something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
When you think of China, you think economic voice, big bustling cities, a manufacturing Mecca.
CHETRY: Yes. But in more remote locations like the Sichuan Province, people can only hope to live someday like Americans. And as John Vause shows us, China is rising but not without some growing pains.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN BEIJING CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To find out what some would call the real China, how hundreds of millions of Chinese live, we left the big cities behind and headed to the hot land. A thousand miles into the center of the country to Sichuan Province, where China is facing some of its biggest challenges on its way to being an economic superpower.
(on camera): Because really, there seems to be two Chinas. There's the China on the coast, with the big, rich, booming cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and then there is this China, which is very different.
(voice-over): More than half of China's 1.3 billion population live in the country in small villages and towns like this one, where farmers on average earn less than $1,000 a year.
Our journey brings us to the Wang Family. We met them simply by knocking on doors, and they were happy to talk. Wang Zhengliang is the eldest of three brother. Five generations of his family live here. More than a dozen people.
WANG ZHENGLIANG, BROTHER (through translator): A lot of people in America are worried about China. They see China -- Chinese people are a threat, at least an economic threat or something like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It's impossible for us to challenge them now. This is a big country with lots of small families, he says. The reality is, China these days, we still don't dare compare ourselves with developed countries.
VAUSE: What do you like?
"I sure hope we can have a car," says Mr. Wang's sister-in-law, and for our son to get a good education.
VAUSE: To pay for that, her husband works in far away Beijing as a landscaper. Two other family members also have jobs in the city. The rest of the family lives here in Sichuan Province, growing and selling oranges. The combined income pays for a relatively good home, which they're happy to show me.
(on camera): Through here is the kitchen. It looks pretty basic, especially by western standards. But for rural China, this is actually pretty good. What makes it special in particular is running water.
Just through here is the bathroom, shower and toilet facilities. Again, with running water. A lot of homes in the smaller villages, especially in the poorer parts of this country won't have access to bathroom facilities like that.
(voice-over): It might not look like much, but Li Dongyun, the family matriarch, remembers when everyone had so much less.
"In those years, we had problems getting food and clothes," she said.
Over dinner, clearly food is no longer a problem.
(on camera): More pork, tofu.
(voice-over): While it may be the communist propaganda talking, its older generation seems content.
"If the country continues to be ruled in this way, life will get better and better, that's for sure. Every household will have a car," he said. That will be a long time coming for the 200 million Chinese who the World Bank says still live in poverty. And even today, to most rural families, like the Wangs, health care and social security are almost nonexistent. And they scrimp to put their children through university. And it's that generation who want a lot more. Bigger house, bigger cars, more stuff. In other words, to live like Americans.
John Vause, CNN, Sichuan Province, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Fascinating to get an inside look like that of what life is like there.
ROBERTS: Definitely growing pains.
You know, they do have a lot of people. I think one of our guests earlier was saying 700 million people in China have cell phones.
CHETRY: Yes, more people -- and they also say more people use the Internet in China than our entire population in the United States. So it's growing fast.
ROBERTS: But as John said, there are a lot of people who are existing on very little in China at the same time.
So the last time your plane was delayed, what was it? Mechanical problem? Maybe a thunder storm? How about delayed by a volcano?
Rob Marciano with the weather forecast, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A little Michigan rock for Detroit, Michigan this morning where it's 59 degrees and partly cloudy right now. Later on today, though, going to be a beautiful day for sitting outside, maybe pop a couple of cold ones, putting the kid on, 79 degrees, lots of sunshine.
Rob Marciano tracking the weather across the country this morning -- good morning, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: All right, check out this, Red Bull, aerobatic teams, two gliders and one daredevil getting out of one glider and just sitting on the wing of the other, as they go inverted. Unbelievable. He eventually goes off to touch the tail of the glider as he goes inverted over the top of him and then skydives down. I think this is somewhere in Scandinavia.
Those Red Bull sponsored teams are typically on the crazy side. This is difficult enough and crazy enough with a powered airplane, John and Kiran --
CHETRY: Wow.
MARCIANO: -- to do it with the variability of two gliders is certainly impressive. God bless.
CHETRY: So if I drink enough Red Bull, I can do that?
MARCIANO: That's exactly what that implies. CHETRY: Wow.
ROBERTS: You can do it without the aircraft. Watch this. Look at this, grabs on the tail of the other aircraft. Look at that. Oh, my goodness. That's pretty amazing.
MARCIANO: Brilliant marketing as well.
ROBERTS: It really is. This thing -- oh, he fell off.
MARCIANO: Oh, if only he had a parachute. Look out for the chopper.
CHETRY: Oh McGyver. McGyver, victorious again.
MARCIANO: Either -- that or the opening scene of a "007" movie for sure.
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: Great pictures, thanks Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
CHETRY: Still ahead -- I know you felt bad, but still ahead, we have our Sanjay Gupta. He's going to be joining us, answering your questions, opening up his mail about how to control belly fat and also facts about Alzheimer's disease coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to The Most News in the Morning. It is 53 minutes past the hour right now.
Time for your "AM House Calls": stories about your health. And hundreds of you reach out to us with questions for our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Every Thursday he digs into his mailbag and tries to answer some of them.
ROBERTS: All right, the doc is up, ready locked and loaded. And he's joining us this morning. We want to try to get as many of these in as possible, Sanjay, so let's dive right in.
Jennie in South Carolina writes to us this morning, "I just read the epilepsy drug I take is linked to suicide. Should I stop taking it?"
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is something that came out yesterday. A lot of headlines about these types of medications procedures typically, a few of them potentially linked to suicide.
A couple of things right off the bat, Jennie. I think no doctor will tell you to just simply stop taking these medications. That certainly can be dangerous. But this is probably something you want to be having a conversation with your doctor about. I will also tell that you what happened in the news yesterday with the headlines -- now, this is something that's been discussed for a couple of years now, this concern that some of these medications could increase the likelihood of someone having suicidal thoughts.
The numbers are important, when we say increase the likelihood we're still talking about one half of one percent of people possibly being affected by this. And it's not exactly clear if the medication caused it or some sort of underlying new disorder. But again, based on the news that's out and some of the studies that have been done, this is a conversation you should certainly have with your doctor but don't stop the medication cold turkey.
CHETRY: All right, good advice.
Dennis in New Mexico asks, "Does Alzheimer's disease take a person's life?" Dennis says that both his grandfather have the disease but eventually died of other ailments.
GUPTA: Well, you know, this is a common question that we get quite a bit. And I can tell you first of all, you're not going to see likely Alzheimer's disease appear on someone's death certificate. So it's not going to be listed as a primary cause of death.
Having said that people who have struggled with family members who've had this disease know that if someone develops this their ability to care for themselves, their ability to take their own medication, their ability to feed themselves, all those things start to diminish. Somebody can become increasingly bed-ridden. Eventually develop problems with infections including lung infections.
So it's a sequence of events that ultimately can lead to the end of someone's life. So the answer is not really. But if you sort of look at how things often play out, Alzheimer's often starts that sequence.
ROBERTS: Let's keep going here, Sanjay. Next question is from Twitter, "How can I reduce my growing belly?" A million-dollar question -- it's funny, I was looking into this myself, this morning because my sweetheart's always busting on me. If you want to get a six pack, you got to eat properly. I might be old for a six pack, but maybe I could get one or two in there.
GUPTA: Not at all. I think I hear Kiran cackling somewhere the background right now.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes. I hear her, too.
CHETRY: She's screaming, he never had a six-pack. She just let you off the hook. If you never had one, how are you going to get one now?
ROBERTS: I have to say --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: -- over the weekend, one more beer.
GUPTA: Like the patient goes to the doctor, will I be able to play the piano after this? Did you play the piano before? No.
ROBERTS: OK, how do you get a good flat stomach.
GUPTA: Well, you know, if you're thinking about belly fat, this is concerning because belly fat is metabolic reactive fat. It can increase your likelihood of heart disease, increase your likelihood of stroke as well. And that obviously is a big concern there.
This fat behaves differently in the body. Two simple principles: exercise consistently throughout the day if you can. That might just mean walking around, trying to get outside. Do some sort of activity. Human beings simply weren't designed to sit or lie for 23 hours and exercise for an hour a day. You need constant movement.
Also simply just eating less -- I know that sounds maybe overly simplistic but we simply eat too much. Starting today just cut all of your meals down by a third. If you can push the plate away before you're full, that's going to make the biggest difference of all. You can wash out all the effects of your exercise with one meal.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes especially if it's that KFC double down. That's one meal that you're --
GUPTA: I saw that. That's right.
CHETRY: But although I saw you in person, you were just up here in New York, you're getting very thin from the triathlon training?
ROBERTS: You have to eat something there, doc.
GUPTA: Right. I eat chocolate cookie or something every now and then. Moderation is the key.
CHETRY: Yes. We weren't sending you a six pack.
ROBERTS: By the way, go talk to Kyra about six packs.
GUPTA: I will. I am right now. I'm going. I'm going to walk right over there.
ROBERTS: Make sure do you that. Thanks doc.
GUPTA: Thank you guys.
CHETRY: What's good for the gander is good for the goose. All right. Three minutes to the top of the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's going to do it for us. Continue the conversation on all of our stories today and head to our blog, CNN.com/am fix to check out any of the stories that you saw on the show today.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see you again tomorrow.
Meantime, the news rolls on here on CNN with Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM".
Good morning, Kyra.
