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American Morning

U.S. Issues Terror Warning; Iran War Games; "Catastrophic" Oil Rig Explosion; Join Us Instead Of Fighting Us; Counterfeit This; Starbucks Profits Perk Up; Antivirus Program Freezes Pcs; Homeless Teen Has New Hope; President Urges Wall Street to Accept New Financial Regulations; Dodge City in Kansas Not Suffering From Recession

Aired April 22, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, on this Thursday, the 22nd of April. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.

Here are the big stories we are telling you about in the next 15 minutes.

First, there's a new terror warning for Americans overseas this morning. U.S. embassy in New Delhi says there are increased indications terrorists are planning attacks in the Indian capital. So, what you need to know if you are heading to India. Our Sara Sidner joins us live from New Delhi -- next.

ROBERTS: Coast Guard rescuers desperately trying to find 11 oil rig workers. They have been missing for more than 30 hours now following an explosion -- a massive explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. About 100 people have already been rescued from the still-burning rig.

CHETRY: And President Obama is trying to drum up support for Wall Street reform. He's in New York today, where he'll deliver a big speech in just a couple of hours calling for greater oversight of hedge funds and derivatives of risky bets, while cracking down on trading practices that also post risks to the consumer. The president wants a system in place to dismantle too-big-to-fail firms before they collapse.

And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation this morning. We want to hear from you. Go to CNN.com/amFIX and we'll be reading some of your comments throughout the hour.

ROBERTS: First, though, the United States wants Americans in India to be on alert. Our embassy there is issuing a new warning that terrorists could be looking to strike in the capital of New Delhi.

That's where we find our Sara Sidner this morning. She joins us live this morning.

And what's this all about, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, actually, the United States and Canada warning citizens who live here or who are going to travel to India, to be very careful about where they go -- specifically here in the capital of Delhi.

Now, the warning comes out and a lot of times, there aren't specific places that are mentioned. But this time, there are. Including Connaught Place, Sarojini Nagar, these are places where thousands of people come -- foreigners and Indians alike -- to shop and enjoy themselves for long periods of time.

The State Department basically is saying: please try to avoid these places, please try to be vigilant and be careful. And if you do go to these places, don't spend lots of time there and just keep an eye out, for example, for packages that might be misplaced, there's no one standing around them. So, to be very careful and, really, to watch your surroundings.

That is what's coming out from the State Department, though they wouldn't say specifically what prompted this warning -- John.

ROBERTS: You know, Sara, memories of that 2008 attack over Thanksgiving in Mumbai still very fresh in the minds of many people there in India. Now, the trial of the last accused gunman from that terror attack has ended.

When can we expect a verdict?

SIDNER: We are expecting a verdict in that trial on May 3rd. So, not too long from now. And some of these things that are coming up obviously playing on the minds of people here and when people are looking into whether or not to make these warnings, those also make a difference. What's happening in the country -- surrounding specific things like the Mumbai attacks.

We should also mention that one of the hotels that was attacked, the Oberoi, is going to open the doors for the first time since the attack for specific areas that have been closed off to visitors opening up this Saturday. So, a lot of excitement surrounding that.

As well as the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, that hotel is going to be fully open in July -- John.

ROBERTS: Sara Sidner for us this morning in New Delhi -- Sara, thanks.

CHETRY: And now to another potential threat this morning.

New developments overnight as Iran announces its war games are under way right now. State TV is saying the country has launched air, land, sea military drills, including testing, quote, "home-built missiles." Iran says that the drill called the "Great Prophet 5" is taking place in the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world's oil supply must flow.

The U.S. military is keeping tabs.

And Barbara Starr is live for us at the Pentagon.

How much concern of these war games that Iran is announcing this morning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly keeping close tabs, Kiran, at this hour. The first video pictures are now coming in. The Iranians are living up to their promise. They are conducting several days now of war games, military exercises on land, sea, and air in the Persian Gulf.

You see the first pictures there.

The U.S. has been watching all of this unfold. Nobody expects or even wants trouble, of course, but always a lot of concern. This is a very narrow piece of water.

The Iranians say they are going to carry these exercises right to the Strait of Hormuz, that choke point for world oil cargo and warships moving through the region, a very narrow piece of water. If there is some unintended event here, confrontation can quickly escalate. That's certainly not what the U.S. wants to see at this point.

One of the reasons these exercises are perhaps so interesting is they were announced by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Now, that's not the regular military. That's a more politically-oriented military. And they are a little more erratic in the view of the United States in their military operations.

So, it's one reason everything is being watched very closely. The U.S. is trying to determine in Iran really has something new to show here or if it is a bit of Iranian bluff -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. And what about the military options on the table, Barbara?

STARR: Well, you know, as you say, military option -- this all comes as the United States continues to say, the military option for Iran's nuclear weapons still on the table. And, in fact, we just heard from the Pentagon spokesman, Geoff Morrell, about one of the concerns that Iran could engage in retaliation against U.S. troops.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They clearly have, are trying to develop, and, to some extent, had developed short-range and medium-range capabilities. And so, our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan would certainly be within that range.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Perhaps threatening prospect, the U.S. troops would be in the range of Iranian weapons. But it's the kind of thing that the Obama administration says it's taking into all of its calculations right now -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us this morning with the latest on this -- thanks.

ROBERTS: Also developing this morning: a desperate search continues off the coast of Louisiana for 11 workers missing since an oil rig exploded into flames. It has been more than 30 hours so far and no signs of life. The Coast Guard has been combing the gulf waters nonstop since then, just resumed an aerial search a little while ago.

David Mattingly is following developments for us this morning.

And, David, is there -- is there much hope that any of these 11 could still be found alive?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, at this hour, the helicopter should be back in the air off the coast of Louisiana, resuming the aerial search for the missing 11. The Coast Guard continued the search throughout the night and now, they've logged more than 1,900 square miles. But, so far, no sign of the missing.

In the meantime, boats are still pouring water on that intense fire. The platforms leaning or resting (ph) pretty badly to one side, but they don't think it's going to capsize.

A hundred twenty-six people were on board at the time of the explosion. Many of them were returned privately with their worried families just before dawn today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARROL MOSS, WIFE OF WORKER: The only thing that I was thinking is -- how am I going to tell my kids? You know, that their dad is not coming home. And the worst goes through your mind. So, we were just blessed that we did get a call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: The Coast Guard tells me that the search conditions are excellent this morning. That's calm seas, calm wind and visibility, John, about eight miles. So, they can see a very long way, especially when they are up there in those helicopters.

They say, at this time, there is still the probability that they could find someone alive. And so, for that reason, they are going to keep the search going.

ROBERTS: You know, we were talking with a couple of crew members out in the early part of the search in our last hour, David. They said that most of the people who got off the rig were on a supply ship. Has there been any information as to whether or not a life boat had been launched?

MATTINGLY: I've been asking the Coast Guard if they've been able to account for all those life boats. And they say they haven't. They just not able to answer that question right now.

So, when they're out there looking, they're not only looking for a possible life raft but they're looking for possible individuals in that water. So, they are being very careful, trying to cover a lot of ground. But even last night, they had some infrared equipment that they could have been using, that they are looking for individuals in the water, as well as the possibility that there are individuals who might have gotten to a life boat.

ROBERTS: All right. David Mattingly for us this morning with the very latest -- David, thanks. We'll keep checking back with you.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, it's 10 minutes past the hour -- time to check in with Rob Marciano for a look at weather across the country this morning.

Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.

Not so bad east of the Mississippi. Go west of there, and a pretty big storm is rolling across the mountains. And it's already gun to eject some energy into the plains and that may very well spell more in the way of severe weather. We think that's quite certain, at least over the next couple of days, if not today.

There, you see the swath of highlighted area there, northwestern Texas and through Oklahoma. The typical spots where you -- well, we call it Tornado Alley for a reason. But this year, we haven't seen much in the way of tornadoes, certainly, a good thing. We hope that trend continues but we are getting in to prime time severe weather season right now.

Eighty for a high in Dallas, 83 in Memphis, 70 in New York, not too shabby, maybe a thunderstorm late in the afternoon. But that would last not all that long. This whole thing marches off to the east. We'll ill talk more about that and the prospects for your weekend in about 30 minutes.

John and Kiran, back up to you.

ROBERTS: Well, they are not looking good, are they, Rob?

MARCIANO: Uh-uh. We'll see you in a bit.

CHETRY: He just says, uh-uh.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.

CHETRY: Thanks.

ROBERTS: President Obama issues a sharp call for reforms on Wall Street. He's got a big speech coming up later on this morning. We'll be talking about what the president will do and what he hopes to accomplish -- coming up in just a moment or two.

It's 11 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Pentagon officials are debating whether to un-invite Reverend Franklin Graham, a son of Reverend Billy Graham, to speak on National Prayer Day.

ROBERTS: At issue is Graham's history of making questionable remarks like this one from an interview with Campbell Brown back in December.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S CAMPBELL BROWN, DECEMBER 2009)

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, EVANGELIST: True Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they have committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, some of the military fear that if Graham speaks, insurgents may use his remarks to fuel tensions in the Islamic world.

ROBERTS: Well, just a few hours from now, President Obama will have to tell Wall Street's elite that they have to change their ways. Financial reform is priority one at the White House these days.

CHETRY: And the president is traveling to New York this morning to pitch the Democrats' plan and also to urge big banks to get on board.

Our Jill Dougherty is live at the White House this morning.

And we're talking a little bit about what the president needs to accomplish today. It looks like some reluctant Republicans may be coming around.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They are. You'd have to say that because, obviously, this is a more popular cause, let's say, than health care reform. It's something that a lot of people feel very strongly about, the anger towards Wall Street.

And, you know, if there is one kind of overriding theme that the president is going to try to stress, it's that if this financial reform package, these bills, do not pass, then the country could be facing -- he would argue -- more economic crisis.

And he is reprising some of the things he said two years ago. It is almost like, "I told you so." He is going to be talking about the failure of responsibility from Wall Street to Washington. And here are some of the points that the White House said to look out for. He is going to make the case that the bill draw is not just from Democrats but from by partisan ideas. He is going to urged Wall Street to join him in reform, not fight it.

And then, finally, he is going to push for passage of the bill that would protect consumers and ends that "too big to fail." And it brings transparencies to the -- transparency to the derivatives market. There is also this complex financial instruments. And then also, they have released a quote to the president. And here's some of the flavor of what he will say, I believe in the power of the free market. I believe in a strong financial sector that helps people raise capital and get loans and invest their savings. But a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it.

So that's what we expect to hear from President Obama in New York. And Kiran, you know, this is one case where it may be easier for him to convince people to support what he wants. And that could be where you see some of the Republicans, at least, maybe moving in his direction. It is hard to predict how people will vote. But the mood in the country is against Wall Street and the need for some type of change.

ROBERTS: Jill Dougherty at the White House this morning, Jill thanks so much. The president's speech by the way, 11:55 this morning. Can he really crack down on Wall Street and get meaningful financial reform passed? At 08:30 eastern, just a little less than 15 minutes from now we will ask senior presidential adviser, Valley Jarrett. She will be joining us live from the White House.

CHETRY: And speaking of money, the new $100 bills. They are a step up to security, they have a 3-D image on them to prevent counterfeiting. We'll show you a little bit more on the bill coming up, 17 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Almost 20 minutes after the hour now. And it is time for "Minding Your Business." the caffeine buzz back for Starbucks. The world's largest coffee change reported quarterly earnings of $217 million. That blew away Wall Street's expectation. The gains coming in after Starbucks cut costs by closing stores, trimming its workforce and lowering the price for a cup of coffee.

CHETRY: There you go, well, if your computer didn't stop rebooting over the past 24 hours, it is actually because a security update from Macafee, which is a virus company, an anti virus company thought a regular file in your Windows software was really a virus. The company said it has posted an update to fix the problem, and to download it, go to their website, macafee.com/u.s.

ROBERTS: When the security is the problem, that's a problem. The $100 bill gets a high-tech makeover. The new design features a 3- D ribbon and a color shifting bell in an ink well, all to combat counterfeiting. It cost a little bit more to print but it is much easier to spot a fake. And although you'll see it in circulation next year. You will still be able, of course, to use the old version.

CHETRY: You know sometimes when they bring out the new version and people haven't seen it before, they say, what is this? This looks fake to me.

ROBERTS: Yes, what is this, it looks a lot like a Euro. It is one of our people who commented in the blog said.

CHETRY: There you go, I haven't seen many in person lately, you know.

ROBERTS: One hundred dollar bills or Euros?

CHETRY: Stick to the 20s, either.

Well the opening act of last night's "AMERICAN IDOL" came from the White House. The president and first lady making an appearance on FOX's celebrity filled idol gives back show to ask for donations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want to thank "AMERICAN IDOL" for the example they are setting and encourage everyone to make a contribution. And to this year's final lift, as Randy says, your all my dogs.

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: And Simon, be nice.

OBAMA: Thanks, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Wow, the event raises millions of dollars every year for charities across the nation and around the world.

ROBERTS: Cleaning up Wall Street, the president has got a big speech this morning talking about the financial reform legislation. Is it going to do what it says it's going to do? We will be talking with White House advisor Valerie Jarrett coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty five minutes past the hour right now. Your "Top Stories" five minutes away. First though, an "A.M. Original," something you will see only on AMERICAN MORNING, it is an emotional story that we have been following for more than a year of a homeless teen named Kenneth Chancey.

ROBERTS: His dream of going to college and becoming a neurosurgeon was just that, only a dream. But things started to turn around when we hooked him up with an NFL star. Thelma Gutierrez live in Los Angeles to show us how much his fortunes have changed. Good morning Thelma. THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John, well it is hard to imagine it has already been a year it has been an incredible journey to witness and to be a part of. Now Kenneth has dealt with so many hardships in his life. But because he believes in himself, he has got other people to believe in him too.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KENNETH CHANCEY, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: I am Kenneth Chancey. About five years ago, I was beaten, neglected. Three years ago, in a foster home. Last year, just last year, in a homeless shelter. I have been at the bottom of the pits. Now, I'm on top.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): I first met Kenneth last year while working on a story about homeless children in Los Angeles. Kenneth wasn't your average 17-year-old. He was junior class president, a starting running back on the football team and an honor student who dreamed of going to Harvard. So it was hard to imagine this is where he and his sister lived, on skid row in downtown Los Angeles.

CHANCEY: I don't know how you deal with it, personally. But I do, I just wake up with a smile every morning. You kind of got to. You don't want that negative on your shoulders. With already you have the hardship of being homeless and broken.

GUTIERREZ: We aired Kenneth's story.

CHANCEY: My mom used drugs. My step dad used to hit me.

GUTIERREZ: Then, we received a surprise call from someone who wanted to meet him. So we set it up.

(on camera): Kenneth, this is Andre Osemwa he is with the Oakland Raiders.

CHANCEY: Yes, I did it.

GUTIERREZ: Andre Osemwa is the highest paid defensive back in the NFL. Now, the football player with a $45 million contract was inviting, Kenny, a homeless high school football player on the Osemwa college tour for scholars, which is an all expensive trip that Andre's foundation sponsors every year.

OSEMWA: I wanted to invite you along for the tour.

CHANCEY: Oh, are you serious?

OSEMWA: Yes.

CHANCEY: Oh my god. Washington D.C. -- I am ready for D.C., I'm ready for the nation's capital.

GUTIERREZ: We met up with Kenneth and 15 other students as they arrived in Washington. They are all from at-risk neighborhoods in Los Angeles and Oakland. And all were handpicked by Osemwa to be on the tour. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the X 2010 tour, we are at Washington, D.C.

GUTIERREZ: Here, the NFL star and the teenagers are about to experience a whole new world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Upstairs, a 9 million pound rotunda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in the United States capital, we are in the place where bills get signed.

GUTIERREZ (on camera): So what comes next for you?

CHANCEY: I believe Ms. Waters, Representative Waters, she is a state leader, which is awesome.

GUTIERREZ: Hey I think it is happening now. So we are going to go to Maxine Waters office.

REP. MAXINE WATERS, (D) CALIFORNIA: As a professional athlete you could be doing a lot of other things with your time but obviously you want to give back.

NNAMDI ASOMUGHA, NFL ALL-PRO: No matter where I have been or where I go, I think every year that I do the tour is a new adventure.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): After the capital, they toured the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Yes, oh my god.

GUTIERREZ: Nothing like knocking down a few pins at the president's very own bowling alley.

(on camera): Most people who know Nnamdi Asomugha in the sports world know you as a great football star. How do you want these kids to know you?

ASOMUGHA: That's a good question. I want them to come away with a different type of hope. Like, look. This is possible.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Many of the students, including Kenneth, will be the first in their families to go to college. Asomugha's tour gives them a chance to see top schools like Georgetown up close.

(on camera): So your darkest time, you didn't think that you probably go to college.

CHANCEY: Yes I didn't even think that I was going to graduate, let alone, go to college.

GUTIERREZ: And now, your aspirations?

CHANCEY: I am going to be someone in life. That's my biggest aspiration. I am going to be the one changing - changing the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember we used to say --

GUTIERREZ: After getting to know some of the students, I have to say that Kenneth won't be alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be a pediatrician.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I want to be an astronaut.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to become a theoretical physicist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good friends we've heard and good friends we've lost, along the way. That's why I say, no woman, no cry.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Thelma that is such a great story, I love the fact that Kenneth says he wants to change the world. I mean what great goals to have. You are suggesting though that there's a possibility that he might become homeless again, how?

GUTIERREZ: Well, John, after one of our initial stories aired, a CNN viewer came through and she said, I have a home, an apartment where Kenneth, his sister and father can live for a short amount of time. That time runs out in July. So come July, Kenneth and his family may be homeless again.

CHETRY: Wow. It is such a tough situation. He is definitely going to college, though, right, come the fall? So perhaps hopefully there are some other people out there that may be able to help them to get back on their feet to bridge that gap in the meantime. Do we know where Kenneth has decided he is going to go to college?

GUTIERREZ: Kiran, so far when we talk to Kenneth he said that it looks like at this point he is probably going to go to college here in California. He did apply to go to Harvard. After all, this has been his dream ever since was a little boy. But unfortunately, he was not accepted for the coming year.

Now, Kenneth says, that's because he was competing against kids that had 4.3 GPAs and his GPA, though he was an honor student, really wasn't great until his junior and senior years. But his freshman and sophomore years when he was homeless and also in foster care, he only had a C average. So he feels that that's why he wasn't accepted.

But after all, he says, he goes, "I'm still proud of myself." He goes, I'm not disappointed, because I'm the first person in my family to go to college, and I will get to Harvard." So he believes in himself. He continues.

ROBERTS: Well, if not undergrad, maybe he will go to Harvard Medical School and will become the neurosurgeon. With his attitude, any college would be lucky to have him.

We are crossing the half hour and checking this morning's top stories. The U.S. issuing a terror alert for India's capital. Our embassy says if you live in New Delhi or will be traveling there, you should be on alert especially in busy shopping areas where westerners tend to go.

The warning says there are increased indications that terrorists are planning new attacks.

CHETRY: Flights across Europe are expected to return to 100 percent today after a volcanic ash cloud kept 100,000 flights on the ground over the past week. Airline officials say the cancellations may have cost them $2 billion.

ROBERTS: Coast guard shoppers back in the air searching for 11 oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico. They have been missing since an oil rig exploded and burst into flames off the coast of Louisiana. About 100 workers who survived the blast are back on land this morning. Their families, who know the danger, are certainly relieved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN SNEATHERN, NEPHEW OF OIL RIG WORKER: I worked offshore. I know what it is like for a family to wonder, you know. And this is one of them things you hope and pray that everybody is all right. The amount of lives that's been saved, you know, is just, you know, it is amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Coast guard officials say that winds and seas are calm in the Gulf making for excellent search conditions.

CHETRY: Well, in just about three hours President Obama will ask the wealthiest, most powerful executives on Wall Street to essentially change the way they do business in part. He wants them to embrace his plan for financial reform instead of resisting it.

ROBERTS: And with polls suggesting that he has the American people behind them. The president may just have the leverage to pull this off. Joining us now live from the North Lawn of the White House is senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett.

Ms. Jarrett, thanks so much for being with us today.

Can you assure Americans that if this bill is passed, we are not going to go through another financial meltdown like we did in 2008, that this bill, indeed, fixes everything?

VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Well, good morning, everyone. Thank you for that question.

We think that this bill gets it just right. I think that the president's message today is just what you said. He intends to go to Wall Street. As I might add, he has done in the past. He was there in 2007 when he warned about the kinds of excessive risks that were being taken. He said we need to have responsible behavior here in Washington.

He went back again in 2008 before the financial crisis and said, come on, everybody needs to understand what could happen.

And now with the rear-view mirror pointing quite clearly to what did happen, we believe now is a time when we can get the kinds of rules of the road in place to ensure that this never happens again.

A lot of hard work has gone into the kind of bills that are being currently considered by Congress, and we are confident that if a strong bill passes that has the kinds of measures that the president has outlined, avoiding excessive risk, transparency, making sure that institutions are not too big to fail and if they do get too large that we are able to responsibly dismantle them, making sure that there is a strong consumer protection agency that will protect the consumers, that then we have it right.

CHETRY: You mentioned excessive risk taking. There was some Republican support, GOP Senator Charles Grassley voted with the Democrats on the Ag committee at least that actually would put tougher restrictions on this word we've heard a lot about lately, derivatives, which are essentially risky bets. And the bill would require them to be traded on a public exchange.

And it could also require a lot of big firms to separate off their derivatives business. Does the White House support that bill including the spinning off of derivative units?

JARRETT: Yes. What we want to make sure is that when risks, are taken, and people are free to take risks but they shouldn't do it when they have the benefits of being banks and when they are so large that the taxpayers could end up having to cover that risk.

Someone used the phrase yesterday, "financial casinos." We cannot have that in our current financial system. We want to make sure that when derivatives are traded, they are transparent, there is an exchange or that if there are specific cards out, for example, if airline industries want to hedge oil prices, that's fine, but that we have very narrow exceptions but broadly, there is transparency so that everybody understands what they are getting.

ROBERTS: Ms. Jarrett, you said a moment ago this ends too big to fail, which is a huge point here in the financial reform bill. Everybody remembers what happened at AIG back in 2008. But people like Eliot Spitzer, the former sheriff of Wall Street who went after these financial firms.

And Robert Reich says it doesn't end "Too big to fail." In fact Robert Reich says of the bill, quote, "At a time when we ought to be trimming the sails of the giants on Wall Street, the Dodd bill puts more wind in them." By what measure do you say this ends "too big to fail""

JARRETT: It gives us the ability, the resolution authority, to dismantle banks that get too large. I think there was some controversy over the fund that was being proposed. It was initially described as a bailout fund. That it is not. It was going to be funded by the financial industry itself to provide the resources to oversee a dismantling. That wasn't in our original proposal. What we want to make sure is that we guard against systemic risks. And that's what happened 15 months ago. A small number of firms took a huge amount of risk that would have if we didn't step in and take the very unpopular action that was taken, if we hadn't stepped in, we would have had a ripple effect and a crippling of our overall economy. We have to guard against that ever happening again.

ROBERTS: Let me go back to what you said a second ago. You said there is this resolution fund that allows you to unwind a company if it gets too big and then gets into trouble. Inherent in that statement is this bill still allows the company to get big enough it would need to use the resolution fund.

JARRETT: Let's be clear. The fund is not to use it to help the bank. It is to dismantle the bank. And it is a fund that is funded by the banks themselves. It won't be funded by the taxpayers at all. That is not an integral part of the president's plan.

What we are interested in is making sure there are rules of the road that provide the safety so we don't have excessive risk that was taken before, that we have transparency and a very strong consumer protection agency that's looking out for the consumer, one agency that is going to be the advocates for the American people.

What happened last year had a terrible impact on millions of everyday Americans. That's who we are looking out for.

CHETRY: And a couple of the criticisms from some of the financial analysts that say we do need reform and we need smart reform. As you talked about this independent consumer protection group, it would technically be contained within the Fed. So question of how different it would be, how separate and autonomous it would be.

But also, just the whole nature of getting a bill to pass -- there were worries that would be special deals and exceptions to the point where it might not be real reform. What do you say to that?

JARRETT: I can tell you that President Obama will not sign a bill that is not real reform. On the consumer protection agency, we are interested in it having the important, independent authority that it needs to look out for the consumers.

One central place where the sole mission is looking out for the consumers, and that did not happen before. The risks that were taken before went unchecked because nobody was looking out for the everyday American people.

That's what our reform will do. We are confident if it has the pillars that the president will outline today, we will ensure we are never in the situation we were last year again.

ROBERTS: Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser, thanks so much for joining us this morning. Great to see you.

JARRETT: My pleasure. Thank you. ROBERTS: The president's speech at New York's Cooper Union College begins at 11:55 eastern this morning. You can watch it live right or on CNN or on CNN.com.

CHETRY: Still ahead, forget farming. This is the entertainment capital of Kansas. Tom Foreman takes a look at a unique take on changing the industry of a town.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. The CNN Express is rolling across Kansas. This morning it's in Dodge City. The name may take you back to the old west, but there is a new sheriff in town, and he has helped Dodge become a boom down.

Our Tom Foreman joins us live with his "Building up America" report. Some changes underfoot there?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I should say there are. I am standing at Boot Hill, one of the most famous crossroads in all of western lore for the beef and cattle industry. If you eat any kind of beef product, there is a good chance it came within a couple hundred miles of where I'm standing right now.

But this is one of the few places in America where for all practical purposes there has been no recession. And that's because they launched an ambitious plan more than a decade ago that's paying off now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: And 70,000 cattle are processed in Dodge City every week. The biggest players are behind a big change under way here.

FOREMAN (on camera): You are excited about the fact your economy has really diversified?

KEN WINTER, WINTER FEED YARD: I think it is good for the city, good for our school system. It helps encourage new industry, retail, everything.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And 13 years ago, after decades of economic stag nation, city and civic leaders convinced voters to approve an extra penny of sales tax dedicating it to turning their town into a diverse entertainment Mecca. And they says it has paid off like a royal flush.

FOREMAN (on camera): It must be very strange to be sitting here while the rest of the nation is in a recession knowing that you are not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took a vote in Dodge City and decided not to participate.

(LAUGHTER) FOREMAN (voice-over): Indeed, they have not. With that extra money they have built a racetrack, sports arenas and a new convention center is under way. The investments in turn have produced revenue for new schools and a successful campaign to win the first ever state- owned casino.

Their unemployment rate below four percent is among the lowest in the nation. And a billion dollars worth of new private and public construction is in the works. No wonder Joann Knight with the local development corporation is pleased.

(on camera): This one penny has transformed this town.

JOANN KNIGHT, DODGE CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP.: It really has. Our biggest problem is finding workers and having houses available for them.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And everyone seems to give everyone else credit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be a community, you have to embrace the needs of everyone, to invite everyone to the table.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Increasing the quality of life in our community became such a priority and it was such a grass roots effort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't seen the "me" leadership, the "I" leadership. It is a "we".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we found there's a lot of people who are hard working who love Dodge City, who wants to see Dodge City stronger.

FOREMAN: The cattle business is still king but now not everyone's fortunes depend on that because they have built up a more diverse and promising future for their old west town.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: And I must say it really is astonishing. Maybe I just didn't meet the right person. But everybody I met here seemed to give credit to the team all the time, the taxpayers, the voters, the civic leaders and the city leaders, all working together. That's what they say has made this effort pay off. And it has paid off in such a way it is almost beyond belief what's happened here and how it has transformed this town into a real player -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Wow, what a turnaround. So not just something for the history books in the old lore but actually happening now. So that's wonderful. Tom thanks so much.

FOREMAN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Time for Tom to get out of Dodge now and head somewhere else.

CHETRY: He has to get out of Dodge.

ROBERTS: Strong storms out West, a threat of tornadoes and hail moving into the Midwest later on today. Rob Marciano is tracking the weather forecast.

It's 47 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Good day with lots of sunshine in hot Atlanta today living up to its name. Partly cloudy, it's 54 right now. And it will get warm this afternoon, sunny with a high of 80 degrees.

And Rob Marciano is tracking the weather across the rest of the country. Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky today, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, but you saw a little bit of haze in the air, some moisture finally after a dry spell and also some moisture across parts of the Northeast. Not a whole lot of rain but certainly some low-level fog or clouds and fog from D.C. to Dulles. We've got delays now from Baltimore to Philadelphia and Houston also reporting some delays because of this morning fog. It should burn off later today. A little bit of wind in the New York.

But we don't anticipate any sort of delays, much more than 30 minutes. Dallas may see some afternoon thunderstorms but I think more so the west side of town.

Big storm out West, this has got a lot of cool air, a lot of atmospheric energy as far as the dynamics go. And then, it's going to tap some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.

So the severe weather set up certainly is in place. Look how cold it is in the inner mountain west with some snow certainly. And some thunderstorms have been severe this morning. Rice County, this one in the south central Kansas has the potential for delivering dime to quarter size hail and maybe 60-mile-an-hour winds.

Tornado threat also in the game for tomorrow and Saturday, all the way into the Deep South. So we're watching that certainly, very, very carefully.

Also, watching this. Some cool pictures of the sun. New stuff from NASA -- oh yes, check that out baby. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, it's basically the equivalent of the Hubble specifically designed to look at the sun. This (INAUDIBLE) was launched in February 11th. So it's pretty new and these images pretty much never seen before.

So we will be able to study and monitor the magnetic field. The solar flares that come out of the sun towards the earth and that affects the power grid, your cell phones, your satellites, all sorts of stuff, GPS signals and not to mention some pretty pictures of that big orange globe that we see in the sky every day. Cool stuff -- John?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: Oh good stuff.

CHETRY: Can we -- can we see that first shot again of the sun. That's scary actually. That looks like the (INAUDIBLE) of H-E double hockey sticks. You know what I mean, that's crazy.

MARCIANO: It is.

CHETRY: Can we see it again. I mean, look at that.

MARCIANO: Yes there, oh yes.

CHETRY: It's kind of a movie.

ROBERTS: This is why my computer crashed the other day.

CHETRY: Yes, because of that magnetic solar flare right there.

MARCIANO: And we're at a kind of a solar minimum right now.

ROBERTS: Yes.

MARCIANO: So anticipate the activities to pick up here over the next couple of years and you'll see ever more of that kind of stuff.

ROBERTS: That is pretty impressive. All right, Rob, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

ROBERTS: Well, new research about the source of tequila.

CHETRY: That's right. You guys may like to sip it maybe on the weekend responsibly. But the actual plant could treat diabetes, even osteoporosis. What's the catch though, we'll tell you coming up. Its 53 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: I remember that song. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Time for your "A.M. House Call." These are stories about your health. Are you doing it? You're doing the Peewee Herman?

The plant that used to make tequila -- the plant that's used to make tequila with some surprising health benefits. Mexican researchers say the ingredient from the Agave plant was effective in both treating diabetes and osteoporosis in rats. The researchers though add that drinking the actual tequila doesn't give you the same benefits.

ROBERTS: Oh, big sad face for that.

A cutting edge treatment could offer relief for millions of people who suffer from crippling migraine headaches -- no, we're not talking tequila shots here -- while it still needs more testing. A new drug is in the final stages of development that eases pain without constricting blood vessels like the Triptan class of drugs currently on the market. Doctors say it makes it more effective for people with cardiovascular disease and others that couldn't be treated before because they use these Triptan drugs and you have heart problems, constrict the blood vessels in the heart as well. And that's never a good thing.

CHETRY: Right. I know there's a lot of people who are hoping there is a new class out there because for some people, those don't work anyway.

There you go. We want to show you one amazing play from a college baseball diamond. Keep an eye on the runner who takes off from first -- ok, there you see him go. It's Fordham University. Brian Kinacke (ph), rounding the bases, coming home instead of sliding under the tag, he actually does a front flip over the catcher and is safe. He actually touched the plate with his hand.

It was no doubt probably the most exciting run of the nine that the Rams scored during the inning and Fordham ended up beating Ionia 12-7.

ROBERTS: That's good.

CHETRY: Well, tonight -- here we go again.

It looks like he launched off a vault in gymnastics.

ROBERTS: The Iona coach was kicking up dirt and protesting and they said, "Go sit down. It's fine."

CHETRY: There you go. And here it goes one more time and springboard. Safe.

ROBERTS: What a leap! Yes. Baseball players, yes, can fly.

It is 58 minutes after the hour. We are back in just a moment. Stay with us.

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ROBERTS: Continue the conversation on today's stories; go to our blog at cnn.com/amFix. That will wrap it up for us today. See you again, bright and early tomorrow morning

CHETRY: When it's Friday. Meanwhile, the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts now.