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American Morning

Several Homes Exploded in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Thousands Join "Energized" Protests in Egypt; General Motors Unveils New Camaro; Are TSA Body Scanners Safe?; Fee Hike on Checked Bags; Interview with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Donald Trump's Last-Minute Speaking Engagement at CPAC

Aired February 10, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Covering breaking news this morning out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Investigators are trying to find out why several homes exploded. There are six people missing this morning. We're going to get an update on the scene from the fire chief of Allentown.

And good morning to you on this Thursday, February 10th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Get back to that story here out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. We have a number of people missing this morning after an explosion that's destroyed at least two homes. Several others have been damaged as well. Actually, eight homes, we can give you that update now, has been destroyed, according to the fire chief.

Several city blocks had to be evacuated. And again, at this point, at least six people still missing. Another 500 had to be evacuated and are in shelters.

CHETRY: The gas company came to the scene to shut off the gas line that they said was fueling the flames. The chief says gas is fueling the fire, so we're going to find out more about that. Joining us is Robert Scheirer, he's the fire chief in Allentown, and he joins us now. Thanks so much for being with us, chief.

CHIEF ROBERT SCHEIRER, ALLENTOWN, PENN. FIRE DEPT.: Good morning.

CHETRY: The search for six people. At this point, what is the latest on that?

SCHEIRER: The latest on that is we have one confirmed fatality at this point, and we are still searching for five other victims.

CHETRY: Do we know if they are living in the same house? We heard that two houses were right at the heart of where this explosion happened and then subsequently others were destroyed. Do we know where the missing people were living?

SCHEIRER: That's correct. We're actually looking for victims from the two homes that were leveled by the explosion and a victim from the third house, which suffered severe fire damage. CHETRY: All right. And are you getting -- obviously, it's very challenging, the weather and, of course, the flames and the smoke. What is the progress so far in trying to determine whether or not you're dealing with a rescue here or unfortunately a recovery?

SCHEIRER: I believe we're dealing with a recovery at this point. The fire is out. The gas line has been shut off. We have all the shelter victims being returned to their homes, the homes that can be inhabitable at this point.

CHETRY: And has it been confirmed that the cause of this explosion was a gas line? What do you know at this point?

SCHEIRER: We don't have anything confirmed yet at this point. We believe it to be a natural gas explosion. We don't know if the leak was inside the home or out on the street. That all hasn't been investigated yet.

CHETRY: What else is on your mind, as you guys are trying to figure out what this is? I mean, your worst nightmare, you're sitting at home, and your home explodes, and it's nothing that you did. Do we know how these things happen and how you can prevent them?

SCHEIRER: Well, you know, the wintertime, you know, gas lines are like water lines. As the ground freezes and thaws, you know, it tends to shift and sometimes it cracks the pipes, you know, thus causing gas leaks and water leaks.

If gas is leaking out into the street, you know, it's going to follow the path of least resistance and it could seep in the ground into your home and stuff. And any ignition source inside the home could create that explosion.

CHETRY: How bad has it been in terms of temperature? How much of a role has weather played in this situation, in your opinion?

SCHEIRER: Well, it's very cold. I was very concerned with my firefighters getting frostbite last night. We set up tents and stuff to try to keep them warm. We were relieving them as rapidly as we could. It's very difficult with the amount of snow that we've had here in the city lately with the snow piles and stuff. And of course, once we start throwing water, everything turns to ice.

CHETRY: Is there any concern still, as well, as we understood there was a nearby senior center. Are you telling people it's safe to go back to the area?

SCHEIRER: Yes. Gross Towers we evacuated, there were about 500 people. We sheltered them in several facilities inside the city here. And we have them returned at this point. They're all back in their homes at this point.

CHETRY: I know you guys averted a potential bigger disaster by getting out there and doing your best to get the flames out. Robert Scheirer, the fire chief of Allentown, thank you and good luck.

SCHEIRER: Thank you.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a U.S. congressman abruptly resigns overnight after it was revealed that he sent e-mails and a picture of himself shirtless to a woman that was not his wife. His name, Representative Christopher Lee, you're seeing him there, is a GOP congressman from New York.

Now, who is he? He's from a wealthy western New York family and he was just entering his second term. He was first elected in 2008. He was instrumental in passing airline safety legislation after the deadly crash of flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York, and he was once considered one of the young and rising stars of the GOP.

But today, he has resigned. Our Deb Feyerick is live for us right now in what used to be his district. Do we know any idea of his whereabouts at this point?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't. When we first arrived here in Buffalo at about 11:00, there was a gaggle of reporters and cameras waiting for him at the airport. But there's a sense that perhaps he may be laying low at a home in Florida. We're working to confirm that.

But what's so crazy about this is that Chris Lee going onto Craigslist, he lied about his age. He lied about his job. He lied about being divorced. And yet he gave his real name. And the e-mail suggests that in fact this was probably not the first time he had contacted a woman on Craigslist. As a matter of fact one of the e- mails says his last date was "not as advertised."

Now, think about the speed at which all of this happened, just three hours for this promising political career to go up in flames. Three hours from the time the picture and article hit Gawker on the internet to the time he resigned, the statement made on the floor of the House.

Now, there's a sense that Chris Lee simply could not survive this. He issued a statement yesterday saying, quote, "It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff, and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize for them all. I've made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness."

Lee is from a prominent family, brought a lot of business and jobs to this particular area because of the manufacturing company they had. Lee was seen as genuine. He was seen as bipartisan, reaching out across the aisle. Also he was really focused on business and bringing jobs to this area. That's why among his constituents there's a profound sense of disappointment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could always come home and there would messages as to what he was doing, updating you on progress or whatever. And for him to do something like this and throw it all away was sad. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The saddest state of affairs when you have someone that you're supposed to respect publicly let you down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, we need qualified people in Congress to represent us. And everybody makes mistakes, and nobody seems to be able to live with what they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And the irony is that Lee had actually been instrumental in passing a student safety internet act. He even wrote an op-ed saying be very careful about what kind of pictures you send because you don't know in whose hands they may wind up in. T.J., Kiran?

HOLMES: Deborah, thank you, as always.

CHETRY: Well, she is speaking again. Just after a month of being shot in the head, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues to amaze her doctors and staff with her progress. This time it was a breakfast request.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIA CARUSONE, GIFFORDS' CHIEF OF STAFF: She was having oatmeal for breakfast and she asked for toast. She sounded great, very clear to understand. And I said, absolutely. We asked the desk area to get toast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: A difficult aide says she started speaking within the last few days. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now. So this is another milestone, was she able to actually talk, and now it seems she is. How significant is that?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very significant. When you think about speech overall sort of broadly, Kiran, you think of it sort of as of the ability to understand speech, receive speech, and also to express yourself. Pretty clearly, since the time of the injury we've been talking about the fact that she was following commands. That's significant because you can receive speech to execute some sort of command.

But this one of the first indications that she's able to actually express herself in some meaningful way through talking. And it was not just some random words. She was making a specific request, asking for toast in this case.

I talked to the office yesterday as well of the congresswoman. They said, when she asked for the toast was actually a couple days ago, and since then she's been talking more. So it wasn't one specific event either.

She's eating solid food, also important, just coordinating swallowing, just an important milestone as well. You heard Pia, her chief of staff, talk about that. And also that she's completely aware that her husband Mark Kelly is going into space in April. So again, that awareness and ability to understand and this ability to express yourself, such an important milestone, as you said, Kiran.

CHETRY: Why is it so difficult after a brain injury to speak? And then how is it possible then to be able to relearn the ability to do it?

GUPTA: It's a good question. Let me just show you on this brain model if I can for a second. You know, one of the things that's important is that different parts of the brain do different things.

So what we know the injury in the congresswoman's case, this is the left side of the brain, occurred around here somewhere. This area, for example, controls motor strength on the opposite side of the body, so the right side of the body. Speech is in this area down here typically. It's a big area. It's redundant, meaning it has lots of different circuits that can sort of fill in if something is damaged.

What we don't know is that was this area really damaged at all? Perhaps it wasn't. And this is just her first opportunity to speak. Or was there swelling sort of in this area that's now gotten better over the last month. Or as you say, Kiran, is she actually able to sort of relearn? You think of the brain as sort of like Swiss cheese with holes in. Well, you can rewire around those holes and get this sort of, you know, very, very important outcome here.

CHETRY: It is certainly amazing. Everybody following all of this because the whole entire country is pulling for her and wants to see that her life can get back to normal eventually. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, it's 10 minutes past the hour on this "AMERICAN MORNING" and we want to turn now to a live picture in Cairo, Tahrir Square, where people continue to camped out and they say they're not leaving until President Hosni Mubarak leaves office. So neither side looking like they're going to give an inch just yet.

Meantime there's new worry about labor strikes breaking out across the country. Also some new fears that the Suez Canal which so critical might be shut down. The government says they'll do everything possible to keep it open.

Meanwhile, back to those strikes -- thousands of workers are joining in on these strikes. They say they want better pay, they want better work conditions, and they are supporting the opposition protesters.

And we're going have Michael Shore coming up in just a few minutes to talk about Egypt. He, of course, is the former head of the bin Laden unit at the CIA and also a CIA counterterrorism analyst. He's joining us in just a few minutes.

CHETRY: Meantime, the latest winter storm is making conditions miserable across many of the southern states of the nation. Tennessee, the snow and ice turning roads into a truck stop. Forecasters say the below-zero temperatures are making for a dangerous winter mix after snow fell again yesterday as well.

Meantime in Oklahoma they're still trying to dig out, up to two feet in portions of the state and biting wind chills also a bid problem there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, the president has said he's serious about cutting spending, but there's one proposed cut could one particular program that may generate a whole lot of heat, especially from some fellow Democrats. Christine Romans, "Minding your Business," do tell.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's a low-income heating aid program that has jumped over the past couple of years as more and more people have needed this as has been pumping money into the economy.

The president's budget on Monday is expected to call for big, big cuts to this program that provides low-income people with heating, making sure they have the ability, especially here in the northeast to heat their homes.

In 2008 this program was funded to the tune of $2.5 billion. In 2009, it jumped to $5.1 billion as millions of people in the aftermath of the recession needed more help. The president's budget is expected to cut that back to 2008 levels.

The National Energy Assistant Director Association, many Democrats, people in the northeast are very concerned about this at this time with up to nine million people who need this program. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association says in 2010 8.4 million households used this. By 2011 it will edge up to 8.9 million.

And John Kerry, the senator from Massachusetts in the very cold northeast, he sent a letter to the president saying we simply cannot afford to cut this heat during one of the most brutal winters in history.

Here is the issue -- the president wants to get control of the runaway spending. That means programs like this will be on the chopping block. And that is just the way it's going to be. You're going to see programs like this and many, many other programs that on their surface may seem like a good idea and very helpful to people that we simply can't afford anymore.

Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, has said, you're going to see that very little is going to be spared in terms of our cutting. We're going to get the president's budget on Monday.

I will point out, though, some critics say programs like these actually just put money in the pockets of energy companies because it's very, very difficult for a utility to turn off the oil for American families. There are a lot of ways -- it's very hard to make that happen.

I want to give you a quick market check. I'm telling right now if you believe the deficit hawks, we've got years of tough choices like this ahead where people will feel the pain of budget cuts, and we'll see politically if the president can get this through.

Quick market check: The Dow still above 12,000 yesterday. And the NASDAQ and S&P were also -- actually the NASDAQ was down a little. S&P was down a little bit. But the Dow manages to squeak out six points of a gain yesterday.

CHETRY: All right.

HOLMES: We'll take it.

ROMANS: There you go.

HOLMES: Thank you, Christine.

CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.

HOLMES: Well, a quarter past the hour now, still ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING: the cost of a Super Bowl ticket -- $800. Get to get game and finding out you don't have a seat, well, that's priceless. But suing the NFL, well, that's worth about $5 million.

CHETRY: Also, hefty new fees for the overweight bags. The charges in fact could be more than the ticket itself sometimes. So, what's cheaper, should you check your bag or ship it? We're going to check back in with Christine. She's going to crunch those numbers for us.

It's 15 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHETRY: New developments out of Cairo this morning. There are thousands marching in the pouring rain in protest of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The crowd described as newly energized and quite loud.

We want to get the latest on the ground from freelance journalist Ian Lee who is outside of Abdeen Palace. He joins us on the phone this morning.

And just set the stage and how is it like and different from what we've seen in the past 24 hours, Ian?

IAN LEE, FREELANCE JOURNALIST (via telephone): Kiran, right now we are -- in Egypt, there's a lot of industries that are having walkouts, having demonstrations, protests. This group in particular were a bunch of lawyers who are going to Abdeen Palace, this is the palace of former King Farouk, who is the king of Egypt during the monarchy.

So, the protesters, thousands of them, were marching towards the palace. They met a line of riot police. They surged forward. The riot police didn't hold as long as we've seen in the past. This is the first time we've seen the two groups meet. The police went into flights really quickly, ran back to their vehicles to escape the crowd.

One of the vehicles was caught up in the protests. The protesters started sitting on it, shaking it. And eventually, the car (ph) had prevailed and it was set free. But what is really significant, that this is the first time we've seen protesters and police square off against each other since they left the city.

CHETRY: The other larger view of this, there are -- there are many involved in this, protesters, people that would normally be at work that are not. One is workers at the Suez Canal Port Authority. They're demanding better salaries as well, according to state-run newspaper.

But it's sparking fears that this significant oil hub could experience disruptions and there could be some major problems in terms of worldwide oil prices. Any word on that?

LEE: Well, you know, definitely, that's one thing. Egypt gets a lot of its revenues through the Suez Canal. And so, you know, all of these industries are starting to strike. It's really going to be a will -- a lot of pressure put on President Hosni Mubarak to step down. The protesters in Tahrir Square, you know, are there, the government has kind of absorbed them.

But what the protesters that we're seeing in the Suez, we're seeing all around Egypt, this is really a lot of new pressure that's being put on Hosni Mubarak to step down.

CHETRY: All right. Ian Lee for us right there where all of this is taking place, as these renewed protests, larger protests, and worker strikes now in Egypt continuing this morning. We'll continue to follow the latest on this. Thanks so much -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Kiran, thank you so much.

In Kiran's reporting there, she's talking about what's happening on the streets of Cairo, talking about now you throw in the strikes that are going on, giving the government maybe one more crisis to handle.

Meanwhile, there are complaints that the U.S. intelligence failed to predict revolt in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Homeland Security secretary says that terror threat today may be at its highest level since 9/11.

I want to bring in Michael Scheuer. He's a good man to talk here, former CIA counterterrorism analyst, also once head at the CIA's bin Laden unit, has a new book out as well we want to tell you about. It's called simply "Osama bin Laden."

Mr. Scheuer joins us this morning from Philadelphia.

Good to have you with us, as always. Help our viewers, if you can. When they wake up this morning and they hear us reporting that Homeland Security secretary says that the terror threat might be at its highest state since 9/11. What is an American supposed to take from that?

MICHAEL SCHEUER, AUTHOR, "OSAMA BIN LADEN": Well, I think they're supposed to take from that, sir, that when we lose two wars which we're losing in Iraq and Afghanistan at the hands of Islamists, when we see a growth in the United States and the English-speaking countries, specifically, of U.S. citizens or British citizens, willing to attack their own country, we're facing both a domestic problem and an international problem that's far greater than it was in 2001.

HOLMES: There are some, as you know, will certainly disagree with you. You say two wars we're losing. Plenty do agree with you. The administration as you know would not agree. Some Americans would not agree as well.

But were you shocked to hear the Homeland Security secretary be so blunt and frank?

SCHEUER: I was shocked to hear anyone tell the truth really these days, either the Democratic or Republican side. We're pretending as if, for example, this is not a religious war. Whether or not we like it, the people who are fighting us do believe they're defending their faith.

And so, their motivation, their endurance, their determination is something we haven't coped with in a long time. And not to talk about it lulls the American people into the belief that somehow we're winning.

HOLMES: Is that what's needed? Do you think there are some in the administration, some Democrats and Republicans even, who would like to lull the American public into believing that we are winning this fight?

SCHEUER: Absolutely, sir. They've portrayed the fight as somehow having something to do with our liberties and our freedoms and our women in the workplace. There's no one attacking us for those reasons, sir. No one's going to blow themselves up for those.

They're attacking us because of our support for Israel, because of our support for Arab tyrannies, because of our support of the Arabian Peninsula. And no politician wants to talk about those in the context of American politics.

HOLMES: You brought up Arab tyrannies there. Let's move now to Egypt and what we've seen there. There are some who have criticized and even Admiral Mullen made some comments about whether or not intelligence officials, intelligence agencies, saw it coming.

Let's say we did see it coming or intelligence officials did see a revolt company. What possibly could they have done about it?

SCHEUER: They can't do a thing about it, sir. The only thing the intelligence agency didn't predict was the day that it started. For 20 years, I worked at the agency, and reporting on Arab tyrannies has been consistently that they live on knife's edge, that as long as they're brutal and they conduct themselves in the manner they have for 20 years or 30 years, they'll stay in power, but they're not solid governments.

But, you know, at the end of the day, what's easier to kick than the CIA and the intelligence community because it can't kick back.

HOLMES: Who's kicking, would you say? Who's kicking the intelligence communities? Do you think the administration is throwing them under the bus?

SCHEUER: Well, certainly, the president has been leaking or his associates have been leaking that he's unhappy with the intelligence community. As far as what's left of his base in Congress, the Republicans are very much to the left, they don't like the agency. And so, this is an easy target.

But to expect the acquisition of data that tells you the day the man is going to burn himself up in Tunisia is to expect the impossible.

HOLMES: But we always knew this was on the edge and this could come, it's just a matter, nobody could predict the exact date when it would happen. So, a lot of people are not surprised.

Michael Scheuer, it's good to talk to you, as always. And again, the new book, simply titled, "Osama bin Laden." Thank you so much, sir. Good to see you and you enjoy the rest of your day.

SCHEUER: Thank you, sir.

HOLMES: All right, Kiran?

CHETRY: Interesting stuff. Well, just as modern day Catholics are promised an act where they could confess their sins or at least help them confess their sins, the Vatican issues a new order on the technology. We'll tell you what it's saying this morning.

Also two words that could change your life "You're hired." How the mayor in Philly is promising to turn around what has been a very rough path for the city and to grow jobs -- a game-changer and perhaps a lesson that we could all take away from.

It's 26 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour.

We want to give you a look at what we're working on this morning.

Show off the arm. Well, John McEntee, the third string quarterback for UConn, but may be the best trick shot quarterback out there. How about football and a pool cue in making the shot? Or from the rafters? Nothing but wind.

How about from every angle imaginable -- wait. I'm sorry. We're getting ahead of ourselves here. OK, this one. Every angle imaginable on the basketball court. That's right. How's that for accuracy? Well, this fancy trickery has gotten more than 1 million YouTube hits. Pretty impressive.

HOLMES: Yes, if he could do it on the field, maybe he wouldn't be a third-stringer.

Also, the game so far for "Guitar Hero" this morning. The game that turned extraordinary folks into rock stars. Well, it is no more. The company behind it announced they're going to pull the franchise because of some declining sales. The game's maker expected to shift its attention now to social and online games.

CHETRY: And if you're looking for economy and clean energy -- look somewhere else. General Motors showing that it still has muscle, as in a muscle car. Unveiling a new 550 horsepower Camaro at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday -- that thing is pretty good -- amped up from the 426 horsepower one that's now available. It's a nod to the car's past based on the first generation of the Chevy Camaro in the late '60s. And this one is expected to cost around $50,000.

HOLMES: Well, something else is going to cost you these days? That bag, that checked bag. One airline is just about doubling how much they charge you on a particular baggage fee. We'll explain.

CHETRY: Also, those airport body scanners, are they safe? Well, the answer is, we still don't know. Congress has told the TSA you need to get the reports out there. The evidence, they haven't been able to do it yet and some lawmakers are calling it unacceptable.

We're going to get that story when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: 32 minutes past the hour now. About 15 million of you out there have received those full-body scans at the airport. They were controversial there for a while because of the image it took of your body. Some found it a little intrusive here. TSA has yet to release now a safety report on this x-ray equipment, even though some House lawmakers have asked for it saying the delay now is inexcusable.

Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve live for us in Washington. What's supposed to be - Jeanne, good morning to you, first of all. What's supposed to be in this report in the first place?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a series of reports, of inspection reports. Let me clarify that the TSA uses two types of body imaging machines at the airports. One type called back spatter uses x-ray technology. The TSA says these machines are safe. But some members of Congress want more information about the radiation they emit. And they are complaining that the TSA is not providing it in a timely manner.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz is among those who wants to review the machine's radiation inspection reports. He asked the TSA for them months ago. But hasn't seen them yet. He calls that "Unacceptable and inexcusable. It sends up a red light," he says, "that there might be something wrong." Now, the TSA insists it will release those reports but is reviewing them to make sure they don't contain security or privacy related information.

In a letter from Congressman Ed Markey, who is another member of Congress who has concerns about the machines, TSA administrator John Pistole says a number of government agencies have evaluated the machines and concluded, "radiation doses were well below the dose limit set by the federal government." He also writes there has never been a case where malfunctioning equipment resulted in excess radiation exposure.

But Chaffetz responds it is not good enough for the TSA to simply say it is safe. The public has a right to know and should be able to access the data. T.J..

HOLMES: And again, when do we get it now?

MESERVE: When do we get it? Unclear. TSA says it's coming soon.

HOLMES: Coming. All right. Jeanne Meserve for us in Washington. Thank you as always.

CHETRY: Here's a tip for anyone planning to fly U.S. Airways. Try to travel light. The airline is now raising the amount it charges you to check an overweight bag. Our Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. We've seen these check bag fees go up and up. So if it's over 50 pounds, you're paying even more now.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK. You're paying even more. And you know, one of the reasons to watch this is because when a fee like this sticks, the other airlines like to jump on it and do it, too. So that everybody's got the same sort of fee structure and they're all making the a la carte money for when you fly.

So what's it going to be. The fee hike is this, for 50 to 70 pounds, a bag that weighs 50 to 70 pounds used to be $50 now will be $90. For 70-plus pounds, used to be $100. Now will be $175. This is on top of what you already pay for the number of bags. You check one bag, it's 25 bucks. You checked a second bag, it's 35 bucks. You checked three plus bags, it's 125 bucks. So all of that together shows you that the bag fees alone can be more than the price of your ticket.

This is, of course, why the airline industry is starting to do a little bit better. All of those northeast air winter storms not included. Now, let me talk about a little bit about should you check or should you ship. So say it's $90 to $175 extra for a heavy bag on U.S. Airways. Well, can you use a U.P.S. luggage box at 95 pounds. The box is $18. The shipping is $92. You can see how you could ship it ahead via U.P.S. and you can also use something called luggage forward, luggage concierge. Delta has a - I'm sorry, United has a pre-shipping option. You could ship it FedEx in some cases, if you are early enough, a week ahead of time, you can plan for some of these luggage shipping programs. And you know, you can get it there ahead of time if you're planning ahead and you know a week ahead that you're going. CHETRY: I always admire the people that can, "a," can afford to do that, and "b," have the wherewithal. I mean, I'm grabbing stuff out of my suitcase at the last second before I go to the airport.

ROMANS: I'm telling you that there are some savvy business international travelers who do things like this. I mean even though even on an international flight, you might not be charged for the bag. They're shipping ahead of time anyway so that they're ready to go. The suit is pressed for the meeting.

CHETRY: Right, and they also don't have to lug it around the airport and change.

ROMANS: I know. But I'm telling you, (INAUDIBLE) I mean, if you travel with bags, this is going to affect you. I mean the bottom line faircompare.com, they, you know, they always tell me, don't travel with the bag, buy your ticket on a Tuesday, travel on a Wednesday, never travel on a weekend. Tuesday, by the way, at 3:00 is the best time to get the lower fares to fly. Just F.Y.I.

CHETRY: 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

ROMANS: 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. And don't check a bag because look, I mean, are you kidding me $175 for a - although I don't have 70 pounds.

Well, when I travel for work, we do carry gear and it does cost a lot, I will say that. But I don't pay for it.

HOLMES: All right. Christine Romans and your expense reports. Thank you for that.

CHETRY: Thanks, Christine. Oh, you crack me up.

That Super Bowl seating disaster has now led to a class action lawsuit. They want $5 million. They didn't get to see their team lose.

HOLMES: That's about fair.

CHETRY: they want $5 million. The suit charges the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and also the NFL with breach of contract with fraud, with deception for not telling hundreds of ticket holders until game day, until they've already flown there and paid for their checked baggage that their seats weren't available. The NFL did its part, they did offer the 400 fans who didn't get seats compensation two different options here.

The first was a free ticket to next year's Super Bowl game and a cash equivalent of $2,400, which the NFL said would be triple the value of the ticket. The second option would be a free ticket to any future Super Bowl, meaning if you wanted to wait until your team actually made it again. As well as round trip airfare and hotel accommodations for the NFL. The scorned fans though it seems have answered in one voice, "we'll see you in court."

HOLMES: Yes, yes. I mean, you can't put a value on the experience you missed out on possibly. We shall see how many join in.

CHETRY: People were crying over this. I mean, that's a letdown. We'll see if they get paid for it, though.

Still to come, the mayor of Philadelphia says it's open. We're open for business. Come on and join us. He is making employers fall for the city of brotherly love in an attempt to turn the economy around. He's going to join us. Could some of the ideas he's using be put to use in your city?

39 minutes past the hour.

HOLMES: Also coming up, it's a snowy start in the south but is it going to disrupt things for the rest of the country. You see what's happening there, we'll let you know, Rob Marciano coming up next. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Open for business. That's the message from Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who after facing a billion dollar shortfalls, may balance or even squeak by with a small budget surplus this year for Philly.

Philly-based Urban Outfitters is already promising to hire 1,000 workers over the next three years, bringing all of those jobs there. And the Mayor says that's just the beginning.

And so how are things turning around for the City of Brotherly Love, and is this a teachable moment? Mayor Michael Nutter joins us know.

Good morning, thanks for being with us.

MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER (D), PHILADELPHIA: Thank you, Kiran. Good morning to you.

CHETRY: I'm sure you were excited. When you were elected, the city was in pretty bad shape financially and you guys had to unfortunately had to brace a series of tax increases. You had to cut a lot of spending to try to get of the red ink.

How did you make it work?

NUTTER: Well, interestingly enough, I came in in January of 2008, so officially we didn't know yet, the federal government hadn't told us yet that we were in a recession. But we started seeing some really bad signs by that summer. So I'd been in about six, seven months, and already there were some challenges.

We made our cuts and decisions very early. We tackled this recession by making some very tough choices early on in the process. We reduced the size of the workforce, cut back on some services, but maintained our focus on core public services. Things like police and fire and looking out for vulnerable children and families and the essential services that people really need here in our city.

We tightened our belt. We also did have to raise some taxes a couple years in a row and that's always tough --

CHETRY: Yes. I wanted to ask you about that, because, I mean, you nearly raised property taxes 10 percent, right? I mean, there are many, many cities and counties who fear that if they were do that, people wouldn't want to move there.

How did that work out?

NUTTER: Kind of a unique situation in Philadelphia. We're in the process of fixing our assessment system. But, also, folks know they get a good real estate value here in Philadelphia. But always tough to raise any taxes, especially in this climate.

I mean, think about it, we're reducing some services and we've had to increase taxes. So it's a very tough balances act. But folks here in Philadelphia, I think, understood where we were going, they could see the vision that you don't make drastic short-term decisions that affect you in the long-term and prevent the recovery.

What we're now seeing is the city starting to turn the corner. I emphasize starting. But we're seeing good signs. You mentioned earlier about Urban Outfitters adding a thousand jobs over the course of the next three years.

An incredible international company, GlaxoSmithKline was looking around different places, in the city, outside of city, decided on their own -- no incentives, nothing -- to stay in Philadelphia, consolidate their Philadelphia operations down in our great Navy Yard, which now has 8,000 people working down there and more than 100 companies to come.

CHETRY: You know what, this is another interesting thing that you did. Because, I mean, we talk about -- especially cities in the northeast and in the rust belt of trying to revitalize existing areas. This was an old ship building yard, right --

NUTTER: Yes.

CHETRY: -- and now this is going to be a place where, as you said, a big pharmaceutical and a big retail place.

How are you getting these businesses to expand and to want to hire in Philadelphia?

NUTTER: Well, one of the things, you know, as they stay about real estate, they're not making in anymore. The Navy Yard was turned over to us, the base were closed. Thousands of people had worked there in its grand old days as a Navy facility, a ship building place.

And over time, starting then with then-Mayor Rendell, we've embarked this city on a long process to get it in position where that land is valuable. People want to be there. The Navy Yard is about the same size as our Center City so I refer to it often as Center City South. It's become a clean tech hub.

We've received a $129 million grant from the Federal Department of Energy to do research on building efficiency but also commercialization. That's going to spawn new businesses, and again, more jobs here in Philadelphia. Philly's becoming a clean tech and green economy leader all around the country and around the world. So some of it is our natural assets.

CHETRY: Right.

NUTTER: This is a great city with a fine airport. Easy to get around. Multimodal in nature. Highly qualified workforce. A hundred and one colleges and universities in the tri-state area. So employers know that they can get a good workforce. --

CHETRY: And Mr. Mayor, I do want to ask you about this because there are other state leaders =-- at the city and the state level who say this is actually the wrong idea, not trying to attract businesses, but needing to raise taxes in any way, shape, or form.

Yesterday we talked to Florida Governor Rick Scott, of Florida. Now, he's a governor, but he's proposing slashing taxes by the billions in his state to encourage new business and to create jobs.

Are you concerned that long-term some of these tax increases, sales tax and property tax increases will actually hurt the city?

NUTTER: Well, interestingly enough for us, actually both of those tax increases are temporary. And they are absolutely temporary. And that's what we told the public and we wrote it into the various laws that were passed. They are only temporary to get us through this tough time.

You know, states are a little different in terms of their management than cities. And we think that we made many of the right choices and the results are the kind of announcements that we've been making virtually every day this week and for weeks, leading up to this week, jobs week, here in Philadelphia. So it was the right choice for us.

The delicate balance of reducing the workforce, cutting spending, cutting back on some of our programs, while still investing in public safety. Crime is going down during my tenure here in Philadelphia, 23 percent drop in homicide. Educational attainment is going up. Our graduation rate for high school students going up. And we're focused on jobs and running the government in a smart way.

And so Philly is becoming the smart city, smart choice for many businesses all across America. And whereas you opened, we are open for business, we're welcoming, and we're excited about now opportunities for people to come and see what Philadelphia is all about.

CHETRY: Well, good for you, guys. I know you're chipping away at the unemployment rate.

NUTTER: Yes.

CHETRY: It was as high as nearly 12 percent. It's now down to 10.4 percent. NUTTER: And we're working on it.

CHETRY: Yes. Still a way to go, but, you know, steps in the right direction. So, good for you.

Thanks for joining us this morning to talk to you. Great to talk to you Mayor Michael Nutter --

NUTTER: Thank you. Thank you so much.

CHETRY: -- Philadelphia. And just for my husband, I have to say, go Phillies.

NUTTER: Absolutely, go Phillies.

CHETRY: Take care.

HOLMES: Also ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, was the feel-good story this week of sacrifice and just helping someone out who really needed your help. And this was a big one. A coach gives a kidney to one of his players and we will be talking to them both this morning.

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HOLMES: Well, getting close to the top of the hour here. Just into us, as people love to read the tea leaves, we might have another one to read here. Donald Trump now going to be speaking at the CPAC conference this afternoon. He is a late add to the schedule.

CPAC, as you may know, is a group of political activists that get together, have a huge conference in Washington every year. The who's who of anybody trying to run for president from the Republican side show up to speak at this thing. So now he is a late add.

We do know he has been talking for the past several weeks and some would even say before that, about a possible presidential bid. He has spoken publicly about it saying he is at least thinking about it. He even told our own Piers Morgan last night once again, that yes, he is thinking about it. But, told him last night, our Piers Morgan again, that he would not make a decision until June. He says he is seriously thinking about it. Won't make a decision until then. Will make a decision and it may surprise people, frankly, but he'll do it sometime prior to June.

But, again, this is a bit of a development, given that again, this is a conference of some 10,000 people who will be there, conservative activists who will be listening to the likes of Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, others who are looking at a presidential run. This is the place you have to be, a lot of people will tell you. Donald Trump now on the schedule.

A couple names absent. Sarah Palin won't be there, Mike Huckabee. Bug again, this is the spot people know you have to be if you're thinking about a presidential run on the Republican side.

CHETRY: All right. Well it's nearly five minutes to the top of the hour. Let's get a quick check of the weather headlines.

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HOLMES: Also still to come this morning, we were keeping a close eye on a gas explosion -- a gas explosion -- in a neighborhood in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It's now been confirmed for us this has been a deadly explosion. We'll give you an update from the scene coming up at the top of the hour.

CHETRY: A Military policy would seem almost absurd. Why the government wants widows of fallen service members to remarry if they want to claim certain benefits. It seems like it makes no sense. Jason Carroll explains, coming up at 8:30 Eastern.

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