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American Morning

Bloodshed in Bahrain; Violent Protests in Libya; Wisconsin Workers Walk Out; Auburn University Oak Trees Poisoned; Out of Work, Out of Luck?; Violent Protests in Libya; Scott Brown Says He was Sex- Abuse Victim; Posh Couture

Aired February 17, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, after days of peaceful protests, a deadly crackdown on protesters in Bahrain. The unrest and violence that continue to spread in the region and reports now of bloody clashes in Yemen and Libya as well.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Most schools are closed in the state of Wisconsin today. Teachers walking off the job, insisting the governor is trying to balance the budget on their backs and the backs of students. Could this be labor's last stand in America?

HOLMES: Also, a prominent senator's stunning admission. He was abused as a child. The secret that Scott Brown says he never even told his mother.

CHETRY: And a stunning sight off the coast of Florida. A scary sight. Thousands of sharks circling less than 200 feet -- they're actually less than 200 feet from shore. We're going to talk about why scientists say they may not go away.

HOLMES: Also, this morning, a woman who flushed her $10,000 wedding ring right down the toilet. And her husband took her back. That's all next on this AMERICAN MORNING. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning. Chaos in Bahrain. Protesters and police in a violent clash and at least one American journalist caught in the middle.

CHETRY: Outrage in Wisconsin. Thousands of teachers walking off the job today over what they call a union-busting state budget.

HOLMES: And a bombshell from Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, revealing a dark and deeply painful part of his past. It's on this AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with you. We're following all the latest developments this morning that are changing by the moment, as protests continue throughout the Mideast on this Thursday, February 17th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We're about to let you hear audio that really describes in a way that it's hard to put into words just how terrifying things are in Bahrain right now. We'll get to that in just a moment. But the bloodshed is taking place there now, after days of what were largely peaceful protests in the capital.

Police then late last night moved in to crack down on protesters who were gathered in the main square. They were firing rubber bullets and tear gas. You can see and hear the chaos there. At least three people have been killed, hundreds hospitalized. And one ABC News correspondent, Miguel Marquez, was beaten. He was on the phone at the time, trying to do some reporting, and the whole scene was caught on audiotape. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, no, no. Journalist, journalist. Journalist, journalist, journalist, journalist.

No, no, no, no. Journalist, journalist, journalist. Journalist. No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, no. He said no. He said no.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, ABC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I just got beat rather badly by a gang of thugs. I'm now at a marketplace near the hotel where people are cowering in buildings. I mean, these people are not screwing around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: "These people are not screwing around." We can report that he was not seriously injured, though you hear him say that he was beaten pretty badly. Much of the capital in Bahrain now on lockdown.

CHETRY: And the crackdown on anti-government protests is now spreading to Yemen where police opened fire on demonstrators in the capital city of Sana'a after nearly a week of demonstrations in major cities. Police chained the gates of Sana'a University keeping thousands of students from pouring on to the streets.

Also, pro-democracy activists are calling for a day of anger in Libya where demonstrations have reportedly turned -- demonstrations have reportedly turned violent in clashes with police. It is the first real challenge to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (ph). He's been in power since 1969. He calls the demonstrators puppets of the USA and Zionism (ph) and vows they will fall.

Our Zain Verjee is tracking the unrest in Libya. She will be joining us at 6:40 with the latest developments there.

HOLMES: Well, all of the unrest that's spreading in the Middle East, North Africa as well, it seems that the Obama administration had at least some sense that the potential for this was there. According to "The New York Times," a secret report was ordered by President Obama last summer of the potential for unrest in the Arab world. It was called "the presidential study directive." The report identified a number of countries, specifically, Egypt that could see revolts of sweeping democratic reforms were not adopted. The classified report sought proposals for how to push countries toward reform.

CHETRY: Schools across the state of Wisconsin will be closed today as thousands of teachers and other public employees prepare to walk off the job and protest again at the state capital. Forty percent of the state teachers called out sick yesterday. A lot of kids actually boycotted classes in a show of sympathy as 10,000 protesters demonstrated in front of the capital in Madison. State employees say they've got big problems with their new Republican Governor Scott Walker. Walker wants to take away their right to collective bargaining, while forcing them to pay a lot more for benefits. President Obama has called it an assault on unions. It's something teachers say they have to nip in the bud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I agonized over it. And, you know, I don't think there's a single teacher that can stand down here and say I loved calling in sick today. However, this bullying needs to be taken care of. And this bullying needs to be shown what it is that is important to the citizens of Wisconsin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's got to be some fairness and we've got to be in balance with where the taxpayers are who foot the bill for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: So again, the governor's position on this is that they simply can't afford it and they can't continue to raise taxes so something has to be done. Wisconsin lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the governor's spending bill today.

HOLMES: Of course, you know it's not just Wisconsin. Tons of cities and states across this country struggling with their budgets right now. For example, let's take Illinois. Dealing with a $13 billion shortfall there. How to deal with it? The new budget calls for a lot of new loans. They hope to borrow $8.7 billion to try to pay the state's bills. Turn to Connecticut, $3.2 billion in deficits there. They have a new budget plan that would seek $1.5 billion in a tax hike. The increases there on the taxes include everything from personal incomes to pedicures.

Now turn to New York City, where right now, up to 5,000 teachers may lose their jobs. The mayor, Mayor Bloomberg, is unveiling a new spending plan today that includes the potential for those cuts.

CHETRY: Well, he says he is coming forward to help other victims overcome the trauma.

A stunning revelation for Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. He spoke to "60 Minutes" saying that he was sexually abused in summer camp by a counselor when he was only 10 years old. Brown said he was told he'd be killed if he told anyone. Jim Acosta will join us in a few moments with a clip from that emotional interview.

HOLMES: This is not something any traveler wants to hear who has to check bags. Two TSA officers have been arrested for allegedly stealing from unsuspecting passengers at JFK airport in New York. They were arrested after $40,000 went missing from a checked bag last month. The prosecutors say the two men scanned the bag with an x-ray machine. They saw the cash in there, then they set up a plan to tag the bag and make sure they can go retrieve it later. Police say the men then later confess to other thefts that could total as much as $160,000.

CHETRY: The FBI is heading up a joint task force to investigate the shooting death of an immigrations officer in Mexico earlier this week. Special agent Jaime (ph) Zapata was killed Tuesday and another ICE officer was wounded when gunmen ran them off the road and opened fire north of Mexico City. The FBI will be working with investigators from the Justice Department and Homeland Security to track down those gunmen.

HOLMES: Well, they wrote it. Now, they've got to sell it. On Capitol Hill today, members of the Obama administration will try to sell the proposed budget to some skeptical lawmakers. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and also the Defense Secretary Robert Gates all will be before different committees today in Washington.

CHETRY: The snow is piling up on the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This was the scene yesterday after nearly three feet of snow fell in the higher elevations. The storms made getting around pretty tough. They're celebrating though at the ski resorts, of course. The winter watches though are in effect until Friday.

Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. It's always funny. I mean, you've got to put the chains on to get to the ski areas, right?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

CHETRY: To get up to Lake Tahoe, but once you're there, you'll love it.

MARCIANO: You do. They had to deal with some wind as well. Powerful systems, guys, are rolling in the West Coast. For California, obviously the ski resorts are loving it but the entire state was in need of a little punch of moisture. They've had a dry few weeks here as far as the winter is concerned. But two to five feet of snow with the higher elevations, they'll take care of that in a hurry. One to two feet total expected in the Wasatch of Utah. Similar numbers probably in Colorado where in southern Colorado there are still blizzard warnings that are posted.

Winds gust at over 100 miles an hour in parts of northern California, and over 60 miles an hour in Salt Lake City proper. So very powerful winds moving across the great basin and the intermountain west right now. A bit of a break precip wise today. But then will ramp it up again as we go through Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, record highs continue to pile up across parts of the midsection. We'll talk about that and how warm it's going to get in the Big Apple later on today. T.J. and Kiran, back up to you.

HOLMES: All right, Rob, we appreciate you. We'll talk to you plenty throughout the morning. Thanks so much.

Also coming up, he says he doesn't want to be president, but Governor Chris Christie, he just made a trip to Washington. And, whew, he had plenty to say, and he touched, yes, the third rail.

CHETRY: Well, Auburn Tiger fans, a campus site where students celebrate big wins desecrated. Nine minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 12 minutes past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, he has been known for being blunt a time or two. Well, he's now touching what some call the third rail of American politics. Social security. He was in Washington, D.C. speaking at a conservative conference there. He was calling out Democrats and Republicans saying they're teetering on the edge of disaster and not doing the big things. And then he said the thing you don't hear a lot of politicians say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Here's the truth that nobody's talking about. You're going to have to raise the retirement age for social security.

Oh, I just said it. And I'm still standing here. I did not vaporize into the carpeting. And I said it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Christie said the program risks becoming insolvent by 2037 if we don't raise the retirement age. He, of course, has said repeatedly he does not plan on running for president in 2012.

CHETRY: Well, it's amazing though this will still be an issue in the 2012 election but it's not going away. In fact, a new poll shows that a majority of Republican primary voters are now so-called birthers. According to a new public policy survey, only 28 percent of people who say they will vote in the GOP primaries think President Obama was born in the United States. Fifty-one percent believe he was not. And 21 percent say they are not sure.

The birthers' favorite choice among the likely candidates is Mike Huckabee. For non-birthers, it's Mitt Romney. The so-called birthers believe that the president's Hawaii birth certificate is a fraud, and that he was actually born in Kenya, even though documents have been produced by Hawaii and even the state's last governor, Republican Linda Lingle, tried to squash it saying it's been established he was born here.

HOLMES: Well, even as an Arkansas Razorback, this story outrages me. Auburn University, something really just remarkable and a shame has taken place there. Someone has poisoned the oak trees at Toomer's Corner.

Now Toomer's Corner goes back 100 years. And that's where fans have traditionally celebrated the school's big wins. It's a big deal to the folks there on campus. But last night, students and supporters gathered to toilet paper and tribute the trees. I know it's an odd tradition. It looks crazy. And nobody can really explain to me why they do it. But they do it after every victory. Everyone meets at this corner and toilet papers those trees. The school says a lethal dose of chemical was applied to the soil around the trees and then someone called in on a radio show and claimed responsibility for poisoning the trees. That person believed to be an Alabama fan. Police have now launched a criminal investigation.

CHETRY: Wow.

HOLMES: Yes, it's an odd tradition. And don't get me wrong, big rivals by school, but that's a big deal for them. But somebody to take the step is that the rivalry has gone a little too far.

CHETRY: Yes, it seems so.

Well, up next on AMERICAN MORNING: As if finding a job wasn't hard enough now, the government is looking into whether the unemployed can't get a job because they're unemployed. We'll explain.

HOLMES: Also, that battle of the brains on "Jeopardy" has wrapped. Who came out on top, man or machine?

It's 15 minutes past hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Eighteen minutes past the hour.

President Obama is headed to Silicone Valley to have dinner with some of the high-tech all-stars I guess you could say there. The White House will not release the official guest list, but it is expected that the president will be dining with Facebook founder Mike Zuckerberg, Google's Eric Schmidt, and Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs. The White House says that the meeting will focus on education, innovation and job creation.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, the government now is looking into a different kind of discrimination, that against the unemployed.

Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Disturbing to hear, companies refusing possibly to hire people who need jobs?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And actually putting out job postings that say the unemployed need not apply. We only will consider people for these jobs who already have a job right now.

This is happening. The EOC, the Equal Opportunity Commission, part of the United States government, had a hearing yesterday, investigating whether employers are discriminating against people who don't have jobs by saying we're only going to consider people with jobs for new employment.

This is something we've reported to you before. We've heard this from the so-called "99ers," the people who have been out of work for six months or longer, but on unemployment benefits for as long as possible. They've been saying they can't even get the interviews because they're competing against people who are currently employed. It's raising concerns about a giant underclass of workers in this country who are having a very difficult you getting into the market and might actually be completely shutout.

This is what one company at this hearing, according to the National Employment Law Project, one company put up a posting saying that they would not consider or review anyone not currently employed regardless of the reason.

CHETRY: Isn't that illegal?

ROMANS: It is not illegal.

CHETRY: It's not illegal to eliminate a group of people from a job consideration?

ROMANS: It apparently is not illegal. That's what the EOC is looking into, is whether you can use civil rights legislation and civil rights code to interpret that as being illegal. So, that's what they are investigating right now.

Some of the people at this hearing were very concerned that this could discriminate against people who have higher unemployment rates.

I wanted to show you whites in this country have unemployment rate of 8 percent. African-Americans: 15.7 percent. Hispanics: 11.9 percent.

There were -- there's testimony that people who are disabled, for example, could also be discriminated against because they have higher unemployment rates and that could very well shut people who already have higher unemployment rates out of the labor market. It's a big concern for the Society of Human Resources Professionals, though, which is a big H.R. trade group or H.R. group, said that this is not a widespread problem. This is not a widespread problem.

Clearly, it's happening because they were showing these ads and they're investigating it. But they were -- at least from the H.R. standpoint, saying it's not a widespread problem. We'll keep following it.

HOLMES: We know you will. Christine Romans, we'll see you here again soon.

ROMANS: Sure.

HOLMES: Also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: Senator Scott Brown's stunning revelation, saying that he was a victim of sex abuse as a young child, that he didn't tell anyone and that he's coming forward to try to help other victims overcome the trauma. We're going to hear part of his emotional interview, ahead.

HOLMES: Also, some stunning results on the number of infants who suffer crib injuries every single year.

It's 21 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty-four minutes past the hour.

Deputy U.S. marshal has been killed in a shoot-out with a drug suspect in West Virginia. That deputy marshal is just 24-year-old. Derek Hotsinpiller is his name, was gunned down trying to serve an arrest warrant at the suspect's home. Two other marshals also wounded, and one is still in the hospital. The suspect was shot dead.

CHETRY: A Somali pirate getting a maximum sentence. A judge in New York gave him almost 34 years in prison. He admitted to hijacking the Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean back in April 2009. He was captured during the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips. You may remember Navy SEAL snipers killed three other pirates in that rescue. In court, he apologized saying, "I was recruited by people more powerful than me."

HOLMES: And officials in Bell, California, have been ordered to stand trial on corruption charges. You remember the story of the city officials that included the mayor, Oscar Hernandez, who were accused of scheming to steal millions of dollars in the city funds for their own personal use. The story has a lot of national attention when a lot of people heard about these exuberant salaries from this small town. Some of these officials are giving themselves up to $300,000 a year in salary.

But they will stand trial, also ordered to stay 100 yards away from city hall and not engage in any Bell government business.

CHETRY: Well, something that Scott Brown says he never even told his own mother. The Massachusetts senator who rocketed on to the national scene last year when he won the late Ted Kennedy's seat in a special election is now opening up about how he was sexually abused as a child.

Jim Acosta joins us live from Washington now with more this emotional interview that Scott Brown gave.

Why did he decide to come out about this now?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's got a book that he's got coming out this week, Kiran. And all of this is sort of launching that book heading into next week. Since he won that huge Senate race in Massachusetts just about a year ago, Kiran, Scott Brown has kept a little bit of a national low profile. He doesn't do many interviews, following what's referred to as the workhorse rather than show horse model for freshman senators. But all of that is changing in a big way with an interview that airs on "60 Minutes" on Sunday. Sitting down with Lesley Stahl, Senator Brown talks about the physical abuse and sexual abuse he suffered as a child. And according to a clip of the interview released by "60 Minutes," Brown says he was sexually assaulted when he was 10 years old by a camp counselor who threatened to kill him if he ever told anyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY STAHL, 60 MINUTES: You tell us that you were actually sexually abused, more than once?

SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Yes. Fortunately, nothing was ever fully consummated, so to speak. But it was certainly back then, very traumatic. He said, if you tell anybody, you know, I'll kill you, you know? I will make sure that no one believes you.

And that's the biggest thing when people find people like me at that young, vulnerable age who are basically lost, the thing that they have over you is they make you believe that no one will believe you. You know, you can't --

STAHL: So you never reported it?

BROWN: No, my mom will read about it for the first time. My wife hasn't read about it. No, no one, I didn't tell anybody. That's what happens when you're a victim. You're embarrassed. You're hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Brown also told Stahl he was physically abused by one of his stepfathers. He says he'd like to buy the house where that abuse occurred so he could burn it down. These dark moments in Brown's past are included in a new book from the senator, "Against All Odds: My Life of Hardship, Fast Breaks and Second Chances." "The Boston Globe" is reporting it's received an advanced copy of the book. In it, Brown reportedly also talks about how he shoplifted clothes and food as a child.

The book comes out next week, Kiran, and he's expected to run for re- election next year. So, all of this is really Scott Brown taking on a more visible profile as he makes that run for re-election.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning from Washington -- thanks so much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

CHETRY: We're crossing the half hour right now -- time to get a check of other top stories.

At least 15 school systems in Wisconsin will be shut down today, teachers walking off the job. The state's new Republican governor wants to take away their collective bargaining rights and force them to pay for more for their pensions and benefits in order to balance the budget and to avoid teacher layoffs. Thousands of teachers and other state workers are planning to protest again today at the state capital in Madison.

HOLMES: Also, a sudden crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain. Riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to crush demonstrators in the capital city. At least three people killed, hundreds of others wounded in that violence. Much of the capital city is now on lockdown.

CHETRY: Two TSA officers have been arrested for allegedly stealing from unsuspecting passengers at JFK Airport in New York. They were arrested after 40 grand went missing from a bag last month. Prosecutors said the two men scanned the bag with an x-ray machine and swiped the cash in a bathroom, divided it up, and hid it in their clothes. Police say the men confessed to other thieve that could total as much as $160,000.

HOLMES: And a developing story now: Americans have been killed (AUDIO GAP).

According to officials at least a dozen people are dead after this boat went down on Vietnam's popular Halong Bay overnight. It's very popular with tourists there. The dead includes 11 foreigners and their Vietnamese tour guide. Again, we're waiting on the number trying to confirm how many are actually American citizens -- 17 other people had to be rescued.

CHETRY: Well, Florida Governor Rick Scott saying no thanks, rejecting plans for a high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando. He turned down $2 billion in federal stimulus money to build the railway. The governor says he's worried that it will end up costing much more than projected. He fears the Florida taxpayers can't afford it. It is a significant blow to President Obama's hopes for a national high-speed rail network.

HOLMES: A.M. house call for you now.

An alarming number of infants and toddlers are being injured in crib- related accidents, an accident of 26 a day, according to a study published this morning in "The Journal of Pediatrics." Researchers found nearly 10,000 babies each year suffer crib injuries, most resulting from toddlers trying to climb out of a crib or a playpen.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have more on this study when he comes up with us at 7:50 Eastern Time this morning.

CHETRY: Also, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a wider use of the lap band weight loss device. It will allow the companies who market these devices to market it to people who are a little less obese than current patients who are allowed to get it. An estimated 11 million more Americans could be eligible for the device which shrinks the size of the stomach to reduce food intake.

HOLMES: And the battle of the brains is over. Machine beat man pretty handily. This was the three-day competition. Watson, the IBM supercomputer, taking on some tough jeopardy champions in a three-day battle. Well, at the end of the day, the supercomputer ended up with $77,000 in winnings over the three days. Second place guy had $24,000. And the third place guy didn't bother to show up for the most part.

IBM says it will donate Watson's $1 million prize to charity. But, really, the two champions he was up against are two of the all-time winningiest champions. So, they're nothing to sneeze at, but the computer got them.

CHETRY: Yes, what did they say? They had 10 humongous like rooms of information that were fed into the computer. Of course, you're going win. Come on.

HOLMES: It's hard to compete against that.

CHETRY: Yes. If I had all of that information crammed in, I'd win, too.

All right. We're going to talk more about these sharks. Every time I see this video, it gives me goose bumps. I can't take it.

HOLMES: You can call them goose bumps. But all those little dots you're seeing down there, folks, sharks, thousands of them. And where are they? Just a few yards away from you folks in Florida. We'll tell you more coming up.

CHETRY: A hundred grand down the toilet. A woman drops her wedding ring into the worst place possible. Who do you call when that happens? Roto-Rooter? Do you save the day?

Here's the ring. Is that before or after? We'll find out, coming up.

Thirty-three minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 35 minutes past the hour here on this AMERICAN MORNING.

We've been talking plenty about the protests that have spread around North Africa and the Middle East. Well, Libya, the latest flash point -- protests there over the past couple of days, violent clashes with police. There are reports of fatalities. However, CNN's yet to confirm those.

We turn to our Zain Verjee live for us in our London bureau.

Zain, good morning to you as always. Tell our viewers -- remind our viewers what Libya means to the U.S.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are a couple of reasons why the stability of Libya is really important to the United States.

The first is oil. Libya has some of the biggest oil reserves in Africa. It's a big oil-producing country as well. The U.S. gets something like 80,000 barrels a day on average from Libya. So, it is very important for that reason.

There are also a lot of U.S. companies that want to invest and are in Libya wanting to do business deals and explore for oil and gas. The other important reason, T.J., is intelligence-sharing. Libya is part of the region in North Africa that's known as the Maghreb that constitutes Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. And the U.S. believes that al Qaeda is very active in this Maghreb region. What Gadhafi has done since 9/11, he has been really cooperative in sharing intelligence with the United States to fight terrorism.

So, two crucial things for the U.S. to consider.

HOLMES: That was key and that's a big deal to hear that Muammar Gadhafi is being cooperative. That certainly was the case for years and years. He has been there for some -- I think at least 40 years in charge, in power there.

VERJEE: Yes.

HOLMES: Are these protests the real deal that could possibly grow and get him out of power?

VERJEE: Well, you know, he's been there for such a long time, the longest-serving leader in the Arab world. He has had such a tight grip of power on Libya. He runs it like a police state. The security apparatus is very powerful.

And, T.J., he's also created this big cult personality. He's a big figure in Libya. There's no elected parliament. No constitution. No opposition. So, he can pretty much do whatever he wants.

I was there. And the country, you know, is really gripped by fear.

The thing that's important to note here is that because Libya has oil, Gadhafi has been able to maneuver himself and he's been able to maneuver around all the protests or political dissent by saying, hey, you know, food prices are up. But don't worry, I'll give you subsidies for food. Or I'll build lots of houses.

He's also been able to use the same money to bribe tribal leaders and clan leaders and use that oil well to buy their loyalty.

So, the question is, even though we've seen the protests. There's no free media, the country can crack down because it has the apparatus to do it really hard.

Keep in mind, that because oil prices are high, many people are saying the chances of a real revolution are low. They're not impossible. But because he has that muscle, it's lower.

HOLMES: Oh, yes, just one more place people are concerned about and keeping a close eye on.

Zain, good to see you. To our viewers, if you'd like to see more of our Zain Verjee, you can do so every morning at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time right here on "WORLD ONE" on CNN. (INAUDIBLE), Zain.

VERJEE: Thanks. Thank you, too. CHETRY: Well, Hawaii giving its OK to same-sex civil unions. Lawmakers approved the bill yesterday, sending it to Hawaii's governor who has promised to sign it into law. The civil unions would begin the first of next year and Hawaii would become the seventh state to grant essentially the same rights of marriage to same-sex couples.

HOLMES: All right, we get on one knee. We give you a ring -- the least you can do is not flush it down the toilet. But a $10,000 wedding ring was flushed by a Pennsylvania woman. When she woke up at 4:00 in the morning, she realized she had fallen asleep with her wedding rings on. Truly something she's not used to doing, so she got up, had the rings in her hand, took them off, she went to the bathroom, she bent over to flush the toilet, and wow, one ring went down.

So, what do you do? Who do you call? Certainly not your husband. You call Mr. Roto-Rooter. He came to the rescue.

Listen to how this worked out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stuck the Shop-Vac down through here, it's about four feet deep, sucked it a lot, after all the water is drained out, unplug the Shop-Vac and dumped it out and there's the ring.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was screaming and yelling, I'm hugging him, I was telling him how I loved him. And I was so, so happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There it is.

HOLMES: Loving your husband. She needs to be loving.

CHETRY: Oh, it was an accident.

HOLMES: No, it was a $10,000 ring is what it was.

CHETRY: It was an accident.

HOLMES: You can $10,000 on accidents.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: I've never lost my ring. After 10 year, it's still here. But there are times when you get yourself nervous. You take it of every now and then, you know, to put on lotion or --

HOLMES: OK.

CHETRY: Yes, I know. I feel bad. I feel for her. I know why he was hugging Roto-rooter man, telling him she loved him.

HOLMES: OK, Rob Marciano, hopefully, this is one you can see my side of the story. We're going to check in with him in just a second and maybe get his opinion on how this all went down.

Also, this morning, Posh Spice, would you wear something that she made? Well, she's come a long way from the Spice Girls. You'll see her fashion sense coming up.

It's 41 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 43 minutes past the hour.

Good morning, Miami. I will see you on South Beach a little later, because it's going to be 80 degrees as a high in Miami today. A little cloudy, but still, 80 sounds pretty good.

CHETRY: Yes.

Well, there's been a massive shark sighting. So, 80 degrees may sound good, but swimming 50 yards away from some sharks may not be.

Take a look. This is not exactly the kind of video that the Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce wants tourist to see. A school of sharks, thousands of them, circling off the shores of West Palm Beach within 150 feet of the Boca Raton inlet.

Like most of us, the sharks were looking for warmer waters. They're also that close to shore, many experts say, because they're chasing fish, you know, chasing bait. They want to eat.

HOLMES: Not people, though.

CHETRY: Yes, hopefully, not people. And hopefully they'll make their way back to deeper water where is we'd like them to stay.

HOLMES: I don't know. Rob Marciano, we'll bring you in now here. I don't think that will turn some people away from the 80-degrees temperature.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No.

HOLMES: You can do other things in Miami besides getting in the water and swim for fishes.

MARCIANO: Yes, you know, and in this time of year, the water temperatures are a little cooler than they are, you know, earlier, later in the summer. So, just a lot of sharks. You know, I'm not --

CHETRY: It's just a very intimidating picture, isn't it, to see if you're thinking about taking a dip in the ocean?

MARCIANO: Yes. Well, what bothers my mind is that, you know, surfers think nothing of it, yes, they're just out there. But, you know, you've got to catch a big swell.

Hey, speaking of swells of the land variety, we had some shaking in Little Rock or just north of Little Rock, by about 30 miles. A 4.0 magnitude quake just happened a few minutes ago, very shallow one. So, this was probably felt.

And I say much of Arkansas in the past few months has really been inundated with very, very small earthquakes, a swarm of them. They're near the New Madrid fault, a seismic zone. So, this is a seismic area that's active, but it has been very, very active, believe it or not, right in the middle part of the country.

Also, very active are the temperatures across parts of the country, looking at highs that are going to be in the 70s in Dallas, 69 degrees in Memphis, and 44 degrees for the high temperatures. That's tomorrow across parts of the East Coast. As far as what the forecast weather maps are looking like today, fog across Chicago, we've got warm air that's going over relatively cold ground.

And in some cases, there's still snow. So, that's creating some fog, matter of fact, there are travel delays across parts of Chicago today, and there'll be travel delays, I think, it was traveling through O'Hare or midway, really, throughout the day today. This system continues to plow into the West Coast. We've had reports of snow in the excess of 20-inch. We'll see a lot more than that across the Sierra Nevada in through the Wasatch.

Reports of winds over 100 miles an hour in parts of Utah yesterday, and even in Salt Lake City, they had winds gusting to 60 miles an hour. So, a very, very powerful storm that is trying to get its way into the nation's midsection but having a hard time because we got this strong ridge that has had also created record-high temperatures across parts of the country.

El Paso seeing a high temperature of 80, midland, Texas, 86, Roslyn, New Mexico, 85 degrees, and Medicine Lodge, you know, Kansas, come on, 77 degrees, and Childress, Texas, seeing a high temperature of 87 degrees. You folks will be warm in the northeast today. It's 47 right now in the Big Apple. So, you're starting out pretty balmy. You'll probably get close to 60 before the day is done. T.J., Kiran back up to you.

CHETRY: Goodness. That's going to feel so strange but welcome.

MARCIANO: Yes, enjoy.

CHETRY: Thanks.

HOLMES: Thanks, Rob.

Coming up in just a few minutes, a showdown in one state capital. Teachers taking on the governor. Look at that scene. They've had to cancel classes in many places in Wisconsin because of this. How is this going to affect kids and could something like this spread to your state? We're going to be talking to the Education Secretary a little bit later.

CHETRY: And the dollar in your pocket may be stretched even more. Are you paying attention to the prices at the pump? We'll talk about how high they could go. Forty-seven minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-one minutes past the hour. Fashion week under way in New York. More than 200 designers showing their collections on the runway, but perhaps, none more famous than Victoria Beckham.

HOLMES: Yes. Also known as "Posh Spice." I have that right? Alina Cho has been doing her thing on the runway this week.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Also known as the wife of soccer superstar, David Beckham. Yes, but she is a designer. In fact, she just showed her sixth collection here in New York. She's been around for a while, but a lot of people surprisingly still didn't know she was a designer. You know, as one fashion writer said, Victoria Beckham is that rare celebrity who has gone from walking the red carpet to dressing the red carpet, but don't call her a celebrity designer.

Why? Because she didn't just slap her name on a label, she's actually also intimately involved in a design process, and that has given her credibility in the fashion industry.

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CHO (voice-over): She burst on to the scene as Posh Spice, married soccer star, David Beckham, then lived the glamorous life of a celebrity mom. But Victoria Beckham's passion is fashion.

I've read many times that you say I'm a control freak.

VICTORIA BECKHAM, FASHION DESIGNER: Absolutely. I want to be. You know, my name is on the label.

CHO: On dresses, jeans, handbags, and sunglasses. Her line is carried by luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus.

JIM GOLD, SPECIALTY RETAIL PRES. NEIMAN MARCUS: If the product wasn't phenomenal, the dresses would not sell.

CHO: And they're not cheap, starting at about $1,000.

BECKHAM: I put all of the dresses on, and I look in the mirror, would I wear this? And if I would, then out it goes.

CHO: It's working. To rave reviews. So much so Kate Middleton's come calling.

BECKHAM: She has asked to try on some dresses.

CHO: Wedding dresses?

BECKHAM: No, no, no. I'm not ready for a wedding dress just yet. You know, she's out to see a couple dresses and should she pick one, then that would be great. CHO: Beckham admits her designs aren't for everyone, but for the girl who's willing to spend the money and has the body to pull it off. After all --

They'll say, what does she look like? I mean, isn't she so thin? Does she look like --

BECKHAM: Yes. Just tell them yes. Ridiculously thin.

CHO: You don't have to work.

BECKHAM: No, I don't have to work, but I'm really happy doing this, making women look and feel beautiful. That's what I want to do. That's what it's about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (on-camera): She was just a joy to talk to. You know, it's part of the reason why the fashion industry has embraced Victoria Beckham, she's self-deprecating. She didn't come in acting like she knew everything about fashion, and she readily admits that she still has a lot to learn. In fact, you know, she's the first to say, I'm not the most beautiful, I'm not the best dancer or singer, but guess what, I work hard.

I've always had to work very hard for everything that I've done. I've never taken anything for granted, which is why she says her success in a second career in fashion has been so incredible and so gratifying for her. She said she really sounds cliche, but I feel like I really have found my calling. And you can tell, she's passionate about it, and you know, you got to give her a lot of credit. She doesn't have to work.

CHETRY: And she also -- she'll work through, you know, LAX Airport in stilettos and one of the shift dresses that you wear (ph). You know, she always looks like a --

CHO: You know what's interesting is that I said, you know, there's so many paparazzi photos of you on the red carpet, and she said, you know, because I'm so involved in this fashion process, I actually am shying away of that celebrity side right not. And she said, most of the shots you see these days are in airports because I travel a lot, but you know, good for her.

CHETRY: And she's expecting baby number four.

CHO: Baby number four. She has three boys already. She said, you know, it would be nice, maybe, to have a girl, but, you know, if not this time, perhaps, next time. She said she and David want to have a very big family. So, stay tune. She's 4 1/2 months pregnant.

HOLMES: Good stuff, Alina. I've learned so much from you this week when it comes to fashion. Thank you. And you can learn a whole lot more because Alina is going to have an all access fashion week special this weekend. It's called "Fashion Week Backstage Pass" that airs Saturday, February 19th, 2:30 p.m. eastern right here. Don't miss it if you want to get caught up in all the fashion this month.

CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming up in a moment.

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