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American Morning

Deadly Earthquake Rocks New Zealand; Inside Libya's Uprising; Labor's Last Stand?; American Accused of Murder in Pakistan was CIA Contractor; Facebook & Twitter Kills Blogs

Aired February 22, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Next on AMERICAN MORNING, we're following new developments out of New Zealand after an earthquake hit. Dozens of people are dead, and now a frantic search is underway for more victims who may be trapped under the rubble.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the U.N. and the Arab League calling emergency meetings for today. Keeping an eye on the bloody crackdown happening in Libya. And CNN now the first western television network with a reporter on the ground in that country.

CHETRY: Wisconsin's labor standoff growing more tense this morning. The governor now threatening to cut 1,500 jobs if the budget doesn't get passed. We're going to examine whether this is truly labor's last stand in America.

HOLMES: Also, the results are in of the best weight loss surgery. Is it gastric bypass or lap band? There is a clear winner.

CHETRY: Also, the price of chocolate going up, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Good morning. It may be New Zealand's darkest day. That's the word from the prime minister after an earthquake disaster that's toppled buildings and killed dozens.

CHETRY: Also, Libya's leader remaining defiant in the face of growing protests. Moammar Gadhafi says he's still in charge and he's still in Tripoli.

HOLMES: And we've seen it in Wisconsin. Now get ready to see it in Ohio. Huge protests planned today over the governor's plan to strip unions of benefits on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Top of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING for February the 22nd. Glad you could be here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes.

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. We're following developments this morning of a deadly earthquake striking New Zealand. At least 65 people have been killed and right now they're continuing a search to find people trapped under piles of rubble. It was a 6.3 magnitude quake that shook the city of Christchurch, New Zealand's second largest city. And the pictures coming in from the scene show absolute devastation, flattened buildings. The city's 147-year-old cathedral toppled. And there are people standing on rooftops waiting for rescue. Smoldering debris, fires, floods. An eyewitness just outside of the city had his camera rolling as the ground shook and a giant boulder roared down a hillside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a live earthquake. You can see the floor is trembling. And the -- and the rocks are falling down. It's just outside Christchurch. And this giant rock has just fallen on the RSA (ph) building. And you can see it's crushed the building there. And the cars -- it's terrifying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There's also video from inside the city showing helpless people crying on the streets as they watch a building begin to crumble.

Also, people are going through the rubble this morning after trying to follow the screams. Those who escaped from some of those buildings talked about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I was on the fourth floor, and I was just coming out of the toilets and I got thrown backwards there and landed into the third floor. There's a guy on the second floor that was like covered to his waist in concrete and stuff. And oh, God, I just have never seen anything like it in my life. And I don't even want to again to be fair.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did everything crash down on you? Did you have to crawl out of there? What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: At least two aftershocks of 5.5 or higher have struck since then making the rescue effort even more difficult.

HOLMES: We turn now to the crisis in Libya where Moammar Gadhafi says he is still in charge and he's still in Tripoli. You're seeing him here after he went on Libyan state television to dispel any rumors that he had fled the country saying, quote, "Don't believe the dogs in the media," end quote. Meanwhile, reports and witnesses saying that the Libyan military, war planes, and helicopters opening fire on protesters.

Meanwhile, runways at Benghazi airport were destroyed in this violence. The U.N. Secretary Council, Arab League, they're holding emergency meetings today on the revolt in Libya.

Our Ben Wedeman is reporting now exclusively from inside Libya. He is the first western television reporter able to enter and report from inside the country during this crisis. Ben Wedeman, as we see there, joins me live now.

Ben, what have you been able to see since arriving in country?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we've seen, T.J., is that despite what Colonel Gadhafi says, he's not in control of this part of the country. Of eastern Libya, there is no government authority. The army has gone over to the side of the anti- Gadhafi forces. There are very little police in the streets.

We went to the city of Tabuk (ph) in the eastern part of the country where we saw the demonstrators had torched the local police station. They've apparently torched the intelligence headquarters. They freed all the prisoners from that police station. There's anti-Gadhafi graffiti on all the walls. There are demonstrations in the middle of the city against the regime. There seems to be a real determination and now that they've toppled the regime, at least in this part of the country, not to let it back in.

And one interesting bit of information to share with you, we spoke with community leaders who said that if Gadhafi continues what they called the massacres, they will cut the export of oil from this part of the country. And, of course, most of the oil exported from Libya comes from the eastern part of the country -- T.J.

HOLMES: Ben, does it seem like this will continue for quite some time? We are getting the reports of the military firing on the protesters. But is there violence, and some of you describing they're setting buildings on fire from those other side, from the demonstrators, the protesters themselves. But is this continuing to ramp up?

WEDEMAN: It certainly seems to be accelerating and intensifying. Certainly the response of the Libyan authorities in Tripoli has been extreme using aircraft against unarmed protesters in the street. But that seems to be only increasing the determination of the anti-Gadhafi forces to continue this fight until the bitter end.

There's no real room for compromise here. It's either Gadhafi stays at a terrible price in terms of human life or he is toppled. And it certainly seems as I said there's no middle solution. Reforms, promises aren't going to make any difference. This is a fight to the bitter end -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Our Ben Wedeman, again, the first western journalist able to get inside and reporting now exclusively from inside Libya. Ben, thanks so much.

CHETRY: We're also getting a chance to hear from the people who witnessed the violence in Libya's capital and were able to escape it and get out of the country safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness. Horrific, scary. A lot of gunfire last night. Heavy artillery, a lot of deaths that we weren't expecting in Tripoli. Pretty scary. So, yes. But, yes, it was tough. But we all got out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very tense. And there's not a lot -- wasn't a lot going on in Tripoli, but in the outside areas, there was a lot going on. In Tripoli, people are very tense and wondering what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: In just a few minutes, coming up at 6:10, we're going to be speaking with CNN national security contributor Fran Townsend. She's been to Libya twice in the last few years.

HOLMES: Also, this unrest you're seeing in Libya, also in the Middle East and other parts of North Africa impacting oil prices now. That will be eventually impact you at the gas station. U.S. markets were closed yesterday, but still despite that the price of crude oil jumped six percent in electronic trading to more than $95 a barrel. That is the largest one-day rise we've seen in some two years.

In about 20 minutes, CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow will be here to help us break down these rising oil prices and the impact it's going to have on you, including at the airlines.

CHETRY: Well, the stakes just got higher in Wisconsin as the labor standoff continues. Governor Scott Walker refusing to flinch, now threatening to lay off 1,500 government workers by the 1st of April if his budget doesn't get passed. He wants the Democratic state senators who fled the state to stall a vote to return. Walker also wants teachers and other public workers to pay more for their benefits and to give up their collective bargaining rights. Teachers in Madison are expected to return to work today. The schools there have been shut down since Wednesday.

HOLMES: And it is not just Wisconsin, thousands are expected to demonstrate in Columbus, Ohio, this afternoon. The state general assembly is taking up a measure similar to Wisconsin's that would strip unions of their collective bargaining rights. The governor there, Governor Kasich, insists this is not designed to get rid of the unions. But our Carol Costello will be along in just about 25 minutes with a piece on are we really witnessing maybe the end of unions?

CHETRY: How about this one in Michigan? They approved a plan that would mean the closure of half of Detroit's public schools. It's part of a financial restructuring effort. Under this plan, high school class sizes would increase to an average of 60 students over the next four years. It also calls for teacher layoffs and severe cuts in bus service. The plan is designed to wipe out the school district's $327million deficit by 2014.

HOLMES: All right, let's turn to some weather now. As if anybody needed a reminder that it's still winter. Certainly got one in some parts of the country after another round of winter storms.

Take a look at that. Another foot of snow and ice in some places across the northern plains in the Midwest. You're looking at Aberdeen, South Dakota, here. We're expecting another round of snow, sleet and freezing rain now to head into the mid-Atlantic.

CHETRY: Well, Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. So for some people, it's just starting to melt a little bit, or maybe they just finally got to see the pavement again and they got another foot.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, we're not even into March yet, so be patient my friends.

Yes, not to mention the ice that was in Ohio and then the snow moving across the mid-Atlantic right now. That's beginning to come to an end, but there are still winter storm warnings that are posted out for southern Jersey, including Atlantic City, but I think those will be canceled or allowed to expire.

All in all, though, we've seen anywhere from three to eight inches of snow across New York City and the Tri-State area. Back through the Western Great Lakes, a little higher amounts than that. Although Chicago saw mostly rain yesterday, now a little bit of lake effect snow coming down from Milwaukee south to Chicago.

Wind in behind the system. So that's where you're going to see your travel delays across the New York City metro airports. Same deal in Atlanta and Seattle. And Chicago and Philly, some leftover light snow with this system. And the next system is going to be across the Pacific Northwest. So we'll look for relatively quiet weather behind this. And on the chilly side, 35 degrees in New York City, and 37, much colder in D.C. than it was yesterday. So what did fall will be slow to melt today.

T.J., Kiran, back up to you.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.

HOLMES: Thanks, Rob.

Well, coming up here, we're starting to see some cracks, possibly, in Moammar Gadhafi's regime. Government officials at home and abroad now defecting and speaking out against him? He's certainly not giving up just yet. Our Fran Townsend will be along in just a moment.

CHETRY: Big day in Chicago, Election Day. Well, he left the White House to ran for city hall, so will Rahm Emanuel win his dream job?

Eleven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirteen minutes past the hour right now. Time for a check of the other stories this morning.

It's a story that threatens to damage U.S. ties with Pakistan at a very delicate time. The U.S. is now saying that an accused -- an American accused of murder in Pakistan was working as a contractor for the CIA even though he was not a diplomat. The U.S. is insisting, though, that he has diplomatic immunity and that he should be freed. Raymond Davis is his name and he's accused of shooting and killing two men, possibly robbers who pulled up to him in a motorcycle back in January.

HOLMES: Also, more anti-government protests are planned for today in Bahrain. As part of concessions, though, to some protesters, the king has ordered the release of prisoners in closed cases against several opposition leaders accused of plotting against the regime. This move now paves the way for the head of Bahrain's biggest opposition party to return to the country.

CHETRY: Yemen's embattled president is rejecting demands that he step down after three decades in power. Ali Abdullah Saleh is also comparing the anti-government protests in his country to a virus-like flu saying that it went from Tunisia to Egypt and is now infecting other countries. Rebels who've been battling the government for years are now joining demonstrations in the streets.

HOLMES: Let's turn back now to what we have been watching in Libya, the crisis there over the past several days. Demonstrators now saying they want an end to the four-decade rule of Moammar Gadhafi. Meanwhile, witnesses are reporting that troops have been firing indiscriminately on protesters. Reports also out that the runways at Benghazi airport, that's the second largest city in Libya has now been destroyed in the violence.

CHETRY: And then yesterday, a bit of an odd moment when Gadhafi went on Libyan State TV overnight trying to refute rumors that he'd fled to Venezuela. And he said don't believe those dogs in the media. Both the U.N. Security Council and Arab League have emergency meeting - there's the video of him - planned today for dealing with the situation in Libya.

CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend has been to Libya twice. In fact, in 2007, she met with both Gadhafi and his son Saif. Just last year, she also met with Saif again as well as security ministers in the country. And he's welcome, by the way. That was his son who yesterday said there'll be rivers of blood in the streets, really, a threat against these protesters. Yet they're continuing.

So what is your take on the developments today that Gadhafi had to come out at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and say, no, I'm still here?

FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Well, it's not a good sign, right? Gadhafi clearly is worried that because they put his Saif out there, there have been these rumors. Wolf, by the way, I guess we are the dogs in the media.

But because he had not been seen and his son was the only one out there, I think that he felt compelled to get out there and show that he was still inside the country and had not fled to Venezuela.

HOLMES: But you've met this man. We have seen him on TV. People might be familiar with his background a little bit. But is this man crazy? Because he comes off like that or is he just crazy like a fox and pretty calculating and knows what he's doing? TOWNSEND: You know, what's interesting, T.J. He does come across as sort of not quite rational -

HOLMES: Yes.

TOWNSEND: -- when you meet him. And we've heard his speeches in the U.N., right? Where they're - they're not coherent, you can't follow them, there's no point. And yet having met him, I would say crazy like a fox. He tends to be - he can be charming when he wants to be. He can be manipulative. He's tough as nails. And, you know, you don't stay in power for as long as he's been there without being pretty wily.

I worry about the safety of the protestors. You know, one of the things that makes Libya very different from the United States, there are many things, but their security services are almost uniquely internally focused. You know, we have a CIA that looks at external threats. We have an FBI that's govern by the Constitution and overseen by the Justice Department. Not true in Libya.

The security services are internally focused and exclusively on regime stability. And so they've been collecting intelligence for decades about opposition leaders. They know where to find them. They know their weaknesses, and they're well-armed and well trained.

CHETRY: That's interesting. Some of the cracks perhaps in that armor were on display yesterday when two Air Force pilots in Libya actually refused orders to fire on the crowd of - of protesters. And flew to Malta where they radioed for - and there's video right now of the - of the fighter jets where they radioed for some sort of asylum.

Would this be the beginning of the end if other parts of the military start to turn on Gadhafi?

TOWNSEND: Absolutely. I think that's - this is probably the most significant development that we've seen. After all, in Egypt and Tunisia, the militaries abandoned the dictatorships there and they ultimately crumbled and fell.

And so if this is the beginning, the two pilots that sought asylum in Malta, if this is the beginning of Libya's military and security services abandoning the regime, they will ultimately crumble because there will be no one to protect them.

HOLMES: What's left if he leaves?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, there has - they have tremendous oil wealth that really has been to the benefit of very few elites and denied the people of Libya. When I was there, you see crumbling infrastructure, very little access to the Internet, and - and we see that now undermining the protesters.

And so that oil well would be a tremendous value to a new democratic and free Libya to - to build their infrastructure.

HOLMES: But is it there? I mean, leadership wise, what would be left?

TOWNSEND: Well, that's the problem. And what you worry about is the remnants of this old Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and Islamic extremists group that had been aligned with al Qaeda taking advantage of a power vacuum and moving in.

But if you could find true democratic leadership and free elections, there is natural wealth there that could be harnessed.

HOLMES: All right. Fran Townsend, we appreciate you. I think we're going to be checking in with you again here in the next hour. So good to have you here with us this morning.

TOWNSEND: Thanks.

CHETRY: Thanks, Fran.

And up in AMERICAN MORNING, President Obama hitting the road to hear from small business owners. We're going to hear details on his trip coming up.

HOLMES: And also this morning, the rising prices of oil now fueling fears of higher airline prices, as well. We'll have details on just how much more you could be paying.

It's 19 minutes past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty-two minutes past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING.

It is Election Day in Chicago. Everybody watching to see whether or not Rahm Emanuel will get his dream job. You'll remember he left the White House, a pretty good job some would say at the White House to run for mayor of his hometown. The former White House Chief of Staff is the frontrunner in the race for mayor.

A total of six candidates are on the ballot, all trying to replace Mayor Richard Daly. He had been in office for 22 years. There will be a runoff in April if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

CHETRY: President Obama is heading to Cleveland today to get insights about his plan to out innovate, out educate and out build America's international competitors. He and his members of his money team will hold a small forum with small business owners. The administration says they hope to hear firsthand what these leaders are doing to help grow the economy and create more jobs.

Labor unrest, first Wisconsin, now Ohio, and some are asking whether or not we're seeing the beginning of a trend signaling the death of unions in America.

Carol Costello on what could be labor's last stand ahead. HOLMES: And sometimes that snow just gets too heavy, and sometimes a supermarket comes down. We'll show you the video from inside as this happens.

It is 23 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, Blockbuster is putting itself up for sale. The company's filed a motion in bankruptcy court asking for approval to start an auction. The video chain says it already has a $290 million initial bid from a group of creditors. The company's suffering losses from increased competition from Netflix.

HOLMES: Also, you chocolate lovers out there, your habit could be getting a bit expensive. And you can blame it on the political unrest happening in a small western African country. We're talking about Ivory Coast. That is where 40 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown, but there has been a political standoff there since presidential elections.

Right now, there's a current export ban that's raising some concerns that there could be a serious shortage that could prices to go up, up, up.

CHETRY: And speaking of prices going up, oil prices surging again because of unrest this time in the Middle East and North Africa, and that has the airlines pretty concerned.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is "Minding Your Business." You know, the amount of jet fuel they use -

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes.

CHETRY: -- when this type of thing happens. What is it? Up six percent oil?

HARLOW: Up six percent yesterday - this is really all because of the unrest in Libya. And I just looked this morning, oil is up another two percent, folks. Oil right now over $93 a barrel. This is much higher than the spike we saw during all of the unrest in Egypt and the unrest in Libya just continues. So expect oil prices to go higher, you're seeing it at the gas station, gas prices up.

But this really matters for your airline prices, as well, for your - your traveling because fuel costs are about 27 percent of the overall airline's operating cost. Twenty-seven percent at least, some experts say it's actually 40 percent. For every dollar that oil goes up and it's gone up quite a few dollars in the past few days, the airlines have to pay an extra $1.6 billion across the industry. So they're passing that right down to you.

And what we have seen, take a look at these numbers, since December is six fuel surcharges. Six fare hikes since December alone on average, each of those fare hikes is about $20. So you're going to see more of those. The CEO of British Airways said ultimately, bottom line, this is going to mean higher costs. And travel expert I talked to said ultimately there's no good news here, guys. If we see oil at $100 a barrel, he said there's no question that we are going to see fuel surcharges.

And what's interesting is this is a fee that no one can get around, even corporations that have those big corporate deals with the airlines, they can't get around those fuel surcharges. So this is the only way that the airlines can make it right now. So they're going to start tacking these on to your tickets, likely pretty soon.

It's amazing to me we've already seen six fare hikes since December. And it's $20 here, $20 there and it keeps adding up higher and higher. So keep a close eye on oil prices. Everyone's worried about gas, but it definitely goes into your fuel prices, as well.

I think, bottom line, the airlines haven't prepared for this. They weren't ready. It wasn't long ago we had $40 oil, now we're at $93. So they're not ready and you're going to pay for it, bottom line.

HOLMES: All right. And hundred is around the corner.

HARLOW: Around the corner. We're already above $93.

HOLMES: Oh, goodness. All right. Poppy, we appreciate you. Good to have you with us this morning.

HARLOW: Me, too. Thanks.

HOLMES: All right.

A quick look now at some of the stories making headlines, including a story in New Zealand where the prime minister there is calling this possibly the darkest day for his country, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hitting Christchurch, that's the second largest city there. And they've had already two strong aftershocks. At least 65 people have been killed and the search continues for more people who could be trapped under the rubble.

CHETRY: Also, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi remains defiant despite his country's growing unrest and demands for his removal. Government officials have resigned in protest because of the bloody crackdowns. Two Libyan air force pilots defected, seeking asylum in Malta rather than fire on the crowds of protesters. The eastern part of Libya also appears to be under the control of the opposition. We're going to be checking in with your our Ben Wedeman, the only Western reporter who is in that country today.

HOLMES: Also, in Madison, Wisconsin, we are expecting teachers to go back to work today after missing several days to protest at the state capitol. But time could be running out at the capitol. That's because the governor, Scott Walker, is warning that the state may have to cut 1,500 jobs if his proposed budget is not passed by this Friday. Those jobs will be lost over the next several months.

The governor, as you may know, wants teachers and other public employees to contribute more for their benefits and give up collective bargaining rights.

CHETRY: Well, we could be witnessing labor's last stand in America. Two states, Wisconsin and Ohio, are now poised to pass similar budgets that even the president has described as what seems like an assault on unions.

HOLMES: Carol Costello joining us live this morning from Washington.

Carol, good morning to you. We are seeing this play out on national stage now. Is this possibly the beginning of the end of unions?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people say so. Of course, that depends on what side you're on, T.J. This is shaping up to be a battle royal -- not only in Wisconsin but in Ohio, too. Union leaders, even those from the private sector, are urging solidarity. And they're doing that for a reason. They feel this is the final fight and they can't afford to wave the white flag.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CHANTING)

COSTELLO (voice-over): What's happening in Wisconsin and now in Ohio is not new. It's the culmination of a decade's long fight between organized labor and management. And if you ask pro-union folks --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want my children to support union labor so their children can have a future, too.

COSTELLO: Corporate America is about to win, big time.

Mary Kay Henry is the president of the Service Employees International Union.

MARY KAY HENRY, SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION: There's been a coordinated campaign for the last 30 years to undermine the American middle class by weakening the power of workers to be able to collectively bargain to raise their wages.

COSTELLO: Henry says corporate America save themselves money and wages by lining the pockets of Republicans running for statewide offices. According to followthemoney.org, in the 2009/2010 election cycle, business interests donated $878 million to candidates running for governor and other statewide offices across the country. That includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations for Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio. Organized labor groups donated far less to state candidates, $225 million.

But Republicans argue it's the voters, not the campaign dollars who have spoken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least there's a few teachers out there who have the guts to stand up against, you union, full of thugs.

COSTELLO: Many Republican lawmakers say the biggest threat to our economy is not a lack of corporate regulations, but unions out of control.

SHANNON JONES (R), OHIO STATE SENATE: We've got a projected $8-plus billion budget deficit that we have to deal with. And we're not like Washington. We just can't print more money and pawn it off on our children. We've got to balance these budgets.

COSTELLO: That's why Senator Jones is introducing Ohio's bill, a bill that would essentially gut collective bargaining rights for state workers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And Democrats say there is another reason Republicans want to gut unions. Organized labor donates hundreds of millions of dollars to candidates like Barack Obama. If you weaken unions, you weaken a traditional moneyed supporter of the Democratic Party. So, those are just a few of the conspiracy theories going around. But union leaders take these theories very seriously.

CHETRY: And it puts the president in a tough spot. I mean, he's talking about, you know, needing to curb spending and cut budgets, as well. But, at the same time, he's been a supporter of unions. And so, you know, it is a difficult place for him to be right now, as well.

COSTELLO: He's been a supporter of organized labor because he's gotten a lot of campaign dollars from organized labor. He's going to be in Cleveland today, Kiran. It should be interesting to see what he has to say about the protests going on in Ohio later today. I am sure that reporters will ask him.

CHETRY: All right.

HOLMES: All right. I wonder if he can avoid that question today.

Carol Costello, we appreciate you this morning.

COSTELLO: Sure.

CHETRY: Also new in California, in California, a bus carrying teenagers crashed on its way home from a church retreat. It happened yesterday on a highway in the San Bernardino Mountains. A 61-year-old man was killed and 13 other people were injured. Police say the bus collided with another car and then slid about 20 feet down an embankment.

HOLMES: Also, take a look at this. A supermarket roof caving in in Pontiac, Michigan. This is the surveillance video from inside. This happened early yesterday morning. Now, the roof gave way under the weight of this weekend's snowstorm.

Now, luckily the store was closed at the time. Now, the owners of the store say that, yes, we have alarms in there, but none of the alarms went off. So, they got no call, no heads up that something had happened at the store. They just showed up on Monday and found the store in that condition. CHETRY: You think one alarm would go off. I mean, that's that heck of a lot of damage. Well, luckily, no one was there.

HOLMES: Nobody was hurt there.

And also coming up, there's a new study about mammograms. So many false positives out there and it is costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

CHETRY: Also, a snowboarder lost in a blizzard rescued by a Black Hawk helicopter. We're going to have more on this risky save that went down on the side of a mountain.

Thirty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Developing this morning, the U.S. is now admitting that an American accused of murder in Pakistan is a CIA contractor and they want him released.

Reza Sayah is following this story from Islamabad this morning.

Hey, Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.

By any measure, this has evolved into a very messy, thorny, complicated issue. And at this point, there's no indication that Islamabad and Washington are going to figure out a way to solve this matter. Now, you have this new twist.

A U.S. official telling CNN that Raymond Davis, the man who last month shot and killed two Pakistanis, two alleged robbers, is a CIA contractor, according to U.S. officials. He was contracted out to provide security for U.S. officials. And at the time of this incident, he was scouting out an area in Lahore to see if it was safe or not.

So, the U.S. officials saying he was not a spy. He was a CIA contractor providing security, but I think it's going to be very difficult for U.S. officials and Pakistani officials for that matter to convey that difference to a Pakistani public that is vehemently anti-American. The CIA has very negative connotations to it here. The name does. The perception here in Pakistan is that CIA agents are running around and carrying out a very unpopular foreign policy of the U.S. here in Pakistan.

And now, you have Raymond Davis linked to the CIA. Washington wants him freed based on their position that he's entitled to diplomatic immunity. Pakistani authorities want to keep him here. They want him to be tried in a Pakistani court.

So, a very thorny situation here with this new development, Kiran.

CHETRY: Any movement on whether or not he will be released? SAYAH: At this point, no. The Pakistani authorities are keeping him here for at least another few weeks. And I think a lot of people are going to focus on this case because it's so intriguing.

But I think it speaks to a bigger issue here. And that's the unpopularity of the American government and American foreign policy. The fact is the perception in Pakistan is that the -- the U.S. has its security forces here, whether it's the CIA in Pakistan or the military in Afghanistan. And they're carrying out a very unpopular foreign policy.

And unless the U.S. addresses the unpopularity, starts winning some hearts and minds, you're going to have fallout and reaction with incidents like this.

CHETRY: Reza Sayah for us this morning in Islamabad -- thanks so much.

HOLMES: Well, there's a new study out there shedding some light on why so many mammograms get false positive results. Researchers have now found the more mammograms a doctor interprets each year, the better they are at accurately detecting breast cancer. Doctors who deal with a low volume of mammograms call patients back, and far more tests and they test them needlessly and do this more often. So, $1.6 billion spent every year in this country on extra testing after those false positive results.

CHETRY: Also, if you're considering weight loss surgery, a new study suggests that gastric bypass surgery is more effective than the lap band or other forms of stomach reduction procedures, especially in helping morbidly obese people lose weight and also avoid some of the symptoms and some of the other illnesses that come from being morbidly obese. Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco found that 93 percent of the gastric bypass patients lost more than 40 percent of their excess weight. That was compared with about 31 percent of people who underwent the lap band surgery.

And patients who have Type II diabetes and underwent gastric bypass ended up needing less medication. Experts, though, are warning that it could take up to three years to see the full effect of the surgeries.

All right. Coming up in just a moment, we'll say good morning once again to Rob Marciano. He has your travel forecast.

CHETRY: Also, why one Supreme Court justice hasn't spoken a single word during oral arguments for five years.

Forty-two minutes past the hour.

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HOLMES: And good morning, Washington, D.C. A perfect shot of the nation's capital this morning where it's going to be 36 degrees a little later today. Congress is not working this week. They're off this week. They get back at it next week. And they do have some work to do.

Meanwhile, a Black Hawk helicopter had to be called in to do some work in Oregon. This was at Mt. Hood. This rescue had to take place because a snowboarder got stuck there and had to be plucked from the side of that mountain. Oregon Army National Guard came to the rescue yesterday afternoon. He had gotten lost in blizzard conditions the day before, and the temperatures plunged to 16 degrees overnight. The guy says he actually used pine needles to insulate himself, so he was able to survive and plucked out of this.

CHETRY: Smart that he did that. That's what you learn, I guess, some of the lifesaving skills, but amazing that they can land. I mean, that mountain looks like it's at a 45-degree, right? I mean, looks pretty steep.

Another heartwarming rescue in Mississippi. Yesterday, we had a doc rescue. Remember, the Jack Russell Terrier? Now, we have another one. This dog is lucky. Lucky, apparently, wandered on the ice when the river was frozen over and then he got stuck on an island when things thawed out. Now, imagine his luck.

The black lab barked for days, but when rescue teams finally showed up, he didn't want to go. So, they had to chase her around for an hour and actually had to use a tranquilizer dart. God bless -- lucky to be alive. Back on the mainland and doing OK today.

HOLMES: Are these stories really that? It's an amazing rescue of another dog or that dogs keep getting themselves into this kind of trouble.

CHETRY: I know you're a cat person, but cats do ridiculous things, too.

HOLMES: I don't know.

CHETRY: They can climb up a tree, however, they can never get themselves back down. Dogs just realize, I shouldn't climb up this tree in the first place.

HOLMES: Yes, let me go walk on this frozen lake. Being close to the top of the hour, quarter of the top of the hour.

Rob Marciano keeping an eye on weather for us. Good morning to you once again, kind sir.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. What was the name of the dog? Lucky?

CHETRY: I know, Lucky, right? Lucky gets stuck on an island. Lucky gets shot with a tranquilizer dart. He's so lucky he saved.

MARCIANO: Damn (ph) luck, for sure. I mean, just pay off the ice in the island (ph). Anyway, lovable labs for sure. Let's talk snow totals first off. You know, they got 20 inches of snow in Minnesota with this last storm that went through, and it kind of had two parts to it, and parts of it came through the northeast, and then, we had some accumulation across the Tri-State area. Eight inches in Newton, New Jersey.

Greenwich, Connecticut seeing 7.5 inches, Harrison, New York, 6.1, Philly beating New York or Central Park at 4.5 with the batch that just came through really earlier this morning, and here it is, or actually, first, I want to show you what's going on in Chicago. The backside of this springing in some lake effect snows for Chicago didn't see a whole lot with this as far as snowfall.

The first time, it was mostly rain. It actually points east of Chicago into northern parts of Indiana, northern parts of Ohio from Cleveland, to Toledo, to Kalamazoo, Michigan, devastating ice storm with this and tens of thousands of people still without power this morning. Here's the last batch of snow that's rolling through parts of Southern Jersey. That's the pulse that got most of Philadelphia. It's also the pulse that got D.C. going from, well, into the 50s yesterday, to the 30s now and with a little bit of light snow this morning.

All right. Winds in New York are going to blow today. So, that's where you're going to see a travel delays, Atlanta, Seattle, same deal, different situation. Chicago and Philadelphia, you also see some light snow and a little bit of breezy conditions with this system and some rain across parts of Houston if you're traveling there. Seventy-two in Houston. It's going to be 66 degrees in Atlanta. So, we're still holding on to the heat fairly well.

Thirty in Chicago, 35 degrees up there in New York City, and 31 degrees in Boston. The pacific northwest seeing another system coming in with the high of 39 degrees in Seattle. Keep your dogs off the thinning ice. We are getting towards the time of year where, well, the ice should be thinning. That's for sure. Back to you guys up in New York.

CHETRY: Keep the dogs off the ice. Keep the dogs out of drainpipes, and we could go on. Thanks, Rob.

HOLMES: Rob, Thank You.

The New York Knicks may be back to being relevant in a way they haven't been in a long, long time. Word this morning that Carmelo Anthony, one of the biggest prides that out there, biggest superstars in the NBA, is now going to be going to the New York Knickerbockers, a mega deal that involved three teams including the current team that he is on, the Denver Nuggets. It's going to be moving him and several of the players to New York.

This comes after months of rumors that he was going to move somewhere, but now, he's going to be teaming up with another one of the youngest big superstars of the NBA, Amare Stoudemire. So, let's see what happens in the east now.

CHETRY: Yes. Hopefully, he's worth all that money because they paid a lot. They paid a lot.

HOLMES: These guys are worth it. He's playing in the arena he wants to play in. He's from this area, so I know he's happy to be back. CHETRY: Good for him, and good for the Knicks.

This morning's top stories are just moments away, including what the prime minister is calling New Zealand's darkest day. Dozens killed and no telling how many are still trapped in the rubble after a second earthquake in five months hits the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The head of the rescue effort on the ground will be joining us.

HOLMES: Also, is this a good idea? Letting college students carry guns on campus? Two state lawmakers, two Texas state lawmakers, on both sides to this debate will be here with us. It's 10 minutes at the top of the hour.

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HOLMES: Seven minutes till the top of the hour now. We need to say happy anniversary to Supreme Court justice, Clarence Thomas. It was five years ago today that he spoke last. That was the last time he actually spoke during oral arguments. He's been famous for this now. He was quoted three years ago saying, quote, "you can do this job without asking a single question." He also called this a matter of courtesy saying that if I invite you to argue your case, I should at least listen to you.

CHETRY: Vancouver's still riding high after hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now, the city was just ranked the world's most livable city for the fifth year straight. The folks at the Economic Intelligence Unit -- Economic and Business Research Company that did the polling. They rounded out the top three with Melbourne, Australia, and Vienna, Austria. The report says these cities offer the same cultural and infrastructural benefits of a large city but without crime and without congestion.

So, how did the U.S. rank? The top city in the United States was Pittsburgh, which came in at 29, and right behind it, Honolulu. I guess, they had a wild fluctuations of weather between Honolulu and Pittsburgh. And at number 34, Washington, D.C. I don't know about the congestion issue. Washington, D.C.'S pretty famous for their traffic.

HOLMES: It is. It's not pretty there, but Pittsburgh, it's a lovely, lovely city. They have a lovely downtown.

CHETRY: It is.

HOLMES: It is very livable.

CHETRY: Three rivers, although, Pittsburgh winter is, you know, not for the faint of heart.

HOLMES: Yes, I was there in the winter.

All right. These young folks out there who wanted to express themselves online, usually blogs were the way to go, but, now, we've seen a rise of Facebook and Twitter that has changed all that. According to the Pew Research Group, their study says that from 2006 to 2009, blogging among kids, 12 to 17, fell by half. Now, just 14 percent of kids have blogs. Among 18 to 33-year-olds, blogging dropped 2 percentage points in 2010 from two years earlier.

Former bloggers say they're just too busy to write lengthy posts and pretty uninspired with the lack of readers they have for those posts. Others had no interest in creating a blog because social networking did a good enough job of keeping them in touch with friends and family.

CHETRY: There you go.

HOLMES: The Grammy-award winning Christian rock band, Third Day, is on their tour now to promote their album "Move."

CHETRY: That's right. And they're on tour and that means that they're always on the road, and this week's road warriors, we see how they take the band with them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, everybody, we are Third Day, and we are "Road Warriors. Two, three, four --

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(SINGING) take it to the other side

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we're on the road together, we try to encourage one another and really lift each other up. And there are times you have to learn to give each other your own space. Every single one of us needs our own down time thinking through the day of maybe what's happened or we're spending time in the bible and in prayer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where we spend quite a bit of time. As you can see, Max signing autographs. We like to kind of get ahead of ourselves. We actually have satellite dishes that move as we're going down the road so we can watch CNN or other programming.

(SINGING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being a successful road warrior is all about balance. You've got to bring a little bit of the road with you back home. When we were building our recording studio, instead of making a little bedroom, we had them put in bunks.

We are Third Day, and we hope to see you out on the road very soon.

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