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Americans Evacuating Libya; Greek Protests Escalate as Citizens March Toward Parliament; Tragedy at Sea: Americans Killed by Pirates; Cell Phone Radiation Concern; Apple Shares Take Bruising; It's Rahm By a Landslide; Reports Gadhafi Ordered to Sabotage Oil Fields; Iowa High School Wrestler Defaults, Won't Wrestle a Girl

Aired February 23, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Developing right now, Americans evacuating Libya. We're live with the breaking overnight news.

Also, kill the bill. Protesters staging a showdown at the state house, and now, a new group of Democrats from another state following Wisconsin's lead and skipping town themselves.

Also, an amazing story from New Zealand. A woman trapped for 24 hours rescued and is doing OK on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY (on-camera): And good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us. 7:00 a.m. here on the East Coast. It's 2:00 in the afternoon in Libya, and that's where the news is being made this morning. Wednesday, February 23rd. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.

T. J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hell to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. In just about an hour, a ferry with Americans onboard is scheduled to leave Tripoli. This is happening right now. The state department is evacuating U.S. citizens to the Mediterranean Island of Malta. There are up to 5,000 citizens in Libya who are trying to get out as this situation continues to get more and more dangerous.

CHETRY: Also, Moammar Gadhafi is now vowing a new crackdown on violence -- promising new violence as it spreads. He's losing his 40- year grip on absolute power in Libya telling people to attack protesters in their homes saying, quote, "rats and agents of foreign intelligence services" are behind the unrest in Libya. Gadhafi vowed to fight to the last drop of blood, saying he wants to die a martyr.

HOLMES: Also this morning, we are seeing the scenes of mayhem in Tripoli. We're hearing about wild shooting, hearing reports of the military in some instances firing indiscriminately on protesters, peaceful protesters. There are reports of bodies in the street.

But outside of the capital of Tripoli, protesters who are backed by some army defectors may have control of half of Libya's Mediterranean coast. Those are some areas where there are major oil producing areas.

CHETRY: President Obama's advisers are keeping him informed of developments in Libya, but he's been relatively quiet publicly about it. We continue our coverage this morning with Ed Henry live at the White House. And we look at some of these new details. They're trying to evacuate people out of the country, reports of perhaps Gadhafi wanting to sabotage oil fields there. What is the White House's take on this this morning?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Kiran, they have been very cautious with their public statements and not pressing the Libyan government too hard. And you have to wonder if that has to do in part with the fact that U.S. officials here want to make sure they get as many as those few thousand Americans out of Libya as possible before they start pressing the Libyans much more.

As you noted, there's going to be a ferry that will be leaving in the next few hours from Tripoli. U.S. officials have put out the word there on the ground that Americans living there, including some at the U.S. embassy who have been deemed non-essential to keeping all the operations going there, have been told to get to the dock in the next few hours. They're trying to get them safely to Malta so they can get out before any of this chaos spreads much more.

And I can tell you, secretary of state Hillary Clinton made clear yesterday that this is one of the administration's top priority to get these Americans out safely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are obviously watching developments in Libya with grave concern. We have joined with the international community in strongly condemning the violence in Libya. And we believe that the government of Libya bears responsibility for what is occurring and must take actions to end the violence.

Now, as always, the safety and wellbeing of Americans has to be our highest priority. And we are in touch with many Libyan officials directly and indirectly and with other governments in the region to try to influence what is going on inside Libya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, the backstory is that the U.S. state department was trying to get these Americans out of Libya yesterday. They wanted to land some charter jets. But Libyan officials, actually, would not let those planes land. That's why they've now gone to plan b to get these ferries out in the next few hours, get the Americans out safely.

CNN has been also pressing to find out whether or not the U.S. Navy is involved to help get these ships out. We have not been able to confirm whether or not the U.S. military is involved. But it gives you a sense of the stakes for the Obama administration and how intensively the White House is watching this situation.

CHETRY: And these developments are shifting but the day. We're talking about more countries each and every day that may be going through this same thing. It really is a lot right now. Ed Henry, thanks so much.

This conflict also drove oil prices to a two and a half year high, and gas prices going already going way up in the country, as well. Oil -- international oil companies like Shell and BP have shut down Libyan operations, flown their crews to safety. Coming up at 7:40, we'll be talking to energy expert Jim Burkhardt about Libya and how high we could see oil prices go.

HOLMES: We are also watching huge protests take place in Greece right now. And they have turned violent in some instances. Police have firing tear gas at demonstrators who have been throwing rocks at those police.

This is happening all in Athens, thousands of people marching towards the parliament building. There's been a nationwide worker strike. People there are upset with the government over an austerity program that has been put in place. Salaries, pensions have been cut over the past year. Tax increases have been put in place, as well. Greece, as you know, has been dealing with a debt crisis there.

We turn back here to the U.S. with the former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will be Chicago's next mayor, what he said was his dream job. He easily beat his five rivals getting 55 percent of the vote yesterday. This will allow him to avoid an April runoff because he got more than 50 percent of the vote. Listen now to the mayor-elect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAHM EMANUEL, (D) CHICAGO MAYOR-ELECT: Thank you, Chicago, for this humbling victory. All I can say, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: He'll be taking office in mid may. He will become Chicago's first Jewish mayor.

CHETRY: Police in St. Petersburg, Florida, say that a 16-year-old has confessed to killing a police officer Monday night. According to police, Officer David Crawford was responding to reports of a suspicious person carrying a brick when she was shot. Formal charges against the teen are expected to be announced today. Officer Crawford is the third St. Petersburg police officer killed on duty in less than a month.

HOLMES: Wisconsin's budget battle has sparked something of a national revolt, if you will, against legislation that would limit bargaining powers of public workers. Wisconsin, we've been watching rallies there, but expecting them in Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, as well as Georgia today.

Take a look at Ohio yesterday, as well. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Kill the bill. Kill the bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Protesters, as you hear, they're chanting "kill the bill." They jammed into the state house in Columbus. The Ohio lawmakers are considering their own bill that would weaken collective bargaining in rights.

Also in Indiana, Democrats they took a page from the Democrats in Wisconsin. They're staging a walkout denying the two-thirds quorum needed to vote on bills. Wisconsin is still the main battleground here. Political stakes getting higher and higher as Democrats still across the border refusing to go back to vote on some of those spending bills. The governor went on TV last night to try to appeal to some of his opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. DAVID WALKER, (R) WISCONSIN: You see, despite a lot of the rhetoric we've heard over the last 11 days, the bill I put forward isn't aimed at state workers and it certainly isn't a battle with unions. The legislation I put forward is about one thing. It's about balancing our budget now and in the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And as you know, 14 Senate Democrats have been in hiding in Illinois. They are threatened with recalls and having their paychecks withheld now, and no indication of when they will return.

CHETRY: To New Zealand, where the country's second largest city, Christchurch is in ruins this morning, and 75 people now confirmed dead, but about 300 are missing. In all of the despair, there was a bright moment when rescuers were able to pull an office worker named Anne Botkin from the rubble of her building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BOB PARKER, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND: In the midst of what is by and large one of the bleakest days in the story of our city, the sun came out at the same moment as they removed Anne from that building. And we actually -- you might have seen the guys down there laugh because somebody made the comment that they got Anne out of the building and god turned on the lights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Also, rescue teams have been searching for trapped victims. They were a bit delayed this morning because of the threat of more buildings coming down on them. Of course, they've dealt with a few aftershocks after that major earthquake. Already at least 33 separate aftershocks have been registered. CHETRY: A search and rescue team from Los Angeles is now headed to New Zealand. Members are expected to be on the ground in Christchurch today. There's 74 specially trained firefighters onboard along with doctors and engineers. And they're also bringing equipment that can detect a person breathing beneath tons of concrete. It's the same unit that went to Haiti last year to assist after the deadly earthquake there.

And you can help with the relief effort in New Zealand. Logon to CNN.com/impact to find out how.

HOLMES: We're at nine minutes past the hour.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, still ahead on this "American Morning," cell phones can affect your brain. And a study has proven that, it appears, but does that necessarily mean it's harmful to your health?

CHETRY: And what will the future be without Steve Jobs? That's what Apple investors want to know. We're going to have more on this developing story, as well. It's ten and a half minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 13 minutes past the hour. Friends and families of the four Americans hijacked by pirates had been holding out hope there would be peaceful ending to the standoff. But unfortunately that's not what played out yesterday. The pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a nearby Navy ship that was tagging along trying to keep tabs on the yacht.

Well, immediately after that shot, the naval members reported a sound of gunfire that could be heard onboard the yacht. Navy forces then used boats to race towards the sailboat, but by then it was too late. Despite efforts to save the Americans lives, all four died of gunshot wounds.

Joining me is Clayton Schmit. He was close to the Adams who owned the boat. He was invited to sail with the couple. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

CLAYTON SCHMIT, FRIEND OF ADAMS FAMILY: You're welcome, Kiran.

CHETRY: I know you were close with Scott Adams. You attended seminary school together. How are you and others in the community and congregation making sense of what happened?

SCHMIT: Well, we're trying to deal with grieving of the loss of a dear friend. Scott actually was a student where I teach. And I had the opportunity to get to know Scott through the teaching that he did for us. And he began to do a doctoral program. And we invited him to teach with us.

So the community is very well aware of the Adams family, and we've been praying earnestly over the weekend. And then when we had the news yesterday that things went bad, we've all been deeply in mourning.

CHETRY: Understandable. And, you know, they were doing something they really loved to do. That's the part I know you guys are struggling with, as well. They were also experienced sailors. They had done these around the world trips before. Do you know if they were aware of how dangerous the waters that they were entering have been?

SCHMIT: Yes, they were very well aware of the dangers. In fact, many of us at fuller seminary had conversations with Scott in advance of his trips asking if they were well-prepared to protect themselves when they were in dangerous waters. But Scott was committed to his mission. And he and Jean were determined to deliver these bibles to the places around the world where -- to hospitals and to schools where they have a difficult time getting bibles. It was their mission in life, and nothing was going to deter Scott.

CHETRY: You actually asked them whether or not they were armed or whether they should carry a gun for protection and they were very against that. Why?

SCHMIT: Well, I asked Scott if he had any firearms onboard for this trip because I could imagine how dangerous it would be. And he said, if you take a firearm onboard and you stop in certain ports, your boat can be confiscated along with your cargo. So he didn't want to risk that. Plus it was a mission trip and I'm sure he didn't feel comfortable having firearms onboard.

CHETRY: You know, and the other thing is they were with this flotilla of boats so that they could at least have some safety in numbers as they were headed through the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. At some point, I guess this was February 15th, they separated from that flotilla deciding to take a different route and that's where things went wrong. Do you know why they broke off from the larger group?

SCHMIT: No one knows exactly why that happened. And, of course, we're all speculating. We had an e-mail from Scott on the 12th, which was five days before they were captured. And in that e-mail, he was saying that they would -- they were traveling close to the coast of India on their way to Mumbai. But the smaller boats that went slower and had to make more frequent stops were closer into shore. Scott and Jean were out in the traffic lanes and contending with fishing boats and with cargo ships. And one can imagine that depending on the wind they might have had to take a tack that took them out away from land, and before they could tack that into land they must have been picked off. So somehow they slipped through the hole in the safety net.

CHETRY: The other question is -- I mean, we've seen, I guess, 53 of these pirate attacks, vessels seized worldwide just last year alone, all but four of them happened off this coast of Somalia. There have been different endings, but most of the time these Somali pirates seem to want money, want ransom. Do you have any idea of why it went the way that it did with the four ended up being killed?

SCHMIT: No, I have no idea. I heard reports, as you probably did, that there were two pirate negotiators taken onboard one of the naval vessels and they simply said we want money and that will solve this. And, of course, then something went terribly wrong.

CHETRY: On the larger issue of, you know, trying to spread the word, spread the gospel in dangerous parts of the world. I mean, does this give other missionaries and others who want to do this work with their best of intentions pause because of the danger?

SCHMIT: Well, certainly there are many places in the world where Christian missionaries are facing the possibility of capture and torture and death. That happens in many places around the world today. And most of the people who embark on those kinds of missions are well aware of it. They're surrounded by prayer and uplifted by their friends and family in support. But if they feel called, they typically go.

CHETRY: And that says we understand what Jean and Scott felt. They felt called.

SCHMIT: They did.

CHETRY: I'm very sorry for your loss and for the community. This is something that is unimaginable to have to deal with. But thank you for your time and for sharing a little bit more about why they were on that mission. We appreciate it.

SCHMIT: You're welcome. Thanks for the opportunity to honor their memory.

CHETRY: Absolutely. Clayton Schmit, friend of Scott Adam and professor at the Fuller Theological Seminary. Good to talk to you this morning. T.J.?

SCHMIT: Thank you.

HOLMES: Kiran, we're at 18 minutes past the hour now. And ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, we have evidence now, proof, that eating a pepperoni pizza every day for three years can actually save your life. You need to hear this story of how it saved one woman's life.

Also, all eyes today on Apple. A huge shareholder meeting today. Everybody wondering, will Steve Jobs be there? You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: There are fewer and fewer places for smokers to go these days. And in New York especially, your next cigarette could cost you if you're not careful because Mayor Mike Bloomberg just signed the city's newest smoking ban into law. It takes effect in 90 days and you can't smoke in many outside places, no parks, no beaches, no pedestrian plazas, like the one in Times Square. And if you're caught, you can get a $50 fine.

HOLMES: Smoking is a bad habit. You should probably stop smoking anyway. Well, that cell phone of yours is affecting your brain. Researchers studied 47 adults who were exposed to a 50-minute phone conversation. They concluded that the radiation does increase the activity in brain cells, but not sure -- doesn't mean, necessarily, that the radiation exposure would cause cancer.

Now, phones that were off did not create the same brain activity so they think they have a clear connection here. But the wireless industry trade group, or one of them at least responded saying there is no research that cell phones are dangerous, though, to someone's health.

CHETRY: An elderly woman may be alive today. Thanks to her love of pizza. All of a sudden an 82-year-old woman who had been ordering a Domino's pepperoni pizza every single day for three years stopped calling. Now her local Domino's thought something wasn't right when they haven't heard from her in three days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She always ordered a large, thin crust pepperoni pizza with two diet cokes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I said she hasn't called in three days, I go, I've got to go. I've got to go. And he was like, he's like, no, you don't have to do that. I said, yes, I do. I said clock me out if that's what you have to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, amazing, she ended up being right. The delivery woman went to the elderly woman's door, knocked on it, no answer. She decided to call 911, and it turns out that the woman had fallen and was unable to get up and get to a phone. So essentially because of that hunch and because of her knowing her customer, she saved her life.

HOLMES: That's a great story. Don't know if we always recommend eating a pepperoni pizza every day for three years.

CHETRY: It was thin crust.

HOLMES: That's OK?

CHETRY: I mean, you know, just like bread with some tomato sauce and a little bit cheese on it. Little bit of protein.

HOLMES: All right.

Well, we have been bringing you -- I know you like the stories we've been doing about dogs the past several days.

CHETRY: Yes.

HOLMES: A lot of dog rescues. You love the cute --

CHETRY: So you're a cat guy.

HOLMES: OK, fine.

We have a new cat to bring you here. A new star at the Chattanooga Zoo. This is a rare --

CHETRY: Looks thrilled.

HOLMES: Snow leopard cub. You can't tell me that thing is not adorable.

CHETRY: No, gorgeous.

HOLMES: Yes.

CHETRY: And they're amazing majestic creatures. He does not look too thrilled about being in front of the cameras. He's holding on for dear life there.

HOLMES: Well, this little one, six weeks old, five pounds, growing pretty fast, does not have a name yet. The zoo is asking for public suggestions. I might send a couple their way.

CHETRY: Beautiful. So cute. It's a girl, by the way.

HOLMES: It is a girl, yes.

CHETRY: Girl power, rock on.

HOLMES: Also, we're keeping our eye on another snowstorm possibly. Happy, happy, joy, joy. The Midwest could get another round tonight and tomorrow. Our Reynolds Wolf will have the forecast in just about 20 minutes. It's 25 past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 27 minutes past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. The federal government now investigating Toyota. Reports out there of engines stalling in more than 40,000 of their Toyota Highlander hybrids. These complaints say that the stalls occur at 40 miles an hour or higher. No reports just yet of crashes or injuries. Toyota cooperating with the investigation. The automaker has recalled over 12 million vehicles since 2009.

CHETRY: Well, there is a lot of speculation this morning about the health of Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. No one is sure if he will be showing up for the annual shareholder meeting, which is today. Many investors want a clear public plan outlined about who will succeed Jobs if his health doesn't improve. The CEO is currently on medical leave, his second in three years. Apple shares fell three percent yesterday.

HOLMES: Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business" now. They want a succession plan. Will they get one?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going to vote on one. And it might be the shareholders in this company will vote this down.

A couple of things here. They want a succession plan because so much of this company is tied up in the cult personality of Steve Jobs. He is the innovation, the driver behind this company. He's been ill. He had cancer in 2004, a liver transplant in 2009. I mean, the Twitter verse goes crazy whenever there's a sighting of him at an Indian food restaurant someplace in northern California. I'm not kidding. So everybody is watching to see what happens to him and how well he handles this most recent leave of absence and what the company wants to do longer term. So there'll be a vote to force Apple to disclose its succession plans and that's likely to come up at this meeting.

The company has said that revealing those plans would actually help the competition and they have been very tightlipped on what their plans for in a post-Steve Jobs world. He has taken an unspecified leave of absence length of time here while he handles some of his own health issues.

Now, another piece of news in the Apple universe. Apple has released its supplier responsibility progress report. This is about a week ago. People still going over this. That slick iPhone that you have. A chemical used to make the glass very glossy and shiny actually cost some health problems, about 137 workers at the facility in China that makes this. It's interesting. These things are designed in California. Every six months there's a new gadget that comes out. It is a huge sprawling connection of contractors that actually make these things with - with hundreds of thousands of people who are making these half way around the world.

Anyway, the supplier - the supplier responsibility report shows steep hiring fees at 18 of the facilities used to make these things. Workers underage at 10 facilities. A lack of transparency and actually falsified records at some of these contractors. Two instances of worker endangerment. And again that report finds that 137 workers were seriously injured making the iPhone because of the glass screen.

So we'll continue to follow that and see if there's anything - Apple has consistently said they do not use sweat shops, they don't run sweat shops. But there's such a volume of these things being churned out. A lot of social responsibility people keeping a close eye on what these reports say.

CHETRY: Well, so quick - I just want to ask - it's not that you're in danger from having that. It was in the actual manufacturing of the glass.

ROMANS: Yes, and they are not using that chemical on that glass anymore we're told. OK.

Quick market check, down yesterday, very bad day for the Dow, down 178 points. Real rough when you look at oil prices rising, concerns about the Middle East and North Africa and oil supplies there. Nasdaq down 77, S&P down 27. This morning, it's looking like a bit of a stable open, but we'll be watching gold and we'll be watching oil and we'll be watching stocks to see if there's a second day of these Libya concerns there.

HOLMES: Christine, we appreciate you as always. Thank you so much.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, we're crossing the half hour. Time for a look at our other top stories.

The exodus of foreigners from Libya picking up now. Americans among those trying to get out. Here's a look at the scene from Tripoli's airport with a crush of people, chaos. The State Department actually has decided to evacuate Americans by ferry to the island of Malta. The ferry is expected to depart from the shores of Tripoli about half an hour from now.

HOLMES: Also, the search continues in Christchurch, New Zealand after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed at least 75 people. There are hundreds more missing, they've had a number of aftershocks there that are making things complicated for the rescue effort. Some teams had to be pulled out over concerns of a possible building collapse.

And more budget protests on tap today in Wisconsin, Ohio and a number of other states. Wisconsin's Republican Governor says the state budget crisis won't be solved until Democrats come back to work. Senate democrats say they're not going to return as long as the budget bill includes a loss of public workers' collective bargaining rights. The governor has then threatened mass layoffs.

HOLMES: Well, he had to fight just to get on the ballot. Now Rahm Emanuel is getting the job he says he always wanted. Chicago's mayor. He beat his five rivals to win the election outright. He was able to avoid a runoff by getting more than 50 percent of the vote. CNN's Jessica Yellin on the former White House chief of staff getting that dream job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rahm Emanuel welcomes this win with a joke.

RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO MAYOR-ELECT: Thank you, Chicago, for this humbling victory. All I can say, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home.

YELLIN: That's a dig at opponents who tried and failed to kick him of the ballot claiming he spent so much time in Washington he wasn't a Chicago resident and legally qualified to be mayor. But Emanuel pushed back. His proof the city is home, consider the things he stored in his Chicago basement.

EMANUEL: Our family kind of most valuable possessions, which is Amy's wedding dress, our family china, our family photo albums.

YELLIN: Emanuel is Chicago born and bred. The middle of three brothers now famous for their outsize achievements. His younger brother, Ari, runs a major Hollywood talent agency. His older brother, Zeke, is a renowned bioethicist. Rahm Emanuel earned his reputation as an aide in the Clinton White House, a congressman, and then chief of staff to President Obama. He's known as a fierce strategist with a foul mouth.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Rahm when he was a kid had lost part of his finger in an accident. And it was his middle finger so it rendered him mute for a while.

YELLIN: In this race, his message was about creating jobs and closing the deficit by negotiating with unions, not attacking them like some Republican governors.

EMANUEL: In Chicago, we're going to chart a different course. We are not going to chart a course that Wisconsin set.

YELLIN: Because?

EMANUEL: Because I'm going to work it out with them. They're partners.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: Some Emanuel observers wonder whether he could be the nation's first Jewish president. But those closest to him say, no, mayor of Chicago is the job he always wanted, well that or speaker of the U.S. House, but that job's taken, for now. Kiran, T.J..

HOLMES: Well, we appreciate our Jessica Yellin this morning. And of course, for all the latest political news, you can go to cnn.com/politics. You're watching "American Morning." It's 35 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: ... they're sitting on. Let's start with Tunisia. They have less than one billion barrels. In Egypt, it's 4.4 billion barrels, and most of that stays in Egypt because they export very little of it. In Bahrain, there's also, again, less than one billion barrels. But then take a look at Libya and you see they're sitting on 44.3 billion barrels and responsible for about two percent of all oil produced in the world on any given day. And much of that production is in question this morning.

Jim Burkhard is the managing director of Global Oil at IHS, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, it's an energy research and consulting firm. James, good of you to join us this morning. Thanks so much.

JAMES BURKHARD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBAL OIL: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: So we take a look at that map and you see, you're talking 44.5 billion barrels of oil. And perhaps the most alarming news this morning, reports that Colonel Gadhafi has ordered security forces to start sabotaging these oil fields, perhaps blowing up several pipelines and trying to cut off flow to Mediterranean ports. How devastating is that potentially to global oil markets?

BURKHARD: That would be a big blow to the global oil market. Because Libya is a major oil exporter. But, there is a large volume of spare production capacity elsewhere in the world. So if we did lose Libyan supply for a significant period of time, that could be offset with higher production elsewhere.

CHETRY: And why are we already seeing these spikes in oil prices? A lot of people at home say, you know, we haven't seen a supply disruption yet so why are my gas prices going up?

BURKHARD: Well, there has been some production shut in Libya and what's been happening in the Middle East is unfolding in a world where global oil demand is rising and the amount of spared capacity is shrinking. So when we see concerns about Libya, that tends to create anxiety about the reliability of supply in a world where as I mentioned where demand is growing.

CHETRY: So where does this take us? I mean, what are some of the things that energy experts are looking at right now? Because you have a finite resource, you have it in places that are experiencing unrest right now. And as you said the demand just continues. So where's the end game here?

BURKHARD: Well, the key variable here is spare production capacity. And to put this in context, Libya produces about 1.6 million barrels of oil a day. Right now, we have about five million barrels per day of spare production capacity. Most of that is in Saudi Arabia. So the loss of Libyan supply could be offset, but the - but the downside is that that would also shrink the amount of spare capacity. So the world's ability to deal with another disruption would be - would be limited.

CHETRY: And what about looking at alternative energy. Because, again, we are talking about a finite resource, and again in some unstable regions of the globe.

BURKHARD: That's right. I mean, that's always a concern. Oil is the dominant fuel for transportation. And it will take years if not decades to dislodge oil from its dominant role in transportation. So looking ahead at the next week, the next month, the next year, there's not a readily available commercial substitute for oil, at least for transportation.

CHETRY: Also, it's interesting when you take a look at where we get it, I mean, 51 percent of U.S. crude and petroleum products do come from the western hemisphere. But again, as we know, it's a global market. And so will we see, perhaps, even higher spikes and bigger problems when it comes to this in places like Europe that rely more heavily on Libya?

BURKHARD: Well, that's where the Libyan disruption will hit hardest. Because 85 percent of Libya's exports do go to Europe. So European refiners will now have to compete for supplies from other sources and that is what drives up prices because European refiners will be competing with Asian and American refiners for less - for oil that's produced outside of Libya.

CHETRY: James Burkhard, great to get your take this morning on the situation that is rapidly deteriorating it seems in Libya today. Thanks so much.

BURKHARD: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, it's every high school athlete's dream. To be state champion. But one 15-year-old sophomore gave up his dream of being state champion in wrestling because he refused to wrestle a girl. That wrestler will be here with us to explain why he did that.

Also, this morning, there is a big storm brewing in the lower Mississippi Valley. Reynolds Wolf will be along in just a moment with your forecast. It's 43 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(CROSSTALK)

Say good morning once again to Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on things. Just give us the Miami forecast. How about that?

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, they call them boomerang kids. These are adults sons and daughters who, after leaving the home, going to college, perhaps, come move back in with mom and dad. Why more parents are more likely to welcome their sons back home than their daughters?

Maybe she's bringing more baggage. Who knows.

HOLMES: Wow.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Christine Romans will tell us. That's coming up, the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

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HOLMES: We're about 10 minutes at the top of the hour now.

A 15-year-old boy made national headlines when he refused to wrestle a girl. He defaulted in a match in the state championship tournament in Iowa, essentially giving up his chance to be state champion. Why did he do that?

Well, that young man Joel and his father Jamie, the Northrups, are joining me live this morning from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Gentlemen, thank you both for being here. And Joel, you tell us all, explain to us why did you think it wasn't appropriate for to you wrestle a girl?

JOEL NORTHRUP, WRESTLER, LINN-MAR HIGH SCHOOL: Well, wrestling is a combat sport. And, at times, it gets violent and you get put in moves and holds that are compromising and I just don't believe it's right that a boy and a girl should, in this manner, wrestle.

HOLMES: So is it more so -- it sounds like it's a combination, but we know wrestle can be up close and personal sport, if you will, and you had to get in all kinds of positions and touch each other in all kinds of places.

Is it more so that what it was? Or, you just didn't like the idea of a boy, you, having to maybe slam a girl on the mat in a violent way?

NORTHRUP: Well, yes, both those factors played into it.

HOLMES: Now, to dad here, did you have any idea he was going to do this? I think this isn't his first time actually refusing to have to wrestle a girl. So did you have any part of this or he's making this decision on his own?

JAMIE NORTHRUP, FATHER OF JOEL NORTHRUP: Well, we certainly left the decision up to Joel. This is something that Joel has stood by for quite a few years now. We gave him the opportunity and said, Joel, do what you feel is the right choice to make in this particular situation. And so he certainly made his own decision.

HOLMES: Now, Joel, as well, and I'm sure you heard it probably from some friends of yours and some people around the country have been talking about it. Now, is there any part of you that just didn't want to stand the idea of possibly losing to that girl?

JOEL NORTHRUP: No. That didn't play into it. I'm not taking anything away from Cassy, but I wasn't really intimidated at all. But I had already made the decision just not to wrestle her.

HOLMES: You mentioned her name, Cassy. I'm going to let our viewers here. She had kind of a response and talked about, I guess maybe some of the disappointment in not being able to wrestle.

We'll listen to that and let our viewers hear it and I'll ask you about it on the other side.

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CASSY HERKELMAN, CEDAR FALLS WRESTLER: I feel like -- just having grown up -- I feel like people should treat me the same way, like the fact that I'm doing the same sport as them, that I'm doing the same things as them, like I don't feel I should be much difference there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And Joel, once again back to you, wrestling is a big deal in Iowa, and it's unfortunate they don't have a girls-only tournament there. Some places around the country, they do.

But do you think that is unfortunate and that shouldn't be the case where girls are required, they don't have a choice but to wrestle the boys?

JOEL NORTHRUP: Yes. Of all sports, wrestling especially, I don't think it should be a coed sport. I believe if girls do want to wrestle, that they should wrestle other girls. And that boys, if they do wrestle, should wrestle other boys.

HOLMES: And Mr. Northrup -- JOEL NORTHRUP: I think --

HOLMES: Forgive me there, Mr. Northrup, to you once again, is this -- did you raise your son -- is this kind of a religious -- kind of a -- he made this on kind of a religious background that he has that he didn't want to do this.

Is that kind of where this is coming from, Mr. Northrup?

JAMIE NORTHRUP: Well, T.J., certainly faith plays a factor. Even though there's no specific scripture that addresses wrestling with girls, there's a biblical Christian principle of treating women with respect and dignity and not looking at them as objects to be defeated on the wrestling mat, or to be, you know, in some cases, groped or slammed or, you know?

HOLMES: And Joel, to you again, to wrap up. Have you ever wrestled a girl in your career?

JOEL NORTHRUP: Well, actually back in third grade, I wrestled a girl, but I didn't feel right about it and after that I made a decision just to never wrestle a girl again.

HOLMES: Were you ever able to talk to Cassy after you defaulted and stepped away from that match? Did you talk to her?

JOEL NORTHRUP: No, actually I didn't. I did talk to her dad, though, and he came up and he supported what I did. He said it was a hundred percent my choice.

HOLMES: All right. Well, you have -- I think you're a sophomore now. So you got a couple more years in high school. I'm going to leave it on this question.

Let's say, next year or the year after, your senior year, let's just say your senior year, you go through the state championship tournament, you get to the finals, and to win the state championship, and for you to be state champion you would have to wrestle a girl to win it.

Would you wrestle it or would you step back and forfeit once again and give up the chance to be state champion?

JOEL NORTHRUP: Yes, I would give up the chance. I wouldn't wrestle a girl whether it's finals or any other meet or districts, I wouldn't wrestle a girl.

HOLMES: Well Joel, you seem like a young man who is certainly standing by his beliefs. A lot of people applauded the decision you made. Again, it's unfortunate that the kids are put in positions that boys and girls have to wrestle there in your state and many other places.

But, congratulations on the decision. And dad, congratulations to you on your son there. Seems like a good kid. And good luck down the road in your wrestling career. JOEL NORTHRUP: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: All right. Thanks so much.

We're getting close to the top of the hour. A quick break here on AMERICAN MORNING and we are right back.

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