Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Prank Call Has Gov. Walker Explaining Himself; President Obama Breaks Silence on Libya; Obama's Gay Marriage Stand; Best Home Improvements to Make; Al Qaeda Backs Libya's Uprising

Aired February 24, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. A boiling point, in just a few hours, Wisconsin's day of demonstration promising to be the largest in the state's history.

Also, the prank call that has the governor explaining himself on this AMERICAN MORNING.

And good morning to you all on this Thursday, February 24th. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.

First, it's the prank phone call that got Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, to reveal some strategies he may have been thinking about in a bitter standoff with union workers and with Democratic senators in the state. Liberal blogger, Ian Murphy, of Buffalobeast.com called Walker pretending to be billionaire-backer, David Koch. Koch is a conservative activist from New York with ties to the tea party. His political action committee donated $43,000 to Walker's campaign.

Here is part of the conversation between the governor and the journalist pretending to be Koch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you what, Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and show you a good time.

GOV. SCOTT WALKER, (R) WISCONSIN: That would be outstanding. Thanks for the all the support and helping us move the cause forward, and we appreciate it. This is about public sector unions essentially having taxpayers' money used to pay to lobby for spending more of taxpayers' money. It's absolutely ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Governor Walker also discussed the 14 Senate Democrats who left Wisconsin in order to stall a vote on his budget bill. He talked about bringing them home by offering them a chance to, quote, "talk, not negotiate," and then have 19 Republican senators declare a quorum and force a vote to get the spending plan passed. He said that was something he thought about.

Walker claims that that plan was not a trick and while he admits he was pranked, he says he doesn't consider it to be a big deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The bottom line is the things I've said publicly are the things I've said all along. If you saw, if you listened to the tape, we put that down. I'm not going to allow one prank phone call to be a distraction from the realities. We have a job to do here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: In his phone conversation with Murphy posing as Koch, Governor Walker also discussed a plan to punish Wisconsin's 14 AWOL Democratic senators by cutting off the paychecks.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: This is supposed to be the day that a record number of protesters hit the streets of Wisconsin. This is, of course, ground zero for the American labor movement and the fight with government. Casey Wian is live in Madison. Casey, good morning to you. What are we expecting today and why this day?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the labor movement is expecting a very big day, Thousands of people standing throughout the state of Wisconsin, more than two dozen cities and towns across this state. They say it's going to be the biggest demonstration outside the capital of Madison.

Of course, Wisconsin has become the place to be for both on both sides of the debate over union power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Wisconsin's protests over the union rights of state workers may have started here but they've spread nationwide.

MAHLON MITCHELL, PRESIDENT, WISCONSIN FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION: Our message is, on the collective bargaining here, a fall to collective bargain here would be a fall to collective bargaining all over.

WIAN: From California to D.C., Tea Party groups and labor unions are rallying their troops and bringing them to Madison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

WIAN: National labor leaders also are flocking here.

JIM HOFFA, TEAMSTERS PRESIDENT: This is the most blatant attack on workers' rights that has ever happen.

WALKER: I also want to make it clear particularly to the union leaders coming in from outside the state of Wisconsin given the choice to stand with them or the millions of hardworking taxpayers of Wisconsin, I'm going to stand with the hardworking taxpayers of Wisconsin. WIAN: Unions also criticized outers, including the billionaire Koch brothers of Kansas who are bit contributor to Walker's campaign and recently expanded their lobbying presence here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our governor here unfortunately is just a puppet. He's just playing into their hands.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I feel like we're getting into a point where outside money is dictating our state policies.

WIAN: One longtime activist calls it the single most labor struggle in the 21st century, to which the Tea Party responds --

DREW RYAN, AMERICAN MAJORITY: You look at the support that the Tea Party movement has right now across the nation and you look at the governors who won this past November, I like those odds.

WIAN: Already Governor Walker is being talked about here as a candidate for recall or for national office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Now, the Tea Party is taking credit for an effort to try to bring those runaway Democratic state senators back to the capital and force a vote on this budget. Rescue plan. What the legislature decided yesterday, anyone who has missed more than two legislative systems is actually going to have to return to the state capital to collect their paychecks. They're hoping that will lure the Democrats back when payday comes next Tuesday.

HOLMES: Casey Wian, we appreciate you as always.

We're going turn to Mexico where authorities have made an arrest in the murder of a U.S. immigration agent. Six people have been arrested, including who they're calling is the main suspect. You may remember 32-year old Jamie Zapata was a special agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He was working with another agent when they were ambushed last week when a Mexican drug gang, forced Zapata's vehicle off the road. The other agent he was with was wounded.

CHETRY: New information in the case of Julian Assange. Within the last hour a British judge ruling that the WikiLeaks founder can be extradited to Sweden. Assange hasn't been formerly charged with a crime, but Swedish prosecutors want to question him about allegations of sexual assault two women claimed against him. Assange has been fighting extradition. He now has seven days to appeal the court ruling.

HOLMES: We have seen some of the aftermath, but we are now getting new looks at the moments when the quake was happening in New Zealand. Take a look here at the surveillance video. This is in a store where you can see the shelves begin to shake, bottles start falling and breaking.

Meanwhile at least 98 people are confirmed dead after that 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The search continues for the 226 reported missing. The second largest city in New Zealand, Christchurch, has no water, almost half the city with no power.

CHETRY: The pacific northwest is bracing for more snow. A 30-mile stretch of Interstate 5 had to be shut down in Washington State last night. Dozens of drivers abandoned their cars and trucks on the side of the road when it got too tough to actually travel in that heavy snow.

(WEATHER BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, Jimmy Mack is back. He's running for president in 2012. Remember him, Jimmy McMillan, he was running for governor of New York, and he really made a splash with his "rent is too damn high" party and campaign theme. He has changed his party affiliation. He is now a registered Republican and he has a new campaign slogan as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES MCMILLAN, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How many of these residents, these tenants can't afford to pay rent?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you like him to be talking about, Obama?

MCMILLAN: Talk about how we're going to reduce the deficit and create jobs. Remember when the president said change was coming to America? What he didn't say is fair change. The deficit is too damn high. He's not saying anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There you go, the deficit is too damn high now. McMillan insists he is strongest Republican in the field right now.

HOLMES: Not a lot in the field right now either.

(LAUGHTER)

Coming up here on this "American Morning," the White House with a major reversal in relation to gay marriage. But what exactly does it mean? Our legal experts will be along to break this down.

CHETRY: Also, oil prices skyrocketing, stock markets tanking, and gas prices also up. What's ahead as the tension in Libya gets worse. You're watching "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 12 minutes right now past the hour. We want to get you updated on the situation in Libya. We're now being told that the Libyan dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, will speak today as opposition leaders close in on him. There are some new pictures from CNN from a neighborhood in Tripoli. You can hear the sound of tracer fire shot into the air. Forces are digging in in that city for what could end up being Gadhafi's last stand.

HOLMES: Also other video posted on Facebook. You can hear the same thing, shots in the air. Streets there reportedly being controlled by thugs with machetes and guns. Sources say opposition forces are in the city of Misrata, and also the city of Zentan has also fallen, and they are also getting closer and closer to the capital.

Now all of this turmoil we've been seeing in Libya and other parts of the region, and just the fear that this could spread is causing gas and oil prices spike. Oil crossed overt $100 mark for a time yesterday, this morning, again, hovering around $100 a barrel. The price of gas, up three cents overnight, now more than $3.20 a gallon of regular. That's up 13 percent in the last three months.

CHETRY: President Obama is condemning the brutal response from the Gadhafi regime. It is the first time the president has spoken publicly on it since the uprising started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We strongly condemn the use of violence in Libya. The American people extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all who have been killed and injured.

The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Also right now, hundreds of Americans are still waiting to leave Libya, their ferry delayed for yet another delay. Ed Henry is live at the White House. And the president was saying that was the reason why he wasn't speaking publicly about Libya, waiting to make sure all the Americans were out safely.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Clearly, the president didn't say that directly, but my sources in the administration say that was a big fear that this White House has had in recent days is that, pardon me, if the president came out and blasted Gadhafi, he might try to take some of these Americans hostage.

And Jay Carney himself admitted yesterday at the podium, it was an important factor in all of the conversations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is obviously concerned about the safety of American citizens, no question. And that is an important factor in any country. And the circumstances of American citizens are different in each country. The protections they have, say, at the embassy, might be different in one country than the protections they have in another. All of those factors are important in how we approach these situations and how the president looks at them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, we're just also learning from officials that that ferry's probably not going to take off for another day. There's been really bad weather there outside Tripoli, so it's been hard to get that ferry off to Malta safely. So those Americans, hundreds of them, are still on that ferry. There are many more Americans, in fact, in Libya, who are staying behind, some of them by choice. They don't want to leave the country. Some are essential embassy personnel for the U.S. They're going to stay there as well. So there are still Americans there in Libya in harm's way.

Meanwhile, back here, the administration has been getting heat from us, speaking out more. The president indicated yesterday they may take some tough action. There could be potential sanctions against Libya. Also, maybe the possibility of instituting a no-fly zone, something that was used against Saddam Hussein in his regime in Iraq. So there's a lot of least a lot of talk now of action here at the White House if the regime in Libya does not cooperate, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning. Thank you so much.

HENRY: Good to see you.

CHETRY: Me too.

HOLMES: Coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING, gay rights advocates are declaring victory as Hawaii's governor signs a landmark bill.

CHETRY: Also, the housing market may be in a rut but that's not slowing down home renovations. So what improvements actually get you the biggest bang for your buck if you're looking at sell. "Minding Your Business."

Sixteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour now. Civil unions officially legalized in the state of Hawaii. Governor Neil Abercrombie signed that bill yesterday. The new law takes effect the first of next year and extends the same rights to gay couples that spouses in a marriage have. Hawaii is now the seventh state to legalize civil unions, joining Iowa, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire along with the District of Columbia -- T.J.

HOLMES: Kiran, also this morning, a major reversal on gay marriage from the Obama administration. President Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court. This, you may remember, is the 1996 law that says marriage is between one man and one woman. This order is now being dissected today for what it really means down the road. And we need help in this section. Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin contributes to "In Session," our sister network, truTV. You also with Attorney general Holder. We should mention that as well. SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Right.

HOLMES: Let's take this in the simplest form. Try to break this down like everybody else. The Defense of Marriage Act says marriage is between one man and one woman.

HOSTIN: That's right.

HOLMES: The government has come now and says it's indefensible and unconstitutional.

HOSTIN: That's right.

HOLMES: In theory then, is the federal government saying gay marriage should be allowed?

HOSTIN: They haven't gone that far.

HOLMES: OK.

HOSTIN: And they really are walking a tight rope. They're saying it's unconstitutional, we're not going to defend it but since the law is still on the books we're going to enforce it. But the president has made it very clear for a long time that his position on gay marriage is sort of evolving.

HOLMES: Evolving.

HOSTIN: But let's remember, he was a constitutional law professor.

HOLMES: Yes.

HOSTIN: And I've been speaking to a lot of my legal friends after this came down, and they've all said, we all know that this is unconstitutional. It's whether or not the executive branch, the president can really strike this law. And he cannot do that.

HOLMES: Cannot do that.

HOSTIN: He cannot do that. It's up to Congress to repeal it. And it's also up to the judges, the judiciary to decide to kick it out.

HOLMES: Something important you just said there as well. It's unconstitutional, they will enforce it.

HOSTIN: Yes.

HOLMES: And not defend it. But isn't that the executive's job as well? Isn't that the Justice Department's job to defend laws on the book?

HOSTIN: It is. And that's why this is such a big deal. It is rare for the Justice Department and for the president to say we are not going to defend the law as it stands. That is a rarity. But they do have to enforce the law so a lot of pundits are saying, you know, well, this is inappropriate. They've got to enforce the law. They're not going to not enforce the law. They're just not going to defend it. But I think the real issue, T.J., is what does that mean for the gay and lesbian community?

HOLMES: Yes.

HOSTIN: What does it mean? It's not going to change anything for them right now. Even though they may be married under state law, they still can't file joint tax returns. They still are not going to get social security benefits. They're still not going to get family medical leave act, unfortunately. But I do think it's the death, the beginning of the end of DOMA. Definitely, the beginning of the end. This is a major victory for the LGBT community.

HOLMES: OK. What happens is what? What happened? A lot of people are wondering. The Justice Department, the president has been defending this law in court for two years as unconstitutional.

HOSTIN: Right.

HOLMES: How did he wake up one day and say, oh, well, I changed my mind. Actually it's not constitutional anymore.

HOSTIN: Yes. I don't think you just woke up. I don't think Attorney General Holder just woke up.

HOLMES: Yes.

HOSTIN: I think they finally found the legal hook to allow them to say we're not going to defend.

HOLMES: They've been looking for it.

HOSTIN: They've been looking for it. I think they've been looking for it. There are two cases pending now, one in New York, one in Connecticut. And there's no legal precedent. So now they would have had to take sort of this affirmative stance. They would have had to say, we are going to defend it and they've -- I'm not going to defend it. Now is my time to say we find it unconstitutional.

HOLMES: A lot of people scratching their heads trying to figure this out. And it's important for our viewers, we need to let you know here, just because they're not defending it, and it seems like there might be two sides telling a judge, hey, we both agree that this is unconstitutional, the judge still has to make that in court --

HOSTIN: It's the judge.

HOLMES: Still has to make the decision.

HOSTIN: Or Congress. Or Congress.

HOLMES: Or Congress has to change.

Sunny Hostin, it's so good to see you.

HOSTIN: It's so good to see you. HOLMES: All right. Kiran?

CHETRY: All right, guys. Thanks so much.

Well, coming up next, relief at the grocery store. One chain is promising not to raise prices on some of the basic necessities.

Also, would you give your Facebook password up for a job? One state agency taking the background check to a whole new level.

Twenty-three minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: "Minding Your Business" now. A regional grocery store chain if you have one, you know, it. Wegmans says it will not raise prices on 40 products this year, despite the fact that the cost for many of them has actually gone up. Prices of Wegman's own brand of vegetables, cereals, meat, poultry all will stay the same. There are, by the way, more than 75 different stores across the mid-Atlantic region. They're in U.S. states including Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

HOLMES: You know what, I challenge all grocery stores, including the public up the street from my house to do the same this year.

CHETRY: Stop and shop if you're listening, this would be a good idea.

HOLMES: Yes.

Also today, check the cushions of your couch. Probably got some spare change in there. You might think it doesn't add up to much, but it adds up to plenty according to the U.S. Treasury. They say collectively, Americans have $15 billion in loose change just sitting around.

CHETRY: Wow. Well, the housing bust may not be over yet. So if you can't sell your home, why not enjoy it. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" now.

We're talking about these home improvements. People sort of dipping their toe in the water again.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

CHETRY: Spending money but not on huge renovations.

ROMANS: If you have home prices that stabilize here and then start moving up with inflation, it's going to be 10 years to get back to 2006 levels.

HOLMES: Wow.

ROMANS: So that means feather your nest while you're in it because you might have a hard time selling it. If you can stay in the home, a lot of people are starting to think about making some maintenance and home improvements to try to continue to live in that place. And you can see the earnings of places like Home Depot and Lowe's. Lowe's fourth quarter profit was up 39 percent. Even though both of these companies are pretty cautious, but profit was up 39 percent, people at Lowe's were spending a little more per customer, per shopper, than they have been recently. Home Depot, up 72 percent.

One of the reasons here maintenance, as I said. Also strategic and valued home improvements as people try to stay in their home and add a little value while they still live in it. Now, there's some really good statistics about this. This does not mean going out and spending $100,000 on a kitchen. You're going to get pretty much the worst return on your investment. And, you know, it might not help you solve the house.

So here's some things you need to know if you are spending the money. First of all, curb appeal matters. Door and window replacements. Attic and basement bedroom additions. High-end siding. These are the things that you get more of your investment dollar back for. They add more value to your home and actually it can help you sell it more. Home office remodels, among the worst things that you can do in terms of wasting money in your house. Sunroom additions, those don't do it either.

Now remember, every address is a little bit different. Every region of the country is a little bit different. Things you can do in the northeast they can help your energy efficiency can help a house sell or add more value than doing the same thing maybe in Florida or someplace else.

CHETRY: Yes.

The kitchen thing is interesting because -- I mean, when we're looking at houses, if I see an old kitchen that I would have to redo and buy old appliances, I would move on to another house. But you're saying that doing a stylized kitchen with top of the line everything may not necessarily help you.

ROMANS: If you're going to do some upgrades, that's good. Strategic upgrades are good. If you're trying to sell the house and there are a lot of really nice kitchens on your block, you might have to do something to the kitchen to sell it.

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: But remember your taste is much different than someone else's and a $6,000, you know, stove, something that was actually, believe it or not, due rigor in the height of the bubble --

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: -- is just not going to give you money. I'm telling you right now, a $1,200 steel door replacement, returns all of your money and then some. You know, inflated garage doors. These are the things -- and if you're trying to sell a house, remember, price it right. That's the thing I hear more than anything else. If you've got hundreds of thousands of homes on the market that are not selling, which we do, 26 percent of all homes are sold in distress and foreclosures, which is tough. It means home prices aren't really moving up. You've got to price it right if you're trying to sell. If you're trying to buy, you have a lot of money in the bank and a 750 credit score. So there's where we are in the housing market.

A quick check in the markets, stock market, yesterday was a tough day again because of Libya, you guys, oil prices and commodity concerns, rising prices. You talked about Wegmans. A little concern about consumer there, 12,106 below at the Dow at the close yesterday. The NASDAQ at 2,723. And the S&P 500 at 1,307. We'll watch it very closely today. We'll watch oil prices again as well. You're going to feel that just like you're going to feel that in your 401(k).

HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Christine, thank you. And on that note about Libya and what's happening there, the battle seems to be raging on even though Moammar Gadhafi is vowing to stay in power. He's vowing to stay there until the last drop of blood as he says. He's expected to speak soon. So we're standing by for that.

Now, other cities, meanwhile, seem to be falling into opposition hands with reports that the second and third largest cities in Libya are now in the hands of the opposition. Meanwhile, the president, President Obama condemning Gadhafi's bloody crackdown and considers options right now for stepping up the pressure on Libya.

CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All across Wisconsin today, a record number of protesters are expected to come out in support of state workers and against a budget bill that will curb bargaining rights of civil servants. There is no break in the standoff between Governor Scott Walker and Democrats who fled the state and are now delaying a vote.

HOLMES: And we talk about fuel prices. Christine, any idea how much it cost to fuel the shuttle here?

ROMANS: More than the pennies in the couch cushions.

HOLMES: Yes, we would assume. And it takes a little while. You just can't stop by the 7-11 to fill this thing up. But they're under way right now, at least with the fueling of "Discovery's" external tank. It's scheduled to begin right about now. The forecast looks really good to take off with the planned 4:15 Eastern time launch today. This is the final mission for that shuttle, "Discovery." They'll be taking supplies and experimental robots as well to the International Space Station.

CHETRY: And in Libya right now, the 44-plus year reign of Moammar Gadhafi is crumbing. Al Qaeda's North African wing is now saying it backs the uprising in Libya and will do whatever it can to help. Of course, there's a lot of concern about who would fill these voids as the dominoes fall in the Arab world.

Jamie Smith is a former CIA officer. He is now CEO of the global security firm SCG International, which does business with the U.S. government. He also attended some briefings in Washington yesterday about the situation. Good to have you with us, Jamie. JAMIE SMITH, FMR. CIA OFFICER: Good morning.

CHETRY: First of all, as much as you can tell us about the briefings, give us a sense of how the intelligence community sees what's playing out in Libya?

SMITH: Well, good morning. The situation looks as though you've got a couple of possible outcomes. One is there's a civil war that plays out between the east and the west. The eastern side is where you have Benghazi, you have a smaller concentration of people. But you've got more of the oil there. The western side is the Tripoli side, that's where you have more people but less oil.

And the concern now is that the Gulf of Sutra is - that's important. So the control of that gulf where the oil exports come from is something of concern. The other concern is there might be a coup in the works with the Revolutionary Command Council, that's a group of army officers, some of who participated in the 1969 coup that put Gadhafi in power initially. So there's the coup option.

CHETRY: And if that happens, Jamie, what, where are their allegiances? I mean, what would Libya look like if a military coup takes place?

SMITH: Well, if a coup were to take place, they've been negotiating apparently with the U.N. Security Council and are trying to find out if there's going to be some no-fly zones established to give them some protective cover from Gadhafi. They would likely fall towards the tribes and be in support of the protesters and would be moving Gadhafi out.

The third and final scenario of note is one where it goes to your question about who might take over. And that if Gadhafi's regime falls, there is really no coherent alternative choice in his nation. And that creates a situation where you could have radical Islamists, jihadists step in, and not necessarily take control of the state itself, but have more of an operational room to move around. They've raided some of the arms stores in the east, reportedly. And now, if that has taken place, and they are better armed, and when they see Libya turn into a situation, similar to Pakistan, where you've got anti-western Islamists operating there, training. And basically, in a state where there's not a lot of control over them. And there's not a suppression of their activities.

CHETRY: That seems like quite a bad scenario for the United States, especially in light of the new information we have today from Al Qaeda's North African wing, saying, "it will do whatever we can to help the uprising." This was a statement that was posted on the jihadist web sites. What would be the counter to that? What would be possibly the world community could do if anything to prevent that from happening?

SMITH: Well, there are not a lot of levers in that country that the United States has that we can access to affect the outcome. Italy, arguably has more control or more opportunities than the U.S. does in the area. 20 percent of their oil production comes from Libya. So you know, aside from siding with the Revolutionary Command Council in the event they were to be successful in a coup attempt that is one option, and providing them with assistance. Providing them with the air cover.

CHETRY: Right.

SMITH: That would be something that could then work to the benefit of the United States down the road if they were to take over.

CHETRY: But Jamie, I do want to ask about this, though. We have seen pictures. We've seen people willing to die for this cause. They are not radical jihadists, right? I mean, these are every day, arguably middle class people, young people who are out there saying, "we just want freedom." So, you know, who represents them? Because obviously it wouldn't be Al Qaeda in North Africa, either?

SMITH: Right, and that is one of the things that's troubling about it is that you don't really have one person stepping up saying, "look, we're backing this group." And it's not necessarily an organized group. And it's similar to the Jasmine protests that you see in China, where there's no real one person or one party that's behind it. That goes back to the idea that there is no coherent alternative choice to the Gadhafi regime at this moment. That is what has been created by Gadhafi to maintain his power grip on that country these last four decades.

That's the tactic that he used to consolidate power which was to have the tribes pitted against one another to keep the military fractured. And that's coming back to bite him now. Because now we're seeing some red flags. The military is fractured. He's lost control of the oil in the east. And he's lost allegiance of the tribes.

So if he doesn't have tribal allegiance. If he does not have control of the military and if he does not have control of the oil, he is going out. And I think what we're seeing now, the last days of Gadhafi.

So, those three red flags bear watching. And the threat to the United States is from really, from an economic standpoint, more than anything else at this point. Because Libya supplies the majority of their oil to Europe. If that gets shut off, then Europe's going to start to seek oil resources in other areas. That's going to start to affect our ability to get oil and then the prices are going to start to go up.

CHETRY: And we're seeing that already, oil over $100 a barrel today. Jamie Smith, former CIA officer and now CEO with SCG International. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

SMITH: Thank you.

CHETRY: T.J..

HOLMES: Kiran, how much are you willing to give up for the job you want? Would you be willing to give up your Facebook login and password? One guy had to. We'll tell you about that. Also, we're going to be joined this morning by an Oscar nominee, which is days away from the Oscars, right? But he's not here to necessarily talk about movies. He wants to talk about books. It's 38 minutes past the hour on this "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

HOLMES: And that breaking news is some good news, maybe. At least for profits in this country, companies coming back, GM is what we're talking about. Christine Romans give us the news. This is a big deal for automakers in the country.

ROMANS: It is, government motors, General Motors, after its huge bailout from you, the taxpayer, has turned a profit. Government Motors, General Motors is now profitable again, making money for the first time since 2004. GM posted a $4.7 billion profit for all of last year. That profit was expected. Remember, they shed iconic brands. They shed thousands of white collar and line jobs. They went through three CEOs. They lost $88 billion before they had to go into bankruptcy. Took a $50 billion bailout from you, the taxpayer. And now posting a profit for the first time since 2004.

CHETRY: And it's interesting because the government still has a third of General Motors' common shares, right?

ROMANS: Yes. The interesting thing here about GM too is GM, Ford, Chrysler, a lot of the automakers are starting to come back. You know, they did the restructuring many people say at exactly the right time. So as the consumer started to come back, they were leaner and meaner in a better position. Both of the design of their products but also in the design of streamline company that they were able to handle and take advantage of an economy that is starting to grow again. So GM, first profits since 2004, $4.7 billion.

HOLMES: Christine, good news there. It's starting slowly to get some good news from the automakers. This is another big one. Thank you so much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

HOLMES: We want to turn now to jobs. Yours in particular. If you want to get one, would you mind handing over your Facebook login and password.

CHETRY: Jason Carroll joins us now with more on this. (INAUDIBLE) one person who is seeking work and he didn't think it was quite right.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. What do you guys think? Would you do it.

CHETRY: No. It sounds like an invasion -

CARROLL: You wouldn't do it. CHETRY: Also because of the nature of social networking, you're doing that you're also able to find out a lot of information on your friends.

CARROLL: It does. It really raises the question for employers now just how far they can go in terms of what they can ask. We've heard of companies looking at employees Facebook pages but how about a company asking for their Facebook login and password.

Well, that's what happened to Robert Collins when he reapplied for his job as a corrections officer with Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, after a brief leave of absence. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT COLLINS, CORRECTIONS OFFICER, MARYLAND'S DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: I was taken off guard completely by - I wanted more than anything to be reinstated back to my position, which I held for quite some time. My gainful employment. It was quite clear to me that if I did not comply, my consideration could be jeopardized. They reinstated me back to my position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, Collins said after providing his password, he watched his employer logon to his Facebook account, check his personal messages, status updates and pictures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: I was absolutely shocked. Outraged, disgusted. For them to ask me such a thing like that. I thought that it was absolutely invasive and it went entirely too far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, after the interview, Collins immediately contacted the ACLU. They sent a letter of complaint saying of the policy, not only is this a demand - "Not only is this demand a gross breach of privacy for Officer Collins and his friends on Facebook, it is illegal under the Federal Stored Communications Act.

Well, Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services says because correction officers work with criminals, they go through an applicant's social media sites as a way to help determine whether they've committed any crimes or have any gang affiliations.

But they also say their policy does not require correctional applicants to provide any information related to social media. If any is provided by an applicant, it is done so voluntarily. And if an applicant does not provide this information, it is not held against them and the interview process moves forward.

Well, Collins says if it is voluntary, that was not made clear to him. Since this has all happened, he has been reinstated in his job. And in light of the complaint, this week, Maryland's Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services temporarily suspended its policy for 45 days, saying it's under review to be sure it's being consistently and appropriately.

We should also point out that, you know, Collins wasn't looking for any monetary compensation here. He simply wanted his job back, and he wants the policy changed permanently.

ROMANS: I've heard of employers spying on their workers who have a leave of absence, looking at their Facebook page or friending their friends to try to see what they are doing. But I've never heard of something like this, I mean, actually asking someone to give up this password. It's --

CARROLL: Well, you know, we actually checked. You know, the city of Bozeman, Montana, back in 2009, they had a similar policy. They since have rescinded it as well.

But, you know, it really opens the question of what do employers do, especially if you work in a sensitive security situation and you need to get information about your employees and you've got all these new social media web sites popping up.

CHETRY: Yes. And they can find out a lot of information about you that way, as well. So --

All right, Jason, thanks so much. Good story.

CARROLL: You bet.

CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo is going to be joining us live. He said that the Oscars were boring. But, will he feel the same way if he actually takes home a statue?

HOLMES: Also this morning, keeping a close eye on the weather where we could see an outbreak of tornadoes possibly in one part of the country. Reynolds Wolf is with us this morning.

It is a quarter of the top of the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANNA MOORE, ACTRESS, "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT": I'm sorry.

MARK RUFFALO, ACTOR, "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT": What?

MOORE: I just keep seeing my kids' expressions in your face.

RUFFALO: Really?

MOORE: Like that. Like, really. Like, yes. That's like laser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That was Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore in the film, "The Kids Are All Right." Mark is up for an Oscar for his performance in that film. Before he heads out to L.A. for the big awards show on Sunday, he's hanging out at the New York City Public Library today, participating in a Read Across America event.

And we're happy to welcome Mark back on our show. Thanks for coming on AMERICAN MORNING again. Good to see you this morning.

RUFFALO: Thanks for having me again, Kiran.

CHETRY: So we see that big sign behind you, it's made up for what, Dr. Seuss books. I love it. And --

RUFFALO: Yes. That's 10,000 books right there and it's being unveiled today to show people and remind people to love reading.

CHETRY: You know, and I love that you're, you know, talking about this cause. I mean, it's very important. You know, the numbers are out there where we talk about just how important it is to read for your kid even if it's for 20 minutes a day and what a huge impact you can make on their life.

Why did you want to be a part of it?

RUFFALO: Well, I have three small children who are all learning to read right now. And I think it's really important that we help them. And what is happening with the budget crisis, you know, companies like Target are really filling the gap where we can't do it publicly. And so they are working with the National Education Association on Read Across America and they are helping kids learn how to read by the third grade.

I have three -- like I said I have three kids who I read to every day and I see how important it is. And it's very difficult to develop a child's love for books in the culture we live in today with so much television and video games and things. And so it's really up to us parents to do that thing and I'm here to make a plea to parents to take that time on behalf of Target.

CHETRY: I totally get it. I mean, my daughter or my five-year-old will hand me a book and I'll be tired. Oh, the long one. We have to read the long one? But, you know, in the end, the fact that they want to spend the time with you and they want to hear you read to them, we're doing "The Lorax" now, she loves it -- the broader message, of course. But it's just really vital. But at the same time, it's so easy to not do it because people are overworked, you know, your single parents out there, you're coming home from a job. The last thing you want to do when you're so tired is read to your kids.

RUFFALO: I'm reading -- by daughter's favorite book is "The Lorax," which I'm reading inside today. I did want to mention that Saturday, all Target stores throughout the nation from 9:00 to 11:00 will be reading to kids. And so they're going to be donating 25,000 books to the city of New York after they come off of this display.

CHETRY: That's awesome. And I know you're busy doing this and then you're going to jet back to L.A., the big Oscars, you're nominated for best supporting actor. You got some tough competition in your category. You have Christian Bale, you got Geoffrey Rush, a few others.

Are you nervous? Do you think you're going to win?

RUFFALO: Oh, hands down, I'm going to win. No doubt about it.

CHETRY: That's confidence.

RUFFALO: No. I won. I'm here. And I'm with a great group of actors. And, you know, I'll always be an Academy Award nominated actor from here on and to me, it's a big win. It took me 25 years to get to this place and maybe another 25 before I get back. I'll be in my late 60s. So I'm really taking the time to enjoy this.

CHETRY: Now, you did something right. You're supposed to say it's so great to be in this field with so many talented people. Apparently, they give you a DVD on nominee etiquette from the Academy. This is hilarious. They want you to make sure you brush your teeth, comb your hair, wear a tuxedo.

They have to send you a DVD?

RUFFALO: They send you a DVD.

CHETRY: That's pretty funny. Well, we're all going to be rooting for you. You're a friend of the show and we're glad that you're nominated.

RUFFALO: Thanks a lot.

CHETRY: And thanks so much for joining us this morning.

Mark Ruffalo, great to talk with you.

RUFFALO: Thanks for having me again.

CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming up in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)