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American Morning

Wisconsin Government Still Unable To Resolve Budget Issues; Americans in Libya Ferried Off To Malta; Food Prices To Rise 3.5 Percent Over Next Year; Nearly 2,000 Teachers Laid Off in Providence, Rhode Island; Texas College Student Terror Plot; What's Killing the Dolphins?; A Former NFL Player Commits Suicide, Then Donates Brain To Science

Aired February 25, 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): Good morning. We have extreme weather. Severe storms tearing through the southeast and heading from the Gulf Coast all the way up past Maine this morning.

Breaking news overnight, the Wisconsin State Assembly passing a bill stripping most public workers of their collective bargaining rights, but the fight over that bill seems far from over on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY (on-camera): Good morning to you. Glad you're with us on this Friday, February 25th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hell to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Take a look at this scene in Wisconsin. That's where we want to start this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): The State Assembly voted to strip unions of their collective bargaining rights, most of them, and they did this in front of a loud and angry crowd of protesters overnight. Just take a quick look.

(PEOPLE YELLING)

HOLMES: What they're yelling there is "shame, shame, shame" at the protests -- excuse me, at the lawmakers, themselves. Again, this is the assembly now that has voted to take this bill. They have passed it and moves on to the Senate. Now, what's going to happen to it there? We don't know because 14 Senate Democrats are still missing. Now, this is the day, as I bring in our Ted Rowlands. He is live for us in Madison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (on-camera): Ted, this was the day the governor said something has to be done by Friday or we could be looking at 1,500 layoffs. So, what happens now?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He sort of backed off on that last night, T.J., and said that maybe next week, things will be OK. Tuesday is sort of now this ending date that has arbitrarily been put out there by the governor.

What you saw there in that video, that was the Democrats yelling "Shame" at the Republicans. Basically it ended with some drama about 1:00 a.m. local time here. The Republicans had a quick vote, if you will. They got sick of all the debating day after day. Democrats still wanted to debate this thing, so the Republicans called for a vote. About 20 Democrats didn't get to vote, and that's the reaction that you see there in the state house last night or early this morning.

As you mentioned, though, this is just half the equation. The other half is over in the Senate. And right now this stalemate continues. And 14 Democrats continue to stay in Illinois so they can't establish here in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the governor says he is not going to budge at all. The Democrats want some wiggle room here. He says no way. He addressed the folks here in Wisconsin again last night with a press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SCOTT WALKER, (R) WISCONSIN: As I've said time and time again, I've got two high school sons. I'm not going to allow this situation to pass on an even bigger burden to them. The days of passing the buck on from one budget to the next from one generation to the next stop and they stop now.

PETER BARCA, (D) MINORITY LEADER, WISCONSIN ASSEMBLY: We're willing to meet you more than half way, but it's time to end the impasse. It's time to show some leadership. The people of Wisconsin expect their governors to solve their problems and to unite them not to divide them. We've been too divided for too long. We want to bring people back together in this state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: And meanwhile, T.J. and Kiran, hundreds of people spent another night here in the capitol. Thousands expected again today for more protesting. Two scenarios that can happen, one or more of the Democrats come back into the state or three Republicans switch sides and go over to the Democrats, if you will.

There are some Republicans on the fence. We'll see if anybody blinks today. But looks like this could go into the weekend. And that's the way it looks right now.

HOLMES: Ted, thank you so much.

CHETRY: Turning to severe weather. Southern storms turned deadly in Kentucky overnight. Four Amish children were swept away in Graves County, Kentucky. Police say the family's horse and carriage flipped over in a ferocious wind and rainstorm. The bodies of three of the children have been recovered.

As many as nine tornadoes reported in parts of Tennessee, as well. There was a lightning show in the night sky above Memphis. Heavy rain and near 80-mile-an-hour winds brought down trees and power lines. In fact, a giant tree fell on top of a home in Millington, Tennessee. A lot of down trees to deal with, but no one was injured in that state.

HOLMES: Time for us in this hour to say good morning to our Reynolds Wolf. You were pointing out this storm and looking at it. It's an impressive line on that map.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It could have been far worse to tell you the truth. If this happened during the daytime hours, maximum heating would have a much more unstable atmosphere to work with.

The rainfall totals, you'll take a look at them, pretty impressive, around six inches of rainfall in college city, three inches in Paducah, not far from the fatalities due to the flooding. But poplar bluff and Rockport, Indiana over three inches.

It's a combination of rain, sleet, and snow affecting parts of the east. Not only that, but also strong winds, gusts topping 55 miles per hour. New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., so expect some delays anywhere from Detroit, Cleveland, and buffalo, three to seven inches of snowfall with possibly a foot in the mountains of the northeast.

Meanwhile, in the south, the rain expected to fizzle out into the afternoon. But still, what a cleanup it's going to be for people, especially in parts of Tennessee. A lot of that wind damage. And of course, it's incredible lightning from last night. That's the latest in the forecast. A lot more to share with you. We'll send it back to you in New York.

HOLMES: A college student in Texas is due in court accused of secretly planning terrorist attacks in the U.S. Khalid Ali Al-Dasari is from Saudi Arabia, you see his picture there. He was 20 years old, an engineering student at Texas Tech.

Prosecutors, though, say he bought explosives, tried to get chemicals to make bombs. Now, a possible target -- the Dallas home of former president George W. Bush. Prosecutors say he also wanted to plant a car bomb in New York City during rush hour. The police commissioner of New York Ray Kelly talked about it to our Piers Morgan about it last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: We look at it on three levels of risk. Al Qaeda central core Al Qaeda, we see their surrogates, that's Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and home grown terrorists. This is a manifestation of that last category. Although this individual appears at this juncture to have acted alone, he comes from Saudi Arabia, he's here on a student visa, and he talked rather openly about the reason he came here was to conduct jihad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You heard him refer to it there, but he did come to the U.S. on a college scholarship. And just about 25 minutes from now we're taking a closer look at this evidence with Tom Fuentes, former FBI assistant director and CNN contributor.

CHETRY: The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, is now ordering an investigation into allegations that an army unit trained in psychological warfare was told to use the skill on U.S. senators. A report in "Rolling Stone" say they were ordered to use psy-ops on visiting lawmakers like Senator John McCain to influence their views on Afghanistan and secure more money.

The main source of the report, a former military officer pictured here with John McCain. He talked to Anderson cooper last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, FORMER ACTIVE DUTY NATIONAL GUARD LT. COL.: With the senators and the congressmen, it was simply how had these people voted in the past? What were their positions coming in? And what could the generals actually say to them that would get them to do what we wanted them to do, provide more money, provide more troops?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The "Rolling Stone" article goes on to report that Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island was one of the targets of the operation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JACK REED, (D) RHODE ISLAND: My first reaction was trying to think back over the course of the multiple trips I've made to Afghanistan and nothing stuck out unusually. Most of these are very straightforward briefings. You'll understand that the briefer -- the officer in charge has a point of view. He or she is an advocate for a position. You go in there with the notion you've got to be somewhat skeptical.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: So how far will this investigation go? We're going to hear more from our Chris Lawrence at 8:10 eastern.

HOLMES: And we've talked a lot about the budget crisis hitting cities and states across this country. But it's so bad in one city that they actually had to send every single teacher a layoff notice.

CHETRY: Many Americans are still waiting to leave Libya. Fortunately some have gotten out. We're going to talk to two who are now back in the U.S. about what it was like there and how dangerous it was trying to leave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's ten minutes past the hour. Welcome back to "American Morning."

To Libya now where their leader Moammar Gadhafi showing no signs he plans to step down any time soon despite the mounting pressue. His son, meantime, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi tells CNN's sister network CNN Turk moments ago that his family has no plans to leave. He said, in fact, there's a plan a, b, and c to, quote, "live and die in Libya."

Meanwhile, the violence continues west of Tripoli in a town reportedly under opposition control. At least 17 people reported killed. Also Americans stranded in Libya could be leaving today. Many are still aboard waiting on this ferry in Tripoli. The ferry has not been able to go on to its destination of Malta, an island nation north because of the bad weather.

HOLMES: Well, some Americans have been able to get out of Libya on their own. Our next guests both made it out of Libya and made it home Wednesday night. Cyrus Sany and George Sayar, thank you both for being here. Cyrus, I'll start with you. You've been there a number of times. How many times, actually -- trips had you made to Libya?

CYRUS SANY, JUST RETURNED FROM LIBYA: In the last two and a half years, 28 times.

HOLMES: When did you start to notice some kind of a change that you thought something was going on and you might be in trouble and need to get out of there?

SANY: By the last Wednesday. I got there about Saturday, February 1th, or February 12th. And a couple days after that I noticed that the stores started closing down and the riots start happening in the street. It was a pro-Gadhafi riot near Tripoli.

HOLMES: And George, was that when you noticed a change there, as well?

GEORGE SAYAR, JUST RETURNED FROM LIBYA: No, I actually noticed a change a few days after that. We noticed the change Saturday -- the Saturday during the day and Saturday evening.

HOLMES: What did you notice, George that you would say was different and you thought something was going to go down?

SAYAR: Well, we noticed a lot of civilians -- people with civilian clothing that were brandishing weapons. And the next day on Monday, we noticed more military type personnel with, you know, heavy weapons driving the streets of Tripoli.

HOLMES: Now, both of you do work there in Libya. And Cyrus, I'll come back to you. Were you ever -- you've been in and out of there 28 times. Were you ever concerned before this latest unrest that your safety could be an issue?

SANY: No, not the last 28 times. It was like a tsunami hit Tripoli. The last 28 times I was going there, nothing happened. It was -- it was a very safe haven for doing business and all of a sudden Wednesday, Thursday when the stores started shutting down and the people started coming to the street, that's when I sensed it was time to get out.

HOLMES: And Cyrus, you say like a tsunami. Were you in a position where you did not want to be outside on the streets of Tripoli at all?

SANY: Exactly. It's like, I can blend in very nicely. I speak Arabic. So I can blend in very nicely. But I sense that this is the end. All of a sudden something like the tsunami hit the shore of Tripoli and I said it's time to get out.

HOLMES: George, describe this airport for me. We know some Americans are sitting on that ferry trying to get over to Malta. You took it upon yourself to get out on your own. How much of a mess was it trying to get out of the airport?

SAYAR: The airport, T.J., was a mess. I would say there was approximately 30,000 to 40,000 people, most of them without tickets, you know, trying to get in the three entrances into the terminal. It was utter chaos.

HOLMES: How were you able to get out, then?

SAYAR: Well, we pretty much had to push and shove our way through thousands of people. And myself and two of my colleagues finally made it after about three hours of pushing, shoving, and kicking.

HOLMES: Cyrus, did you notice a lot of other -- you've been there 28 times so I'm sure you may have made some friends and colleagues over there, but are there a lot of people as far as you know who are trying to get out like you and didn't get as lucky as you?

SANY: That's correct. I was very lucky. It was like 5,000 people trying to get in a couple of doors. And it was shoving, pushing, it was just like whoever is the stronger was surviving. About 150 feet it took me six hours to get from the parking lot to the ticket counter. And it was a mess. It was a very extreme experience I had in my life that I'll never forget how people were struggling to get out.

HOLMES: And gentlemen, both of you were doing work. One of you, Cyrus, I believe, you were doing technology more so. And George, you were doing more the traditional infrastructure of roads and bridges. Were you both doing work for the government?

SAYAR: Yes.

SANY: Yes.

HOLMES: The government there. Well, did you all ever before this have any reservation -- and we see what's happening now and we know Moammar Gadhafi's history. George, did you have any reservations about doing business with this government and specifically this man?

SAYAR: Never, not once. The Libyan government is spending -- was spending tens of billions of dollars to improve their infrastructure. We felt very safe there. Our workers felt safe there, and it was just a great place to do business.

HOLMES: Cyrus, to you, the same question. Did you ever have any reservations about doing business with this government, and, again, directly with this man?

SANY: No, I have no reservations. He tried to make a safe haven to doing the business for his country and these people. And as soon as I bring technology for them, they always asked the money's no option, just bring the best technology and best design for us. We want to move on in technology. And I have no reservation right now to go back and do business with the government of Libya.

HOLMES: Well, I think I read from both of you that you would like to complete your work at some point. And there's a lot of talk about infrastructure and the work you're doing is so necessary in Libya these days. But gentlemen, I appreciate being able to talk to you state side today. Hopefully many other Americans will be able to escape to safety, as well. Enjoy your weekend.

SAYAR: Thank you.

SANY: Thank you.

HOLMES: Kiran?

CHETRY: Up next on "American Morning," in just a week the government could be closed for business. That means no paychecks for government workers except for one group. We'll tell you who still gets paid as the federal budget showdown continues.

Also Sun Chips, you may remember their bag that was so noisy, they had to scrap it. Now they promise they have a new and improved version and you don't need ear plugs. It's 17 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 20 minutes past the hour now on this AMERICAN MORNING. Well, you've got to eat. It's going to cost you more to do so according to the department of agriculture, warning now that food prices could spike 3.5 percent this year. That would be the highest we've seen since 2008. This increase blamed on higher commodity prices and energy prices.

CHETRY: Well, remember those very loud biodegradable sun chip bags introduced last year? And they were quickly pulled because they were quite noisy. Well, the Sun Chip bags are back, and this time without the ear-splitting crinkle. Listen for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a chip from bag a, now a take a taste from bag b.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The company says it found a more rubbery adhesive to use which creates a noise barrier. The sad part is, it doesn't biodegrade -- just kidding, it does.

HOLMES: It does? That's great.

CHETRY: Yes, and they've managed to fix their problem. Remember how noisy those bags were?

HOLMES: I don't eat chips, but let's go now. I just told you your food prices were going to go up. Well, you're going to need more money to pay for that and apparently you're going to get that money in your paycheck.

Well, according to the survey by human resources consultants, large and medium-size companies are planning to grant workers a three percent pay raise from last year. Still down from the average gains you saw of three percent -- excuse me four percent before the financial crisis. So food prices going up three percent to four percent, but then your paycheck's going to go up three percent.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So you're taking a pay cut.

HOLMES: Still taking a pay cut if you eat.

CHETRY: And Christine Romans is here to talk about that. And lawmakers have one week to get on the same page when it comes to this year's budget or else the government will shut down. Idle threats, or will we really see a shutdown of the government?

ROMANS: The risks are growing every day. And this is the first time since '95 or '96 it's been this much of a risk. I wanted to tell you what it's going to look for you if the government was shut down and what lessons were learned that could make it -- I don't think easier is the word -- but at least ease the pain and make sure that various central functions keep happening.

First of all, what stays open is the mail. There are laws and rules and regulation and funding in place to make sure that keeps going. Social Security checks, you'll have a few thousand people to make sure those checks are still going out, but still thousands of others who would likely be furloughed. Law enforcement stays on the job.

And lawmakers, hey, lawmakers still get their $174,000 annual paychecks. Don't worry about them. There are special rules to make sure that generals, lawmakers, and the president keep getting paid even as the people who work for them don't.

HOLMES: Who makes the special rules?

ROMANS: Who writes all the special rules? Museums could close. If you're planning your eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C. after March 4th, you better have some other things you might want to do, as well. Toxic waste clean-up would stopped, federal employees would be furloughed without pay, hundreds of thousands of them most likely.

Passport applications, gun permits, bankruptcy cases, all of these things. If you have business with the government, you would see those things stopped.

What do people think about a shutdown and how likely it is and what they want their alleged officials to do? Because after all, they do get the paycheck to make sure there's a budget so that the country is running, right?

According to a USA Gallup poll, 60 percent of you want that compromise, 32 percent want each side to stick to their own plan. It's just disruptive. And gosh, you guys, this is their job. Their job is to make sure they don't have a shutdown of the government.

CHETRY: Do you need more time?

ROMANS: No, but I'm going to tell you --

(LAUGHTER)

I'm preaching to the choir, right?

Things are looking a little up today. We have oil prices settling around $98 a barrel, down from about $103.

CHETRY: Saudi Arabia quietly upping production, we hear. They said they could handle any, you know, problems in terms of supply and looks like they're doing it.

ROMANS: And also, you know, we're talking about budget cuts and I wanted to briefly tell you about the battle over budget cuts, and teachers finding themselves at the forefront of this debate. Tomorrow morning on "Your Bottom Line," at 9:30, we're going to be talking about how teachers and budget cutting. It's actually a very passionate look at what's happening to teachers in this entire debate. And I think you guys will enjoy it.

HOLMES: All right, Christine we appreciate you. We'll talk to you again here shortly.

And on that note of teachers, there are some 1,900 teachers in Providence, Rhode Island -- 1,900 got layoff notices. We'll tell you the story coming up.

CHETRY: Also, severe storms sweep across the south. We'll have more on the new worries today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a ferry carrying Americans has left Libya. We are getting that word now. This is some two days delayed now. But the State Department set up this chartered ferry that would take Americans out of harm's way in Tripoli, Libya, and take them over to the nearby island of Malta.

There's some 285 people onboard. It was scheduled to leave a couple days ago, like I mentioned. But there was some bad weather and they were not able to take off. They've essentially been hunkered down there, not able to go anywhere, waiting to leave. Now we're getting word it has finally left. We will keep an eye on it, keep track, but some 285 people onboard trying to get to safety.

CHETRY: Well, it's happening in big cities and small communities all over the country. We're talking about the tightening of the budgets and teachers being on the chopping block because of it. Jason Carroll's been following a very extreme example, Providence, Rhode Island, where every single teacher got a termination notice.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. And teachers there really feel like they're under attack. You know, this all happened at a contentious school board meeting in providence last night. That's where it was made official. The board voted to send termination notices to every public schoolteacher in the district, more than 1,900 of them. That does not mean all of them will lose their jobs, they'll have to reapply for them.

The drastic decision was made because the city and school district are in dire financial straits. Teachers feel like they are being victimized by poor city management.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE KROUS, TEACHER: I am heartbroken. I can't tell you how much this hurts.

MARY BUSH, TEACHER: I feel numb. I almost feel like I need to mourn like the death of an innocent or -- this is just surreal. There's no justifying this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Those comments coming after the meeting last night. Providence mayor Angel Taveras defended the decision, saying state law says teachers must be notified about changes to their job by March 1st. He says that deadline does not give him the flexibility to work out the city's financial crisis, which includes a $40 million deficit in next year's budget.

The mayor declined to comment after last night's vote but addressed his decision to terminate the teachers earlier this week on CNN.

MAYOR ANGEL TAVERAS, (D) PROVIDENCE: We need to make cuts. We don't know exactly the extent of the cuts yet, and therefore, we thought it was most prudent to give the notices to all of the teachers to maintain the maximum amount of flexibility to make sure we can balance our budget for the next fiscal year.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CARROLL: Well, the city does plan to rehire some of the teachers. How many at this point? Unknown. And because the teachers are being terminated instead of laid off, the city is not obligated to rehire by seniority. Providence is not the only school district considering these extreme cutbacks. Across the country, schools are in trouble as states battle budget and federal stimulus grants run out.

Let's take a look at New York, for example. New York may cut some 4,700 teachers next year, Los Angeles considering 7,300 school personnel. And the state of Texas may have to let go of as many 100,000 school employees in order to absorb budget cuts there. You know, you always hear over and over in some of the arguments that we don't want to pass on a deficit to the next generation. But what a lot of critics are now asking, are we passing on poorer education facilities, poorer education because of these cutbacks for the next generation?

HOLMES: Something's got to give. It's something absolutely has to give. You can't have it all. We're learning. But man, rough story this morning. We appreciate you as always. We'll chat with you again. We're going to get to another story, we're keeping a close eye on this morning.

The Justice Department saying that former President George W. Bush's home in Dallas may have been a target of a terrorist plot. FBI also saying that nuclear power plants, hydroelectric dams, and U.S. soldiers also possibly targeted. The suspect we are talking about in this case, is 20-year-old Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari. He is from Saudi Arabia. He is attending college in Texas on a student visa. And prosecutors say he bought explosive chemicals on-line so he could make bombs.

CHETRY: Aldawsari is due in federal court this morning. And joining us to talk about the case is Thomas Fuentes. He is a former FBI assistant director and CNN contributor. Good to see you this morning, Thomas.

THOMAS FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR/FMR. FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: Good morning. According to this affidavit, he wrote in his journal after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives, and continuous planning to target the infidel American, it is time for jihad - you know, this type of pre-meditation is certainly chilling. How do you begin to profile for this lone wolf scenario?

FUENTES: Well, in this case, the lone wolf was exposed by the chemical company. When he attempted to purchase precursor chemicals to make an explosive called TNP. The North Carolina company contacted the FBI because they were suspicious about it. And with the cooperation of the freight company and the chemical company, the FBI started to look at Aldawsari and realized that, you know, he may have terrorist intentions and to go forward with the investigation. Using the lone wolf provision that was just voted to be extended in the Patriot Act, they did not have to identify him as an agent of a foreign power or identify him specifically as Al Qaeda or Hezbollah or another known identified terror group but basically say he sure appears to have terrorist intentions. So they got the authority to monitor his e-mail and conduct searches at his residence. And through that, is where they obtained all the evidence - his journal, his e- mails, showing his intention and also showing that he had already purchased a hazardous material suit, a gas mask, other soldering equipment.

So it was pretty clear from the searches and from the monitoring of him that he not only had the intent since he was a little boy to commit jihad but he also had the technical skills to put this explosive device together.

HOLMES: Yes, but Tom, how pleased should we be here? Because like you said, it wasn't the detective work. It wasn't the investigation that identified the guy. Yes, they got involved in it. But it was the heads up given to them by a, clearly a chemical company that maybe did their job. How pleased should we be? I mean he wasn't on the FBI's radar before the phone call from the chemical company.

FUENTES: Well, unfortunately, T.J., the FBI can't look into somebody's mind and determine what are their intent is from the time they're a little boy. So he comes to the U.S. on a student visa, two years ago, enrolls in the college in Texas, is going about his business. He doesn't associate with other known terrorists or doesn't share his ideas or desire to commit a terrorist act with others on the internet.

He establishes several e-mail accounts and e-mails himself and keeps his own private journal. So the fact that all of this was basically kept inside his own head until he attempts to get the one particular precursor chemical, phenol, from the chemical company. So, unfortunately, you know, we have 320 million people in this country and we have tens of thousands of individuals who are foreign nationals here on a variety of business, student, and tourist visas. Until they do something in furtherance of a terrorist act, sometimes you're not going to know what they're thinking.

CHETRY: Right. Like 27,000 Saudi student visas in 2010 alone.

FUENTES: Right. Exactly.

CHETRY: And of course, memories of 9/11 where the 15 Saudis who entered legally on a student visa carried out the terrorist attacks. I mean is the system working?

FUENTES: Well, I don't know what the alternative would be to cut off all visits from foreign nationals. I mean, we've had radicalization of American born citizens here. So cutting off hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from coming to the U.S. because one or two or 10 might break bad and decide to commit a terrorist act I don't think is a feasible solution. And especially because terrorists have been recruited, been radicalized either self- radicalized or by others from every country in the world.

And you just could not possibly put enough of a protective cocoon around the United States to keep bad guys out or prevent individuals within the U.S. from radicalizing and going bad. It's just an impossibility and in our system, it's not going to come to the attention of the authorities until the individuals do something which then hits one of the trip wires.

Either attempting to purchase something that has purposes of making a bomb or confide in others or solicit on the internet assistance in making a bomb or carrying out a terrorist attack as we've had in many other FBI investigations already within the past year, such as the Metro plot in Washington, D.C., back in October.

So there's really no way to get inside somebody's head. They have to physically go do something or talk to someone or e-mail someone and cross one of these trip wires to come out on the attention on the FBI and other authorities.

HOLMES: Well, maybe something worked this time. And again a good heads up by the chemical company, it appears. Tom Fuentes, good to talk to you as always. Enjoy your weekend.

FUENTES: Thank you, T.J..

HOLMES: Well, coming up, CBS canceling the hit show "Two and A Half Men" over what? Well, another angry rant by Charlie Sheen. Find out who he called a clown on the radio show.

CHETRY: Sad and alarming phenomenon in the Gulf Coast. Record numbers of baby dolphins now washing ashore dead. What is behind it? The BP oil spill hold any clues. We're going to explore some answers with a lead scientist, next.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour now. And a mystery unfolding along the Gulf of Mexico this morning where baby dolphins have been washing ashore at an alarming rate. At least 24 baby dolphins have washed up on the shores of Alabama and Mississippi since the beginning of the year. That's more than 10 times the normal rate.

Also, the total number found along the Gulf Coast of dolphins in general has climbed to nearly 60. This is creating a lot of anxiety considering this is the is the location of last year's BP oil spill and it's bringing back a lot of questions about the oil and the dispersants that were put in the water in extremely large amounts.

With us this morning, Doug Inkley, a senior scientist at the National Wildlife Federation. We talked to you many times since the oil spill about some of the fallout. Thanks for joining us this morning.

DOUG INKLEY, SENIOR SCIENTIST, NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: Good morning.

CHETRY: So the first thing you think, especially when you say 10 times the amount of baby dolphins as we've seen in years past is, is this the result or perhaps linked to in any way the oil?

INKLEY: It is certainly highly suspicious. But what we need to understand first and foremost is that at the present time the scientists haven't been able to do the studies to determine exactly what their cause of death was. When that is completed, we have a better idea. The sad thing is, we may never know what the cause of death because sometimes you can't always easily tell.

CHETRY: Right. But in terms of the timing. If you go back a year or so, that's when these dolphins would have actually been conceived. It was right before the spill April 20th, which means they were probably in the early stages of development. Does that shed any more light on - at least these baby dolphins washing up?

INKLEY: Well, actually it does suggest that the issue here might be fitness. The oil spill certainly has a big impact on the environment and a big impact on the dolphins. That stress on those animals can cause them to reduce their fitness, it can lower their reproductive rate, it can slow their growth rate, it can cause deformities in the young that are given birth. All sorts of things could happen as a result of the oil spill that may not present itself as oil because you don't actually see it on the animal, yet it was brought on, made worse by the fact that the oil stressed these animals in the first place and lowered their fitness.

CHETRY: Right, and then you know, you talked about the sea turtle death rates as well that were four to six times higher than the normal rate.

INKLEY: Yes.

CHETRY: But you know, some say well, if it was the oil, why wouldn't we see this on a much larger scale with much more varying types of species?

INKLEY: Well, it's very hard to predict exactly how the oil's going to manifest itself in terms of impacts on wildlife. But what we do know from looking at other oil spills, such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, some 22 years ago, the sea otter populations, the killer whale populations still have not recovered to pre-spill levels.

So we have to recognize that we could have waves of additional deaths of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico for years if not decades to come even though it may be hard to pinpoint exactly what the cause is.

CHETRY: Right. And there was a report out just last week about these extensive deposits on the sea floor within 40 miles of the Macondo well head. What do we know about the overall health of the gulf?

INKLEY: Well, the oil is not gone. That's one thing that we have to make absolutely clear. Scientists have been to the bottom in the submersible Alvin and they have seen the oil and they have seen dead and dying critters on the bottom. So we know that it's there and going to be with us for a long time. It decays at a very slow rate. It was a massive amount put in there, some 100 times the normal levels. In fact, the gas concentrations in the area were 75,000 times greater with hydrocarbons than background levels.

CHETRY: Right. I mean, because we're not just talking about oil dispersants, we're talking about the release of methane, all of that. You know, are we talking about a small amount - I mean - in terms of the area affected. Are we talking about - we understand when you look down and you see close to the well head and 40 miles out the concentrations of the remaining oil, but what about beyond that? I mean, is this an isolated area and perhaps an isolated impact?

INKLEY: Well, we have to remember that the oil was spread over a very wide area. It was not at all isolated. But the currents are very complex, they're moving in all directions. I remember when I was first down there while the oil was spilling, I was 60 miles from the well head and there was oil on top of the water at two inches deep all around me. So we have to recognize that this is widespread and it could have sub lethal effects for a very long time, affecting the fitness of wildlife and other critters throughout the entire area.

CHETRY: Yes. I imagine it's probably not surprising for people like you who study this for a living, but it certainly is upsetting nonetheless. Doug Inkley, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

INKLEY: Thank you.

CHETRY: We'll take a quick break. It's 44 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: We're about quarter till the top of the hour here on this "AMERICAN MORNING."

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CHETRY: Well, last night, the White House was the place to be grooving to the sounds of Motown. Smokey Robinson among those on stage for the finale "Dancing in the Streets" featuring Sheryl Crowe, Stevie Wonder, and many other. President Obama, first lady, all there. They got up on stage to groove to the music at one point.

The all-star concert was in the East Room, a tribute to Motown records and a celebration of black history.

HOLMES: Well, still to come this morning, where to find the best free checking account. We have the answer coming up on this "American Morning." Stay with us.

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HOLMES: It's about nine minutes to the tonight hour top of the hour now. We have a follow up on a story we first told you about last week. Former NFL star David Duerson committed suicide. His final wish though was to have his brain studied for a degenerative brain disease to help understand maybe the long-term impact that football can have on a player's health.

Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with us. He spoke to the head of the lab studying Duerson's brain. Sanjay, good morning to you. Always good to have you. What is the next step? What do they do in this process?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's amazing, T.J., that we're even talking about this, this idea of examining the brains of the former NFL players. The brain goes to this laboratory. Two processes happen at the same time, both separate from one another. One researcher talks to the family to really get a clear idea what was happening during David Duerson's life, the types of symptoms he was experiencing.

And also the lab itself -- I was actually at this lab where they examine the brain. Dr. McKie (ph), who you may see here, she does not know whose brain this is. This is a completely blinded randomized process. But she is looking for early signs of early dementia that you see in the brain, and they are concerned about this in football players.

HOLMES: What kind of gains have we made in doing this kind of research?

GUPTA: This is fascinating, T.J. They have 66 brains in this laboratory and it's tough to talk about. I don't mean to sound too clinical, but people are donating their brains because they are concerned about this and examined about 40 of them, most of them in athletes and most of them in football players. And of those 40, about 30 of them have actually shown these signs.

Let me show you this image really quick. A picture is worth 1,000 words sometimes. But if you take a look on the left, that is what a normal brain looks like. You see the slice of the brain and the microscopic vision. In the middle is a football player 45 years old. Look at the difference there. Those brown tangles, that is the same sort of thing you see in people who has Alzheimer's disease. On the far right is a 70-year-old person who is a boxer who did have Alzheimer's disease. This is the concern and what they are looking for in these brains.

HOLMES: Specifically Duerson's brain, I guess what specifically are they going to -- like you said it's a random process but when we hear the results will people be listening for?

GUPTA: Right. And what is the answer be able to be given to the family in particular. I asked the director of the lab that same question. Just take a quick listen.

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CHRIS NOWINSKI, BOSTON UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF CTE: She is going to be looking for any abnormality because frankly a lot of diseases and abnormalities can cause a wide range of symptoms that could have contributed to this. Specifically, we are concerned that we will find chronic and traumatic encephalopathy which is characterized by the abnormal causing the brain to function abnormally.

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GUPTA: T.J., remember that, CTE, that is what they are talking about. They say from repeated blows to the head you start to develop those types of findings in the brain, and that is associated with dementia. Talking about dementia people in their 40s again, T.J., so that is why there is so much heightened concern about this.

HOLMES: The NFL had a heightened concern as well and changed their policy when it came to hard hits and a different policy when it came to treating guys with their concussions and when they could get back in the game. So where are they coming down now on this examination of these brains and maybe specifically Duerson?

GUPTA: I talked to the chairs of the advisory committee. I think you'll see some significant changes. They are implementing changes, for example, on the field. When you watch football in 2011 you may see after someone takes a hard hit you may see them six to eight minutes getting examined on the sideline by doctors. That is not something done occasionally but a mandatory thing that is going to be enforced by the NFL. Everyone from the commissioner on down is really talking about this, T.J.

HOLMES: Scary stuff that needs to be studied. We appreciate it and know you've been on this story for quite some time. We appreciate you. Good to see you. Talk to you soon.

GUPTA: You got it.

HOLMES: And to our viewers, Sanjay has a special report this weekend called "Head Games -- the Truth about Concussions." You can see that Saturday, 2:30, eastern time, on CNN.

We're just about five minutes to the top of the hour on this "AMERICAN MORNING." A quick break and we're right back with your top stories.

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