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American Morning
High Gas Prices at the Pump; Gadhafi Losing Control; 'The King's Speech' Crowned Oscar Winner ; Government Shutdown Deadline; Toddler Stuck in Vault
Aired February 28, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: On this AMERICAN MORNING, the -- the economic recovery could be in jeopardy because of prices at the pump. More increases while you were sleeping. Regular gas now averaging well over $3.30 a gallon. And climbing fast.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Key cities in Libya now under the control of anti-government forces. Moammar Gadhafi's security forces joining the opposition. Plus, a developing crisis along Libya's border with Tunisia.
VELSHI: It is good to be king. "The King's Speech" taking the Academy Award for Best Picture last night. We'll tell you who else took home Oscars on Hollywood's biggest night.
CHETRY: Also, things go terribly wrong at a rodeo in North Carolina. The bull leaps into the front row. We have more of those unbelievable pictures this morning.
VELSHI: All of that is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Right now, frightening moments for a family at a rodeo when an out of control bull jumps straight into the stands.
VELSHI: Plus, Bernie Madoff in his own words. The convicted Ponzi schemer talks about how it all got started and why the whole thing was a nightmare for him.
CHETRY: Also, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. We're going to have last night's winners, plus some of the moments that has everyone talking this morning on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us, Monday, February 28th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
VELSHI: And I'm Ali Velshi. T.J. Holmes is off. Hopefully getting some well-deserved R&R.
CHETRY: That's right.
VELSHI: So I'm with you for the next week. Great to see you again.
CHETRY: Great to see you. I know that you didn't get a lot of shut eye last night.
VELSHI: I didn't.
CHETRY: You were watching the Oscars.
VELSHI: Yes, yes.
CHETRY: We had an ongoing and vigorous debate this morning over whether or not Scarlet Johansson's dress was wonderful or not. I liked it.
VELSHI: For those of you who didn't watch it, don't worry. We'll bring you up to speed on all the great moments and, of course, what everybody was wearing. But first, it's the news that really hits home. Surging gas and oil prices, they could cause serious damage to the economy and, obviously, to your wallet.
CHETRY: Yes. You might have been doing a double-take at the pump.
VELSHI: Yes. Unbelievable.
CHETRY: We just saw prices go up and up and up. And this morning, for a gallon of gas, $3.37 on average across America. Drivers in California, Alaska and Hawaii already paying more than $3.70 for a gallon of regular. And soon, the rest of the country could be seeing prices that high, as well.
VELSHI: All right. So there are few fronts here. One is the gas that you're paying for your gallon -- I'll just walk over here and show you a couple of things. The gas that you're paying for your car, the impact that has on everything else that you're doing.
Let me just give you some sense of oil and gas prices. They've been rising mostly on fears in the Middle East, unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. If those things spread to countries that really produce a lot of oil, particularly to Saudi Arabia, that's going to be a bit of a problem. The number one oil exporter in the world is Saudi Arabia.
Hang on to your gas caps because higher gas and oil prices mean higher prices for just about everything, from the things you eat to the things you wear.
Take a look at this chart. This is gas prices from February 15th to now. Basically the end of February. Take a look at the way they've increased. Here's where oil hit $100 a barrel for the first time in two years. And you can see obviously gas prices follow the price of oil, and it lags. Oil at 100 bucks a barrel and you saw over the course of the next week gas prices increase.
Now what does that mean to you? That means that if oil prices continue to increase, even if they stay where they are now, around the same price, there are some people who say that it's going to go up even more.
Gordon Chang is an economist. He's a columnist at forbes.com. He warns that if oil prices keep on rising, the economy -- the economy could -- could drift back to a recession. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON CHANG, COLUMNIST, FORBES.COM: Confidence right now around the world, not just in the United States, but around the world is fragile. And we've got to remember that oil is not just energy because it also affects food. It really feeds directly into food very quickly. And food inflation, which is already very bad, is going to get worse. So clearly this is going to affect us in all phases of our lives. And the most important thing is it could send the world into the second part of a double-dip downturn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's the last thing anybody wanted to hear, as well.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: That we looked like we were sort of clearing that hurdle when it came to going into another recession.
VELSHI: We don't want to talk about it. We don't want to worry about another recession, but we think about gas as the price we see at the pump. Right? Because you see those signs everywhere? You don't follow anything else the way you follow the price of gas. But the impact of higher oil prices is everywhere. It's not just the gas that you put in your car, it's everything that gets trucked, everything gets shipped, factories. It really could be a bit of a problem. One estimate is that just with oil prices where they are now because gas prices lag oil prices, we could see 35, 37 cents more over the course of the next few weeks.
CHETRY: Right. And we are not even in the peak driving season right now.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: It has a lot of people worried. This is not the usual time that we see gas prices.
VELSHI: Right. This is the most expensive February gas that we've ever seen. We'll keep on top of the story with you.
CHETRY: All right. And we want to bring people up to date right now on what's going on in Libya. The bloody uprising there where Moammar Gadhafi is slowly being backed into a corner pretty much by the world but also by his own security forces. Here's the latest.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now calling on Gadhafi to go. She's in Geneva today attending a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting and confirms the U.S. is ready to help opposition groups in Libya that are trying to topple the Libyan leader. Arizona Senator John McCain insists that it is time to get tough. He wants the U.S. to declare Libya a no-fly zone to stop Gadhafi from using airpower to massacre his own people. And meantime, there is a humanitarian crisis developing along Libya's border with Tunisia. Tens of thousands of people have fled the violence and are now stranded there.
VELSHI: Along with tough U.N. sanctions imposed against Libya over the weekend, we're now hearing some of Gadhafi's own security forces are turning on him and joining the opposition. Reuters reporting anti-government forces have shot down a Libyan military aircraft near Misurata (ph) and captured its crew. CNN is working to confirm that. Nic Robertson joins us now by phone from the Libyan capital of Tripoli this morning.
Nic, good morning. How are things in Tripoli? Is this still a city that is under control of Moammar Gadhafi and his supporters?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Moammar Gadhafi really seems to have solidified his control over the capital at the moment, Ali. In many ways, this is a city that's sort of coming out of fear and out of repression. What we see on the road intersections are armed police and armed soldiers. Not very many in numbers in the city. The strongest security cordon around the edge of Tripoli. But just driving through the city today, the streets are getting back to normal. There's a lot more traffic out there. More people on the streets. A lot of stores are still shuttered shut. Though it's still shuttered, it feels far from normal. But it's feeling a lot more normal, people tell us, than it was a few days ago.
Notwithstanding just 40 minutes' drive from the capital here, we were in the town of Zawiya (ph) yesterday, an important oil-refining town. The center of that a town had been taken over by anti-Gadhafi protesters, several thousands. They told us they've been gunned down in the last several days. Sixteen people killed. Soldiers told us they jumped sides because they'd been ordered to shoot on civilians.
Around that town, there was a strong army, Gadhafi army cordon. So they strengthened his control and influence over the capital and some of the surrounding areas, Ali. Indeed, in a press conference this morning, one of his spokesmen said they had control of three-quarters of the country -- Ali.
VELSHI: Nic, we'll stay on top of the story as it rapidly develops. Nic Robertson in the capital city of Tripoli, Libya.
And in the next half hour, we'll talk to two Libyan-Americans. They're brother and sister. They were able to evacuate Tripoli on Friday on a chartered ferry. They'll be joining us from Malta which is where they ended up to tell us about their ordeal. You're looking at them there.
CHETRY: Also, a 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook truck central Arkansas late last night. The quake was centered approximately 36 miles north of Little Rock. You could feel it though as far away as Memphis, according to witnesses. There are no reports of any injuries or damage at this point.
Rob Marciano is in the weather center this morning following this. Arkansas seeing a lot of these little earthquakes lately. What's going on?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, some of the experts they really don't know why. I mean, it's not even part of the new Madrid fault zone, which typically sees about 200 of these quakes a year. And so far there's been a dozen, almost 100 of these things in this particular spot just north of Little Rock for the past -- over the past six months. There are some theories that it has something to do with some of the natural gas drilling that's been going on up there and what they inject into some of those wells to get some of that gas. But nonetheless, another cluster of earthquakes this morning even after the 4.7 magnitude quake that came through last night.
All right. The other big story, of course, is the weather. A strong system that's moving across towards the east. And to the south, we've got tornado watches that are posted for the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys until, well, later on this afternoon. And these watches will continue to motor off. This is a very strong system, much like a spring-like system here are we are now into March. So it's going to be more prevalent. But nonetheless, this line pretty strong now moving eastward through Kentucky. And again, some of these cells have shown some rotation and the threat for severe weather goes all the way up into southern parts of Pennsylvania.
Now, also some of this moisture is getting into some chilly air. So we've got winter weather advisories for parts of New England. For freezing rain and sleet with this system, most of that will be north of New York City. We'll be high of 57 degrees. Seventy-two degrees in D.C., so a lot of moisture and a lot of heat coming up on the east side of this and the backside. Well, it's still wintertime officially. Thirty-three degrees the high temperature in Chicago. We'll talk more about this active weather situation throughout the morning. Back up to you, guys.
VELSHI: That's a good way to describe it. Rob, good to see you as always. We'll catch up with you a little later on. Rob Marciano --
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
VELSHI: -- in our weather center.
New this morning, dramatic video. Kiran was talking about this. A 2,000-pound bull jumping a fence at a rodeo in Williamston, North Carolina. The bull charged into the stands right into an -- oh, an elderly couple sitting in the front row. They both suffered leg and foot injuries. Ann Conner shot this amazing video. Here's how she described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF: ANN CONNER, VIDEOTAPED BULL LEAPING INTO RODEO STANDS: And as I was videotaping, I just had my eye on the bull, and I thought, he's going to get close to the railing and we'll get a really good shot of him kicking and then he went airborne. And no, I didn't see the couple get hurt because we were fleeing, but as I turned around, that's when I saw that the bull had jumped back in miraculously to the arena and they were both on the floor injured. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Officials at the venue offered to pay the couple's medical bills and gave them unlimited tickets to future events. Think they'll be going a lot more?
CHETRY: That's the way to go. Unbelievable.
Well, I know people like those events. But I don't get it. It's not quite right.
VELSHI: Yes. I wouldn't -- I appreciate the medical bills. I'm not really interested in more tickets to it.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
Well, newly released surveillance video of a metro station escalator collapse in D.C. Take a look at the center escalator. You see people coming off as usual and dozens of riders tumble down the speeding escalator. Many of them landed on top of each other. Several other people were hurt in this incident, one of them seriously. Transit officials say that the brakes failed to stop the system when an overspeed switch activated. So obviously it had it moving.
VELSHI: Why is there an overspeed switch?
CHETRY: I don't know if it's part of like a cleaning thing.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: If it's part of a test that they do on it, but obviously it malfunctioned.
VELSHI: Wow. Ouch.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: A 150 pounds of explosives and 15 seconds, that is all it took to take down a public housing high-rise in downtown Atlanta on Sunday. And with it, a decade's old policy. The ATL was the first city to launch a housing program for the poor in the 1930s. Now, the Atlanta Housing Authority is demolishing most of those buildings. The city is putting up new developments to help mixed income families.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it was sort of the battle of the old versus the new and the old won out last night at the Oscars.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: "The King's Speech" was the winner at last night's Academy Awards. The movie about King George's quest to overcome a speech impediment won four Oscars including Best Picture, upsetting "The Social Network," I guess.
VELSHI: Yes. CHETRY: Colin Firth won Best Actor for his performance. Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her portrayal of a demented ballerina in "Black Swan." And we're going to have more highlights from Hollywood's big night coming up in less than 20 minutes.
VELSHI: I didn't want to see "The King's Speech" when it first came out. My wife and a bunch of friends sort of dragged me to it, kicking and screaming, and I ended up loving the movie.
CHETRY: See, that's how my husband sort of feels about it as well. He's like let' see, let's watch "The Fighter" first.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Then "Black Swan" then maybe we'll get to "The King's Speech.
VELSHI: It was great movie.
CHETRY: But now, a big winner.
VELSHI: Well, get out or get arrested. Protesters in Madison, Wisconsin are warned to leave the capitol building yesterday. Some listened, many others refused. We'll tell you how it all turned out.
CHETRY: Yes, they had to clean the darn thing.
VELSHI: That's right. They wanted them out so they can actually clean it up.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. Plus, convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff suggests that he's the one you should feel sorry for. Why are you not surprised? Well, Bernie Madoff in his own words after he gave an interview from jail.
VELSHI: And a toddler visiting her grandma at work winds up locked in a bank vault that no one in the building was able to open. The rescue ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifteen minutes past the hour.
A symbolic victory this morning for labor protesters in Wisconsin. See, they'd been ordered to evacuate the Capitol Building after two weeks of protests, but hundreds of them refused. They spent the night there anyway. So police backed off, ended up allowing them to stay.
Meanwhile, Governor Scott Walker says that if his budget isn't passed soon, 1,500 layoff notices will go out and people will begin losing their jobs.
Well, there was a strong show of support for Wisconsin state workers in all 50 U.S. capitals this weekend. The group MoveOn.org organized rallies in every state Saturday. In Olympia, Washington, thousands braved the bitter cold to show their support.
Meantime, a group of Tea Party activists also held a counter rally. They signed petitions backing Wisconsin's governor - Ali.
VELSHI: Kiran, convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff claims he is not trying to justify ripping off thousands of investors. But in a series of phone interviews with "New York Magazine," that's exactly what he does. He says that after the crash of 1987, he started borrowing from his investors to maintain those high returns that he was offering.
As for the victims of this whole thing, he says it's not his investors. He claims none of them can plead poverty. He says he's the victim. He says keeping the scam a secret from his family was a, quote, "nightmare for me" adding, quote, "even the regulators felt sorry for me, asking how did you live with this not being able to tell anybody?"
Madoff goes on to blame his fat cat investors for not knowing that his business was a bust, saying, how can you be making 15 or 18 percent when everyone is making - everyone is making less money? And by the way, he said, if you don't think they had doubts, they had doubts. Even at the end of his massive scheme, he says investors were begging him to invest their money, and when he tried to return funds, they wouldn't take them back.
As for the reform enacted after this whole crisis, he calls it a joke saying, quote, "the whole government is a Ponzi scheme" - Kiran.
CHETRY: Amazing stuff, Ali. Thanks.
Well, the government's monthly job report is due out at the end of the week, and it could have a big impact on Wall Street. Job numbers have been lagging as we know compared to consumer confidence and some initial jobless claims. Friday's numbers are - February's numbers are expected to carry more weight, by the way, than January's.
Well, tens of thousands of Gmail users may wake up to see their accounts deleted. Engineers say that a bug reset over accounts over the weekend deleting your e-mail attachments and their Google chat logs. Now, Google released a statement saying that they've already fixed the problem for some users and it's confident that everyone's data will be restored. So, again, if you wake up and your entire account - they say they're going to restore it, so sit tight. Yes. That's scary to wake up and see that.
If you're looking to grab a Slurpee today, you have plenty of options. 7-Eleven opened its 40th - wait. Oh, it's 40,000th store on Friday. That's more than any other retailer in the world. Forty-four hundred of those stores are in the U.S. The company's CEO says the chain is opening a new store every three and a half hours.
VELSHI: Forty-four hundred in the U.S. of 40,000. They've got a lot of stores in Japan. This is a company that's all over the world. A lot of people sort of think it's old fashioned. It's been around for a long time, but it's actually quite a vibrant - vibrant company.
CHETRY: I know. And they got a little boost with the Slurpee summit, right? VELSHI: A buddy of mine knows the way into every city based on the 7- Eleven's he can stop at on the way and get -
CHETRY: I got you.
VELSHI: -- Slurpees.
CHETRY: That's sort of like - me and McDonald's before I turned over a new leaf.
VELSHI: Exactly. I haven't turned that new leaf off.
The king may have stammered, but Oscar voters spoke loud and clear. A recap of the big winners at last night's Academy Awards.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES FRANCO, HOST: You got to wear a tuxedo, so I wore this. The weird part is, I just got a text message from Charlie Sheen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The youngest co-hosts ever, Anne Hathaway -
CHETRY: Oh.
VELSHI: Also, the youngest co-hosts ever. The youngest co-hosts ever Anne Hathaway and James Franco bringing a hip, young vibe to the Oscars.
CHETRY: Well, that was what they were supposed to do.
VELSHI: Yes. What do you think?
CHETRY: But they got canned. I mean, I - I want to reserve judgment because I didn't see a ton of it.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: But the papers today, the critics were really harsh on them. But did they deliver?
Kareen Wynter on all the glitz and glamour and Hollywood's winners and the big night. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVEN SPIELBERG, PRESENTER: And the Oscar goes to "The King's Speech."
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The King's Speech" reigned supreme at the Oscars and conquered the night's top prize.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER, ACTRESS: My husband has mechanical difficulties with his speech.
WYNTER: The small-budget movie about King George VI royal battle to overcome a speech impediment grew into an inspiring success. Academy voters crowned the film's star Colin Firth best actor.
COLIN FIRTH, BEST ACTOR: I have a feeling my career's just peaked.
WYNTER: Gold prize in hand, first play the part of a very humble Oscar king.
The evening's hosts, James Franco and Anne Hathaway served as court jesters, poking fun at Hollywood hits and themselves.
ANNE HATHAWAY, HOST: The dance of the brown duck.
WYNTER: Hathaway and Franco are the youngest hosts in Oscar history brought in with the hope of attracting a more youthful Oscar audience.
FRANCO: Anne, I must say you look so beautiful and so hip.
HATHAWAY: Oh, thank you, James.
FRANCO: Yes.
HATHAWAY: You look very appealing to a younger demographic, as well.
FRANCO: Thank you. Thank you very much.
WYNTER: From comical moments to sentimental. Natalie Portman took home the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as a ballerina breaking down in "Black Swan." The mother to be teared up during her emotional acceptance speech.
NATALIE PORTMAN, BEST ACTRESS: My beautiful love, Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed the film and has now given me my most important role of my life.
WYNTER: From sweet to salty. Best Supporting Actress winner Melissa Leo honored for her work as a tough-talking Boston mother in "The Fighter" dropped an accidental "F" bomb under the stress of the spotlight.
MELISSA LEO, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: When I watched Kate two years ago, it looks so -
WYNTER: Leo's "Fighter" co-star Christian Bale had an easier time getting through his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor with less colorful language.
CHRISTIAN BALE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Well, a room full of talented and inspirational people, and what the hell am I doing here?
WYNTER: Hollywood royalty celebrating a golden night.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you go.
VELSHI: I - I thought the Melissa Leo part was really interesting, the sudden expletive.
CHETRY: Yes, the "F" bomb.
VELSHI: That's hip and young.
CHETRY: Yes. That was - that was very hip and young (INAUDIBLE).
One of the most talked about moments last night was Hollywood veteran icon Kirk Douglas.
VELSHI: Yes, I think he looked great.
CHETRY: I think so (ph).
VELSHI: He's 94 years old.
CHETRY: Yes, 94 years old. A lot of people say he stole the show when he took the stage to present the award for Best Supporting Actress.
And we're also five days away from a possible government shutdown over budget issues, our lawmakers closing in on a deal. And if they can't come to an agreement, what does it mean for all of us?
VELSHI: And we're going to talk to two Libyan-Americans who just escaped Tripoli on a ferry. They're now safe in Malta. They'll tell us why they were so hesitant to leave, why they finally decided to go, and what that trip was like.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A beautiful shot of Columbus Circle this morning.
VELSHI: Wait a minute. Was it all wet when you came into work?
CHETRY: No, but now it's pouring.
VELSHI: It was a beautiful, beautiful morning when I came in. It was dry and then somebody else came in and said, it's pouring outside. What are you talking about?
CHETRY: I know. That's why - and, you know, everyone had their little boots on this morning. Think I didn't know and I didn't need them because we came in so early, we avoided the rain.
By the way, it's going to be 55 degrees for a high in New York and some more rain. So if you're leaving the house later than we are, bring your -
VELSHI: Did you - did you have an umbrella? Let's walk out together.
CHETRY: Yes. We can get one for you.
Twenty-nine minutes past the hour right now. Time for a look at our top stories this morning.
Gas prices, that's something else you may have missed. But check the signs this morning because the national average is now $3.37 a gallon. That's according to Triple A. Right now, California, Alaska, and Hawaii all have gas prices averaging above $3.70 a gallon.
VELSHI: Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi appears to be losing his grip on power. His security forces have turned on him joining the opposition in one town near Tripoli. And the international community is turning on him, too.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is calling on Gadhafi to step down after the U.N. voted unanimously this weekend to freeze his foreign assets.
CHETRY: And Shuttle Discovery's astronauts are preparing for their first spacewalk. It's happening at the International Space Station this morning. The walk is the first of two planned for this week. The astronauts will be fixing a broken ammonia pump and attaching an extension cable. Veteran spacecraft Discovery is on its final voyage.
VELSHI: And as Friday's deadline fast approaching, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are working to avoid a government shutdown over budget issues.
CHETRY: Right now, it looks like both sides are considering a two- week continuing resolution.
Jim Acosta is in D.C. this morning.
So, this is a budget that was supposed to be passed in October, right?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
CHETRY: Now, we're coming up to March. And they're going to extend it for two more weeks. What does all of this mean?
ACOSTA: it means they like to procrastinate in Washington, Kiran and Ali. This is only Monday, remember, and this is Washington. So, members of Congress and the White House haven't averted a government shutdown just yet.
But both sides appear to be saying they have a deal that will keep things running for another two week weeks past Friday, the deadline for reaching the agreement. As you mentioned, a key Democrat over the weekend signaled he will support a plan crafted by House Republican leaders to cut $4 billion in spending.
And House Speaker John Boehner characterized the nation's mounting deficit as a moral issue in a speech last night -- using the word "moral" more than a dozen times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS) REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We have a moral responsibility to address the problems that we face. And that means working together to cut spending and to rein in government, not shutting it down.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), NORTH DAKOTA: Is it acceptable to me to very $4 billion in savings in a two-week package? Sure. The make-up of that, you know, is up for discussion and negotiation, that negotiation's ongoing, and I'm confident we'll achieve a conclusion on that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ACOSTA: Because at this point both sides don't want to jump off this cliff together. Now, this deal, if it passes, will give both sides time to hammer out another budget agreement that will keep the government running through September. But with so many House freshmen Republicans demanding massive cuts in spending, there is still no sign that both sides can make that happen.
Ali and Kiran, basically we're in a situation right now where both sides are only capable of keeping the government running two weeks at a time if this deal passes. There's no guarantee they can get a final agreement.
VELSHI: The problem, Jim, of course, is that the only agreement they came to was to say that they might be able to extend this for two weeks.
ACOSTA: That's right.
VELSHI: There's actually no real movement between the Democrats and the Republicans on the actual budget. So, you know, is this -- are they supposed to use these two weeks to actually negotiate and find some middle ground on this?
ACOSTA: That's right. That's basically what's going to happen here. This is a deal to just keep talking at this point.
And, you know, you have to keep in mind, there are a lot of new House Republican freshmen up there who don't -- who don't care at all about what the leaders on both sides want to do in terms of cutting a deal. They came to Washington, they believe, with this mandate to stop cutting deals behind closed doors. And so, unless they see some real cuts -- that mean cuts we haven't seen in a long time in this country, it's going to be tough for both sides to get any kind of deal passed at this point, guys.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning -- thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: You know, the other thing also is the consumer confidence issue, the anxiety issue.
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: And if we get closer and closer to a looming shutdown, how will that affect the broader economy?
VELSHI: There are a lot of people who say the U.S., at least, gets its business done. This is a big symbol for the rest of the world if the U.S. doesn't get its business done it can't get a budget done.
And here's a story that you guys are talking about a while ago -- the last known living American veteran of World War I died this morning. Frank Woodruff Buckles was 110 years old. Buckles drove ambulances in France and rose through the ranks, earning corporal status. After World War I ended, he became a ship officer on merchant vessels. Buckle's family says he died of natural causes in his West Virginia home.
CHETRY: A hundred and ten years old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: The U.S. military coming under fire for the deaths of four Americans at the hands of Somali pirates. Could it have been avoided?
CHETRY: Big question this morning.
Zain Verjee joins us now from London with these international headlines and more.
So, you know, we talked about the ship that was trailing the yacht doing all it could to get a rescue there. What happened between the U.S. military and the Somali pirates that's now in question this morning?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what CNN has learned, guys, is that two pirates came on to the U.S. warship as negotiators. But before they left the yacht with the four American hostages, they said, if we don't come back, kill the hostages. They went on to the U.S. warship and they eventually were detained. And what happened was the hostages were killed.
Now, there's a lot of debate back and forth about what happened. I spoke to one maritime security official who is very familiar with what happened. And I was told that this is just not negotiating strategies. The biggest mistake, you do not detain negotiators that are coming to talk in good faith.
The U.S. isn't giving any official comment. But there was one U.S. source that told CNN that the pirates themselves were not in any position to negotiate. So, this source said, well, if that was the case, why would we send them back to the yacht?
So, there's a lot of back and forth, but clearly, something went drastically wrong in the way the negotiations were handled.
VELSHI: Zain, on to another story. These protests in the Middle East and North Africa -- they seem to be spreading again. Now, Oman is seeing an uprising. What do you know about that?
VERJEE: Yes, Ali, you know, just a few moments ago, there was a report that crossed saying that protesters have blocked access to the second largest port in Oman, in a place called Sohar. Now, we're trying to confirm those reports, but this is significant because Oman is a big oil exporter and it means that prices will continue to go up. The markets will get spooked.
Over the weekend, there were clashes between police and protesters. Two people were killed and the protesters are demanding more jobs.
CHETRY: All right. Switching gears a little bit, let's talk about Oscar night. "The King's Speech" grabbed the top honors. Of course, it was honored in many of the awards leading up to this, including in Britain. How is the U.K. reacting to this?
VERJEE: Well, everyone here is gloriously happy, you know, guys. You know, I actually looked up social media just a short while ago to see what people were saying. And they said, essentially, first, Colin Firth was really humble about the whole thing and this was really well-deserved. They were also talking about stutterers here in the U.K. and how the success of this movie has given them a voice.
The headline of one of the papers, guys, was a stunning triumph for British film. Firth was a humble winner. They're talking about how this independent movie just made it so big.
Guys, have you seen it?
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Ali loved it. I didn't get a chance to see it yet.
VERJEE: Kiran?
CHETRY: No, I thought it was interesting.
VELSHI: You know, Zain, what I was saying earlier to Kiran is that I didn't want to see it. I had no interest in seeing it. My wife and a couple of my friends ganged up on me and took down me, and I said, why would I possibly want to see a movie about a British royal who stuttered and stammered -- I mean, how is that interesting? I thought -- and I thought -- I'm glad it won. I really thought it was fantastic.
VERJEE: Well, I'm totally lame. I haven't seen it yet.
CHETRY: I feel bad, I know.
VELSHI: We'll all go.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: But I did see "The Social Network" and it's funny, though, because -- I mean, "The Social Network," uniquely American, this whole, you know, big, big thing of our time that's changed the way we all communicate, it didn't win and this one did. So, it's kind of symbolic, you know?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Who?
VELSHI: James Franco. I did -- I didn't have this whole problem with them. I think it's nice to have hosts who are just fun and not necessarily sarcastic and biting and mean. But apparently I'm in a minority of people who think that --
CHETRY: I don't know, I like the old school. I like the, you know, the Robin Williams. I like the hosts that can perform because -- I mean, it's a night honoring performances, you know? I don't know.
VERJEE: Yes. Well, I like James Franco on "General Hospital."
CHETRY: Because you think he's cute.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Zain, what a pleasure to see you again. Zain Verjee --
VERJEE: You too, Ali.
VELSHI: -- joining us in London. We'll talk all week, I hope.
CHETRY: And you can catch Zain every morning, 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN. Zain, thanks so much.
VERJEE: Thanks.
CHETRY: Still ahead, tornado threats for Tennessee and the Ohio valleys. And the same storm bringing ice to New England. Rob is going to be along with the travel forecast right after the break.
VERJEE: And we will talk to two Libyan-Americans, brother and sister, they were able to evacuate Tripoli on Friday on a chartered ferry. They're joining us from Malta to tell us about their ordeal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty-three minutes past the hour right now.
Hundreds of Americans managed to finally escape Tripoli, Libya, on a U.S.-chartered ferry and they are safe in Malta this morning. But it was a boat ride that was not only delayed for two days because of bad weather, but once the ferry set sail, the trip was nearly as harrowing as life on the streets of Tripoli right now.
Two Libyan-Americans were on that ferry, brother and sister Yusra and Salam Tekbali. Yusra is a freelance journalist and blogger. And Salam is working as a legal researcher on an economic project for the Libyan government.
Thanks to both for joining us this morning from Malta. As we said, you got out.
How are you doing now that you're safely in Malta? Let me start with you, Yusra. And, Salam, you can jump in then.
YUSRA TEKBALI, AMERICAN ON U.S. CHARTERED FERRY FROM LIBYA: I'm OK. I feel a little disoriented. I feel a lot safer being here in Malta. But at the same time, I almost feel guilty for being safe here. So, a lot of mixed emotions going on with me.
SALAM TEKBALI, AMERICAN ON U.S. CHARTERED FERRY FROM LIBYA: And like Yusra said, we are happy to be safe, happy to be alive. But the situation on the ground in Libya, in Tripoli, is definitely concerning to us. We are in constant contact with family there, watching the news, waiting for the social network, blogging, just trying to figure out what's going on, what we can do to help.
CHETRY: And, Salam, tell me more about. I understand there were some mixed emotions. You didn't necessarily want to leave. I know your mother wanted you, guys, to get out and get somewhere safe because of the concerns. But what is it like right now in Tripoli?
S. TEKBALI: OK. Yes, I definitely didn't want to leave. I wanted to be there so that the word could get out, especially the first few days of this ordeal. There was a total media blackout. It was me along with a couple of friends just driving around Tripoli trying to take videos, pictures.
Report what's going on just because there were no press in Libya. So, I definitely didn't want to leave because I feel like when the world turns a blind eye, he can do whatever he wants, and he's proven that he doesn't care.
CHETRY: And --
Y. TEKBALI: My brother literally was not on the boat with us. Like, he literally was not on the boat with us when we were on the boat, and if it wasn't delayed, he would still be in Tripoli. And my dad called. My dad was overseas, and he was like, I was putting the phone like this far away.
My dad was like, why isn't your brother on the boat? And it took a friend of ours from Tucson, Arizona, who happened to be on the boat with us. He called my brother, and he was basically scared him into coming, you know, saying like my mom's going to have a heart attack if he's not here, and that's how he actually ended up getting on the boat.
CHETRY: So, I understand what you're saying. You wanted to make sure that this story got out there, and, of course, you were feeling pulled in both directions because, obviously, your family wanted you to be safe. I want to ask you, guys, about the boat right itself. I mean, first, we saw these pictures day after day. It was supposed to leave.
It was supposed to be about a six or eight-hour trip to Malta, and it kept getting delayed because of the weather. What was it like to sort of be stuck there in limbo? How were you basic needs met during those 48 to 72 hours?
S. TEKBALI: I mean, as far as basic needs, food and bathrooms and things of that nature, I mean, that was all supplied, and I think the American staff and everyone who helped us out there. But, honestly, sitting on a boat in downtown Tripoli, in the middle of the harbor, we kind of felt like sitting ducks. Every couple of hours or so we're all told to move to one side of the boat because we thought that there were snipers standing outside.
And it was just nerve wracking. It was almost -- we almost kind of felt safer being in our own homes in Tripoli than we did feel on that boat just because we were in the middle of the chaos, and things just were uncertain. And it was kind of felt lying on there (ph).
Y. TEKBALI: Yes, and I think as far as the second of day of being on that boat, we started -- just our minds started thinking, like is this a conspiracy theory? Or are we more of a target just for being American and for being on a boat with so many Americans? So, it was definitely paranoia and fear being on that boat.
CHETRY: Yes, understandable.
Y. TEKBALI: At the same time, I think I felt safer than being at home.
CHETRY: Right. And, Salam, let me just ask you, guys, quickly. What happens next? I mean, what are the plans to get everybody out of Malta or where are you going? Are you just waiting it out until you can go back to Libya or are you coming to the U.S.?
S. TEKBALI: Right now, it's kind of uncertain. We're not sure if we want to just wait out here or go back to America. The situation's kind of still unclear. The assistance from the American embassy has been kind of distressing, I guess, but that's a different option. I think it's more important to focus on what's going on in Libya and what the world can do to stop it.
CHETRY: Thank you, both, for telling your personal stories, harrowing ones at that, and I'm glad that you're in Malta for now, and we wish you the best of luck. Yusra and Salam Tekbali, thanks so much.
VELSHI: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center for us. Rob, what's it looking like?
MARCIANO: Good morning, Ali. Several reports of severe weather yesterday, six tornadoes and several more wind reports, and this storm is solely progressing its way towards the east, and there's certainly some wind energy ahead of it along with some other stuff. That wind yesterday helped fan the flames for fires across western parts of Texas.
And this is a video coming out of it. Fifty-five homes burned to the ground and hundreds of thousands of acres torched with this wind event and fire around the midland area. Winds dying down today. So, it is not critical fire danger, but nonetheless, some of the damage done there. All right. As far as where the storms are moving, rapidly off to the east is a large system from the Canadian border all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico, and there is severe weather with this, as well.
Several tornado watches are posted. Most of them in the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys, and right now, with this line heading across parts of Kentucky, we do have one tornado warning that's just been issued until 7 o'clock of this morning for eastern time for Rowan and Fleming Counties and looks like another one just popped up just south of Lexington.
So, an active line of thunderstorms now rolling across down the Ohio River towards the Appalachians. And ahead of it, we do have some chilly air and some of this moisture. Now, New York, Philly, down in D.C., plenty warm. So, it's going to be all raining in it right now, but you get some places north of I-95, and it's cold enough for this be falling a (ph) sleet and freezing rain.
So, a bit of an icy start to your day for parts of Southern and Northern New England. You are traveling through the New York metro airports because of the rain and the wind, you'll see some delays. D.C., Atlanta, and Memphis, similar action. I think Atlanta will probably see some rough weather later on this afternoon. High temperature of 76 degrees expected in Atlanta, Georgia. Behind this system, definitely chilly.
Thirty-three degrees in Chicago, 72 in D.C., and 57 degrees in New York, and might even see some thunderstorms across parts of the D.C. area. Very spring-like system and, hey, we are getting closer to spring. So, I suppose that's one of the few normal things we could talk about this winter. Ali and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm counting down the minutes. It's March 22nd at, like, 7:20 p.m. or something?
MARCIANO: Boy, you really are counting down. I didn't even know that.
VELSHI: They look nice. Atlanta's got trees sprouting. A lot of the color coming up and starting to look like spring there.
MARCIANO: Spring comes early down here. You've got to move down here, Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
VELSHI: Good to see you, Rob.
CHETRY: How about this for a nightmare? So, your granddaughter goes to work with you.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: And then you happen to work at a bank with a time release safe, and where does your granddaughter toddle off to? The vault.
VELSHI: The safe?
CHETRY: Yes. VELSHI: Which should be a fine situation. Like that should -- I mean, that should you think that you can get the kid out of the safe.
CHETRY: Right. However, it didn't happen as quickly as some would have hoped. We'll explain what happen at Wells Fargo.
Still ahead also, keeping your family healthy?
VELSHI: Find out the best treatment for your kids if they come down with a fever.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. This is an unbelievable story. A bank --
VELSHI: Gladly, it has a good ending.
CHETRY: It does have a good ending, but for a while, I would be so scared. I would not know what to do with myself. A 14-month-old girl got locked inside of a time-release vault, Friday. The baby was visiting a grandparent who worked at the bank when she wandered off --
VELSHI: Wandering off into a vault.
CHETRY: Right. First responders rushed to the scene. They pumped fresh air into the vault, and again, because it was time-release, they were not able to open it there, so a locksmith had to come and open the door a couple of hours later.
VELSHI: Right. There's just a million things wrong with this thing. I get the whole point of the time-release lock is that robbers can't just come in and rob the vault, right?
CHETRY: Yes, that's the reason why, but, again, they should have some sort of emergency, like, offsite emergency trigger.
VELSHI: So, the bottom line is all the kid needed in the end was a diaper change.
CHETRY: Yes, and thank goodness, hopefully, too young to remember that ordeal, screaming for two hours, not having any idea where you are, and no one coming to your rescue. That's got to be good for a 14-month-old.
VELSHI: They say -- unrelated story -- that laughter is the best medicine, and that may be the case for a young father looking for a job in higher education.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI (voice-over): That's very funny. That video's gone viral. That is his 10-month-old son, Mica. Mica is laughing at the sound of dad ripping up another rejection letter from a potential employer. He remembers when he made the video. MARCUS MCARTHUR, FATHER: Around the 22-second mark, he does an extremely hearty laugh where you almost wonder if he's stopped breathing. Until he starts laughing again, you think, OK, he's OK.
VELSHI: Dad said he started ripping up credit card statements and other unpleasant mailings to keep this thing going. This YouTube video has more than 240,000 hits.
CHETRY (voice-over): Nothing is cuter than a baby cracking up.
VELSHI: I wonder if this could be like the next E-trade baby.
CHETRY: I love it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (on-camera): He's so adorable. He could be.
VELSHI (on-camera): He's very cute.
CHETRY: I put a sticker on my nose and pretend to sneeze, and my son does that, too. He cracks up. I mean, when you find the one thing that really tickles their funny bone, it's cute.
VELSHI: All right. We've got top stories coming your way after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
