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American Morning

Wisconsin Budget Battle; Sheen: Not an Addict; Clock Ticking for Government Shutdown; Gas Prices Up Seven Straight Days; Gadhafi Says People Love Him; Air Travelers Exposed to Measles; NFL Implements Sideline Concussion Test to Begin Next Season

Aired March 01, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: On this AMERICAN MORNING, there is severe damage in three states caused by tornadoes. Extreme weather throughout the Midwest flattened homes, knocked out power and the worst may be yet to come in one state where every single county is now facing the threat of flooding.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A 20-mile stretch of I-95 in Florida shut down, impassable because of this, wildfires. Homes are threatened, forcing a lot of people to evacuate this morning.

CHETRY: And a warning from federal health officials to anyone who's been on a plane in the last nine days. Depending on the flight that you took, you may have been exposed to measles. We'll have more details.

VELSHI: And one more reason to stop drinking those sugary soft drinks. They could be spiking your blood pressure.

CHETRY: Plus, Facebook making some changes on the like feature. We'll have more details on that as well on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Right now, wildfire shut down a stretch of a highway in Florida. We'll tell you where things stand as crews try to get it under control.

CHETRY: Plus, as oil prices rise, get ready to pay more even if you don't drive a car. Why this could hurt your wallet in ways that you may not have thought of.

VELSHI: And Charlie Sheen opens up to Piers Morgan in his first live TV interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Let me ask you a direct question. Are you under the influence right now of any substances?

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: No, nothing. I'm under the influence of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Wow. Why he says he isn't an addict. Why he says people who think he is are losers. This is AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi.

CHETRY: I was wondering when you were going to say that. It's Tuesday, March 1st. And, OK, so it's the 1st of March. But really, we have not seen the weather let up this entire season.

VELSHI: No. It felt pretty wintery. It hasn't let up. They're really right now in the Midwest, not from snow, but tornadoes. Twisters flattened homes in three states yesterday. And in Ohio, there are big concerns this morning about flooding.

CHETRY: Yes. This is the valley view of Ohio outside of Cleveland. Homes and businesses under water. Parts of Ohio got three inches of rain Sunday. And with so much melting snow in the area, the National Weather Service is now warning that every county in the state, all 88 Ohio counties are threatened by flooding this morning.

VELSHI: In Knoxville, Tennessee, locals say the floodwaters came fast yesterday. Cars were swept away. Homes everywhere were submerged. Kids had to be evacuated from school. And neighbors were rescuing neighbors from raging floodwaters right in front of their own homes.

Severe thunderstorms really carved up central and southern Indiana. At least three tornadoes touched down leveling homes and ripping trees right out of the ground. Thousands lost power. Flood remains -- flood warnings remain in effect this morning for many counties in the state.

CHETRY: Also in southern and central Illinois, more of the same. Six people were treated in hospitals in Maryville, Illinois, when heavy winds tore off part of the roof of a church. A lot of damage. There you see the downed trees, unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in the Illinois towns of Troy and Granite City and around the St. Louis metro east area.

VELSHI: Also developing this morning, wildfires burning in two states. In Texas, dozens of wildfires have burned more than 130,000 acres since Sunday. Most of the damage across the Texas panhandle. Officials say they were started by power lines brought down by high winds. The fires are blamed for at least one death. Crews may get some help today. Calmer winds are expected.

And in Florida, nearly 20-mile stretch of Interstate 95 remains closed this morning in central Florida because of a massive wind-driven wildfire. Officials say an estimated 10,000 acres have burned across the region. Heavy smoke is threatening homes. Campgrounds and trailer parks and Brevard and Volusia Counties have been evacuated.

And these are live pics from a traffic camera along I-95. Check this out. This is on the southern end of the stretch of highway that shut down. We're looking north at the moment. You can see the flames in the distance right ahead.

CHETRY: Let's talk about this with Rob Marciano. He's in the extreme weather center this morning. And firefighters certainly have a challenge on their hands in Florida. And, of course, they're going to be looking to the winds to see whether they're going to make the situation worse.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the winds are going to be shifting through the day. All the severe weather that we saw yesterday, that system has pretty much pushed off into the Atlantic with the exception of Florida. The trailing cold front is still about to push through Florida right around where those fires are just north of Orlando, just north of Titusville. So winds will be switching.

Right now out ahead of this front, we've got winds out of the south/southwest at about 10 to 12 miles an hour. So not too big a deal. But the winds, the smoke from those fires blowing directly over the I-95 corridor there between Titusville and Ormond Beach and up towards Daytona Beach. So Volusia, Brevard, even Flagler County where there's a smaller fire under the gun here.

Now, there will be a few lightning strikes, but only it's going to start anymore fires or we would hope that wouldn't be the case. Obviously we'll get a little rain from this, too, and that would help. And on the backside of this, winds will change more north and northwesterly. And that will probably be the biggest obstacle that firefighters will have to contend with and that is wind shift. But they can anticipate that as we go through the next couple of hours.

Out in Texas, the winds will blow somewhat today, although not as bad as they were the past couple of days. It will be warm. It will be dry, and, of course, we'll be dealing with the flooding situation across parts of the Midwest. Drier, much drier weather today. That's the good news across the areas that got hammered with severe weather yesterday -- guys.

VELSHI: Rob, we'll check in with you later. Thanks very much. Rob Marciano.

Well, in the fight for Libya, government forces reportedly tried, but failed to retake Misrata (ph), where anti-government protesters are in control. The city is about1 130 miles to the east of Tripoli. You can see if you look closely here tracer fire lighting up the sky. Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi not only appears to be losing his grip on power, but also on reality. In television interviews, he talks about how his people love him and would die to protect him. American's U.N. ambassador today calling his statements delusional.

CHETRY: Well, back here in the states, Wisconsin's budget showdown takes another turn today. Governor Scott Walker is scheduled to unveil his spending plan for next year. Meanwhile, they're still, of course, at a stalemate with the bill to curb collective bargaining rights of union workers. That's still stalled in the state legislature.

There's a new survey out finding that more Americans side with the workers by a modest margin. Forty-two percent support public employees in this. Thirty-one percent back the governor. Nearly 10 percent back neither, and 18 percent say they don't know. This is all according to a Pew Research poll. Ted Rowlands is live for us in Madison this morning. So what is the significance of the governor unveiling next year's budget?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, the significance is today he is expected to announce sweeping cuts in education and other state aid to local governments. And his plan from the beginning was to use this budget repair bill that he thought would be through by now as sort of a placation scenario where he would say I've given you the tools, local governments, because we've busted the union to deal with each union and each contract and save your own money. That hasn't happened. Those 14 Democrats remain in Illinois. The governor remains entrenched in his position not to relent on the collective bargaining. Yesterday, he was on the airwaves again asking those 14 senators to come back to Wisconsin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: It is now time for them to come home. If they choose not to, let me be clear, this is not a threat, this is not a strategy, this is not a negotiation. The bottom line is if they do not come home, there are dire consequences. Dire consequences, I don't think any of us Republican or Democrat alike would like to see happen here in the state of Wisconsin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: And those consequences according to the governor include layoffs. The Democrats say that's nonsense. That you, too, can stop this war. Both sides, though, seem to be entrenched in their positions and there is no end in sight, at least not this morning -- Kiran.

CHETRY: It's also interesting that other states are jumping in, other Republican governors supporting Walker. They even have a new ad campaign out.

ROWLANDS: Yes, a national television ad. Here in Wisconsin there are ads every day on both sides as if there's an election coming up when we just had one. But both sides are very concerned about public opinion. And you mentioned that poll earlier, they're watching it. And each side is very cognizant of where they are in this battle. And now you mentioned that national ad clearly this battle is going on in Wisconsin, but this is a war that is spreading nationwide because Republican governors are in a position now to strike, to try to destabilize these unions and in their mind give public entities, counties, cities and states the ability to negotiate and save taxpayer money.

CHETRY: All right. Ted Rowlands for us this morning in Wisconsin. Thanks so much.

VELSHI: And there's another large rally planned at Ohio state capitol today. A legislative committee there is considering a bill that would make it illegal for public workers to go on strike. Ohio's full Senate could take up the bill as early as tomorrow. CHETRY: And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo introducing a new bill to cap salaries of school superintendents at $175,000 a year. That would mean a pay cut for about 200 school superintendents in New York. But Governor Cuomo says it would also end up saving school districts $15 million.

VELSHI: And now for your Charlie Sheen update. Actor Charlie Sheen says he's not an addict, just someone who enjoys life. In an interview with our Piers Morgan, Sheen says he's curbed his substance abuse addictions, thanks to, quote, "an epiphanous awakening."

CHETRY: Sheen also took on critics and addiction specialists who say that he's just in denial. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": The premise of their argument with you is that you're in some kind of denial about this. Actually you've never really stopped and thought I've got to sort myself out properly, that if you do follow that programs --

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: Right.

MORGAN: -- they can work.

SHEEN: Sure.

MORGAN: And lots of people would be watching this saying, it worked for me.

SHEEN: And then I can have a life like theirs? I'm going to pass.

MORGAN: Really, why?

SHEEN: Why, because I'm a winner, and their lives look like they're, you know, ruled by losers. I mean, just to put in my terms, I don't want their lives and they want mine but they want to criticize the hell out of it. You know? And now they ran the gamut from like, OK, he's not loaded? Now what? Oh, he's manic. I don't even know what that means. I guess that would imply that there's going to be a crash. I don't know when that's coming, but maybe you can cover it when it does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: He's the gift that keeps on giving.

CHETRY: He's so self-aware of what it is --

VELSHI: Yes. Right.

CHETRY: -- that he is sort of bringing to the table.

VELSHI: Accused of, right.

CHETRY: Yes. But then at the same time he's so oblivious to the impact.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: It's interesting. Piers also said to him, are you clean? And he said 100 percent. And he said are you going to stay clean -- or this was in another interview he did yesterday. And he said, I don't know, I'm not sure yet.

VELSHI: That's up to me.

CHETRY: Yes, that's up to me. But so, he is not saying that this is the end.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: In terms of --

VELSHI: He certainly seems to be enjoying the limelight at the moment.

CHETRY: Yes. He also says he's ready to go back to work and he says that he's not spoken to any of his cast mates since CBS put the show on hiatus last week. So we're going to have more on his interview coming up throughout the morning.

VELSHI: And next on AMERICAN MORNING, the clock is ticking with a government shutdown still looming. Is there compromise in the air on Capitol Hill? We are going live to Washington.

CHETRY: Also, rising gas prices now having an immediate impact not just on when you fill up, but the things that you buy. We're breaking down why everything is costing you more because of rising oil prices.

VELSHI: And Libya's leader has already been abandoned by top military officers, diplomats, and now he's lost someone who may have been even more important to him, his personal nurse.

Eleven minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirteen minutes past the hour right now. Looks more and more like Congress may avoid a government shutdown this week. The deadline to get a funding bill passed is Friday. And Republicans and Democrats appear close to an agreement on a two-week extension.

VELSHI: But --

CHETRY: But again, it's still two weeks.

VELSHI: It's two weeks and no actual resolution to the actual budget dispute. The question is, what happens after that two weeks?

Jim Acosta live in Washington for us right now on two very different stories affecting the same thing. Will they get a deal to extend it for two weeks? And who's going to fix the budget? Jim? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly. I mean, Ali and Kiran, there's a saying in Washington, if we don't all hang together, we'll hang separately. And that's a little bit of what's going on here.

Republicans in the House are expected to move forward today with a temporary spending bill that would keep the government running for two weeks after this Friday deadline for a shutdown. The plan calls for $4 billion in cuts. And just want to give you an example of what they're talking about. There's a good couple of billion dollars in earmarks that they're talking about this.

What are they talking about? Well, they're talking about nearly $300 million in energy efficiency funds, another $300 million for transportation projects, $37 million for fossil energy research, and $15 million for drug abuse and mental health services. If you ask those folks, they feel like they're always on the chopping block. And Senate majority or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is already taking a Republican victory lap before this vote even happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: This bill represents an effort to change the culture here in Washington. It says let's start to change the mentality around here. Let's find $4 billion that all of us can agree to cut and cut it, and continue from that good start. Democratic leaders in Congress resisted even this up until a few days ago. Now, they've started to suggest they might be willing to agree to it. This is progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Mitch McConnell has reason to feel good about this. The White House is now indicating it supports this budget deal. One question is whether Senate Democrats will go along with this later in the weeks. That's not a sure thing.

And the bigger question as you said earlier, Ali, is whether both sides can work out a longer-lasting budget agreement that will keep the government running until September, there are no guarantees on that absolutely whatsoever.

CHETRY: So all of this talk we heard from Mitch McConnell is just about whether or not they can agree on the extension, not the larger budget?

ACOSTA: Exactly. They - they sort of feel like that this is, you know, sort of the set up vote for what's to come. And they feel like the Democrats at this point have no choice but to go along with these cuts, you know, they keep looking back to last - last fall and what happened in the midterm elections.

But what about the impact of those budget cuts that the Republicans are talking about? They're talking about some $60 billion in this budget agreement that they want to pass after this two-week extension. Well, Mark Zandi and, you know, Ali and Kiran, all about Mark Zandi, he's a noted economist, the folks in Washington love to cite him when they're talking about their proposal. Here's what he's saying will be the impact of the GOP budget cuts that they're talking about, 400,000 jobs lost by the end of 2011, 700,000 jobs lost by the end of 2012.

Why is this report important in the political context of all of this? Well, one reason is that Mark Zandi was a supporter of the stimulus that the White House proposed a couple of years ago to keep the - the economy from going down the ditch. And essentially what the Republicans are saying at this point is they don't believe what Mark Zandi is saying here. They're saying, well, he supported the stimulus, how can he be right about the - the impact of the budget cuts on this one? So it's just one of the shots being fired in this budget battle to come, guys.

VELSHI: He's also an adviser to John McCain. Republicans and a lot of Conservatives continue to take aim. Goldman Sachs said something like this a couple of weeks ago -

ACOSTA: Right.

VELSHI: -- that this could really hurt the economy. Republicans do simply not want to hear anybody saying that cutting the budget is going to hear the economy - hurt the economy and hurt jobs. I'm not quite sure who has to say it to convince them.

ACOSTA: Sure.

VELSHI: But bottom line is there is dispute about it. Jim, thanks very much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

CHETRY: Well, coming up next, you're paying even more to fill up your tank this morning. We're going to find out about these higher pump prices and why they're affecting things in your hometown.

VELSHI: Also coming up, some more changes coming to Facebook. Why you may want to think twice before you like something on Facebook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Definitely one of my favorite days - today. It's Pancake Day. Starting at 7:00 A.M., the short stack is free at the International House of Pancakes. IHOP, the restaurant chain, is calling it their sixth Annual National Pancake Day. Customers will be invited to donate the cost of the pancakes to charity. So it's not free, you're just not giving the money to IHOP.

IHOP says it plans to give away around four million pancakes while raising more than $2 million for the Children's Miracle Network. And it's the best -

CHETRY: Yes, it's a wonderful -

VELSHI: -- it's the best combination of stuff, right? Giving to charity, helping children, and eating a short stack. CHETRY: Yes. Well, my husband took my daughter last year. Let me just say one thing, one caveat, it gets a little crowded in the IHOP -

VELSHI: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: -- right around 7:00.

VELSHI: You'll get delayed -

CHETRY: It's hard to find some parking.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: They're giving away free pancakes, but - but my daughter was so excited about the thought.

Anyway, Consumer Reports with a surprise pick for the sporty car of the year. Look at that. The 2011 Ford Mustang took the top spot. It is the only second time an American car has won this category since Consumer Report started compiling its top picks 14 years ago. I love that car. It looks like the old days. It looks the Mustang in the '60s -

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: -- doesn't it? It's only - was one of only two American models that topped any of the magazine's lists.

VELSHI: Did you hear that?

CHETRY: Yes. That brings back - that brings back some memories.

VELSHI: Yes, I'm going to be doing that later on because they brought a Mustang out front. Consumer Report's going to be with us later.

CHETRY: Right. What time is that happening?

VELSHI: I'm going to do that around Columbus Circle.

CHETRY: Great. What time is that happening?

VELSHI: I don't know. I'm just thinking.

CHETRY: Well, I know -

VELSHI: Why do you ask me questions like that?

CHETRY: Because you told me you're going in a Mustang and driving away. So I'm going to do the second half of the show by myself because you're living.

VELSHI: Yes. That's true. Yes, whenever I do it. Is it 7:40 Eastern? Is that when -

CHETRY: Yes.

VELSHI: -- I'm doing that? All right.

CHETRY: And then you're headed off (INAUDIBLE).

VELSHI: You've got the rest of the show after that.

CHETRY: Sure. Good luck to you.

VELSHI: All right. Facebook reportedly making changes to its "Like" button, which is a relatively new invention for Facebook anyway. Matchable.com says posts that users like will now show up in their friends' news feeds along with a picture headline and a short blurb. So you'll end up sharing what you like with your friends and they can comment on your likes, as well. This is getting all too complicated.

CHETRY: Well, if that - if that meant nothing to you -

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: -- and there's no point in explaining it anyway.

VELSHI: This one means something to you, though.

CHETRY: But - but if you know what we're talking about, you know what we're talking about. That's the crazy thing about Facebook.

VELSHI: That's - that's what it is.

CHETRY: Gas prices, though, rising for the seventh consecutive day now averaging $3.76 a gallon? $3.76 a gallon?

VELSHI: That's a lot - for gas. I'm going to check that while you're talking.

CHETRY: Stephanie Elam is "Minding Your Business" this morning. Wow.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right.

VELSHI: $3.76?

CHETRY: We were talking about like $3.30 this week.

VELSHI: I have checked - I have checked - I have checked and Stephanie says we're right.

ELAM: Seven - actually I can tell you for exactly, the seventh day in a row this morning, it's $3 - actually - it's actually more than $3.37.

VELSHI: $3.37. All right. There's so - we -

ELAM: We transposed the numbers.

CHETRY: I was going to get -

VELSHI: You transposed the numbers actually.

CHETRY: Oh, me?

VELSHI: Yes, that was you. You said $3.73.

ELAM: Good thing I wrote it down.

VELSHI: I said I was going to check.

ELAM: Just to make sure.

VELSHI: Now, that we know the gas is $3.37 a gallon, because if it was $3.73 (ph), just so you know if it's $3.76, I wasn't going to drive that Mustang.

ELAM: Oh, no. I was just about to say. You know how all the shots -

CHETRY: You know how (INAUDIBLE).

ELAM: - all the shots of that Mustang, it kept driving out of the shot just like it's doing and then screeching the wheels.

CHETRY: Right. That was making you (INAUDIBLE).

ELAM: You might not want to do that -

VELSHI: Right.

ELAM: -- with gas -

VELSHI: No. That's right.

ELAM: -- in this price in a Mustang. I'm just saying. But this is really something that is affecting a lot of people out there and a lot of people actually understand what's going on this time. You take a look at what's going on in the Middle East, in Northern Africa. You see this. And it's - well, these are not major countries that produce oil, they have some disruptions around Libya on getting the oil out which then affects our gas prices. And that is part of the reason why we're seeing the gas prices continue to go up.

You know, normally, we don't see this until the spring. We see this going into the summer driving months. Winter's usually when the prices go down. It's still winter sadly for many of us here.

But let's take a look at what this means. According to one analysts, he's saying for every 25 cent increase, Americans spend $3 billion filling up. That really does hit home. And for companies that, you know, maybe have a small business, you don't necessarily want to pass it on to your customers because they're just now starting to spend again.

So it's a weird cycle. If they're not doing that, then they're maybe not hiring. And if they're not hiring, then that means people aren't spending as much, not as much discretionary spending and then that affects our economy. So these are things that we care about. This could affect your food. Think about it, you've got to pick it. You've got to truck it to wherever it needs to go. VELSHI: Yes.

ELAM: Take a look at clothing, same thing, it's got to be manufactured. And, of course -

VELSHI: In a factory that may use oil for heat or for its machinery.

ELAM: A lot of oil to do these things. And then something that Ali knows a lot about, especially if you -

VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE)?

ELAM: -- check out his tweets. No. Oh, you maybe know that about, too. Airfare because you're flying all over the place and airfares have gone up. I've just bought some plane tickets myself -

VELSHI: Yes.

ELAM: And you can definitely see that that price tick is going up and up and up.

VELSHI: Yes.

ELAM: And so people understand why this is happening, it doesn't mean people like it. And if this continues to a level where we get back to that $4 - above $4 -

VELSHI: Yes.

ELAM: -- it's really going to hurt some people, a lot of (ph) people.

CHETRY: Then we're going to start talking about solar panels again?

ELEM: Yes. And people are going to start talking to how they're biking to work and they're walking to work during office days.

VELSHI: So - so in an hour and a bit when I do talk about the cars and the Mustang, I'm also talking about three other cars, some of which are more fuel-efficient choices.

CHETRY: Yes. There's a hybrid, right? You're doing a hybrid.

VELSHI: Yes, yes.

CHETRY: And hybrids come in all ranges, as well, in terms of - in terms of efficiency.

VELSHI: Yes.

ELAM: Yes. But the thing is gas prices are going to continue to go up like this. People freak out about it and it's just really that, you know, that porcupine, they just don't want to stand on. They just want to stay away.

CHETRY: Sorry.

ELAM: Yes.

CHETRY: But we have a quick shot of what Ali is going to be in a little bit later. This is outside in Columbus Circle, just to give you a preview.

VELSHI: There it is.

ELAM: Yes. That's gorgeous.

CHETRY: Yes. That nice muscle car, throwback to the good old days, right?

ELAM: Makes you - makes you kind of want to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway.

VELSHI: That's right.

ELAM: I did that one time in a Mustang. Fun.

VELSHI: That one (INAUDIBLE).

CHETRY: Hopefully it corners well.

VELSHI: Stephanie, great to see you.

ELAM: Good to see you as well.

VELSHI: All right. Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, a show of force. The U.S. is beefing up its presence in the waters off the Coast of Libya. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Look at that. Atlanta before the sun rises. Beautiful city. Forty-five degrees right now, going up to 63 later in the day.

CHETRY: All right. It is a pretty shot this morning.

We're half past the hour, time to get a check of our top stories.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is ratcheting up the pressure on 14 Senate Democrats who fled the state to avoid a vote on the bill that would end up taking collective bargaining rights away from union workers. Senators are avoiding that bill as critics call it a deliberate attempt to kill many of the state's public unions. Wisconsin is facing a $137 million budget shortfall this year.

VELSHI: Extreme weather's making life miserable in the Midwest. There are flood warnings right now throughout Ohio and parts of the West. Tornadoes touched down in three states yesterday: Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Businesses and homes were flattened, trees like this one right here uprooted. And high winds and dry conditions fanning the flames of a wildfire along Florida's space coast. Officials say a nearly 20-mile stretch of interstate 95 remains closed this morning in Brevard and Volusia counties.

Meantime in Texas, dozens of wildfires have burned more than 130,000 acres. The fires are blamed for at least one death.

CHETRY: Libya's embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi this morning desperately clinging to power. More and more people, though, are joining the protesters. These are pictures from Sunday showing crowds of people taking the streets west of Tripoli. It's scenes like this that Gadhafi continues to deny.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER: They love me. All my people with me. They love me all.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, ABC NEWS: But if they do love you --

GADHAFI: They will die to protect me, my people.

AMANPOUR: If you say they do love you, then why are they capturing Benghazi and they say they're against you? They are widely --

GADHAFI: It's al Qaeda. It's al Qaeda. They're not my people. Yes. They came from outside.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Yes, he says that it's al Qaeda that is the cause of the protests in the streets. A lot of questions about whether Moammar Gadhafi is in touch with reality. In fact, listen to what the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said about Gadhafi's latest interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: It sounds, just frankly, delusional. And when he can laugh in talking to American and international journalists while he is slaughtering his own people, it only underscores how unfit he is to lead. And how disconnected he is from reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: The U.S. military presence in the waters of Libya could also be getting bigger, as well. Two powerful Navy ships are nearby. They're in the Red Sea. The USS Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship, is there. It has six operating rooms and enough beds to care for 600 patients. And it's too far from the USS Enterprise. Most recently, it was part of the deadly hijacking involving an American sailboat and a group of pirates.

VELSHI: And it may be a bitter pill to swallow for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. His nurse, who was famously described in a leak diplomatic cable as a, quote, "voluptuous blond," has returned to her home in the Ukraine. She's seen here. She arrived there over the weekend. And apparently, she's in no mood to talk to the crowd of journalists who have gathered her apartment yesterday. She reportedly told reporters, quote, "Don't you understand that I won't be speaking to you?" CHETRY: Well, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: the feds are cracking down on synthetic marijuana. It's growing into the drug of choice for at least some groups of people but it is undetectable in typical drug testing.

VELSHI: But some say it's more dangerous. So, they're going to be looking into that.

And a plan by New York City's mayor to force taxi owners into a fleet of hybrids has hit a major road block.

Thirty-four minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour.

Pirates strike again, hijacking another yacht in the Arabian Sea. But this time, there were three kids onboard. According to the Danish government, they say that this is a family, including three children, and they confirmed that this was indeed hijacked in the Arabian Sea. The yacht was seized Thursday. It's not clear right now how many pirates are involved or where they're from, but a maritime group that monitors pirate attacks says the vessel appears to be headed in the direction of Somalia.

VELSHI: Well, it appears that police considered Jared Loughner to be dangerous even before he opened fire on Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Emails obtained by CNN show that police at Pima Community College, which had suspended Loughner, were put on alert to keep him off campus. The emails indicate that police distributed pictures of Loughner to staffers and tonight watchmen and they stepped up patrols. Loughner had no record of violence before the Tucson shootings, but Pima Community College had asked him to withdraw and he had voluntarily withdrawn from the college.

CHETRY: And there were people -- classmates who sent e-mails, as well, saying they were terrified of him.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Well, the head of security of West Virginia's Upper Big Branch Mine has now been charged with lying to the FBI and obstructing their investigation into that deadly explosion last April. You may remember 29 miners were killed. The safety of the mine called into question. The indictment against Hughie Stover was unsealed yesterday. He also ran security at two other mines operated by Massey Energy.

They were the first criminal charges filed in connection with the worst U.S. mining accident in 40 years.

VELSHI: And the Supreme Court is refusing to hear New York City's appeal in its push to have taxi owners abandon gas guzzlers for eco- friendly hybrids. Mayor Bloomberg's plan would have meant fines for taxi owners who didn't use hybrid cars. The plan was rejected by lower courts which said that only the federal government has the power to set vehicle fuel economy standards.

CHETRY: And spice is no longer a legal alternative to pot. Effective today, the DEA is temporarily banning five chemicals used to produce the so-called synthetic marijuana for at least a year as they do further studies. Fake pot is already outlawed in 18 states.

Again, it's banned in the military as well. But according to a "Washington Post" study, they say that synthetic marijuana is commonly used most recently by midshipman at the Naval Academy because it does not show up in routine drug tests. However, it is still dangerous. They say side effects include seizures, hallucinations, anxiety, agitation, racing heartbeats. So, you know, it's not something to play with it.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: But again because it slips through the drug test, it's popular.

VELSHI: And listen to this one -- Iran threatening to boycott the 2012 Olympic Games in London because of the event's logo. The secretary general of Iran's national Olympic committee says the 2012 London Games logo is racist. He says the 2012 symbol really spells the word Zion, a biblical term for Jerusalem. The Iranian Olympic official sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC has responded, saying the London 2012 logo represents the year 2- 0-1-2, 2012 and nothing else.

CHETRY: It doesn't -- it's a very disturbing --

VELSHI: It's a weird logo anyway.

CHETRY: It looks like some sort of a puzzle.

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VELSHI: But I'm not sure if that would have been my choice if I were on the logo-picking committee but -- yes.

CHETRY: Yes. At least they've got the rings in there. So, good for them.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Still on this AMERICAN MORNING: wildfires are burning in Florida. They've shut down a major highway there. And right now, firefighters are fighting it. They're also depending on the wind to cooperate. We're going to check in with Rob Marciano. He's going to have the travel forecast after the break.

VELSHI: And if you've been on a plane in the last nine days, federal officials are sounding a warning about possible exposure to measles. We're going to tell you which flights and airports are involved.

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CHETRY: Beautiful shot this morning of New York City. You can see the beautiful Hudson River back there.

VELSHI: Except the problem is it's 32 degrees outside. And, you know, in one hour, I'm going to be outside playing with those cars.

CHETRY: That's right. And we also requested some wind for you, as well, to make you ultra-comfortable. But hey, it's going up to 44.

VELSHI: I'm going to be -- I'm going to be standing behind the tail pipe of that Ford Mustang.

All right. Forty-three minutes after the hour.

CHETRY: It's a great strategy.

VELSHI: Let's get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center for us.

Rob, I guess the weather today is not that extreme. But we're dealing with a number of things because of earlier extreme weather.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. I mean, yesterday was just -- I mean, fireworks all over the place between severe weather in the form of thunderstorms and tornadoes and wind-whipped flames to flooding and ice and snow. February is certainly going out like a lion. March, first day today, coming in like a bit of a lamb, but we're dealing with the aftermath of yesterday's weather.

Let's show you some of the damage coming out of Tennessee where there was one fatality with this tornado that ripped through south central Tennessee. Trees down, obviously, and homes torn up there. Where it wasn't storming, it was raining and raining big time, especially in a sliver real estate across south central Indiana, flooding there. And that's stretched in to parts of Ohio as well, about a four-inch slice of rainfall there. And on top of snow that's trying to melt as we get into March, and that caused some problems, of course.

All right. The back edge of this system and the trailing cold front is getting down into Florida. Those fires just north of Titusville still burning. Right now, we have southwest winds, so smoke still over I-95.

But this will help knock down some of those flames. There is rain in here, not a whole lot of lightning, a little bit, and then winds will turn just a little bit. So, firefighters will have to deal with the wind shift as the front moves through the Florida peninsula.

Up to the north, we're seeing the rain exit. A couple of lake effect snow flurries across upstate New York, but that is about it. Winds will still be around.

So, we're not going to see the huge delays that we saw yesterday across the New York metros, but we will see some delays because of the winds in typical spots, especially LaGuardia and maybe up over an hour there. Boston and Philadelphia seeing 30 to 60-minute delays; Atlanta and Charlotte, 30 to 60-minute delays, as well. But all in all, a much quieter day than we've seen yesterday. But the storms are resetting off the west coast. A couple of coming into the Pacific Northwest and another cold air driving down from Canada. We're not done with the cold air, that's for sure.

Across the south, we're dealing with OK weather as far as warm weather across parts of Texas. Still some breezy conditions across the Texas panhandle where they're still dealing with those fires. One of which is up and over 100,000 acres. So, they've got some wind to deal with there, but no rain or thunder, or lightning coming in that way.

Seventy degrees for a high temperature in Dallas. It will be 56 degrees in St. Louis, 64 degrees in Atlanta, and 46 degrees up in there in New York, 78 degrees with that cold front coming down through parts of Florida, and 42 degrees in Chicago. First day of March, OK? So, let's wrap our minds around that psychologically. Spring is that much closer. As a matter of fact, today is the meteorological first day of spring. How does that sound?

VELSHI: How is that different from the regular first day?

MARCIANO: It just means that, you know, the weather starts to turn more spring-like. The weather patterns become more spring-like today as opposed to March 21st.

VELSHI: Got it.

MARCIANO: It's kind of like this December 1st is our first day of winter.

VELSHI: Right. Right.

MARCIANO: Because, you know, December 1st starts to feel like winter, right?

VELSHI: Totally agree. December 23rd winter thing is always puzzling to me. I'm going to go with the meteorological changes in the seasons.

CHETRY: All right.

MARCIANO: I want to see you doing burnouts a little bit later. I'm excited if we --

CHETRY: I knew you'd like the mustang, Rob. I knew it. I knew it. All right. I know you're going to like this, too. I thought of you when I saw these images, NASA's Cassini space probe. They sent spectacular close-up shots. I was finding it amazing. This is Saturn. I mean, they took -- these are Saturn's moons.

VELSHI: I wouldn't have known thought that was a close-up shot of Saturn's moon. I would have thought that's one of the pumice stones.

CHETRY: OK. You're right. It also looks like a pumice stone, but just imagine this. I mean, imagine how far away this was and how incredible those lenses are that we're able to shoot. It's Hyperion. One of, at least, 62 moons circling Saturn. And the reason --

VELSHI: I love the way you delivered that link (ph). Obviously, that's Hyperion.

CHETRY: All right. Seriously, if you're a buff, this stuff is great. It's not a pumice stone. It's a galaxy. Astronomers are particularly struck by the sponge-like quality of the surface, OK? Hyperion is covered with these deep craters, and NASA scientists are now trying to figure out what's at the bottom of all of those deep depressions.

VELSHI: Very interesting. All right.

Listen, this is a little bit serious. If someone you know or you have been on a plane in the last nine days, and I've only been on about five of them, federal health officials want you to be on the alert for measles symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control says a 27-year-old New Mexico woman with a confirmed case of measles flew from Heathrow Airport in London to Washington Dulles Airport on February 20th.

Two days later, she flew from Baltimore Washington International to Albuquerque with a connection in Denver along the way. Ouch. The CDC is trying to contact passengers who sat within five rows of the woman. Early symptoms of measles include fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and sore throat.

CHETRY: The only thing -- they want you to figure out whether or not you've received two measles vaccines --

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: I guess, obviously, in childhood and then a booster.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: And let's say if you have figured that out --

VELSHI: Then, you shouldn't be in, too. So, their concern is if you were within five rows or you were around this woman and you haven't had all of that, you could then be carrying measles and spread it, and we don't want that happening.

CHETRY: Exactly.

The National Football League has developed a new test. They called for a long time (ph). A standardized test to test for concussions that will be done right on the field in six to eight minutes. It's designed to determine whether or not a player who's taken a hit to the head has been hit too hard to return to the game. Every team in the league will be using the neurological tests which start next season. Right now, it's sort of on a team-by-team, you know, basis as to whether or not their trainers think --

VELSHI: A lot of attention to head injuries in football in the last few weeks.

And also, all that soda could be spiking your blood pressure. Researchers in London studied 2,700 middle-age people in the U.S. and the UK and found out that those who drank more than one sugar- sweetened beverage a day had the highest blood pressure. Researchers say that's because a high sugar intake causes the body to retain salt.

Now, diet soda drinkers are not clear on this one. That's interesting. Researchers say you don't have the same high blood pressure problems, but you might have a higher BMI, body mass index.

CHETRY: You're so proud of yourself for knowing (ph) that.

VELSHI: Clearly, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to it, but I know what the initials stand for. Not like you know Hyperion, that 67th moon of Saturn.

CHETRY: 62.

Ahead in the next hour, a scare in the airplane packed with passengers forced to make an emergency landing again because of a bird strike. We're going to have more details on where this happened.

VELSHI: And Facebook is moving forward with plans to share more of your personal information with application developers. We'll tell you what you need to know to keep your information safe.

CHETRY: Also, right after the break, a teacher let go, not because she was bad at her job, but because of a particular bumper sticker. We'll explain coming up. Fifty minutes past the hour.

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VELSHI: The coronation for "The King's Speech" has also been a victory for the Stuttering Foundation of America. It has received a lot more media attention and seen an 80 percent increase in donations. The group's president says the movie is like "Rain Man" for the stuttering world. That's interesting. "The King's Speech" chronicles the struggle of Britain's king, George VI, to overcome his stammer at the outset of World War II.

CHETRY: Five members of Congress took on the same IBM supercomputer, the one that beat two of "Jeopardy's" all-time champions. You know, Watson. New Jersey Republican, Rush Holt, managed to give Watson a run for his money and a mock (ph) "Jeopardy" tournament. It was in Washington last night.

Watson put everyone away, though, in the double jeopardy round. The event was meant to showcase how an advanced computer could, one day, replace all of our congressmen.

VELSHI: Yes, I wouldn't enter into that contest. Hey, Ali, why don't you go up against Watson to see whether it can anchor a show better? I'd say I'm sick that day.

CHETRY: That's OK. Exactly. There's no need to give Watson an in.

VELSHI: He's already making a lot of in roads.

An Arizona high school teacher is being fired, not for anything she did in class, but over a bumper sticker on her car. Check this out. It says have you drugged your kid today? Tarah Ausburn says it's a criticism of the tendency to overmedicate hyperactive kids who might not need those medications.

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TARAH AUSBURN, FORMER TEACHER: I just like the ability to take a controversial topic and sum it up in one clever line, one metaphor or hyperbole. I'm an English teacher. That's what I do.

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VELSHI: Ausburn says some parents complained. She was fired when she refused to remove the bumper sticker. She's fighting to get her job back saying her first amendment rights were violated.

CHETRY: She probably has a pretty good argument there. I mean, this is a car that she owns and that she, you know, has outside of her job.

VELSHI: Yes. She's sort of raising a question. I think it's interesting. I would have said, if I were behind that car and saw that bumper sticker, I'm not sure I'd get it. Her point seems to be a little larger than -- you know, sometimes, when you tweet something and don't get your point across, that sort of feels like that to me.

CHETRY: She doesn't even have 140 characters.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: She's got a little bit less. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming up. Fifty-six minutes past the hour.

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AMY PURDY, SNOWBOARDER: Hi. I'm Amy Purdy, and I'm a competitive snowboarder. Since I travel so much, I have a bag that's got everything, and I know just to bring that bag. I always make sure to pack medications, legs, candy, ginger, and ginger tea bags because it helps with my stomach and keeps it calm. It does take me longer to go through the security check points at airports.

I always beep when I walk through the machine. So, I just have to let everybody know that I've got prosthetic legs, and then, they have to like swab your hands for bombs like that and kind of, you know, do all this metal testing. The number one advice I'd give to any amputee traveling by plane is to always carry your legs on you. The one time I decided to check my legs in, I didn't see them for a good two weeks.

I'm Amy Purdy, and I'm a road warrior.

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