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American Morning
High Hopes for Jobs Report; Obama Calls on Gadhafi to Step Down; Brush Fires Burn in Southwest; Unrest in Libya; Are Unions Breaking Budgets?; Virginity Is Hot!; "It's Time For Gadhafi To Go"; "Women Do it Better"
Aired March 04, 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, hopeful signs of an economic rebound, unemployment claims are down. And in 2 1/2 hours, the Feds will be releasing the February jobs report. If the experts are right, America's workforce could be in for some pretty good news, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, President Obama is turning up the heat on Moammar Gadhafi this morning, calling on him to give up power and step down as Libya's dictator. But he is still ordering bombing missions on his own people. We'll have the latest from Libya.
VELSHI: And note, NFL labor talks head into overtime. The two sides agreeing to extend the deadline for a player lockout until midnight tonight. But is that enough time for a bunch of multimillionaires to divvy up $9 billion?
CHETRY: And when it comes to sleep, let's not kid ourselves. Most of us know we're simply not getting enough. But what is the actual impact of us being a nation of sleep-deprived zombies?
VELSHI: And more American teenagers are saying no to sex. That's coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: New developments overnight in the standoff in Wisconsin. Protesters leave the state capitol, but they say that does not mean they're backing down.
VELSHI: Tired, rundown, not getting enough sleep? You're not alone. You won't believe how many people just are not getting enough sleep and the effects it could have, the serious effects it could have on your life.
CHETRY: And, Ali, hold your ears. Is the battle of the sexes over? New proof apparently that women are better than men when it comes to just about anything. But will this really end the debate? Again, this is a study. We're going to find out on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome. Glad you're with us.
VELSHI: I'm already outgunned on this conversation.
CHETRY: I know. We're going to hear more from Alina Cho on this new study out about the battle of the sexes in a moment. But first, we want to say welcome. It's Friday, it's March 4th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
VELSHI: And I'm Ali Velshi.
First, though, rich or poor, Republican or Democrat, every American has got a financial stake in what happens in the job market. We know that already.
CHETRY: Yes, of course. It is the single biggest thing driving the economy and in 2 1/2 hours, the February jobs report comes out. There are a lot of people hopeful that this month will show that we've finally turned the corner. Our Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
There's a lot of positive signs ahead of this release.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
CHETRY: It may not be the case, but it looks better.
ROMANS: And we have heard again and again that all of the signs internally in the economy point to companies starting to hire again. The question is, though, will that show up this month in these numbers?
The forecast you guys is for 190,000 jobs to be created in February. But I want to show you the most recent trend. We lost jobs in August and September. In October, November and December, we gained jobs. But in January, we only gained 36,000 jobs. Remember, we've got it right here.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: We had the same high hopes in January and it didn't pan out largely because of a couple of different factors, including -- including some really bad weather. So we'll see if you could get some jobs growth in February. You'll probably still going to see an unemployment rate around nine percent, which in any circumstance is painful for our country and it's not good. It still means too many people out of work.
We're watching to see if the private sector is starting to add jobs again and I suspect you're going to see state and budget cuts, meaning that government jobs have been lost.
VELSHI: Government jobs dropping off. Yes.
ROMANS: Quickly, the good and bad of the economic recovery then. If we haven't seen the jobs really come back here, what is going so right in the economy?
Well, jobless claims yesterday were at a three-year low. That means the number of people filing for the first time for unemployment benefits yesterday was the lowest in three years. That's good news. Retail sales have been recovering. People have been digging into their pockets. Frugal fatigue starting to spend money again, especially on things like cars. Markets are up. Dow was up 190 points yesterday. You've had a two-year bull rally.
Manufacturing, Ali and Kiran, as you know, at a seven-year high. What's not going right? Home prices still sliding. Many people say we are -- wow, if we're not in the double dip, a double-dip recession in housing yet, we're almost there. Gas prices are rising. Food prices are rising. Inflation overall remains benign, but tell that to anybody who's going to the grocery store and trying to fill up their carts.
CHETRY: But a rally on the stock market yesterday.
ROMANS: A big rally in the stock market yesterday because oil prices came down a little bit and because they saw that jobless claims number and they said, wait, are we finally --
VELSHI: Maybe there's some hope.
ROMANS: -- we've finally going to get the month with the number of 150,000 or plus in jobs created. That's something we've been waiting for for a very, very long time. Today is the best chance we've had in a long time to get it.
VELSHI: You're -- you sound optimistic about it. The country is optimistic about it. We are all a little bit unsure because we've seen these projections of lots of job numbers not happen.
ROMANS: That's right. Last month it didn't happen.
VELSHI: But we will know in about two-and-a-half hours.
ROMANS: Yes, we will.
VELSHI: Christine, thanks.
CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.
VELSHI: Now to the crisis in Libya. New government air strikes overnight on rebel positions in the eastern Libyan town of Ajdabiya. We've been focusing on that for the last couple of days. Ben Wedeman has been in that area.
Bombs reportedly landing just outside a military base that's held by opposition forces. Reuters is reporting new bombing near the capital, Tripoli. Meantime, President Obama is offering his strongest condemnation yet of the Gadhafi regime. He says the Libyan leader has lost legitimacy and it is time for him to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Colonel Gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave. That is good for his country. It is good for his people. It's the right thing to do. The United States has full capacity to act potentially rapidly if the situation deteriorated in such a way that you had a humanitarian crisis on our hands or a situation in which civilians were, defenseless civilians were finding themselves trapped and in great danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The president has ordered the use of U.S. planes to help evacuate Egyptian citizens who fled to Tunisia to escape the unrest in Libya.
CHETRY: Also, Gadhafi is getting some support now from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who is proposing an international goodwill commission to mediate Libya's crisis. Chavez says that Gadhafi is open to the idea because he wants to, quote, "show the reality of what's happening inside Libya." Chavez has accused the U.S. and others of blowing the situation out of proportion, an effort to justify an invasion.
And at the bottom of the hour, CNN's Ben Wedeman will have a live report. We'll be checking in with him live from inside of Libya.
VELSHI: Moammar Gadhafi has blamed Libya's unrest on Al Qaeda. This morning, the terror group second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, delivered the latest in a series of audio messages concerning the uprisings in the Middle East. He saluted those in Tunisia and Egypt who stood up against corrupt rulers saying the path for freedom is still long. He says America wants a democracy that allows Arabs to always be weak next to Israel.
CHETRY: There's some new developments this morning in the labor standoff in Wisconsin. A judge has banned protesters from sleeping in at the state capitol building. You may remember for weeks now they have been spending the night there. The order gives authorities the right to forcibly remove them if they disobey. They did not disobey. They did head out peacefully. Protesters can continue daytime business hours to protest in the capitol.
Meanwhile, police are also citing some security concerns after finding 41 rounds of hollow-point rifle ammunition outside of the capitol building. They are looking for more ammunition this morning and also the person that it might belong to.
VELSHI: And if those 14 Democratic senators in Wisconsin don't come back to work, Governor Scott Walker says 1,500 layoff notices will be sent to public workers this weekend. Walker says those layoffs could take effect on April 1st. The senators left the state last month to stall a vote on the governor's budget bill. A resolution in the state Senate was passed earlier in the week fining those senators, the Democratic senators who are not at work $100 a day for each day of work that they miss.
CHETRY: House Republicans in Indiana are ready to start fining more than 30 boycotting Democrats $250 a day. Again this is in Indiana now. Democrats there left the state 11 days ago. They're staying in a hotel in Illinois denying Republicans the two-thirds majority they need to vote on a budget bill that would, again, like the situation in Wisconsin, restrict collective bargaining rights for state employees.
VELSHI: In another dispute that involves collective bargaining rights but in a very different way, the NFL talks are going into overtime. Talks between NFL owners and players have been extended for one day. They were supposed to expire last night. It's going to expire tonight. And that gives them about 18 more hours from right now to cut a deal.
The collective bargaining agreement was set to expire at midnight last night. The owners may lock out the players and put the next season in jeopardy if they can't figure out how to split a $9 billion windfall between them.
CHETRY: Well, a top college athlete kicked off of his team for having premarital sex. According to the "Salt City Tribune," Brigham Young University basketball star Brandon Davies admitted to school officials that he had sex with his girlfriend. Premarital sex is an honor code violation at the Mormon university which requires students to live a chaste and virtuous life. BYU is the third rank team in the nation and was gunning for a national title. In their first game without Davies, they were beaten badly. It was just their third loss this season.
VELSHI: And a nation of zombies, the Centers for Disease Control says one in three adults sleep less than seven hours a night. Twenty percent of those people said they've got trouble remembering things. Five percent admitted to nodding off behind the wheel.
CHETRY: That's the scary part.
VELSHI: If I got seven hours a night, I'd be --
CHETRY: I know, right?
VELSHI: I'd have twice as much energy.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, we're a unique breed.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: The early morning overnighters.
VELSHI: But again, it does seem to be sort of the chronic problem of the ages.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: Or this generation. It's just hard to get a lot of sleep.
CHETRY: Let's check in with Rob Marciano right now. We've been covering the story about the brush fires in Florida and the big fire fight the firefighters there have been going under.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: We have some pictures there from Miami/Dade County courtesy of WPLG. Again, these fires in the southwestern part, the southeastern part of the state.
Rob, what are they looking at today in terms of getting any cooperation from the weather as they try to battle these fires?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I mean, there's some showers that are trying to form offshore. The winds are coming from the ocean onshore. But they're pretty blustery today. And you can kind of see with the smoke billowing from those flames not necessarily going straight up, kind of going in a diagonal, which indicates t the winds are blowing pretty decent there horizontally. And that's what we're seeing right now and that's what we expect to see today.
No significant rain in the forecast. Might see some isolated showers, but that's about it. So weather hurting today much like it did yesterday, and that's why these guys are having a hard time. And then on top of that, a very, very bad drought, ongoing drought passed since October. I think this has been one of the driest stretches in like 70 or 80 years. So obviously the real estate there is primed to ignite and that's the situation we have right now.
All right. There you see the radar behind me, very, very little in the way of moisture coming in. The stronger winds really are going to hurt more than the moisture coming in off the ocean is going to help.
A little farther to the north, you're going to see a rebound in temperatures across the northeast today after a chilly day yesterday. A little bit more closer to normal today. But rain coming in from the Midwest -- and this is going to cause some problems because, look, it's going right over Indiana, going right over Ohio and western PA and these are the areas that saw flooding earlier this week. So there are a number of flash flood watches and on top of the warnings that are still out from the last batch around. So it's going to be a bit of a mess here in the next day and a half across the Ohio River Valley. And this heavier rain, by the way, is going to be stretching into the northeast. Not cold enough for snow anymore. High temperatures in New York will be at 43 today, 52 degrees in D.C.
All right. You know, whenever we have a satellite launch or any sort of rocket launch, we love to show this video. And it's usually a good news event because it's a cool stuff to watch.
This is the Glory spacecraft lifting off in California this morning. About an hour ago as a matter of fact. And it was scheduled to -- this Taurus (ph) rocket was supposed to carry a satellite into orbit that's going to monitor and model the earth's climate.
Well, we're getting word from NASA about five minutes into launch, the thing fails. The fairing of it, which basically is what's used to cover the satellite itself didn't separate from the rocket. And that's -- that makes it too heavy to carry it all the way into orbit. So they think the thing is probably going to fall into the ocean. We don't have a confirmation on that yet. But this is not the first time this particular rocket has failed carrying a spacecraft into orbit. So a bit of a blow to NASA and the company that makes that rocket.
Guys, back over to you.
VELSHI: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Still ahead, a recently radicalized Muslim now confessing to killing two U.S. airmen overseas. There is some brand new information on the killer's motives and whether or not he acted alone.
VELSHI: Mike Huckabee seems to be the new Sarah Palin. He's making headlines again. This time by making more controversial remarks about President Obama's upbringing. Is it another slip of the tongue? Or is this something a little more calculated?
CHETRY: Also no surprise -- wow, come on, this is tongue in cheek. Women are superior to men in every way, right? Well, there is a new study in a book that's backing this up. We're going to check in with Alina Cho.
Twelve minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifteen minutes past the hour.
And we have some new information this morning on the person behind the shootings and killings of two U.S. Air Force members in Germany. A radical Muslim now confessing, but authorities say he has no ties to terror groups. We also know now the names of the victims. The Air Force identified them as Senior Airman Nicholas Alden of Williamston, South Carolina and Airman First Class Zachary Cuddeback of Stanardsville, Virginia. They were shot and killed in a bus carrying military personnel outside of the Frankfurt, Germany Airport.
German authorities identified the shooter as 21-year-old Arid Uka. They told -- they say he told interrogators that American troops were his target. And even though he acted alone, officials say he was Facebook friends with known pro al Qaeda extremists from a group based in Germany.
VELSHI: We're going to talk a little about that a little later on and find out a bit more about how they're making the connection between him and these extremists.
Meanwhile, now that Congress has repealed the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the one that banned openly gay soldiers from serving in the Military. Harvard is welcoming the ROTC back. It's been 40 years since the Ivy League school expelled the Reserved Officers Training Corps from its campus to protest the Vietnam War. Now, in recent years, the school's displeasure with "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" continued to keep them the ROTC off campus. Harvard's president and the Secretary of the Navy will sign a formal agreement today bringing the program back to the university.
CHETRY: Florida Democrats hoping to pick up a few House seats with the help of Lady Gaga. They're actually selling tickets to her concert in Tampa. It's part of their House Victory 2012 campaign. Democrats buying up tickets for Gaga's April 16th show and then will sell them to raise money for candidates. And they're also securing luxury box seats for upcoming concerts by Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, and Katy Perry in an effort to bolster the party's (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Are you a big Gaga fan?
CHETRY: She -- I mean, she puts on a great show and I like her music.
VELSHI: Yes. I made a bet with my wife about a year ago --
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: -- that it's a -- it's a five-year flash in the pan thing.
CHETRY: Yes. Well --
VELSHI: I'm worried that I'm going to lose that bet.
CHETRY: Yes, I think you might.
VELSHI: Yes. All right.
CHETRY: Sorry (ph) about that.
VELSHI: Mike Huckabee not backing down from another controversial remark that he made about President Obama. And they're happening often enough that people are beginning to wonder whether these are accidental or deliberate.
The former Arkansas governor is exploring a run for the presidency. On Wednesday, he told a radio interviewer Obama is out of step with the American people because of his upbringing.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR (voice-over): I have said many times publicly that I do think he has a different world view. And I think it's in part molded out of a very different experience. Most of us grew up going to Boy Scout meetings and, you know, our communities were filled with Rotary Clubs not madrassas.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VELSHI: Madrassa refers to a Muslim school. Now earlier in the week, Huckabee mistakenly, or so he claims, said that President Obama was raised in Kenya. Later, he insisted that he misspoke and meant to say Indonesia.
CHETRY: All right. Well --
VELSHI: I mean, it's becoming hard to believe that these are -- this madrassa thing is definitely not a -- a mistake.
CHETRY: Yes. And, you know, we're going to talk more about it because, again, he is exploring a run --
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: -- for president in 2012.
VELSHI: And he has complained in the past that Sarah Palin gets all the attention from the media because Sarah Palin says things that get attention. So now he seems to be going down that road.
CHETRY: We're going to check in with that a little later.
VELSHI: And it's working.
CHETRY: Yes. We're going to check in with Candy Crowley about that coming a little bit later.
But first of all, all of you guys out there man up. Alina Cho says there's a new report saying that women are superior to men in just about every category you can think of, not the paychecks, though.
VELSHI: Right. It's a good point.
CHETRY: Still not the paychecks.
VELSHI: And a cost of a carry-on, it may not be free after all. Find out just how much it's costing you, the taxpayer, for people to carry all of their luggage on to the plane. Interesting story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And go.
VELSHI: Choosing your carry -- you know, I'm just fascinated by the story. It's sort of taking me a second to get my head around it. Choosing to carry your luggage on to a plane may not be saving you as much money as you think.
According to the Associated Press, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the extra security that is needed to check all of those bags, meaning check them out is costing taxpayers $260 million per year. Napolitano says raising airport security fees would help offset that cost.
CHETRY: Wait. So you're saying --
VELSHI: It always makes me --
CHETRY: So you're saying that carry-on versus checked baggage --
VELSHI: Right. So --
CHETRY: -- or just bringing stuff in general?
VELSHI: No, no, because -- because now -- because it costs more money to check stuff --
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: -- you carry it on.
CHETRY: Carry more on.
VELSHI: But now, that means more work and greater delays for the TSA at the security check through.
CHETRY: But they still have to screen your checked baggage too.
VELSHI: Right. But you -- there was a whole lot less checked baggage. Now, people are taking the biggest thing they can take with the most stuff and they're trying to sneak their toiletries in and things like it (ph).
CHETRY: Yes. But we're talking about -- but, I mean, they -- you say they still have to check the stuff that goes in the cargo hold, as well, right?
VELSHI: They didn't inspect -- no, no. That goes through -- that goes through like an x-ray thing. They don't -- they randomly search it.
Have you ever done that? You arrive and it's -- you open it up and it's got a notice that says the TSA has checked it. They don't check everything. They check everything that goes through the security -- the confusing word here is "check". They don't inspect everything.
So Napolitano is saying that by all of these people taking all that much more stuff on the plane, it's costing more for the TSA and you're going to end up paying for it one way or the other.
CHETRY: Right. Bottom line, you still got to -- you've got to pack light and I know that's hard for most people to do, myself included.
Well, this next story may have you wondering what ever happened to common sense. Forbes is out with its list of the most ridiculous label warnings. And, you know, they have to do this. But the Jabra Drive 'N' Talk, it's a speakerphone accessory for your cell phone. The warning says "Never operate your speakerphone while driving."
VELSHI: That's what it's for.
CHETRY: Right? VELSHI: Right. I think they mean don't fiddle with it, right? Like don't be adjusting it and (INAUDIBLE) pressing buttons on it, but it's actually meant to be operated while you're driving.
How about this one? Peanut M&Ms, the warning, "This product may contain nuts."
CHETRY: I -- I think this is a good one for my daughter with a peanut allergy. Sometimes people just forget that.
VELSHI: Well, there are a lots of --
CHETRY: They forget that.
VELSHI: - there are a lots of travelers to the United States, the dollar is low. They may not have grown up with M&Ms and it's not obvious. If you're looking on M&M that you didn't grow up, what -- it's kind of like Mike Huckabee says, right?
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: If you grow up with -- with Rotary and Boy Scouts as opposed to madrassas.
CHETRY: I mean, if I'm (ph) Mike Huckabee.
All right. Also, the warning on the Vidal Sassoon Hair Dryer. So you -- you don't have a lot of problems.
VELSHI: Not at time (ph).
CHETRY: I mean, you don't worry about your hair.
VELSHI: I haven't looked at the warning on my Vidal Sassoon Hair Dryer some years --
CHETRY: This may be the reason you don't have hair is because you didn't heed this warning. You operated your Vidal Sassoon Hair Dryer while sleeping and what happened?
VELSHI: It says do not operate -- do not use while sleeping?
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: I don't understand that.
CHETRY: Look what can happen.
VELSHI: This must be -- this must be the outcome of a lawsuit of some sort because some guy went to sleep or some woman went to sleep with her hair dryer on.
CHETRY: Well, when it comes to things like compassion, competence, and intelligence, you know where we're going about?
VELSHI: I know exactly where we're going. CHETRY: Women are simply superior to men.
VELSHI: I'm not going to argue that.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: There was a day I might have argued it, but I'm a married man now.
CHETRY: You're married now, and you know better. All right.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: All the guys on the crew know what I'm talking about, right?
CHO: I mean -- listen, wait --
VELSHI: You know my wife? There's no (INAUDIBLE).
CHO: I do know Laurie very well, and there's no doubt about it, you know, she's smarter. She's just better in --
VELSHI: Yes.
CHO: -- every way imaginable.
I mean, listen, I've spoken to a lot of people about this, particularly a lot of women, and they all say of course this is true. We've known this for years. There's just now evidence to back it up, right?
Listen, you know, if we told you that women were better cooks, teachers, nurses, more emotional, more nurturing than men, you probably wouldn't be surprised. But you may be surprised by this -- better drivers, competitive eaters, even beer tasters.
It's true, according to a new book, and the author says there is indisputable evidence to back it up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): The battle of the sexes. Who's superior?
New research shows the so-called weaker sex is actually stronger.
CHO (on camera): What do you make of that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's awesome. Right on. Who wrote it?
CHO (voice-over): Dan Abrams, legal analyst for ABC News is the author of "Man Down." The book's premise, based on more than a hundred gender-based studies. Women are better cops, gamblers, world leaders, even hedge fund managers. DAN ABRAMS, AUTHOR, "MAN DOWN": The men tend to swing for the fences. They tend to go for the home run. And women are more methodical, they're more careful.
CHO: More trustworthy.
CHO (on camera): We're both newscasters.
ABRAMS: Yes.
CHO: I've known you a long time. I mean, I can say this, without question, that I'm better than you.
ABRAMS: Yes. You are. You are a better -- and -- and if you and I were to both read a similar item of news, studies would show that those words coming out of your mouth would be viewed as more credible.
CHO (voice-over): And while you're at it, men, don't get behind the wheel.
ABRAMS: Men get more accidents, they get more tickets, they drunk drive more often.
CHO: But don't tell that to a man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're better drivers when you're right next to us and you're telling us what to do.
CHO (on camera): Oh, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, otherwise, no way.
CHO: The evidence says that men get in more accidents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's wrong. Oh, yes, because we drive more.
CHO (voice-over): Which begs the question --
CHO (on camera): What are you better at?
ABRAMS: The book says almost everything.
CHO: Like?
ABRAMS: Men are certainly better athletes.
CHO (voice-over): Really?
ABRAMS: No.
CHO: Too bad -- a scratch. My turn.
CHO (on camera): This is the first and last time you're ever going to see me play pool. ABRAMS: Yes. Yes.
CHO: I believe I've won.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Lucky shot. What can I say?
You heard that women are better cops. Why? They're said to be less corruptible.
Also, listen to this, men get struck by lightning four to five times as much as women. Why? Well, it appears that men are more reckless.
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE).
CHO: So the man will say, I know there's a thunderstorm coming, but I'm just going to go finish that work on the roof, or I'm going to play that last round of golf.
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: So they -- they take more chances.
VELSHI: That's what happens.
CHO: As Dan says, they swing for the fences, whereas women will go for a single or a double. A little more safe, but they get better results.
VELSHI: Well, insurance companies recognize this.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Insurance companies do recognize this. There's a reason why guys pay more for -- for insurance.
CHO: That's absolutely right. And Dan says the insurance companies don't lie.
CHETRY: I mean -- I mean -- they're -- men are very --
CHO: We do need guys.
VELSHI: Handsome?
CHETRY: -- important and very competent in -- in many things, as well. So -- I mean, part -- you know, everyone's teasing Dan. They've said --
VELSHI: Handsome.
CHETRY: Handsome. Yes. They said did you write this book so you could get more action? You know what I mean?
CHO: Dates.
CHETRY: Yes. He's --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: But, really, honestly, why do men -- why do women still make on average, you know, 80 cents on the dollar? Why are men --
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Well, because we're fighting -- well, generations of gender bias. I mean, we're still fighting it. We make, you know, more. We're -- we're inching closer, but we're not there yet.
VELSHI: There's also different jobs that women dominate than jobs that men dominate. So it's still -- part of it is we're not fully in the same jobs. So the idea that women make less than men, absolutely true. A lot of it has to do with women occupy different jobs --
CHO: Well, I mean, this is something you know a lot about.
Listen, you know, women are better hedge fund managers. You know, they're set --
VELSHI: My -- my wife is one.
CHO: -- that women are better hedge fund managers. Still, only three percent of hedge fund managers are female.
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: So, you're right, there is --
VELSHI: But they -- but they see risk differently. They see risk in driving differently, in life differently, in family and in investments.
CHETRY: I think -- I still -- there are -- guys have -- have to serve a very important and equal purpose in -- in our culture.
VELSHI: Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Somebody's standing up for the guys here.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: We can't just say men suck at everything.
CHO: No. They don't suck at everything.
VELSHI: I think it was -- I think Dan makes a very interesting argument, that just laid out quite empirically the things that women are better at, and you have delivered it with aplomb --
CHO: Thank you so much.
VELSHI: -- and grace, and I don't feel all that bad.
CHETRY: And you crushed him at pool (INAUDIBLE).
CHO: Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
VELSHI: Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING: President Obama says Gadhafi has got to go. But the Libyan leader is digging in. He's launching new attacks on rebel positions. We're going to have a live report from inside the uprising.
CHETRY: Also, it's a battle between a cash-trapped state and thousands of firefighters and police officers, details on why they turned out by the bus load. Still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Thirty-three degrees. A beautiful shot of the sun coming up over New York City this morning. It's 24, though. At least later, it's going to crack the freezing mark, going up to a high of 41.
VELSHI: You have a lot of temperatures there. It's 24 and it's 33 and it's 41.
CHETRY: No, I said we're going to crack the freezing --
VELSHI: But it's 24 right now? Or is that the low?
CHETRY: Yes. For the high, we're going to crack the freezing mark.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Do men don't listen as good as women? I'm just trying to figure out. What are you guys better? I want to know.
VELSHI: I can handle a winch on a car, like if I need to winch something out. I can totally do that better than my wife.
Thirty-three minutes after the hour. That's where the 33 came from. It's 33 minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: That's what I said, sorry.
VELSHI: A lot of numbers happening here.
Let me bring you up to speed with some of this morning's top stories.
Wall Street has high hopes this morning for a strong jobs report. It comes out in two hours from now. Economists are predicting the economy added 190,000 jobs in February. Yesterday, a better than expected weekly jobless claims report helped lift the Dow more than 190 points.
CHETRY: Pirates have now reached land with a Danish family kidnapped off the coast of East Africa. One pirate says they've reached the shore of Somalia. Now, this greatly reduces the chance they may be rescued quickly. But he also says they are safe for now.
Yesterday, one Somali pirate warned against any effort to rescue the couple and their three children, saying the family would die just like the four Americans who were killed last week. And coming up in the next 20 minutes, we're going to be speaking with Paul -- we're going to be speaking with a terrorist -- with an expert on pirates coming up a little bit later about what if anything the United States or other countries can do with this growing pirate crisis in Somalia.
VELSHI: It seems counterintuitive that now that they've reached land, it reduces the chances that those hostages will be freed. But they're in Somalia, which is really quite a lawless place where it's going to be very hard for anybody else to get involved and rescue them. We'll continue to follow that and understand piracy a little bit more.
President Obama delivering a message to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The president says Gadhafi has lost his legitimacy and must step down. He says those who perpetrate violence against the Libyan people will be held accountable. The administration is said to be exploring a full range of options, that's their words in response to the crisis.
CHETRY: Gadhafi, though, is showing no signs of giving up. Libyan war planes launched new attacks overnight on a rebel position in the town of Ajdabiya in eastern Libya.
CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now on the phone from eastern Libya.
What has been the reaction, if any, to the calls by our president for Moammar Gadhafi to step down?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, certainly, many Libyans would welcome that if he would actually do it. But, at this point, he shows no signs of responding to the calls of both his people and the international community to resign.
What we're seeing here in eastern Libya is that the anti- Gadhafi forces are advancing. They're more -- they're about 50 miles along the road now outside of Brega. So, they've regained the ground -- or rather they've gained ground from the Gadhafi forces, but it's sort of an open desert in this area. And they have yet to actually engage any of the Libyan army in this area about 50 miles to the west of Brega.
They're expecting to advance. They're trying to get to (INAUDIBLE), an important town with a large oil refinery there. And after that, they're hoping to get to Sirte, which is the hometown of Moammar Gadhafi. We're hearing that there are officers and soldiers at the Libyan army who have gone over to the rebel side, but the situation there is still very unclear.
CHETRY: Ben Wedeman for us in eastern Libya this morning with the latest update -- Thanks so much.
Also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: it is a wedding fit for a prince and his princess, of course. But planning for security of the big event can be quite difficult. We're going to take you along the royal route in London.
VELSHI: And the results of a new government study may surprise you. A growing number of young Americans are virgins. We'll have the details for you.
It is 37 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour now.
And a battle underway in New Jersey over budget cuts and layoffs. Thousands of firefighters and police officers rallied outside of the state house in Trenton yesterday. Cuts in the state have led to thousands of them being laid off. Police and firefighters are also being asked to contribute more money to their benefits packages. Governor Christie says everyone must make concessions because of the economic circumstances facing the state -- Ali.
VELSHI: Yesterday, we broke down the pros and cons of collective bargaining. I'm going to post it again on my Twitter and Facebook pages so you have another look at it.
But I got a very interesting e-mail that said that maybe I was misleading in talking about how collective bargaining affects public companies or for-profit companies, when really the issue today is about government, state governments in particular. So, today, let's look at the bottom line. How it affects you, whether you're in a union or not.
We mentioned that a company with a unionized workforce which uses collective bargaining may have to pay their workers more for doing the same job as a company that doesn't have a unionized workforce. They're forced to make that up by selling their products at a higher price or taking a smaller profit. That impacts the company's overall profitability.
But what we are seeing in Wisconsin and in Ohio and Indiana, other states, are union members bargaining against the government, not a for-profit organization. Here, there are no profits -- the money, the difference between what they get from collective bargaining and not are actually your tax dollars. And that is an important distinction because there are more union members in government than there are in the private sector. In fact, 36 percent of government workers across this country are in a union compared to only 7 percent of private sector employees.
In total, if you look at the average of all Americans, about 12 percent of all workers are unionized -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, right now, states like -- again as you said, the question is: would we all be better off without unions? That's one question that people are asking. But right now, in states like Indiana and Wisconsin, thousands of union workers are facing the layoffs. So, unless these budgets are passed, force them to surrender their collective bargaining rights, again, the same type of questions.
Well, Casey Wian is in Wisconsin right now with more on this side of the story. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This youth detention facility in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, has 21 beds. But today and on many days, there's just one inmate. County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer wanted to close the facility and send inmates to a neighboring county.
BOB ZIEGELBAUER, MANITOWOC COUNTY EXECUTIVE: I think it probably would've saved us in the neighborhood of $300,000 to $350,000 a year of taxpayer money that we could've deployed elsewhere to save other jobs from layoff. But that wasn't possible.
WIAN: Collective bargaining agreements prevent the company from laying off union employees to move inmates elsewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could not -- if we layoff officers, we could not transport these juveniles to another facility.
WIAN: From negotiations over a health insurance carrier to grievances over minor scheduling changes for a library worker, Ziegelbauer says unions are costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
ZIEGELBAUER: We've got to get down on bended knee and say, "Captain, may I?" to the union on every little thing. And it's just a growing bundle of inefficiency that we could do better without.
WIAN: Union leaders have a different view.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't call -- I wouldn't say that we're blocking it. I would say that it's his inability and his unwillingness to discuss those issues with us and come to reasonable solutions.
WIAN: The debate here mirrors the one at the state capitol where Governor Scott Walker is proposing dramatic limits on public employee collective bargaining rights, as part of an effort to close a $3.6 billion budget deficit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see that being a cure all to the budget problem. I don't think this is what created the budget problem perhaps.
ZIEGELBAUER: We don't need every single piece of what the governor's proposing, but we certainly need most of it.
WIAN (on camera): The county executive concedes he probably doesn't need restrictions on collective bargaining to balance his budget in the short-term. But he says they are needed to stop another financial crisis from developing in the future -- Ali, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: All right. Casey, thanks very much for that. We'll continue to follow this story with you.
Still to come this morning: more rain for the Midwest and coming up for the weekend. Rob's going to have this morning's travel forecast right after the break.
CHETRY: Also, some people just can't dance. Like this guy, for example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Hey, hey, hey --
CHETRY: We may know why, though. It may be scientific. There may be a reason why some people are born with no --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: I'm not talking about anybody in particular. We'll be right back.
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VELSHI: Beautiful. I just love this shot. The sun coming up over beautiful Atlanta skyline. It's 47 degrees right now. It's going to be 56 degrees later on, but there is rain expected in Atlanta. It's 47 minutes after the hour.
CHETRY: Yes, it's march. You can't have it all yet. It'll be nice soon, though.
Time for "A.M. House Call," and a new government study finds that younger Americans are waiting longer to become sexually active. It's very interesting. The CDC says among 15 to 24-year-olds, 27 percent of males and 29 percent of females say they're virgin, and that is up from 22 percent for each sex in the same age group back in 2002.
VELSHI: I haven't had a chance to read the study. I saw it, but I didn't get a chance to fully read it to understand what's driving that, you know?
CHETRY: More people are opting for chastity.
VELSHI: Excellent.
CHETRY: Thank you. Does everyone else in the room get uncomfortable when you --
VELSHI: When you show the one that you were showing.
CHETRY: Yes, it's kind of like --
VELSHI: That makes me uncomfortable.
CHETRY: Sort of like the Elaine on Seinfeld Christmas party dance. There you go. Having guilty of that a couple of times, too. It may not be that you have two left feet, it may be your brain is the problem. The study in the University of Oxford in England says that a chemical in your brain called gaba may have something to do with it.
All right. I guess, do you need some gaba here? Researchers found if you have more -- oh, no, I guess, you do have a lot of it, because if you have a lot of it, then you can't learn sweet moves as easily.
VELSHI: I have too much gaba.
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: And we don't need that on there for too long, do we? By the way, I was demonstrating how a computer might dance. That was what that discussion was. That wasn't --
CHETRY: So, you were being purposely robotic.
VELSHI: Correct.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I've got no bones.
CHETRY: Got you.
VELSHI: It's 48 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center, hopefully, with no further comment on the matter.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Come on. You've got to allow something. Didn't they call you Mr. Roboto at one point back in the day.
VELSHI: Stop it.
MARCIANO: You got skills. You do too, Kiran. We just don't have it on video. That so, it's not really fair.
CHETRY: For a reason.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Hey, guys. Temperatures are going to be rebounding across the northeast today, but we've got a big old mess in the middle section of the country. This is a storm that came on through California earlier in the week through the intermountain west. Now, that energy is ejecting into the plains. And we do have a threat for some severe weather across parts of Missouri and Arkansas throughout the afternoon today, as well.
New York, you're looking dry. Temperatures are going to be about 10 degrees warmer today and then even warmer than that tomorrow, but rain is moving in to that area, as well. Chicago, back through Cincinnati, Columbus, in through Pittsburgh, look for increasing moisture throughout the day today. Not the news you want to hear because this is over the same area that saw heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday.
So, where there aren't flood warnings, there are flood watches for this incoming rain oversaturated ground. And that snow melt is still trying to get into the river system. So, from western half of Pennsylvania and upstate New York all the way back through the Tennessee Valleys, we've got flood watches up through tomorrow. If you are traveling today, 30 to 60-minute delays here in Atlanta because of some low cloud cover, Chicago O'Hare may some delays, as well.
Minneapolis, Houston, and Los Angeles, we don't see any major delays, at least, at the northeastern airports, at least, for today. Tomorrow, I think, will be a different story. Fifty-three degrees for the high temperature in Chicago. So, there's that mild air. I mean, just two days ago, temps were struggling to get out of the 20s. So, nice rebound attempts. Unfortunately, with that comes some rain, temps in New Orleans will be 71 degrees, 75 degrees expected in Dallas.
And anyone temp (ph), a nice weather in Florida, but it's too dry. It's a little bit breezy, and they're still dealing with brush fires that continue to erupt down there in the sunshine state. So, that would be an ongoing issue, I think, through the weekend. Enjoy today, guys. A little rain coming to you for your Saturday -- Kiran.
VELSHI: Rob, thanks very much for that.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Top stories just minutes away. Also, should the government decide how long you have to keep your kid either in a car seat or a booster seat? Parents in one state will have to pay if they don't comply with some changing rules. We're going to talk about why it's so important for child safety.
VELSHI: And all smash, no grab. A strange liquor store rampage caught on tape. We'll bring it to you after the break.
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VELSHI: You think you're going to the royal wedding?
CHETRY: I'm pretty sure. We are going there to cover it, but I highly doubt I'm getting an invite.
VELSHI: Oh, why?
CHETRY: But we will be one of the many sitting there trying to bring to the people what's going on. So, it'll be fun. But, yes, Prince William and Kate Middleton are tying the knot April 29th in London. And, of course, they have to do some major planning for the security aspect of this big royal event. In a word, it's going to be a nightmare. CNNs Dan Rivers spoke to a security expert about the challenges they're facing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL GEDDES, SECURITY EXPERT: When we bear in mind how many people, A, are going to be watching this event around the world, but secondly, the number of people that will be coming into London to actually be part of the whole celebration. It makes for an incredibly complex policing operation.
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This will be lined with people. What are the risks here, for example?
GEDDES: The biggest risk will be firstly trying to contain the number of attendees who are coming along with a number of visitors, but it will also be ensuring that not only the royal family members but all the dignitaries that will be coming in from around the world are also safe and can move securely and quickly to a certain extent from one location to the other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Will Geddes says that the royal wedding would be seen as an ideal target for a terror attack.
VELSHI: And it's one of the best videos of the past week. We want to show it to you again. I can't get enough of this thing. I have this weakness for laughing babies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): Little baby gets the giggles at his dad's expense, literally. The paper they're ripping up is a rejection letter for a job. This video already has 5 million hits on YouTube.
I can't get enough of this. I don't know why.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Whenever we have tense moments on the set, it actually works for Ali, as well.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: You can't do it on cue. You should see him behind the scenes, he laughs exactly like that baby. Sorry.
VELSHI (on-camera): We've got top stories coming your way after the break.
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