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American Morning
Rebels: Gadhafi Wants a Deal; Race for 2012 is On; Charlie Sheen Has Been Fired; Poll Names Christie "Hottest" Politician; Erin Brockovich's New Thriller; U.S. Marshals Shot; "This Thing's Not Going Anywhere"
Aired March 08, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Will Gadhafi stay or go? There's word out of Libya this morning that the dictator may want out and a free pass as well -- that's according to rebel groups. The government there is denying it. His fighter jets continue to bomb his own city.
So, is this just a smokescreen? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: And good morning to you. Glad you're with us on this Tuesday. It's March 8th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Let's get to what's happening in Libya, a little confusing. Members of the opposition are now saying that the dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, is trying to strike a deal, saying he'll step down, he'll leave, but he wants immunity. But his supposed words and the actions of fighter jets still under his control are saying something different.
Our Nic Robertson is live for us in Tripoli.
Nic, good morning. What are we to believe?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., if we are to believe government officials here, they say these rumors about Gadhafi offering to step down in some kind of negotiation are rubbish. They say these are lies and propaganda by the rebels and not something they would really comment on. In fact, the spokesman said, look, I can't comment on this properly because the government just doesn't stoop to commenting on these issues.
But that's what we are being told here, that these reports coming from the opposition side, completely untrue. There are certainly intellectuals here in Tripoli who would believe that Gadhafi -- Moammar Gadhafi finding a way to step down and probably having some kind of part of a long-term deal here could be part of the solution. But the people that I've talked to have said that no idea how to approach that or at least no one is approaching it right now.
So, it definitely appears at the moment as if this idea has gotten way ahead of itself, if it was ever an idea. And, certainly, it's completely contrary to everything we've heard from Moammar Gadhafi, even as recently as last night, saying that he's here to stay. He's going to hold on in power, that the government is going to fight to take control of the country, the whole country united before they talk to the rebel groups.
So, right now, from here in Tripoli, it just looks like a nonstarter and just part of the twists and turns of this story, T.J.
HOLMES: An update there for us from Nic Robertson in Tripoli. Nic, we appreciate you, as always.
CHETRY: The 2012 race for the White House is perhaps under way. Five Republicans who would like to be the next president were all in Iowa last night, including former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, and former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer.
Our Jessica Yellin is live in Des Moines, Iowa.
And it's very interesting sort of speaking of this group. When you think back to 2008, there were many more candidates that had already declared. It seems that this time around, people are dipping their toe in the water, but they're not announcing yet.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. They're not ready to get in full-fledged yet.
But this was really the starting mark, the first moment off the gate for these would-be candidates. There are about 1,000 activists gathered at this church last night. And these folks mattered because they are the most likely Iowans to come out on a chilly night a little under a year from now and help select the next Republican nominee at least from Iowa.
We had a group of Republicans who, unlike many national folks believe -- and many national Republicans have argued the way to the White House this time around is through economic issues. These were voters who believe that moral and family values issues must play a prominent role in this election cycle. So, each of the would-be candidates hit hard on this theme.
Newt Gingrich, the former speaker, who -- as you pointed -- hasn't gotten quite into the race but has formed an exploratory committee. He tried to weave together the moral issues with the economic claim saying they are of one piece -- Newt Gingrich.
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NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Morality matters in economics because balancing the budget is an essentially moral, not economic question, about whether or not politicians ought to have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. So, there should be no distinction between economic, national security and social conservatives. We should all base our principles on fundamental questions of morality.
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YELLIN: And then another big name, there was Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor, who is still somewhat new to the national stage and new to many of these Iowa voters. His biggest challenge was show his vision and this crowd he has passion -- Pawlenty.
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TIM PAWLENY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: We are the people of this country! This is our country! Our Founding Fathers created it! Americans embraced it. Ronald Reagan personified it and Abraham Lincoln stood courageously to defend it.
We need to do the same. Now as ever, this nation, under God, will have a new birth of freedom! Our government, of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. And we will have the greatest nation, continue to have the greatest nation, the world has ever known.
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YELLIN: A lot of people who covered Pawlenty said the liveliest we have seen him. And he did make a big impression on the crowd. A number of other speakers emphasized, Kiran, finally, that this is not a time to give up on a morals value fight. It's essential to who -- what the Republican Party is about. That was a message well-received by this crowd, Kiran.
CHETRY: Pawlenty was fired up. I haven't seen him like that either. Wow!
You know, it's interesting. We talked to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in the last hour. She's still saying that it will be a couple of months before she decides, maybe by the summer, to declare or not. But she's doing an appearance in New Hampshire.
What are some of the other presidential hopefuls that may actually go for it that didn't show last night in Iowa?
YELLIN: Right. Well, there's Mitt Romney, who everyone in the political world expects will get in, but he doesn't necessarily have to be here yet because he is so well-known in this state and he might not compete as aggressively in the state as some others.
Then, there's Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, who, talking to some of the prominent activists in town who say, look, they give them another month or two. But both of those folks they say, they need to start showing up and knocking on doors, talking to Iowa voters. Pretty soon, if they do want to compete, and they say if we don't see folks like that showing up in the next, say, two or three months, we'll take it a good sign that they probably don't want to be president.
In Iowa, you got handshake and do that person-to-person interaction, or you ain't getting very far in politics -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jessica Yellin for us this morning -- thanks so much.
HOLMES: We have some new video to show you now of the sheer force of a deadly tornado in Louisiana. This was over the weekend. You see people getting away from the door there because there was a tornado that was whipping up 130-mile-an-hour winds just churning outside that door. It was sucking up the doors you saw there of that Family Drugstore.
Authorities say one person was killed, dozens others were injured by this tornado. Also, reports of 150 homes damaged. Some destroyed as well.
CHETRY: It was a major system that rolled in spawning those tornadoes.
Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center.
Are we looking at a calmer, quieter day today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: To start, guys, but, you know, I think we're going to see thunderstorms that may pack a punch similar to that in similar spots come tonight and tomorrow.
Here is the convective outlook from the storms prediction center and the highlights an area that got hammered over the weekend and thunderstorms will develop here and intensify. Really beginning this afternoon and lasting through tonight and then pushing off towards the east and tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon, it will be across parts of the Deep South in the Florida Panhandle. This does include, obviously, New Orleans. Probably it won't get there through late this evening and tomorrow night.
So, most of your Mardi Gras will be OK, I think. And then tomorrow is a different story.
Check out some of the snowfall totals across parts of the Northeast. My goodness. Here's what it looks like on paper.
Take a look at what it looks like on videotape coming to you from Vermont, which is no stranger to snow but Burlington set to get in the record books here. I think they are top five as far as how much snow they've seen this season. So, yet another city approaching a storm season of epic proportions or at least historical proportions.
Here's where that snow is now heading across the plains, snows heavy at times across the plains and in through the Colorado Rockies. And you see the rain and thunderstorms developing from Wichita, getting in through Kansas City.
And there are flood watches that have been posted or re-posted, I should say, from the Gulf of Mexico, all the way through the Appalachians and up and through the Northeast as this next storm system will tap some of their Gulf moisture and bring with it some heavy rain.
Not the spots that have seen those wildfires burn in New Mexico and western Texas again -- extreme fire danger there with windy conditions and not a whole lot of moisture. But there will be moisture heading back to areas that have already socked with it in the past few days.
Dry in the Northeast today and most of tomorrow, and then rain heads your way Thursday and Friday.
T.J., Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Rob, thank you.
HOLMES: Thanks, Rob.
Well, take a look at this picture of a happy family, wouldn't you say? Mom, dad met, fell in love and now they're raising a child. But mommy and daddy aren't like any mommy and daddy you know. These two were part of a covert team of CIA operatives. They have a story that is made for the movies and they are here telling us about it this morning.
CHETRY: Also, a little later, it was one of the president's first promises to end the terror trials at Guantanamo Bay and eventually shut it down. Well, now, in about-face from the administration. Restarting Gitmo, a good move or not? CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is going to be joining us live.
It's 10 minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: Well, their love story is probably not quite like yours. This is a story now, two CIA agents who fell in love. Now, Bob Baer, you may recognize that name. It's a legendary CIA operative. He was played by George Clooney you remember in the movie "Syriana."
Well, his wife, Dayna, also a rising star in the company. She was an especially trained gun-wielding shooter, served in some of the world's riskiest place. She actually thought the guy she eventually married -- she called him nuts at first.
But they have a new life now. They are here and making me a little nervous to have these covert operatives sitting this close to me this morning.
No, we are joined this morning by Bob and Dayna Baer. They are telling their story in a new book. It's called "The Company We Keep."
Thank you both for being here.
You tell me, how much of a disservice would I be doing to your story if I say, hey, yes, Dayna, Bob, they met at work, they fell in love, they got married? How much of a disservice to your story am I doing by keeping it that simple?
DAYNA BAER, CO-AUTHOR, "THE COMPANY WE KEEP": You know, that's fairly close.
HOLMES: Fairly close?
D. BAER: It's a lot like, you know, any work environment. Lots of people meet their spouse.
HOLMES: Wait a minute. Any work environment?
BOB BAER, CO-AUTHOR, "THE COMPANY WE KEEP": I didn't know her name for the first year, her true name. She was an alias.
HOLMES: But you all were working together.
B. BAER: We were working. I didn't know her name.
HOLMES: And that's just how it goes in your business? Is that correct?
D. BAER: Yes.
B. BAER: They use aliases. You remember them. Didn't know where she lived. Didn't know where she was born, nothing.
HOLMES: And you guys met, though, you were part of a covert team.
D. BAER: Yes.
HOLMES: You were kind of a senior, I guess. And you were just coming up. What did you think about him when you first met him?
D. BAER: Oh, my gosh. I -- you know, I thought he was crazy. I thought he was nuts. He was driving a lime green car in the middle of a war zone, you know? I didn't know what to think.
HOLMES: What were you both doing at the time? I know some things you still can't talk about, but what were you doing on that first particular mission when you did first meet?
B. BAER: Dayna was working for me on a directional mike that can listen to me through the walls. Our chief in Sarajevo, it was in the middle of the civil war, there was a lot of fighting going on, have been targeted by Hezbollah for murder. And so, we were sent in to go after Hezbollah and, you know, these guys were mean, a mean bunch.
HOLMES: My first meeting with my wife was a lot different, but whatever works for you. You both were married at the time. Now, you were both -- what was the status of your marriages? Because I can't imagine what this type of life does to relationships.
D. BAER: Oh, it's very difficult. We were both separated. When you're married to somebody that's outside of the CIA, lots of times, you can't tell them where you work, where you go, what you do. It just takes a huge chunk out of your relationship.
HOLME: Is that really the case that you're -- were they fully aware that you worked for the CIA, though? Were they fully aware of what you did? They just didn't know exactly where you were doing it?
D. BAER: You know, it's sort of a gray area whether, you know, they were fully aware.
B. BAER: My kids didn't know until they saw me on "60 Minutes." Really. They said, Oh, my God, there's Dad.
HOLMES: OK. How destructive is that to a life? I understand that you're still estranged from many members of your family right now?
BOB BAER: They don't talk to me, you know? You go away. It's in their eyes. It's betrayal because you've left for an adventure. You can't call. You can't e-mail. They don't know where you are. When you come home, you're a stranger.
DAYNA BAER: It's really hard because you're keeping so many secrets from a spouse. It's very difficult.
HOLMES: Is this a much easier -- is this fairly common because you all could probably only relate to each other in a lot of ways.
DAYNA BAER: Yes. And whether, you know, bob didn't know my true name for quite a while, but you can still understand. You understand how you get the job done and how you're working.
BOB BAER: You all are out of the business now. How difficult is it for someone who has given up so much in your personal lives? Even family that still you're not talking to to this day. You've given up so much. Have you gone? Can you ever get back to a real, normal, civilian life?
DAYNA BAER: You still have a lot of the little quirks and a lot of the little habits.
HOLMES: What are those little quirks and little habits that you say?
BOB BAER: Always drawn into a conspiracy. The head of the Banano Family (ph) called me up once and wanted a job done. Out of the blue, Sylvester Stallone called me up. So, Dayna sitting there and said, do you really want to get back into this stuff?
HOLMES: Now, what do you mean Sylvester Stallone? What these folks calling you for?
BOB BAER: He is having dispute with his business manager. HOLMES: OK.
BOB BAER: And he figures this Bob Baer guy, a CIA guy (INAUDIBLE) may know something. So, he gets my phone number and calls me up.
HOLMES: Do you all find yourselves, I guess, on edge at times? Do you find yourself still kind of, I guess, in that mode?
DAYNA BAER: Oh, yes. He's sitting in the back of a restaurant, if you can, facing the door. Yes. Those habits die very hard.
HOLMES: OK. To wrap up with you here now. You all are raising -- a daughter now, correct? Do you want her to be as far away from this life? Do you have a concern that there are still some of those old contacts and especially you that could come back into your life? Do you ever fear for your family now?
BOB BAER: We're going to take her on some, you know, adventures, too. You know, we don't regret what we did, and she'll love it.
HOLMES: Last thing to you here, it's a little different for our soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq. They're not necessarily doing covert operations like you all were doing, but still, there's a separation there away from their families --
DAYNA BAER: Right.
HOLMES: For extended periods of time. You all can certainly relate to, but is that sometime just too much to ask sometimes for a soldier to give? You're nodding your head yes, but you all can understand the sacrifices like no other.
DAYNA BAER: Oh, definitely, definitely. You know, and they are definitely, I think, on a more dangerous daily basis than we were in the CIA, as well.
HOLMES: I can't imagine that. The book I have it here, it's called "The Company We Keep: A Husband and Wife True Life Spy Story." Really, this is something that is made -- certainly made for the movies. We have all watched "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." Some of those movies before with the comedic take, but this is the real deal. Serious stuff. We appreciate you two coming in. Thanks so much for being here. A pleasure to meet you, guys, all right?
DAYNA BAER: Thank you very much.
HOLMES: Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, T.J.
Well, still ahead this morning, Erin Brockovich, she's an activist in real life, known for almost single-handedly battling a power company accused of polluting the ground water in Hinckley, California. You remember it. Well, now, she has a new project, and she's here live to talk to us in just a moment. Also, which politician has the most heat, I guess, you could say? Move over, President Obama. We're going to have more on a new poll who's sending temperatures rising. They are "Morning Talkers" next. Nineteen minutes past the hour.
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CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST: The last "Discovery" space shuttle mission is now currently under way, and while in space, the crew onboard "Discovery" received a call today from President Obama. Did you know that? Yes, thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Yes. The president told them you are not going to believe what's happening with Charlie Sheen down here.
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O'BRIEN: And then, he described it to them.
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HOLMES: Yes. What is happening with Charlie Sheen now is that he is officially now out of a job. Fired yesterday from "Two and a Half Men" after, as you know, some bizarre public rants and a ton of interviews that he's been giving. Following the announcement, Sheen appeared to celebrate, if you will. A video was put out on TMZ which shows the actor on top of a building in Beverly Hills holding a machete. Also heard saying "Free at last. Free at last."
CHETRY: Maybe or he may be shaping up for some legal battles with CBS and Warner Brothers. We'll see what happens.
Meanwhile, the heat is on in Jersey. The state's governor, Chris Christie was named the hottest politician in office. That's according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll. Now, if you take into account, other national figures, Christie cools a bit. First Lady Michelle Obama came in at number one on what they call the feelings thermometer with a temperature of 60 degrees.
Former President Clinton closed second at 59 degrees. And Christie, as we mentioned earlier, had a temperature of 57 degrees. President Obama right behind with 56 degrees. Interesting way to sort of get the pulse of how people are feeling.
HOLMES: They will feel about some of these folks. Well, we're all been told, you always need a good night sleep, right? Well, what may be to blame for your insomnia. That's coming up next.
CHETRY: I think it's the show is to blame for our insomnia.
Well, plus, a big U-turn. President Obama reverses his original vow to shut down a notorious Guantanamo Bay prison. CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, joins us to weigh in on this debate that's causing a lot of controversy. Twenty-four minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: You can probably think (ph) that shot we're joined by a few people. We'll be hearing from Christine Romans and Jeffrey Toobin in a second. This is a problem. This really is a problem, all right? If you're having trouble sleeping, it could be one of those gadgets you have because a lot of us do this. Certainly, on the shift, you're checking your Blackberry right before you go to sleep, getting the updates and what not.
CHETRY: And you know what my favorite one is? Are you up? That e-mail?
HOLMES: OK. Sorry about that.
CHETRY: Are you up?
HOLMES: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: But they're saying using these electronics like the laptops, the iPads, smart phones, all that right before bed could trick your brain because of all those flashing lights and all that stuff, it might trick your brain into thinking it's still day time and could cause a disturbance in your sleep pattern and could cause some insomnia. So, stop e-mailing me.
CHETRY: I don't know. It's really hard, though. Can you imagine putting your Blackberry or your iPhone in another room and trying to go to sleep? You feel like you missed something. You can't. It turns out it's turn crazy (ph).
HOLMES: You know, I'm going to do that tonight.
CHETRY: All right. Well, what time should I give you your wake- up call when you sleep through your alarm because you're not going to get up?
HOLMES: Give me about 5:45 in the morning and you might be concerned (ph).
CHETRY: Well, in today's economy, a lot of folks who can't find a job are trying to create one, instead. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. She joins us now. So, you take your brand and you go create yourself a job?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And entrepreneurship is at a 15-year high. Last year, 565,000 new start- ups every single month. Last year, in 2010 and 2009, those were the two highest years in 15 years. This is from the Kauffman Foundation, a group that studies entrepreneurship. So, a 15-year high the most likely to start businesses were immigrants, slightly more than (INAUDIBLE) born, high school dropouts showing that that could be out of necessity because they're not getting jobs.
So, they're starting their own jobs. Nevada, Georgia the highest rate of entrepreneurships, slightly more men than women. L.A. has the highest rate of start-ups and Philly has the lowest rate. Construction and service industries top this here. So, these are people going on their own. Now, according to the survey, though, this is good news on the surface. You know, you're not finding something in the labor market so you're making it happen for yourself.
But the flip side of this is that they're not hiring people, and the rate of new start-ups that are actually hiring people has been declining. So, watching this, if you can't find a job, create one. That apparently is what a lot of people are doing here. They have yet to start hiring other people, though, but making it happened for themselves.
Now, it's also International Women's Day. Did you know? First thing that fascinates me of 23-year-old women, 23 percent have a bachelor's degree. Of 23-year-old men, 14 percent have a bachelor's degree.
CHETRY: This is a trend that you've been following as well as been changing at public universities across the country.
ROMANS: It's really interesting. So, that's something from the White House report on women. Also, I want to tell you a couple of other things. So, you know, cue the Beyonce all the single ladies right here. A single woman making more than $40,000 a year, what does she spend her money on? 31 percent of her income is spent on shelter, 17 percent on transportation, 12 percent on food.
Basically, those big necessities are the same for women in a lot of different income categories. Interesting. Isn't that interesting? So, that's where women are spending their money. Just a little tidbit for you.
CHETRY: When you say transportation, the car and the cost of gas?
ROMANS: Car insurance and gas and all that, yes.
HOLMES: And for men, it's one enormous flat screen TV.
ROMANS: That's right, 80 percent of the income goes. When it's international men's day I'll break those down for you.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: We'll get back to you.
CHETRY: Some would argue the other 364 days of the year.
HOLMES: Oh, wow! Here we go.
ROMANS: It's women's history month, March. I'm teasing. CHETRY: Time for our top stories now at half past the hour. Word out of Libya this morning that dictator Moammar Gadhafi is looking for perhaps a way out. An official with the opposition tells CNN that Gadhafi is in talks with them for safe passage out of the country for himself and his family, and also a guarantee he would not face charges.
The official Gadhafi spokespeople are denying this, and this morning and proof on the ground. Fighter jets continue to pound cities in Libya this morning. Again, the regime denying that Gadhafi wants any deal to step down.
HOLMES: Update on a woman who got a lot of attention for some say accepting the most dangerous job in the world. She's 20 years old, and she became the police chief of a violent Mexican border town after nobody else would take the job.
Now the word Marisol Garcia is in the U.S. She has given up that job and is in the U.S. and seeking political asylum in the U.S. This is coming us it from the U.S. immigration and custom enforcement. She was apparently a target of Mexican drug cartels and she ended up being fired from that job after she didn't show up for work.
CHETRY: She said at one point she didn't have a gun and wasn't armed, but she was the police chief of an extremely violent border town.
Wisconsin Democrats are still AWOL. They say they want to talk to the governor about the state's budget impasse. Scott Walker, the governor, is rejecting any proposed meeting that would have taken place at the Illinois border instead of Wisconsin's capitol and called that suggestion ridiculous. And 14 Democrat senators fled the state to block a vote on Governor Walker's plan that would strip unions of most of their collective bargaining rights.
HOLMES: Some are calling this possible the biggest about-face of his presidency. President Obama saying now the U.S. will resume military trials for terror detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
CHETRY: The president in his second full day in office signed an executive order that would shut down the military prison within a year, hoping to show a clean break from President Bush's policies, especially as they related to the military tribunals.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us now with more. It's interesting. Clearly, it was a top priority of the administration and one of the big campaign promises and he wanted to do it. What happened? Reality got in the way?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think you're being a little too hard on president Obama, because he said he is going to end Guantanamo by the end of his administration but I think that's true. It's not going to be the Barack Obama administration that Guantanamo will close the Sasha Obama administration will be the end of Guantanamo.
(LAUGHTER)
This has been a complete disaster for the administration from day one. They made political judgments and made and they made legal misjudgments and he was essentially forced into this decision, because Congress rebelling against the plan to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged terrorists into the United States for civilian trials prohibited it, so that option was off the table. Now he is going to try to do a mix of military tribunals, some civilian trials, and leave some people there for essentially indefinitely.
HOLMES: You make the distinction. They tried hard to convince reporters that this is different from the George W. Bush policy. What distinctions can you actually point out to where now his policy is going to be different from what George W. Bush was doing?
TOOBIN: I would say the differences are subtle between the two. You basically have three categories of people. There are 172 inmates in Guantanamo now. Some of them will get civilian trials, you know, just an ordinary criminal trial. That was sort of the signature of the Obama approach.
He initially rejected the idea of military tribunals, which are similar to civilian trials, a lot of the same civil rights protections. They're now going to have those in Guantanamo. That is the biggest change from the original Obama proposal because they originally were not going to do military tribunals in Guantanamo but that is now going to happen.
Again, the most controversial area is this third group where they say these are dangerous people but we don't have enough evidence to try them anyway so we're just going to keep them there and give them some sort of hearings but not really trials. But, you know, some of these people have been in prison for almost a decade now with no trials and that is what the Obama administration is now saying will continue.
CHETRY: Right. They made some distinction. I believe they said they would come up review every six months as opposed to every year, but really nothing for that third group, that nebulous sort of zone, nothing really changes.
TOOBIN: Right. And when you get an essentially meaningless hearing every six months versus a year, the appropriate question to me is, so what?
CHETRY: Well, we will see. There will be political ramifications, obviously, because the liberals are not happy about this at all and the conservatives today are saying with a big "I told you so," but in the end, in reality, he didn't have a choice.
TOOBIN: I mean, I think in reality, he didn't have a choice. I think the political ramifications will be modest because the people who are most upset are sort of the core of Obama's base. You know, liberals, people who are committed to the rule of law who put a lot of faith in Obama, they better be happy with what Obama did on other issues because they are not going to win on Guantanamo. HOLMES: Jeffrey, good to see you this morning.
TOOBIN: Good to see you, too.
HOLMES: Thank you so much.
CHETRY: It's been 11 years since Julia Roberts portrayed her in a movie and won an Oscar for it, but there's just no forgetting Erin Brockovich herself. She is live in our studios this morning. She has continued to fight for the cause of the environment. And she has taken on another new project as well. We will see what she is up to coming up.
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CHETRY: We're talking this morning to Erin Brockovich. It's a true case of art imitating life. She is out with a new novel called "Rock Bottom." Its focus may sound familiar, an environmental crusader who takes on a mining corporation. And Erin Brockovich joins me live right now. Good morning.
ERIN BROCKOVICH, AUTHOR, "ROCK BOTTOM": Good morning.
CHETRY: I know you wrote an autobiography in 2001. Why did you decide to go with a novel that did mirror some of the things that you have experienced in your life as an environmental crusader?
BROCKOVICH: Because, you know, I spent a lot of time with communities, and I can see that they get so overwhelmed and so inundated with information that just sometimes issues will fall on a deaf ear for them.
And I thought the movie had an impact. We call a cause novel about real issues that are going on that could be affecting them where they could just read, be inspired, close that book and feel a call to action or want to become proactive, that it would be a good way to create awareness, a good way to inspire people.
CHETRY: You wanted to reach a new group of people. For people who are passionate about the environment, they do have to sift through a lot, right? They read a lot about the latest, you know, studies and issues. In this, you wanted to just sort of inspire a group of people that maybe wouldn't be interested otherwise?
BROCKOVICH: Well, people that are not interested otherwise, or people that lose their inspiration. Like I said it can be really very daunting and you just want to back away from it. What I see happening is, most times, people think there is nothing I can do even if I speak up. But nothing could be further from the truth.
So I'm hoping that the book and the character in it, A.J., can inspire others and others can say I can be solved and I can speak out and be proactive. That is where they will begin to affect some change.
CHETRY: Where are we take ago broad-brush view of what we have done or haven't done in terms of protecting the environment? Worldwide, are we in a worse situation or have things improved?
BROCKOVICH: I don't think things have improved at all. I'm in a unique situation. I've been out here doing this since 1991, and it was one vision I saw. And then the film came out and then here we are 11 years today and I look back and the problem is we haven't even addressed or cleaned up the issues that we were dealing with back then.
CHETRY: In fact, you're talking about the hex chromium, the landmark settlement and the inspiration behind the Oscar winning movie behind your life. This is shocking. The environmental working group and found this hex chromium in 31 of 35 U.S. cities that they studied. They tested the water supply there. You were in D.C. recently talking about this recently. Are our lawmakers taking this seriously enough?
BROCKOVICH: I am really and truly concerned, because I don't think we're paying attention or listening to what is happening to the people out there on a day-to-day basis that are being exposed to these contaminants and we have got to start doing that.
I'm inundated with e-mails, 25,000 to 35,000 a month coming from people globally reporting environmental issues. And in the United States alone, I've started a plot on the map the communities coming to me with ground water contamination and reporting what they believe are too many cancers and illness within their children, and I have 700 sites on that map already.
CHETRY: Who listens to you, though? Who takes this seriously?
BROCKOVICH: Well, I think we need to be taking it seriously. And that is why I'm hoping I can do more work in Washington. I'm hoping that I can do more work to create awareness because it is -- listen, it's ground water. We all need water to survive.
CHETRY: Of course.
BROCKOVICH: And we have got to pay attention to what is happening out there. And that is part of the problem. If we don't take a step back to look at how we got to where we are today, we're never going to progress forward and have clean water and better health.
CHETRY: Have you seen "Gas land", the documentary? This is a community, many communities as a result of this hydro fracking that takes place to get natural gas. This guy can light his tap water on fire.
BROCKOVICH: I've seen that.
CHETRY: This is so upsetting when you think about high hydraulic fracking is what it's called. When you have gas creeping up to $4 a gallon, do people care less about the environment and more about their pocketbooks?
BROCKOVICH: I think the economy certainly plays into it, and these are all very good topics of conversation. But it can't be one way or the other. Nobody in these communities, excuse me, are asking companies to go away.
Listen, we all enjoy the benefits of it. We all love our cars. We like to fly. We like our heat and we like our air-conditioning. But what these communities are asking for is we have got to be responsible in how we handle our waste and how we're doing fracking and how we're doing our business and not contaminating the water.
And if it does happen, we need to mobilize quickly to protect people's health and clean it up. So it's about responsibility and accountability. It doesn't have to be this fight where we're asking industry to go away and just the environment go one way. We have got to have clean water and that is got to be a priority, because without it, none of it's going to work anyway.
So I don't like the constant fighting that's going on and I think that we've really got to work hard to find ways to be responsible and accountable for what we're doing for the environment, so people are protected. And -- and we can move forward in a more healthy manner.
CHETRY: Hopefully, that will happen. Erin Brockovich author of a new novel.
BROCKOVICH: We'll be fighting for that.
CHETRY: Right. Your fight and you're fighting every day. "Rock Bottom." Great to meet you this morning.
BROCKOVICH: That is true. Thanks so much.
CHETRY: Erin, thanks so much.
We're going to take a quick break. Forty-five minutes past the hour.
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HOLMES: We're giving you a live picture here of a neighborhood in St. Louis where we've been told that three U.S. Marshals have been shot. We are at the mercy here of our affiliate there, the helicopter there that is -- that is hovering above, but we can't -- we'll be going back to that.
But -- but again, we're using that live picture from our affiliate that has been moving in and out of this neighborhood.
Three U.S. Marshals shot as they were trying to serve a search warrant -- or excuse me, an arrest warrant for a suspect at a home. We do not know what that suspect was wanted for, but three marshals ended up shot. One of them we know was taken to the hospital by a police escort. We don't have an update on that particular marshal's condition or the other two.
The suspect apparently shot as well. Not sure about his condition. We're also told that there were three children, according to witnesses, or telling our affiliate that three witnesses -- or excuse me that three children were inside at the time but they have made it to safety. This happened all within the past hour there in St. Louis, but a neighborhood there where at least three U.S. Marshals have been shot; not sure of their condition at this point but the suspect shot as well.
But a breaking news situation we're keeping a close eye there in St. Louis. We just wanted to keep you update you on.
Well it's just about 10 minutes at the top of the hour. A quick break here on this AMERICAN MORNING. And we're right back.
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ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. It's -- it's that day again. Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. That's today. And that's -- that's New Orleans, a live picture for you. A little bit damp this morning. Temperatures in the low 60s but that -- that's not dulling the mood or dampening the mood, I should say, at all.
Good morning, everybody. And happy Mardi Gras to you. There is a threat for seeing some storms in and around New Orleans but the heavier storm and heaviest rain will likely hold off until later on tonight, but when it comes, it could be pretty strong stuff. We got a severe weather threat from Arkansas down to Louisiana. It'll hit Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas first and then drive to south as it's a pretty strong system that continues to break (ph) down to the south and maybe some leftover storms across New Orleans tomorrow morning and then eventually drifting into the Florida panhandle tomorrow afternoon.
Decent storm getting itself together, it's got all the ingredients, it's got snow, it's got wind, it's got rain, potentially severe weather, including the threat for tornadoes later on this afternoon and tonight. And it's going over an area that really doesn't need any more rain. We've seen the flooding across parts of the Midwest the past week and a half. More rain expected over these areas and getting into the northeast as well. Another snow event for extreme parts of northern New England, but other than that, it will be wet from D.C. back through the Gulf of Mexico.
Flood watches have been reposted for this area in anticipation of this rain that's heading their way; 79 for a high temperature in Dallas before the storms; 59 degrees in Memphis; it'll be 52 degrees in D.C.; 46 degrees in New York City; and 66 degrees for our friends waking up early in Los Angeles.
That's a quick check on weather. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.
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CHETRY: We covered a lot the wrath of Mother Nature. And you see the video of just how much damage and destruction a tornado can do.
HOLMES: But what -- what would you think if they could actually make a -- a home that was indestructible? Even a tornado couldn't tear it down. Well, a developer near tornado alley "Building up America" about building some of the strongest houses in the world and our good friend, Tom Foreman, is live with us this morning in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Good morning to you this morning.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. How are you all doing? And you know it's interesting that we're here to talk about tornadoes today because as we mentioned a moment ago, severe weather coming to the area. We may have tornadoes right in this area later on today.
They really have been just a plague on the middle part of the country. As we all know, for -- for many lifetimes. But there is one man down in Little Rock who had this idea. He thought about tornadoes and all of the damage they do. He is in the construction business. It's good for him in the sense that he gets a lot of work out of it, but he hated seeing the destruction and hated the idea that so many people lost lives and homes. And he came up with a solution that seems to be working for everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Tornadoes kill 80 people, injure hundreds, and cause a billion dollars worth of damage in an average year but in a suburb of Little Rock right in tornado alley.
(on camera): It all looks perfectly normal.
JOHN HOUSE, PRESIDENT, KODIAK STEEL HOME: Right.
FOREMAN: John House's home holds a secret solution no visitor would suspect.
HOUSE: They wouldn't have any idea whatsoever unless they went up into the attic.
FOREMAN: Well, let's go up into the attic.
HOUSE: Ok.
FOREMAN: So up here, we can really see the difference.
HOUSE: Right, because we have bolted together structural steel --
FOREMAN (voice-over): The frame is not made of wood but of steel.
HOUSE: This is an I-beam.
FOREMAN: John is the President of Kodiak Steel Homes. And he says despite the economic downturn, despite the fact that these houses can cost up to five percent more than usual, folks like Charlie Tackett are snapping them up.
CHARLIE TACKETT, HOUSEOWNER: I might be spending a little bit more now but it's going pay for it in the end. This house sounds is not going nowhere.
FOREMAN: Other companies make steel homes but not many. John is proud to say his can withstand 140-mile-an-hour winds for four hours.
HOUSE: Yes, I'll do it right away.
FOREMAN: Sales have declined a bit but John says not nearly as much as for other builders because people want to be even more secure in their big investments now.
HOUSE: So instead of making our homes cheaper in response to the recession, we have made our homes better.
FOREMAN: Would you have any doubts about being up in this attic during a tornado?
HOUSE: No, none whatsoever.
FOREMAN: And he has no doubt his houses will help him weather the economic storms, too.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: Now, no home is really tornado-proof. The simple truth is tornadoes produce winds that can go well over 140 and 160 miles an hour. That is however well into hurricane strength. The simple truth is if you get a big enough tornado things can come down anywhere. They had some buildings they lost right on the street in Ft. Smith to tornadoes some years ago.
But he does believe that his homes are more storm-resistant and that's the attraction to a lot of people. Storms that can weather a lot of this tough weather that comes sweeping across the plains.
CHETRY: It sounds like a smart idea. I mean, especially, as you're saying, where they live and where they are and just trying to make sure that that destruction doesn't happen every time bad weather comes in.
Tom Foreman for us this morning, pretty cool. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: Thanks Tom and we as always want to say thank you for spending some time with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We need to hand this over to Atlanta and our Kate Bolduan is doing her duty today in Atlanta. Hey there Kate.
CHETRY: Hi Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey you guys have a great day. Thanks so much.
