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U.S. Fighter Jet Down in Libya; Earthquake Rocks Honshu; U.S. fighter Jet Down in Libya: Both Pilot and Specialist In Downed Fighter Jet Now In American Hands; Dogs Being Used In Japan to Find Live Humans Amid Ruins; Wrestler with One Leg Wins NCAA Title
Aired March 22, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We are following a lot of breaking news including the latest from Japan this morning. A major setback at the crippled Daiichi nuclear plant. Good morning, I'm Kiran Chetry.
Power officials just announcing there is more damage to reactors one and two than they originally thought, especially in reactor two where the Tokyo Electric and Power Company says the pump and motor now have to be replaced because they have been damaged beyond repair by sea water.
We are also getting an update, unfortunately, on the number of dead in Japan.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
A crash landing in Libya. A U.S. fighter jet is down, two crew members on board, both now believed to be safe -- as the coalition continues a third day of hammering Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces and positions.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. The Donald's take on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Donald Trump talked to our Poppy Harlow about his business dealings with Gadhafi and what he did with the money -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROMANS: Good morning. It's Tuesday, March 22nd. A lot of news we're covering today, including the latest on a Libyan -- American fighter jet down in Libya, both crew members are safe this hour.
VELSHI: They are saying it's not been shot down. It was mechanical failure. Both the pilot and the weapons officer on board rescued, they say. Chris Lawrence telling us from the Pentagon that they were rescued by an American aircraft, an Osprey, that was able to come in as the jet, land like a helicopter, picked these guys up and get them out. Very interesting developments.
ROMANS: It's a U.S. F-15E fighter jet. It crashed near the Libyan city of Benghazi. The U.S. military members say those two members ejected when the aircraft experienced equipment malfunction.
It's not -- it was not hit by enemy fire. We want to be clear about that. Both are now safe. I've said, they are out of Libya. They are off of Libyan soil.
Joining us now is Major General James "Spider" Marks. He is the commander general of the Army -- he was the commanding general of the Army Intelligence Center, and with a long list of various esteemed positions in your --
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: It just means I'm old.
ROMANS: -- in your resume. Thirty years.
Tell us a little bit about what's happening probably right now. We know it's been three days of bombardment, three heavy days of bombardment. A $30 million plane is down. The two crew are safe.
MARKS: Great news.
ROMANS: This is, as you were saying to us earlier, to be expected almost. Not expected but maybe they prepared for things like this.
MARKS: They certainly prepared for this eventuality. It's terribly unfortunate, but they are ready for it. Now, when these aircrafts go in to do their attacks, it's part of a package to have what's called a CSAR, combined search and rescue capability.
VELSHI: OK.
MARKS: So, the Osprey is a Marine aircraft. It's a propeller, it's a prop job. And it can move out very, very swiftly, but it can also go vertical. Its blades can go vertical and it can drop down like a helicopter.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: -- a carrier usually?
MARKS: Either.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARKS: In this case, yes, it's probably off a carrier, certainly off a ship that's in the Mediterranean.
VELSHI: Right.
MARKS: But when a packaged of aircraft go in, this CSAR capability is with it, off to the side a little bit.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Right.
MARKS: So, when there's a downed aircraft and there's a downed pilot, those pilots have incredible communications capability.
CHETRY: Right.
MARKS: They've got a GPS. So, they know exactly where they are chirping. They are chirping at all times.
CHETRY: These logistical considerations and redundancies are different than actually ground troops in Libya. I mean, people are saying, well, what does this mean? We already -- it means we have people on the ground in Libya. I mean, we're not fighting a ground war in Libya just because we have the ability to extract the people who are doing it from the air.
MARKS: No, we're not. But it's fair to assume there are probably forces on the ground in some capacity. In this case, with an Osprey as a part of the attack package coming in to recover the two downed crew members, there also has to be an element of communications and coordination that takes place -- unless these guys are totally isolated and they are on their own. They are talking to the bird, which we have to assume. And they say, we're good to go, come pick us up at this location.
ROMANS: The Osprey picked up one of the crew members. The other one was picked up by the rebels, we're told, and negotiator talked to the American military who then got him.
MARKS: That's touchy.
ROMANS: That is touchy. Why?
MARKS: It was very, very tough. And you got a downed crew member and he's in somebody else's hands and you're not going to bring this capability and be very, very vulnerable if the guys who have the pilot, in fact, are --
ROMANS: Who they say they are, too.
MARKS: Absolutely, they are who they are, and they are going to take care of these pilots.
VELSHI: But it does change the dynamic just a little bit, doesn't it? That now, we may have had rebel assistance in rescuing a U.S. airman. At some point, do you think they lean on the U.S. and say, well, you know, we helped your guys out?
MARKS: Of course. There's a quid pro quo. Plus, we've taken up sides here.
Let's be frank. This is a coalition effort. Its intent is to get rid of Gadhafi, plain and simple, and that's what we've chosen sides. We're helping the rebels out as best we can.
CHETRY: As we found in Afghanistan, as we found in Iraq and as we found in some of our other military involvements in the Middle East, that doesn't always go so smoothly. So, do we know who these rebels are and do we know who would be able to fill the power vacuum if Gadhafi were to go or be disposed?
MARKS: That is the primary question right now. I need to tell you every apparatus in the U.S. intelligence kit bag is being used to try to determine who is the next leader in Libya, who are these rebels? What are their motivations? Can we trust them?
They turned over a pilot. That's a good step. There are a lot of unanswered questions.
ROMANS: If you're not helping the rebels, who is helping the rebels? That's the other thing. And we can say that we are there, to -- the U.N. resolution say they are there to protect civilians. But if you're not going to be the one who's going to help the rebels' advance, then who is? And who is pushing them?
MARKS: Somebody will. That's exactly right.
ROMANS: All right. Spider Marks --
VELSHI: Thanks very much.
ROMANS: -- thanks.
MARKS: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Just in a few minutes, we're going to go live with Nic Robertson in Tripoli. He's going to give us the latest on what he's hearing there from Gadhafi and also what the Pentagon is saying as well.
CHETRY: In the meantime, there are new developments this morning out of Japan. A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has rocked the east coast city, Honshu, Japan. It is the third strong earthquake to hit the area in the last few hours. Now, Honshu is located near the epicenter of the 9.0 earthquake that devastated Japan just a week and a half ago.
Meantime, trace levels of radiation from Japan's Daiichi nuclear power station are now being detected all the way into Washington state -- Seattle, Washington, to be exact. Officials there say the levels are minuscule, way too low to pose a health risk. But, still, the state's health department which has these air monitors in place in four parts of Washington are taking hourly readings just to be safe.
And in Yokosuka, Japan, just south of Tokyo, thousands of U.S. troops that are stationed at an American naval base could be ordered to evacuate at any moment again because of concerns of elevated radiation levels. The Pentagon confirms that is being discussed right now. Yesterday, the USS George Washington was ordered to leave Yokosuka as a precaution.
VELSHI: Also developing: officials at the Tokyo Electric and Power Company announcing damage to reactors one and two at the crippled Daiichi nuclear plant is worse than they thought.
Anna Coren joins live from Tokyo. But before I get into that, Anna, when you and I were e-mailing this morning, you had just experienced your second aftershock. I understand there's just been another one?
ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right, Ali. I'm actually looking up at the light, which is still moving.
It's the fourth aftershock that we have experienced today. They've been around the 6.0 magnitude. Quite big certainly for aftershocks and also off the coast of Fukushima, which -- you know, as we know, that's where that nuclear power plant is located. But from all reports, everything is fine and no reports of damages or injuries and no tsunami warning at this stage.
Ali, you mentioned reactors one and two. That is bad news because they hadn't thought that this would happen, that they would -- could reconnect that power source and get those cooling systems working. Instead, they have had an inspection. They realize that certainly, the pump and the motor of reactor two will certainly have to be replaced. Perhaps maybe even one. This is equipment that has been corroded by the seawater when that tsunami just ripped through.
Now, as for reactor four -- I should say operation to cool that down has just been completed. This is something they have been working at all day to try and keep those systems cool, the reactors cool, and those pools that are housing those spent fuel rods housed trying to keep them under that water, Ali.
VELSHI: And we're looking at those reactors right now. One and two -- one was originally a problem. But we really weren't thinking that one and two were the main problems right now. So, this is a new and potentially more worrisome development, Anna.
VELSHI: Yes, it certainly is a significant development, Ali, because, as you say, one and two -- they thought they'd be able to reconnect that power and get those cooling systems working. But, instead, they are now a problem. It could set them back for days.
Reactor three has been certainly, you know, Japan's number one priority. It's the one where they had that explosion. The buildup of pressure and just -- you know, also the smoke we saw coming from reactors two and three 24 hours ago when we last spoke. But it's not good.
Certainly, not for TEPCO, the company that owns the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. They had hoped to get the internal cooling systems working. At the moment, they have been, you know, getting those water tankers, spraying those reactors to try and keep them cool. So, it looks like they'll just have to continue, you know, that operation for days to come, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Anna, has that aftershock stopped now? Has the light stopped moving? Are you on solid ground at the moment?
COREN: The light -- I'm on the ninth floor of a very old building, Ali. Yes, but I can report that the light has stopped shaking. It doesn't mean I'm not still moving.
VELSHI: Yes, I hear you. All right. Stay safe, Anna. Thanks for your great reporting and our team out there. We'll stay in touch with you. Anna Coren, along with our team in Tokyo.
Latest developments out of Japan -- easing concern among investors. Japan's Nikkei rising more than 4 percent overnight, that's the main index. It was down more than 10 percent last week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also closed higher. Let's see how that affects U.S. markets today.
CHETRY: Also, the president continues his first official trip through South America with a major effort going on to show that he is connected to the situation in Libya. After his weekend in Brazil and then a stop in Chile, the president is now just on his way to El Salvador, before he heads home tomorrow.
Yesterday, from Santiago, the president defended military action in Libya, saying that the U.S. is working under the authority of the United Nations and that he believes Gadhafi must go even though that is not in the U.N. mandate.
All right. Still to come, we are following the latest developments out of Libya where a U.S. F-15 fighter jet went down just outside of Benghazi. The crew members now safely in the hands of the U.S. military. We're getting live reports from Libya, next.
And a little later, rescue dog searching the wreckage in Japan for the survivors. An amazing look at how these four-legged heroes do it and what they go through as well.
VELSHI: It's 11 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: U.S. two service members are now off Libyan soil safely in U.S. military hands this morning after their F-15 went down earlier. This as the campaign to stop Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi continues. The head of U.S. forces in Libya are saying the dictator's momentum has been stopped for now.
Nic Robertson is live for us in Tripoli this morning.
And, Nic, no surprise I think that Moammar Gadhafi was saying that jet that was down was because of his fire, that is not the story from the Pentagon. Those two U.S. service members are safe.
But we know when covering this Libyan leader, this dictator, deceit and lies are usually the rule of the day, and it's kind of a difficult task to be in Tripoli trying to cover this, isn't it?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It presents a lot of challenges, absolutely. And I think if you comment with the notion very clearly fixed in your mind this is a government that is going to try and lie to you, that's going to offer weasel words that won't be clear, won't give declarative statements, won't give us access to places around the country -- even if you didn't know that when you came in, it becomes very immediately apparent that this is a regime that is going to lie to you, indeed bold-facedly, indeed stupidly in some cases.
Now, I'll give you a couple of examples. Today, for example, they say this F-15 Strike Eagle that was -- that came down in the east of Libya was a Phantom. The United States hasn't flown Phantom jets for decades now.
And the other thing that just flies in the face of even the sanity of a government offering up a story full of lies, they talk about dozens of civilians who have been killed. They offer no evidence of it. The only pictures they put on state television are of wounded soldiers.
And when they do take journalists to a grave site that has more than 20 graves dug, the couple that were covered in, that we were told were civilians that were killed, there were inconsistent stories about the people who were buried there. And the other graves that we were going to see filled with people being buried, civilians being buried -- that we were told, it didn't ever materialize.
This is a government that can't even build a fabrication around its own fabrication. So, yes, it presents challenges. The government says it's going to take us out later this afternoon to see some sites that were bombed around Tripoli. If they do, we will be able to make our best assessment of what was the target, despite whatever they try and tell us.
ROMANS: So the fact that they are able to continue to communicate, they are able to broadcast, they were able to take you out, what is the assessment of how much damage these 80 some bombing runs that took place yesterday and the overall attempts to knock out Gadhafi's infrastructure -- how is that going?
ROBERTSON: In the capital of Tripoli, at the moment, it doesn't appear to be any cracks in the regime. It's very hard to sort of penetrate the regime here. The officials you speak say, even off the record and if you try and sort of measure their demeanor, they still seem quite relaxed at the moment.
And they seem to have what they feel is a good assessment of what is going to happen over the coming days. So they don't seem to be rattled. When you talk to people on the street here, although we know there are thousands -- many thousands of people in this city who don't want this regime, they are afraid to voice their concerns about it.
They will tell you that they are uniting around the leadership. Certainly those are the people coming out on the streets at the moment. It's very hard to get an accurate feel, but it does feel here, however, despite saying that, that the government has a good grip.
We have been in situations where the government starts to lose control. We're not seeing that here yet, Christine.
VELSHI: Nic, good to see you. We'll stay on top of this with you. Thanks very much. Nic Robertson is joining us from Tripoli.
CHETRY: Meantime, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is out of the hospital and continuing her trip to Italy, but there were some scary moments for her. She wasn't feeling well after several flights in Afghanistan and a long flight back to Italy. And that's why she ended up going to the hospital briefly. They established that she is doing OK.
VELSHI: Coming up next, we are going to talk to Melissa Stockwell. She's a veteran of the Iraq war, injured when her convoy was hit by a roadside bomb. That left her an amputee. But she didn't quit. She became a Paralympian. Now she's inspiring many others.
Her amazing story when she joins us live right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A great story. Just four years after losing her leg in a roadside bomb in Iraq, Melissa Stockwell was swimming at the Paralympics in Beijing. That was 2008. She's the record holder in 400 meter freestyle. Melissa's inspiring journal continues.
She's part of a new ad campaign supporting the Paralympics. She joins us now. So much fascinating about your story. Welcome, Melissa.
MELISSA STOCKWELL, PARALYMPIAN: Thank you.
VELSHI: The most fascinating part to me is you weren't a swimmer before you got injured?
STOCKWELL: No, I wasn't a swimmer. I found it real easy to get into the pool and kind of get those laps in once I lost my leg.
VELSHI: Was that therapeutic? Is that why you started swimming therapeutic?
STOCKWELL: I did, with the support after therapist at Walter Reed. After I was injured -- about six months after, there was a ski trip that the Hartford brought myself and other wounded warriors out to Breckenridge, Colorado.
Going on that ski trip and learning to ski with one leg, it kind of renewed my sense of spirit. And I went back to Walter Reed really thinking that I could do anything I wanted to do.
VELSHI: Hold on. You ski with one leg, too?
STOCKWELL: I did. Yeah, I learned to ski. It was a little wobbly at first, and by the end of the trip, I was skiing on one leg. And I really thought I could do anything.
CHETRY: That's amazing. Tell us a little bit about how this happened, how you became injured. This was in 2004. You were a second lieutenant and like so often is the case, you were hit with a roadside bomb in a humvee.
STOCKWELL: I was. I was on a routine convoy through central Baghdad. I was in a humvee and the vehicle I was in was struck by a roadside bomb. I was brought to Walter Reed for a year of rehab. And I'm really kind of got my life back there.
ROMANS: You started swimming, but this isn't just swimming. You're a triathlete. I mean, just doing the swimming on its own is grueling. But you run. You do the whole package.
What is it about triathlons and being a triathlete that drives you? And what have you found about yourself physically that you would not have known without this injury?
STOCKWELL: You know, athletics has become a way of life for me. I really -- I love the feeling of getting in the water, hitting the wall, crossing the finish line.
Along with myself, there's hundreds of other athletes out there. The Hartford is behind them. What you can do to help athletes like myself achieve our goals, you go to Facebook and you can click like. You can share a link with your family and friends. And for every like and every share, the Hartford will donate one dollar to U.S. Paralympics.
That money will come together. IT help athletes like myself with equipment, with training, and really get to London and to achieve their dreams there.
CHETRY: That's amazing. So London is your goal, the exhibition games in 2012. But then you're also looking ahead to Rio 2016. What would that be like for you to be able to get out there?
STOCKWELL: Yes, it would be incredible. I mean, para-triathlon became a sport just recently for London -- or for Rio in 2016. We are waiting to hear if it will be an exhibition sport for London in 2012. If it is, just the honor of wearing the USA uniform -- I'm very passionate, very patriotic. So I would love to go represent our country again.
ROMANS: To add another medal. You also won a purple heart and a bronze star for bravery.
VELSHI: It's remarkable. You lose a leg. It's every excuse in the world to lose all of your impetus to do physical things. And you are more of an athlete than most of us who have all of our limbs.
So congratulations.
STOCKWELL: Thank you. Thank you very much.
ROMANS: Good luck to you. We will be cheering you on and rooting for you. CHETRY: Still ahead, A U.S. 15 -- F-15 Fighter Jet down in Libya. The crew members were rescued. We have a live report now from the Pentagon. New details this morning on exactly what happened.
ROMANS: And we've also got for you Donald Trump's land deal with Moammar Gadhafi. You're not going to want to miss this one. Trump says Libya leader paid him more in one night than he would have charged him in a whole year for the rental. So what happened to the money?
Poppy Harlow asked him and she has the answer, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, "CONAN": A bit of a controversy about the SATs this year. Yeah, there was an essay question on this year's SATs that asked students to write about reality television. Yeah. In a related story, China has won. We give up for asking people about Snookie now on the SAT.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You have to be well-rounded.
ROMANS: It hurts, because it's kind of right.
CHETRY: It can't all be reading, writing and arithmetic, Christine.
ROMANS: Reading, writing and reality.
Donald Trump no stranger to reality TV. He's also no stranger to Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi. CNN Money's Poppy Harlow sat down with the Donald. She joins us now live.
You know, you don't have to scratch to deep to find somebody's business dealings with Moammar Gadhafi.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: That's true. First, it was Beyonce and all these -- that's true -- and all of these celebrities that had performed for Gadhafi. They gave money back.
But what Donald Trump, guys, sort of announced and came out and told us yesterday is that he actually did a major, major, one would assume multi-million dollar land deal with Moammar Gadhafi right around the U.N. General Assembly here in New York.
I want you to take a listen not only to what the deal was, but how Donald played it all and what he did with Gadhafi's money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, "THE APPRENTICE": I deal with everybody. And I like that. What do I do with Gadhafi? I leased him a piece of land for his tent. He paid me more than I get in a whole year. And then he wasn't able to use the piece of land.
So people would say did I take advantage? Did I this? So I got in one night more money than I would have gotten all year for this piece of land up in Westchester, and then didn't let him use it? That's called being intelligent.
HARLOW: Do you still have the money that Gadhafi paid you?
TRUMP: You're not talking that kind of money. Do I still have it? What does that mean?
HARLOW: What happened to the money? Some celebrities have performed for Gadhafi, have given that money away to charity. I think that's the question on people's minds.
TRUMP: Sure. I give tremendous. In fact, the other night, Comedy Central roasted me. They gave me a tremendous amount of money. It's already gone to charity. So I give money to charity. I gave that money to charity.
In fact, I said when I did it I'm going to take Gadhafi's money. I'm not going to make it easy on him. And I'm going to give the money to charity. And that is exactly what I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Donald deals with Gadhafi. And is he running for president? Big question. We asked him that. You can get the answer at CNNMoney.com. We got some breaking news for you guys.
ROMANS: Thanks, Poppy. Poppy Harlow.
VELSHI: All right, let's bring you the breaking news. We are just getting live pictures in right now of that U.S. F-15 Eagle that was downed in Egypt. Let's take a loot at that right now, coming to us from Reuters. We have some new pictures.
CHETRY: We have been told we're just about to get the pictures in.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: This is a crash that happened earlier today outside of Benghazi. Two U.S. service members, we're told that they are now safe.
VELSHI: We have got the pictures now? Let's take a look.
OK. Well, we were getting these pictures. The U.S. service members two of them, a pilot and a weapons officer in that plane. There we go. Those are the first pictures we're getting in of this crash. Clearly, it was a crash. This is attributed to a malfunction, not anti-aircraft fire. Apparently what happened is two service members were rescued by a U.S. aircraft.
CHETRY: That's right. The Osprey take off and land like a helicopter and fly like a plane and one of them immediately rescued and the other in rebel hands and a negotiation took place. Chris Lawrence has more details on that. What is so notable about this, first of all, everybody is OK. Good news. These pictures just coming in and bringing us the immediacy of war which I still marvel at. And then lastley Gadhafi's disinformation campaign about exactly what happened.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right p. He was saying the plane was shot down but those news reports didn't have the right sort of plane. Probably just misinformation he was putting out there to try to take credit.
Let's back up and kind of tell you exactly how this happened, if you haven't been following this all morning. This plane took off from an air base in Italy. It's a U.S. fighter jet and it took off specifically on an air strike mission to go after some of Moammar Gadhafi's air defenses.
At some point about 10:30 at night Libyan time, the pilots experienced some sort of malfunction in the plane. At that point, as soon as that play started to malfunction and they reported it, immediately, about a hundred miles offshore a 26-marin expeditionary unit, the pilot recovery force for this mission, and any time these sorties are going on there is always a team on standby ready to go.
So they immediately start to mobilize. The plane starts to go down. The two crew members eject. Their chutes work. Everything is fine, but they land in different areas. The pilot is then picked up by an Osprey. The marines come in and they pick up the pilot.
The weapons officer lands in a different area. Officials say he is recovered by a group of the rebels who he says took very good care of them and then he was taken out of the country by different means.
So the bottom line right now is both of them are off Libyan soil in U.S. hands. They both got some minor injuries, which would you expect from ejecting from an airplane but they both look to be OK.
VELSHI: Any word, Chris, on the cause of this? They know -- they seem to know enough to say it was a malfunction not shot down. This is a sturdy plane. We heard from General Marks, they do not take off without being fully checked each and every time. Any word?
LAWRENCE: No. Exactly, especially when you're talking about flying combat missions over hostile territory, these planes are checked and rechecked. It remains to be seen whether what did the pilot notice something? Was he able to detect what was going on? You suspect that he probably did. But that usually takes a little bit of investigation to truly get to the bottom of what happened to the plane.
VELSHI: Chris, I want to ask you one other thing about this. What do we know about -- you sort of alluded to the fact they were the weapons specialist was taken in by Libyan rebels. Do we know what went on between U.S. forces and Libyan rebels in order to get that weapons specialist into American hands and on to that Osprey? LAWRENCE: We are still trying to dig into that and trying to get some more of the details, but there was, obviously, some communication between the U.S. military forces and these rebel groups to try to recover the pilot. But the word I got from defense official here in the Pentagon was that the rebels took good care of this person and then he was made arrangements to get him from where the rebels were back into U.S. military hands.
ROMANS: Clearly when you're doing 80 missions or something, this is something that the American military is prepared for and, quite frankly, waiting to happen if somebody goes down. In this case, great news that both the pilot and the weapons specialist have returned home safely with only minor injuries.
It's not only people combing the wreckage for survivors in Japan for survivors. Coming up some of the dogs looking for survivors in the debris.
VELSHI: It's 34 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: With the death toll in Japan now topping 9,000 and more than 13,000 people missing, search and rescue teams are having a tough time finding survivors. With so much devastation from last week's earthquake and tsunami it seems the high tech equipment in the world can't match the effectiveness of a dog's nose. Here is CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With an energetic. hard-wired burst, Atticus charges into the rubble, bouncing around a fallen roof. He is focused on one thing, finding a living, breathing human amid the sprawling wreckage of the tsunami. It might seem an unfair request of a German shepherd but Atticus and more than other dozen jobs working with the U.S. and British teams are more than equal to it.
TODD (on camera): How important with the dogs to these operation?
ROB FURNISS, BRITISH CANINE SPECIALIST: Very. It's technical here. The listening devices and cameras and all of that stuff locating people, but at the end of the day you can't be a dog for hitting the center of the human being.
TODD (voice-over): Like most canine specialists, Rob Furniss has a tight bond with his border collie Byron. The dogs are so highly trained, they are able to block out the scent of a deceased person and pick up on somebody alive. Their success rate is impressive. These teams pulled more than a dozen survivors safely from the rubble in Haiti in most no small part due to this German shepherd. But keeping them sharp involves some creativity.
The team just had one of their own team members hide in this place out of sight out of any sensory perception. They sent Racker in there to see if they could find that team member. That's how they keep the dog sharp if they haven't found anyone in a few days.
You stare in amazement as they run and jump off objects so jagged and uneven that people couldn't even attempt it. But they are not invincible.
TODD (on camera): Did he give you any kind of a signal or did you just see the blood?
FURNISS: No, just saw blood.
TODD: Tomo, a German shepherd, snagged something in his paw. A little surgery and he is back in the game. Never during either incident do we hear one whimper from either dog. Traveling, sleeping, eating, and playing with their handlers is part of the routine. Their communication is so instinctive that they sometimes understand each other just by making eye contact. We didn't witness them finding survivors in Japan, but the dogs serve another purpose for those who have lost everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Having the dog and seeing the times that the people in Haiti or somebody would enjoy a little solace from the dog, it's also part of their job and helpful to everybody to teammates and myself alike.
TODD: Reporter: All of these dogs actually live with their handlers who are heavily involved in their training. That helps solidify the bond between them and helps them get through these long deployments a long way from home.
Brian Todd, CNN, Japan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Amazing what they can do. Not only their anatomy, their sense of smell but they have a spirit about them that they just keep going.
VELSHI: It was a great story. We talked about robots going in and people can't get to, but good old-fashioned dog.
ROMANS: The way they lay down for the field surgery and get back up there and start searching again. Good stuff.
CHETRY: Best friend for a reason.
We're or alert for severe weather.
VELSHI: Really? More snow?
CHETRY: I thought you man dog's best friend, because I love cats.
VELSHI: But now you're talking about snow.
CHETRY: Yes, we are. Even though it's march, they say it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Jacqui Jeras will be here to explain that to us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Take a look at Oklahoma today. It's beautiful. This is coming to us courtesy of KOCO in Oklahoma where, right now in Oklahoma City, 65 degrees with cloud and winds.
VELSHI: But going up to a balmy 85.
ROMANS: Nice day to be in Oklahoma City.
(WEATHER BREAK)
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And really the big focus today, guys, is the nation's midsection. This is really the one game in town that's going to be impacting millions of people. Severe weather expected to break out this afternoon in the midsection of the country. Kansas City, say up towards Des Moines into the Quad cities, you have that threat and yes possible tornadoes this afternoon.
And then in the Northern Tier, there is that snow you were talking about. We're talking about heavy snow. We're -- a foot with winds up to 40 miles per hour so blizzard conditions in area ahead of Minnesota; so real ugly conditions here across the nation's midsection.
The current radar here showing you where those showers are and even a few embedded thunderstorms; in fact, we've got a ground stop in effect right now at Minneapolis/St. Paul because of thunderstorm. So just north of that right along I-94 is where we're seeing that rain/snow transition and the heaviest will be in the northern parts of the state.
We've also got some delays in Chicago right now; 15-minute departure delays, not bad but we expect them to get lengthy later in the day as well as Minneapolis and Detroit. New York City a little windy there today, so 15 to 30 minute delays will be possible. Also wind in Dallas and Denver from that strong low there.
And San Francisco over now you've got the low clouds. The rain coming in late today in San Francisco. And you're going to see another storm moving into southern California by late tonight and tomorrow. Those storms really piling in across parts of the West this week; temperatures staying really cool here, too, as a result and this is going to be the trend throughout the week ahead but look at that nice bubble.
You guys want to look for the warmth? Check out that warmth; 85 today in Dallas; 72 in St. Louis; 82 in Atlanta and feeling good. A little coolish in the northeast but not bad compared to what you're going to be getting tomorrow as we'll start to see some of that snow begin to mix in.
Yes, even New York City but I don't think we'll really see any accumulations. All right guys. Some fun video to show you at this hour. Check out these pictures that we have for you from Kennedy Space Center. Those are people and they are all lining up to form a human shuttle. They are doing this as a tribute to the space program there. It was 2,000 people --
CHETRY: Wow.
VELSHI: Wow.
JERAS: -- there that did this.
VELSHI: That's cool.
JERAS: -- the parking lot. Isn't that neat? Have you ever done anything like that before? You see people like spell out letters and stuff like that.
CHETRY: No.
VELSHI: I'm going to like -- with four people.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm -- yes, I'm always amazed.
ROMANS: What can you spell out with four people?
JERAS: It took them an hour to do this. It took them an hour.
CHETRY: Now, that's amazing. I love it, they -- they did that kick. What -- what team was it? Remember that marching band.
(CROSS TALK)
VELSHI: Yes, that was great. Yes.
CHETRY: -- that actually simulated the kick over the field goal. It's amazing.
VELSHI: Yes, that's great.
ROMANS: It's very cool.
VELSHI: With four people you can do the letter I.
ROMANS: How do you figure this stuff out?
VELSHI: Jacqui, it's great to see you, thank you very much for that.
JERAS: You, too.
VELSHI: All right.
An Arizona State -- listen to this one, you're going to love this -- an Arizona State wrestler with one leg -- born with one leg -- has won -- won the NCAA wrestling championship. Coming up next, check it out.
We're going to sit down with Anthony Robles. How did he win the national championship with one leg and what is his training like?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Central Park, New York City, partly cloudy right now at 44 degrees and it's going to be mostly sunny we're told; later at 53, pretty soon folks keep watching. All of those brown trees are going to turn green and it's going to mean spring is here. You won't be able to do the garbage bags in there in the morning.
CHETRY: That's right, July is not far away.
VELSHI: And Kesha (ph) performing --
ROMANS: Exactly. All right, an "AM House Call" now. Critics compare the high to LSD and it's legal. Now the New York state senate has passed the ban of the sale of salvia devinirum (ph) -- the -- the state assembly will take this up next. A state lawmaker pushed for the ban after a 21-year-old man leaped to his death after taking this hallucinogen. The herb is available in many stores and online with no age limit. How do you guys pronounce it, salvia --
CHETRY: Yes, I think, isn't it?
VELSHI: It sounds good to me.
CHETRY: -- isn't it sage, I think, right? I think that -- that's the technical name for one of the common herbs.
(CROSS TALK)
VELSHI: I -- I --
CHETRY: For one of the -- one of our common herbs.
(CROSS TALK)
ROMANS: You can get it quickly and it is LSD.
VELSHI: How do you know about this?
CHETRY: Because of Miley Cyrus. Remember?
VELSHI: Oh yes.
CHETRY: Yes, she got herself in trouble for that.
ROMANS: Oh I didn't know that.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: Ok, well, there you go.
VELSHI: You and me, we got to get out more. ROMANS: I know -- geez.
CHETRY: There's pressure on young women of course to look hot, right?
VELSHI: Not in this room.
ROMANS: Well, what's that supposed to mean?
CHETRY: Well, apparently --
VELSHI: What -- what pressure would you guys feel? You look great.
ROMANS: Oh you're sweet.
VELSHI: The pressure in this room is on me.
ROMANS: Well, statistics show actually --
(CROSS TALK)
VELSHI: First of all, I'm about a foot shorter than these two. Statistics show that more men are actually going in for plastic surgery these days which wouldn't actually help my height.
CHETRY: Well, you know, there are procedures. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says that over a million men underwent cosmetic procedures last year. The lead, doctors they are saying that it may be a product of aging baby boomers.
VELSHI: She says there's more of them. So that may be why more people are getting them. There are more baby boomers obviously than there used to be in that category.
ROMANS: Yes. They want to look good.
CHETRY: Right, I can't see a bunch of, you know, old tough guys from the greatest generation, World War 2 vets going in and getting right, facelifts.
(CROSS TALK)
VELSHI: Well, facelifts for men up 14 percent; liposuction increased seven percent.
All right, there's an old coast guard saying, and it goes like this, "The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little time. Well, it seems to apply to 22-year old Anthony Robles. Check this out, born with one leg. This weekend the Arizona State wrestler became an NCAA champion beating the defending title holder in his 125- pound weight class.
ROMANS: Wow.
VELSHI: Check this out. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on this remarkable story in this morning's "Human Factor". He joins us again from Atlanta. Hi, Sanjay.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, I -- I absolutely love this story. It's -- it's unbelievable. And you have to look at this video, first of all. I mean, he -- he is the champion now, Anthony Robles. He has one leg. It's -- it's really remarkable. He has been wrestling only since the ninth grade but has become good enough to win the title, win the college title. He is a finalist for the Espy award as well for best male athlete.
We asked him, we caught up with him last night after he won and asked him specifically about how -- how he does this, how he wrestles with one -- just one leg and whether how he gets over this particular obstacle. Listen to how he described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ROBLES, NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPION: So they have two feet so they can stand up straight. That's kind of a weak area for me because I'm missing my leg and I don't have balance there. If another wrestler tries to knock me over, I kind of struggle. So, what is unique about me I drop down to the mat, I drop down to one knee and that's not really very common, and that allows me to really just focus on my strengths which one is my upper body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: He has significant upper body strength. Obviously, he does not use a prosthetic, he uses crutches but he can run a ten- minute mile with those crutches. He can bench over 300 pounds and he can do a hundred pull-ups in less than two minutes. So, again, incredible; all since ninth grade when he started wrestling.
ROMANS: This is a kid who he was born without one leg, right?
GUPTA: That's right. He was born without the leg and the hip bone as well.
ROMANS: His whole life he has compensated and moved forward with this, what some would call a disability but clearly this guy has an ability -- I mean he's got an ability to play I mean if I were a guy competing against him, I would be afraid, you know. He seriously is a very, very good athlete.
Does he ever look at it he learned to compensate for the lack of the leg and that makes him somehow stronger?
GUPTA: Yes, I mean I think in some ways what he was sort of getting at was this idea he obviously had really focused on his upper body strength which is a significant asset, obviously, as a wrestler. He has a lot of obstacles because, you know, your balance is off doing your twists and your tilts, all that.
All wrestling terms -- it's very hard to do. But he did specific drills as well in order to prepare for a match like this with his coach and his entire team. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBLES: My coaches would put me through a seven-minute workout to simulate a seven-minute wrestling match and for those seven minutes they would have me going certain speeds on the arm bike just to wear my upper body out and that really -- it really helped me out, you know? It really gave me extra confidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: So again, you heard the real specifics there using an arm bike for example and doing it for the exact amount of time typically that a wrestling match is and really giving him the endurance but also the confidence to say that his upper body can maintain that for the length that it would take to, as it turns to do a wrestling match, in his case, win those wrestling matches.
CHETRY: Just quickly, did he tell you about what competitors say? I mean what did they think when they have to wrestle him? Is he feared?
GUPTA: That's a good question. I don't know. We would have to ask the other wrestlers about that. I think he is going to be feared now, for sure. We did ask him about what the future holds for him. He says as things stands now, he doesn't know if he is going to try out for the Olympics. That would be a natural next step for him. He is just not sure. He is just sort of glowing after, you know, winning this big title. Again, maybe you'll see him again at the Espy awards.
VELSHI: I'm with Christine. If I had to get in with him --
ROMANS: No way.
VELSHI: I would assume this guy has to have something extra going on if he is compensating for missing a leg so I would be a little bit fearful. Sanjay, great to see you as always.
GUPTA: You got it guys.
VELSHI: Sanjay Gupta, thank you.
CHETRY: Human Factor -- amazing, amazing kid.
VELSHI: Yes, really is impressive.
Well, it's 56 minutes after the hour. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Before we leave you this morning, we have been following a lot of breaking news this morning, including the surprising news and distressing until we found out things were ok that an F-15 fighter jet went down earlier in Libya, crash-landed. The pilot and the weapons specialist on board both were able to safely eject.
There is a video that came in from Reuters of the actual wreckage. They are safely in U.S. hands right now. The military says it was mechanical problems; that they were not hit by enemy fire.
ROMANS: Minor injuries for both of those but they are now safe and back home after being taken off of Libyan soil.
"CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now.
