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American Morning
No One at Air Traffic Control; Interview with Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.; From Elton, With Love; Chris Brown Says Sorry; Lindsay's Legal Gamble; Boehner Slams Obama; Presidential Primaries Scrapped?; Castroneves Raring to Go
Aired March 24, 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: Pilots radioing in, coming in for a landing and all they get is silence from the control tower.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
Two planes coming in without any direction from the ground. A scary situation at Reagan National and now some big changes on the way because of it.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. A huge fireball at the airport in Miami. It took 30 crews to put this out and your flight might be delayed this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. A bomb inside a federal building that houses the FBI. No one noticed it for three weeks. In fact, the security guard brought it inside and put it in lost and found on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good Thursday morning. It is March 24th. Today, still spring, although it still feels like winter.
CHETRY: It's still spring and there's golf ball-sized hail, tornado damage and lots of snow to shovel in upstate New York.
VELSHI: And we'll be having lots of that for you as well.
ROMANS: Perfect way to end a terrible January and February, a spring that's coming in like this.
VELSHI: But that's story that's coming in, that's story that you had about the control tower in silence got our attention.
CHETRY: Yes, it is. Sometimes it's better than be a little ignorant what is going on in the control room and the cockpit sometimes.
Well, we'll tell you what happened. This was at Reagan Airport, outside of D.C., coming in for a landing. Two planes got silence from the tower. The FAA says the two planes landed early yesterday without any help because the only air traffic controller on duty at the time didn't answer.
The pilot was the first -- the pilot of the first plane was in contact with regional air traffic control and found out amazingly that they seemed kind of used to this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRACON CONTROLLER: American 1900, so, you're aware, the tower is apparently not manned. We've made a few phone calls. Nobody's answering. So, two airports went in the past 10, 15 minutes, so you can expect to go in as an uncontrolled airport.
PILOT: Is there a reason it's not manned?
TRACON CONTROLLER: Well, I'm going to take a guess and say at that controller got locked out. I've heard of this happening before.
PILOT: That's the first time I've heard of it.
TRACON CONTROLLER: Yes. Fortunately, it's not very often. But, yes, it happened about a year ago. I'm not sure that's what happened now, but anyway, there's nobody in the tower.
PILOT: That's interesting.
TRACON CONTROLLER: It is.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: It's always interesting to hear those exchanges as well.
As it turns out, both planes did land safely but because of this incident, big changes are coming. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has released a statement saying, quote, "Today, I directed the FAA to place two air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport's control tower on the midnight shift. It is not acceptable to have just one controller in the tower managing air traffic in this critical air space. I have also asked FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt to study staffing levels at other airports around the country."
VELSHI: Kind of a story you'd expect from a small regional airport not --
CHETRY: In another country.
VELSHI: Yes, that's a good point.
New video this morning -- this is incredible -- of a daring rescue near Dallas, Texas. Take a look at the cab of that big rig. That's hanging over the edge of I-20. The tractor trailer is dangling from an overpass after a crash early today outside of Fort Worth.
The driver was trapped in the cab for more than an hour. You can see the ambulance there, but firefighters used a ladder and then a harness to haul him to safety. We see him being taken away there. No word on his condition.
There's a small car is also pinned underneath that truck. Two people are in that car. We are waiting news on their condition but crews are still working to get them out, apparently.
Also this morning, possible flight delays coming after a fireball fed by jet fuel. Look at that picture -- erupted at Miami international airport. More than 30 fire crews sent to battle the flames. They say that a jet fuel storage tank caught fire and they do not know how, but six -- all six storage tanks at the site were affected.
Now, the flames were brought under control overnight. Nobody was hurt. Airport officials say the flames were well away from the runways and the terminals, however, it could still lead to delays and cancellations because that's a very big hub airport and fuel trucks are being used now to bring fuel in for the planes.
ROMANS: Let's talk about airport delays and cancellations this morning. Let's check in with Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center. It's that time of morning when you're calling up trying to find if you're going to get on your plane, you're going to make it to your meeting this afternoon, right, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, I'm trying to figure out -- check in on some of the Miami flights. There are a handful of flights either canceled or delayed but probably not more than would be normal on a morning like this. We do have delays at some other airports and we do anticipate some delays not associated with the Miami incident.
New York metros, 30 to 60 minute delays expected today with that front moving through. There will be some wind. So, LaGuardia will probably start to pile it up.
San Francisco and the other problem area -- a pretty strong storm system is rolling into the West Coast. They have been lining up. Had a rough weekend and continues throughout the entire week.
We do have 20 minute delays right now at Philadelphia because of the winds and I think that's going to be the main player. Most of the precip has moved east and off the coastline of the Northeast after seeing all of that rain and snow from last night. Some leftover snow showers, a couple of them, but for the most part, the precip will be tapering off.
And temperatures will be on the chilly side, a little bit below average as was this entire storm system. Windy conditions will persist behind this system and a little bit of fire danger across parts of the New Mexico area. They are battling flames there in Colorado and Oklahoma and the winds continue to whip up today.
Seventy-nine Dallas, if you're traveling there; 33 degrees in Chicago; it will be 45 degrees in New York City. So, even though you got thunder and lightning and some hail and even some snow, still snow left over on the ground. What is on the ground will at least try to melt today and try to say, hey, it should be spring, it should be.
ROMANS: From your lips to God's ears.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
VELSHI: Hey, Rob.
I want to bring you all up-to-date on the situation on I-20 outside of Fort Worth. We just got an update there. The occupants of the car -- these are live pictures, by the way -- the occupants of the car -- you can see they are still trying to move things around. The occupants of the car are alive.
The fire and emergency personnel continue to work the scene right now. They -- it's a pretty busy stretch of highway right outside of Fort Worth. About 100,000 vehicles pass that stretch of highway every day.
ROMANS: But the cab had been dangling and now the cab back on the highway.
CHETRY: It was pretty precarious scene a little while ago. The rescue crews are certainly risking their own lives to try to get that ladder up there and pull the driver out. He has been taken to the hospital as well. So, there's an update for you.
VELSHI: Everybody is alive for now, which is a good piece of news.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
All right. Well, a bomb -- it spent three weeks in a federal building's lost and found in Detroit before it was finally passed through an X-ray machine and they determined, yes, indeed, it was a bomb. Security guard has been suspended for bringing that package into the building back on February 26th without screening it. Officials say that the package was finally put through an X-ray machine last Friday.
The FBI and IRS have offices in the building. A joint terrorism task force is now trying to figure out who put it there.
VELSHI: Well, another earthquake with a 6.1 magnitude has shaken the east coast of Japan the last few hours. There are no new reports of damage.
Meanwhile, two workers at the crippled Daiichi nuclear plant have been hospitalized after stepping into contaminated water in the basement of reactor number three. Officials say they were exposed to high levels of radiation.
ROMANS: OK. There are now five states on the West Coast that have reported trace amounts of radioactive particles. Oregon and Colorado joined Washington, California, and Hawaii in finding low levels of radioactive iodine that have likely -- likely drifted 5,000 miles from the nuclear power plant Fukushima Daiichi in Japan.
The U.S. health officials are stressing the unlikelihood that the West Coast will see any dangerous levels of radiation, regardless of what happens in Japan.
In general, we are exposed to radiation, you know, from natural sources a hundred thousand times greater than what was currently being detected in these states.
VELSHI: And Jerusalem has been rocked by a terror attack. We're going to discuss that with Israel's ambassador to the United States live after this.
ROMANS: Also, critics are ripping into President Obama on his handling of the war in Libya. We'll tell you what their beef is. We're live at the White House with that.
CHETRY: Plus, singer Chris Brown has something to say about the outburst inside of ABC studios.
Seven and a half minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: In Israel, the fallout from the first deadly bombing in the country in several years, it happened at a bus stop in Jerusalem yesterday. One woman, a British citizen, was killed, more than 50 others were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed a tough response. He's warned militants not to test Israeli's iron will, in his words.
Joining us to talk about and unrest around his country is Michael Oren. He's Israeli's ambassador to the United States.
Ambassador Oren, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
MICHAEL OREN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Good morning, Ali.
VELSHI: You had relative peace in Jerusalem and in Israel. In the last week, we've seen some flare ups. There have been attacks on Israelis. There have been Palestinians killed, including two children.
And now, after the events of yesterday, the bombing and some rocket attacks that have been taking place, overnight, Israelis launched some air raids in the Gaza Strip.
Are you a little concerned that this might be getting out of hand? This might be escalating into something more serious?
OREN: Well, we have been under attack from several fronts, Ali. We had an entire Israeli family massacred, two parents, three children, including a baby girl were stabbed to death literally in their beds. Israeli citizens in the south of the country, a million Israelis, were hit by 90 rockets and mortar shells from Gaza. And now, this attack in Jerusalem which you said killed a 59-year-old woman and wounded over 50.
So, yes, there has been an escalation. I don't know if we're at a turning point right now. We think that the bombing in Jerusalem was unrelated to the rocket attacks in Gaza. The rocket attacks in Gaza probably has more to do with infighting within the Hamas terrorist organization than it does with fighting against us.
VELSHI: And I think it's important to note that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has issued this statement. He said, "It is disgraceful and greatly damaging to the struggle, that there is still a Palestinian party that insists on these actions and the disgraceful scenes under empty slogans that are no longer valid for our people." He also said, "These actions are in contravention with the legitimate quest to obtain freedom by peaceful means."
So, you continue to have partners on the Palestinian side. What does all of this do to the peace process? In fact, give me a sense of the status of the peace process. Is there anything going on?
OREN: I think it's important to point out, Ali, that the Palestinian Authority condemned this attack, but, at the same time, in their deeds, they are actually encouraging these attacks. After the massacre of that Israel family, the next day, prominent members of the Palestinian Authority attended a ceremony which they named a central square near the Palestinian capital of Ramallah and named after a Palestinian terrorist who killed dozens of Israelis, including about 13 children.
So, they say one thing, they do another thing. The message gets out that killing Israelis is a good thing.
We need to see not just words but deeds. In fact, we've been waiting now for nearly two years for the Palestinians to join us at the negotiating table. So far, they refused to do so.
But the Israeli government is committed to moving toward peace. If they join us it at the table, we want to move forward and conclude that.
VELSHI: OK. We had some -- we had some progress last year. Hopefully, we can pick up on that.
But what is the government of Israel thinking about these popular pro-democratic uprisings in the region around you? You've gone from some neighbors who were friendly like Egypt, to other neighbors who were less friendly, but it was the evil you know. Even in Syria, we are seeing increased violence and unrest there.
How are you looking at the regional situation?
OREN: With a great deal of hope, Ali. We've long said that we are proud to be the only democracy in the Middle East. We would be happier to say we are one of the democracies in the Middle East. Our only concern is that these democracies be peace-keeping and peace- loving democracies, tend to keep base better than dictatorships, and we hope whatever governments emerge in these countries, if they are democratic, they'll keep the peace with us.
VELSHI: On some level, you will have some commonality with some of your neighbors, your Arab neighbors -- and in some cases, your Palestinian neighbors -- with respect to the fears coming out of an Iran that can sometimes seem more difficult than not. Do you risk that with everything going around? Are we losing sight of Iran in the Middle East?
OREN: Well, it has gone under the radar. For example, an Iranian puppet government under Hezbollah has taken over Lebanon while all this is going on. And two Iranian warships for the first recently crossed to the Suez Canal and did something of a victory lap in the eastern Mediterranean. We've seen escalation of Iranian armed supplies, both to Hezbollah and Lebanon and to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
So, I think the Iranians think that they are the winners in this round. In the long run, we're going to have to see whether Arab populations will drive any type of inspiration from an Iranian regime that fires at its own people when they try to protest for peace and democracy. In the meantime, Iran continues to produce enriched uranium with its nuclear weapons program and we can never lose sight of that.
VELSHI: Ambassador Oren, thanks for joining us this morning. Our condolences, and we really do hope that peace continues to work its way through amidst all of these things in the Middle East.
OREN: Thank you.
VELSHI: All right. Ambassador Michael Oren, the Israel ambassador to the United States -- Christine.
ROMANS: OK. Imagine this. You get back from the trip and you're locked out of the office, the oval office. President Obama is not so welcome return caught on tape next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The tributes have been pouring in for Hollywood legend, Elizabeth Taylor, including a very special one from her friend and fellow AIDS activist, Elton John.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
ROMANS (voice-over): Elton dedicated the song "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" to Taylor at the concert in Pittsburgh last night. He told the crowd, "Today, I lost a friend and you lost a hero."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Singer, Chris Brown, apologizing for throwing that fit at "Good Morning, America." He reportedly threw a chair at a window, stormed out of the building without a shirt after his appearance, Tuesday, because he was asked about his relationship with Rihanna. Well, on BET, Brown said he apologized, quote, "to anyone he startled in the studio." Yesterday, Robin Roberts even invited Chris Brown back to talk about it.
VELSHI: But that would start the whole thing. She wanted to talk about his abuse situations, and he's wanting to talk about his album.
CHETRY: There you go.
VELSHI: And by the way, let's just be clear. The throwing the chair thing was bad. There's no crime to walk around without a shirt.
ROMANS: I know. Whenever he gets ticked off after show, Ali --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: His tie is sort of hanging.
VELSHI: Let's carry on with our outrageous behavior topics. Lindsay Lohan is rolling the dice. She is counting on a jury to decide that she is no thief. The actress is accused of walking out of a California jewelry store without paying for a $2,500 necklace. Reportedly, she thought the necklace was loaned to her.
Lohan's rejected a plea deal that would have put her in jail for three to six months. If convicted after her trial, she could get up to three years.
CHETRY: Have you, guys, seen the necklace? It is so tiny. I could forget I had it on, too. You know? It was small. Very small. You don't think you pay $2,500 for that thing.
VELSHI: Happens all the time.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. This thing, a double for a fictional mob wife is enough to disqualify you for jury duty in a mafia trial. The "New York Daily News" says a woman was bounced from the jury pool in the trial of a former mob boss known as Vinny Gorgeous because she appeared in "The Sopranos." You may not recognize her, but she was reportedly a stand-in for actress Edie Falco and some others.
VELSHI: Vinny Gorgeous is the guy's name?
ROMANS: Vinny Gorgeous.
CHETRY: Everyone has got a nickname.
Well, President Obama was locked out of the White House when he returned from his five-day trip to Latin America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): It wouldn't have been such a big deal, of course, except that it was when the media was all there, and they were all videotaping the entire time. Here he is walking up and giving the French doors a tug. Locked, but he played it cool. He moved right back on.
There it is again. But if we show it in full, he kept walking, and he found one was open and he walked right in. So, the president came back, of course, a little bit early. He cut his trip a few hours short to deal with Libya.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Unflappable. He didn't turn around. He didn't say where's the key. He didn't say to a marine, can you open this? He just moved on until he found the door that worked.
Critics are ripping into him, however, on his handling of the war in Libya. Some say that he hasn't done enough and others say he's gone too far. We're live at the White House with more on that right after this.
ROMANS: Plus, do you have a vacation coming up? Plan on going somewhere this summer? Air fares are rising. So, is now the best time to book a flight or should you wait? Could there be some cheap seats around the corner? We've got those answers next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY (on-camera): Twenty-four minutes past the hour right now. We want to give you an update on the scene of that tractor-trailer accident near Dallas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Just moments ago, firefighters were able to pull two people out of a car that had been pinned by a tractor- trailer. We're looking live right now at the stretcher. One of those people being wheeled right now into a waiting ambulance. These are live pictures. We still don't have word on their condition, but they were extracted alive.
The driver also was rescued OK, but we want to show you the video from earlier. It was just a really unusual scene to see this tractor- trailer, the cab literally over top of the overpass.
VELSHI (voice-over): Look at this. You just see it on the right side. You can see the cab it's over the edge of that overpass on I- 20.
CHETRY: Yes. It was very -- I mean, it's just dangling there. And the firefighters actually used a ladder than a harness to get in there and get the driver of the big rig out of that cab. We still don't have word on his condition as well, but this is an unfolding scene that's been going on for several hours, snarling traffic, of course, a busy commute just coming up to a pretty busy commute time.
VELSHI: It's a water tanker, by the way. It looked like it could have been a fuel tanker, but it's a water tanker.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VELSHI (on-camera): All right. If you bought an airline ticket lately, you probably already notice the price of those tickets has been going up. Carmen Wong Ulrich is "Minding Your Business." Carmen, what's going on with air fares?
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Oh, listen. This is not about the luggage fees or about the pretzels. This is all about the price of the ticket, and let me show you here. We see the price of tickets has gone up for the big four airlines domestically. This year, eight fare increases. Now, seven rate jumps have stayed in place for the top four carriers. Now, this is U.S. Airways, Continental, Delta, and United.
On average, that's a ticket price increase about every ten days. Why so high? Well, we're flying more, creating heavy demand for these tickets, but the other pressure on the airlines is the price of oil which has been going up and continues to go up. This morning, oil is at $106 a barrel. Farecompare.com says the current rise in airline tickets mirrors the last time oil prices were this high in 2008.
So, now, how can you save when you fly? Well, if you think fuel prices will continue to go up, some travel experts say buy your tickets now to hedge your bets and aid your budget. Well, other travel guides suggest holding off and buying your tickets as airlines still have yet to release their cheapest seats.
CHETRY: I always say what are you guys doing? Because you, guys, follow this much more than I do. Are you buying now?
ULRICH: Very smart friend who commutes to her job from Tucson, Arizona, to Las Vegas.
VELSHI: Right.
ULRICH: And she, every single week, she bought 12 tickets up front to lock in the price, and I thought that was very, very smart.
ROMANS: I bought ahead, too because we talked to Tom Parsons at Best Fares, and we've talked to Rick Seaney at comparefare.com, people who we trust when we cover this, and they both have said they're only going up. There might be some cheap seats that will be released, but you don't know if you'll get them.
ULRICH: And the thing is that even if oil prices go down, they're going to keep these prices. It's not a complete, you know, one-to-one system. Once the fares go up, they're not likely, really, to bring them down.
VELSHI: But, I guess, comes down to if you think in life that you rather -- if you're the kind of person like I am who would rather lock in a mortgage even though rates might go down, then, buy the ticket earlier, and at least, know what you're paying.
ULRICH: Exactly.
CHETRY: But can you be the type of person who likes to lock in a mortgage which I do but likes to wait until the last minute for flights?
ULRICH: You like to gamble with your flights. I get it.
VELSHI: If your $400 (INAUDIBLE) take the credit, buy the new ticket and use it somewhere else, but I don't think it's likely we're going to see a big drop in air fares. Carmen, good to see you.
ULRICH: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right, guys. We've got some top stories to tell you about right now.
We've got some live pictures, an aerial shots right now of the suspicious package at Miami International Airport. We've been telling you about some other events going on. The fireball there was overnight. We have a suspicious package there at Miami International Airport. This is really all we know about this, guys --
VELSHI: We don't know whether or not this is related to or not related to this fireball overnight.
ROMANS: No, we don't know. We just know that these are pictures of what they're calling a suspicious package there at Miami International Airport. We're going to continue to watch this and monitor for you --
CHETRY: If this is related or not, it's still another incident that may be delaying people.
VELSHI: And may be delaying at Miami.
CHETRY: We were talking about the explosion and those amazing pictures. They have to refuel all the planes, you know, that was fuel that burned up.
VELSHI: Six tanks holding fuel caught fire, and you can see some of the damage. All six tanks were affected, which means airplanes in Miami are being fueled by trucks right now. Miami is a big hub for American airlines. It's a big switch over point for flights to South America. Take a look at the fireball that we were talking about, because it's pretty serious. This was not a little fire. You can see the size of the trees there in the background.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: That's right. This is a real fire.
ROMANS: All six of their storage tanks were eventually engulfed there at Miami International, and now, the latest news is we still don't know what that was about, but the latest news now is that they are investigating a suspicious package at MIA.
Also, no let up in no-fly effort over Libya with coalition aircraft now targeting Moammar Gadhafi's ground forces. U.S. officials say air strikes over the past six days have crippled Libya's air force. Gadhafi, though, does not appear to be backing down. Despite a new wave of air strikes, his forces continue to attack rebel positions in Misurata.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, President Obama is back in Washington, trying to hand over control of the military operation in Libya as soon as possible. The president has been taking some heat from Congressional leaders for ordering a Libya mission without their consent, they say. And the White House is pushing back on that. Our Ed Henry is live at the White House this morning. Hi, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. You're right. I mean, White House officials continue to insist that they informed Congressional leaders of both parties about this operation last Friday and then into Saturday before the mission began. Congressional leaders insist it was more like they were informed that everything was moving forward.
They were not really consulted about a plan, and they keep coming back and harping on that very point.
Speaker John Boehner firing off a very tough letter to the president yesterday afternoon and arriving here at the White House, just as the president came back from his Latin America trip. The speaker is saying in part, quote, "Military resources were committed to war without clearly defining for the American people that Congress and our troops what the mission in Libya is and what America's role is in achieving that mission. In fact, the limited, sometimes contradictory, case made to the American people by members of your administration has left some fundamental questions about our engagement unanswered."
Now, White House aides like Denis McDonough, though, tried to push back by saying America's involvement is going to be very brief and it will be handed over to allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENIS MCDONOUGH, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We're not setting out with a policy regime change here. We set out a very defined goal here, which is we would shape the environment and enable our international partners to take over the no-fly zone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But the response from Republicans and even some Democrats from the president's own party is, well, what then happens if the U.S. tries to turn it over and you see that NATO right now has not agreed on a strategy and a plan for other countries to take over, the handling of the no-fly zone, and also what happens if Colonel Gadhafi is able to stay in power, what then?
And so, I think the bottom line question for this administration, they have not been able to answer yet is: what is the end game? And Republicans, as well as some Democrats, are going to keep firing it at this White House until they get an answer, Kiran.
CHETRY: Right. And -- I mean, yes, you can go down that road and say, what's the end game for Afghanistan and what's the end game for Iraq as well? I mean, there is -- you know, these are all intertwined in some way as we deal with this region.
HENRY: Well, you're right. Iraq and Afghanistan -- a very important point you make -- because that is the backdrop for all of this. And, frankly, I think -- pardon me -- that is why -- excuse me -- there is so much skepticism right now because the American people have seen the wars go on and on. And they've heard before, it's going to be quick, we're going to get out easy. It hasn't happened before. They were very concerned.
And this is a different mission perhaps, but still, that skepticism remains. A lot of pressure on the president to come out, say more about this. But I just spoke to a White House aide who said, don't expect them to come out. We'll see how long that strategy lasts of not coming out and saying more about -- you know, answering some of these questions that not just Republicans but Democrats have, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Henry for us at the White House this morning -- thanks, Ed.
HENRY: Thank you.
VELSHI: Hey, blame the worst oil spill in U.S. history on design flaw -- bad design.
A new report by the government says a stuck pipe caused the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year. The pipe buckled under intense pressure. It stopped the blowout preventer from fully closing. That would have -- the blowout preventer would have prevented all of that oil that you're looking at that you spent days and weeks looking at last summer from coming out.
It's not the only one out there like it, by the way. The report called for engineers to take a new look at designs to prevent another disaster.
CHETRY: So, you're saying that the blowout preventer would have been able to do its job.
VELSHI: If not for this buckled pipe.
CHETRY: But the original explosion was something different.
VELSHI: That is right.
CHETRY: OK.
VELSH: The blowout preventer is like a valve. It can stop that oil from coming out and, of course, it didn't work and that's what we spent all of our time on is figuring out that blowout preventer. The danger here, though, the scary part to me is the idea that this --
ROMANS: There's more of them.
VELSHI: -- actually could happen again.
ROMANS: Right.
All right. The Coast Guard is making progress in getting to the bottom of three separate oil slicks that washed ashore over the weekend in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Tests on the oil show it may be coming from a defunct well owned by a Houston oil company. The Coast Guard is trying to confirm that and officials say one of the other slicks was nothing more than a silt from dredging operations in Mississippi River delta.
VELSHI: You know, we've both been downed to Grand Isle and our friend down there has been telling us about this oil for a long time.
CHETRY: A lot of locals are very concerned.
VELSHI: Yes. The feeling that they've got down in Grand Isle that we complain to people and they all say you're making it up and it's not really that, it's this and it's that, and it turns out they might have been on to something.
CHETRY: Yes, at least in that instance, yes.
ROMANS: And money is tight these days, that now, several states are considering either canceling or delaying their 2012 presidential primaries because of it.
CHETRY: We'll have more on take that.
And also, he's got a zest for life. He loves driving fast cars. He's an all-around good guy. We had a chance to sit down with three-time Indy 500 winner Helo Castroneves. He is getting ready for the big race that's happening this Sunday. We're going to hear from him, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I want to bring you update on some news just in. We've been following news from Miami International Airport all morning after an explosion and major fire all night. Now, we're looking at terminal five, a suspicious package was reported in terminal five, Concourse J of Miami International. Miami-Dade police have secured and evacuated the area. Bomb squad is on the way if they're not already there.
These pictures live courtesy of WPLG. This follows a remarkable night at that airport after a massive fire in one of the fuel tanks. There are, in fact, six fuel tanks next to each other, all of them affected by the fire, took 30 crews hours to get this under control. It is under control but, as a result of that fire, the aircraft at Miami have to be fueled by tankers which means there were already going to be delays and, now, clearly, with a suspicious package, there are going to be further delays.
If you are traveling through Miami, and remember, it's a major hub for transfers to South America and Caribbean points -- make sure you check what's going on. These are live pictures from Miami-Dade -- from Miami International Airport. We'll keep you posted on developments there-- Christine.
ROMANS: All right. A cash crunch threatens to change the face of the campaign trail in next year's race for president. This could affect when you vote for your party's candidate and some people might not be able to cast a primary ballot at all.
Jim Acosta is live with this story in Washington.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.
It's hard to believe, but it just shows you all of these states are trying to do just about everything these days to save a buck. And just one example of this desperation for dollars at the local level is the idea of moving or scrapping presidential primaries altogether.
Take a look at this map. At least six states and the District of Columbia are in various stages of talking about delaying or getting rid of their primaries to save money.
Here is why: holding elections aren't cheap. Let's show you some dollar figures here. D.C. wants to move its primary saving $1 million. Kansas has already voted to scrap its primary, trimming $1 million. Washington state expected to decide next week to make the switch to a caucus system for 2012, saving $10 million. And California -- get this -- hopes to save $100 million just by delaying its primary to June of next year.
Some of the changes are pending, we should mention, because local lawmakers still have it to vote on some of these proposals. But supporters of delaying this date in D.C. asked, why have multiple primaries when you can save the money?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK EVANS, D.C. CITY COUNCIL: So what we're looking at now is combining the two primaries. Instead of having two separate ones, one in February and one in June or September, like we used to, and it costs about $1 million to hold a primary election, we're going to put them both together in April and, hence, we will save $1 million in the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So, voila, just like that. In 2008, you might recall states were trying to move up their primary dates to compete with Iowa and New Hampshire where voters have a big say over presidential races. Now, to save money, there is movement in the other direction.
And the parties, we should mention, are offering up their own incentives to sweeten the deal for some of these states. The Democrats are even offering bonus delegates to states to wait until the spring or even summer.
And as you know, Christine, the 2008 campaign really hinged on those delegates in the battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
So, we're not talking about peanuts here. We're talking about real money and real potential consequences if this shake-up happens.
ROMANS: I'm telling you, Jim, the state budget crisis is something that people -- all of us -- are going to feel in a thousand different ways and that's just one of them.
ACOSTA: Right. It's all on the table.
ROMANS: Yes, thanks, Jim -- Kiran.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: All right. Christine, thanks.
We are -- well, we are in the middle of March being over and we still can't get away from snow, rain, golf ball-sized hail and tornadoes touching down in some places. Snow totals up to 10 inches and higher in parts of New York.
VELSHI: Unbelievable.
CHETRY: Well, we're also dealing with the messy commute this morning. Rob Marciano is going to ill have it all for us coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I thought (INAUDIBLE) this morning, thinking that there was snow because it was on cars and things around me. Take a look at that.
CHETRY: Yes. Boy, let's take a look at that. That is beautiful. That's Central Park this morning.
VELSHI: As you mentioned, it's beautiful in January. It's not beautiful on March 24th to have snow in Central Park.
CHETRY: Well, you know what? It is 31 degrees, which means it's below freezing and rain and snow mix and only to a high of 46 degrees.
VELSHI: Which means by the time we leave here and when it gets higher, I will step into about four-inch puddle like I did yesterday, soaking both of my shoes and about a third of my pants, Rob.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: It's all -- it is all about whether or not Ali's pants get messed up.
VELSHI: I have not had wet pants like that since I was a kid. Hold on a second!
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Hold on a second.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly.
VELSHI: Take it away, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. I'll try to get you out of this. Get yourself a good pair of galoshes and maybe some diapers.
Snowfall, yes, across parts of the Northeast today and that is beginning to wind down. Temperatures are right around freezing. They'll climb about that but it's going to be breezy, that's for sure.
Check out some of these snow totals. Most of this away from the major metropolitan areas. But you saw some of that wet snow did pile up in some of the grassy areas, certainly in the cities. Ten inches in places northwest Jersey and Owego, New York up there, and in Binghamton nine inches and nine inches also in places in Pennsylvania. But western PA, saw a tremendous amount of damage from some severe thunderstorms that rolled through south and east of Pittsburgh. Check out this funnel cloud which -- not only touched down but tore up some homes.
No reports of -- of serious injuries there but nonetheless some scary, scary moments there yesterday afternoon and last night. You see that -- if they will go out and survey this thing and it's probably at least an EF-1 if not a 2 with the strong storm.
Fiver reports of tornadoes yesterday and a couple hundred of reports of wind and hail throughout the eastern third of the country.
All right, we'll start to calm things down just a little bit. A couple leftover showers, it will be breezy and chilly behind this system but another system coming into the West Coast. They got hammered over the weekend and seeing more rain across parts of San Francisco and this all translating into snow above 3,000 people. Another two to four feet of snow expected in this area.
We do expect to see some delays at the San Francisco Airport because of the wind and the rain today. Maybe over an hour in that area; 30 to 60-minute delays expected in the New York City metros because of the wind behind this system. And it will be windy across parts of New Mexico and Texas and the southeast as well and chilly temperatures driving farther to the south but it's going to be gorgeous eventually here the next couple of days across the southeast.
Hey, I got to go to just east of Birmingham, Alabama, yesterday or last week. I got to hang out on the Indy car track there and hang out and talk about the weather and how it affects these drivers. They're going to start the season come Sunday. And I know you guys had up close and personal conversation with Helio Castroneves; a very charismatic guy. A lot -- a lot of personalities on the circuit and I'm looking forward to hearing that complete interview with "The Dancing with the Stars" and Indy 500 Champ.
CHETRY: Yes, I'm actually surprised that you didn't sit down with Danica Patrick. I thought you would pick that over Helio but you know --
MARCIANO: Well, because it's -- I did chat with Danica. We did have you know, a little one on one time as far as an interview goes but --
(CROSS TALK)
CHETRY: Right.
MARCIANO: -- not the quality sit-down studio time that you and Ali had.
CHETRY: Yes that was great but. It was the three of us. All right. Well, thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
ROMANS: All right, well, let's continue on this theme. Three- time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves says he is raring to go, you guys, as the Indy Car Series gets ready to kick off its 2011 season. It's been quite a few months since Castroneves has been behind the wheel but that doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.
CHETRY: That's right. We --- he's been very busy.
ROMANS: Oh yes.
CHETRY: And we had a chance to catch up with him. We talked about what it was like for him to be famous, not only for driving, but for dancing, when we had him in our New York studio. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HELIO CASTRONEVES, RACE CAR DRIVER: Last race, it was in October last year. So it's been like for six months basically not racing so it's the hardest thing to be off-season and, now, we're back again on track. So I'm truly excited, especially having, you know, first different sponsor that we're going to have. One is Guide Point. So it's -- it's awesome to have them on board. And I just can't wait, I'm ready to go.
ROMANS: You're a winner in a lot of different ways. You have a little baby girl. You're a winner on that front, fatherhood and you're also a winner on the track. You're also a winner of the fifth season of "Dancing with the Stars." What's --
(CROSS TALK)
CASTRONEVES: I thought you're not going to mention that.
ROMANS: What is harder? What's harder the track or the dance floor or being a dad?
CASTRONEVES: Oh, my. Oh, boy, I think all of them are very different, a different challenge. But being a dad has been an awesome experience, you know? We're just talking earlier a little bit. She's 14 months and kind of like walking.
ROMANS: So dangerous. That's why you spend your life hunched over trying to keep them --
CASTRONEVES: Exactly, it's so different. And I -- I enjoy every minute of it. And obviously, "Dancing with the Stars" was something that I did not expect. And actually, I'm still thanking to this day the votes from the fans because without --
CHETRY: You were so good. I'm sorry, how have you danced that well?
CASTRONEVES: People don't realize. People don't realize, well, she is a fantastic teacher let me put it this way. Because sometimes you say, no, I cannot do that. And she is like, no, you will do that. And it's kind of one of those things.
But the point is I was just having so much fun. The key was not trying to become a professional dancer. I was not trying to be that and -- and I think I had no --
CHETRY: You looked like a professional dancer.
CASTRONEVES: I had no idea how it would -- the way it did, you know? For me, it was a unique experience. I love it. I had fun. And but it was a lot of hard work.
ROMANS: Tell us about the international attention you got. Because you know, I mean, winning the Indy is a pretty big deal.
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: And suddenly you're on a TV show and people are like, whoa. Who is this guy?
CASTRONEVES: Well, you know and the interesting thing today, people recognize me more than -- on dancing than racing because --
ROMANS: Wow.
CASTRONEVES: Because when you have a 20 to 25 million people watching every Monday and Tuesday it's natural to people to recognize you from something that you did, you know? But I'm -- I'm glad that it was -- it brought the both worlds together, you know? People watching dancing and people watching racing.
CHETRY: I want to you ask you about whether fatherhood changed your aversion to risk. I mean, you are in a risky business, I know you guys take precautions --
CASTRONEVES: Yes.
CHETRY: -- and you really try to look out for yourselves but I mean, you know, you could die on the track. And what about now that you have a daughter? CASTRONEVES: People don't realize for us it's like an office. We go into our office and sometimes we have a good day and sometimes we have a bad day but I don't think about when I'm driving about my daughter or anything else because the focus that you put and the effort it's so incredible, that you just don't realize.
ROMANS: You know, you say it's like going to the office but there are very few people who work in an office with names like A.J. Foyt and Rick Miers, Al Unser those are people who worked in your same office who are legendary.
You're writing your legacy right now. If you win the Indy it's going to be your fourth. How do you, pressure? How does it feel? I mean, you're a young guy. You got -- you got more times to try as well but that put a lot I mean -- that's what all of the commentators are going to be talking about when your those strap into the car.
CASTRONEVES: I mean, I'm honored just to be in this position. You know and certainly to go for something that only three drivers, incredible drivers did, right now is a dream come true.
CHETRY: Best of luck with everything. It was so wonderful to meet you.
CASTRONEVES: Oh thanks for having me. I really appreciate it. I had fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Now I get why you guys weren't all that bent up about the fact that I wasn't around for that interview.
CHETRY: Yes, he really took to us.
VELSHI: Yes, you definitely timed that well. Excellent interview. He is just one positive guy.
CHETRY: Yes he really is.
VELSHI: He seems thrilled by everything.
CHETRY: Well, he -- he gets to race cars for a living, I mean --
ROMANS: And he drives fast, he dances great and he's a great dad.
VELSHI: What a great dancer he was.
CHETRY: He was awesome.
ROMANS: He was Mr. Perfect.
CHETRY: Yes, Mr. Perfect.
VELSHI: Next time we have an interview like that, you guys want to let me know? CHETRY: Yes, absolutely.
ROMANS: We'll let you know.
VELSHI: All right, we got a medical first for you after this firm grown in a lab for the first time, it could change everything for men with fertility issues. Fifty-one minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Fifty-four minutes past the hour.
There's been many, many breakthroughs that we have seen in infertility and fertility and -- and helping people who couldn't have kids have kids. Well, now this could be another breakthrough that could help millions of infertile men to have children.
Researchers in Japan say they have successfully created sperm from tissue in mice which was later used to go on to produce live mice. They got mice babies out of that tissue that was made into sperm. Well, researchers say that this may be a way to allow men to freeze their own tissue and then for scientists to be able to grow healthy sperm from that tissue years later.
For people that are going through your cancer treatments with chemotherapy, radiation or other ways that they were deemed infertile this could make all of the difference.
VELSHI: Yes. It will be interesting to see how this develops and whether we're going to see any testing in humans about this.
Medical marijuana, the business is booming, despite being legal only in seven states, a new report found sales this year already hit $1.7 billion. Why is that important? Well, because it rivals the $1.9 billion in total sales for Viagra last year. Not fully understanding what they have to do with each other but the study predicts that in the next five years the market for medical marijuana will be $8.7 billion.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I guess the crazy thing -- ok if you look at something as ubiquitous as Viagra, out there and everybody uses it. You look at medical marijuana which was technically only seven states supposedly you have to have an actual condition that is treated by it and, boom.
VELSHI: I don't want to call you guys, prudes or anything. It is weed. It doesn't need TV ads. That's all I got to say about that.
ROMANS: It does have a certain place in the American experience.
Rich women are more likely to get skin cancer than poor women -- switching gears here. Dermatologists just finished a study that examined melanoma cases among younger women of various income levels. The rates highest among the wealthiest women and they also had the most new diagnoses. VELSHI: This is the interesting part about this.
ROMANS: It's probably because women with more money more likely to take beach vacations and work in their gardens, visit tanning salons or take leisurely walks outside and probably more likely to go to a dermatology and be diagnosed I would say with melanoma.
VELSHI: Very interesting.
CHETRY: The bronzer works just better. Just don't chance it.
VELSHI: You don't have to be in one of those little things.
CHETRY: Fifty-six minutes past the hour. We will be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. One final look at our top stories this hour.
The bomb squad called into Miami International Airport this hour. A section of Terminal Five evacuated there. The TSA has shut down a checkpoint. They have put a perimeter around what looks like it is a suspicious package and we're continuing to monitor this story, but, again, TSA assisting Miami International Airport. Miami-Dade police, a bag sitting at a baggage a carousel, apparently a suspicious package there that they are monitoring.
VELSHI: Yes, of course. After a night of firebomb that took 50 fire fighters to get under control at that airport, damaging six fuel tanks. They're now having to refuel trucks -- they're using refueling trucks to get to those planes.
CHETRY: I think we have pictures of that as well from earlier.
VELSHI: Let's go to Ft. Worth for a second to iI20 right outside of Ft. Worth where the rescue continues there. They have actually got everybody out of this mix but you can see that they are lifting -- they're hoisting the edge of that truck. Look at the cab of that 18 wheeler. It was hanging over the edge of an overpass on I-21. They have now got it. They're towing that to a water tanker after an accident.
There was a car pinned underneath, they rescued the driver of the rig. Then they got the two people out alive in a car that was pinned underneath. Everybody is on their way to -- they are at hospitals and getting health care and they're getting medical care right now. The highway, as you can see, has reopened.
CHETRY: And actually you see how huge that tanker is what it's carrying. That's probably what kept it from going completely over that overpass because it actually stopped it there. The cab itself was simply just dangling but it was a huge tanker that kept it on the road.
VELSHI: Well, keep you up to speed with all of these stories. That's it for us. We'll see you tomorrow. CHETRY: That's right. Bright and early tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now. Good morning Carol.
ROMANS: Hi Carol.
