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American Morning
Bloody Battle in Misrata; Radiation Found in Japanese Beef; Oil Hits Two-and-a-Half Year High; What If It Happened Here?; Like Father, Like Sons?; They Found The Cobra!
Aired April 01, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: On this AMERICAN MORNING, we're taking you inside Misrata for an exclusive look at the bloody battle between rebel forces and government troops. A battle that's been raging there for weeks now.
And there are reports this morning that Moammar Gadhafi may be trying to negotiate his way out of Libya.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: New concerns for the people of Japan this morning. The beef is contaminated, and radiation levels at the Daiichi power plant spiked to their highest levels yet. Could they be getting help from the U.S. Marines?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And that Egyptian cobra that's been missing for four days has been found inside the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo. Hey, this snake has 200,000 followers on Twitter. What's next, a hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live"?
ROMANS: Plus, is there a link between artificial food coloring and hyperactivity in kids? That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I'm Ali Velshi. A lot happening overnight. Let's get you caught up.
Our first look at the fighting between rebels and Gadhafi forces in the streets of Misrata. Some incredible pictures we've got to show you.
And is Gadhafi working on an exit strategy from Libya? We're live in Tripoli just ahead.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. It's April 1st, but it's not an April Fools' joke. There's snow in the northeast today, up to a foot on the ground in some areas. And this is the same system that spawned tornadoes in Florida. We've got some amazing pictures for you. And Rob is watching the weather. We'll check in with him.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. She has 200,000 Twitter followers and people want her to host "Saturday Night Live." Now the zoo keepers have found that deadly Egyptian cobra. What's her next move? We'll ask the director of the Bronx Zoo live on this AMERICAN MORNING. VELSHI: Good morning, and welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Great to be back with both of you guys.
CHETRY: Where were you? On the hunt for the snake?
VELSHI: I left town. As you know, I left town until we found out. I got back on. I heard that the snake was back yesterday evening. Got back on a plane and I'm back here.
ROMANS: And meanwhile, the hunt for Gadhafi is on too. And there may be reports this morning that he's trying to negotiate some sort of departure. We're going to keep a very close eye on that. But Libya really tops the news today.
CHETRY: Yes, and this is so interesting. One of our reporters got a first-hand look at what it's like in one of the rebel-held areas, Misrata. They're still trying to stall the advance of Gadhafi forces in Brega. His rebel fighters as we've been reporting have been on the retreat for days. And now we're getting our first look at the devastation inside the city of Misrata after weeks of fighting. Our CNN's Frederik Pleitgen had remarkable access to rebel fighters on the front lines. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Weeks of urban combat have taken their toll on Misrata. Badly damaged buildings, streets littered with wreckage. Libya's third largest city, the fight is a stronghold in the west is under siege by pro- Gadhafi forces.
(on camera): We're extremely close to the front line right now. We're with a couple of the fighters from the opposition forces. And this is in downtown Misrata. There's a lot of destruction everywhere. Most of the buildings here have some sort of damage to them, pock marks. There's a lot of destroyed cars in the streets, as well. And we can also see that the people that we're with, the fighters that we're with are very, very tense at this moment.
(voice-over): A celebration on a destroyed armored vehicle, a step too far for pro-Gadhafi forces nearby. And the scene turns ugly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you see, that all is destroyed by Gadhafi's forces. Building, gas stations, schools, restaurants, police station, even fire station, they're destroyed.
PLEITGEN: Most residents have fled downtown Misrata as pro- Gadhafi forces have positioned snipers on tall buildings and used tanks and artillery in the city center. The anti-Gadhafi fighters badly outgunned fight back with the few weapons they have. They provided us with this video saying it shows a man disabling a battle tank with a rocket-propelled grenade.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Amazing pictures. And that's Fred Pleitgen on the front lines in Misrata. He is now safely out of there, and that's why we're able to show the video this morning.
But meantime, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates reassuring Congress that no U.S. troops will be used on the ground in Libya. He also said that supplying arms to the rebels is putting the cart before the horse. And we'll play a little bit more of that for you later. But very interesting words from our defense secretary when it comes to exactly what we may do strategically in Libya.
Meantime, Moammar Gadhafi remains publicly defiant. But there are some signs that his inner circle may be crumbling. Two top lieutenants have defected amid signs that the regime may be looking for an exit strategy. "The Guardian" newspaper is reporting today that an envoy is reportedly in Britain for secret talks. Mohammed Ismail (ph) is a top aide to Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, who's shown there. Ismail (ph) reportedly visited Britain within the past couple of days.
ROMANS: Americans being warned, don't travel to Syria unless you really have to. The U.S. now telling citizens to put off non- essential travel to Syria. It also urged people in the country to think about leaving because of violence that has reportedly killed more than 70 people there. This comes as protesters called for marches across the country today dubbing this a day of martyrs.
VELSHI: Well, March, out like a lion with severe weather from Florida all the way to Maine. Storms causing significant damage down south. A tornado ripped through Lakeland, Florida, flipping over small planes at an air show. And the northeast gets some April Fools' snowstorm, up to a foot in some places.
In Cleveland, Progressive Field was a sea of white yesterday. Workers have been busy getting it clear in time for the Indian season opening game today. The northeast getting some of that snow right now. Rob Marciano is here with us in New York tracking the storm.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Ali. Good to see you guys again.
Yes. How about that first day of baseball?
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: We've got some snow to talk about. We said it might happen, but you know, when you see the pictures of them actually shoveling snow off a baseball field, that's a little bit surreal.
A little bit of snow across the northeast right now. Here are some of the totals. Sterling, Massachusetts, 5.1. Still snowing in places like Worcester, Massachusetts. Five inches there. Yes, it is April 1st and this is not an April Fools' joke. We do anticipate a little bit more in the way of snow as we go through the next few hours. Radar showing just that. Winter storm warnings are still posted from Albany to Boston. We might have a live shot from Boston. Let's check it out there. Probably some snow falling out of the skies there.
There you go. All right. WHDH, thanks for that shot there. A little snow on the ground. Not snowing down but commute will be hard for New Englanders. But nonetheless, a little bit of a slick go out there so just be careful.
This thing is not over. As a matter of fact, where it's been raining in New York and parts of I-95, the back side of this will bring in a little bit of cold air and we'll probably see a little bit of snow flurries. As a matter of fact, snow showers, at least, still for the Cleveland's second game and maybe some wrap around for Philly as well.
But here's where the most significant snowfall is expected later on today. Northern New England and parts of New Hampshire could see up and over a foot of snow. So April 1st, yes. Feeling like, I don't know, January, February 1st, as well. And we had that severe weather down across parts of Florida. Rough weather for them the past two days, but looks to be a little bit more calm today. See, when Ali shows up, everything gets -- starts to calm down.
VELSHI: There you go. The snake's back.
MARCIANO: Snake's back where it should be.
ROMANS: That's what you were doing yesterday. On assignment. He's actually a snake charmer.
VELSHI: I was a snake charmer. Hey, it's interesting, though, because a lot of opening days including yesterday's -- a lot of opening days are going to be wet, windy and rainy.
MARCIANO: Yes. And then, Yankees' opening day yesterday was cold and damp. I got to spend the day with an amazing hardcore Yankee fan. We're going to have that story for you in about 10 minutes.
CHETRY: All right.
VELSHI: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Thank you.
We'll turn to the nuclear crisis in Japan right now. Alarming radiation levels are now being detected in the beef in Fukushima Prefecture. This is triggering a ban on sales of beef now. Workers, meantime, cannot seem to get the upper hand on the deteriorating conditions at the Daiichi power plant. You're looking at pictures now from a mounted camera on a concrete pump that's being used to spray water on the damaged reactors. The remote-controlled crane is typically used to pour cement into high-rise buildings.
And the U.S. is sending Marines in now to help with the efforts in Japan. A 155-member response force could arrive in Japan today. And these Marines are specifically trained to operate in chemical, biological and nuclear environments. The Defense Department says that the unit is bringing equipment for agent detection and also identification, casualty search, rescue and personnel decontamination and emergency medical care to stabilize contaminated personnel.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people who've evacuated that 12- mile zone surrounding the plant are now being told that it will not be days or weeks, but months before they can return to their homes.
ROMANS: New this morning. Gas prices are up by more than a penny. The average for a gallon of regular gasoline now $3.62. Can't talk gas without talking oil, of course. And this morning, oil prices are at a 2 1/2 year high, you guys. Carmen Wong Ulrich is here "Minding Your Business."
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. And rising. Now we have two-and-a-half year highs for oil at $107 a barrel today. Let's look at how this uptick happened for this quarter.
Oil most recently passed $100 a barrel in February with protests and unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, of course. Then it dipped mid-March after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. But now, with continued fighting in Libya, which has shut down an output of 1.6 million barrels of crude a day combined with the decline of the dollar, oil is up 16 percent for this quarter.
Now in other big business news today, later this morning, U.S. Department of Labor is set to release the job report. This is private job growth for the month of March and it's expected to continue growth of an additional 180,000 jobs. This according to a CNN Money report and it's going to keep unemployment at about 8.9 percent.
VELSHI: And we're going to hope that it's mostly private sector growth, but it's actually the net of the government jobs --
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: -- what will be the government jobs lost.
ROMANS: Right.
ULRICH: Well, that's the thing --
VELSHI: And the private sector jobs.
ULRICH: And that's what's in danger.
VELSHI: Yes.
ULRICH: We've seen growth in the private sector.
VELSHI: Yes.
ULRICH: But government jobs, a lot of them on the line.
VELSHI: That's what we've seen -- most of the losses. And in a good economy, you want more private sector jobs and government jobs, but the reality is we continue --
ROMANS: I know.
VELSHI: It just hurts when you continue to see -- right.
ULRICH: We can use both. We really can use both.
ROMANS: I love to see high hopes for the jobs reports. And it is high hopes. High hopes that it's only 8.9 percent.
VELSHI: That's right.
ROMANS: When you think about that, even 10 years --
ULRICH: After what we've had, let's just keep it going and growing.
ROMANS: I know. It's all relative. All right.
VELSHI: Thank you, Carmen.
ULRICH: Thank you.
VELSHI: Also new this morning, she tried to throw them off with her tweets, but they got her. After searching for days, for four days, zoo keepers found a potentially deadly Egyptian cobra in the reptile house exactly where they said she would be at the famous Bronx Zoo in New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BREHENY, DIRECTOR, BRONX ZOO: We wanted to create an environment where the snake felt comfortable coming out. So we kept the lights dim and we tried to keep as much noise and commotion down so she would feel comfortable coming out. And as I said, we were fairly confident that she would come out and she did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Coming up at 6:50, we're going to speak to the Bronx Zoo director. He has -- has all this fame gone to this cobra's large head? We'll find out about that a little later.
CHETRY: Large head, the poor thing is three ounces. After she's safe and sound, people are like, oh, yes, the size of a pencil.
VELSHI: I thought this thing was huge.
CHETRY: Me too. With a huge hood ready to strike at any moment. Deadly.
VELSHI: How big is it?
CHETRY: Three ounces.
ROMANS: Just a little baby.
CHETRY: She's about the size of a pencil. VELSHI: All right. Well, we'll be on top this morning.
CHETRY: Now I'm wondering if this whole thing was a ruse to get people to the Bronx Zoo.
VELSHI: Most famous Egyptian cobra in history.
CHETRY: Well, up next on AMERICAN MORNING, you've probably seen drivers speeding past you. Did it make you nervous? Well, actually the roads are a lot safer. In fact, safer than we've seen in decades. We'll tell you why.
ROMANS: And a candy bar in a dream. How a craving helped a group of I.T. workers win the mega millions jackpot. This is a story of karma, boys and girls. It's really interesting.
Eleven minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The bacteria that killed nine people and sickened 10 others in six Alabama hospitals has been traced to a pharmacy in Birmingham. The name of that pharmacy is I.V. Meds. They prepared the I.V. solutions that were given to all of the affected patients. The same bacteria found in the victims' blood was discovered on a faucet at the pharmacy and in those I.V. bags and in an I.V. bag there. Health officials say that that rules out the possibility that the I.V. solutions became contaminated after they left the pharmacy, Ali.
VELSHI: That is a piece of devastating story.
ROMANS: It really is.
VELSHI: Lung cancer death rates in women are on the decline. The National Cancer Institute says the trend began in men about 10 years ago. And now it looks like women are catching up with lung cancer mortality rates, dropping about one percent per year between 2003 and 2007. Doesn't sound like a lot, but a lot of people still get lung cancer. The reason is quite obvious. More and more women are kicking the smoking habit.
CHETRY: Well, also some encouraging news if you're about to head out the door that driving is actually getting much safer. Since 2005, the number of traffic deaths has actually been on the decline. With last year's fatality figure, the lowest they've seen in nearly six decades.
Our Jeanne Meserve is live in Washington. And this is significant because we have more and more people on the roads, you know, since we did 60 years ago, and we're actually safer out there.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the numbers are startling but in a good way. How often can we say that?
According to early estimates, the number of people killed in traffic accidents last year was the lowest number since 1949. That's 61 years earlier. Thirty-two thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight people died, a three percent drop from 2009, despite an increase in the number of miles traveled by car. And if you look at a longer time span over the last five years, the number has dropped an astounding 25 percent.
Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood underlines a couple of reasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Because people are buckling up, 85 percent of the people are buckling up. That wasn't true 20 years ago. That's thanks to Click It or Ticket and good enforcement.
I'm going to take a little bit of credit here on our two years of really hammering on distracted driving. We're not where we want to be, but we know with good laws and good enforcement, people will put their cell phones down and their BlackBerrys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Other factors cited by Lahood and some experts, the success of campaigns to stop drunk driving, graduated driver's licenses, which put restrictions on the youngest and most inexperienced people on the road, and also changes in how cars are designed. They're just safer than they used to be -- Kiran.
CHETRY: It's interesting. The recession, whether or not that's a factor, because, you know, we talk about the demand for oil and gas going down during the recession. But also I think it's interesting because there's so much concern about the texting and driving that's leading to a lot of crashes.
MESERVE: Right. And Lahood definitely thinks that the emphasis on distracted driving has had a positive impact on this. So he says there's a way to go.
But when it comes to the recession, back in 2008, there was a really dramatic decline in traffic fatalities. They did a study then and the experts said, yes, they thought the economy had something to do with it because young people had less money to spend on gasoline. This time around, Lahood says he doesn't think it's a factor, but these are preliminary numbers and you can bet this is all going to get a closer look as time goes on -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning, thanks so much.
MESERVE: You bet.
ROMANS: I guess they have a candy bar to thank. I mean, a $319 million candy bar. The winners of the $319 million mega millions jackpot received their giant checks in front of the cameras yesterday. Seven New York State I.T. workers are going to split that jackpot. The co-worker who bought the ticket said someone -- a very pushy and unlucky someone -- actually jumped in line in front of him when he went to grab a Snickers bar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE BARTH, ONE OF THE WINNERS OF NEW YORK MEGA MILLION JACKPOT: And so I reach over, you know, and I'm sort of like falling myself out of the line to get the candy bar, this guy jumps in front of me. And I'm like, maybe I should say something, that was pretty rude. But I didn't. I was behaving myself.
And so that guy, I'm thinking later on after all this went down. I wonder if that guy would've won the ticket instead of me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's some karma.
ROMANS: That's true. They'll each get $19.1 million after taxes. I think they all decided to take the lump. They want $19 million. And the group said there were five co-workers who decided --
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: -- not to pony up (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, what a turnout.
CHETRY: There was a talk yesterday with that one guy that was always on the pool that didn't win.
VELSHI: Right, right, right.
VELSHI: So, you know, I mean, so they would have had to split it more ways if the other --
ROMANS: You can't win if you don't play.
VELSHI: That's said it all (ph), for heaven sakes.
CHETRY: And you can't -- you can also not win if you do play.
ROMANS: You mostly will win if you do -- but you mostly will lose if you do play.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: Well, there's a link -- is there a link, actually, between artificial food coloring and hyperactivity in kids? The Food and Drug Administration after spending two days examining the results -- well, they're offering some guidelines coming up.
VELSHI: And she's a devoted Yankee fan making a trip from her home in New Jersey to Yankee Stadium hundreds of times. Here's the rub -- she's blind. Rob Marciano went along for the ride to yesterday's season opener.
It is 19 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Beautiful picture right now of Boston. We're just outside of Boston.
VELSHI: Look at that.
CHETRY: I know. It's snowing. April Fool's joke for them, clearly.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: This is Western Massachusetts. Yes. A little bit north of Boston today where it's -- it's adding up. I mean, it's not a ton right there, but --
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Need some Christmas music.
ROMANS: I know.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Seriously. That really looks like a beautiful Christmas Eve.
ROMANS: It's like not spring sales, it's the after Christmas sales. I mean, I feels like it should a completely different (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Well, I tell you, last night here in New York City, it wasn't snow, but it was kind of that cold -- like, I actually don't mind the cold, but it's like cold rain, irritating stuff.
CHETRY: Yes. It's order soup weather. It's supposed to be baseball season.
VELSHI: Yes. Right. And the Yankee fans braved that. Of course, Yankee fans being Yankee fans, they would, on opening day.
They were rewarded with a victory. The Yanks beat the Detroit Tigers 6-3.
It was a special day for one extraordinary Yankee fan. Jane Lang has been a fan since birth. She's also been blind since birth. But Jane is a regular at Yankee Stadium, making it all the way from her home in New Jersey to the Bronx with her guide dog, and yesterday, Rob, excellent excuse to go to opening day on a workday, joined her.
He went with her, and he's here with us now. That was a -- that's a -- a doubly interesting experience.
MARCIANO: Yes. You know, I wouldn't say no to this assignment, and -- and when -- when I met this woman, and you're going to meet her now. I mean, just -- just an amazing, amazing personality, and it goes beyond being a fan.
There's lots of Yankee fans out there, and --
CHETRY: Of course.
MARCIANO: -- lots of hardcore Yankee fans. I consider myself one. But --
VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE). Yes.
MARCIANO: -- nothing compares to this woman. And, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, the way she's a Yankee fan, she's doing it her way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE LANG, BLIND YANKEE FAN: Good boy. Up, up.
MARCIANO (voice-over): She's made this trip alone more than 200 times, nearly three hours by foot, train, and subway. Jane Lang is a hard core Yankees fan.
LANG: I really enjoy the games. I have made so many friends. I love it.
In the winter, I'm miserable. I miss it.
MARCIANO: Blind since birth, she loves baseball for different reasons than most.
LANG: You know, there's not many places in this world that I really feel 100 percent safe. But when I walk into the Yankee Stadium, it's like I don't have to worry. I feel like I'm home.
That's a good boy.
I love the trip. I love the trip because I know what's at the end, and I know that I -- I'm lucky to be able to do it by myself. It means -- it means the world to me.
MARCIANO: Even with her seeing eye dog Clipper leading her, it's no easy trip.
MARCIANO (on camera): Things change every day in the city.
LANG: Oh, yes.
MARCIANO: If you run into scaffolding, that throws you off, what -- what goes through your mind?
LANG: Where the hell am I?
MARCIANO (voice-over): Still, she always finds her way to the subway.
MARCIANO (on camera): What was it like when you took this route for the first time? LANG: I was scared. And when I got to Yankee Stadium, I was so happy, I sat there, sobbing like a baby.
MARCIANO (voice-over): She has a little trick to get off at the right subway stop. One Lifesaver in her right pocket gets moved to her left at every stop. When she empties her right, it's time to get off. 161st street.
MARCIANO (on camera): I think Clipper's more excited to get to the game than we are.
LANG: Yes. He loves it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
LANG: As soon as I walked in, you saw how happy I was.
MARCIANO: I saw how happy everybody else was to see you.
MARCIANO (voice-over): It's definitely her happy place.
MARCIANO (on camera): Is there any other place you'd rather be?
LANG: No. Absolutely not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Jane goes to about 30 or 40 games a year.
VELSHI: Wow.
MARCIANO: Mostly day games. One -- one time, she went to a night game and she missed the last train home from Jersey, and -- and her husband hasn't let her forget that.
By the way, she's been married over 40 years. Met her husband when she went to get her seeing eye dog, and they have three kids together, and they just live this (INAUDIBLE). She just exudes positivity. It was my honor, and I was blessed to be there with her for the day.
And, I tell you, walking -- like, everybody liked -- you walk in that place, it's like walking in with the Pope. I mean, you have people lined up to kiss the ring.
VELSHI: Well, she said that the first time she got there by subway, she -- she ended up sobbing. I -- I go to (INAUDIBLE) Yankees games a year, and I take the subway, and I sometimes feel like sobbing when I get there.
You know what? It's quite an experience. It's not the easiest of all subway rides to get to.
CHETRY: No. MARCIANO: No, and you -- and it's amazing watching -- watching her. And I know, you know, lots of blind people are skilled in this way.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: Their acute hearing. She's describing things for me, how she -- she knows when to stop to get to an intersection. She can tell by the way the traffic sounds. She knows which way -- which doors are opening on the subway.
VELSHI: That's incredible.
MARCIANO: That also tells her which stop is that --
CHETRY: And do the Yankees know her? I mean, do they know that she's there and that they --
MARCIANO: Oh, yes. They honored her last year in what's called Hope Week --
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: -- where they -- they highlight different stories that inspire people.
ROMANS: What about the crack of the bat? So when she hears the crack of the bat, does she know that --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: -- she know -- I mean, she's got so much experience, and the hearing is so good that can she -- could she tell what's happening on the -- on the field, or is she just listening to the announcers?
MARCIANO: I -- I asked her that, and -- and she says, you know, lots of times she can tell when it's a -- it's a home run, but more so what -- by what the crowd is doing behind her.
She does bring a -- an A.M. radio with her so she gets some play-by-play --
VELSHI: Right. Because at the stadium, you don't get much announcement. There's not -- all you just hear, who's coming up to the plate.
ROMANS: Wow.
CHETRY: Well, that's a nice story. I'm glad that you did that yesterday.
ROMANS: That's awesome.
MARCIANO: Yes. It was -- it was amazing. It inspired me quite a bit. CHETRY: All right. Thanks.
ROMANS: All right. If a nuclear crisis like the one in Japan happens here, are -- are we going to be ready? Allan Chernoff examines the evacuation plan for one U.S. nuclear plant, and you're going to want to know what he discovered.
VELSHI: And like father like sons. I'm going to have a look at the Gadhafi clan. Some of his kids in the family business of brutality, as well. I'll bring you that after the break.
It's 27 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Welcome back. It's 6:30. That means it's time for this morning's top stories.
The fight for Misrata. Amazing pictures from CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, who had remarkable access to rebels under siege from Gadhafi's forces in Libya's third largest city where weeks of combat have taken a brutal toll.
No joke, an April Fool's storm pounding the Northeast, dumping up to a foot of snow in some areas. It's the same storm system that battered central Florida yesterday with strong winds, drenching rain, and tornadoes.
And with radiation levels spiking to new highs in the soil and seawater around Japan's nuclear power plant, now comes word that dangerous levels of radiation have been discovered in the beef in Fukushima, more than 40 miles away from the plant. Sales of that beef had been halted.
CHETRY: Well, as this crisis in Japan unfolds, many of us have been asking, what if it happens here? Especially in cities where there is a nuclear reactor right next door.
Allan Chernoff gave us an exclusive look inside of New York's Indian Point nuclear power plant last week, about 25 to 35 miles from New York City. He took a look at the evacuation plan, as well, if the unthinkable were to happen.
Hey, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is unthinkable. But, you know, these days, we do have to think about it, unfortunately.
Now, in the United States, there are 64 different nuclear facilities. And this one over here, Indian Point, is the closest to New York, to our major metropolitan area.
Let's have a closer look. Within a 10-mile radius, there are 300,000 people living, OK? Fifty-mile radius, that includes the tri- state area, New York City's right here, you've got 20 million people. Now, of course, the odds of an accident are extremely small, but we still have to consider it and, certainly, state and county officials have been considering it for a long time. They've got evacuation plans, but would they work?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: In the event of an accident at the Indian Point nuclear power plant, some nearby residents fear they'd be stuck, unable to flee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that we would be able to evacuate sufficiently.
CHERNOFF: By law, Indian Point is required to have an emergency planning zone, a 10-mile radius from the plant. Westchester County where the plant is located would try to evacuate residents gradually.
ANTHONY SUTTON, COMMISSIONER, WESTCHESTER COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES: The evacuation may initially be for the people living in a two-mile ring, and a five-mile down wind span.
CHERNOFF (on camera): The direction of the wind could determine who needs to evacuate. Since Indian Point is located right on the Hudson River, in the valley between these hills, the wind tends to blow downstream towards Manhattan.
(voice-over): In Japan, U.S. authorities are urging Americans within 50 miles of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to evacuate. For Indian Point, that radius would encompass New York City, which is just 25 miles away.
(on camera): Rush hour in New York, heaven forbid, there's a nuclear accident anywhere near here, there is no way everyone is evacuating quickly. It would be nuclear gridlock.
Practically speaking, we couldn't really evacuate New York City.
JOSEPH POLLOCK, VP OPERATIONS, INDIAN POINT ENERGY CENTER: Well, here's not a scenario that we have whether those rates or the radiation that would go out would require an evacuation of New York City. That's been identified up to this point.
CHERNOFF: The county's chief executive says they're well- prepared for a 10-mile evacuation. But if a 50-mile evacuation were ordered --
ROB ASTORINO, WESTCHESTER COUNTY EXECUTIVE: It's a complete game changer. We would have to go back to the drawing board tomorrow and work day and night with multiple agencies, multiple jurisdictions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: Astorino says the county has been asking lots of questions of the NRC after they call for that 50-mile evacuation in Japan. And he is not alone. Consider, there are more than 20 reactors in the U.S. within 20 miles of a large metropolitan area. So, we certainly do have to consider, would these evacuation plans work? Is a 10-mile radius appropriate?
CHETRY: And reality is, it always seems that there always has to be a disaster for them to say, wait a minute, are we prepared for this? I mean --
CHERNOFF: Well, we should -- we should emphasize, these guys practice all the time. There are drills. In fact, FEMA oversees lots of these drills. They check to make sure that every area within 10 miles of a nuclear facility is in practice and has passed its approval for these drills.
VELSHI: Right.
CHERNOFF: So, they're on it. The question is, is 10 miles enough?
VELSHI: Right. And the problem is the cities. You know, M. Night Shyamalan movie, "The Happening," there was a thing happening in Philadelphia where everybody had to get out. And within moments in the movie, the place shuts down and people can't get out. We're not drilling for this in New York City.
ROMANS: Right.
CHERNOFF: And, in addition to that, the issue is, OK, even if you have a plan, right, and New York, Ali, is a great example, because how are we all going to get out?
VELSHI: Right.
CHERNOFF: But even within that 10-mile area in Westchester, they say it would take 9 1/2 hours to get everyone else, that's assuming everyone pays attention, everyone does what the county and state officials order. If everyone panics and we all try to leave, you've got nuclear gridlock.
ROMANS: All right.
VELSHI: The good news about New York City, half the population leaves every day after work. So, there's some practice of getting millions of people out of this city.
CHERNOFF: Those are the people who work in New York. But we've got 8 million people living in the five boroughs of New York City. Let's pray this is all theoretical.
ROMANS: All right. Allan Chernoff -- thanks, Allan.
VELSHI: Thanks, Ali.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING: we've been talking about Gadhafi leaving Libya. Well, if he leaves? Who's next? Some of his kids have a history of brutality and excess just like their father. We're going to show you the dictator's kids and what they're capable of.
ROMANS: And hands free, not germs free. How could a sink you never touch actually have more germs? We're going to tell you.
Thirty-five minutes after the hour.
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VELSHI: All right. There are reports this morning that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi may be losing his grip on power. He might be looking for a way out.
So, who does that leave in Libya? Just like in Iraq with Saddam Hussein, Gadhafi has a few children. Actually, he's got eight of them, seven of them -- two of them were adopted. One of them has died. They are almost as troubling as their father. Ten children in total. Seven sons, a daughter, and two adopted children. Sorry, I meant to say ten.
Here's a snapshot.
I want to give you the first one, Muhammad here. He's the eldest son. He's involved in business in Libya. He controls Libya's mobile phone and satellite communications. But he is not otherwise thought of as somebody who is going to be in charge of Libya.
Let's take a look at Saif, the other son who we're looking at. He's heir apparent to Gadhafi, formally viewed as a liberal, a force for change, and the one most likely to succeed his father. But after the bloodiest few days in Libya's modern history, he told Libya state- run television that rivers of blood would flow with thousands of deaths if the uprising does not stop.
Now, I'm going to show you Khamis. Khamis is the next one I want to show you. He was formerly an intern with a U.S. company. We were talking about him. He was with an engineering and construction firm. The L.A.-based company had business dealings in Libya until the uprising began.
Khamis quickly returned home where he's led the 32nd Reinforced Brigade, some of Gadhafi's most elite and loyal fighters. The U.S. military says this is the unit that has carried out attacks on civilians.
Now, I want to show you this guy here, Mutassim. He is the -- he was a lieutenant colonel in the Libyan army. He wanted to overthrow his father. He fled to Egypt several years ago in order to stage that coup.
Since Gadhafi -- well, that didn't work. And Gadhafi has since forgiven him. He is now the Libyan national security adviser -- so, someone to watch.
And I want to show you his daughter, the only surviving daughter, Ayesha. Let me tell you a little bit about her.
Ayesha was appointed a U.N. goodwill ambassador to promote -- I'm sorry, let me bring that up for you a little bit -- to promote AIDS awareness. She's fought to protect women from domestic violence in Libya, also was on the defense team for Saddam Hussein. His adopted baby daughter, this one here, Hanna, was killed in a U.S. airstrike back in 1986. It was part of the retaliation for a Libyan terrorist attack.
Now, Interpol has issued an alert identifying all of Gadhafi's children except for his adopted son, Milad over here, as being involved in or complicit in planning attacks on civilians.
So, if Gadhafi leaves and he leaves any of these folks behind, there will still be problems -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks for that look.
Well, still ahead, we're talking more about the fruit loops situation -- fruit loop is among many foods that perhaps could make your kids hyperactive. Well, advisers for the Food and Drug Administration are now saying that there were actually no evidence linking artificial food colorings to attention deficit disorders in children. After two days of hearings, the FDA advisory committee says it will not regulate or recommend a ban on food dyes.
But the report did say that the dyes could affect children who have existing behavioral disorders. They also ended up calling for more research.
So, again, sort of goes back in the hands of parents. Do you notice changes in your children when you think they eat large amounts of foods that have additives?
ROMANS: And there are parents who will not be convinced by this. Who will say, look, we know -- especially parents with existing -- children with existing behavioral disorders who say they very strictly try to regulate to the dyes that are going to children's diet and they say they have noticed a difference.
You think it's the perfect invention for a germaphobe. A hands-free --
CHETRY: They never work. They never work.
VELSHI: I assume they keep you clean.
ROMANS: A new study says these hands-free sinks actually have more germs than the ones we have to touch. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say about half of the sinks with an automatic faucet tested positive for bacteria compared to 15 percent of the old school facet. The reason, doctors say the hands-free sinks, they have more complicated plumbing with more places for bugs and germs for things to hide. But doctors say the germs they found on the sink should pose no risk to a healthy person.
VELSHI: May I ask a question?
ROMANS: Yes?
VELSHI: Perhaps the sinks are dirtier, but if you're not licking them, like if you're using the hands-free sink with soap on, and you're using the hands-free sink to wash your hands and you don't touch anything --
CHETRY: Right.
ROMANS: But if the germs get in the water? It's like, then, if the germs in the water and you're washing your hands because it's all germy, I don't know.
VELSHI: Good question.
ROMANS: I do agree with Ali's medical advice not to lick a public facility --
VELSHI: Right. I've always stuck by that.
CHETRY: I'm going with the hand sanitizer. I'm sorry, this is all gross.
VELSHI: And I do observe the five-second rule with sinks.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
VELSHI: If something drops into it, you have five seconds to get it out and eat (ph) it.
ROMANS: And eat it.
VELSHI: I just got a wrap cue from my producer.
ROMANS: An urgent wrap cue.
CHETRY: All right. Now, Rob is going to be along with the travel forecast. It's Friday, and it's April Fool's Day for people that are thinking, hey, spring's around the corner.
ROMANS: The king cobra is the queen on Twitter. The missing Bronx zoo cobra now back in captivity, back where she belongs. Will she still be able to tweet? And how does a cobra tweet? Two hundred thousand followers simply need to snow. We're going to ask the zoo's director.
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ROMANS: That is snow in Weston -- just looks like Boston. Good morning, Boston. April fool's.
VELSHI: It's hot April fool. I mean, that's a thing. Would you think that this would be a cute thing to do, but that's really the weather there.
ROMANS: That really is. CHETRY: Mother Nature's playing the April fool's trick today.
VELSHI: It's 46 minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines in the northeast. Really, it's just not a joke.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, it's not. Yesterday was kind of cold, damp, and miserable, and that cold that went right through you even in the New York area where it didn't really snow, but where it is snowing right now, yes, it feels more like winter than April.
ROMANS: This is the stuff that came from Florida now, right? I mean, that started tornadoes in Florida. We're seeing some of that mess in there or no?
MARCIANO: Yes, it' part of that energies up here. It's all kind of combined kind of like nor'easters do, and now, we get the end of the party.
ROMANS: Nice.
MARCIANO: Enjoy, but look at this map. I want you to see this and focus on one little spot here. And Christine pointed this out yesterday, yes, southwest. We put that in extra bold fonts for you, Christine. We could see record high temperatures today across the southwest. Phoenix may get close to 100 degrees.
ROMANS: Wow.
MARCIANO: That's just too hot. I mean, who wants that? Northeast, that's the mess. Let's show you the radar. Rain, yes, across parts of the I-95, snow beginning to mix in that time. You saw that picture in Boston. They've already received several inches of snow. Parts of Worcester has seen five inches, still snowing there, and obviously, as we zoom in, you'll see that the white is beginning to fill in the blanks across parts of the lower Hudson Valley.
And some of this cold air as it wraps down to the south will turn some of the rain into snow showers, but we don't expect much in the way of major accumulations from New York down to Philly, but you know, we got a couple of games today to deal with, as well. Cleveland, we'll see, maybe, some snow showers, maybe some rain showers in Chicago for their home opener.
And this storm once it drives down to the south, that's not going to be that big of a deal. If you are traveling today, there's going to be some travel delays in some of the usual spots. Over an hour at the New York metros, Boston seeing some 30 to 60- minute delays because of the snow, and Philadelphia and D.C. and New York. Take a look at the high temperatures for today. As mentioned, we could see -- just flashing on there. Seventy in Los Angeles. We don't have phoenix up there because I didn't want to really --
VELSHI: You didn't want to upset us? Are there three digits in Phoenix temperature today?
CHETRY: Yes, they do --
ROMANS: Kiran's so upset about the weather. She was out of the first plane to Phoenix.
VELSHI: I see 89 in El Paso, 80 in Albuquerque. We don't have a 100 anywhere, do we, in the country?
MARCIANO: No. Phoenix and Tucson may get close to that. That's why we didn't put on.
ROMANS: You know, I was in Phoenix a couple weeks ago on April 1st, and it cracked 100, and there's nothing worse than 100 degrees by like 10:00 a.m. or noon. I mean, it just was startling.
VELSHI: Christine is making us feeling better about --
MARCIANO: Exactly. Thank you.
VELSHI: Snowing in the northeast.
MARCIANO: Now, we don't have to go to therapy.
VELSHI: Kiran.
CHETRY: At least we found the cobra, right?
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: That's what we're happy about this morning. This is hilarious. I love how the cobra's Twitter feed, you know, has surpassed -- I think it's more people are following this than all of newspapers online in Texas. I mean, they were just making a comparison that this cobra has 200,000 plus Twitter followers, but I love this one. Here's a Facebook page.
Bronx Zoos cobra to host SNL. Apparently, it worked for Betty White. So, this is, of course, the new things of a very clever person trying to make the most of the missing reptile.
Up next, we're going to be joined by someone from the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo explaining how they finally found her. Coming up. Fifty minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-three minutes past the hour right now. The new cold-blooded superstar is, apparently, back safe and sound.
VELSHI: Oh, that's nice of you to say.
CHETRY: Cold-blooded, right?
VELSHI: Oh, nothing on me you're talking about.
CHETRY: Who?
VELSHI: Oh, I was talking --
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: He's back. It's the Egyptian cobra we're talking about on the run from the Bronx Zoo now found. And even though, we know the cobra actually never left to the reptile house, now, we now that. She became quite a star. 200,000 plus Twitter followers, reading her tweets from around town.
ROMANS: And Jim Breheny is the director of the Bronx Zoo. He's in front of the Madagascar exhibit this morning. Jim, congratulations for finding the little darling. She gave us all quite a scare. And I think the world was watching where she would turn up this little 3 ounces of media attention.
Let me ask you this, so, you finally found her by putting some woodchips out, keeping the lights dim, making her comfortable, and the woodchips smelled like rodents. You knew that maybe that would attract her and it did.
JIM BREHENY, DIRECTOR, BRONX ZOO: Correct. I mean, we took bedding that were from mice and rat cages and sprinkled it around the building. And we knew that once she settled in and became a little more comfortable, she would start to move around and search for food.
CHETRY: How worried were you that she wasn't going to turn up?
BREHENY: We were pretty confident that she was going to turn up, but we were very happy that we recovered her as quickly as we did.
VELSHI: How did you know that she hadn't left the building? I mean, it turns out she's pretty small, three ounces. Getting into vents and things like that, how would you know that -- how were you, guys, so confident that she hadn't left the building?
BREHENY: The building is pretty well-sealed off, and there's different levels of containment within the building. And also the weather was on our side because it was -- we were tracking the weather from the time we discovered her missing throughout the week, and it was so cold that it would not -- even if it was possible for her to find a way out of the building, that she probably would not just because it was so cold outside.
ROMANS: Jim, how did she get out? I mean, how did she get loose?
BREHENY: That's the question. We really don't know that. I mean, when we discovered her missing, we really focused all our attention on recovering her. And now, we're doing a review. But, you know, anyone who has ever dealt with snakes or kept snakes know that they are notorious escape artists and, you know, sometimes mishaps happen.
CHETRY: I've got to tell you, you should give that person a raise because you've gotten more attention lately.
ROMANS: It's true.
CHETRY: You know, we were talking about budget cuts et cetera at the Bronx Zoo, now, we're looking at a lot of renewed attention, 200,000 plus Twitter followers. I mean, is this going to help your visitors? I mean, is this going to help with all of your tourism?
BREHENY: It certainly has put us out there, but, you know, we would have preferred to be out there for another reason.
ROMANS: Are you going to put her in her own -- Jim, are you going to try to like, maybe, I don't know, harness this attention? Put it her in her own cage? Make her own exhibit?
VELSHI: Make her like the snake's version of Justin Bieber.
ROMANS: There you go.
BREHENY: What we're going to do is we're going to watch her really closely for about a week and make sure she's OK after being loose. And she looks in fine condition. I'm sure she's OK. And if that's the case, we probably will put her on exhibit when we reopen the building next week. We're going to try to do that next weekend.
And we definitely want to -- I mean, people have been so good to us and sent us so many good wishes and have really been supportive now that the situation -- and we want to give them the opportunity to see the animal. And we're actually going to do a naming contest with the animal at the daily news.
CHETRY: Embrace it. Good for you, Jim. Thanks so much. Glad everything worked out for you, guys, in the end. Thanks for joining us this morning.
BREHENY: Thanks very much.
VELSHI: Now that we got that story out of the way, the rest of your top stories are coming your way after the break.
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