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GOP Plan to Overhaul Medicare; FAA Orders More 737 Inspections; Looking at Smartphone Apps; What a Government Shutdown Could Mean for You; Residents of Tsunami-Devastated Town Living in Cardboard Boxes
Aired April 05, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for Tuesday, April 5th.
Libya's civil war, looking more and more like a standoff today. The seesaw battle for Brega, a critical oil port, it is ongoing. Rebels have rejected a peace plan pitched by Moammar Gadhafi's aides as ridiculous. It calls for him to hand over power to one of his sons who would turn Libya into a democracy.
Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who frantically told international journalists she had been gang-raped by Libyan soldiers, is telling the latest in her chilling story to CNN. In a telephone interview, she spoke from a family member's home in Tripoli, where she says she is under house arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMAN ALL-OBEIDY, ALLEGEDLY RAPED BY GADHAFI SOLDIERS (through translator): My feelings were that they had taken my humanity, that I would never leave this place. They told me I would never see the light of day again, that I would never be released or returned home, and that they will kill me.
When they are raping me, one man would leave, and another would enter, and he would finish and then another man would come in. Of course, they would untie my hands when they would rape me, and one of them, while my hands were still tied, before he raped me, he sodomized me with his Kalashnikov.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Gunfire in the capital of Ivory Coast, where two men claim the presidency. Incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo is reportedly holed up in a bunker at the presidential residence this hour. He is said to be negotiating his departure. Well, fighters loyal to the man widely viewed as the winner of the presidential election say they're holding their own fire, at least for now.
At Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, officials say water gushing into the Pacific from a cracked concrete shaft is 7.5 million times -- million times -- the legal limit for radiation. Crews reported moments ago they've made good progress in plugging that leak. Well, crews are also dumping 11,000 tons of radioactive water that is pooling in basements. Tokyo Electric says about half of that water has shipped out to sea for disposal.
Two Americans gunned down, execution style, at the Tijuana border crossing. The men sat in their truck in a line of vehicles waiting to enter the United States. Someone walked up, pumped bullets into their chests and head. Authorize are looking for any link to drug cartels.
The pilots call their emergency landing at New Orleans a blind landing. The United Airline's cockpit filled with smoke after takeoff. Then all instruments failed. Pilots followed the Mississippi River back to New Orleans. Everyone kept their cool as the tower talked them down.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 497, we are declaring an emergency, and please roll equipment for our landing, please. A hundred and six souls on board. Fuel remaining at 32,400.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 497, we've lost all our instruments right now, and we're going to need just a PAR.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aircraft is off the runway.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering new inspections on 80 older Boeing 737s based in the United States. Now, investigators will look for cracks in the plane's skin that may be hidden by rivets or overlap. A hole opened up in a Southwest plane's roof during flight on Friday, prompting that FAA order.
Well, severe storms swipe the Eastern Seaboard this morning before rolling out to sea. Fierce, gusty winds took down trees, peeled off roofs in several states overnight. Now, thousands in the Atlanta area here lost power. The weather service is looking into 19 reports of possible tornadoes.
President Obama called the leaders of Congress to the White House this morning for urgent budget talks. They are trying to agree on a plan to fund the government for the six months left in fiscal 2011. Well, much of the government will shut down on Friday if there is no agreement or extension.
As if one battle budget isn't enough, we have two budget battles going on. One, to address spending cuts now, one for later.
That, of course, leads us to Carol Costello. Your chance to "Talk Back" here.
Carol, I know that it's the long-term talk that gets you pumped up here, because a lot of people are wondering, what are we looking at, down the road, when this is all said and done for the next six months, about those huge cuts, potentially, that Republicans are talking about?
COSTELLO: Exactly. And we're talking about Paul Ryan's plan for the 2012 budget.
Most economists, Suzanne, say to rein in the deficit, you have simply got to take on the sacred cows, those expensive entitlement programs. Well, Republicans are doing just that. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's 2012 budget takes a $6.2 trillion bite out of the deficit over 10 years by slashing spending levels to 2008 levels and by tackling Medicare and Medicaid.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: The facts are very, very clear. For too long Washington has not been honest with the American people. Washington has been making empty promises to Americans from a government that is going broke. The nation's fiscal trajectory is simply not sustainable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In Ryan's plan, the moment of truth comes in 2022. That's when, instead of getting Medicare, where the government foots the bills, anyone turning 65 will get vouchers for private insurance. The GOP plan also calls for deep cuts in Medicaid, the health care program for the poor.
Democrats, as you might suspect, are not pleased. Chris Van Hollen, top Democrat on the House Budget Committee saying, and I quote, "It is now clear that the Republican budget is not bold, but the same old ideological agenda that extends tax breaks to millionaires and big oil companies, while cutting our kids' education and health security for seniors."
Democrats also playing up the fact that Ryan's plan lowers the corporate tax rate and makes the Bush tax cuts permanent. But hold on.
Didn't President Obama extend those tax cuts? And the president's proposed 2012 budget, it didn't even deal with entitlements like Medicare at all.
So, "Talk Back" today: Are Republicans serious about reducing the deficit?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I will read your comments later on in our program -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Carol, so many people are going to be watching that debate that's taking place in Washington, where you are, because it is going to impact everyone, whether or not they get medical care, whether or not education, jobs, the whole bit. It really relies on what they're talking about, what's coming out of those meetings regarding the budget.
COSTELLO: Exactly. And even though Paul Ryan's proposal is for 2012, this will put pressure on lawmakers trying to strike a deal in the 2011 budget battle. So, it all connects. It's like the circle of life.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: We hope we're in inside the circle doing well. Thank you, Carol. All right.
Want to focus on the GOP proposal to overhaul Medicare in particular. That is a health care program for seniors. We want to take a closer look at how this program works, these proposed changes, how they would affect you.
Well, our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, here to break all of that down.
Elizabeth, thanks for being here.
First of all, if you can explain to us, what does Medicare look like now?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Simply put, Suzanne, Medicare now pays for senior citizens' health insurance. You turn 65, the government takes over your health insurance.
Now, the GOP would like to add a little privatization in there. And that's where the change would come in.
MALVEAUX: Now, if the GOP plan passes, what would happen to people who are currently on Medicare?
COHEN: OK. I think this is a really important distinction to make. And we've even created a person to help explain this.
Her name is Medicare Marlene. As you can see, she is quite elderly. She's using a walker.
She's currently on Medicare. She would have no changes under the GOP plan. The GOP plan, for want of a better term, grandfathers her so that she would keep the benefits that she currently has.
MALVEAUX: And Elizabeth, what does it mean for people who are about to become eligible for Medicare?
COHEN: That's where the changes would come in under the GOP plan. Let's take a look at Marlene's younger friend, Nathan.
Nathan will be Medicare eligible in 10 years. Now, if the GOP has their way, what would happen is that he would get vouchers to go buy private insurance.
That's very, very different. So he would go sort of on the market and buy whatever private insurance he liked best. Now, a big concern here, the Congressional Budget Office says these vouchers are not going to keep pace with medical inflation, and so some people say, well, jeez, Nathan then is going to have to pay for that difference out of his pocket.
MALVEAUX: All right. We're going to have more of Nathan and Marlene.
And Elizabeth, you as well.
The next hour, we're going to break down the proposed changes to Medicaid.
Thanks, Elizabeth.
Here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown."
The FAA orders more inspections of Boeing's 737s after a hole ripped open on a Southwest Airlines plane.
Also, the aftermath of severe storms that slammed the South.
Plus, smartphone apps under investigation now for information they collect about you.
And also, Gadhafi's family tree -- a proposal now for one of his sons to actually take over.
And finally, life in limbo. Earthquake and tsunami survivors overwhelmed now by the disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "I was born here, raised here, and have been working here all my life. But being old, it's very hard to think about what the future holds."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: An emergency directive from the Federal Aviation Administration. It now wants more 737s inspected for wear and tear.
Our CNN's Jeanne Meserve, she's in Washington.
Jeanne, good to see you. What planes, what airlines are we talking about?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about older model 737s that have gone through at least 30,000 flight operations. It's a small number of planes, about 175 worldwide, about 80 here in the United States. Most of them belong to Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines has now finished its inspections of these aircraft after this frightening event on Friday night, and they tell me this morning that they found five additional aircraft with these subsurface cracks that are of such concern.
What's going to be different between the new inspections and the old one is that this used to be done visually. Now the FAA says, no, you've got to do this with electromagnetic technology that will take a closer look at that part of the fuselage -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Jeanne, have investigators -- have they figured out what caused that big hole in the Southwest airplane on Friday?
MESERVE: Well, they think it started with a small crack on the underside of what's called a lap joint on an aircraft, but they are still very much in the investigative mode. They've taken that part of the fuselage off the plane, they've flown it back to D.C., here, where metallurgists and materials experts will be taking a much closer look at it.
They have already gone over the maintenance records from the aircraft, I'm told, by a board member of the NTSB. They found nothing unusual there. They didn't get anything from the flight recorders either.
So it's still in progress. This will take a while to get to the bottom of it.
MALVEAUX: And Jeanne, finally, does the age of a plane really make a difference, or can an older plane that has these regular inspections potentially fly forever?
MESERVE: Well, they can't fly forever, but they could fly for quite a long time. And they don't judge their age by the number of years they've been in the air.
What they judge them by is the number of operations they've conducted, how many times they have landed and taken off. That's because during takeoff and landing, there is compression and decompression. That is what puts wear and tear on the plane and specifically causes the metal fatigue that may be of issue here -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. They can't fly forever. Thank you, Jeanne. Appreciate it.
MESERVE: You bet.
MALVEAUX: Tomorrow, we're going to get the view of businessman and aviation pioneer Richard Branson. Now, he is paving the way for ordinary folks to travel into space. The interview, I'm going to be here. He's going to be in a plane flying over San Francisco.
Really interesting, so you've got to watch for this tomorrow. It is right here, CNN NEWSROOM.
From our affiliates we're seeing miles of destruction across the South, all from powerful storms that blew through late yesterday, overnight. At least five people are dead. Three of them, here in Georgia.
Reports of funnel clouds poured into the weather service, mostly from Kentucky and Tennessee. Trees, power lines, downed everywhere. It could be days before everyone has electricity again.
The storms also brought pounding hail, winds, 60, 70 miles per hour. Countless homes now damaged or destroyed.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MALVEAUX: Well, the investigation into smartphone apps. Alison Kosik, she's ahead on the information that companies are collecting about you.
And, also, if you've got slapped with an audit this year, if so, you might not have to go in and look at the tax collector in the eye to take care of this. A lot of people now, believe it or not, can deal with it by mail.
We're going to tell what you your chances are of just mailing it in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: All right. So did you get audited this year? You're not alone. More than 1.6 million Americans were as well.
But no need to fear having to go face to face with the IRS. Seventy-eight percent of audited taxpayers now get right with the government through the mail.
CNNMoney.com's lead story, GOP taking a big swipe at the federal government, cutting spending by $6 trillion. That's a "T" -- trillion dollars over the next decade or so, lowering the highest tax rates 25 percent. Just among the other things, radically overhauling Medicare and Medicaid.
Want to also go -- checking the markets here. Dow Jones, up 14 points. Now keeping a close eye on that, as well as the next international -- economic story. The Internet radio service Pandora, getting subpoenaed over smartphone apps.
Our CNN's Alison Kosik is in New York.
Alison, tell us what this is all about.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne.
So, there's a federal grand jury investigation looking into Pandora Internet Radio as to how it gathers information about its users and how it maybe disseminates that information. But there's a broader issue here that goes beyond Pandora. It's about the security of our own information and the question of whether when we download applications, whether it's for Pandora on our phone, or the latest sports scores, the feds really want to know how these companies are sharing our information with advertisers without letting us know -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Alison, what's at stake here?
KOSIK: Well, I mean, there could wind up being criminal or civil charges in this. That really is less likely. What's more likely here is that there could be more regulation. One analyst calls the mobile world the "Wild, Wild West," and is actually calling for more regulation. But we'll see how these investigations -- what they come up with, whether or not they would lead to more regulations.
But you have to remember, there is some personal responsibility with this, Suzanne, because when we download these applications, we have to understand that we are accepting privacy applications with many of these applications that we get for our phones, and that we are taking it upon ourselves to understand that these companies will share our information. So there is some personal responsibility with this -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Good point. Thank you, Alison. Appreciate it.
We have three stories of determination in today's "Choose the News." Let us know which one you'd like to see in the next hour. You vote by texting 22360.
First, to some he became the symbol of the nation's unemployment crisis. An MIT grad wearing a sign and handing out his resume on the street, determined to get a job. We catch up with him more than two years later.
Next, climbing the highest mountain in Africa. It sounds pretty challenging, right? But don't tell that to this determined 11-year- old. He just completed that and has now set his sights on another adventure.
And finally, growing concerns about a potential cyberattack on the federal government. But U.S. officials say they're determined to keep the system safe.
So, you know what to do. Vote by texting 22360. Vote 1 for "MIT Grad Gets Back on his Feet"; 2 for "Adventurous 11-Year-Old"; or 3 for "Preventing Cyberattack." The winning story will air in the next hour.
Now to the nuclear crisis in Japan, efforts to limit the amount of radioactive water gushing into the Pacific Ocean. Another attempt today to plug a leak from one of the reactors appears to be making a difference.
Our CNN's Martin Savidge, he joins us live from Tokyo with the latest.
Marty, tell us what they did. What did they try to do to seal this leak? Why do they think it's helping?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, how about this, Suzanne? For the first time I think in nearly a month, we're able to start with a little bit of good news. Two things.
First off, radiation levels being detected in the air continue to go down. And then to that leak which you point out.
This is the leak that has been -- well, it was discovered over the weekend, and it's been gushing, literally, highly-contaminated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Well, you've seen the photograph. Now TEPCO has just released another photograph that shows -- and this is just by looking at it visually -- that it appears to be decreasing. There's no scientific measurement as yet, but it does appear to be decreasing.
As you know, three attempts were made. First, with cement. Then with a special polymer.
Today, it was a silicone polymer that was used. Whether all three came together, or whether none of them actually had an impact, and that it's something else, no one can answer at this point. But it appears to be having a positive impact.
By the way, the first radiation measurements that have come out in some time from that highly-radioactive water show that it was over the weekend, 7.5 million times above the legal limit for radioactive iodine. It was down somewhat today, to five million times the legal limit. But, still, that's raising a great deal of concern, which is why any reducing (ph) of that screen would be looked at as very welcome news -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Marty, what about those reports of radiation now being found in a fish?
SAVIDGE: Yes. This was in an eel. And basically, you know, an eel is a bottom-feeder. So that's one of the speculations here, is that's how it got it.
The concern is exactly, well, what does it really mean? Right now what they did was they banned that particular catch of eel, and they are basically warning people about the potential.
Beyond that, though, they don't really know what the long-term impact could be. This is certainly something that's of great concern in a nation where they consume a lot of fish. But right now, they are going to continue to watch it.
There are some limitations that are being put on similar to the ones that were put on, say, for vegetables and milk coming from the prefectures up there. But this is another one they're going to keenly monitor, and of course this is what we've all been worried about with the radiation flowing into the ocean.
And I should also mention that 11,500 tons of discharge of the lower-level radiation is still going on tonight.
MALVEAUX: All right. Martin Savidge there in Tokyo.
Thank you.
Well, there is a showdown right now that's going on, on Capitol Hill, over the federal budget. If a compromise is not found soon, a government shutdown could have a real effect on your life. We're going to show you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's has we have ahead on the Rundown. No deal yet on the budget. That could mean a government shutdown three days away.
And, could the son take over from his father in Libya? We're looking at the Gadhafi family tree.
Plus, evacuees from a town almost wiped off the map in Japan, still sleeping in cardboard boxes.
Without a budget deal the federal government shuts down on Friday. Party leaders on both sides of the aisle, they're scrambling for a compromise or at least an extension. I want to take a look at what happens if there's a shutdown.
Now, the last time it happened, it was 15 years ago. The feds have to close 368 national parks, as well as national monuments, museums. If it happens this time around, U.S. troops we're talking about, including those fighting in Iraq, in Afghanistan, could see their paychecks interrupted. Tax returns could be stalled, if you haven't filed yet. And for federal workers, during the two government shutdowns in the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of them were sent home. That's what this all means.
So while lawmakers play let's make a deal over the current budget, House Republicans looking now ahead to 2012. House Budget chairman Paul Ryan today unveiled a plan, includes a bold move, many would say, dramatic overhaul of Medicare and Medicaid.
So we got two of the best politicos in the business to talk about this. Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons and Republican consultant and CNN contributor Alex Castellanos.
Thanks guys, for joining us. Good to be here.
Jamal --
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Start with you. Let's talk about political courage, right? Right now White House Republicans in their current battle over the budget, they're fighting over whether to shave off, what, two or four percent of this year's deficit. The Republicans now looking long-term, proposing $6 trillion --with a T -- in cuts over the next 10 years. They're going after entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid.
Is that what this country needs? Is that what this country needs? Political courage to tackle the real costs?
SIMMONS: Yes, the country does need political courage and one thing you could say about Republicans is that they are remarkably consistent. They want cuts for everyone.
There's cuts in there for Medicaid and Medicare for seniors in the future. There's cuts in there for domestic spending, which will affect education for kids. And then they want to cut taxes for the wealthy.
But I'm not sure that's the kind of shared sacrifice that the American public is looking for. The American public is looking for somebody and for politicians who are going to put everybody in the pot together and they recognize that we're going to have to cut defense, we're going to have to raise taxes on some people to raise revenue, and then we're going to have to figure out what to do with Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security to make it work. And frankly, the president's going to have to come to the table with some ideas on those also.
MALVEAUX: So, Alex, is there a better alternative here? A better idea that the Republicans could have come up with than dismantling Medicare, medical benefits for seniors and deep cuts in Medicaid, benefits to the poor?
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I'm not sure that's the right way to look it, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Why not?
CASTELLANOS: You know, because the only people who've really cut Medicare are the Democrats and President Obama, who last year cut half a trillion of Medicare to grow government in Washington for the president's health care plan. So when the Democrats spend all this money we don't have, they're the ones who are cutting Medicare and Medicaid. They're taking money from that.
What Republicans are trying to do, what they're trying to do, save Medicare, save Medicaid by growing the economy, taking money out of Washington's pocket and putting it back in American's pockets so we can have some economic growth. So, it's a plan exactly for what Jamal's talking about, shared sacrifices.
MALVEAUX: But Alex, I mean, you've got -- when you look at the GOP plan, they are talking about dismantling Medicare as we know it today.
CASTELLANOS: No, no.
MALVEAUX: -- 10 years from now, because they're talking essentially about a voucher system. Not -- if you're paying into a private system instead what we have today. I mean, it is radically different.
CASTELLANOS: They're talking about a defined contribution plan where you'd have some stake in helping control Medicare costs, which is by the way the only way -- either we put the price control mechanisms in the hands of some bureaucrats in Washington and politicians with artificial cost-cutting, or else we put the cost- cutting mechanisms in the hands of people who actually use the government services.
So the Republican plan trusts people, doctors and patients. The Democratic plan trusts Washington politicians. I think the American people know which one to choose.
But look, this is a very bold plan. At the end of the day, if we don't stop letting Washington eat all the seed corn and we don't put that seed corn in American's pockets, they'll be no economic growth. They'll be no money for Medicaid, Medicare and there will be no jobs.
MALVEAUX: Do you think --
SIMMONS: Suzanne, you asked a question about courage, though, in your -- your first question about courage. And it's amazing that the Republicans seem to have a lot of courage when it comes time to take on Medicare and Medicaid, which they've never really been that fond of. They've got a lot of courage when it comes time to take on domestic spending. But they don't have a lot of courage when it comes to go to their wealthy donors and ask them to pay a little bit more to help get us out of the hole.
CASTELLANOS: Oh, come on.
SIMMONS: And, Alex, I'd love to hear from you -- I'd love to hear from you about whether or not you guys have any plans to go to your wealthy donors and say, you know what, we're with you but we're not going to be able to support all of these tax loopholes --
CASTELLANOS: Jamal, Republicans are willing to cut defense, we're willing to cut all the way across the board.
The problem right now is that by raising taxes on the people who are already carrying the largest portion of the tax load, you actually get less revenue because they take their income and their work and their plants and move them somewhere else. There's a limit to how much taxes you can get by raising taxes. You actually suppress economic growth and you end up with less money.
So what Jamal, what you're suggesting is actually a plan that'll shrink the economy and produce less revenue. And you know what that means? Your plan actually screws Medicare, screws Medicaid, cuts the very vital services you're talking about. Now, it's good politically, oh, we're going to tax the rich. But at the end it produces less money and hurts everyone.
(CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Jamal, we're going to let you answer that.
SIMMONS: I'm not sure if BP and Exxon Mobile will -- I'm not sure BP and Exxon Mobile will be hurt too much by a few more taxes.
MALVEAUX: All right. Jamal, you get the final --
CASTELLANOS: Actually, we have the largest corporate taxes in the world.
MALVEAUX: We're going to have to leave it there. This is a debate that is going to continue. Obviously a lot of people watching this very closely and fundamentally a very different view, fundamentally a very different view, of the role of the government and what it means to people in the future, particularly when it comes to providing health care and providing for those less fortunate.
Thank you. Alex Castellanos, Jamal Simmons, appreciate having you on the program. Thank you.
SIMMONS: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: We have three unique stories today featuring people determined to be successful. Vote in today's Choose the News by texting 22360.
Vote one, to learn how a laid off MIT grad became the face of unemployment, spent the last two years getting back on his feet.
Text two, for an 11-year-old who climbed Africa's tallest mountain.
Or three, for a closer look at how U.S. officials are trying to prevent a cyber-attack on federal computers.
Now, the winning story is going to air in the next hour.
The possibility of Gadhafi's sons now taking power in peace deal. Well, rebels say it is absolutely ridiculous. We're going to get a live report from Tripoli.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Libyan rebels are dismissing ideas of a peace deal that would allow Moammar Gadhafi to hand over power to one of his sons. Gadhafi has seven sons. He also has a daughter, and under the proposal, Saif al-Islam would be the one to help usher in reform.
Now, he's become one of his father's most outspoken defenders since the start of the unrest despite positive being a leading reformer. He is also viewed at having western economic and political leanings.
But then there is a rival -- Mutassim Gadhafi. He is national security advisor and he commands a militia. His brother, Khamis, also leads a militia. Now, there two are considered hard-liners. Former Libyan ambassador to the United States says that Gadhafi sons are killers, just like their father.
I want to bring in our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, he's live from Tripoli.
Nic, thanks for being here. This idea of a Gadhafi son taking over as a positive way towards a cease-fire, is that realistic here? Or is Gadhafi simply looking for a way to ultimately take back territory from the rebels?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's what is the default position of the regime. This has been their sort of position even in the years running up to where we are today. Saif al-Islam was the takeover for the father, then he's been, in effect, running the country on a day-to-day basis for a couple of years now. So it's their default position.
Is it realistic? And that sort of begs the question of, well, what other options does the international community have? What other options do the rebels have? You know, if diplomacy is sort of won on the battlefield, on battlefield at the moment, the Gadhafi regime still has most of the country, most of the people, most of the oil assets. The rebels can't force them out of that. So it seems that the Gadhafi regime has the upper hand in dictating terms.
The Rebels won't accept it, the international community won't accept it, so the deal seems therefore, there's going to die before it really gets off the ground, which means, therefore you go into another military phase of fighting here.
But it begs the question, who are the rebels going forward? Who does the international community think can run the country, unify the country, stop the tribes fighting against each other, which is the basis for this handover of power between Gadhafi to one of his sons here right now, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And Nic, do we think that any of these sons are really different, dramatically different than the father?
ROBERTSON: I think there are. There are differences. They've sort of all gone off in sort of slightly different directions and have, you know, the advantages of absolute gargantuan wealth and success and largess and the ability to be in politics and then take themselves out of it whenever they want to.
This is something people criticized them for, that they're not like their father, they're not immersed in the politics. They haven't lived and breathed it all their lives. But they seem to be rallying around their father right now. This is time of crisis for the family. They know there's strength in unity and if they don't unite around him and fight amongst themselves, if that's what they do, then they're going to lose. They recognize that their grip on power is through sticking together and being united. And that's seems to be what we see on the ground right here, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: A very dangerous standoff. Thank you.
Our own Nic Robertson there in Tripoli.
Well, there is a showdown right now on Capitol Hill over the federal budget. If a compromise isn't found soon a government shutdown could have a real impact on your life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: It sounds like something out of "The Godfather." Someone was trying to send a message to New York Republican Peter King. Yesterday, a pig's foot arrived at the Capitol addressed to the congressman. But the gruesome package was intercepted by Capitol Hill Police before making it to King's office. King stirred controversy last month by leading hearings on Muslim radicalization in America.
Here with more of the daily drama on Capitol Hill, Dana Bash, you know all about the daily drama, part of "The Best Political Team on Television."
You've been following the budget battle that is threatening to shut down the government, or at least bring it to a standstill. Dana, what have you learned from the White House and the congressional leadership meetings that just wrapped up?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. There was a meeting in the last hour at the White House. President Obama got involved really for the first time. He had the House speaker down, he had the Senate majority leader to try to figure if they can come to some compromise that will overt a government shutdown, at least parts of it, in just three days from now. That's what we're talking about, three days.
I'm told by sources on both sides of it that no agreement was reached in the meeting, Suzanne. John Boehner, the House speaker, just released a statement saying there was a good discussion, but confirmed no agreement reached.
And really, what they're talking a be now is not so much how much to cut, there's general agreement on that, it's what to cut, what programs, what agencies. There are major differences over that and there really is a stalemate.
And again, talking about three days from now. It is unclear how they'll come to agreement on that.
MALVEAUX: And, Dana, from who you've been speaking with, what do they say is the sticking point? Do we know?
BASH: You know, I know this is not really going to surprise you, but just to sort of take it up to 10,000 feet, it is priorities and political priorities.
Democrats say that Republicans really want to cut things that they say affect people who need it the most. And Republicans say that the cuts Democrats are trying to propose are smoke and mirrors. That they're not real, because they don't really address what, they say, are the big problems in the budget.
That's just kind of a way to sum up the weeds of this budget mess.
MALVEAUX: And, Dana, tell us, I know that they're talking about what -- overdue spending for this year, but today we also saw the House Republican budget plan for 2012. Really some, what many believe, are some pretty bold ideas that are on the table here.
BASH: You know what, Suzanne? Paul Ryan, the House Budget chairman, stood right here on the stage in the last hour said this is not a budget, this is a cause. And boy, what a difference in terms of what we're talking about. Billions of dollars now and trillions of dollars that he's proposing in the next year.
Let me just give you a sense of what he's talking about. Six trillion dollars in spending cuts over the next ten years. His plan reduce the deficit by $4.4 trillion over the ten years. Major overhaul to programs that nobody wanted to touch for a long time -- Medicare, of course, health care for elderly, and Medicaid healthcare for low-income Americans.
All of that, even though there are massive cuts, massive changes, it still wouldn't bring a budget surplus. There still would be a deficit for 28 years in this country.
I asked Paul Ryan about that, and he said, look, you know, that's just shows you the depth of the problem in this country when it comes to, as he says over and over again, the tidal wave of debt that this country is facing.
MALVEAUX: All right, very controversial proposal. Thank you, Dana. Appreciate it.
For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNpolitics.com.
Republicans say their new federal budget will cut $6 trillion from the deficit, but it comes at the expense of Medicare and that has many Democrats objecting to all this. The "Talk Back" question: Is the GOP serious about cutting the deficit?
Vicki and Steve, you're responses moments away.
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Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day, the 2012 federal budget. Today, the Republicans put forward their version of it, including $6 trillion in cuts.
Carol Costello, she's joining us with the answers to today's "Talk Back" question, is the GOP serious about reducing the deficit -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, let's take it away, like you said.
Our "Talk Back" question today: Is the GOP serious about reducing the deficit?
This from Vicki, "The GOP just wants to have the middle-class and poor go away or die away. Time for the real working class to revolt. "
This from Steve, "I'm middle class and would be happy to see a tax increase rather than cutting Medicare or Medicaid. The insurance companies are just licking their chops at the proposed vouchers. Mr. Ryan's proposal is absurd."
This from Kristie, "I don't question the GOP is serious about the national deficit reduction. I don't see their proposal as politics, and I'm one of the people who would be affected by the Medicare vouchers proposed in a few short years."
And this from Joanne, "So they're going to take the people's money away from the people who paid into the entitlement funds in order to keep giving tax breaks to people who literally do not need it. If you've got $1 million, why do you need $5 from someone else's $10 paycheck?"
Continue the conversation -- Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN -- and I'll be back in ten minutes.
MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.
Survivors are struggling to cope in a Japanese town almost wiped off the map.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very hard to believe when you're standing in the middle of this once-bustling fishing town, but there are some slight signs of improvement. Some of the bigger debris has been taken away, but that's the result of three weeks of intense work by a number of different teams, which shows it could take months to clear, and years to rebuild.
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MALVEAUX: Survivors sleep in cardboard boxes, waiting on word from thousands of missing relatives.
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MALVEAUX: More than three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami took everything they had, survivors in an obliterated Japanese town are still living in uncertainty.
Paula Hancocks checked in on them.
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HANCOCKS (voice-over): Lunchtime in Minamisanriku. A hot bowl of soup and noodles is the one event that breaks up a long day of waiting for these evacuees. Waiting to see if missing relatives appear. Waiting for someone to tell them where to go next.
A sleeping space three meters by two meters, cardboard boxes for walls, and donated blankets. It's a harsh way for a couple in their 70s to live. Fisherman Mitchiosi Orikaro (ph) says, "I was born here, raised here and have been working here all my life. But being old, it's very hard to think about what the future holds."
The vast majority of this town is destroyed; 375 residents are confirmed dead, thousands are still unaccounted for. Officials cannot tell us how many exactly are missing.
(on camera): It's very hard to believe when you're standing in the middle of this once-bustling fishing town, but there are some slight signs of improvement. Some of the bigger debris has been taken away, but that's the result of three weeks of intense work by a number of different teams, which shows it could take months to clear, and years to rebuild.
(voice-over): This was Minamisanriku two days after the tsunami destroyed a community. This is the town today.
Rebuilding seems too overwhelming a task to consider, but they have to start somewhere. So they start with electricity. No electricity, heat or running water for more than three weeks was too much for some residents. They moved inland to a converted school.
One of the town's leaders, Tokuro (ph) Sato, was among them. He tells me, "I don't want to go back to the places that were swept away by the wave completely, but I do want to go back to some part of my town."
Temporary housing is being built in some areas, but residents of Minamisanriku are still waiting to hear where theirs will be. Stuck in an existence where minutes can feel like hours, some try to inject a sense of normality. The state of limbo for others is compounded by the agonizing check of long lists of dead and missing. Others still just try to keep busy.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Minamisanriku, Japan.
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