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Three Days Until Possible Government Shutdown, United Flight Landed Safely, All Our Instruments, Deadly Storms Pound South, Fighting For Freedom Without Pay; Hacking Into The Government; Japan Regulating its Seafood Industry; Gingrich Criticizes Obama's 2012 Campaign; Showdown Over Shutdown; UConn Wins National Championship

Aired April 05, 2011 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne, thank you. We are now less than three-and-a-half days from the first federal government shutdown in more than 15 years, that is if nothing comes of urgent talks at the White House and Congress. And the latest in a series of stopgap spending bills expires at midnight Friday.

So what? Well, government operations deemed essential would continue, but national parks and museums would likely close. U.S. troops might not get paid. Your tax returns and refunds, well, they might get held up, and a million or so nonessential federal workers would be sent home.

Now, here's the deadline, we've marked it right there on the calendar, April 8th, Friday. And I might point out that we're now more than six months into the fiscal year without a single appropriations bill passed.

It's also worth noting the house has a 72-hour rule between the posting of legislation online and the first possible vote. So, to act by Friday, the 8th, members need to act today.

Republicans offered a one-week spending extension at a cost of $12 billion in immediate cuts, but the White House supposedly refused it.

OK, so much for this year. Congress needs to get cracking on fiscal 2012 which starts October 1st. And the new Republican chairman of the house budget panel has done just that.

Congressman Paul Ryan today unveiled what he calls the path to prosperity, aimed at cutting roughly $6 trillion in federal spending over the next decade. It would limit so-called discretionary spending to pre-2008 levels. It would cut the top income tax rates, but also close loopholes. And it would transform Medicare into government subsidies for private insurance.

There's a lot to dig into here and CNN's Jim Acosta is up to his elbows in all of it. Jim, let's start with the short-term budget fight. What is getting in the way of a compromise now?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're just not getting along, Randi. It is getting mighty deep around here, I have to tell you, watching this process unfold. This one looks serious. The clock is still ticking toward a government shutdown at this hour, Randi. And the meeting at the White House this morning between the president and Congressional leaders, we can report it did fail to reach a compromise.

And Aid To House Speaker John Boehner tells CNN, Republicans are now urging Democrats and the president to accept a one-week stopgap measure or a continuing resolution to keep the government running past this Friday. That is the deadline, as you mentioned, for a shutdown, but there seems to be some disagreement over that measure, as well. House majority leader Eric Cantor told reporters this morning, he understands the White House is not interested. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MAJORITY LEADER: The White House has indicated now that they are already rejecting that notion which is raising the risk for a government shutdown. We in the House have consistently said we don't want to shut government down, we just want to cut spending.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says that is not necessarily the case. He was asked about the idea of a passing another temporary spending measure this morning. Here's what he told reporters in an off-camera gaggle a few hours ago. That's getting ahead of the process. We believe that we can reach an agreement on full funding for the full year, if people sit around a table in a good-faith effort to approach this in a reasonable way.

Now, he said that before they sat around that table, and did not reach a compromise. So, while both sides are at odds over a budget for this fiscal year, hold on to your hats, Randi, because House Republicans are already raising the stakes for next fiscal year, you mentioned this earlier.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan came out with his 2012 budget proposal today, it would slash something like $6 trillion. That's trillion with a 'T', and spending over the next decade. It would take down Obama care, and it would also remake Medicare and Medicaid. And here's what the budget committee chairman said about that earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), BUDGET CHAIRMAN: Our budget charged a different course. It's very different than what the president has offered. For starters, we propose to cut $6.2 trillion in spending over the next ten years from the president's budget. We reduce the debt as a percent of the economy, we put the nation on the path to actually pay off our national debt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So, it all boils down to this, Randi, if something isn't worked out soon, the government will run out of money at midnight on Friday. The shutdown would officially begin on Saturday. Although most folks here in Washington wouldn't feel it until Monday, that's when federal employees would or would not show up for work -- Randi.

KAYE: So, still unclear as to what's going to happen. And Jim, really, as if all this weren't enough, of course, there's also the battle looming over the federal debt ceiling. I understand we have a deadline now for that, too.

ACOSTA: That's right. The Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner spoke at a hearing this morning up on Capitol Hill. He basically said that we have until May to raise the debt ceiling. That's basically the nation's credit card limit. It has to be raised again, because essentially we keep maxing out the credit card.

And what he told the Senate appropriations committee hearing earlier this morning, is that it would be in his words catastrophic if the debt ceiling is not raised. And the reason why he's using those kind of words is because we are seeing Republican after Republican after Republican come out of the woodwork and say they are not interested in raising that debt ceiling unless they see billions and billions of dollars cut from this budget.

So, all of these issues are linked. And at this point, nobody -- nobody at this point seems to have any kind of idea whatsoever in terms of how to untangle this mess. Essentially, at this point, this is an impasse with really no light at the end of the tunnel. It's that serious at this point -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, a mess is exactly what it sounds like. Jim Acosta in Washington, D.C. for us. Thank you, Jim.

Our "Sound Effect" today is more proof that no one beats a trained and experienced airline pilot in a crisis. Witness yesterday's emergency landing in New Orleans. A United Airlines flight that had just taken off for San Francisco was forced to turn back when smoke appeared in the cockpit. Electrical problems followed, and things would get worse before flight 497 touched down. But you'd never know it from the calm, clear and collected tones on these cockpit recordings.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, PILOT: 497, we are declaring an emergency. And please roll the equipment for our landing please. 106 souls on board, fuel remaining, 32,400.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, PILOT: 497, we've lost all our instruments right now. And we're going to need assistance PAR.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: The ramp is on the runway.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

KAYE: I hope you caught that alarm going off as the pilot lost all of his instruments. The jet went off the runway, because it blew tires and could not be steered. And that PAR the pilot asked for is precision approach radar used at an airport to guide a plane through the final stages of landing. We're happy to report, this plane did land safely, and no one was seriously hurt.

A deadly system of storms ripped through the south Monday night, killing at least eight people across three states and leaving a path of destruction. Six of those deaths were in Georgia, where intense wind and rain downed power lines and trees. Nearly 150,000 Georgia power customers lost their service. A young father and his 3-year-old son were killed after a massive tree slammed into their apartment. The little boy's mother only had time to save her youngest son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIE MORRER, MOTHER AND WIFE: That's when I realized my youngest son was like, to the ground. So, I put him out and picked him up. But --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: This was the scene out of Tennessee, where there were numerous reports of funnel clouds. CNN affiliate WSMV reports two people were hurt when the storm pushed through the Nashville airport. In Memphis, an 87-year-old man was electrocuted when a downed power line fell in his backyard.

The storm destroyed several homes and businesses, like this one, in northern Mississippi. A 21-year-old man died when his car struck a tree that had fallen across the road.

Now, you're looking at the damage out of Kentucky, where the national weather service confirms two tornadoes touched down in western Kentucky, seven people working at an auto plant suffered minor injuries when a possible tornado ripped off the front wall.

Along the coast, the storms tore through the Carolinas early this morning, uprooting trees and causing power outages. Widespread power outages and damage are also being reported in states as far north as Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West V1irginia.

In Arizona, a political storm is brewing over Governor Jan Brewer's proposal to tax people who are fat, people who smoke, or live an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle. Brewer wants to charge Medicaid patients a $50 annual fee if they're obese, and don't follow a plan to slim down. Smokers who don't quit would also face similar fees. So, would people with chronic diseases who fail to manage them according to the doctor's orders.

Brewer's proposed fees are a part of a broader plan to reduce Medicaid costs in Arizona. Now, if her plan is approved by the state legislature, this would be the first time any state's Medicaid program ever charged people for unhealthy habits.

So, we want to know what you think about this proposed tax. Join the conversation on our blog at CNN.com/Ali, and you can also post on Ali's Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as my Facebook and Twitter pages, as well. Tell us what you think of this so-called flab tax. And we'll share your comments later in the show.

They put their lives on the line for our country, but if the government shuts down, those serving in the U.S. military may not get paid. A look at that part of the budget battle, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: They fight and die in America's wars, but the budget battle raging on Capitol Hill is one the men and women in the U.S. military didn't sign up for. That, of course, is beside the point. A senior defense department official tells us that if the government shuts down, the troops, including those fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, may not get paid.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is following this development, he joins us from the Pentagon. Chris, this seems so outrageous. How is it that members of Congress and the president will keep getting a paycheck if the government shuts down, since they get paid from a separate part of the budget, yet those in the military won't get paid?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I think you just answered your own question, Randi, they get paid from a separate budget. Congress and the president are funded through what's called permanent mandatory spending accounts, which means they don't have their money come up for review every year by Congress.

Now, who decided that Congress should be exempt from this review? Well, Congress did. So, funny how that works out. But there are a few members of Congress who are trying to work to change that, saying, look, if the government shuts down, we probably should not be paid, as well -- Randi.

KAYE: Have we thought about this, though, in general, is there anyone actively working to change this, and make sure that the troops do get paid from somewhere? Can that even happen?

LAWRENCE: Yes, first of all, this threat of troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan while they're not getting paid, their families missing checks back at home, this threat is part of a -- the growing pressure that the Pentagon has been trying to put on Congress to pass a proper defense budget.

On the other hand, there's about 50 members of Congress who have now introduced and co-sponsored this bill that would protect military pay, even if the government shuts down. But we spoke with the chairman of the house armed services committee who says, hold on, all of this may be getting ahead of ourselves here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HOWARD MCKEON (R), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: They would get the pay. The problem is, they wouldn't get it when they plan on getting it. I think that that's just -- I don't even want to contemplate that, because to think that we would have our young men and women over on the front lines putting their lives on the line, and their families at home that have bills to pay that don't get their paycheck, I just think that's really going way too far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes, Representative Buck McKeenan says, look, we are mature enough to get this done without something like that happening -- Randi.

KAYE: And I want to ask you about furloughs. I mean, wouldn't the Pentagon still need workers to keep the military running, so to speak?

LAWRENCE: Yes. What they're going to do, if this comes to pass, they're going to put out pretty broad guidelines to all of the services, all of the commanders and managers and go, look, you've got to go through your work force, so to speak, and figure out exactly who is exempt and nonexempt.

So people who are directly involved in national security, deployments. Obviously the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going to stop. The military's not going to stop helping the people of Japan. Anyone involved back here in long-term planning, things like that. There are a lot of civilians that are essential to keeping the Pentagon running. Some of those are exempt. So they would still have to work, not get paid. Others would be furloughed.

KAYE: Sounds like a pretty rotten deal. Hopefully we'll get something worked out when it comes to that shutdown.

Thank you so much, Chris Lawrence.

Are you cheating on your taxes? Well, if you are young, male and single, there's a better chance that you are. And we have the numbers to prove it, coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Today on "Your Money," we're going to try to earn our keep and save you some money. If you're like the rest of us and prices at the pump have you rethinking car ownership, well, let's try to get a little back by saving money on insurance. How are we going to do that? Well, three easy steps, courtesy of cnnmoney.com.

First thing to do is get a new kind of plan. More insurance companies are offering pay-as-you-drive plans, installing a device in your car that monitors your driving habits. It might be intrusive, but it can actually save you some cash.

Secondly, try to raise your credit score. Insurance companies love statistics. And they say people with higher credit scores tend to file fewer and smaller claims. And finally, it may seem obvious, but shop around. A little bit of time surfing insurance sites for different quotes can drop your rates by several hundred dollars a year, it turns out. And that alone can offset what you're dolling out for higher pump prices.

All right. Now, we don't recommend cheating on your taxes as a way of saving money, but is seems some of you are doing that anyway. And we know who you are, demographically speaking, at least.

First off, it seems to be a man's world when it comes to cheating on your taxes. Sixty-four percent of people who cheat on their taxes are men. Most of them -- actually, almost three quarters -- are people who work jobs under the table, away from the prying eyes of the IRS. And I don't know what it is about not being married, but it seems to spawn tax cheats. Almost half of all the cheaters are single men. A majority are under 45 years old. It also seems they save on their taxes so they can spend it. The same survey asks the tax cheaters about their spending habits, and almost half of them call themselves spenders, not savers. You can see the whole story and see more on saving on your car insurance as well at cnnmoney.com.

All right. Don't forget, of course, that you can also catch Christine Romans for "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 eastern. "Your Money" with Ali Velshi, Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00 p.m.

It is 20 minutes past the hour. Time to get you caught up with the top stories.

President Obama called the leaders of Congress to the White House this morning for urgent budget talks. Their trying to avoid a government shutdown that will happen Friday if there is no plan to extend the current agreement.

Gunfire in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast. That country's incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, is reportedly holed up in a bunker at the presidential palace this hour. His residence there. He's said to be negotiating his departure. Fighters loyal to his opponent, the man widely viewed as the winner of last November's presidential election say they're holding their fire for now.

At Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, officials say water flowing into the Pacific from a cracked concrete shaft is 7.5 million times the legal limit for radiation. Crews say their latest attempt to plug the leak has reduced the flow but it certainly hasn't ended it. Crews also are dumping 11,000 tons of radioactive water that's been pooling in the plant's basement. Tokyo Electric says about half of that water has shipped out to sea for disposal.

Fighting off cyber-attacks. It's a daily routine for government security experts. But what happens if the government shuts down? We'll take a look, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Thousands of federal workers will be sent home in a budget deal isn't reached by Friday. But the government says national security will not be affected. Things like the border patrol and airport security will stay in place. But that, of course, is on the surface. Things you can see. What about behind the scenes in the cyber world? As CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports, the government may be in for an all-out assault by hackers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last time Washington, D.C., shut down over stalled budget talks in 1995, Hord Tipton was in charge of protecting critical infrastructure -- power grids, water supplies, monitoring natural disasters. Back then, he says, cyber security was so new, it was almost a nonissue during the shutdown.

FEYERICK (on camera): The government shutdown that you experienced back in 1995, for one to happen today, it would be a completely different ball game.

HORD TIPTON, FMR. ASST. DIR., BUREAU OF LAND MGMT.: There's just no comparison. The number of people that would be -- will be determined essential this time, just for the security piece alone, will be several orders of magnitude larger.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Federal agencies are required to have back-up plans listing essential employees. People who stay behind and safeguard their agency when everyone else goes home.

FEYERICK (on camera): Where do you see the biggest threat being when it comes to security of the cyber infrastructure?

TIPTON: We just need to have people who can read the output from the monitoring systems that come in. And if there's targeted attacks, which we get every single day, then you have to be able to respond to those.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Karen Evans was in charge of information technology under President George W. Bush. She says policy guidelines have not adequately changed since 1995 to reflect the new cyber reality.

KAREN EVANS, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR FOR E-GOVERNMENT: How you connect in with your Blackberries and how you can connect in with multiple devices, it's really about protecting the information. And so you have to have defenses around your most sensitive information.

FEYERICK: The federal agency in charge of managing government, Office of Management and Budget, says it's prepared for any contingency. They declined to be interviewed or discuss any agency specifics. Still, Evans worries.

EVANS: But that's what I'm really concerned about right now is, is that we're advertising that the agencies are going to shut down.

FEYERICK: Tipton has been on Capitol Hill lobbying lawmakers on what he sees as an already existing shortage of cyber security personnel.

TIPTON: We don't have enough people to do the things that need to be done now. And during a shutdown, when we start sending people home, we will have less. So the risk, to me, has to go up.

FEYERICK: A risk redefined by data in a largely digital world.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: A Florida middle school goes into lockdown after a seventh grader attacks a school officer with a knife. The latest on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Here's the latest on the stories moving right now and some updates that you may have missed.

President Obama met with congressional leaders at the White House today in a bid to resolve the dispute over the federal budget. The federal government will shut down at midnight Friday unless Democrats and Republicans can agree on budget cuts. House Speaker John Boehner says they had a good discussion today, but no agreement was reached.

A scary situation at a Florida middle school. A sheriff spokesman in Pinellas County says a seventh grader stabbed a campus police officer before school this morning. The officer was stabbed in the stomach, but his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Students at the school are in class right now, but none are being allowed to leave until detectives finish all of their interviews.

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered mandatory inspections of older Boeing 737s for cracks and other damage. The order affects about 175 planes, most operated by Southwest Airlines. That airline launched inspections of its own after a hole opened up Friday on a Southwest plane in mid-flight. Each of the planes covered by the FAA order has taken off and landed more than 30,000 times. Those planes will be inspected for wear and tear using a highly sensitive, electromagnetic process.

The bodies of three more women were uncovered near a Long Island beach. Investigators say the murders are the work of a serial killer. Officers were searching for a missing New Jersey woman, Shannon Gilbert, when they stumbled upon these remains. So far, police have found a total of eight women, who, like Gilbert, advertised for sexual services on sites like Craigslist.

Fewer Americans are filing for bankruptcy, compared to last year. Personal bankruptcy filings fell six percent in the first quarter of this year to just about 340,000. Personal bankruptcies have been climbing steadily, if you're keeping track, for the past four years. But experts say the current trend is a sign Americans are dealing with their debt better as the economy grows.

Low levels of radiation from Japan found in the U.S. water supply. But does this necessarily make the water unsafe to drink? We are sorting it all out for you. I'm back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: In Japan, radiation was detected in a fish today, prompting officials there to regulate the seafood industry for the first time since the nuclear crisis started. Meanwhile, water leaking into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant registered radiation levels 5 million times above normal. This is, however, a drop from several days ago when it was 7.5 million times higher.

And earlier this morning, the Japanese chief cabinet secretary apologized for the decision to dump 11,500 tons of radioactive water into the sea, saying, quote, "We are sorry for this decision we have to make," unquote.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has detected low levels of radioactive material from Japan in U.S. drinking water.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now to talk about all of this.

So the question on everyone's mind, is this water safe, is our water safe?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And I'm here to say that according to all the experts, it is safe. And that's the reason -- the reason for this, is that the radiation is so incredibly dilute.

And I want to give you a comparison, because I think that helps people sort of put this into perspective.

KAYE: Sure.

COHEN: All right. The amount of radiation that you would get in drinking 7,000 liters of water, which, of course, no one's going to do. But you would have to drink 7,000 liters of water to get the same radiation that you and I get just in a day just from the background. There's radiation all around us at all times.

So just a day of just living normally, that's the amount of radiation you would get, in 7,000 liters.

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: But, in other words, the amount of water you drink, you're getting way, way, way, way less than you get just from living every day.

KAYE: Right. So how does it actually make its way from Japan into the U.S. drinking water?

COHEN: Well, it went through the wind stream from Japan to the United States. And then what happens is that radiation is in particles and those particles get into clouds -- radioactive dust gets into the -- gets into the rain cloud and then that rain is going to have radiation in them.

KAYE: And this really isn't a surprise, right? COHEN: No.

KAYE: The EPA has been expecting this to happen?

COHEN: We could probably talk every single day, several times a day, and --

KAYE: I feel like we do.

COHEN: Exactly, like we do. And I could say to you, Randi, now it's in this water system, in that water system.

KAYE: Spinach, milk, we're looking at everything.

COHEN: Exactly. It's going to be in all of those things because the radiation from Japan reached the United States. It reached the west coast, then it reached the east coast. So sort of by definition, it's going to be in things like water and milk. The key here is the dose. It is so teeny tiny that it is not a public health threat.

KAYE: Well, that is the best news of all, really, because we talk so much about how much radiation we get, but then we think about it in larger terms, and you think about, you get it on an airplane, you get it from drinking water, you get it from any type of other exposure. Even bananas, which we talked about, which I couldn't believe you get radiation from. So, it helps to put it in perspective.

COHEN: And I think what also helps to put it in perspective is that we've been talking to people who work for anti-nuclear groups, people who hate nuclear energy, want to see it wiped off the face of the earth. It would behoove them to say, Elizabeth, boy, this stuff is dangerous, you better watch it. But even they're not saying that. Even the anti-nukes are saying this is nothing to worry about.

KAYE: Well, that's good.

COHEN: Makes me feel better.

KAYE: Yes. Well, we appreciate you coming on almost every day telling us not worry. Not to worry.

COHEN: That's right.

KAYE: I like having you here. Thank you.

Word this hour. The fighting in Ivory Coast may soon end. Why should the rest of the world care about this former French colony in Africa? Some answers for you, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: After months of brutal fighting, the conflict in Ivory Coast may be nearing an end. Fighters loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo have laid down their arms and he is said to be negotiating terms of a surrender. If it happens, it would pave the way for Alassane Ouattara to assume power. He is internationally recognized as the winner of the presidential election last year.

In the months since, the United Nations says hundreds were killed and at least a million now homeless. Until recently, the bloodletting was little covered by the media, hardly even noticed really by Americans. But analysts say that what's happening in Ivory Coast is very important. Their argument rests on several key points here.

The conflict has been a test case, really, for Africa's commitment to supporting democracy and that election results must be honored. An end to the fighting could possibly help restore what was once called the Ivorian miracle, a thriving economy that drew workers from neighboring countries. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, the key ingredient for making chocolate. And a new chance to reunify north and south split apart by civil war that erupted nine years ago.

Richard Roth joins us from the United Nations for more on today's developments.

Richard, tell us what you have learned so far today about the reports that Gbagbo is prepared to surrender.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.N. spokesman in Ivory Coast says he's in a basement right now, with his family. But the -- they say negotiations are under way right now. Here in New York they've said that, and the Ivory Coast. Delicate negotiations, because this is a man, Laurent Gbagbo, who refuse to even have elections for five years, did his best to avoid that, and has now spent four months in a bloody battle to retain office in an election that the U.N. and others say he lost.

The generals seem to have stepped down and the fighting has halted. There's no organized battles right now, after some real violence on Monday with U.N. attack helicopters. (AUDIO GAP)

KAYE: All right. I think that we've lost Richard Roth's audio there.

So we'll -- we have him back? Richard -- OK. There you are.

ROTH: I'm still here.

KAYE: OK. We lost your audio there for a moment.

ROTH: Can you hear me now, Randi?

KAYE: Yes, I hear you just fine.

ROTH: OK. I'm -- so basically, negotiations are still in their final stages. The French want Laurent Gbagbo to sign an official letter designating that he recognizes his opponent won this election and setting forth various conditions which may -- we don't know where he's going to be headed next. Randi.

KAYE: Sure. But, with all the blood on Gbagbo's hands, I mean, could he really be allowed to go into exile? Who would take him? ROTH: Well, they always seem to find a place. Whether it was Idi Amin or others. Sometimes there's a trade made for peace now and then talk about accountability or justice later. Should he indeed be attacked or turn up dead, he's got a lot of loyalists that might just cause the big spark to go. You might have hundreds of more casualties. So they're probably figuring out where he could go. Look, Aristide of Haiti left and went to Africa, now he's back in Haiti. You never know where they'll turn up.

KAYE: You mentioned the U.N. helicopters attacking Gbagbo's forces yesterday. That was to try and prevent him from harming his own people. Russia has certainly criticized that.

What is the U.N. saying?

ROTH: There's no talk of a Security Council meeting, though the Russian foreign minister Lavrov mentioned that. Look, the U.N. says they're not taking sides. There was a Security Council vote last week that Russia voted yes on for a resolution which said those U.N. peacekeepers in Ivory Coast could use quote, "All necessary means to defend themselves."

I know it sounds like Libya. We have seen a more robust Security Council in the last few weeks, in these two different but somewhat lined up along the same way, Libya and Ivory Coast, two places where the U.N. is now involved and taking action.

KAYE: All right. Richard Roth, pleasure speaking with you.

Thank you, Richard.

Now to Libya and the war in Libya. Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi appear to have the upper hand in fighting for control of the oil town of al Brega. CNN reporters in the area say rebel forces were retreating under intense government artillery bombardment. More of the same for the besieged city of Misrata.

Residents says government snipers are shooting at anything that moves and that power and access to food have been cut. Making matters even more dire, a NATO general claims that Gadhafi's forces are using civilians now as human shields. Rebel leaders have criticized NATO's efforts in recent days saying that civilians have suffered, because of a lack of NATO air strikes. NATO says weather conditions are hampering those efforts.

More information now on the Libyan woman who claims she was beaten and raped by Gadhafi supporters last month. She is no longer being held by the government but says she fears for her life.

She spoke on the phone to CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360": When you were in the hotel room, trying to talk to the journalists, and other -- and Libyan government thugs were attacking you, trying to silence you, what was going through your mind?

EMAN AL-OBEIDY, ALLEGED RAPE VICTIM (through translator): I was not thinking anything when I came to the hotel. I heard about the existence of the fact-finding organization. I came here because I knew that the Libyan authorities won't respect my rights or talk about this issue and could have been jailed, and nobody would have heard my story.

I was just looking for my rights to be returned. I came even though I knew that the Libyan government would not leave me alone, and would try to silence me. I knew that they could imprison me and that no one may ever know my story. And even when they were hitting me, and trying to cover my face, so that I would not tell people the truth, I was not afraid. I've reached the end of my tolerance for this as a human.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

That was CNN's Anderson Cooper speaking to the Libyan woman who claimed she was beaten and raped by Gadhafi supporters last month.

Just about 45 minutes past the hour. Now let's take a look at our top stories.

Before the 2012 budget can be considered, lawmakers need to find a solution for 2011. Failure to pass a spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year by midnight Friday would result in a partial government shutdown. Budget chairman Paul Ryan spoke today about the fiscal concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS.: 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)

KAYE: Congressional leaders and President Obama met this morning about their differences on the budget. Members of both parties say they are far from an agreement right now.

More inspections are being issued for additional Boeing 737s. Federal aviation experts are demanding a closer review of 175 older 737s. New cracks were found in five Southwest Airlines after a hole appeared in a 737 during a Southwest flight on Friday. The FAA says that visual inspections alone are no longer adequate.

A severe storm punched its way straight through the south on Monday. Heavy rains and intense winds knocked out electricity in some areas and toppled trees and power lines.

Some in the storm's path were unable to escape the path of the powerful storm, at least eight deaths are blamed on last night's severe storms. Six of the storm deaths are in Georgia, one in Tennessee, one in Mississippi.

A piece of a Chinese satellite could impact the International Space Station. The debris came from a satellite that was destroyed back in 2007. NASA is keeping a close eye on the debris. Officials estimate the satellite could make impact around 4:21 p.m.

Crews have devised a plan to ensure their safety by boarding a Russian capsule. A decision is expected to be made around 3:00 p.m. Eastern to decide whether the crew will need to seek safety aboard the Soyuz.

In today's "Big I" segment, how about a flying robot that uses the technology behind the Microsoft Kinect gaming system to fly around on its own? Yes, we know it sounds super geeky, and we also know it is super geeky.

Researchers at MIT attached the Kinect to the robot, loaded it up with a computer and then set it free. The flying robot uses the system to determine where it's flying, and how it can maneuver without running into things.

Look at that. That is way cool.

And normally, when you think of a robot, there's usually a person running it, right? Well, not this little guy. It is fully autonomous, which means it's able to run all by itself.

So you just saw that robot flying around a room. This is how that room looks to the robot.

So why would you want a little robot that can fly on its own? Very good question. Well, think military. Imagine drones that are able to fly without maps or even GPS. And yes, the Army Research Office and the Office of Naval Research actually funded this project to help build better drones.

Geeky, but cool. That's what we like to say.

And in other "Big I" news, a new app for your smartphone uses your voice to sculpt three-dimensional images. Check out this video from Konstruct. This company has created a way to utilize the camera and the microphone to your smartphone to create the3-D sculpture. The app uses an augmented reality marker that you simply printout.

It doesn't cost you a buck. The app is completely free. And you might want to do this in the confident of your home, because some of the best sculptures come from whistling into the phone. Yes, that will get others' attention.

And new updates to Twitter this week. The status update website upgraded its search function. According to Mashable, when you search your topic, you'll get Twitter account suggestions.

So let's say you search for the word "music" in Twitter, you'll not only get tweets that include the word music, you'll also get a list of suggested people and accounts like Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, Pink, you name it. It's all there.

To get licked up to the Kinect flying robot from MIT, the 3-D augmented reality sculpture app and the new Twitter search function, well, you just head to our blog, CNN.com/Ali. We have it all there for you.

President Obama, extortionist-in-chief? That's what one potential opponent has to say about the president's re-election bid. A "CNN Political Update" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: President Obama is officially a candidate for 2012, but that is not the word one potential rival is using. Try, extortionist.

Joining me from Washington is CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser and senior political editor Mark Preston.

Good to see you guys. Paul, let's start with you.

What is going on in Kaine, Virginia?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, this is a great story, we'll get to the Gingrich thing in a second, but let me tell you, this is brand new news, our Peter Hamby just cracked it for us.

Tim Kaine, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also the former governor of Virginia, just announced online that he is going to be running for the open Senate seat there. The current senator, fellow Democrat Jim Webb, announced earlier this year he wasn't going to run for re-election.

So Kaine is -- you know, and a lot of people were saying that there is a lot of political pressure for Kaine to run; the president was strong-arming him. But I just got off of the phone with an insider, Democratic insider who said that there was no pressure on Kaine, that he did this without politics. He's doing it because he loves Virginia. That is the line they are telling us.

Now, on the Republican side, we already know that former Governor there, George Allen, former Governor and Senator George Allen is also running. So if he wins the nomination, he has got a Tea Party candidate going against him, if he does, this is going to be a huge, huge contest Virginia.

Also a huge very important state in the presidential election. President won it four years ago and Obama would like to do it again.

And, Mark, I guess this means the Democratic National Committee is looking for a new man.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: It is. And probably in the next couple of hours now, Randi, we'll be waiting to hear who President Obama chooses to be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Of course, stay tuned into CNN, we will have that news.

But when you talk about extortionism, when you talk about some very tough words regarding the 2012 presidential election, well, House speaker, or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was very critical of President Obama and the idea that the president is going to raise upwards of $1 billion to run for his re-elect.

In fact, Mr. Gingrich, yesterday, said New Hampshire -- to an audience in New Hampshire, here's a president who 18 months before the election is going to use his office to extort contributions on a scale like we have never seen before.

Interesting criticism from Mr. Gingrich. However, we should point out that Newt Gingrich is considered one of the best fundraisers in the Republican Party. In fact, he raised over $15 million now, as our own Alex Moonie has pointed out on a piece on CNNPolitics.com, just in the past year.

So some tough criticism for Newt Gingrich for Mr. Obama. Criticism we should not be surprised about -- Randi.

KAYE: Well, back to Paul, Mark, if I could, just quickly and follow up on the current budget showdown and possible shutdown.

Does either party have the upper hand with the American people?

STEINHAUSER: Two new polls, Randi, both out in the last 24 hours say no. Take a look at one of them from "The Washington Post." Look at that, 37 percent say they would blame the Republicans more if there was a government shutdown, the exact same amount said they would blame Democrats and Barack Obama, President Obama.

So I guess neither party has the upper hand as they try to come to an agreement. Friday is the deadline, of course, for a possible government shutdown, Randi.

KAYE: All right, Mark Preston, Paul Steinhauser, thanks, guys. What a duo the two of you make? Thanks very much.

Did the NCAA Men's Championship Basketball Game live up to your expectations? Up next, we'll recap last night's highs and lows with CNN Sports anchor Mark McKay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, it wasn't the dog fight that many expected when Butler and UConn stepped on the court for the deciding game. The road for both team was an amazing journey, but the final game itself could have served as a sleeping aid.

The low-scoring game did not live up to expectations. Some analysts thought that the final score reaching 70 points, but the UConn Huskies won with just 53 points while the Butler Bulldogs tapped out at 41.

Now let's bring in Mark McKay with CNN Sports. Mark, the Huskies win last night in what some are calling an unimpressive fashion. What happened.

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Much like their season, Connecticut took a while to get going in Monday's National Championship Game. The Huskies struggled in the equally inept Butler Bulldogs, but in the end, UConn did just enough to end the season with the 11th straight win and the school's third national title.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CALHOUN, MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: I love this team, because of what they have given me back. And to have them go down and -- it was a legacy that they put together. It is going to be some -- very difficult for any other team to probably do what we have done. And how they have done it with class and dignity and -- it has absolutely been incredible.

MATT HOWARD, BUTLER FORWARD: I think this team has been through more than any team I have been a part of, and, you know, that is what I have always thought that I have made this run more special is what we went through this year.

And, you know, it has shown a lot about these guys and what we were able to do. And tonight, doesn't -- I don't think that tonight should take away from that.

ANDREW SMITH, BUTLER CENTER: Obviously, it's been a heck of a ride and we're happy to be here, but it hurts pretty bad to not win, especially two years in a row.

SHABAZZ NAPIES, UCONN GUARD: We're going out there for each other, for ourselves, for our coaching staff and for the university. And I felt we played as one today and we're going to bring back the trophy to Connecticut.

CALHOUN: As I walked off with my wife and she was crying, since the first one in '99, it was emotional in my life in basketball as was '99. This is a special group and what they have given me, neither money nor time nor anything else could bring me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: Coach Jim Calhoun walked off of the court like a conquering hero, and that he is in the eyes of the UConn faithful. Calhoun is also in special company as only the fifth coach in NCAA history to have won three or more national titles.

Mark McKay, CNN, Houston.