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American Morning

Ivory Coast Power Struggle; Leak Plugged at Japan Nuclear Plant; Government Shutdown Looming; Yemen's Unrest; Lengthy Delays Down, Cancellations Up; Branson Launches Virgin Oceanic; Ozone Layer Suffers Record Damage; Increase in Flat-Headed Babies

Aired April 06, 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: I'm Christine Romans. A lot happening overnight. Let's get you caught up.

The leak is plugged at a damaged nuclear reactor in Japan, but experts are sounding the alarm this morning, saying our solution to the problem could create a molten radioactive mess.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. Former Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon, this man, is in Libya meeting face to face with Moammar Gadhafi. Can he convince the embattled dictator to leave?

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. We're just 66 hours away from a potential government shutdown if Democrats and Republicans cannot compromise on a new budget. We're going to break down the issues that divide the two sides on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ROMANS: Good morning. Welcome to this AMERICAN MORNING. It is Wednesday, April 6th.

VELSHI: Lots of news for you but first, we've got breaking news from the West African nation of Ivory Coast. Opposition forces have stormed the residence of Laurent Gbagbo, seen here. He's the long- time president who is refusing to leave office after losing an election in November.

Gbagbo has been holed up in his bunker in his residence, surrounded by troops loyal to him supporting the winner of the -- he's surrounded by troops who are supporting the winner of that election, Alassane Ouattara. Ouattara is the recognized leader of the Ivory Coast. Gbagbo's refusal to surrender power has sparked a violent uprising in the Ivory Coast. More than 1,500 people have been killed in fighting there in recent months. The United Nations has become involved with troops on the ground. We'll keep you updated with this story throughout the morning.

ROMANS: Promising news in Japan at the same time a troubling warning. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, they say they have plugged a leak where radioactive water was gushing into the ocean.

Here's a photo of that power -- that the power company, TEPCO, released on Saturday. It shows radioactive water pouring out of the reactor. Radiation levels were 7.5 million times the legal limit at the time. Monday, that dropped to about five million.

And here's what it looks like now. Not a single drop coming out of that same location. After trying a concoction of concrete, sawdust and newspaper, officials say it was liquid glass that finally sealed things up. But, Japan is still in the process of dumping three million gallons of contaminated water into the sea on purpose to make room for water that's even more radioactive.

The U.S. nuclear experts sent to help with the crisis in Japan are now warning of very serious new threats. In fact, now they say all of that water, millions and millions of gallons being pumped into the reactors, could lead to a molten radioactive mess bursting into the outside world. "The New York Times" got its hands on a report from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It warns that the containment structures now filling with radioactive water are under so much stress that they could crack in another aftershock. And they are the last line of defense. Engineers are also warning that the release of hydrogen and oxygen from the water could lead to new explosions. They're also warning about spent fuel pools.

We've been talking about this for some weeks now. Experts say previous explosions have torn away their roofs, leaving them exposed to the air.

CHETRY: Also to Libya now, where a former U.S. congressman is making a personal appeal for Moammar Gadhafi to step down. Curt Weldon is in Tripoli this morning where he's said to be meeting with Gadhafi. Weldon tells "The New York Times" he was invited to Libya by Gadhafi himself. He led a congressional delegation to Tripoli back in 2004. In a "New York Times" op-ed piece, Weldon says that he's met Gadhafi enough times to know that, quote, "it will be very hard to simply bomb him into submission."

Meantime, more fighting in the oil port of Al Brega. Pro-Gadhafi forces driving back rebel forces with artillery and mortar fire. Rebel leaders are blaming NATO now for Gadhafi's advance. They say the alliance is not doing enough to protect Libyan civilians.

ROMANS: And now to the budget battle on Capitol Hill. Still no deal on a spending plan and unless Democrats and Republicans can get on the same page and get something done by midnight Friday, America is facing a partial government shutdown. Jim Acosta live in Washington.

Time running out, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

ROMANS: Do we know what's separating these two sides?

ACOSTA: There's a lot separating these two sides, Christine. Good morning. Yes, the clock is ticking. We're now, get this, two days, 18 hours away from a government shutdown and we're still waiting to find out exactly when both sides will start negotiating again.

The president has called congressional leaders back to the White House today, after both sides failed to reach an agreement yesterday. In a rare move, President Obama took to the podium at the White House briefing to give an update on the process that is unfolding right now. He stopped short of ruling out another temporary spending measure or continuing resolution to keep the government running and he indicated some sticking points in the talks.

Take a look at these. These are some items that president mentioned yesterday. He said that provisions in the Republican's budget planning, targeting abortion, the EPA, head start and medical research were all areas of concern for him and judging by the body language on both sides, it looks like they have a ways to go before they can get a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In a time when the economy is just beginning to grow, where we're just starting to see a pick-up in employment, the last thing we need is a disruption that's caused by a government shutdown. Not to mention all the people who depend on government services. Whether you're a veteran or you're somebody who's trying to get a passport or you're planning to visit one of the national monuments or you're a business leader who's trying to get a small business loan, you don't want delays, you don't want disruptions just because of usual politics in Washington.

JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE SPEAKER: Listen, our goal is to keep the government open. You've heard me say for the last three months, that we have no interest in the government shutting down. But we are interested in cutting spending here in Washington, D.C. We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, federal agencies in the meanwhile are prepping for a shutdown. CNN has obtained a memo sent by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius telling her employees that many of them will not report to work on Monday if this goes down, Christine.

ROMANS: And what about members of Congress? Will they be paid if the government shuts down? We've gone through the laundry list of things that stops in its tracks if there's a shutdown.

ACOSTA: Yes. That's right.

ROMANS: What about the paychecks for Congress people?

ACOSTA: Well, Christine, it appears that they will get paid. There are a couple of bills pending in Congress right now. They passed one on the Senate side. Barbara Boxer, the sponsor of that legislation, she sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner yesterday evening, calling on the House to pass that legislation. So at this point, it looks like if they can't get to an agreement on that legislation and, of course, they can't agree on anything right now, members of Congress will get paid, it appears during this shutdown which is not going to go down well with a lot of people who are showing up at museums that are closed, trying to get passports and seeing delays and waiting for those tax refunds to come in the mail. All of that could be affected while members of Congress are getting paid, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes. One would wonder if you work a little faster and your politics change if you're paying your mortgage is in jeopardy.

ACOSTA: Might be an incentive.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much, Jim Acosta.

ACOSTA: You bet. Sure.

ROMANS: The White House indicating President Obama will sign a bill that repeals an unpopular provision in the health care law. Both the House and the Senate have already passed this change, which will no longer require businesses to file a tax form, a 1099, for every single purchase they make over $600. The requirement was designed to help fund health care reform, but small business owners, they feared and complained and screamed about a bookkeeping nightmare.

Meantime, Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is said to be the president's choice to lead the Democratic National Committee for the 2012 election cycle. She would succeed Chairman Tim Kaine who is running for Senate in Virginia. Wasserman-Schultz is now in her fourth term in the House. Sources say she was picked for her strength as a fund-raiser and she's seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party.

VELSHI: And you've seen her by Gabby Giffords' side the whole time.

ROMANS: That's right.

VELSHI: They're very close friends.

OK. The most scandalous trial in the history of Italian politics is under way. Hearings began this morning in the trial of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But they only lasted 10 minutes before they were adjourned until May 31st. Thirty-three women are expected to testify about erotic parties allegedly hosted by Berlusconi. The 74-year-old prime minister is accused of sex with an underage prostitute and the abuse of power.

CHETRY: You know, the most amazing thing about this is can you imagine if this were playing out in our country. I mean, our president gets in trouble for filling out an NCAA bracket.

VELSHI: Right, right.

ROMANS: It's amazing that Italy is able it to function with this going on with their leader.

VELSHI: And polling in Italy shows that people just are not as concerned about this as you imagine they would be here in the United States.

Here's a piece of news that you might find interesting. The owner of the Gulf of Mexico rig that exploded last year killing 11 people, says that its senior executives are going to donate their safety bonuses, that's right safety bonuses, to the Deepwater Horizon memorial fund because, quote, "it is the right thing to do," end quote. Transocean had justified those bonuses by calling 2010 its best year in safety.

ROMANS: Oh, boy.

CHETRY: The optics of that --

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: -- not really good in terms of public relations.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Well, we want to get a check with Rob right now of the extreme weather. He's now back. He's back in action. He got his electricity back on.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: I know you guys had some rough weather that extended out to Florida yesterday as well with some pretty heavy storm damage there.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We'll start with that Florida storm damage in Jacksonville especially. That's where things were a little bit rough. All the storms that created a damage from the mid- South and the Deep South, eventually got into Florida yesterday afternoon and here's some of the video from that. Trailers destroyed and some lighter structures destroyed as well from straight line winds. And we showed you some on the radar scope yesterday morning across Augustine, Florida, St. Augustine, and this is the end result of that.

Things are a little bit more calm today, thankfully, after over a thousand reports of severe weather earlier in the week. We have some rain on the radar scope that's moving across parts of the western Great Lakes and this is for the most part light. Detroit, Cleveland and through Pittsburgh, you'll see the most significant precip out of this, but all in all, it's small potatoes compared to what we've seen here in the past couple of days.

Today, we're looking at calm weather across parts of the eastern third of the country, southeastern third. Fire danger will be on the high side. It will be building east with dry weather now in tap.

Frost advisories are in place right now for folks who live down across south. Forty-two degrees the current temperature in Atlanta, 38 degrees in D.C., and 38 degrees in New York City.

So happy to report to you that it's a quieter day today than it was the past day and a half. And I got my lights on around 9:00, 10:00 last night. Not everybody that lucky. Still about 15,000, 20,000 people in Atlanta that are without power. It was quite a rough storm that moved through the other night.

VELSHI: And starting to get cold.

CHETRY: Yes.

VELSHI: It's been nice and warm there for a while. Rob, good. Glad to have you back with everything matching.

MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.

ROMANS: All right. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a bird's eye view of just an unbelievable wild police car chase in North Carolina. We're going to show you how it all went down.

VELSHI: And gunshots and chaos on the streets of Yemen. It could be the most critical Mideast hot spot, certainly as far as the U.S. is concerned. Does Al Qaeda smell blood in Yemen?

It's 11 minutes after the hour.

CHETRY: Also, you may not be sitting on the tarmac for several hours anymore, but the airlines, they still found a way to inconvenience you. We'll have details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: This is a look at the streets of Yemen right now where they've seen violent protests, shots fired, people running and yelling. All this video posted Monday on YouTube reportedly showing protesters fighting with the army and so-called pro-government gangs, that's how they're being described by witnesses. They also say that six people were killed and hundreds injured across the country, even though the United States appears to be pulling its support for President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Pentagon says it has no intention of stopping its military aid to Yemen. Why? Well, it's because fighting al Qaeda is still a top priority in the country.

We want to give you a closer look at what we're talking about when it comes to Yemen and its vital role in the U.S. fight against terrorism. Here's a map of the region. You see Yemen right here. It's located in the Mid-east, bordered by both Oman and Saudi Arabia. It's about twice the size of Wyoming and has a population of just over 24 million.

But, it's not good there for many people, which is why these uprising have taken place. Forty-three percent of people live below the poverty line in this predominantly Muslim nation.

Now, let's take a look at who's in charge. Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in power, like many of these leaders that we've seen in the Middle East, for more than 30 years, since 1978. In 2010, the U.S. gave Yemen 58 million in aid and $150 million worth of military training and equipment. All of this to help in the fight against al Qaeda.

Now, recently, Yemen has faced massive protests. People rising up against the government. Forty thousand protesters out in the capital on Tuesday night. This is in Sana'a. The government has had senior level defections and President Saleh's future is now uncertain.

But with that uncertainty come major concerns that Yemen may become the next failed state. Yemen has been a hot bed for extremism beginning in the early 1990s when al Qaeda established its presence there.

Then we go to 2000 where you may remember the "USS Cole" bombed. That was in the Port of Aiden in Yemen. Seventeen U.S. servicemen were killed, 39 others injured.

And then in the wake of 9/11, President Saleh cooperated with the U.S. to hunt down terrorists in Yemen, allowing the U.S. to take - U.S. special to take place inside of the country. But he eventually eased pressure and allowed - that allowed the extremists and al Qaedas to regroup in the Arab Peninsula.

Now, we want to show you one more graph here and explain what's going on there. You may remember Abdul Farouq Umar Mutallab - Abdulmutallab? He was the, quote, "underwear bomber" trained and armed by al Qaeda in Yemen for his failed attempt to blow a plane out of the skies in Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.

And another reason why Yemen is really on the radar of U.S. forces as well as our intelligence community, Anwar Al Awlaki, he is a U.S. born cleric credited with recruiting and radicalizing both Mutallab as well as Nidal Hasan, the Ft. Hood shooting suspect.

So, again, we're explaining a lot of the concerns about why Yemen matters especially when it comes to fighting terror.

Coming up in our next hour, we're going to be getting more on this with our terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank. He's going to be joining us and joining Christine Romans to talk a little bit more about whether al Qaeda is looking to fill the power vacuum left in this country and whether terror chatter is up since the violence has erupted - Ali.

VELSHI: All right.

Christine was telling us earlier about this wild car chase in North Carolina captured on video. We don't really show you car chases, but you don't normally see them end like this. Police have a road block set up in Catawba County, North Carolina. Check this out. Didn't stop the driver. He raced right through it just as officers opened fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF COY REID, CATAWBA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: This is probably one of the wildest ones we've seen. He stole three or four vehicles, involved in armed robberies, at least two - three home invasions, run through three road blocks, numerous shots fired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Police calling the couple in the car a modern day "Bonnie and Clyde." The chase ended a short time later with the couple in cuffs.

ROMANS: All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, if you've flown recently you may have noticed you weren't stuck on the tarmac for hours on end, but you're still paying a price to avoid those lengthy delays.

VELSHI: And how billionaire adventurer Richard Branson plans to set 30 Guinness World Records in a one-man submarine.

It's 20 minutes after the hour.

ROMANS: All right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Young kids in New York City wouldn't be loving this.

VELSHI: Or me.

ROMANS: City councilman plans to introduce a bill today prohibiting fast food restaurants from giving away toys unless the meals meet certain nutritional requirements like they have fewer than 500 calories and contain fruit and vegetables. The bill is similar to legislation that passed in San Francisco.

An official for McDonald's say taking away toys wouldn't solve childhood or Ali Velshi's obesity.

VELSHI: People are up in arms about this.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Yes. People are up in arms. This is a McDonald's toy, right?

ROMANS: I know. I just got - it is in the bottom of my purse actually this morning.

VELSHI: All right. I fly a lot, so I have noticed that ever since the FAA put into place this - this rule that if you delay people a lot, you pay for it. Things have changed. In fact, last month, things weren't all that bad at all.

Alison Kosik is "Minding Your Business" and, you know, minding your - your travel business today.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, it was a year ago this month that that rule went into effect where U.S. airlines can't let those domestic flights just sit on the tarmac -

VELSHI: Right.

KOSIK: -- for three hours. And remember that, people sitting -

VELSHI: Sure.

KOSIK: -- trapped, can't go to the bathroom, can't get something to eat. OK. So.

CHETRY: It was horrible.

KOSIK: Yes. It was terrible.

So this is a report card and what we've found was that despite those huge weather problems that we had, could you believe that no U.S. planes were even stuck on the tarmac for more than three hours in February?

VELSHI: That's right.

KOSIK: But here's the catch. Cancellations actually -

VELSHI: Yes.

KOSIK: -- skyrocketed with February having the second highest number of cancellations on record. And the idea is that these airlines think that cancellations are better than -

CHETRY: Right.

KOSIK: - paying the hefty fines of $27,000 per passenger.

VELSHI: Per passenger.

KOSIK: Exactly.

CHETRY: They - they don't want to chance it, but it did. I mean, we had a ridiculous February when it came to weather.

VELSHI: Sure.

ROMANS: And the airlines were canceling -

VELSHI: By the way -

ROMANS: -- days in advance.

VELSHI: -- they (INAUDIBLE) this last year. When this - again, they said, look, we're going to cancel more than we're going to wait around.

KOSIK: Right.

VELSHI: And see if the planes take off, they said that might happen and it's happening. I think, frankly, as a traveler, I'd rather they cancel my flight and let me plan around that.

KOSIK: Exactly. And that's what they're thinking. Is that, you know, we rather cancel, save on labor, save on fuel and they're thinking -

VELSHI: Save on my time waiting around.

KOSIK: And they're thinking that passengers are still going to book the ticket, they're not going to lose the fare. So, you know, it winds up being a win-win for everybody.

VELSHI: Most of the airlines with the exception of U.S. Air which often doesn't do the right thing. When the storm is coming -

KOSIK: How do you really feel about it?

VELSHI: You know, they really don't. They don't. Most of the other airlines let you cancel and change your bookings a few days ahead of a major storm.

KOSIK: They give you a hard time?

VELSHI: Well, U.S. Air - I mean, it was just constantly reported to us when they do give the hardest time of all the major airlines. But the -

KOSIK: I'll remember that.

VELSHI: -- others are really good at allowing you to change.

KOSIK: I'll remember that.

VELSHI: People try - I mean, you - they just do it a lot.

KOSIK: Yes.

VELSHI: Delta does a great job, Continental is. United they do an excellent job. Southwest. JetBlue, remember? They started this whole mess -

KOSIK: Of course.

VELSHI: -- a few years ago when they stranded everybody on Valentine's Day.

KOSIK: It's terrible.

CHETRY: Actually, JetBlue stranded us in the Dominican Republic.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Someone said -

VELSHI: They've gotten better, though.

CHETRY: -- that was good, but we had to pay out of pocket to get on a different airline. So, I mean, you now, I understand they had a rough winter, so -

KOSIK: It looks like they're getting an "A" on this report card.

ROMANS: All right.

VELSHI: Very Good. We'll take that.

ROMANS: Alison Kosik. Thank you, Alison. VELSHI: So good news from Alison Kosik this morning.

ROMANS: That's right.

CHETRY: Well, it is amazing, she got it on tape and she's alive. Check this out. A missile - like a missile, not a missile, a two-by- four flies through the windshield. This is - do you ever fear this when you're going -

VELSHI: Oh. Oh, wow.

CHETRY: How was she even - first of all, what was she recording? I don't know if she was worried about the truck to begin with. Anyway. So a two-by-four, she is lucky to be alive. How and why was she taping at the time? Well -

ROMANS: Maybe there was -

CHETRY: - the Gawker (ph) got her story. She said it's because she saw two truck drivers fooling around on the road, they were like basically playing a game of chicken with one another and holding up traffic, so she was taking video that she was going to report them to her bosses and clearly she has even more proof.

VELSHI: Wow.

ROMANS: Unbelievable.

All right. Richard Branson taking his eyes off the skies, setting his sights now on the ocean floor. The billionaire adventurer is launching "Virgin Oceanic." It's a one-man sub that mimics the movements of a dolphin to fly through the water. Branson plans to pilot it to the bottom of each of the earth's five oceans. He has partnered with Google. They're going to be streaming his dives online.

Why - why is he doing it? Why does Richard Branson do any of these things he does? Branson - Branson said it's all about the science.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, LAUNCHING "VIRGIN OCEANIC": Our oceans haven't been explored. And, you know, the furthest American submarines or British submarines or French submarines have been under the sea is about 18,000 feet. And because the pressure is so enormous below that, they've never built a submarine to go deeper.

We've built this submarine with the aim of going 36,000 feet under the water and to explore mountains and valleys and trenches that mankind has never visited and never seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A modern day Jules Vern, I guess, right?

VELSHI: Wow. ROMANS: Branson hopes to set 30 Guinness Book of World Records by the time he completes his mission.

VELSHI: All right.

Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, the FAA ordering airlines to inspect older Boeing 737s for cracks in the fuselage. This is the most common airplane out there, and it's raising new concerns about passenger safety.

I'm going to talk to a former NTSB director about it and how worried you should be about flying.

CHETRY: Well, a lot of people are getting excited for football season, but wondering are they actually going to play? NFL players going to court today to try to end the lockout and the future of Any Given Sunday hanging in the balance.

It's 27 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Breaking news from the West African nation of Ivory Coast, where opposition forces have now stormed the residence of Laurent Gbagbo. He's the long-time president who's refusing to leave office after losing an election in November. Gbagbo's been holed up in a bunker in his residence, surrounded by troops supporting the winner of the election, Alassane Ouattara.

Face-to-face with Moammar Gadhafi, former Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon is in Tripoli this morning for a private meeting with the Libyan leader. Weldon says he'll try to convince Gadhafi to step down. Weldon met Gadhafi back in 2004 when he led a congressional delegation to Tripoli.

And funding for the federal government will run dry at midnight Friday if Congress can't get a budget passed. A meeting between lawmakers and the president yesterday failed to get a deal done, they'll try again today. If the government shuts down at midnight Friday, hundreds of thousands of federal workers could be furloughed, tax refunds could be delayed -- Ali.

VELSHI: Christine, the FAA this morning ordering emergency inspections of older Boeing 737 planes after cracks were found in six Southwest jets, including this one which had its fuselage ruptured at 36,000 feet last week. The 737s affected by the order are on average 20 years old.

Now, I want to show you -- let me just explain to you what this is about. I'm going to use a balloon to demonstrate this. When a plane, talk about a flight cycle. That's one takeoff and one landing.

When a plane takes off, this is basically what happens to the fuselage. It gets pressurized. When you land, the pressure comes out. Now, that is wearing on the structure of the plane. The Southwest plane that ruptured had nearly 40,000 cycles, 40,000 takeoffs and landings. So, the FAA is ordering 737s with more than 35,000 cycles, to be inspected within five days; 737s with 30,000 to 35,000 cycles -- remember, a cycle is a takeoff and landing -- need to be inspected within 20 days.

Now, Peter Goelz is a former NTSB managing director and he joins me now from Washington.

Peter, thank you for joining me.

Peter, when we think about engines and equipment on airplanes, we think about flight hours. When you think about the age of things, you think about -- you know, we say that these are 20 years old, but are flight cycles more important when you're talking about the metal on a plane?

PETER GOELZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: Absolutely. Flight cycles are the critical, you know, determinant in terms of maintenance, in terms of when you've got to start checking the various components of the aircraft. So, cycles are critical.

VELSHI: What has changed? Do we fly more flight cycles with the same number of planes, or does the average plane fly more flight cycles than they did 10 or 20 years ago?

GOELZ: Well, part of it is that our maintenance procedures are so good that planes are flying longer. But in this case, Boeing yesterday really stepped to the plate and said they had expected the -- these lap joints, the overlapping areas where the skin is riveted, that they expected it to last for 60,000 cycles. They did not. And that's caused the emergency directive.

VELSHI: What do you make of that, though? Because this is -- this is an engineering sophisticated as it gets, going from 60,000 cycles as the point at which you think there is stress on these joints, to 30,000, cutting it in half, what's behind that? Doesn't that make you worry?

GOELZ: I think we're in kind of new territory here. Planes are flying longer than ever. And I think Boeing, you know, did a best case estimate when they started making the 737. They made some adjustments to how they connect the skin. They've now gone back to the drawing boards. They were as stumped or surprised as anyone and yesterday they said they didn't see this coming.

VELSHI: Does the technology exist to adequately check all of these planes quickly and effectively?

GOELZ: Well, it does. They use something called an Eddy cycle machine that does an electromagnetic scan of the skin beneath the surface and it takes some time. It takes -- it's estimated that it would take two trained mechanics about six to eight hours to scan this area to make sure that there are no fatigue cracks there. VELSHI: OK. So, some of these planes will be out of service for a little while. It won't take too long. But that adds cost to the airline plus the costs of these tests. Obviously, this is likely to become something that's more common. Are we as passengers going to absorb those costs?

GOELZ: Well, I think, in the end, of course, the passenger always does. But I think that's an item for Boeing and the air carriers to negotiate. The key thing is, so far, this is limited to a fairly small number of planes, of which, you know -- from a worldwide fleet of many thousands. So, I think so far, the news is good.

VELSHI: Peter, I used to fly a little plane. For small planes that don't get into the altitude where they need pressurization, this doesn't apply because they're not getting that stress on the fuselage.

GOELZ: That's right. This really affects planes that are pressurized; those that are flying above 10,000 feet. For smaller planes, there are different kinds of stresses to the frame that you need to monitor carefully.

VELSHI: We are looking at Boeing 737s. These are the most commonly flown planes in America, the most commonly flown commercial passenger planes. We're looking at a particular subset of them, the 300, 400, 500 series. Should we be looking closer at flight cycle inspections of other models of Boeing and other planes in general?

GOELZ: Well, I think this will broaden the discussion about aging aircraft. The NTSB, the FAA and the manufacturers have been looking at how do you monitor aging aircraft, how do you ensure that they are air-worthy long into their life. And I think this will renew the debate that started really back in 1988 at -- with the Aloha accident.

VELSHI: All right. Peter, thanks for letting us know about this. We appreciate your time and your very clear, clear explanations on this.

Peter Goelz is a former managing director of the FAA -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much.

Well, up next: the president who lost an election but is refusing to leave. We're following the latest developments out of Ivory Coast this morning where Laurent Gbagbo is hiding in a bunker, surrounded by enemy troops, as U.S. and NATO officials try to help ease a transition.

Meantime, the ozone layer is thinning at a record pace, suffering its greatest damage ever this winter. We're going to get details on that still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour right now.

The season could hang in the balance, NFL players are headed to court today and what they're hoping to get is for a judge to grant a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout.

Tom Brady is going to be there, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, seven other players have filed a lawsuit on behalf of all current NFL players.

Players and owners are fighting over how to split up $9 billion in annual revenue among some other sticking points.

ROMANS: More on that breaking news from the West African nation of Ivory Coast.

Opposition forces have now stormed the residence of Laurent Gbagbo. He's the long-time president, as you know, who's refusing to leave office after he lost an election in November.

Zain Verjee is live in London, monitoring details.

So, Zain, he's still there, but they've stormed the compound. What's it going to take for Gbagbo to leave?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is absolutely refusing to leave. They were in the process of negotiating and he said, you know what, I will surrender. They were negotiating the terms. And then, all of a sudden, he did a U-turn and said, "Wait a minute, I'm not going anywhere."

So, Alassane Ouattara, his rival's forces have basically said we're going to come in and get you.

Let me just show you the picture of the two men locked in this big showdown that has been dragging on for months. They're fighting over who is really the president. On the left-hand side, you've got Laurent Gbagbo who says that he won the election back in November.

On the right-hand side is Alassane Ouattara. Now, this is the guy who the international community has backed and said he is the legitimate winner. What we're hearing is that his forces are going to go in there and seize him. He's with his family down in a bunker in the presidential palace.

They say they're going to get him out by force, bring him out. They don't want to hurt him. And then they'll figure out what to do with him.

He's increasingly isolated. Even his own army has said, we've had enough, key generals have defected. Today is going to be a decisive day.

VELSHI: Zain, he's got nothing left. I mean, he's got this group of soldiers who are loyal to him. Nobody in the world thinks he's the lawful president. What's he hanging on to?

VERJEE: He's hanging on to the fact that he thinks he is. He has a handful of supporters only. But all of his loyalists, Ali, have basically taken off. He is increasingly isolated. The pressure on him is huge. He's just saying, "I am not going to acknowledge that I lost the election."

There's no way. I mean, one person that we spoke to said, today, that, you know, he's losing his mind. There is no one around him. He's nuts. There's no way he can hang on.

CHETRY: And United Nations with their role in this -- France seeming to be, you know, the front -- at the front of all of this, trying to ease some transition. How much is he being moved by external pressures like the world body?

VERJEE: Massively. You know, everyone, the United States, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, the Organization of West African States called ECOWAS -- they're all telling him, "Get out. You lost." And he's refusing to go.

So, there's been this bloody battle in Ivory Coast. It's been months. You've got something like 500 people killed. A million people have taken off. It's all coming down to Abidjan and it's going to be, you know, a difficult situation for the people there. But they just want it to be over.

ROMANS: Kiran talks about the external pressures of this. This other external pressure, this is the Africa's fourth largest exporter --

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: -- behind South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria. Cocoa beans, you know, it has a very rich infrastructure of farming and production here. That's something that's been a fight, too. I mean, Ouattara's people have wanted to seize control of this, you know, shut down the ports. I mean, it's just been a disaster for some months now.

So, obviously, when they can get a transition, Zain, that will provide some stability for the economy and for the people of this country.

VERJEE: Exactly. They rely on cocoa as a major export and the fact that it has come to a halt has meant that a lot of people are suffering and the economy has come to a standstill here. So, the faster they get on with this, the more they can do that.

And for the United States, guys, this is crucial because the stability of this country, you know, is critical. If this situation is not handled in a way that is seen as being acceptable, you're going to have a lot of other stalemates in Africa like this, and the United States is worried because you want stability in Africa. They care about al Qaeda, they want to fight terrorism.

And also, you know, Nigeria is going to be facing elections soon, and that's a big oil producer for the United States, too. So, they need to see how this situation plays out and how it's handled.

ROMANS: All right. Zain Verjee, thank you so much.

You can watch Zain every morning at 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN.

VELSHI: OK. Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: some violent storms affecting 70 million people across a dozen states. Rob has got the extreme weather coming up right after the break.

CHETRY: Also, some concerns about the ozone layer suffering record damage, the greatest loss of ozone ever. We'll have details coming up.

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VELSHI: The ozone layer is suffering record damage this season, suffering at a 40 percent loss which is its greatest ever. Scientists say this is common during the winter. It's called the ozone hole. The destruction is in an all-time high, up 10 percent from last year.

The ozone layer protects us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. We learned this in school. It's lost -- if the loss of the ozone layer is too high, we could see an increase of skin cancer and cataracts which are both linked to harmful UVB rays.

CHETRY: All right. Rob Marciano is following the weather for us. What is the reason? Do they know why this is happening at alarming rate?

MARCIANO: You know, some liken it to climate change, of course, but the ozone thing has been a -- we haven't had a handle on it since we discovered it, basically, and we thought we were rebuilding it back, at least, in the southern hemisphere when we got rid of the stuff that you use to basically use hair spray and air freshener and things like that. But now, this -- what's showing up on the northern hemisphere, that's throwing up some question marks.

So, further studies certainly needed, and it's kind of a scary thing for sure. I'm going to talk about what's going on across the eastern half of the country. Looking at calmer weather today or more calm weather. That's good news. And temperatures, though, are going to be on the chilly side. Tell you that, especially across the south.

Frost advisories out for parts of the Carolinas down through North Georgia, mid to upper 30s right now, and temps might even be dropping a little bit more than that before the day is done here. Little bit farther than north, temperature actually may be a couple of degrees warmer in places like New York, 37 in New York, 35 degrees in Boston, and 31, 32 degrees, so almost freezing in Pittsburgh.

We got a little bit of moisture that's heading that way from the Western Great Lakes. So, we might see a mix of precip in through Pittsburgh, but generally speaking, this is a weak system. We're not looking for too much of a problem with this as we go through time. If you are traveling today, looking at some wind and that will cause some delays across the New York metro.

It's over an hour expected there. Houston and Dallas also looking for some wind with 30 to 60-minute delays today. It will rebound nicely. The sun is strong this time of year down across the south. Seventy degrees for the high temperature in Atlanta. First round of the Masters tomorrow. We'll try to update that forecast for you later on today. Fifty-seven degrees for the high temperature in New York City.

All right. Let's watch these next couple of systems as they roll across the U.S. Most of the storm track will be across the northern third and across the Great Lakes and then scooting across the Ohio River Valley, and this one that will be coming into the New York City area, around about early Saturday morning. This should be a fairly quick mover as well. It will have a little bit of precip with it but shouldn't be too drastic.

Let's talk long-term temperature outlook here. This is from the Climate Prediction Center, above-average temperatures expected across the south for the rest of the spring and below average temperatures expected across parts of the northern tier. And for the folks in the northeastern third of the country, you got an equal chance of seeing either or. How is that for a forecast? Guys, back up to you.

VELSHI: You covered a lot of ground there.

(LAUGHTER)

MARCIANO: Exactly.

CHETRY: You did. I love when you say this is a quick mover. By July, we'll have some nice weather here.

VELSHI: A quick mover every six hours. It doesn't feel like a quick mover. It feels like it's been raining and cold in New York City for weeks.

MARCIANO: Just got to roll with it, guys.

VELSHI: Thank you, my friend.

ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.

Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, they've probably already done more than you do all day long. Scientists studying people who need only a few hours of sleep.

CHETRY: I love this.

ROMANS: They can be energetic, outgoing and ambitious with just a few short hours of sleep.

CHETRY: I totally thought of you, Ali.

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: I love it.

CHETRY: They say that they actually have some borderline mania in them to be able to not need a lot of sleep.

VELSHI: We don't have to talk smack about me. ROMANS: Stay tuned everyone so you can yell at the TV in two minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): At first glance, this design looks more like art than architecture, but it could be an important piece in providing quick shelter to those in need.

DROR BENSHETRIT, DESIGNER: It can be used for all kinds of quick erected structure of all kinds.

WOLF: It's called Quadror, and it is the work of this designer, Dror Benshetrit.

BENSHETRIT: Really started by realizing that four identical L-shaped pieces like that when placed next to each other, you get this unit that is able to actually open up and create this geometrical locking.

WOLF: Those pieces can be set up and stacked without any additional parts or tools. Meaning the base structure for relief housing can be put together with little prep time, and Quadror's ability to fold flat makes it easy to transport, and its eco-friendly.

BENSHETRIT: The advantage is that you ship very little material, and you're using everything else from the local environment.

WOLF: The studio also works on art installations and interior design, but currently, they are working on building bigger concrete versions of the box. But for now, the focus is on helping those in need.

BENSHETRIT: We're now starting to set up relationship with different organization that will be able to utilize this geometry.

WOLF: Reynolds Wolf, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Parents have been told to lie babies on their backs when they put them to sleep, and researchers say the side effect of that is more babies now have flat heads.

VELSHI: You're kidding me, right?

ROMANS: I'm not kidding.

CHETRY: This happened to my poor cousin. My cousin, back of his head was completely flat because they do this in developing countries as well.

ROMANS: A new report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine says that, in fact, yes --

VELSHI: There are more flat headed babies? ROMANS: The number of cases increased 900 percent between 1999 and 2007. The recommendation was made in the early 1990s, of course, to prevent sudden infant death syndrome, and many people say it has really worked.

CHETRY: It has.

ROMANS: The incidence of SIDS is down sharply.

CHETRY: But they've changed, I mean, they've changed the recommendation. They want you to put your baby on the side and alternate sides. I mean, at least, that's what my pediatricians told me. So, you swaddle your new born and you place them on one side, then the next time you get up to feed them, you put them on the other for that very reason.

VELSHI: I would not have known that.

CHETRY: And actually, it is treatable. I mean, it's a cosmetic thing that they wear a little helmet for a while, and their heads can round out again.

VELSHI: Very interesting. All right.

CHETRY: If you get only a couple hours of sleep and you're still perky, you're still friendly, you're up --

VELSHI: Then, send us a resume because we might have a place for you on this job.

CHETRY: We desperately need you! But scientists actually are now studying the small group of people, only about 1 percent to 3 percent of the population, and they're known as short sleepers. VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: So, these are people that don't finally put their laptops down until after midnight, yet, they're usually the ones up before sunrise. They hit the gym when you're still standing around praying that your coffee maker will speed up. Tons of energy, they're always looking for something interesting to do. Researchers say that some short sleepers actually have hypomania. This is a mild form of mania with racing thoughts and few inhibitions.

VELSHI: So, if you sleep very little and you sleep naked, that could be hypomania.

CHETRY: Yes. I think, if you're allowed to wear clothes to in this study, but, yes. It's rare. So, again -- the reason they did this study is because they want to see is there any way this can be harnessed for the average person because how much would we love that.

VELSHI: And people in this area do tend to get into creative fields.

ROMANS: But let me be clear, most people who don't get a lot of sleep, most people who get few hours of sleep are actually sleep deprived. VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: So, these short sleepers have it good, but the rest of us doesn't work.

VELSHI: All right. Top stories coming your way after this break.

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