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American Morning
Middle East Unrest; YouTube's Makeover; A Look at Hospital Errors; Still No Government Deal After Late Night Talks; Tea Party on Government Shutdown; Trying to Stop an Explosion; Air Strikes in Ajdabiya; Singer John Legend and Samsung Team Up for Students
Aired April 07, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no reason why we should not to be able to complete the deal. There's no reason why we should have a government shutdown.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A late night at the White House for 11th-hour budget talks, but there's still no deal leaving our troops, and hundreds of thousands of Americans wondering if their paychecks are about to get cut off on this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday, April 7th.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: We're extremely chipper because that's what this feels like in the morning, but there is some serious stuff going on across this country. We are 40 hours away, perhaps, from a government shutdown. If they run on a platform or shrinking government, but many people in the tea party are saying bring on a government shutdown, and they could get their wish tomorrow night.
We'll show you how a government shutdown could interrupt your life, and more significantly perhaps, your cash flow.
ROMANS: Also, there's a 33 percent chance that the hospital could make a mistake on you. That's right, one in three. Elizabeth Cohen on a disturbing new study.
CHETRY: We should all be listening to that.
ROMANS: Terrifying.
CHETRY: I don't know if you guys do, but a lot of people like to watch TV on their PCs. Hand held devices. A lot of people say they're still not into it yet. You Tube will make a change, to look a lot more like your TV. We'll have more on that coming up as well.
VELSHI: Let's begin with the late night budget talks at the White House. And a morning after hangover for hundreds of thousands of Americans who could find their jobs furloughed in 41 hours if the government shuts down.
You're looking at a live shot of Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and their staffs once again trying to hammer out a spending plan before midnight tomorrow. The president met with the House speaker and the Senate majority leader last night, and he called the discussion "productive." John Boehner and Harry Reid emerged from the White House meeting together, and they struck the same cautiously optimistic tone that the president had.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I remain confident that, if we're serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown.
HARRY REID, (D-NV) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We've had a lot meeting with the president. It was very honest. We've narrowed the issues significantly, and we're going to continue working. I have confidence we can get this done. We're not there yet. But hope lies eternal.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: We did have a productive conversation this evening. We do have some honest differences, but I do think we made some progress. No one wants the government to shut down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Sure, when he says no one wants the government to shut down, it does seem that there are some people around there that think that a shutdown will achieve more than a deal.
CHETRY: There are some, but the majority no. Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live for us in Washington. Oftentimes we hear what they say in front of the microphone. Backroom deals are a different story. Is there any word that they believe this is actually going to happen in some 62 hours, or now 42 hours?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to tell. The bottom line is you're seeing them talk about positive meeting, productive. These are the positive tones that are being made publicly. That is what we're hearing behind the scenes sort of. And I think no one is saying for sure there's going to be a government shutdown, but you can't rule it out because the bottom line is there is no deal.
But we know they're talking. So what we're doing right now is we're focused on trying to find out throughout the hours today or through tomorrow, are we going to see any signs that they're coming to this agreement.
In the meantime, House Republicans are planning to put on the floor today a stopgap spending measure that will fund the government for another week. Here's the thing, though. The cuts are $12 billion in spending cuts over the course of that one week. This is pretty severe because we've seen Congress over the last several weeks making the cuts at a rate of $2 billion a week. This is six times that. The other thing is this bill would fund the defense department through the end of the year. And one of the biggest problems when it comes to what we call optics here in Washington, just sort of the visuals of a government shutdown, military men and women will be affected after Friday if the government shuts down. They wouldn't be paid.
Democrats and Republicans know this would look really bad. So you have House Republicans kind of double dog daring the Senate here saying try to vote against this or not take this up and not fund the troops.
VELSHI: Thanks very much. Obviously you'll be on top of this thing. If you have any breakthroughs just let us know.
ROMANS: You've seen the numbers, you've heard the sound-bites and all these talking points. But what do you think? Here's what people say about how a shutdown will interrupt their lives.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are people they're dealing with. Everyday people that try to do the best we can for ourselves and for our families. And working this is part of our everyday being. We have to work.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I don't come to work on Monday, I don't know how I'll pay my bills. They want me to tell my 3-year-old daughter in the meantime, that she'll have to eat retroactively when I get paid again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be difficult. I have a child, a young son. And my wife is also working in Congress. So we'll be without both of our incomes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: If the parties can't pass a spending Bill by midnight on Friday, here's your reality check of what it will look like. What is it going to mean to you exactly?
First of all, for starters, the IRS will close. That means many people waiting on refund checks will have to keep waiting. Processing of paper tax returns and refunds will have to stop. And you'll have those electronic filings, refunds will continue.
Social Security checks will still go out. So seniors who are concerned about this, remember, your Social Security check will still come. Medicare also will pay claims. That will continue to fund.
And Congress, aren't you all so happy? Congress will still get paid. Now, if the government shuts down for an extended period of time, then we've got other issues that are really concerning in this debate. Defense Department says troops including those fighting in Afghanistan and in Iraq will not be paid at least on time. They'll continue to accrue their pay, but they will not be paid on time. It will be devastating for small business. The government will not be able to back up loans for small businesses. And for struggling homeowners also you've got the government backing of mortgages. That's about a third of the entire mortgage market. The processing of those loans would be suspended.
Also, the government is still though -- and this is important -- still going to make sure that its federal funding of the school lunch program continues. That will remain the same.
In all, what you have here is a big impact on everything. Pay the troops, the IRS, small business loans, government-backed mortgages, all these thing would be halted. Social Security payments, seniors, I want to be clear, your check will still coming, but if you're applying for new disability, it could be delayed. Medicare is still funded.
CHETRY: Christine, thank you. So we'll talk more about this impact if this indeed does happen some 40 hour from now.
Meanwhile, another disturbing story about your safety in the air. Snoozing at the controls again -- another air traffic controller asleep on the job, and this time it was actually a scheduled five-hour nap apparently. It happened at McGhee Tyson airport. This is in Knoxville, Tennessee. This is back in February. One controller left to take a nap while the other landed seven planes on his own. Yesterday at a Congressional hearing FAA administrator Randy Babbitt admitted they knew about it and they are dealing with it.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have there been other instances of the same thing happening?
RANDY BABBITT, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, sir. We actually -- disappointed to say in our investigation, we did find another incident, different than this one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just one?
BABBITT: Yes, sir, just one. It was unfortunately willful. And we are in the process of disciplinary proceeding which will terminate this employee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The FAA also released a statement about this saying the FAA will not tolerate this type of unprofessional and inappropriate behavior. The agency is committed to ensuring the safety of the traveling public and is conducting a review of the air traffic control system including its overnight staffing. That news comes after that incident at Reagan national airport in which the only controller on duty on an overnight shift fell asleep and two planes ended up having to land on their own.
A manhunt in Alabama this morning is over after a suspect in a deadly shooting turned himself in in a very strange fashion. Police say that this suspect, Thomas Franklin May, was arrested after he calmly walked up to a TV crew covering the story and said "I'm the guy you're looking for." He's accused of killing one woman and injuring three others including a woman in her 90s and a four-year-old child on the campus of Southern Union community college in Atlanta.
VELSHI: A wildfire raging right now in Oklahoma, an evacuation has been ordered in Spencer outside of Oklahoma City where flames jumped several roads. They reportedly burned several homes. More than 250 firefighters were called in. They're scrambling as wind gusts kept changing directions and the flames kept going in different decks yesterday.
ROMANS: The masters get under way this morning at Augusta national. Ever year at golf's first major there's a fun par three tournament on Wednesday before the event begins. Take a look at Craig Stadler on the first hole yesterday. Unbelievable.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: That's a 130-yard par three. This man known as the Walrus, he won't be needing his putter. That's a hole in one. They play for real today. Phil Mickelson is the favorite. Whoa.
CHETRY: That feels so great, so rare.
ROMANS: You're like, did everybody see that? Did everything see that?
Still ahead, YouTube sets it sights on TV. Details on how it plans to compete with cable.
CHETRY: Also, a new presidential poll has Donald Trump on the rise as he decides to step in in 2012. We'll show you how he ranks right now with the rest of the Republican field. It's nine minutes after the hour.
VELSHI: And Grammy award winning artist John Legend is teaming with Samsung on a new technology initiative in America's schools. John Legend will talk about what he has going on. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. It's 12 minutes past the hour. I want to bring you up to date on the latest from Libya. More air strikes taking place in the past hour. Our Nic Robertson is reporting explosions near Tripoli, and our Ben Wedeman in the eastern part of the country says at least two people were killed in an air strike on an opposition convoy. This was near the Libyan town of Brega. It's still unclear if that was a NATO strike or pro Gadhafi forces.
Meantime, Moammar Gadhafi sent a letter to President Obama yesterday, a rambling three-page letter. In it he pleaded with him to stop the NATO bombings. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says if Gadhafi wants the bombings to stop, he needs to give up power and get out of Libya. So how will all of this play out? Here to discuss this is former NATO aide Damon Wilson. Thanks for joining us. This letter is quite interesting. He called President Obama "Our son." He wished him well on his next re-election campaign. And then he urged him to stop the NATO bombings. What was the goal of Gadhafi sending this?
DAMON WILSON, FORMER TOP AIDE TO NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: The goal, the letter, it really was a plea. The letter demonstrates that Gadhafi is either profoundly misunderstands the United States and President Obama or signals that this is in fact a delusional leader. But either way, this was a plea. He recognizes his options are limited and he's looking for a way out.
CHETRY: And again, I think the French weighed in this morning about the situation saying the only way out for him to "a," agree to give up power and "b," leave the country. How will those talks take place if they do indeed happen?
WILSON: This is something that he controls within his own power. He's had the opportunity with indirect talks. Representative Curt Weldon has been there. The secretary-general of the United Nations has appointed a special rep with whom he can have these conversations as well. If he's prepared to leave, if he's prepared to get out, there's a pathway available to him.
CHETRY: You mentioned former congressman Curt Weldon. This is an interesting side issue here that he's in Tripoli. The administration took pains to sort of distance themselves and say he's not going on behalf of the administration, but he wrote an interesting op-ed saying that he's basically trying to broker a cease-fire and get Gadhafi to step down. What do you make of that?
WILSON: It is a little strange in this context. I'm glad that this is an unofficial visit, not part of administration's explicit policy. But that said, Curt Weldon has forged a relationship with Moammar Gadhafi over the years. I think this is actually his fifth trip to Libya. And while he's got a range of interests there, close ties to the family, business interests, frankly, in this circumstance I hope he's using them to encourage Gadhafi to leave and to leave now.
CHETRY: One of the things he said that perhaps some would take issue with is that Gadhafi's son, Seif, could play a, quote, "constructive role in the transition." Now, at one time he was thought of as a reformer. When this fighting started to take place, he said there would be blood, rivers of blood in the streets if people try to rise up against the administration. Could there be a role for Gadhafi's son in anything going forward?
WILSON: I don't see that. I don't envision that. But frankly, I don't really think that's our decision, Curt Weldon's decision. That's a decision for the Libyan people. And I think the Libyan transition council has been quite clear, they see no role in a future Libya for Gadhafi or his sons.
CHETRY: I want to ask you about Yemen as well. You have the NS (ph) International calling for the international community to play a more active role in what's going on there, investigating the deaths of protesters in that country and, of course, also trying to, I guess, get some transition out for Abdullah Saleh. Do you see military intervention for the U.S. with a larger community in Yemen?
WILSON: You know, I don't. Yemen is a quite complicated situation. And it's far more complex I'd say than Libya. The prospect of using military force in Yemen is a far more complex undertaking.
If you look at Libya, the United States and its European allies had their military infrastructure forces laid out across the Mediterranean in such a way that this is actually a fairly, a more straightforward military planning operation. Libyan forces can concentrate along the coast. In Yemen, you're dealing with a much more complex situation. A history of a civil war, division between north and south, an active insurgency on the northern border with Saudi Arabia.
CHETRY: Right.
WILSON: Real differences within the ranks of the government and a strong Al Qaeda presence. It's a much more complicated situation, much more difficult to bring assets to bear. And frankly, this is an area where we've seen our European allies step up in Libya. They wouldn't be in such a position to step up in any type of scenario in Yemen. So I think we're really quite focused more on the diplomatic, economic and political tracks and how to help ease a transition in Yemen.
CHETRY: You're right. It poses a lot of difficulties especially with us giving money to help them fight Al Qaeda within their country, yet also saying we'd be OK with the president leaving. So, a tough situation.
Damon Wilson, executive vice president of Atlantic Council and also a former top aide to NATO secretary general, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
WILSON: Thank you. My pleasure.
CHETRY: Ali?
VELSHI: Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, a new study on the number of patients who have been victims of mistakes at our nation's hospitals. Wow, I thought we knew the story.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: These numbers surprise me.
ROMANS: We're working on this for 10 years.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And the number continues to just shock.
OK. And they promised a smaller government even if it means shutting it down. Why some in the Tea Party say a government shutdown will teach Washington a lesson.
It's 17 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour right now. Some big changes in the works for YouTube. You know all this technology stuff. It's changing every day.
Alison Kosik is "Minding Your Business." There are still people who are not comfortable with the notion of watching TV on their computer.
VELSHI: Yes, one of them sitting right next to you.
CHETRY: You have an iPad right in front of you.
VELSHI: I don't watch TV there.
ROMANS: I watch TV on TV.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What YouTube is trying to do is kind of latch on to the fact that people actually may one day watch their online content on TV.
VELSHI: Right.
KOSIK: So YouTube wants to tap into that. And they don't just want you to go on for those viral videos of the cute babies and the dogs doing handstands on their heads. You know, they really want you to grab some popcorn, pull up a chair, stay a while because you know what, it's all about ad dollars and they want to start producing original programming that can bring in advertisers.
You know, YouTube at this point hasn't turned a profit. This really could be the linchpin. And the focus at least as this sort of phases in is going to be on arts and sports channels. They really want to focus on having hours, several hours of content. So advertisers want to advertise on there.
Right now, here's what's kind of interesting, something that may interest all of us. You know what? YouTube is talking with -- I'm hearing -- top talent agencies about possibly getting headliners to have their own channels. But the way it may really go is production houses may wind up making, you know, this original programming content to lure viewers in.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: Wow.
VELSHI: Because ultimately if you're a production house, you start to become agnostic. As long as somebody is buying your product and it's going out somewhere, it doesn't really matter whether it's on Bravo or it's, you know, ultimately on YouTube because --
KOSIK: Sure. VELSHI: -- clearly YouTube has shown that as many people or more will see what you've got on there.
KOSIK: Oh, exactly. And, you know, this opens up a whole new round for entrepreneurs.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: Yes.
KOSIK: We're looking for their stuff on TV.
All right.
CHETRY: I'm surprised though that they're not making a profit. Because aren't they doing ad sharing with people?
KOSIK: They are.
CHETRY: I'm surprised they're not --
KOSIK: Executives say they're close. Fingers crossed close.
All right. Talking about money, let's talk about money from yesterday.
Stocks had -- we had green arrows yesterday. That's the news. It looks like we're seeing a little buy on the rumored sell on the news, perhaps. The thinking is that corporate profits coming in next week are going to look good, so everybody is kind of buying into the market. At least until the numbers come out and then we probably will see them sell.
ROMANS: All right, Alison Kosik. Thanks, Alison.
KOSIK: Thanks.
ROMANS: Next on AMERICAN MORNING, can't live without your morning cup of Joe? It turns out that that craving may be genetic. We're going to tell you about this new study.
CHETRY: And every single person has that gene that I know.
More companies were warning that your e-mail could be in the hands of hackers. You brought you the story before. We have an update for you on just how wide this is starting to get.
VELSHI: Twenty-three minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Time now for an a.m. house call, stories about your health.
Coffee. All right. The craving that you're having right now, the reason for it may be in your DNA. A new study --
ROMANS: We need a study for that?
VELSHI: Exactly. A new study found not one but two genes linked to caffeine intake. Researchers say they made the discovery by comparing genes in caffeine consumption of more than 47,000 people. That feels like work might have been directed somewhere else.
CHETRY: Right. Caffeine gets a bad rap. You need it.
VELSHI: I'm fine with it.
CHETRY: In small amounts to pep you up. Well --
VELSHI: So do calories, by the way.
CHETRY: Yes, I know. Calories get a bad rap. Around here, we love them.
There's a new iPhone app. It's called meal snap. And this is interesting for trying to, you know, keep a handle on what you eat.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: It gives users the calorie count in food items that they photograph.
ROMANS: Wow.
CHETRY: For each photo, you get a ballpark calorie figure for one serving of the item pictured.
VELSHI: It's always those ones that you don't think are really fatty. So I wonder if that fools the camera, too, or they can say that.
CHETRY: You know, they'll take a picture of your chicken wing, they will tell you it's bad.
VELSHI: All right.
ROMANS: Yes.
OK. There's some staggering news this morning about the amount of medical mistakes being made in hospitals across the country. A new study says hospital errors may be 10 times higher than previously thought, affecting one in three patients.
VELSHI: Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta with the details on this.
Elizabeth, we're pretty surprised by these numbers.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. The numbers are very high. Now other studies have found much lower, as you just pointed out. Other studies have found in this ballpark. What they did is they used a new way of analyzing when things go wrong at the hospital. Because when things go wrong, sometimes doctors will say, oh, it was just kind of fate, that was just the way it happened. But this is -- maybe not. Maybe it's because mistakes are being made.
CHETRY: Are these small oversights or things that actually really can harm the patient?
COHEN: You know, it really runs the gamut. And let's take a look at some of the most common ones that they found in the study, Kiran.
For example, they found that medication errors were the most common mistake that happened in hospitals. So, for example, the medicine that you got was actually meant for the person in the bed next to you. Or you got the wrong dosage. Also, bad surgical outcomes. You know, the surgery didn't go well. Sometimes that's just unavoidable. But other times, they say, the ones that they identified were really because of something that the doctor or the nurse should have done differently. Also, hospital infections. Many, many times, some people would say nearly all times that you get an infection in the hospital, it could have been prevented. Someone didn't do something they should have done, and that's why you got the infection.
ROMANS: Here's where money comes into play because, you know, hospital infections are so expensive. That now insurance companies and even Medicare and Medicaid programs are telling hospitals, look, we're not going to pay. If it's your fault that there's a hospital infection, we're not paying for that. Suddenly, the hope is that they clean up their act. What can you do if you're in the hospital? How can you avoid something happening like this?
COHEN: Right. There are certain steps that you can take. So let's take a look at things you can do.
So, since medication errors were the most common both in this study and in others, when you get that medication in the hospital, you or your loved one who's there with you check that bottle or check that I.V. bag, make sure it has your name on it. I know that sounds so stupid, but really it does happen. Make sure the dosage is right. Make sure that you're getting it at the right time. Ask in advance, what time am I supposed to get that medication? And just doing that can avoid a lot of errors.
Another thing you could do, ask doctors and nurses to wash their hands. If someone walks in your room and you don't see them wash their hands, ask them to wash their hands. It's so crucial. And also, get catheters out. You see that on that list. If you got a catheter in you, ask every day, when can this come out. Those catheters are great places to get infections.
VELSHI: Elizabeth is so good because Elizabeth tells you things that you would think you shouldn't do because you're just going to be come across like a pain.
ROMANS: Well, you know, and senior citizens sometimes, they just by nature, they don't want to talk back to the doctor. So sometimes that means you have to do it. You have to be there with your mother or grandmother or grandfather in saying, "No, no. Did you wash your hands, please humor me? Can you just wash your hands? And when can we get this catheter out? It's great information. Thank you so much. Elizabeth Cohen.
COHEN: Thanks.
VELSHI: For the latest medical news, 24/7, go to CNN.com/health.
CHETRY: Well, your top stories now.
COHEN: Great. Thank you.
CHETRY: Thanks, Elizabeth.
Meaning, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will have their jobs furloughed and the troops will see their paychecks interrupted.
VELSHI: A dramatic rescue in Ivory Coast. Laurent Gbagbo remains holed up in an underground bunker refusing to surrender this morning. French forces air lifted the Japanese minister. That's what you're looking at here. The Japanese ambassador from his residence after it was stormed by Gbagbo's troops. Opposition forces say they plan to attack Gbagbo's residence again today to try to remove him. But he can't seem to be wedged from out of that bunker. Gbagbo lost a November election but refuses to give up power.
And a spreading wildfire right now in Oklahoma. There's an evacuation order in effect for one community just outside of Oklahoma City. The flames have jumped several roads. We're getting reports now that at least four homes have been burned.
CHETRY: Well, a Tea Party helped bring the GOP back into power in the House with the promise that they would shrink the government, cut wasteful spending. Well, now, many in the party are saying a promise is a promise. And if the government has to shut down, that may not be the worst thing.
ROMANS: But a new Gallup poll shows that close to two-thirds of Americans don't agree with the government shutdown. 58 percent want to compromise. 33 percent say hold on. Jim Acosta is live in Washington. Jim, this isn't necessarily Democrats versus Republicans. It's Republicans versus Republicans.
VELSHI: Right.
JIM COSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. If you had a poll up that showed what tea partiers think, you'd get very different numbers on whether or not members of Congress should compromise here. Leaders in both parties have said time and again, they don't want a government shutdown. But some in the Tea Party hope that is exactly what happens, saying it will teach Washington a lesson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut it down! Shut it down!
ACOSTA (voice-over): As the clock ticks toward a shutdown, the Tea Party is turning up the heat. At a rally near the steps of the capitol, conservative activists urged Republicans to stand and fight. (on camera): You would support a government shutdown?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. It is time for taxpayers to take back the government. Let's shut it down for a few days. It's not going to come to a catastrophic end.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Indiana Republican Mike Pence was right there with them.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: The liberals in the Senate would rather play political games and force a government shutdown instead of accepting a modest down payment on fiscal discipline and reform. I say shut it down.
ACOSTA: But not all tea partiers are sure that's a good idea, despite appearances.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut 'er down.
ACOSTA (on camera): You're saying shut the government down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to shut the government down. I'm making a point.
ACOSTA: And what is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to get serious about cutting our budget.
ACOSTA: Why hold a sign that says "shut 'er down," if you don't want to shut 'er down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm making a point.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Republican Michele Bachmann also stopped short of calling for shutdown telling CNN she thinks a deal will happen.
(on camera): Do you think we're going to get to a shutdown, congresswoman? What are you thinking?
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: I actually think that we will see a resolution by Friday. I think that in all likelihood, it will happen.
ACOSTA (voice-over): That would be good news for thousands of federal employees who would be deemed nonessential by their agencies and furloughed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm concerned, concerned about the delay, concerned about being able to pay my mortgage. I'm concerned about being able to pay my bills.
ACOSTA: Democrats point out some of those workers perform critical tasks, like medical researchers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know you're working on that cure for cancer. I know you're working on that cure for Alzheimer's or autism or arthritis, sticking just with the "a" words. But you know what? Washington, the Congress says "You're nonessential."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: As for those calls to shut it down, even Republican Mike Pence is showing some wiggle room this morning. The Tea Party favorite released a statement yesterday saying "He could sign on to another stop gap spending measure to avoid one of the big consequences of a shutdown." That is military troops not getting their pay on time, guys.
VELSHI: All right. We'll watch this closely. Jim, thanks very much.
Jim Acosta in Washington. Of course, all our troops in Washington watching what's happening.
ROMANS: Right ahead on "American Morning," trying to stop an explosion. A new move by crews in Japan at one of the severely damaged nuclear reactors. We'll tell you what they're trying now in this last ditch attempt to keep this under control.
CHETRY: Also, deadly air strikes taking place just hours ago in Libya. An opposition convoy may have mistakenly been hit by NATO war planes. We're going to check in with correspondents there.
It's 35 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: We have breaking news from eastern Libya, Ajdabiya, where Ben Wedeman is on the phone right now, in a hospital. He told us about what sounded and appeared to be air strikes. What can you tell us now about the situation there, what appears to be happening, Ben?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): We're at a hospital where there are at least 10 wounded and at least two dead.
(INAUDIBLE)
ROMANS: OK. Ben, we can't - I'm sorry. Our connection, the cell phone connection appears to be pretty rocky.
VELSHI: I heard two deaths and 10 wounded.
ROMANS: He told us that he was at a hospital in Ajdabiya where he's watching people come in after these air strikes.
CHETRY: Right. And the big question right now is who launched the air strikes. Was it Gadhafi forces or was it an accidental missed target on the part of NATO. That's what he was trying to get to the bottom of. But we'll check in with him once we have a better connection.
VELSHI: His view of this is how would it be Libyan forces doing that -
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: Because much of their if not all of their air strike capability is supposedly -
ROMANS: And there's concern among the rebel forces, they feel that they're becoming targets and now accidentally and that there's some sort of disconnect with how they're actually engaging in these air strikes. We'll check in to get more information for you from Ben Wedeman near Ajdabiya hospital there.
VELSHI: All right. New in Japan. Officials at the badly damaged nuclear power plant now say that levels of radiation in the seawater are dropping dramatically. This is a crews are trying to prevent a possible blowup. They're now shooting nitrogen into the reactor core at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. That's a move to try and stop a hydrogen explosion but the plant denied that there's any immediate danger.
ROMANS: And in Libya, Reuters now reporting that at least five people have been killed in an air strike on an opposition convoy near the town of Brega in eastern Libya. Now this is what we were telling you about. We were talking to Ben Wedeman at the hospital there, trying to get the details. He said 10 wounded who came in and two deaths. Ben says it's still not clear whether the aircraft belong to NATO or pro Gadhafi forces. Meantime, in Tripoli, allied planes launched new attacks overnight on Gadhafi troops in the capital, the central part of Tripoli.
CHETRY: For the 16th day in a row now, gas prices jumped again overnight. AAA says that they went up another two cents a gallon. National average now $3.73 for a gallon of regular. Gas prices are now up 20 percent over this same time last year.
VELSHI: Everybody's feeling that.
Donald Trump up in the polls for president. A new "NBC-Wall Street Journal" poll has "The Donald" tied for second place in the race for the Republican nomination. He's tied, by the way, with Mike Huckabee. As you can see trailing Mitt Romney by four points. Among Tea Party supporters, Trump finished first in the poll. He hasn't officially declared he's running but he's getting a lot of headlines this week by questioning President Obama's birthplace.
CHETRY: Right. He actually went on to say, I think in this interview that he had people on the ground and he was going to be looking in Hawaii to look into the circumstances surrounding our president's birth.
VELSHI: What did Gadhafi say in the letter to President Obama?
ROMANS: In the three pages of rambling -
VELSHI: He called him our son or something. That's just going to confuse the mix now.
CHETRY: Not helpful. VELSHI: Right. All right. For all these polling (INAUDIBLE), head to cnnpolitics.com. I really shouldn't have said that because I didn't really want to imply anything there. People seem to pick up on trends about the president.
ROMANS: I'm telling you there's no way to win, with the White House, the president, Hawaiian officials, everybody has said from top to bottom there is no question that this man was born in this country, an American citizen. But it goes on and on.
CHETRY: That's why it's interesting that Donald Trump is going down that road. But anyway, again the poll is a poll. He's tied for second.
Up next on "American Morning," getting ready to fork out more money if you're renting an apartment. We were just talking about how this may be getting cheaper to rent but maybe not.
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: It's 41 minutes past the hour.
ROMANS: And when he's not winning Grammys John Legend is fighting poverty through education with his "Show Me" campaign. He's here this morning with us to talk about his million-dollar partnership.
VELSHI: He's here?
ROMANS: Yes, he is. Talking education, science, technology in America's schoolrooms. Samsung partnership.
VELSHI: There he is.
ROMANS: 41 minutes past the hour.
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VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid working late into the night on a budget deal. The government is facing a possible shutdown if a compromise cannot be reached by midnight on Friday.
Verizon, J. Crew, Chase and Victoria Secret are sending out warnings that their customers e-mail addresses may have also ended up in the wrong hands after last week's security breach at an e-mail marketing firm.
Colorado State University, a leading center for storm forecasting predicting there will be five major hurricanes that will form in the Atlantic this season. They're calling that above average.
And since more people are choosing to rent instead of buy, demand for apartments is up and so is the rent. The national average now $991 a month.
The defense has rested in the trial of baseball slugger Barry Bonds. The case should go to the jury today. Bonds is charged with lying to a grand jury about his alleged steroid use.
And Phil Mickelson is the favorite to win the third green jacket at the Masters this week. Tiger Woods is in the field, too. Seeking his fifth Masters title.
Well, you're caught up on the day's headlines. "American Morning" is back in 60 seconds.
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ROMANS: Daunting New York rain.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: I sleep with my rain boots on now. There's no point in taking them of off.
ROMANS: It's 15 minutes to the top of the hour. Bonnie Schneider is in Atlanta at the Extreme Weather Center and she's going to tell us what we need to know to get your day started this morning, Bonnie.
VELSHI: I got up way to early this morning. I bought online a pair of galoshes and stuff to protect my shoes from getting wet because I've just given in, it's too wet -- Bonnie.
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CHETRY: Top stories just minutes away, including the living legend, Jane Goodall. The world's foremost expert on chimps is here. She's followed her dreams right to the jungles of Africa and now she has a children's book based on her life saying, kids, don't give up on your dreams.
It's 47 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: That was actually a clip of John Legend performing at our Heroes event, the CNN Heroes event. Grammy-winning artist John Legend taking his message about trying to change the world from CNN Heroes to now schools across the country. And he's teamed up with Samsung. What they want to do is they want to try to boost the next generation of mathematicians, of engineers, of computer scientists, all key jobs to get ahead as we move into the next, basically, generation, through a video submission contest with $1 million in prizes.
ROMANS: It's called the Solve for Tomorrow Initiative and joining us to talk about how it works and why it's important, singer John Legend, and David Steel, executive vice president of Samsung.
First of all, why did you do this and what was sort of -- explain to me the point behind the video project and what you found?
JOHN LEGEND, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER: Well, the exciting thing about this is Samsung inspired these young people to be creative and say, convince us why you deserve this technology. We're going to give $1 million worth of technology to schools around the country. Show us why you deserve us at your school.
And so these kids made videos. They talked about local issues and how science and math related to those local issues and how they could do something about it. And they really were inspired to be creative and reach high for this great technology they were going to receive. And they did such a great job, the finalists and the winners were awesome.
CHETRY: And, you know, we need more kids like this. When you take a look at how we are in this country and where we lag and when you put up the numbers, the U.S. lags internationally in both math and science, unfortunately --
LEGEND: And reading and all kinds of things.
CHETRY: Right. Unfortunately, yes. But you guys are trying to focus on these, as they call them, STEM jobs. But 17th in science, 25th in math in the latest testing.
David, how do you hope that this program, as well as others, can sort of help people in the U.S., help these kids move up on that list?
DAVID STEEL, SAMSUNG EXECUTIVE VP: So a lot of it, we think, is about making it exciting. It's about taking stem out of the classroom, not being a formal learning environment, but getting kids outside and realizing that STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are really behind everything we do. So, you go out, you look at the community around you and think about how you can apply science and math. And that makes it more cool.
CHETRY: If you like your iPhone, somebody really, really smart thought about that.
ROMANS: But also the environment, too. A lot of these kids were turning in videos that had an environmental focus or renewable energy. You think of the green technology field, that's science, math, engineering and technology. So, you found a big focus among young people about renewable energy and this, didn't you?
Tell me a little bit about that.
STEEL: Yes. So we find kids in general are getting much more interested in the environment. There are more environmental science courses being taught, for example. And teachers want to use that as a way of getting kids excited. So we had kids looking at water quality, look at carbon emissions, all sorts of different issues because it really brings home to them what science is about.
ROMANS: Imagine with Japan now, the kinds of conversations that are happening in science and technology classrooms across the country where people -- we're all trying to understand, again, the background of nuclear energy and cleanups and all of that stuff. So there's a lot of current -- I mean, it's just interesting that that's the trend that kids are seeing.
CHETRY: Yes. But John, I want to ask you because you're famous for being a musician.
LEGEND: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean, kids look up to you. They know John Legend's coming to the school, John Legend's helping out with this contest. It's because they love that you're a superstar, a superstar musician.
How do you convince them that, you know, you can also be a role model, or you can also do something great by maybe focusing on something like science?
LEGEND: Well, I speak to schools all the time and one of the things I tell the kids is that most of you will not become successful musicians. Most of you will not become successful athletes. And most of the successful people that I know aren't famous. And the reason why they're successful is because they got a great education and they're successful at doing jobs that no one talks about every day. But they have a nice car, they have a nice house because they got a great education.
CHETRY: Well you also got a great education. That's the other thing kids should know.
LEGEND: Sure. CHETRY: You went to an Ivy League school.
LEGEND: Absolutely. I went to University of Pennsylvania and I actually loved math in high school. I had some great math teachers and I think I was inspired by them just as much as I was inspired by people in liberal arts and music.
ROMANS: All right. Well, we know we need inspiration in our education system. There's no question about that.
David Steel, John Legend, thanks both of you very much.
CHETRY: Great to talk to you.
And, as we know, you guys are going to have widdle this all down.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: We're going to continue to follow you on our social networking, as well. I mean, this contest is getting a lot of the attention and we are glad.
So, thanks for joining us.
LEGEND: Thank you very much.
STEEL: Thank you. ROMANS: All right. Top stories coming your way after a very quick break.
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