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American Morning
New Battle Looms In Congress Over Federal Government's Debt Ceiling; Japan Hit By 6.6 Aftershock; Budget Battle Part II; Pumped up Gas Prices; Peace Talks in Libya; Gadhafi Ready for Peace Talks; Peanut Allergy Protest
Aired April 11, 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)
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The federal government opened for business this morning after the last-minute deal to avoid a shutdown on Friday. Now, congress is bracing for a new, much bigger budget fight still to come on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It's Monday, April 11th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Glad you're with us this morning. We have a lot to talk about. First, unfortunately, gas prices up again, the cost for a gallon of regular nearing prices that we haven't seen in almost three years. We're going to tell you what it means for your family and the economy and whether they're going to head even higher as we enter summer.
VELSHI: A Florida first grader with a severe peanut allergy is the subject of protests over steps the school is taking to protect her. We first told you about this a couple weeks ago. Your reaction has been phenomenal to the story. We'll talk to the little girl's father later this hour.
ROMANS: And congratulations, you've been accepted, three words that can be a dream for high school seniors, that is until the reality of tuition sets in. So how can you and your family pay for college, save for college without breaking the bank? We'll show you how to save.
VELSHI: A big week ahead in Washington. A new budget battle looms over raising the nation's debt ceiling. It took $38.5 billion in cuts to avoid a shutdown last week. Now Democrats and Republicans in Congress have to deal with the next problem, a $14 trillion problem.
CHETRY: The national debt currently $14.21 trillion and growing. Next month it will hit $14.29 trillion. We could go on and on. But that is the limit set by Congress on how much they can go up to that, how much they can borrow. President Obama wants Congress to raise it and Republicans are now pushing back. ROMANS: Kate Bolduan is live from the White House in a moment, but first up Brianna Keilar I son the new lines of the budget fight. She joins us from Washington.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, I guess that was a $38.5 billion appetizer, because the week ahead of us is going to be a pretty crazy week.
Today we're going to be getting details on the $38.5 billion in spending cuts. We're going to figure out what is being cut. And then we're going to be spending Tuesday, or today and Tuesday and into Wednesday, having a chance to read the bill as will members of the American public, as will Democrats and Republicans in Congress who haven't seen the details.
The House is going to be voting on the cuts, the 2011 budget on Wednesday. Expect the Senate to follow suit on Thursday. We will be seeing debate on already the 2012 budget. This is proposed by the chairman of the House budget committee, Paul Ryan. It's very controversial. It aims to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid, and we're going to be seeing a lot of rhetoric on that, Christine.
ROMANS: Thanks, Brianna.
CHETRY: President Obama is set to unveil the details of his plan to try to reduce the national deficit and tackle the debt as well on Wednesday. CNN's Kate Bolduan is live at the White House this morning with more on this. Hi, Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Of course we're done with one battle over the budget in the short term and now we're all looking at the long term problem. President Obama, as you mentioned, he's going to be making an announcement on Wednesday of his proposal of how to take on the country's long-term deficits and debt. No easy issue to take on as we know.
His senior adviser, David Plouffe, made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows yesterday to kind of tee up and set the stage for the president's announcement this week. Listen here to a little bit of him.
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DAVID PLOUFFE, CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA: We clearly have to do more. You have to look at savings you might get in Medicare and Medicaid. He said Social Security is not a contributor to the short-term deficit problem. But in the process of talking about our fiscal situation and government, we ought to look if there's a way to strengthen Social Security for the long term that doesn't endanger anybody who's a current beneficiary or slash benefits. Defense spending, domestic spending, revenues will have to be part of this.
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BOLDUAN: You see there David Plouffe kind of laying out some of what we will be hearing about in the said announcement. It still remains unclear of how specific the president will be or more broad, setting more goals or principles in working with Congress on this.
But obviously the battle ahead in this, of course, David Plouffe did mention, we should note, this will be a marked difference, sharp departure from the Paul Ryan plan that Brianna mentioned, and David Plouffe saying candidly the Ryan plan doesn't have a chance of becoming law.
We'll see how this plays out when the president makes his announcement Wednesday. It's also set against the back drop of why the push now. You know this, Congress now needs to vote to raise the debt ceiling, and that, of course, is on top of the mind of this administration.
CHETRY: The larger issue, why that debate, why gear up for a fight now. There are some Republicans who say the president had to be dragged kicking and screaming to talk about reducing the deficit. It's an election year.
BOLDUAN: Exactly. And you know, the White House will say from the White House position, they'll say he hasn't been drug kicking and screaming. They say he set out a strong plan in his 2012 budget proposal, Republicans very quickly criticize any idea of taking on long-term deficits and debt was markedly, they say noticeably absent from the budget proposal. You will give the left, right, middle side, they're taking on this battle now and going to be a fierce one.
VELSHI: Kate, thanks very much.
Another earthquake has rocked northern Japan. It was a 6.6 magnitude and forced workers at the severely damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima to evacuate. Police say there are landslides in the area, three homes have been buried, four people trapped inside.
This latest quake hit exactly a month after the deadly earthquake and tsunami of March 11th. Today the Japanese people are holding somber ceremonies to mark the anniversary in Tokyo and Sendai -- Sendai was one of the hardest hit activities. All activity stopped as people held hands and bowed their head for a moment of silence. The death toll stands at 13,116 dead, 14,377 missing.
And the situation is growing more tense at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Official are planning to widen the evacuation zone around the crippled plant as workers struggle to get control of six reactors to stop radiation from leaking into the atmosphere. Right now the evacuation zone is 12 miles, but dangerous levels of radiation are being recorded more than 25 miles from the plant.
CHETRY: There's talk right now of a cease-fire in Libya. Whether that turns to action still remains to be seen, but Moammar Gadhafi is saying he's ready, at least the agreement with the African Union is calling a, quote, road map to peace that ends fighting, allows for humanitarian aid to be delivered, and also begins talks with rebel leaders. But it's still unclear, does that mean Gadhafi will step down? The rebel army has insisted on that. The long-time dictator has called for unilateral cease-fires before only to continue attacks against his own people.
NATO strikes help the Libyan rebels regain control of a key city. Gadhafi's forces were pushed back when nearly a dozen tanks were destroyed in Ajdabiya, considered the gateway to Benghazi, Libya's second largest city and home base for the rebels.
ROMANS: Parts of the upper Midwest are bracing for another day of violent weather. The town of Mapleton, Iowa, will have to be rebuilt after a tornado, a quarter mile wide tornado, leveled more than half of the town this weekend, the twister's nighttime furry captured on tape.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a pretty strong-looking nighttime tornado. Two of them, dual funnels, look at that.
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ROMANS: Amazing, the lightning flashes, lighting up the width of those funnels there. Iowa's governor declared Mapleton a disaster area. No deaths have been reported.
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ROMANS: Tiger roared briefly, as they say, but it was the son of a South African chicken farmer who got to wear the famous green jacket as 26-year-old Charl Schwartzel is your 2011 Masters champion. He birdied the final four holes in Augusta to win by two shots over a couple Australians, Adam Scott and Jason Day.
For a brief moment it looked like Tiger Woods might take home his fifth green jacket. He started the final round seven shots back, but made a charge on the front nine and had a share of the lead for a moment.
VELSHI: That was the roar.
ROMANS: That was the roar. And then the whimper happened. He faded down the stretch. It's now 18 months since tiger's last victory.
VELSHI: Another battle -- one budget battle down, another big one to go. This time we're talking trillions instead of mere billions that almost brought us to the brink of a shutdown.
ROMANS: A plane carrying four people goes up in flames after it smashes into a building. Surprisingly all four people are safe. Details ahead.
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ROMANS: It's been two days since an 11th hour budget deal was struck, but the real battle, the real battle is just beginning.
VELSHI: They don't all have to be as dramatic as the last one, maybe they won't. But we're not talking about billions as we were in the 201 budget. We're talking about trillions of dollars that they're going to be fighting over in Washington. And here's a term you'll be hearing a lot over the course of the next month -- "debt ceiling."
Joining us to discuss that live from Washington former Republican House member Susan Molinari who was with us on Friday night as this was all unfolding, and Democratic strategist Kiki McLean. Welcome to both of you. You are sitting next to each other, bipartisanship.
KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's a woman thing.
VELSHI: Let's bring that woman or girl thing to the next debate because we are one month away from hitting the top of our credit limit for purposes of Americans to understand what this is about. It is a big battle.
Susan Molinari, this, I don't know who won on this battle debate that ended on Friday night, the budget debate, but we are going to get into a mess if this same way of doing business carries on into the debt ceiling debate.
SUSAN MOLINARI, MEMBER OF CONGRESS DURING 1995 SHUTDOWN: Well, I think everybody won Friday night, the fact that the nation continued to run, the government continued to be funded, and we ended up cutting $38 billion out of last year's baseline which makes it even more than that. I think everybody wins because we're continuing a debate.
As the president has shown when he comes on board with a deficit reduction plan this week. We're talking about how much the cuts were in the past, recent past we've talked how much we want to spend. It is a big victory.
But you're right, when it comes to the debt ceiling this is another opportunity for some changes to be made. But it's very important that the debt ceiling vote take place and I think you're going to see the president a lot more engaged in this one.
His treasury secretary, other members of his cabinet, have staked out and gone on point, on raising the debt ceiling. I think you're going to see him more engaged early on and I think it will have the beneficial results.
ROMANS: Susan, you've held office. I'm wondering how important is this debate, so in the election year some of the men and women can get on record on how they voted for it. To the American public they feel that there's a lot of politics and a little less economics.
MOLINARI: There is a lot of politics and economics. Your point is well taken and president Obama voted against them himself --
ROMANS: In 2006.
MOLINARI: -- when a sitting senator, presumably for political reasons. This is a vote, I think, that members should take seriously, one that if everybody played politics -- and one of those things that everybody hopes I'll get to play politics with it and you do the right thing, because everybody gets this has to go through.
MCLEAN: Susan raises a point. When you look at the debt ceiling issue, there is a difference between the politics that are played and managing the budget. I like to say the real winner Friday was the American taxpayer not just because government kept running, but we didn't run up a big bill, the cost to shut government down. So we actually did even better.
VELSHI: But Kiki --
MCLEAN: But what's important here is when you look at the -- what's going to be the debate around the debt ceiling --
VELSHI: Yes.
MCLEAN: -- this needs to be about facts and pragmatism, not ideology. This has to be about practical solutions and that's really the kind of debate we have to have.
VELSHI: Bu let me ask you this, Kiki. When it comes down to it, everybody may have won in this whole thing, but it went in a direction that Democrats didn't want it to go in. So the reality is, what have Democrats learned out of this run up to this budget battle and that near shutdown about how they have to approach the debt ceiling conversation and how they have to approach the 2012 budget debate?
MCLEAN: I think you weigh that too heavily to one side. I think there are probably things in Friday night's deal that the extremes on either end didn't care for but in fact, the concept that everything's on the table and everybody is at the table to keep this thing moving forward.
Here's the issue with the debt ceiling. If hyper partisans choose to make the debt ceiling a token or a hostage to a political or ideological debate, then we're a washout for getting to the next step which is really dealing with the 2012 debate and beyond. The minute people do that and it becomes this hyper partisan moment as opposed to here's a practical step that we have to take forward to manage our budget, to manage our debt, to get us in a forward motion to create jobs and grow our economy again, it's a washout. But if we can go into that, with a really pragmatic conversation and give the gang of six, as they've been titled, those folks in the Senate on a bipartisan basis working on our budget, then we have a shot at moving forward.
This is really about findings solutions and I think what both parties saw last week is an absolute attitude that the American public will not stand by for politics to be played with their future. That's what they both felt on Friday and that's how we moved into a deal.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I want to show you guys a chart that we have that just shows the debt ceiling and how many times we've raised it. There's pretty much been bipartisan support for years to keep raising it.
VELSHI: Think of it as your credit limit. This keeps on going. ROMANS: And we've committed money in a budget. We spend money in a certain way and then we have to go in the international markets and borrow money. And this is the limit to how much we can borrow and the like.
My question is, as we get down to this very important point, and I guess I put it to you, Susan. Do you think that the president and John Boehner, the Democratic leadership and Republican leadership, have learned something about each other in this continuing resolution fight that will make this maybe a little less painful?
SUSAN MOLINARI, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: You know, I think that's a very interesting question and while a lot of people were saying Friday night, you know, this is just about -- as in Washington, this is just about billions. The real fight is on the trillions. What this really was, was the first dance between all of them, between Senator Reid and how far he could move to the middle with Speaker Boehner and how he was going to be able to control his ranks in the House and the president of the United States. It was their first go- round.
So I think, and if you heard all their speeches thanking each other, thanking their staff, I think there is a different level. They felt each other out. They know their vulnerabilities. They know their strengths. And so I think a lot of the time that was taken to sort of feel each other out -- it has been done already and now they sort of know where they're coming from when these negotiations begin. This one though is a lot more important to the president in terms of taking the lead.
VELSHI: Yes.
But it's a lot more important it doesn't have to be as dramatic. It can probably -- handled a different way. Thanks to both of you for joining us and for a great conversation this morning.
MOLINARI: Thank you.
MCLEAN: Glad to be here.
ROMANS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Still ahead, a plane misses the runway, smashes into a building, and bursts into flames. All of the people on board though got out OK. We'll have more on exactly what happened.
Also, the group of circus lions rescued and relocated to Colorado, some of them were in pretty bad shape when they got to the states. We're going to have an update on how they're doing in their new habitat.
It's 18-and-a-half minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Look at these pictures. You don't think anybody survived this one. This is a plane crash. A small plane just smashes into a building and bursts into flames. There's the pictures.
I can't believe someone is rolling on this, by the way. Four people on board escaped alive. It happened in Camarillo, California, on Saturday. The small plane was trying to land at Camarillo airport, missed the runway by half a mile, hitting a nearby storage facility. Witnesses say the survivors managed to walk away from the wreck.
VELSHI: That's incredible.
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BRETT HANLEY, EYEWITNESS: They jumped in my arms and I pulled them away from the wreck. And not too long after that, the thing exploded.
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VELSHI: All four survivors rushed to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to severe. Wow. That's something else.
All right. If you have a lead foot, this one's for you. Texas lawmakers are pretty close to signing off on a new 85 mile-per-hour speed limit. The Texas Audubon would make it the highest speed limit in the country. The DOT there wants to increase the speed limit on designated roads that are cleared by traffic and engineering studies. There is some pushback as you can imagine, including from insurance companies that say higher speeds increase the likelihood the drivers would be killed in a crash.
CHETRY: Right. Which is true, which is true, but man, being able to go 85.
VELSHI: Right. And there's a whole lot of problems of going fast. One is, I mean, if you're an experienced driver, you can handle it. But not everybody is. And --
ROMANS: I think the pictures we're showing though, I think where they have those 85 mile-an-hour speed limits.
CHETRY: Great. There's going to be a long stretch of flat road.
VELSHI: You can't go under it.
ROMANS: Bumper to bumper traffic.
VELSHI: All right. And also, it uses more fuel.
ROMANS: That's true. That's true. The gas guzzling.
CHETRY: In New York City, they don't ever have to have a speed limit. It's just they have so many cars that you can't ever go over five miles per hour.
VELSHI: I'm always fascinated when I see performance cars in Manhattan. But why did you buy that? Why didn't you buy a Sentra or a Corolla because that's as fast as you're going to go in? ROMANS: All right. The fate of a group of rescued circus lions looks better and better every day now. The big cats were taken from Bolivia to an animal sanctuary northeast of Denver. This week they'll be able to explore their new 20-acre outdoor habitats. The lions are said to be much healthier, happier than when they arrived. And it's a trio of cats that's the most adventurous. The cats will be kept in four prides so they can more easily adjust to their new 80-acre high altitude surroundings.
VELSHI: All right. Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, no relief this morning from those rising gas prices, 20th day in a row up. We'll tell you what that means for an already fragile economic recovery.
CHETRY: And despite the move toward a cease-fire in Libya, there is a brutal fight to gain control of one of the most strategic cities in the country. The latest coming up after the break.
VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, if you're driving, most of us are, you feel the pinch of the high gas prices. Carmen Wong Ulrich is "Minding Your Business" this morning. We're hitting -- we're coming close to a dubious mark here about the highest price ever.
VELSHI: Unpinch us, Carmen.
CARMEN WONG-ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: It's pretty big.
Well, I'm not going to because gas is really high now. It's up 20 cents in the past two weeks alone. $3.77 a gallon. Now we're only 35 cents from the all-time high of July 2008 of $4.11. And I'll tell you, I just got back from California it's over $4 there. Chicago is already at $4.11. Hawaii almost $4 and New York and Florida as well, $4 a gallon.
Now gas prices, of course, is our big barometer for consumers. We have very tight budgets so we're going to have to cut somewhere if we're going to spend more on gas. Once gas gets over $4, this is going to really slow consumer spending and given the friction on the other side with retailers, retailers are going to have to raise their prices to meet the higher transportation costs so we know that consumer spending is probably going to go down. And this is really affected by gas.
Notice it's not affected by your cable bill, your cell phone.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Sure.
ULRICH: No other bill that we have really affects our spending as much as the gas.
ROMANS: Because every week you feel it right away, you feel it right away.
ULRICH: You feel it. You see it in big giant numbers.
VELSHI: You see it, yes. We talk about it.
ROMANS: Tax on consumers. You know, and some of the experts have said they thought that the worst might be behind us, and maybe there's a little bit more to go, but that the big push had been made, but they just keep climbing up.
ULRICH: And there's more and more demand for it and that's a big part of the problem. The second biggest item on our budget is transportation, so it really affects us.
CHETRY: And so all of this back and forth that's been going on in Washington about the budgets, so that had an effect on Wall Street yet?
ULRICH: Well, that was Friday because Friday we were down.
Here's your morning market check. Dow was down Friday almost 30 points. Nasdaq down 15. S&P 500 down five. But things are looking much rosier today because a deal was made.
ROMANS: The big worry, of course, the debt ceiling. You start messing around the debt ceiling, that could be a big problem for Wall Street.
ULRICH: Yes.
VELSHI: But back to gas, those oil prices are still a threat and markets may start to feel that as well.
ULRICH: Exactly.
ROMANS: Thanks, Carmen.
ULRICH: Thank you.
ROMANS: Carmen Wong Ulrich.
VELSHI: Top stories. Congress and the president are preparing for a new bigger battle over the soaring national debt. President Obama wants lawmakers to raise the $14.29 trillion debt ceiling, which we are going to hit next month about the middle of May. Republicans want something in return for doing that. The president will also announce his long-term plan for reducing the deficit on Wednesday.
A 6.6 magnitude earthquake has hit northern Japan. It comes on the one-month anniversary of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. It's not clear yet if there's any new damage but the latest quake forced workers at the severely damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima to evacuate.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi reportedly agreeing to a cease-fire deal with the African Union. It's being called a roadmap to peace and it calls for the immediate end to fighting and mediation with rebel leaders. Opposition forces still want Gadhafi to step down. It is unclear whether that is part of this peace plan.
ROMANS: Talks are set to begin today in Benghazi between the Libyan rebel leaders and African Union members. It comes on the heels of a bitter fight for the rebel stronghold Ajdabiya. Gadhafi's army pushed out with the help of NATO air strikes. Our Fred Pleitgen is live in Tripoli this morning.
Fred, is the cease-fire in effect? Are both sides honoring it?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. There's no cease-fire whatsoever in effect, Christine. And basically what we heard yesterday after Moammar Gadhafi met these five leaders from the African Union is that he agreed to their part of the peace plan, which in essence, called for first of all an immediate cease-fire, also a monitoring force on the ground.
So you're talking about boots on the ground, possibly from the African Union, possibly also from the United Nations to verify that cease-fire and then, of course, for a transitional process as they call it, to try and bring these two sides back together. One of the interesting things, I think Ali just mentioned it is what would the fate of Moammar Gadhafi be under such a peace plan?
Clearly, at this point in time, there is no word on that and we asked about that yesterday at a press conference. They said that so far that was in no way part of the negotiations. So are the rebels going to agree to that? We'll se when the African leaders travel to Benghazi to try to get talks there going.
One of the interesting things though, Christine, is that NATO actually lifted its no-fly zone for these African leaders to be able to fly in here to Tripoli and then to be able to travel to Benghazi to meet with the rebels. So we'll see how those talks go, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Tripoli. Thank you, Fred.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, at one school in Florida, first, we brought you this story, the six-year-old girl there has a life threatening peanut allergy. And in order to protect her, it had to take some measures. They have to make sure that it's a peanut-free environment, that their classmates wash their hands before they go into the classroom. When they started to say that kids had to rinse their mouths out as well, parents said enough is enough. And they actually started protesting.
Up next, we're going to finally get a chance to talk to the little girl's father. What's going on, what's the latest and did they manage to find some peace as they struggle to make sure their daughter is safe?
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CHETRY: 35 minutes past the hour right now. We got a tremendous amount of feedback on a story that we first brought you a few weeks ago concerning the steps that a Florida school was taking to protect David Bailey's six-year-old daughter who is severely allergic to peanuts. Some parents felt that the school's peanut policy was extreme and they actually held protests calling for the girl to be home schooled.
So we're checking in this morning with David Bailey to see how his daughter is doing and whether or not the school, its community has come to some understanding. He joins us from Orlando, Florida along with a family friend Kim Harvey. Kim, your daughter is friends with David's daughter as well. So thanks to both of you for being with us.
DAVID BAILEY, DAUGHTER HAS SEVERE PEANUT ALLERGY: Thank you.
CHETRY: First of all, David, just to pick up where we left off, we're seeing this video of these protests. Why were some parents bringing their kids out on the streets outside of the school to protest the peanut policy at your daughter's school?
BAILEY: Well, there's no reason why you should have children picketing against another child. But the parents had problems with things that they've heard, not actuality, things that are actually happening. They had miscommunications about a lot of things.
CHETRY: And Kim, do you think that the parents went too far in this situation when they were out there protesting? I mean what was the effect on other kids and other parents in that school?
KIM HARVEY, DAUGHTER IS FRIENDS WITH BAILEY'S CHILD: Well, a lot of the parents that they came into contact with, actually believed what they had printed out on a piece of paper which as David already said, was at best, half truths about the entire situation that was going on at school. And I think that they could have taken more steps to try to resolve it with the Baileys before they went and picketed out in front of the school. It did -- I know it affected the health of some of the children that went to school.
CHETRY: All right. And you guys were talking about and tell me if I'm wrong is that there was, I guess, a thought that they had to get their mouths rinsed out three times a day as well as other things like that were not actually happening in the classroom, is that true, David?
BAILEY: Yes, ma'am.
CHETRY: OK. Just to back up a little bit, to explain to people, what happens if your daughter eats peanuts?
BAILEY: Potentially death. It doesn't mean that she'll die, but every time she does have -- come in contact with peanuts, that risk gets higher and higher.
CHETRY: Right. And that is common with peanut allergy. As I said before, my daughter has a peanut allergy as well. So I know what you're dealing with here. But do you trust that the school is -- do you trust I guess your daughter's life in the hands of the school and the other parents to not accidentally slip up when you're talking about life and death?
BAILEY: Accidents will happen. That's with anything in life. But with the extremes that have -- people have done, I'm worried that it might not be accidental.
CHETRY: You're saying that you think somebody might -- I understand there was some talk of threats, they were talking about smearing peanut butter on a backpack.
BAILEY: Yes, ma'am.
CHETRY: That really happened?
BAILEY: Not -- not to our knowledge yet. But that is potential thing that could happen, yes.
CHETRY: Why would it get to that point?
HARVEY: It was posted on the comments.
CHETRY: You're talking about a first grade girl.
HARVEY: Right. I don't understand how a parent would do that to another child or would even threaten to do that to another child. It just -- it seems so preposterous to me when you have children, to one, go out and protest another child.
CHETRY: Right.
HARVEY: And then on top of that, when your protest doesn't go the way that you had planned for it to go, then you post threats on different news sites, on the comment section.
CHETRY: Right. What you're meaning by that is there was such a backlash against the parents that did this, which they probably didn't expect? Is that what you're referring to?
HARVEY: Exactly.
CHETRY: Has this gotten better? I mean, have they managed to come to an understanding at this school, David, I mean, in terms of this?
BAILEY: There is no understanding. We do have a lot of the parents have come to us and actually wanted to get the right information and we have given a lot of parents the right information, but there are still some out there that don't want it fixed. They -- I guess have their own agendas on certain things and so --
CHETRY: Do you feel --
BAILEY: -- that's where we're at.
CHETRY: Do you feel safe sending your child to this school still? BAILEY: We do. We have -- she has a wonderful teacher now and a wonderful para, which is a teacher aide. And we do feel safe with them.
CHETRY: There have been some -- refer to the comment section, Kim, some have written while you've gotten overwhelming support, there have been others who say why chance it? Why not just either home school her or take her to a situation where they're more understanding about a life-threatening allergy?
HARVEY: I think if that happened, then that would be really a sign that they've won, that they've gotten exactly what they wanted.
CHETRY: But at what price, David? And if you're worried about these potential threats of smearing peanut butter on a backpack, I mean, at some point, is it better to keep her away from a potentially life-threatening situation?
BAILEY: Well, this is the thing that we have a problem with. My child has learning disabilities and other issues, and to home school a child with learning disabilities there are teachers that get, you know, extra, you know, teaching to teach children like this. So it's -- it is hard to home school a child that have the amount of learning disabilities and things she has.
CHETRY: Got you. Well listen, you know, I mean this is certainly a lesson in tolerance as well. I mean you talk about disabilities, you talk about food allergies, one in 20 kids now and it's only growing. So this is a problem people are going to be dealing with. But we wish you the best of luck, David Bailey.
BAILEY: Thank you.
CHETRY: I hope everything is OK with your daughter --
BAILEY: Thank you so much.
CHETRY: -- as well and that she can enjoy school. And Kim Harvey --
BAILEY: And yours too.
CHETRY: Thank you. And thanks so much for joining us this morning.
BAILEY: Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Kiran, severe storms moving east with record heat on its way. Rob Marciano is next.
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VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to start your day. Another 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan this morning. Police say four people are trapped in their homes by mudslides. And workers at the crippled Daiichi nuclear power plant were forced to evacuate.
Members of the African Union say Moammar Gadhafi is ready to discuss peace. They claim the Libyan leader has agreed to a deal to end his country's civil war and they're heading to Benghazi today to discuss it with rebel leaders.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appearing in a courtroom in Milan today. But it has nothing to do with his sex scandal. He's facing financial corruption charges related to the sale of movie and TV rights by his broadcasting company.
It is now illegal to wear a burqa in France. Dozens of people have been arrested for protesting the new law. It makes wearing Islamic face coverings illegal or forcing another person to wear one, a crime punishable by fine and jail time.
President Obama has a plan to reduce the nation's deficit. He'll be unveiling it on Wednesday. The White House says the president's plan will address programs like Medicare and Medicaid that contribute to the soaring deficits.
Gas prices up for the 20th straight day. This morning, the national average for a gallon of regular, $3.77. That's according to AAA, that's just 34 cents away from the all-time high set back in 2008.
And the son of a South African chicken farmer, is the 2011 Masters champ. Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes yesterday to hold off the fading Tiger Woods for a two stroke victory.
You're caught up in all the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
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ROMANS: New York City. Right outside our building, actually. It's foggy right now, 55 degrees. We're told it will be mostly cloudy and 72. I'm sure that has to be a typo -- 72 degrees later on today. Rob Marciano is here to tell us, I think it's not a typo.
CHETRY: I don't know if people are dreaming big, but I heard talk of 80 degrees in New York. Come on, really?
MARCIANO: You've got a couple peaks of sunshine, it will pop up there. I think D.C. will do it. It's just an advance of the rain that's going to come tonight and tomorrow.
ROMANS: God, buzz kill! Rob Marciano, buzz kill.
MARCIANO: Yes, so I've been told for many, many years.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Exactly.
VELSHI: I don't have my beach body on yet. CHETRY: None of us do. We're just going to bring the hibatchi out there, and you know, pretend it's summer.
VELSHI: Good to see you, my friend.
MARCIANO: -- videotape, guys. I want to see it.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
VELSHI: Your top stories are just minutes away. Also, college acceptance letters arriving in mailboxes. Don't they come on the Internet now?
ROMANS: Actually a lot of e-mails.
VELSHI: All right. Your college acceptances are arriving across the country. How, though, are you going to afford to send your kids to college in this economy? We'll tell you about that.
CHETRY: Also, hidden dangers inside your home that could be hurting your family. We're talking about some of the basics. How you heat up your food, where do you send your clothes off to get dry cleaned. What you use to light your house. A best-selling new book. The authors join us to talk about how to spot these dangers and get a good, healthy alternative.
ROMANS: Mm, the healthy house. And there's a new car recall to tell you about. If you happen to drive this model, beware, because the steering wheel can come off in your hands.
VELSHI: What?! What are you talking about.
ROMANS: Yes. That's very dangerous.
VELSHI: That would ruin my day!
ROMANS: Forty-eight minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: For today's high school seniors, getting into their dream school is really only half the battle. The other half, figuring out how to pay for their dream school. A few weeks ago, we introduced you to Olivia, a high school senior who was not only waiting to find out where she would go to college, but also how'd she paid for it. We wanted to follow up with her, see how things are turning out.
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OLIVIA POGLIANICH, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: They have two new dorms, which everyone wants to room in, but I'm kind of leaning towards the all-freshman dorm.
ROMANS : 18-year-old Olivia Pagliadich has made it into her first-choice school, Cornell, and she's hoping she gets to go.
CLAUDIA POGLIANICH, OLIVIA'S MOTHER: We are waiting between two very good schools that she likes. One school has already awarded the financial aid package and one school hasn't. So, we are on pins and needles.
ROMANS: Tuition is up a whopping 400 percent since the 1980s. That means many families cannot manage without some sort of financial aid. But that's not the only option. Princeton Review publisher Robert Franick says --
ROBERT FRANICK, PRINCETON REVIEW PUBLISHER: 529 plans are college savings plans.
ROMANS: Specifics vary from state to state, but here are the basics. There are two types. You can invest in a savings plan when the money goes into investments like mutual funds. And there's a pre- paid college plan, which allows parents to purchase units now and bypass higher tuition later.
This mom tweets from Florida, "I have pre-paid the college tuition for my two boys. Florida's program is great. It freezes the cost at the time you sign up." Her sons are now 13 and 15. "I signed up for the when they were 8 and 10, and now it's all paid up. A great feeling."
But some states are no longer taking new enrollments, and market fluctuations and state budget crises have raised concerns about the future of some other programs.
But what happens if your child doesn't go to the state school, as planned?
FRANICK: Generally speaking, if you don't use those accounts, if you don't use those resources for approved educational expenses, so tuition, room and board, and any fees that that university would charge, you can, in some states, port that over to another sibling or another family member. So, there is some portability factor for some 529 plans.
O. POGLIANICH: I'm very excited to just get going. To know the day that I'll start orientation, to know who my roommate is going to be and to know that my mom and I will be able to afford a college education at one of my dream schools.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: So, on April 1, Olivia and a lot of other people like her started getting the letter saying where they were going to school. On May 1, you get the first notice that says, we need your money now to prove you're coming in the fall and to hold your spot. So, the first checks are going to have to be going out in the mail here pretty soon.
Bottom line is, even if you're not one of those people going to school right now, we all have to save more for college. CHETRY: And the person you highlighted who was doing the pre- pay? I mean, that's amazing --
VELSHI: The 529s.
CHETRY: Well, actually pre-paying for the tuition of the school. I mean -- how do you know what your kid's going to want to do?
VELSHI: That woman in Florida, she said, look, if I have to see tuition prices going up and up and up, I will not be able to afford college for my kids. And a perfect way for me to save right now is a pre-paid 529. I'll lock in today's tuition at those Florida schools. She just said that it's part of their plan and they're going to stick to it, and now she can breathe easy with a 15-year-old that school is always paid for.
CHETRY: Interesting --
VELSHI: I mean, the kid might have other plans, but the fact is --
ROMANS: Hey, if mom and dad are paying for --
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- your plans are my plans, young man.
VELSHI: Top stories, right after the break.
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USHER, SINGER: Hey, this is Usher, and we can make an impact on our young people. The New Look Foundation was founded in 1999. I started it because I wanted to do something I thought would impact youth. We mostly focus on mentoring youth, showing them a new look on life through real-world experiences. There's a focus on leadership as well as service.
My hopes are I'm introducing tomorrow's service-minded youth leader. Our children are the future. This is our opportunity to make it better by motivating them now.
Join the movement, impact your world, CNN.com/impact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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