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American Morning
Live Coverage of Royal Wedding Festivities in London; for Your Checked Bags; Syrian Tanks Enter Daraa; NATO Planes Target Misrata; St. Louis Tornado Cleanup
Aired April 25, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: NATO war planes hitting Moammar Gadhafi's center of power, bombing his compound in Tripoli while cries grow louder here at home to take the Libyan dictator out on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It's Monday, April 25th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. And Kiran Chetry is in London kicking off a week of live reports there, sunny weather, beautiful as the entire country and the friends of the special relationship across the pond, Kiran, get ready for the big week.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It is exciting. I'm squinting actually to talk to you in London because of the sun. That's a pretty rare event. And of course, what's happening in terms of the royal wedding week is a pretty rare event. You know, guys, something that's also interesting is this is the time of year where a lot of people in the U.K. have a holiday.
So, a lot of people are extending these two long weekends and taking off. The streets are packed with people. To be fair, some people are actually getting out of dodge because they're just not up for all the pomp and circumstance, but there's a tremendous amount of excitement as well as this city gets set to welcome more than half a million additional tourists, people that are coming for the royal wedding.
So, there certainly is a lot of excitement. How are they planning for it? That's another huge undertaking. The streets are pristine. Every "t" and "i" have been dotted and crossed, the public parks ready to go, flags you'll see union jack flags hanging from almost every building to showcase the pride of this country as they get set probably for the most anticipated event since the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
A little later we're going to walk you through a proper tea. We're going to talk a little bit more about that unique relationship between the United States and Britain. Kind of interesting, there's Zain by the way taking me to the Dorchester where they do high tea every day at 4:00 p.m. She talks a little bit about the why tea is so important to this nation. She said in good times and bad, no matter what you say is wrong with you, have some tea and that will fix it. She shows us the proper way it to do it.
VELSHI: Do you keep your pinky up when you drink your tea?
CHETRY: It's much harder than it seems, because you're not allowed to hook your finger through the little holder. You have to actually pinch your two fingers together. I need to do weight lifting with the index and thumb because it's harder than it seems.
ROMANS: Only American go plowing through the little tray of all of the sandwiches. Americans see the sandwiches and mow them down like it's dinner. It's just tea.
CHETRY: Exactly.
VELSHI: We're going to get you caught up with the news.
Let's get a closer look at the massive damage done to Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli. Three buildings in the complex suffered heavy damage, four people were reportedly injured. NATO war planes bombed it this morning. It is not clear where the Libyan dictator was, however, during the attack.
Over the weekend, Gadhafi forces stepped up their assault on rebel troops in Misrata. You'll know there's been heavy fighting there. Doctors say 32 people were killed and dozens more wounded over two days of shelling.
Back home, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is calling on the Obama administration to specifically target Gadhafi and finish the job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: My recommendation to NATO and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. Go to Tripoli, start bombing Gadhafi's inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in Tripoli.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman also appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and called on the White House to step up and assume a leadership role in Libya.
ROMANS: Senator Lieberman also wants the Obama administration to ramp up support for the opposition in Syria. New this hour, Syria has reportedly sealed off its border with Jordan as an enormous military operation is under way in Daraa. Witnesses tell CNN that government tanks have entered the city along with 3,000 Syrian soldiers. We're told those soldiers are going door to door shooting people.
Daraa is the city where anti-government protests began in Syria. Al Jazeera reports at least five demonstrators were killed in the latest round of fighting with more than 300 people detained.
And there's been a prison break in Afghanistan. More than 400 inmates escaped through a tunnel more than 1,000 feet long. According to afghan officials, many of them are Taliban insurgents. The jailbreak took place last night in Kandahar's main prison. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh described how it happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: NATO Afghan officials are saying 470 prisoners have escaped. They're confirming a tunnel was dug. One Afghan official saying it was started from a house 100 meters south of the jail. The Taliban really reveled in this. They seemed to almost break the news of this event, talking about a tunnel 320 meters long that took them five months to dig. Also saying that amongst the escapees are 106 of their senior commanders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Police say they have recaptured eight of the escapees. The Taliban is claiming it facilitated the breakout. In 2008 about 1,000 inmates escaped the same prison when militants set off a truck bomb outside the facility.
VELSHI: Secret documents on Guantanamo Bay are being made public by WikiLeaks. "The Washington Post" and "New York Times" are reporting the documents provide details on nearly every terror suspect held at Gitmo since 2002.
The files are also reveal information on what Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders were doing before and after 9/11. Earlier on "American Morning" we asked national security analyst Peter Bergen for his take on this document dump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: They don't change our basic knowledge of the events that happened after 9/11. They do fill in details. At one point Osama bin Laden was so strapped for cash after the 9/9 9/11 attacks he borrowed $7,000, which I think adds to our general understanding that Osama bin Laden didn't have a great deal of money at the time of the 9/11 attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: I continue to find that fact fascinating.
ROMANS: It really is.
VELSHI: As you point out, the U.S. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to find Osama bin Laden.
ROMANS: He had to borrow $7,000.
VELSHI: Exactly.
Peter does not expect, by the way, the release of these documents to have much of an impact on the debate about shutting down Gitmo.
ROMANS: This morning operations at the lambert-St. Louis international airport are slowly returning to normal after a tornado tore through the main terminal. The damage captured on airport surveillance cameras. Take a look at this. You can see the debris swirling around, powerful winds blew out windows, ripped a hole in the concourse roof.
And this is what it sounded like inside the terminal when the tornado hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: I have to say, when I saw this, I wondered how long it would be before the airport was opened. Initial reports were it would take days but they're getting -- there were flights out of there last night.
Residents in St. Louis are picking up the pieces, however, after this tremendous storm just look at some of these pictures, 100 homes were destroyed, hundreds of others severely damaged. However, nobody was killed. CNN's Dan Simon has been talking to tornado victims. He joins us now from Bridgeton, Missouri. What's it looking like?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, this was the most destructive tornado of the season. This is what an F-4 twister looks like. That assessment was made in part by the damage you see here at this house and what you're seeing throughout the Harmon estate subdivision where we are in Missouri. I believe we're in the kitchen area and the reason I'm saying that is because we see that the refrigerator right here.
In any event the guy who lives here has had a rough time. He actually works at the airport. He was there when the tornado struck. He and his colleagues hunkered down there. Then he got a phone call saying that maybe his home was destroyed. He drove here and this is what he saw.
And there's something I want to point out here, because this is worth showing here on camera. You know how they always say, Ali, you should go to the basement. I want to show the viewers this. This is why you should go downstairs to the basement during a tornado, because while the upstairs is gone, the house is destroyed, the basement is basically intact. You have a little bit of the roof coming down here from the rain, but for the most part, this basement is intact.
The guy who lives here has a couple of dogs. The dogs took refuge in the basement and are OK. But here's why you should go to the basement during a tornado.
VELSHI: Wow, incredible damage. We'll keep checking in with you through the course the morning.
ROMANS: Speaking of checking in, how about checking in on your bags? Delta is allowing you to track your bags, track your departure, check in on-line and track your bags. VELSHI: They have to be able to track them, they scan it everywhere it goes, so why not us? I think it's a great idea.
London is getting ready for the royal wedding. Kiran is there for us all week. She's definitely brimming with excitement about the whole thing, Kiran, like everyone else in London.
CHETRY: Yes. And those two dogs we've been showing as well, they're excited as well. They're highly anticipating it. London security is getting ready, of course, as well to host 1.2 million tourists as well as everybody else that's going to be here.
How they're getting organized, how the town is preparing, and we're also going to talk a little bit about the special relationship between the United States and the U.K. We are here in sunny London, a beautiful shot of Buckingham Palace behind us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: How long did it take you to record that with the violin?
VELSHI: It took me like eight takes.
ROMANS: London getting ready for the royal wedding, preps in full swing. Almost like an Olympic atmosphere.
VELSHI: Including the security, as you would expect. Security is way amped up in London, tourists and residents gearing up for the big day. Kiran is at Buckingham Palace tracking the situation as far as security. Hey, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hi, guys. It's interesting you said it has an Olympic like atmosphere. London is hosting the 2012 games and maybe has said this is almost a dress rehearsal to see how prepared they are, how prepared their security and infrastructure is to be able to have such a huge influx of people from around the globe.
Right now they've done a pretty good job of it. You'll be seeing a lot of interesting security measures in preparation for the royal wedding on Friday. The metropolitan police are planning to use random stop and searches as they call it. We have just shown a shot of closed-circuit television cameras.
They're doing something called "preemptive policing." This is interesting, trying to sort of get a handle on anything before it happens. They're trying to prevent any possible security threat that could overshadow what's going on at Westminster and Buckingham Palace.
What do they say about preemptive policing? This is interesting. It allows police to detain somebody on terror charges if they believe they're a threat even if they have no evidence against them. That's obviously quite rare, but some concerns, of course. They want to make sure nobody tries to use this as an opportunity, unfortunately, to disrupt what's going on in London by trying to launch a terror attack. And because of that, they have been very, very vigilant about security.
It was interesting. Even when we checked into our hotel room you have to show your passport. I know that is something that happens a lot, but there are measures that are in place to make sure this goes off without a hitch.
At the same time, I have to say, it's really not intrusive. There is certainly an atmosphere of celebration. It's not as though this is somehow a police state. We always make note of what it's like, let's say, in Times Square for New Year's Eve when you almost feel like you're penned in, that they're really making sure nothing goes wrong, but to the point of sometimes infringing on the fun.
Well, we're still four days out, but here it seems that people are allowed to come and go as they please and it's actually a very, very free feeling situation right now as they get prepared for the royal wedding.
VELSHI: Yes. In fact, they've actually been more accustomed to it over time because of the terrorist attacks. So they're sort of normal safeties in place in London we're not as used to here. Kiran, thanks very much. We're going to keep on top of this with you.
This is fun. Kiran has really -- as our viewers will know, I haven't been as amped up about this as some people have but I'm kind of getting into it now.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: It is a global celebration, and you are invited in one way, shape, or form. If you're not there --
VELSHI: We will invite you.
ROMANS: You can come and watch it with us. We can bring you every forgettable -- unforgettable moment of the royal wedding. You can watch it DVR and participate.
You can join Kiran, Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, of course. He has major inside knowledge into all this. Richard Quest and Cat Deeley this Friday. Our coverage begins at 4:00 a.m. Eastern.
VELSHI: I remain unconvinced as to actually how I'm supposed to participate. I can watch in DVR, but I'm sure through the course of the week I will learn. You can also drop into our --
ROMANS: Wear a big feathered hat.
VELSHI: While watching it. I'll dress like royalty while watching it. You can also go to our newest blog which is actually really fun. It's called unveiled.
It brings you everything you need to know about the royal couple, latest dish on the dress, the menu, how you can get a taste of the royal moment. See it all at cnn.com/unveiled. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: OK -- these are excellent developments in the airline industry. Delta is coming up with a way where you can actually track your baggage along with everything else. Curiosity, I've always had. Carmen Wong Ulrich joins us now with more on this.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH: Finally.
ROMANS: Sometimes they don't know where the bag is. That's the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But finally, because we're getting charged for bags, which I know we gripe about a lot. It actually has improved service a lot.
But here's the thing, first as of last week, there are new rules from the Obama administration when it comes to your luggage that you should know about. Airlines as of August will be required to refund baggage fees for lost luggage and they must clearly state on their websites and materials your baggage fees.
Well, some airlines are looking to stay one step ahead, like Delta, has introduced the ability to track your luggage just like you track a package. It's an on-line service you can use it on your phone. Now you receive your tracking number when you check in and you can follow your checked bag from that check-in to the arrival at baggage claim which is what we hope for.
Thou overall, because of these new fees, the rate of mishandled bags have improved 10 percent this year from last, Delta has seen complaints drop 27 percent.
As for those bag checking discounts, well, United Continental will no longer give you a $2 or $3 discount for checking your bags online before the flight, $25 for the first bag, $35 for the second no matter what.
As to who still offers any discount, Delta will give you a few bucks back if you do it online and Southwest two bags can be checked for free still.
VELSHI: I think it's a great development. This business about tracking your bags, it just makes me feel better.
ULRICH: It's about time.
VELSHI: The odd time I -- the airline loses a bag of mine, it just feels like it's a particularly powerless experience because it's somewhere in the either and you can't really tell where it is.
ULRICH: Also, listen, you're talking about a lot of money to replace the bags which, of course, they have to replace that. What a pain if you're going on vacation, all these bags are gone, what are you going to do. So this is great you can look on your phone and go online, put in the tracking number and see where the bag is. VELSHI: Brilliant. I love it.
ROMANS: Stick around for the next story.
ULRICH: All right.
VELSHI: This is cuteness overload. I mean, that's all -- it's an adorable baby and a big dog.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): So just watch the video because it's very cute this morning. They're having a little tug a war over the doggy dish. Puppy in the back is just ignoring the whole thing.
VELSHI: He's eating.
ROMANS: He's eating from his own bowl, but look at. So Carmen, how old do you think the baby is?
ULRICH: I would say about a year. Am I the only person who watches this video and see danger? I like pull the kid away.
ROMANS: No. That's the family dog. He's got teeth.
ULRICH: That's all I'm saying.
ROMANS: I'm a dog lover but he has teeth.
ULRICH: That looks like 13 months when a baby wants to be running around, on the ground, getting into everything. Look how cute.
VELSHI: Now he's getting bored. I guess I'm not getting the food.
ROMANS: And now the mom comes in because he ate the food. Not because of the big teeth and the jaws next to -- OK.
VELSHI: That's very funny.
ROMANS: I never watch it long enough to see the nugget of food in the baby's mouth.
VELSHI: That is cuteness overload.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: St. Louis returning back to normal. What it's like being inside when a twister struck.
VELSHI: Really unbelievable.
ROMANS: And also smart is the new rich. Today personal branding, you've been out of work six months or longer. You're called a 99er, right, 99 weeks of unemployment insurance. How to brand yourself from someone who's been out of work for six months to someone about to get a job? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And good Monday morning to you. It is April 25th.
Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING from London, where it's actually half past noon local time. I'm getting used to the lingo as well. We've been here for two days, having a wonderful time. We want to do our best to bring you all of the excitement that's coming up be, four days away from the royal wedding. It may be across the pond, but it certainly sparking a lot of interest in the United States. Americans are gearing up to share in the excitement of Will and Kate's big day. It's largely because of the unique bond the two countries have.
I mean our country was started by trying to get away from these guys, but at the same time it's quite a special relationship. We wanted to give you a quick look back at its ups and downs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's that summer of '39 that you see the beginning of the birth of this special relationship that's been with us ever since.
CHETRY (voice-over): At the time the spotlight on another royal couple, King George and Queen Elizabeth, the special relationship with the United States begins with letters between the king and President Franklin Roosevelt, and soon after, a visit, the first time a reigning British monarch tours the U.S.
DAVID WOOLNER, HISTORIAN, ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE: This visit then comes at a very critical moment. War is imminent. Roosevelt was looking for a way to strengthen U.S. bonds with Great Britain, especially the bonds between the American people and the British people.
CHETRY: Not long after, Winston Churchill was the first to use the phrase "special relationship." As the two countries fight together during World War II, a sentiment offense repeated by other prime ministers and presidents throughout the years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come in friendship to renew for new times our special relationship.
CHETRY (on camera): Why is that relationship so special?
GORDON BROWN, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It didn't start very well 225 years ago when you kicked the British out, but I think this shared purpose, the same values of liberty, democracy, responsibility to each other, fairness.
CHETRY (voice-over): Yet, the special relationship has not been without strains. The United States would not support Great Britain during the 1956 Suez Canal crisis and Great Britain refused to support the United States during the Vietnam War.
BROWN: We can have treaties that are broken, but this relationship it seems to me is unbreakable because it is based on something more than just sort of an assessment of your best interests.
CHETRY: Close ties between the two countries often correspondent with the bonds of friendship between the leaders, Prime Minister Harold McMillan and President John F. Kennedy fighting the cold war.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Ronald Reagan, united during the fall of the Soviet Union. But Prime Minister Tony Blair's support of President George Bush's decision to invade Iraq was not without consequences.
WOOLNER: This became very, very unpopular, of course, among the British public and Tony Blair paid a price for this politically and still paying a price for this to this day.
CHETRY: But as the two countries move forward former Prime Minister Brown takes an optimistic view.
BROWN: Despite all the different problems that will arise, this relationship will endure and, perhaps, strengthen in the years to come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And, of course, what's going on this week will only strengthen it in an interesting way, that there are so many Americans that have an intense interest in this. They're expecting an additional 600,000 American tourists to be in London ahead of the wedding and, of course, countless others will be watching it all over the globe.
Coming up in about 10 minutes, we're going to be speaking to "Newsweek" columnist and Harvard economic historian Neil Ferguson about the measures they've taken here in London to cut spending. Could it work in the United States?
He's also written a fascinating column, and I know Ali and Christine are very obsessed with this and you talk about it a lot as well, about the rising power of China when it comes to influencing the world economy.
And at the same time, does that in some ways signal a decline of the influence of the United States? He's written a fascinating piece in "Newsweek" about that as well guys.
ROMANS: Yes, Kiran, it's fascinating too because you talk about the U.S. at the Suez Canal. At that moment, the Suez Canal sort of taking over as the world super power from the U.K. and some people say, you know, the U.S. -
VELSHI: We may leave that moment.
ROMANS: Right, that the U.S. maybe handing that over someday down the road to China just like the U.K. to the U.S..0
VELSHI: When Kiran says we're obsessed do you think she meant that in a good way or a bad way? ROMANS: I think she means that in a nice way.
VELSHI: All right, Kiran.
CHETRY: I think you guys are obsessed with it because you're ahead of the curve. I mean the people that are talking about this, I had a chance to speak to former U.K. prime minister Gordon Brown, he also said the same thing and Ali, he said something that sort of goes in line with what you say a lot, we're not going to become great again in America unless we are able to export much more to a growing Chinese middle class and an Indian middle class as well. So it's very fascinating.
VELSHI: It's a good opportunity. All right. We look forward to that, Kiran. Good to see you. We'll be right back with you.
CHETRY: Thank you.
ROMANS: Here are your top stories.
More than 100 senior Taliban commanders are among nearly 500 other inmates who broke out of an Afghan prison last night. Officials say they escaped through a 1,000 foot long underground tunnel. The Taliban is taking responsibility for, "facilitating the prison break."
Syria now reportedly sealing off its border with Jordan as government forces launch a massive military operation in Daraa this morning. Witnesses tell CNN government tanks have entered that city along with 3,000 Syrian soldiers. We're told by witnesses those soldiers are now going door to door, shooting people. Government troops also fired on demonstrators this weekend. Al Jazeera reports at least five people were killed, more than 300 were detained.
Nearly 800 classified military documents obtained by WikiLeaks provide details on the alleged terrorist activities of Al Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo bay, Cuba. They also reportedly shed more light on how Al Qaeda prepared for the 9/11 attacks and Osama Bin Laden's movements afterwards. The White House condemns this leak.
The damage from a tornado that tore through the St. Louis area may cost millions of dollars, a surveillance camera at Lambert-St. Louis International captured this scene as this twister slammed right into the main terminal with winds up to 200 miles an hour. You can see the debris swirling around here. Powerful winds blew out the windows. They ripped a hole in the concourse roof. The airport was shut down for nearly 24 hours this weekend, but this morning, it looks like things are getting back to normal.
VELSHI: And the airport said to be operating at 70 percent of capacity, which I have to tell you, having seen all this on the weekend, I'm kind of surprised it's as much as that. Rhonda Hamm- Niebruegge is overseeing recovery efforts. She's the director of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. She joins us now from Bridgeton, Missouri.
Rhonda, good job first of all. There were initial reports indicated that the damage is so bad that it might be a few days that airport shut down for.
RHONDA HAMM-NIEBRUEGGE, DIRECTOR, LAMBERT-ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: When we came in Friday night a few minutes after the tornado hit and the team assembled and we saw the damage, our gut feeling was it was going to be several days. But we had a miraculous pull together of both the airport, the community and everyone pulled in and started doing their part and it became clear about 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning that we felt we could do some operations on yesterday, much to our surprise we ended up operating 76 percent of the total operation.
ROMANS: Direct hit, EF-4 tornado, does that go into your disaster planning and it's just rare, it's so rare -
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: - to see a tornado hit, slam right into a major airport.
HAMM NIEBRUEGGE: Well, there is a lot of planning that we have, a lot of emergency preparedness, and it's nice to know your plan works when something like this hits. It was confirmed it was an EF-4 as it tore through. And it obviously just took a couple minutes for the damage to occur. It will take weeks and maybe even a couple of months to clean up all of it.
But today we should be back at a 90 percent operation. So we're pretty comfortable. We had to totally close the C concourse and relocate those air carriers. So that's what we're working through today with the final two, both American and Cape Air, its operations were totally devastated. So they're up and running today. And tomorrow, they should be at 100 percent capacity. The rest of the terminal is up to 100 percent today.
ROMANS: We're looking at pictures of the TSA agents running for their lives through these hallways.
VELSHI: Looked like they made it there by fractions of a second.
ROMANS: And you can see the trademark signs of a tornado where the glass breaks and then things are just sucked out. You know, moving so quickly. It's a miracle, really, that no one was hurt here. Can you tell me why everyone managed to get out. I mean it's amazing. Do you know why that happened and just happened to hit in the right spot where people were protected or it was the way the building was built or what?
HAMM-NIEBRUEGGE: Well, I think there's a couple things. It is a historic building and it's built very, very well. I think that had a part to do with it. But we also had very early warnings on the sirens. The sirens started going off. With that, we had police officers and firefighters in the building. They're trained to make sure they start helping people. That was done. The people that are in the main terminal, started going to the lower level and toward the inward walls on the concourses where there's a lot of glass.
The shelters are in the rest rooms. So people started going to the rest rooms. So I think a lot of it had to do with the early warning signs, and had to do with people's quick response and responding to it. I mean we've heard a lot about tornado damage lately and tornadoes ripping through the country and I think the community's aware.
VELSHI: Yes. Rhonda, thanks very much. And we're glad that everybody's safe in St. Louis. Rhonda Hamm Niebruegge at - right by St. Louis Airport. In fact, as Rhonda just said, we've been dealing with those storms, in the southeast, and then more in the Midwest. Remember the one in Iowa a couple of weeks ago.
ROMANS: It leveled 60 percent of a town, I think.
VELSHI: Unbelievable. There's more of this in the forecast. Jacqui is with us now from the severe weather center. What's it looking like, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More of the same today, unfortunately. And tomorrow could even be worse, believe it or not. We still have this very active weather pattern setting up. And unfortunately, it's bringing these severe storms over the same places that have already been hit across the nation's midsection.
The severe weather this morning, down here where you see that yellow box, that severe thunderstorm watches where conditions are favorable for damaging winds and large hail as these thunderstorms move through your area. We're also seeing mostly just heavy rain here into the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley. And we'll watch for the threat of severe weather to increase throughout the day today. So we're talking late afternoon into early evening when we think the timing of this system will be at its greatest strength and we'll be watching northeastern parts of Texas throughout the entire state of Arkansas, stretching over towards Memphis and down towards Cape Girardo area for rotating thunderstorms that can produce strong, very long lived tornadoes and wind damage could be widespread too.
Take a look at all the red. This is what I want you to see on this flood watch map for today. These are all the areas that are flooding as we speak. Where the water is way too high. We have seen some incredible amounts of rainfall in the last couple of days. Look at this, more than eight inches in parts of Arkansas as well as in Missouri. Kentucky you had seven inches, more than six inches in parts of Indiana and down towards Carbondale, Illinois, five and a half inches.
We could see another round of maybe three to six inches on top of that just in the next two days. So the flood situation really quite as grave and more people actually die in flooding than they do in tornadoes. So amazing none of those people died today.
Another big day across the nation's midsection. Travel problems already in the northeast. This is due to some of that light rain and the low clouds that we have. So pack your patience today and be careful out there.
VELSHI: What a surprise, some light rain expected in the New York area? JERAS: Yes. Nice and foggy and misty this morning, isn't it?
VELSHI: Yes.
JERAS: Lovely.
ROMANS: It's not 25.
VELSHI: You know what we don't have tornadoes and I'm just - I'm sad for the whole country that has to brace for this, but thanks for that, Jacqui. We'll check in with you a little later.
JERAS: OK.
ROMANS: All right. It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. The uprising in Syria is escalating. The country now reportedly sealing off its border with Jordan. Government tanks storm the city of Daraa this weekend and witnesses tell CNN troops are going door to door shooting people.
NATO fighter jets are now reportedly targeting Misrata after Moammar Gadhafi's forces shelled the Libyan port city yesterday, killing at least 16 people. The Misrata attacks come just hours after NATO fighter jets bomb Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli.
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport operating at about 70 percent of capacity now after getting walloped by a tornado with winds of up to 200 miles an hour. Damage to the airport's main terminal was captured by surveillance cameras. Pretty incredible pictures you're looking at.
Gas prices up for the 34th straight day, but the rate at which they're increasing appears to be slowing. Today, up less than a penny to $3.86 a gallon.
A chef surprise at the annual White House Easter egg roll later this morning. The team behind 6,000 pastel eggs, ex-convicts, they're graduates of D.C.'s Central Kitchen, which trains former inmates.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. "American Morning" is back after the break.
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CHETRY: Well, as Britain takes the world stage this week due to the excitement surrounding the royal wedding, this is also a nation that's still struggling with a global recession with budget deficits and budget cuts much like the United States. However the approach to solving it seems very different than the one taken in the U.S..
Here to talk more about that as well as the rise of China, Harvard economic historian Neil Ferguson, also the author of "The Assent of Money: A Financial History of the World," and he's also a columnist at "Newsweek."
Thanks for running over from the --
NEIL FERGUSON, AUTHOR, "ASSENT OF MONEY": Nice to be here. I did run, literally, sprinted.
CHETRY: I know. You got in your morning exercise.
FERGUSON: Yes.
I want to ask you a little bit about this, because it is interesting. A lot of questions about the stability of the U.S. economy, a few articles out today talking about whether the gold price is shooting up to a record has something to do with troubles or fears of trouble for the U.S. economy.
What's your take?
FERGUSON: Well, the U.K. is about a year ahead of the U.S. in dealing with its fiscal problems. Like the U.S., we had had a huge banking crisis in this country. Like the U.S., our deficit exploded in the wake of the crisis.
But rather earlier than the U.S. Britain has been trying to get the deficit under control. And so we're already at that stage where there are major spending cuts happening right now and there's a great deal of anxiety about what the economic impact will be.
But my sense is that this is medicine that had to be taken and that U.S. is going to have to go through a pretty similar process very soon.
CHETRY: And that's interesting because when I had a chance to speak to former prime minister of the U.K. Gordon Brown, he questioned whether what you said -- that tough medicine -- is actually helping when it comes to growth.
Let's just hear quickly what he said.
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GORDON BROWN, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Britain is in negative growth at the moment. It moved from growing to back into negative growth. Unemployment is now higher than it was at the worst point in the recession. So there are questions to be asked in both countries about how the strategies are working.
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CHETRY: How the strategies are working. So stimulus versus austerity. Is there a recipe somewhere in between for what works or do we just not know?
FERGUSON: I dispute the claim that Britain's in negative growth. In fact, this year, Britain's likely to grow by about two percent if you believe the IMX latest forecast, and that's actually better than the Eurozone next door, where we're seeing really massive economic crises following from the failure to deal with fiscal problems.
I don't think there was an alternative. Even if Gordon Brown by some miracle or nightmare had remained as prime minister last year, he would be doing pretty much the same kind of thing, because Britain had come very close to the edge of the precipice. This is this precipice when the bond market says I no longer believe in your fiscal projects, therefore interest rates are going to go sky high and you're dead. It happened to Greece, it happened to Ireland, that's right next door --
CHETRY: Right.
FERGUSON: It happened to Portugal. And I think the new British government of David Cameron and George Osborne successfully preempted that fiscal crisis, that panic on the bond market that we've seen happen in the Eurozone.
So I think the lesson is pretty clear. The U.S. needs to get on with it instead of talking tough about the deficit which we're currently hearing both parties doing. There needs to be meaningful action otherwise there's a real risk that investors around the world are going to say, you know what, I don't want dollars, I want gold. These guys are risking either default or runaway inflation in the next few years. So, the stakes are higher.
CHETRY: It's politically untenable, though, to take the biggest drivers of what cost us money and say that you're having to expect a difference in Medicare, in universal health care, in your Social Security, in the interest on our debt. I mean, all of that seems in some ways very difficult to maneuver.
FERGUSON: I think it's politically, tremendously difficult for such a polarized system as we currently see in Washington. But, you know, at some point this could get very ugly, indeed, for the United States. We had a warning last week from S&P, from Standard & Poor's, saying that the U.S. is on a negative credit watch --
CHETRY: That's right.
FERGUSON: I mean, that is a very scary sign of the kind of crisis that I've been warning about now for two years or more. So I think the time is now for Republicans and Democrats alike to start making some meaningful decisions and that has to address Medicare and Social Security. Those are the two big threats to fiscal stability over the long term.
CHETRY: That's right.
FERGUSON: As well as the tax system which frankly is a mess and which through simplification could, in fact, yield more revenue with conceivably lower rates.
CHETRY: Most economists agree with that. Whether it happens politically is a different story.
FERGUSON: That's the problem. CHETRY: Quickly, the article that you wrote about in "Newsweek" about China's monetary policies now more influential than those of the United States. That's a pretty scary prospect to most Americans.
FERGUSON: Well, yes. I mean, it's not unnoticed if you travel around the world. But more and more people are asking themselves, what are they going to do in Beijing? Not, what are they going to do in Washington?
If China were to tighten significantly -- and it already has tightened quite a lot, in terms of interest rates and reserve requirements. If it were to go further to bring inflation under control in China, the effect on commodity markets, including, I think, the gold market would be really huge. So we're seeing a big shift from west to east right now to the extent China may matter more in terms of decision making than the United States.
CHETRY: Wow. Well, it was great to talk to you this morning. I encourage everyone to read the article. It is interesting.
Neil Ferguson, great to see you in person, finally.
FERGUSON: Thank you very much. Enjoy London.
CHETRY: Thank you. I sure will.
Back to you guys, Christine and Ali.
VELSHI: That's one conversation, Kiran. Thanks very much.
It was really interesting to hear Neil Ferguson disagreeing with Gordon Brown about the -- you know, they've done it differently in the U.K. --
ROMANS: Sure.
VELSHI: They've gone with the austerity, not the stimulus after initially having stimulus.
ROMANS: And it shows you that a lot of smart people who are all in the know have different ideas --
VELSHI: Very different opinions --
ROMANS: -- about what the United States, the U.K. and the world should be doing to get out of the crunch that we've been in.
Meanwhile, personally what can you do? Are you looking for work? Have you been out of work for six months or so? How do be your own brand, to exude "I am this" and get the job. We're going to have that for you coming up in about 10 minutes.
VELSHI: And you're speaking about the long-term employed. For those of you out there who know 99ers who've been out of work for two years or more, it's worth listening to this. Christine's got some good advice. Hey, did you see that thing in Los Angeles? A man has been arrested for shooting a police helicopter. The helicopter had to make an emergency landing. We'll show you the video and tell you what that was about, when we come back.
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ROMANS: Even Coca-Cola and Apple are behind us.
VELSHI: I was going to say, I didn't know what that was about. But I do know that a lot of people in this country are looking for jobs, either because they've been unemployed or they're restless in their own jobs and they want to sort of get further. But the competition is fierce.
ROMANS: It is. And that's why a lot of experts in sort of the -- in the whole getting a job field say you need to have a personal mission statement. You need to have a brand so people know what you stand for.
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ROMANS (voice-over): Here's one way to fight unemployment. Let's say you're not living in Florida, where the Employment Agency Workforce of Central Florida recently handed out red capes to help the out of work to take on Dr. Evil Unemployment, seen in this promotional video.
What can you do?
WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: I like to think we've entered the decade of me 2.0. It's a time when we have to dump all our shame, figure out where our strengths are and what we're good at, and broadcast that to the world.
ROMANS: And broadcasting those strengths by becoming a brand may be the best bet to getting back to work.
WALSH: Social networking is so important. After I had my two babies, I went online and between Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, I found so many of my old colleagues. And the good news is, they'd been promoted while I was out of the game. So they were in positions to hire me.
ROMANS: With the average length of unemployment hovering at about 39 weeks or more, going on interview after interview can be a drain.
CATHERINE KAPUTA, BRANDING SPECIALIST/AUTHOR, "YOU ARE A BRAND!": It's easy when you've been out of work for a long time to lose your confidence. And it's very important in a job market to really be confident. And I think, you know, I tell people what's most important in a job interview is the first 15 seconds. You really want to be able to define yourself.
ROMANS: Especially at places like job fairs and seminars where everyone is trying to stand out.
KAPUTA: I was at a networking event recently, and people, you know, it was one of those things, people get 60 seconds to sort of talk about themselves. And most people, they give a laundry list. Well, hey, there's no branding in a laundry list. So you really want to be able to tell a story about yourself.
ROMANS: It's getting better with job openings at 3.1 million as of February, the highest level in nearly three years.
WALSH: You have to go in strong, fighting ready, knowing that you are just part of a system. It wasn't your fault. Now go get them.
ROMANS: And if you lose your superhero cape, after they did in Florida after an outcry for the thousands of dollars spent for something fairly, well, frivolous, maybe just create your own SWOT analysis.
KAPUTA: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It's a typical marketing analysis they do on a brand and I think it's good for people to do a SWOT analysis, too.
ROMANS: No cape required.
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And Catherine Kaputa there, who wrote the book "You're a Brand!," she says you've got 15 seconds and 15 words to make your impression, to make your brand on people whether you're looking for -- remember that. 15 seconds --
VELSHI: It's important to keep it short.
ROMANS: -- 15 words.
Workforce Central Florida issued this statement about their, you know, Cape Campaign. They say they listened to the public and they'll be withdrawing our reportedly out of the box creative campaign Capability Challenge later today. Even though it seemed to offend some, it was the farthest thing from our intention, which was to introduce our program and services to job seekers and employers who need them.
There were critics who said spending money for retraining or for jobless programs for a Cape is not going to get anybody in a job.
So, a little bit of a controversy there.
VELSHI: I do kind of get their point, though. People need to feel empowered. They do -- it does hurt people's --
ROMANS: It might go into the whole brand idea if you start to, you know, put on a new idea -- put on a cape, put on a brand, your personal mission statement and figure out what you want to be and how you're going to project that to the rest of the world.
VELSHI: That SWOT analysis makes a lot of sense. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Businesses use it. You should use it, too.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Top stories right after the break.
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