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American Morning
Shocking Side of bin Laden; Strange Inflight Incidents; NATO Chief: "Game Over" for Gadhafi; Canadian Woman Found; Mississippi Rising; From Dirt to Shirt; Imams Forced Off Flight
Aired May 09, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
Videotapes seized from Osama bin Laden's compound released for the world to see revealing a shocking side of the al Qaeda chief's personality.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry.
Passengers forced to spring into action to take down two unruly passengers on two separate flights, one going for an exit in midair, one for the cockpit.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
Missing for seven weeks. A Canadian woman is finally found alone on a remote road in Nevada with only trail mix and melting snow keeping her alive. We'll explain her amazing survival on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Monday, May 9th. Lots going on today, including the Mississippi River getting very close to cresting and flooding a lot of towns along the Mississippi.
CHETRY: Yes, a lot of concerns on that. We want to talk a little bit, though, about these strange inflight incidents that happened --
VELSHI: Weird weekend, yes.
CHETRY: Three of them over the weekend. Yes. The nation's on high alert, of course, as we know, after the death of Osama bin Laden and then these three strange incidents happening this weekend have a lot of people scratching their heads.
ROMANS: That's right. And the TSA says first an unruly passenger headed for the cockpit door on an American Airlines flight last night from Chicago to San Francisco. And a flight attendants and passengers helped take him down. On the radio, you can hear the pilot tell the tower that they've got a problem.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PILOT: American 1561 -- we're going to need priority handling on our arrival. We've had a passenger conflict here.
American 1561 -- do I have "as soon as possible" at San Francisco? TOWER: American 1561, Norcal approach, going to maintain 6,000. Say again, the last thing you said.
PILOT: Down to 6,000 and we need priority handling tonight.
TOWER: You are receiving it, American 1561.
PILOT: Cool, thanks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow. The flight made it to San Francisco and the man was arrested.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Meantime, on another plane, this was a Continental flight from Houston to Chicago, it was forced to land en route -- it landed in St. Louis after witnesses say a guy went for the exit. Passengers jumped in here and they say he put up some fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I hear a scream from the stewardess and I see her fly across the thing. So, I go running and I see this guy with his hands on the door, these two guys trying to hold him, and the guy was a bull. So I just jumped on his back, put him in the choke.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I also have to say that Americans are not going down like that anymore. The men were all up and out in a minute, getting him subdued.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: The plane landed safely in St. Louis, took off again, made it to Chicago about an hour later. The passenger, of course, was taken off the plane for questioning.
CHETRY: Then a Delta flight from Detroit to San Diego also diverted yesterday after a flight attendant found a suspicious note in the bathroom. The FBI did not say what the note read, but a passenger said it had the word "bomb" on it. The plane landed safely in Albuquerque. They did a security sweep of the plane and that turned up nothing.
ROMANS: And the pilot in that incident told everyone, look, we've got to land for safety reasons, we don't think this is anything, but we've got to land --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Right. Sure.
ROMANS: -- from everyone on the plane, of course.
Now, a side of bin Laden the world has never seen, video seized from the al Qaeda's chief's compound just released by the Obama administration, it shows the 9/11 mastermind hunkering down in front of a television set, studying news broadcasts of himself. Intelligence officials say he was vain and obsessed with his message.
VELSHI: And another new development, President Obama claiming bin Laden likely had some kind of support network inside Pakistan to help him go undetected all that time that he was there. And President Obama wants the Pakistani government to investigate.
CHETRY: And the U.S. is also pressuring Pakistan to get us access to bin Laden's three widows. National security officials want to interview them. That request already heightened already strained relations between the two countries. Pakistan, so far, is refusing to let our officials question them.
ROMANS: President Obama hoping the death of bin Laden will help rid the world of al Qaeda once and for all. In a "60 Minutes" interview that aired last night, the president said when it comes to the terror group, now is the time to go for the kill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But we've got the opportunity, I think, to really, finally defeat, at least al Qaeda in that border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. That doesn't mean that we will defeat terrorism. But it does mean we've got a chance to, I think, really deliver a fatal blow to this organization, if we follow through aggressively in the months to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: And two congressmen from New York think at least some of the $25 million bounty on Osama bin Laden should go to the victims of 9/11 and their families. The idea was announced yesterday at a news conference at Ground Zero. Congressman Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler calling on the Justice Department to consider using the reward money to fund organizations that provide health care and other resources to victims directly impacted by the terrorist attack.
CHETRY: Two American hikers lock up in Iran go on trial this week. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are accused of spying. They've been in a jail since 2009. And if convicted, they could face the death penalty.
Officials in the U.S. have made repeated calls for their release. A third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was released back in September on $500,000 bail because of a medical condition. She served 14 months in prison.
ROMANS: All right. When your pain at the pump is starting to reflect the drop in oil prices we've seen. That's right -- finally, not going up, up, up. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.96 a gallon. That's the fourth straight day gas prices have dropped.
I know, they've been up for weeks before that, but at least --
VELSHI: We all like a trend. We like a trend.
All right. The secretary general of NATO is saying game over for Gadhafi. We've heard this kind of things. Gadhafi has to go, game over. What does that mean? What is going to happen to Moammar Gadhafi? A lot of people are wondering whether we're in a stalemate in Libya.
We're going to talk to the secretary general of NATO about their mission, where it goes from here, and what success looks like.
CHETRY: Also, the missing woman found after surviving 49 days alone, basically eating trail mix, melting snow for water. The situation is not looking so good for her husband, who left their abandoned car to try to find help.
ROMANS: And we want to know what you think. The morning question -- the question of the morning: should pilots be able to profile and remove passengers based on appearance?
An imam says he initially wasn't given a reason why he was kicked off a plane. Two of them who were dressed in standard Muslim attire were kicked off their flight, even after going through security again, they were not allowed to board.
We're going to tell you more about this story and want to know what you think, too. You can tweet us, go our blog, and find us on Facebook. We're going to read your comments later in the program.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Nine minutes past the hour right now.
Violence sweeping through Syria -- in a bloody crackdown, the military moves in on major cities in an effort to crush anti-regime protests. Several residents were killed, including a 12-year-old boy, as well as six security members. Amnesty International is reporting that more than 540 people have been killed by Syrian forces since the protests began in mid-March.
ROMANS: It has got lost in the headlines the past couple of weeks, but the war in Libya is still raging. Even this morning, NATO continued to hammer Gadhafi's forces and hit his command and control facilities. NATO secretary general is now saying the game is over for Gadhafi, but there are still questions about what the end game really is there, and how close we are to that.
Joining us now is NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Welcome to the program, sir.
I want to, first, talk about some concerns about becoming -- a stalemate and how serious NATO is about the condition there. A "New York Times" editorial says that, "Unless NATO, including the United States, gets more serious, Libya's liberation war could turn into a prolonged, bloody stalemate. NATO still has the military means to help tip the balance if it can summon the unity and the will."
How can NATO become more serious?
ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, SECRETARY GENERAL, NATO: We are, indeed, serious. And we keep up a strong military pressure on Gadhafi.
The Gadhafi regime's time is up. We have significantly degraded his war machine. He's politically isolated. He and his people have no future. The future belongs to the Libyan people.
ROMANS: You say the game is over for Gadhafi. He says otherwise, and says no one will pull him from power.
So, what happens next? How do you make sure there is not a stalemate here? And does the U.N. mandate allow you to do any more than you're doing right now?
RASMUSSEN: I consider this a two-track process. There is a military track and there's a political track.
Militarily, we keep up a strong pressure within the United Nations' mandate. We have taken out a substantial part of his military capability. We are hitting critical targets, tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, ammunition depots, command and control centers, and we will continue to keep up that military pressure.
ROMANS: Let's talk about --
RASMUSSEN: But you also have to realize, there's no political solution solely to the problems in Libya. We need a political process. It's hard to imagine that the attacks against the civilian population will stop as long as Gadhafi remains in power. So, he must leave power and open a transition to a democracy.
ROMANS: I know amnesty -- or Human Rights Watch this morning is very concerned about indiscriminate attacks they say in western mountain towns. We know that Misrata had a lot of damage again this weekend. Gadhafi forces bombing oil depots and oil facilities there.
You've talked about militarily and then political solutions. You are, you know, running the NATO show here now. But you also know politics, a seasoned diplomat. What politically should NATO members and the U.N. be doing now to make sure it really is the end game for Gadhafi?
RASMUSSEN: I think, in addition to keeping up the strong military pressure, we need a very strong international political pressure on the Gadhafi regime, strengthened sanctions would be helpful, and I also think, financial assistance to the opposition would be a very important contribution to further isolating Gadhafi and his regime.
ROMANS: Is that a message you're giving to the other countries? Are you telling them, we need financial assistance to the rebels -- the rebels need more political support?
RASMUSSEN: But that's actually what we have discussed within the international contact group. This is a broad international effort. And recently, we had a meeting in Rome. And the main message from that meeting is that the opposition needs to be supported politically, as well as financially.
ROMANS: Can we have success? Can you consider it success in Libya if there's a stalemate? If Gadhafi remains in power, but he is not removed, and then what happens to NATO and your goal?
RASMUSSEN: I have to say that there's no stalemate. We are making progress. We have taken out a significant part of his military capabilities. And by that, lived up to the U.N. Security Council resolution and we have protected the civilian population against attacks from the Gadhafi regime.
But I also have to say that it's hard to imagine an end to the violence, as long as Gadhafi remains in power. So, I think the bottom line is that to find a long-term sustainable solution in Libya, we also need Gadhafi to leave power.
ROMANS: OK. And how and when that happens still remains to be seen.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary general -- thank you, sir, for joining us this morning.
RASMUSSEN: You're welcome.
CHETRY: All right. Just into CNN: we've been telling you all morning about these three incidents that took place over the weekend with unruly passengers and in one case, a note left. Well, we have some new details about that American Airlines flight that was going from Chicago to San Francisco when they say that somebody -- one of the passengers tried to actually charge the cockpit. We're finding out new details now about who that person was.
According to our reporting today, the TSA saying that this was a man by the name of Regalt Al Morici (ph). That he was flying with a passport from Yemen. They also say that he was pounding on the cockpit door when they were able to subdue him, and he was not armed.
VELSHI: All right. This was American Airlines flight 1561 from Chicago to San Francisco, departed at 7:00 p.m. Chicago time yesterday, landed at 9:12. As the pilot was coming in for a landing, he radioed the tower to say they're going to need some help. They've got an unruly passenger. Here is the recording of the conversation between the pilot and the control tower. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're from American 1561. We're going to need a priority handling on our arrival. We've had a passenger conflict here. American 1561, Do I have as soon as possible at San Francisco?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 1561, Norcal approach, going to maintain 6,000. Say again the last thing you said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down to 6,000, and we need priority handling tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are receiving it American 1561.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cool, thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VELSHI: Priority handling, the pilot meant, we need to get in, we need to get in fast, and we need assistance when we get there, likely, police assistance. We understand that he was taken into custody by TSA and local San Francisco police upon arrival.
CHETRY: Right. And again, what we've seen in this instance as well as the other one when somebody tried to open an exit door, it was not just the crew, but fellow passengers stepping in to help.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: This was the case, as well, according to the spokesman for American Airlines. The passengers also helped subdue this passenger. Obviously, they're going to be questioning him. What the motive is, we don't know, at this point.
ROMANS: These are, I mean, if you're just tuning, and these are unrelated incidents by every reporting that we've had, but just learning more and more about these -- why someone would storm a cockpit or try to open a door in flight or put a note --
VELSHI: And since 9/11, they're locked. He didn't get anywhere close to breaching the cockpit. So, we'll keep you posted on any more information that we get on that story.
Another story that we're following which is really very bittersweet is a Canadian woman and her husband vanished in Nevada. They were driving. They got stuck in the mud, apparently. She has been found alive, and amazingly well considering that she's been out there for 49 days. Rita Chretien was found in her van by hunters on Friday. She survived biting trail mix and melting snow, we understand. She and her husband, Albert, took a trip to Las Vegas in March.
They were last seen in a convenience store in Oregon, and their van, this is the convenience store. This is the last video of them. Their van got stuck on a muddy, desolate road. Her husband went looking for help. He has not been found. The couple's family is thrilled that she has.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LORRAIN HOVING, ALBERT CHERETIEN'S SISTER: For mother's day, we want to walk in, and we want to look at Rita and hold her and hug her. I'll probably cry, just seeing Rita, knowing that she survived 7 1/2 weeks in a van and hung on to hope for all that time. Probably words will not come and probably tears will come and lots of hugs and kisses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Chretien's doctors say she may be even well enough to leave the hospital in a few days. The search for her husband gets (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: Well, hundreds of people on the run this morning in Memphis from the surging Mississippi River. It is now expected to crest near a record level tomorrow. Many homes are swamped already. They're saying that this is the worst flood or could be the worst flood since 1937 in downtown Memphis. The river now stretches three miles wide. Normally, it is about a half-mile wide in that spot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR A CHETRY WHARTON, JR., MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: We think we have a pretty good handle on it. The corps of engineers tell us that the levees are going to hold. We've evacuated around 400. There are another 1,300 or so who are in the low-lying areas. The only danger there is that if a road were to give in, we had that happen in southwest, where we could not get in at the last minute, but we're going to be ready. Even if that were to happen, we'd have ways of getting everybody out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: They're also saying that there is concern about warning fatigue in the city, because this disaster is unfolding so slowly, so getting people to know that, we mean business, you've got to get out, is always a challenge.
ROMANS: Well, it's always a challenge of flooding.
VELSHI: It's such a big story. And even with us, we've been talking about it for so long that I wonder whether people who aren't in these affected areas think, why do you, guys, keep talking about this flood? But it's rich farmland, and it is an inhabited area. It's a problem.
ROMANS: Absolutely. All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, when it comes to taxes, do the rich pay their fair share?
VELSHI: Good question.
ROMANS: Ali's got interesting stuff on this.
VELSHI: In fact, I would suggest you pop into money.com. It's the most popular story there and on CNN.com, and I'm going to tell you about it when we come back.
ROMANS: And if you want to be one of those rich millionaires, you better go get the right college degree, but it's going to cost you.
VELSHI: It's going to cost you money.
ROMANS: Because you're drowning in more college debt than ever before. We'll tell you how much college debt the average kid is taking on after the break.
VELSHI: Twenty-one after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: There are a lot of people who say rich people don't pay taxes. People who earn a lot of money don't pay taxes. There are some who don't. In fact, 1 percent of those people in America who made more than a million dollars in 2010 didn't pay any taxes at all. Ninety-nine percent, by the way, did. One percent of those people, that's 4,000 people in America. It's the lead story on cnnmoney.com. Millionaires' no-tax club.
Let me tell you a little bit about this. Gives you a chart, breaks it down by the number of people in each earning category, and how many of those people pay taxes. Tax experts say one of the reasons why people who made more than a million dollars in 2010 may not be paying taxes is because they've been big investors, and they probably lost big in the market in 2008. You remember how much the market lost that year.
Well, according to the tax code, you get to write off those losses for many years to come, because there's a limit as to how much you can write off every year. They also might be retired or self-employed or they might give a lot to charity. Bottom line, the tax code in this country is built for people who have a lot of money and invest that money or give it away to charity.
In all, by the way, nearly half of all households in America, according to my friend, Jeanne Sahadi, who has written this article, more than half of all households in America don't pay tax, about 67 million people in 2010. The overwhelming majority of those who don't pay income tax in this country are low income. So, that's something you may want to read. Right now, this is the most popular story on the brand-new money.com.
This is the source, by the way, that we use to get a lot of our business reporting, in fact, all of our business reporting here at CNN, a big team of people, reporters at money.com. You can see, one of the new features of the new site is a listing of the most popular stories. And you can see this one about millionaires who owe no federal income tax is the most popular story on the new site. Here's another great feature for people who like to use tablets, iPads, things like that.
There is a tablet view. It's right on the main screen. It's not an app. You click on the tablet view, and you'll see it this way in your tablet. So, that millionaire story will be here. Also, you can use the tablet view on a regular PC. So, if you just happen to like this way of looking at stories, you can do that.
If you've got an android, there's a specific app for it. A great source for all sorts of financial information, particularly now, as we head into the market opening in the next hour and a half, you'll be able to get a real sense of what's going on -- Kiran, Christine.
ROMANS: All right. The class of 2011 will graduate with more student debt than any class before. If you're just graduating from college or you're the parent of someone in college, you already know this. According to the "Wall Street Journal," when you add up the loans that parents take to finance their children of education (ph) and the loans the students take out, the average senior this year will owe about $22,900.
That's 8 percent more than a year ago. Though, experts say, in the long run, these investments are worth it. I always caution, they're worth it if you don't drop out of school, if you don't, you know, take a very low-paying job --
VELSHI: Study something that people -- but there are great ways to find out what those areas are of study, and it cuts your chances of being unemployed in half.
ROMANS: And it's not to say that there aren't some really great jobs that you can go through trade school or ladder (ph) jobs like plumbing, and a lot -- you know -
CHETRY: Vocations, right.
ROMANS: Vocations that can also be very, very good investments of your time and education.
CHETRY: Well, Monroe mania, I guess you can call it. A lot of these items that Marilyn Monroe sold -- that were hers. She didn't sell them. They sold at auction for record prices over the weekend in Beverly Hills. One of the biggest surprises was how much money this little black cocktail dress got. She wore it back in 1958. Well, it sold for $348,000.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: Other highlights include a bathing suit that went for 84 grand. There it is.
VELSHI: There's a lot of bathing suit.
CHETRY: Yes. As we joked about, today's cocktail dress, and a bra for nearly $6,800. Look at that thing.
ROMANS: I don't know. I don't know. Asset class, I don't know how that it is becomes a return of your investment.
VELSHI: It's like, you buy it because you like it.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Rafael Nadal's amazing shot at the Madrid Open over the weekend. Behind the back, between the legs, he nails it, but was it enough for the win?
VELSHI: Oh!
CHETRY: That's amazing.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Watch it again. It's coming up.
ROMANS: Thousands of hours on the tennis court. All right. You're going to find out --
CHETRY: See. That was either an amazing shot or that would have been number one on the America's Funniest Home Videos, if you know what I mean? It's gone --
VELSHI: Way to go (ph) wrong. We'll be right back. It's 28 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: It's 30 minutes past the hour. Here are the morning's top stories. A dire warning to Memphis, Tennessee, residents -- get out now. The Mississippi River is rising fast and expected to crest tomorrow. Floodwaters may reach record levels, the river already leaving behind plenty of damage so far. Officials say it could be the worst flood since 1937.
President Obama sharing his thoughts on Al Qaeda and Pakistan on "60 Minutes." He says it's likely bin Laden had a support network in Pakistan, and he's calling on Pakistani and U.S. officials to investigate. Meanwhile, the president says the time is right to deliver the fatal blow to Al Qaeda.
Security scares onboard three different flights yesterday causing some to make emergency landings. The TSA blaming it on, quote, "unruly passengers," one man making a run toward the cockpit door, another flight, a man headed for the exit, t third flight turned up a threatening note in the bathroom. But all three planes landed safely.
And on one of those flights, the flight to San Francisco, we're learning new details this hour about who that person was, pounding, trying to get into the cockpit, someone who was found later to have no weapon, but someone flying under a Yemeni passport.
VELSHI: He was subdued by the passengers, they all got involved. That was American flight 1561.
CHETRY: Right now, hundreds of people are running from the surging Mississippi River. The danger runs all the way downstream to New Orleans. Some Memphis streets near the river are already under water, and the river may not fall below flood stage until next month.
VELSHI: David Mattingly is live there in Memphis. Give us some sense -- whoa! Look at you.
ROMANS: That's a sense.
VELSHI: That gives us some sense. How widespread is this, because some of Memphis is on a bluff.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, the best way to put this, everything in Memphis that is typically on the water today is in the water. But the good news is this water is only going to come up maybe another six inches by tomorrow. So at that point, the river will have stopped its encroachment on the city.
But already, it's had just an incredible effect here. Take a look out this way as I try to come up the steps, the submerged steps here. This river is typically only a half mile wide here at Memphis. But now it is three miles wide. Those trees over there, that tree line, that is mud island. That's typically a place where tourists like to go. They can't get there today. A lot of it is underwater. The point is actually an island unto itself. The flags are still flying, but if you want to get out to that island today, you won't be able to drive or walk. You're going to need a boat.
Strangely enough, though, with all the flooding you see here on the banks of the Mississippi, the worst flooding we've seen around -- in and around Memphis has been in pockets here and there along tributaries. These are rivers that are around Memphis that typically empty into the Mississippi. Well, as this water has come up, that water's had no place to go, so we've seen pockets of flooding around the city where we've seen entire trailer parks, some homes that are now in the water. We've got 300 to 400 people in shelters.
And it's going to take a while before things get back to normal here, because all this water came up in a matter of days. And now it's going to take weeks to get out of here. This water is not going to find -- this river, rather, is not going to find it banks again until probably sometime in June. So there's going to be a very slow, methodical clean up behind everything as this water slowly gets back to where it's supposed to be. Ali?
VELSHI: All right, David, you were saying that we are about -- are we two inches now from the crest, which is expected tomorrow morning?
MATTINGLY: Well, just a couple of inches. The last report we saw, it said we were going to have about six more inches of water coming up. So that would be, from where I'm standing right now, the water would get up just one more step right here.
So the encroachment of this water is just about done here in Memphis. They've been out in front of it all along. It's been very slow to come up. So they've been able to identify the areas that are going to have problems. They've been able to get in there and tell people to get out when they need to get out.
But at this point, this is about it for what the river's going to do to Memphis. Now it's just going to be a very slow retreat, a very slow and long cleanup afterward.
VELSHI: David Mattingly in Memphis, thank you very much for that. We'll stay on top of that story. They've brought the deadline forward and are expecting the river to crest tomorrow morning.
ROMANS: All right, a story about border security here. Arizona's governor wants to build more fence along the U.S./Mexico border, but the state is so strapped for cash, she's asking the public for donations. Governor Jan Brewer is launching a website to raise money for the work. If enough funds are raised, the project could begin later this year. The fence would be built by state prisoners. They'll get 50 cents an hour for the work.
It's interesting, Congress just a few years ago voted to put a fence up along the border with Mexico. And that was in a fit of border security, the politics of border security. We haven't heard much about it lately and now here's Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, wanting to raise some money to finish the job.
VELSHI: We've been talking about those beached whales off the Florida keys, two have been released back into the ocean. Close to two dozen whales were found stranded in shallow water last week, and 14 of them died, five are still recovering. Rescuers says don't know why those whales became stranded.
CHETRY: With spring in full swing, bike sharing programs are shopping up. In cities like Chicago, Miami, and Denver, bike sharing is taking of as a way to ease traffic and pollution. So you have a membership fee, you can unlock a bike from a docking station and return it when you're done riding it. Bikes are tagged to prevent theft. Some bikes can also track calories burned and also miles pedaled.
VELSHI: In Paris, you don't even know the membership fee. You just swipe your card.
CHETRY: It's the same in London. Just swipe your credit card.
ROMANS: Pollution, traffic, and wellness -- 10,000 baby boomers every day are turning 65. But the number one way to keep your health care costs down --
VELSHI: I think it's great for tourism too. Come in there and see the city. The same reason people used to be segue tours. A bike is great.
ROMANS: And you won't need a parking space. If you are looking for a parking space, there's an app for that. Officials in San Francisco have introduced an iPhone app that shows drivers where to find open parking spots. Wireless sensors and parking meters detect in seconds when a spot opens up. Officials warn drivers should pull over before using --
VELSHI: I hope no one's going to crash into each other, because they're all racing --
CHETRY: I thought maybe we should revisit saying, it's a great idea to sight see on a bike in New York. You're taking your life in your hands at some point.
VELSHI: We've got a lot of bike lanes.
CHETRY: But the real bikers are a little -- you know, they're --
VELSHI: They're serious. They're a different breed. They're not renting bikes and --
CHETRY: No. God forbid you get in their way.
VELSHI: Coming up ahead, "Perry's Principles." A mom allegedly -- well, not allegedly, she was arrested for allegedly trying to get her child into a better school by faking the address where he lived.
CHETRY: They're calling it larceny. They're saying she stole $15,000 worth of a public school's education.
VELSHI: Maybe she stole someone else's spot, but I totally see why she's trying to do it.
ROMANS: People are desperate for a good education.
VELSHI: Well, should she be charged with anything? We'll talk about it on the other side with Steve Perry. It's 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 41 minutes past the hour right now. A Connecticut mother is facing larceny charges this morning. She allegedly falsified her address so her son could go to a better school district. She's homeless right now. A mom in Ohio now accused of doing the same thing as well.
CNN education contributor Steve Perry joins us this morning from Hartford, Connecticut. Steve, good to see you. So what does this say about our public schools in general if parents need compelled to take these risks, and then on the flipside, to criminalize trying to get your kid the best education you know how?
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: The current system is one of the last vestiges of a time in which we didn't value all children. What this is saying is that if you're not born to the right parents and the right community, you don't deserve access to a quality public education.
I think it's disgusting. What we have is -- we're not saving anybody by keeping in place the failed system. We're not making your children safer by putting these children in bad schools. We know that the route to success is, in fact, the route to a great school system. And that should be everyone's right.
CHETRY: Her name is Tanya McDowell, she's 33 years old. She felt that the school system her son would have gone to at their last known address was not up to par. So she wanted to do is take her son, give him an opportunity to go into another school district. And now she's being charged $16,000 worth of an education that they say she stole by enrolling her son in kindergarten in her babysitter's school district. And you say she was one of many parents whose kids were removed from this school.
PERRY: It is typical throughout the country to have horrible school systems, typically inner city school systems, next to amazing suburban school systems, and they're adjacent in some cases.
And these schools are public schools. People think, well, my tax dollars pay for this school. Well, everyone's tax dollars pay for those schools, because in many cases, you get state and federal funds. So you mean to tell me, if a parent were to fall down and get hurt in a nearby suburban town, they would have to bring their urban police officers with them? Absolutely not. We believe this is an entire country in which we all get services. The military doesn't go overseas and fight for a state. They fight for the entire country. We have to begin to see ourselves as a country.
One of the reasons why those other countries are beating us academically is because they believe that all children, not just the wealthy children, are successful. We need to have access to a successful education.
CHETRY: The bottom line, it brings up a whole another scary aspect. If she felt this school was so bad, what about the poor kids that are in this school and in this district? At what point do we have to say, all public schools have to be acceptable, we have to be able to trust that our kids can get an education there?
PERRY: Well, I think that has to happen right now. I think all children need to be given access to vouchers, much in the same way we run our second -- our post-secondary education, meaning our colleges and universities. We say that we don't believe in vouchers, but we give students financial aid. We believe in Medicare and Medicaid, we believe in Section Eight. Those are all public moneys used for private goods and services.
And I don't think that we believe that you should have to go only to the hospital that's in your neighborhood. So why should you only have to go to the school that's in your neighborhood? We know that good schools change people's lives. The best schools make amazing things happen.
CHETRY: I guess the question is why can't these other schools be good as well. What are the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of some of these other schools making changes that make them acceptable?
PERRY: Well, there's a -- that's a longer conversation. But the truth is that good schools are good schools. And we know what works. And one of the reasons why those schools have failed is because of the way in which they're designed. It's not the children in the school that makes a school a good school, it's the adults in the school that makes it a good school.
When the adults take the children's learning personally, when they see the children as if they are their own, very own children then, they make great things happen. One of the reasons why we have the deficit, it's believed by the McKenzie report, is because the maintenance of the achievement gap. We can make up as much as $1 trillion a year if we can begin to close the achievement gap. We can close the achievement gap when we send all children to great schools.
And that's possible. That's not pie in the sky. We have the best colleges in the world because we allow for competition to take shape. We know that one of the reasons why some of these countries that we -- that we have so much trouble, countries such as Egypt and others, one of the reasons why they are in so much trouble is because of their failed education systems. Because they in these countries, only allow their children to have access to means to go to the best schools. CHETRY: Right.
PERRY: We can't have that here in the United States. Every child, every single child needs to have access to a quality education, right now.
CHETRY: Right.
Well, what we're going to do is we're going to continue to follow this story.
Miss McDowell, as we understand it, right now, she is being supported by some civil rights leaders and in fact her lawyers are being provided by the Connecticut Chapter of the NAACP. So we'll see what happens with this.
But again, she is facing up to 20 years in prison and $15,000 in fines for trying to get her son into a better school.
Steve Perry thanks so much for joining us this morning great to see you as always.
PERRY: Thank you so much Kiran.
CHETRY: It's 46 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
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ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: The water reaching railroad record levels along the Mississippi River. These are live pictures of the spillway in Louisiana. They've just been opened to try and save that city. The river expected to crest tomorrow in Memphis, Tennessee. The Army Corps of Engineers plans to open a spillway north of New Orleans to prevent flooding in that city.
New video of Osama bin Laden like you have never seen him before. In one of the videos, this one here the U.S. -- that the U.S. found at his compound, look at this, a greying bin Laden draped in a blanket, watching himself on TV.
Well, it pays to have that corner office. A study conducted for the "Wall Street Journal" found pay checks for CEOs at some of America's biggest companies jumped 11 percent last year.
Allergy season in full bloom, experts predict this year could be one of the worst on record because of those heavy winter snows and the heavy early spring rains.
And the markets open in 45 minutes after spending most of last week in the red. Right now stocks are set to start the week with a pop. The Dow, NASDAQ, S&P futures all up right now. Go to CNNMoney.com for the very latest news about your money.
McDonald's spending more than $1 billion to make over its stores so you'll linger a little longer. Gone are those steel chairs and bright interiors. In its place will be wood tables, fake leather chairs, and muted paint colors.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Today's "Building Up AMERICA," a group of businesses trying to keep jobs in their communities by making, selling and growing T-shirts right in their own backyards.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Did you see that right --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: The T-shirt pops right up.
ROMANS: Making and selling and growing T-shirts. That's what Tom Foreman says. And -- and if -- if Tom Foreman says that, I believe it. He joins us live from North Carolina. Hi Tom.
VELSHI: Come on you don't grow T-shirts. Even in North Carolina, they don't grow T-shirts.
CHETRY: They grow vests as well there.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh we're -- we're surrounded by T- shirt farms. They're all over the place here, the early little T- shirts are just now cropping up. You know the truth is you know cotton. Cotton was one of those signature products of the south land for so, so, so long. It's still grown in 17 states.
But after China and India took over the biggest bulk of the world's cotton production, the textile industry here had a lot of trouble. Now, though, some of them are bouncing back with a really aggressive surge to promote locally grown cotton and cotton products.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Ronnie Burleson is laying in another crop of Carolina cotton just as his family has for years, but this is much more than a job these days.
RONNIE BURLESON, COTTON FARMER: It's a thrill.
FOREMAN: Because a portion of his crop is going to Cotton of the Carolinas. That's an innovative program to build up the hard-hit textile industry here, by turning locally grown cotton into locally made clothing, creating locally need jobs, at places like TS Designs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our shirts go from dirt to shirt in 700 miles or less.
FOREMAN: That matters because company officials like Eric Michelle stress green production, using less fuel, which is difficult when cotton and cotton products are shipped back and forth to China, India, Pakistan.
ERIC MICHELLE, TS DESIGNS: TS Design is a triple bottom line business. They also like to look after the three Ps; people, planet, and profit.
FOREMAN: Of course, what crushed the textile industry was lower labor costs abroad, and these shirts still generally cost more than imports. But they have found fans in people who support local production and a competitive edge may be coming.
SAM MOORE, TS DESIGNS ADVISOR: Ultimately, when fuel costs and other things go way up, we're going to have a more sustainable supply chain and a consistent quality here that other people may not have.
FOREMAN: For Ronnie Burleson, it's simpler.
BURLESON: Going to church with people that worked in the cotton mills all their life and all that industry's gone, I feel proud to be a part of what can try to bring back some of those jobs and help my neighbor.
FOREMAN: Build up the fabric of his hometown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: And right now, this effort is supporting about 700 jobs here in North Carolina. And I got to tell you, Ali, you in particular know, you and Christine and Kiran as well, this whole textile industry down here --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes.
FOREMAN: -- can use that kind of support and it's given real hope to a lot of folks who are feeling pretty bad about it.
VELSHI: Yes. And that -- I mean, everyone complains about what's going on with our U.S. dollar.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: That's the one thing that -- that might actually help these folks. Tom, I miss being on that bus. Give it a big hug for me, please. Not right now. You can give it away until work.
FOREMAN: I'll do that and I'll pick you -- I'll pick you a fresh grown T-shirt and bring it to you.
VELSHI: Very nice.
ROMANS: Nice.
VELSHI: It's great to see you Tom as always.
ROMANS: I thought he meant this pertained to you because you don't have any, you know, natural fabric. It's all polyester.
VELSHI: That's what he must have meant. Exactly.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: All right.
A story we've been following all day here. Muslim leaders, two imams were kicked off a flight in Tennessee. Get this, they were on their way to an Islamophobia conference in North Carolina. So they were dressed in Muslim clothing, you can see them here. They were ordered off a plane after it began taxiing on the runway on Friday.
A lawyer for them says the men had already passed through security. They had gone through it a second time. But they were asked to go through more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MO IDIBILI, ATTORNEY FOR THE IMAMS: The only reason that the pilot has sited is that some of the passengers didn't feel comfortable, but when the passengers were asked whether anybody felt uncomfortable, none of them indicated that they were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: So the imams were put on another flight a few hours later. The airline Atlantic Southeast released a statement saying it apologizes for any inconvenience, but it takes security very seriously.
CHETRY: Right and the bottom line is, pilots do have that final say. If they feel -- it doesn't just have to do with dress. If that a pilot can --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I think if anybody --
CHETRY: -- can have anybody kicked off for any reason.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: So that was the case here.
But we want to know what you thought. We asked for your thought about this. Should pilots be able to remove passengers because of their appearances? Here are some of your responses this morning.
(INAUDIBLE) says, "It's a sad truth, but American Muslims have no rights. They are second class citizens that can be thrown out of planes and humiliated."
Tim makes an interesting point, "I highly doubt a terrorist is going to dress in such a way that he sticks out like a sore thumb." ROMANS: Pete McMullen (ph) says, "The pilot should have the right to remove individuals who they feel may impact the safety of the flight. Also, just because they passed security doesn't mean they weren't a threat".
In other news, three separate flights were diverted because of unruly passengers and they also presumably passed security. Good point.
CHETRY: Yes. Right. News of the day; we're talking about three different flights where they had problems.
Human images writes, "Yes, yes, yes, if it looks like a duck, don't wait for it to quack. My safety is more important than someone's feelings."
VELSHI: Jason says, "I'm disgusted by the fact that we are even asking this question. Considering this country's founding principles, I'm truly amazed that some Americans agree with this pilot's actions. Sadly, our country seems to thrive on the existence of an enemy or another, and Muslims have become the scapegoat for all our frustrations."
ROMANS: And finally from Gene, who says he's a pilot and a flight instructor. "I can say that the pilot absolutely possesses the authority to remove a passenger or at least refuse to fly the aircraft. The FAA states that, quote, 'the pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of the aircraft'."
CHETRY: All right. And he included exactly where you can find that.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I love social media with sources.
CHETRY: Yes, exactly. It's foot-noted.
We're going to take a quick break. We have your top stories coming up in just a moment.
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VELSHI: Lots of news developing right now. We're looking at the flooding on the Mississippi River. New information about that Chicago to San Francisco flight, where they have told us who was trying to charge the cockpit was overcome by passengers. A great deal of news developing right now.
CHETRY: And will we get to actually interrogate, as U.S. Officials want to, three bin Laden wives that were found in that compound in Pakistan? So probably the answer has been no.
ROMANS: That's going to wrap it up for us for today.
We'll see you back here tomorrow.
"CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello though starts right now. Hi, Carol.
CHETRY: Good morning Carol.
