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Obama's Efforts As Unifier; Young Afghan Girl Fearlessly Calls For Taliban To Leave

Aired February 15, 2009 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The stimulus bill has passed. But not everyone is happy. Top Republican lawmakers take to the airways to slam President Obama's political strategy.

And new developments from that plane crash near Buffalo, New York. Reports this hour that the plane may have been in auto pilot when it crashed.

And a vote for change in Venezuela. Residents being asked if they want Hugo Chavez to stay in office.

Hello everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This week the $787 billion economic stimulus plan will soon become the law of the land. President Obama is set to sign the bill Tuesday in Denver where he plans to hold an economic event. Administration officials say Mr. Obama wants to sign the bill in a place that will see an increase in jobs as a result of this package. Then on Wednesday, the president traveled to Phoenix to reveal details about his plan to deal with the foreclosure crisis. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is in Chicago where the president is. And he is along with his family as well. Suzanne, let's talk stimulus first. Layoffs are a huge concern for millions of Americans. But what assurances are there that this bill will actually help in the job market?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, it's certainly the president is going to be addressing that. It's been really kind of a slow weekend in Chicago. He's going to be playing pick-up basketball with some friends. So we briefly say the first couple yesterday leaving a restaurant for Valentine's Day.

But clearly, he is really going to hit the ground running this week. On Tuesday in Denver to sign that economic stimulus package, nearly $800 billion. Essentially he's going to be making the case there outside of Washington that this is going to translate into real jobs, into nearly -- the kinds of numbers in the millions, that the jobs are going to be in energy and technology, the kinds of things that we have seen out of the Denver area.

And then on Wednesday, he's going to be dealing with the housing crisis, outlining a plan. That is happening in Phoenix, Arizona. Now our own John King got a chance to talk with the secretary -- with the press secretary Robert Gibbs about what the president's message is going to be. It really is a combination of promise as well as caution. Take a listen, Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: John, as you know, you're in Arizona where the unemployment rate has gone up and certainly the number of jobs that we've lost over just the last three months shows you that the economy is actually getting worse right now, not getting better. So I think it's safe to say that things have not yet bottomed out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Fred, certainly not everybody is buying this case that this economic stimulus package is a good plan. Obviously just three Republicans who supported it. One of them who did not support it, Senator John McCain, a former rival of Barack Obama, he also talked to John King about the first three weeks of Obama's administration, saying, really, that he thought he did not get off to a good start. That it was a bad beginning in his words and he does not believe that the president has done enough when it comes to bipartisanship.

And he doesn't mean bipartisanship in reaching out and talking to them, but really taking a look at the philosophical differences between the Democrats and the Republicans in dealing with how to fix this economy.

So clearly, this is going to be something that they're going to be talking about and the president as well as his administration talking specifically about that housing crisis and how they plan to roll out that plan and manage that as well, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, Suzanne, if the White House is responding at all at this juncture about the tone coming from Republicans who had been very clear to bash the plan and almost set a tone of, we don't even plan to work together from this day forward?

MALVEAUX: You've heard from Robert Gibbs. You've heard from David Axelrod, top advisers coming out on the Sunday talk shows today essentially saying, look, we'll continue to reach out to Republicans, we'll continue to talk with them by phone, closed meetings, open forums, all of this.

But if they're not willing to work with them, then they're just not willing to do so. What they will do is reach out to Republican governors like Arnold Schwarzenegger who did appreciate and has supported the economic stimulus plan. They'll also work with the few Republicans in cherry picking some certain issues that they think they can actually collaborate, like energy or climate change. Things like that. So they haven't given up on this. They certainly are saying we're doing our part. Eventually they think the American people are going to turn against Republicans if they see the reaching out is not working.

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much from Chicago. Of course, we're going to be joined by our senior political analyst Bill Schneider a bit later, too. And we'll talk a little bit more on the road to bipartisanship.

All right, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is now pitching the economic stimulus plan on the international stage. Geithner detailed the plan to finance ministers attending a meeting of the world's richest nations, known as the group of seven. He assured them it will not tamper free trade.

Hillary Clinton is making her first overseas trip as U.S. secretary of state. She's on her way to Asia with stops in Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China. Clinton says the U.S. intends to develop broader and deeper relationships with nations across that region. She is expected to address several pressing issues during her tour including the global financial crisis and the nuclear standoff with North Korea.

In a move that may ease strained relations, the Afghan government will take part in a U.S. strategic review of the war in Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he personally asked President Obama if the Afghans could take part. In an interview on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," Karzai talked about relations with the Obama administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: President Obama says Karzai has a bunker mentality. He has said that the Afghan government seems detached from what is happening in the rest of the country.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT, AFGHANISTAN: I saw that statement. And I was surprised to see that statement. Perhaps it's because the administration has not yet put itself together. Perhaps they have not been given the information yet. And I hope as they settle down and as they learn more, we will see better judgment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You can see "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sundays at 1:00 and 6 p.m. Eastern.

Police in Rochester, New York, believe this man killed four people. Frank Garcia is charged with killing a man and woman at a hospital in Rockport, yesterday. Police say Garcia used to work there. He is also expected to be charged with murder in the shooting deaths of a husband and wife in their suburban home. Police say Garcia knew all of the victims.

The former Illinois governor alleged selling of the Senate seat scandal is taking a new turn. And one of the men caught in the middle, Senator Roland Burris to the left, is poised to talk publicly about it today. Senator Burris now says the brother of former Governor Rod Blagojevich hit him up for campaign cash. But Burris says he refused. Burris didn't mention any of this to a state impeachment committee that relieved Blagojevich of his job. Later on today, we'll bring Senator Burris's comments to you as it happens.

This just in. The "Associated Press" is quoting a federal aviation official as saying the plane that crashed near Buffalo Thursday night was on auto pilot when it went down. It's unclear if this in some way contributed to the crash, however. CNN is working to confirm this report. The National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled a news conference for 4:00 p.m. Eastern today where this information will likely be asked about and perhaps discussed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SINGING)

WHITFIELD: A memorial service today for the victims of Continental flight 3407. All 49 people on board and one person on the ground was killed when the plane fell out of the sky Thursday night near Buffalo. There has been an outpouring of community support for the people whose lives will be forever changed by this tragedy. CNN's Ines Ferre joins us live from a temporary memorial site outside of a church in Clarence Center, New York. So Ines, what is going on right now?

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, this morning that service took place where a bell was tolled 50 times. That symbolizing the 50 people who died. Now parishioners listened to words of hope, words of grief, words from the pastor as they tried to cope with what's happened here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Together, helping, being there for each other, however we can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a lot of emotion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: And one of the residents here, his name is Cleet Curtis (ph) and he actually came by this morning to kind of fix up this makeshift memorial site that they set up right outside the church. Now this church is less than 10 blocks from the crash site. So people can't access that crash site. But they can come to the memorial here and leave flowers and notes. And that's what they've been doing. And Cleet (ph) had said this is something which, I think, that people are going to appreciate. It's something that we've started here. And this is somewhere where people can come and just remember the people who died. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Ines Ferre, thanks so much. That was a tough day for everyone in that community, all feeling like they were directly impacted by that crash.

All right, the National Transportation Safety Board has scheduled a news conference, again, for today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll bring that to you live if there are any developments in the investigation to report.

A young girl takes aim at the Taliban.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would do anything. If my life goes, I don't worry but I just want to do something for my country. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you will get the chance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And if someone gives me the chance, then you will see what I will do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A brave young lady. We'll show you how she is out to prove through poetry that the pen is mightier than the sword.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The polls are open in Venezuela where people are deciding whether to get rid of term limits. The constitutional change would allow President Hugo Chavez to run for a third consecutive six-year term. Venezuelans narrowly rejected a similar measure just two years ago. Long lines formed at the polls before they opened this morning. CNN's Morgan Neill is monitoring the referendum. He joins us now from Caracas. So Morgan, is Chavez likely to get the results that he wants given the turnout?

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll have to wait and see. What we can say about the turnout is the polling places we've been to, the vote seems to be going more quickly than it has in the past here. There's a simple reason why really. That's because when the voters -- you'll see a lot of people here behind me were checking off their names on a list to find out just where they have to go. Once they get inside, the choice is really simple. They're going to choose either yes or no.

Yes means the possibility of indefinite re-election. That means President Hugo Chavez could run for re-election as long as he keeps winning and other elected officials. A no vote would mean a second defeat for a measure of this type. He tried before at the end of 2007. But President Chavez himself says he feels much more confident this time around. As you say, turnout will likely be important. But it'll be hard to get a good grip on those numbers until polls close at 6:00 and all the votes start to come in, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Morgan Neill in Caracas, thanks so much. Thanks for keeping us posted. We'll check back with you as we learn more information about the turnout and the outcome.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says Pope Benedict will visit Israel in May. Today's announcement comes on the heels of a controversy about the Holocaust within the Roman Catholic Church. Earlier this month, the pope decided to reinstate a bishop who denies the Holocaust. He managed to ease Jewish outrage last week by condemning the bishop's remarks.

So apparently we're not the only country trying to figure out how to get by in our sunken economy. People everywhere are learning to live on less. In China, several young people are now blogging about how they are spending less. CNN's Emily Chang caught up with one of these young savers in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wang Hao takes the subway to and from work every day, a total of four Chinese yuan round trip or 60 U.S. cents.

He's a Web editor at a local real estate firm. Lunch is modest. He orders a lunch box and eats at his desk. It costs just eight yuan or $1.20. It's all an effort to spend only 100 yuan Monday through Friday. "I bought an apartment in Beijing last year," he says. "I had to pay off the debt. But I'd never saved money before."

He blogged about his saving strategy online and quickly started a trend. Now about 100,000 people have joined the 100 yuan per week club. Most of them young, white collar workers learning how to manage their money for the first time.

It's challenging, impossible, some say. A colleague says Friday nights are the hardest. "I failed at first," says this man. "But now I calculate all my expenses in advance."

It's not just about being frugal or having a bottom line, they say. But learning how to be financially independent and plan ahead for important things. Like a car. Or a gift for Valentine's Day.

What does your girlfriend think about you spending only 100 yuan a week? "She supports it," he says. "We want to get married some day, so both of our parents think it's a great idea, too."

Before Wang Hao took a taxi to and from work every day. He ate out for lunch and dinner every day. He spent almost 1,000 yuan Monday through Friday, or $150 U.S. dollars, almost 10 times what he spends now.

After another subway journey home, Wang Hao cooks dinner. Not bad for a meal that costs only 7 yuan, or about a dollar. "When I first started, I didn't know how to cook," he says. "I had to call my mother for help every day." But he's reminded he does it because he wanted to buy this apartment. This place is his reward after a hard day worked and carefully spent. Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Of course, we want to hear from you about how you're coping with this economy here. Beginning in the 5:00 Eastern hour, we'll focus a full hour on your short and long-term money issues. We have two experts on board to answer some of your questions. And Josh Levs will be along taking your e-mails at weekends@CNN.com. We hope to get as many on the air as possible.

All right, weatherizing homes. Will it create jobs? President Obama says it will. His critics, not so sure. We'll explore the issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A few billion of President Obama's stimulus plan will go toward weatherizing one million homes a year. So how will that kick start the economy and create jobs? Here now is CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The president wants to spend billions of dollars to weatherize a million homes a year, an idea that doesn't exactly wow comedian Jon Stewart.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As a consequence of weatherization, their energy bills will go down and we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. What would be a more effective stimulus package than that?

JON STEWART, "THE DALY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Yes, we...

QUIJANO: But the president argues weatherizing cannot only save homeowners money on their energy bills, it can also generate jobs. He bristles at critics who dismiss the idea.

OBAMA: Don't suggest that somehow that's wasteful spending. That's exactly what this country needs.

QUIJANO: According to the environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, spending about $3 billion on home weatherizing would create 50,000 jobs at a cost of $60,000 each. Yet one economist asks, what happens when the stimulus money runs out?

DAVID KREUTZER, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: These are not real jobs that will be sustained after the stimulus package is over. So it's almost cruel, a mirage, to tell them, look, we're training you for -- giving you skills for jobs of the future.

QUIJANO: That debate is not academic for weatherization companies like Housewarmers in Maryland, where President Timothy Kenny hopes to greatly expand his staff of seven.

TIMOTHY KENNY, HOUSEWARMERS: Best case scenario, you know, I may hire 40 people.

QUIJANO: Kenny says unemployed construction workers can retrain for weatherization jobs and return to building new houses when the economy picks up again.

KENNY: The ramp-up's going to be a tremendous challenge to get qualified technicians out in the field to produce these units. But I think we're up to that challenge.

QUIJANO: Kenny believes, on average, a skilled construction worker can be retrained as a weatherization technician in about a month.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right in shielding yourself against rain this week, very rainy in many parts, Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center. Is an umbrella enough? (WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Republicans using the stimulus bill to slam President Obama. What happened to the plea for bipartisanship and who's to blame for its apparent demise? We've got the latest for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. President Obama is set to sign the $787 billion economic recovery bill on Tuesday. The package of tax cuts and new government spending won final congressional approval with only three Republicans in the Senate voting for the measure. No Republicans in the House supported the bill. Democrats say the package will help jump start the economy and create or save million of jobs. Many Republicans say there's just too much wasteful spending in the package. So that difference of opinion was extremely apparent on the morning shows today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This bill was not bipartisan. It was -- it is incredibly expensive. It has hundreds of billions of dollars in projects which will not yield in jobs. Now, if you think we need to improve education, spend money for it, fine. But this was supposed to be a package that was going to create jobs. A lot of this package will not create jobs. A lot of the tax cuts we tried before, just giving people some money, it hasn't changed the way that savings have been conducted by Americans. So I'm -- I'm not happy and most of us aren't at the lack of true bipartisanship in approaching this legislation.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: We did everything for bipartisanship. In the Senate there were 46 amendments, 26 Republican. The two largest changes in the bill were changes offered by Republicans and accepted by Democrats, Senator Grassley, Senator Isaacson. They didn't vote for the bill. So, we're going to keep at the bipartisanship.

There are lots of barriers. People, you know, over the years, the partisanship has gotten deep and nasty. And President Obama, and we, are going to keep working at it, and working at it. Just because it didn't work as well as we would have liked this time, despite our efforts and despite our trying, we're going to keep at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: President Obama is planning on signing this stimulus bill Tuesday in Denver. So why then? And why Denver? Joining us now with some answers, CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

All right. Originally it was going to be tomorrow, Monday, President's Day. Now it's Tuesday and in Denver. Why to all those things?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Denver is a couple 1,000 miles away from Washington. This plan, when it hit Congress it hit the buzz saw of the traditional, old political, red/blue, liberal/conservative divide. You heard the senators talking about that this morning. The minute it went to Congress the old divisions resurfaced and the president wants to reach beyond that. So he's going to Denver, a part of the country that has only recently begun to vote Democratic, used to be a solidly Republican state but it voted for Obama this year. So he wants to shore up Democratic support there. And also, he wants to build public support for this. Because if he stays in Washington then that old division is just going to get stronger and stronger.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk a little bit more about that old division. I guess, in part, he's saying by going to Colorado, a place like you said, that voted for him, as opposed to traditionally it would against him. That was a little of a jab at the Republicans. I guess, to underscore his point.

But on the whole scale of bipartisanship when you have John McCain coming out today saying there was no effort of bipartisanship from the very beginning. And then Lindsay Graham even went as far as saying if this is going to be bipartisanship, the country is screwed. What an incredible tone.

SCHNEIDER: It's a very nasty tone. It's likely to continue, because this bill passed with overwhelming Democratic support. That's what happens in Congress. The president, as long as he stays in Washington, he's going to face the same problem in Congress. I think he might have made a mistake letting Congress have too much of a hand in shaping this bill, because that was just bound to set off a partisan divide. That's the culture of Congress these days.

But that's not what Obama stands for. He stands for bringing people together. He stands for bipartisanship. That's why he's getting out of Washington as quickly as possible to sign this bill, which I can remind you, is going to be law. Even if it's a partisan support, the fact is it will be the law of the land.

WHITFIELD: And we heard from some White House representatives today when they took to the radio shows to kind of respond saying, does it not count that President Obama went to the Hill to try to negotiate or try to bring two sides together? Does it not count that he invited Republicans, as well as Democrats, to the White House? So might we see more of that, or are we seeing that perhaps that effort is fruitless?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think he's going to walk away from it. It didn't work this time. He only got a handful. I think three Republican senators voted for it, none in the House. I think he's going to continue that outreach. That was the issue that helped him get elected, that he promised to deliver what President Bush had promised a long time ago. He said he was going to be a uniter, not a divider, and it didn't happen. Obama promised he would deliver it. He's not going to give up. What he's discovered is that bitter, nasty partisanship that Senator Schumer described, is the culture of Congress. It's the culture of Washington. Obama is going to continue fighting it all the way. He's not going to give up. WHITFIELD: OK. Let's talk about a remnant of the last administration. We're talking the stimulus bill and how the American car makers, their project was to say we need to use this bailout money, and also come up with a plan that says we are viable after this point.

Come Tuesday, they're to come back to the drawing board and convince Washington that they are on progress -- or on the road toward progress. But what happens if their plan, I guess, is not acceptable? Does it mean that this president has to make the decision, we're either going to give you more bailout money or, you know what, you're on your own? Bankruptcy?

SCHNEIDER: The government can recall the loan if they're not satisfied with the turn around plan that General Motors and Chrysler are required, by law to submit. I think the deadline is Tuesday night. They're working feverishly on measures to reduce the debt of these two companies; and on cost cutting, particularly in negotiations with the United Auto Workers.

But the market for cars is very bad. A lot of the measures in the stimulus plan that would have encouraged automobile buyers were removed, because they were very expensive. But I do not think President Obama is going to recall those loans and just cut them off. The consequences would be devastating; a couple million more Americans unemployed. I think they'll find some way, the administration, of saying, well, they're making significant progress, but it's a very bad market out there.

WHITFIELD: All right. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider, always good to see you. Thanks so much. Happy Sunday.

SCHNEIDER: Sure. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, six cases of salmonella in Colorado have been linked to the company at the center of a federal investigation now. Officials say tainted products were shipped out by a plant in Plainview, Texas owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. The company filed for bankruptcy just Friday.

Bacteria found in the company's Georgia peanut processing plant is being blamed for more than 600 cases of salmonella, including nine deaths.

All right. Update now on a plane crash there in Buffalo. We have talked to the National Transportation Safety Board. It says an Associated Press report that Flight 3407 was on auto pilot when it crashed near Buffalo is incorrect. The NTSB said it stands by information that it released yesterday, and has scheduled a news conference for 4:00 p.m. for any new developments in that investigation.

Vietnam vet Clay Yarber was among those killed in the Continental Connection plane crash. He was on his way to see his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. Reporter Kathryn Simmons from Bay News 9 in Tampa, Florida, tells us he will be remembered for telling stories through his guitar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHRYN SIMMONS, REPORTER, BAY NEWS 9, TAMPA (voice over): This is an old VHS copy of Clay Yarber, he's the guitarist in the blue shirt. That was back in the '80s at a Coachman Park concert in Clearwater. Back then he played for Power Play. Later he played gigs at the Ringside Cafe in St. Petersburg with a band called Taxi. His friend, a musician himself, Ron Reinhardt, says music was Yarber's passion in life.

RON REINHARDT, YARBER'S FRIEND: Clay was an excellent musician, excellent. He had a good reputation in the area.

SIMMONS: Some say he focused on music because of his traumatic experience in Vietnam.

REINHARDT: Clay was the most macho guy in the world. He was a decorated Vietnam war Grunt. I mean, he saw it all. Clay saw it all. And, I mean, there is nothing worse that anyone has seen that Clay had not seen. He was wounded a couple times, and I think his helicopters crashed a couple times.

SIMMONS: Since then Yarber did not care for flying, but he did it any way on Thursday. His life ended when the commuter plane fell out of the sky in Buffalo.

REINHARDT: Let me tell you something what Clay said once. He said, you know, he should be dead. He said he should have died in Vietnam. So everything since then has been gravy.

SIMMONS: Reinhardt says Yarber didn't fret about the small stuff after cheating live several times. A free spirit who lived through his music; now his music will live on without him. In Clearwater, I am Kathryn Simmons, Bay News 9.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Afghanistan may be trying to smooth strained relations with the United States. President Hamid Karzai says his government will join the U.S. in a strategy review of the war against Taliban insurgents. And he's grateful for a recent agreement giving Afghan forces a bigger role in planning and conducting missions. Mr. Karzai says he hopes the agreement will reduce civilian casualties, a major source of friction between the U.S. and Afghanistan.

A young girl takes aim at the Taliban, which he claims is holding her country hostage. She's out to prove, through poetry, that the pen is mightier than the sword. CNN's Stan Grant has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Barack Obama, you have won a young heart in Pakistan.

(On camera): You'd like to meet him, wouldn't you? TUBA SAHAAB, 11-YEARS OLD: Yes, I'd really like to meet him.

GRANT: You like him?

SAHAAB: Yes, I do like him.

GRANT: Were you excited when he became president?

SAHAAB: Yes. I was very excited and I was praying that he'd become.

GRANT (voice over): Like the United States president, Tuba Sahaab, too, believes in change. In a land where women are too often told they cannot, Tuba says, "Yes, she can."

SAHAAB: I want to give peace to my country, to my nation, everyone.

GRANT: The 11-year-old is a self-styled warrior poet; a small girl pitting her pen against the Taliban's sword. A girl from a simple home in Islamabad, she says she is committed to truth. Through her words she reflects the pain of other children in her country. The injustice of girls denied in education, of schools burned to the ground, books banned, and too much death.

SAHAAB: Tiny drops of tears. Their faces like the angels washed with their blood, they sleep forever, as with anger.

GRANT: Tuba Sahaab is now reaching a bigger audience. She appears in newspapers and interviewed on talk back radio. The young schoolgirl is top of her class in almost every subject. She has won awards for her poetry and has already published a book of children's stories. Her classmates, she says, call her brave. And she shows no fear speaking out against the Taliban. The hard-line Islamic militants who would force girls like Tuba out of the classroom.

SAHAAB: This is really very shocking to hear that after four the girls should not go to school. It's means they're taking us back to the Stone Age.

GRANT: Tuba is critical of her own government. They are not doing enough, she says, to end the bloodshed. Tuba wants to go directly to the man she thinks can save her country, her hero, President Obama.

SAHAAB: I want to go to the white palace and show him my points and I want to say him to come into Pakistan. And whatever is happening, he should try to control it, because he is a super power.

GRANT: Like Barack Obama, she dreams of one day leading her country.

SAHAAB: I would do anything if my life goes I don't worry for it. But I just want to do something for my country and for Sabat (ph).

GRANT (On camera): I think you will get the chance.

SAHAAB: Yes. And if someone gave me that chance, then you will see what I will do.

GRANT: I can see what you can do. There is no doubt what you can do. Good luck.

SAHAAB: Thank you.

GRANT (voice over): Stan Grant, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All the best to her.

All right, in this country, it is NASCAR time. The Daytona 500 starting in about an hour from now. So, how is one of America's favorite sports feeling the economic pinch? We're at the starting line with answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The Daytona 500 this hour kicks off a new NASCAR season. CNN's Larry Smith is in Daytona Beach, Florida.

I can hear the engines already roaring back there. NASCAR fans known, Larry, for their loyalty. But in this sluggish economy are they putting the brakes on all that?

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a little bit. You know, when you drive through the infield as we did, we got here this morning, one thing became evident. That is the number of empty spaces for campers usually parked. A lot of campers here, but still a lot of people who come here aren't making the trip this year. Attendance may be down among diehard race fans. It's just one sign of a tough economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH (voice over): Few places have felt the impact of today's economy like the auto industry. The Big Three automakers are struggling to remain a part of the American landscape. And no place is keeping a closer eye on the situation than NASCAR.

TONY STEWART, TWO-TIME DAYTONA CHAMPION: It's not so much about the companies as it is all the people that are involved. Whether you're a CEO at these companies, or whether you're a guy working on the line down there in the manufacturing plants, it's these people's livelihoods at stake. We'll do anything we can to help.

JEFF GORDON, FOUR-TIME CUP CHAMPION: This sport has grown so much beyond just being a manufactured-driven sport. I think this sport can survive. I don't -- I just don't see why we'd ever want to survive without them.

SMITH: Many NASCAR teams are struggling to survive. Some of the biggest names in the sport have had to make serious changes. Names like Earnhardt and Petty have had to merge with other teams just to continue racing.

MARK MARTIN, FOUR-TIME CUP RUNNER-UP: Doesn't matter if you're looking at your IRA, or your investments or your home. You know, or whatever it is. I mean, it's all been disappointing news. And a contraction of your wealth, or whatever it is, and I think it's the same thing in NASCAR.

SMITH: NASCAR fans have also been hit hard by the economy. In order to allow them to continue to be as loyal as they have been, NASCAR is lowering prices on both merchandise and tickets.

ROBIN BRAIG, PRES. DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: The Daytona 500 has never, not sold out in 50 years. And while we'll run out of tickets, we did have to drop the price. There's no question this will have something of an asterisk next to it, like a baseball record.

Obviously, we want to float the boat, for us that means you stay even to where you were. And in this economic time that might be hard to do. So what we're going to do is get creative. If we have to take a little bit on the chin in the margin, we'll take it on the chin, and not the customer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: NASCAR trying to do what they can for the fans and the teams. The prohibited testing during the off-season, that saved each team about $1 million. Also, again, for the fans, dropping ticket prices, we mentioned. As well as dropping some souvenirs. Even the price of food, you can get a hot dog for $3. Several other races are doing the same thing. Atlanta's Motor Speedway already has announced they will sell some $95 tickets for their race in March for the price of winning car today. That is reason to root for the pole sitter, Martin Truex, Jr., his car is number one. $1 tickets wouldn't be too bad in this economy. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, $1 tickets. That's more like it. $95 for a ticket? I had no idea it cost that much?

SMITH: Oh, sure, there are much more expensive ones, yeah, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, all right. Larry Smith, thanks so much, in Daytona. Appreciate it.

All right, folks in Oklahoma they are still picking up the pieces from last week's devastating tornadoes. We'll take a look at how it's coming along and a unique firsthand perspective of what unfolded that tragic day, from someone on the front lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

All right. They're still cleaning up from last week's Oklahoma tornadoes. Take a look at that. Eight people died in there. More than 300 homes and businesses were also damaged in three counties. Governor Brad Henry is asking the Obama administration to help people with temporary housing, repairs and the replacement of damaged property.

After a tornado strikes, firefighters and other first responders spring into action. Here's a unique perspective from a camera on the helmet of an Oklahoma firefighter. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm at the fire station. It is fixin' to hit Oak Tree. We're fixing to have to go dig people out of the rubble.

JAYE BARPELS, OAK CLIFF FIREFIGHTER: I could see the debris cloud. I knew it was hitting businesses. Major damage right off the bat, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew?

BARPELS: I knew that as soon as we come out, if we didn't take a direct hit, we were going to work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Oak Tree neighborhood just got hit by a tornado.

BARPELS: As we noticed it was coming directly towards the station, we went into the safe room in the station.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 304's clear, 20 on the ground, Top's Creek (ph), and Kelly (ph), 304 is taking shelter.

BARPELS: We started assigning districts , crews and starting going out. Got down there to Waterloo and Broadway. We started making a sweep of the buildings and houses that were destroyed down through there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just calling to report, looks like we had a tornado out here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we have had a -- there's been two reports of it touches down in two different areas in Edmund.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's accounted for?

BARPELS: I was really hoping I wouldn't find anybody. Fortunately, we didn't. Everybody had gotten out. You saw in the video I stumbled across a little puppy that was buried there in the house. He was OK. I passed him off to some police officers. Last thing I saw he was getting good care.

This is probably the most up close and personal I've gotten to one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. A look there at the aftermath of last week's Oklahoma tornadoes from a camera right there on the firefighter's helmet.

Big weather story today is on the West Coast. CNN's Bonnie Schneider is in the Weather Center with the very latest; a very windy and very rainy.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

You remember that huge toy recall not that far back. How about now? Are toys made in China any safer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Toy makers around the world are scrambling to comply with tough new U.S. standards. Our Eunice Yoon shows us what they're doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's like Santa's workshop on a very bad day. In the Chinese city of Hong Kong, lab technicians crush, pinch, and even, like Churchill Chan, torch toys destined for the United States and other countries.

(On camera): So, we're going to test the flammability of the bear to see how quickly it burns?

CHURCHILL CHAN, TOY TESTER: Yes.

YOON: I feel sorry for it.

(voice over): And with the U.S. now imposing the toughest lead standards in the world, toy testers are even busier.

CHAN (through translator): I act as the first barrier before the toys enter the market. I need to be extra careful because I'm the one who judges if the toy's safe.

YOON: As of February 10th, makers and sellers of children's products, like toys, have to comply with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's new stricter guidelines, which will include testing at third-party labs.

Since 2007, millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled off store shelves worldwide for unsafe levels of lead and other dangerous chemicals. The product recalls damaged the Made in China brand and threatened the nation's role as the world's largest toy maker.

(PROTESTERS YELLING, SCREAMING)

The tainted image coupled with rising costs and the global economic crisis forced thousands of toy factories to shut down. But toy testers say their business is expanding.

KEITH YUNG, HK STANDARDS & TESTING CTR.: We got a lot of toy samples from the toy manufacturers in just a few months, and I guess more and more are coming.

YOON: One in 10 toys tested here failed, and are sent back to manufacturers. Some U.S. retailers and toymakers complain the extra cost of testing will unfairly penalize smaller players and could cost America more jobs. Manufacturers in China are also nervous. Even so, they're paying the testing fees now, rather than risk having a child, and their brand, pay the price later.

(On camera): Whew, it's stinks.