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U.S. Congressman's Plane Attacked in Somalia; GM Preparing for 'Surgical' Bankruptcy; President Obama Celebrates 2,000 Road & Bridge Projects From Stimulus
Aired April 13, 2009 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Monday, April 13th. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Dramatic high seas rescue. A U.S. cargo ship captain freed; three Somali pirates killed. Details on how it all went down and reaction from the captain's hometown.
Your taxes: the real deal. The dreaded filing deadline just two days away. Where your tax dollars really go and what to do if you can't pay Uncle Sam.
Mr. Marciano?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: At the Severe Weather Center, we are tracking some action down across the Southeast. A tornado watch in effect until 5:00. We've got flooding down across the Florida Panhandle and straight-line winds behind the thunderstorms doing some damage across the Atlanta metropolitan area.
HARRIS: All right.
Let's go. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And we begin with breaking news. A U.S. congressman's plane attacked in, yes, Somalia.
Let's get right to our David McKenzie in neighboring Kenya.
David, good to see you. What are you learning?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too, Tony.
Well, what we're learning is that U.S. Congressman Donald Payne was in the airport of Mogadishu. He had been meeting with the prime minister of the transitional government in the capital of Somalia. And apparently, the Mogadishu airport came under attack. There was mortar fire and there was small arms fire.
It's unclear at this stage whether the congressman himself was being targeted, Tony. But what we do know is that there was an attack on the airport at around the time that he was at that airport. There is much fighting on a continual basis in the capital. So it will be some time before we get a sense whether he was targeted directly -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Let's leave it there for now, David.
Of course, David is obviously in Kenya covering the Somali pirate attacks, and we will bring him back later in the hour for more on that side of the story.
Navy SEAL snipers fired three shots dead on, killing three pirates. A fourth one now in custody. The U.S. sea captain they had been holding hostage rescued unharmed. And there he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID PHILLIPS, U.S. CAPTAIN HELD HOSTAGE: Thanks, guys. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How about that? Captain Richard Phillips is right now aboard the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship off the Somali coast. He is said to be in good health. Arrangements being made right now for his return home to Vermont. Of course, his family couldn't be happier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISON MCCOLL, PHILLIPS FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: They are all just so happy the entire crew is safe. They're overjoyed that the entire U.S. Alabama crew is doing so well.
So, of course they're very happy about Richard. They're also very happy it's a happy ending for everybody involved.
Andrea spoke to her husband earlier. She was laughing while she was on the phone with him. She was saying his trademark sense of humor is still very much intact and he's in great spirits. And if you guys just could have seen her light up when she talked to him, it was really remarkable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Good stuff.
Excitement also on the other side of the world. Captain Phillips' crew still aboard the Maersk Alabama docked in Mombasa, Kenya. They say they're lucky to be out of their ordeal with everyone alive. And they're revealing bits and pieces of what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the chief engineer, and I guarantee you, they never had control. I took it from the bridge, just as they walked under the bridge with guns and stuck guns in his face -- in the captain's face. The captain said, "Bridge has been compromised."
I took control from the engine room. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the bravest men I've ever met, right here. Right here. This man is a hero, a national hero, right here. Everybody on the ship owes their life to this man right here. He's a hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow. Good stuff.
We will bring you more from the crew in just a few minutes, including words of warning.
But first, let's get to the captain's hometown, Underhill, Vermont. Our Stephanie Elam is standing by outside very close to the Phillips' home.
Stephanie, good to see you.
You know, when we talked on Friday, this town was really struggling with this story. What an outcome for this family and that community.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So true, Tony. You know, they never gave up hope here.
I've got to tell you, these are some optimistic people that live here in Underhill, Vermont, where they are now over the moon with news that Captain Phillips is, indeed, safe. The yellow ribbons are still everywhere throughout the town. I suspect they'll probably stay up until the captain actually makes his return visit here to a hero's welcome.
You know, it's one thing to get home safely, be hugged and greeted by your family members, than it is just to know that they're safe. So that's what they're really waiting for at this point -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right. And Stephanie, when is the captain expected to arrive home? Do we have any details on a plan?
ELAM: No. We keep our ears out for that. We keep wanting to know exactly when he's going to make his return debut, as it were. We hear that he needs to be debriefed, so we haven't gotten word on when he will be back here.
The family has not been ready to go before cameras just yet. But when they did leave the Phillips' home, the extended family yesterday, while they didn't want to talk to us, they were very happy to (AUDIO GAP). They left the driveway of the Phillips' home showing their glee there.
I do want to just listen a little bit to Steve Herrera. He's a neighbor here in Underhill, Vermont. We spoke to him briefly right after the news broke that Captain Phillips was safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELAM: This dragged on for a few days, but it sounds like they took some measures to make sure that he'd be safe.
STEPHEN HERRERA, PHILLIPS' NEIGHBOR: Well, I'm glad they actually did that. You know, it was about time. If it drew on too much longer, who knows what would have happened? And it's great that it didn't happen like the French thing happened. I'm very, very happy and elated.
ELAM: So what do you think when Captain Phillips gets back here?
HERRERA: Maybe it'll be a ticker tape parade. But instead of ticker tape, it'll be snow or something like that. But I think everybody's -- they're going to just praise him for being a hero, because he really is. He's a hero. He's an American hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: So he's definitely a hero.
Of course, it's sort of an ode to the fact that there were snow flurries here yesterday in Vermont. For those of us who don't live in New England, that may seem like a little crazy thing for spring, but here they seemed quite normal about it. They thought that it was just balmy.
HARRIS: Yes, exactly.
ELAM: And they're all very happy now. Yes.
HARRIS: I love the idea that the ticker tape parade may actually be snowflakes. I love that.
ELAM: Exactly. Yes.
Stephanie, good to see you. Thank you.
ELAM: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Captain Richard Phillips is being hailed as a hero. You may remember he offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed his cargo ship. The now-rescued captain has been speaking to his crew.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANE MURPHY, SECOND IN COMMAND, MAERSK ALABAMA: I just got off the phone with our captain, Richard Phillips, for the first time, and it was an extremely emotional experience for all of us to actually hear his voice and to hear the condition he was in. And he's absolutely elated, and he couldn't be prouder of us for doing what he trained us to do. And that's really -- when this story unfolds, you'll see that's really all we did.
We did everything the way we were trained to do. And we have the captain. Ultimately, everybody you see here before you today has the captain, Captain Phillips, to thank for their lives and their freedom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Boy.
Live now to our Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence for how it all went down.
And Chris, it occurs to me that there are a lot of people who have been busy with their Easter plans over the weekend who may just be learning of this rescue. So take a few moments here and break it all down for us.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it was just an incredible amount of coordination between a lot of different agencies, including the White House and the Navy on the scene. Here's what happened.
At one point, the lifeboat was out of fuel. So the pirates had agreed to let the Bainbridge tow it. So it was being towed about 70 feet to 80 feet behind it.
Now, at that time, the Navy SEALs parachuted into the water and took up positions on the back deck of the Bainbridge. A defense official says at some point, the pirates started becoming agitated, that negotiations were breaking down, and the weather was getting much rougher. Now, at this point, they were less than 20 miles from the Somali coast.
At one point, the on-scene commander seized one of the pirates in the pilot House. Two others poked their head and shoulders out from the back.
He sees one of the pirates pointing an AK-47 at the back of Captain Phillips. The on-scene commander thought that the pirate was about to fire. They had been threatening to kill the captain for some time.
And so he ordered the snipers to fire, using President Obama's authority to use lethal force. The snipers took their shots. All three of the pirates were killed. They then shimmied down the rope. They got the captain untied and they brought him back to the ship.
HARRIS: Boy, you need to think about that for a second. What a description. That -- wow. OK.
What's the story with the one pirate, Chris, who got off the ship?
LAWRENCE: That's right. A defense official tells me that he may be as young as 16 years old.
What happened was he was one of the pirates that got into a scuffle with the crew of the Alabama when they initially tried to hijack the Alabama. A defense official says he was stabbed in the hand, so he was wounded. And at one point the Navy brought over a rubber -- one of the rubber boats to get him to take him back to the Bainbridge to get some medical treatment. While he was over there, a defense official says that he indicated that he did not want to go back to the lifeboat, and they actually had him talking with the other pirates during the negotiations.
HARRIS: I see. Well, is the Navy going to start patrolling more of this area to protect other American ships?
LAWRENCE: Well, the Navy is already providing five ships to this multinational coalition that's been patrolling the area. Here's the thing -- there are only roughly about 280 ships in the entire Navy. At any one time, you've got a little over 100 that are actually deployed.
The others, you know, the crew is home with their families or the ships are getting repairs done. So there are only a certain number of Navy ships. And they're spread across the entire world. It's hard to say how many more resources the Navy would even have to devote to this.
HARRIS: Got you.
Hey, Chris, I heard you talking with Heidi about this last point earlier. I want to revisit it with you. What is the Navy saying about these ships arming themselves?
LAWRENCE: Well, Vice Admiral William Gortney says that he believes, as part of an overall strategy, that it would be a good idea for some of these merchant ships to carry a private, armed security team on board to deter some of the pirates, but there are some issues with that. A, if the merchant ships start buying guns, the pirates, who have a lot of money in ransom, can buy bigger guns, an arms escalation. Also, certain countries will not allow merchant ships to be armed. There's worry about terrorist attacks.
And so if one country allows arms but another one doesn't, and these merchant ships are making multiple stops, it gets into a very complicated process as to where they can bring these guns.
HARRIS: Boy, what a story.
Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon for us.
Chris, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Captain Richard Phillips is now resting comfortably on a large amphibious ship, the USS Boxer, but it was the commander of the Bainbridge that decided to take action. The USS Bainbridge is a Navy destroyer based out of Norfolk, Virginia. It has a crew of almost 400 sailors.
OK. Only a few days left to file your taxes this week. Only one network will bring you the real deal on your taxes. We are cutting through all of the numbers to get you the facts.
Where does your tax money go? And what do you do if you can't pay?
Your tax answers in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The big bunny behind me here. Big bunny.
An Easter egg extravaganza going on at the White House today. Thirty thousand people from 45 states are taking part in the annual Easter egg roll.
This year's theme is "Let's Go Play" to encourage kids to lead healthy and active lives. If you can't be there in person, you can watch it on the White House Web site.
President Obama also focusing on some more serious business today. Live this hour, the president highlights the 2000th transportation project paid for with money from the stimulus.
White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us live.
And Suzanne, We'd rather talk about the Easter egg roll and Fergie doing such a job on the National Anthem that she blew out the microphone for the president.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I know. Amazing. Amazing.
HARRIS: Hello? But we need to talk about this event that's coming up in just a couple minutes.
MALVEAUX: Well, obviously, yes, I mean, a lot of fun going on here at the White House. But more serious business that the president's going to take care of -- you may see the motorcade right outside the West Wing, the Beast.
They're waiting for him. He's going to take off and go to the Department of Transportation, and that's where he's going to talk about the economic stimulus package, how it's funding some of these transportation projects.
You hear a lot of thing about bridges being repaired, roads, that kind of thing. It's a big, big part of package we're talking about in the tune of $48 billion. And essentially, White House aides say that they're going to be delivering some good news here -- that they're ahead of schedule, that they've got 2,000 different things that are going on here.
Obviously, Tony, there's been a lot of pressure put on governors, been put on senators, been put on people who are receiving this money to handle it well, because a lot of people looking to see -- these are taxpayer dollar dollars, how are they being spent, and whether or not it's good use of our money, and whether or not people are actually getting jobs out of this. So we expect to hear from the president about all of that shortly.
HARRIS: You talk about being put under pressure, these governors and all of these officials of the states being warned, essentially, you spend the money wisely or you will be called out.
Suzanne, any chance the president will talk about the rescue of Captain Phillips?
MALVEAUX: Yes. White House aides tell me that he is going to start his remarks by talking about the rescue effort. He's obviously going to be talking about and thanking the people, the brave people who were involved in this.
Obviously, you know, he also called the captain as well, the captain's wife, and others who were part of this yesterday, about 25 minutes on the phone reaching out to those folks. But it really does bring up another issue here, is that the president not only having to deal with Iraq and Afghanistan, but some of those rogue states, some of those rogue players that threaten security. And that's one of the challenges that he has. It's one of the things that he's also going to address.
HARRIS: And boy, you know, I must have lost the story this weekend. There's a White House dog -- Sam, Darrell, Kenneth, Bo?
MALVEAUX: Bo.
HARRIS: It's Bo?
MALVEAUX: Bo is the White House dog. We're going to see this dog officially tomorrow. But we've been told, yes, it's Bo, a Portuguese water dog.
And he was here at the White House. It was a secret meeting that happened two weeks ago. We didn't catch it.
They snuck the dog in. He was wearing a lei, a Hawaiian lei. Got to meet Sasha and Malia, got to feel each other out and whether or not they liked each other. Said that the carpets are fine, and so he passed the test.
HARRIS: And let's leave it there before we both get in trouble.
All right, Suzanne. Good to see you. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: OK. Thanks.
HARRIS: And of course we will have live coverage of President Obama's remarks from the Transportation Department. He is expected to speak around 11:30 Eastern Time this morning, just about 10 minutes from now. And as we mentioned, he is also expected to comment on the rescue of the captain of the Maersk Alabama.
News about the economy and your money. Gas prices, boy, on the rise.
According to the latest Lundburg Survey, the average price for a gallon of regular is $2.05 nationwide. That is up nearly 10 cents in three weeks.
And Iowa lawmakers working to overhaul the state's income tax system. The governor and Democratic leaders say they're working on a plan to actually cut taxes.
Speaking of taxes, CNN is taking a closer look at your taxes. The real deal heading into Wednesday is the filing deadline. The government takes money out of your check every payday.
Christine Romans of our CNN money team looks at how your tax dollars are spent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The price of admission to the most dynamic economy in the world is your federal income tax. And among other things, the money withheld each week from your paycheck paves roads, provides health care to children, buys tanks and fighter jets, and pays the interest on America's mounting debts.
It comes out of every paycheck. And you have until Wednesday to settle up the bill with the government. You might get a refund, or you may owe more.
LEN BURMAN, DIRECTOR, TAX POLICY CENTER: Generally, you end up paying more if you have additional income. Like, for example, you get some consulting fees or something like that, or you take on -- you take on a second job. You earn more money or you get a big raise.
ROMANS: So we thought you'd like to know exactly how your hard- earned money is being spent and where.
The largest portion goes to fund Social Security. After that comes defense programs, followed by Medicare. The remaining money supports programs such as food stamps, retirement, and disability.
But some of that money goes towards something you'll never see. About eight percent is paying the interest on the country's mounting national debt, which totals more than $11 trillion. The 2012 projections put it closer to $16 trillion.
BURMAN: We'll have more spending on interest than we spend on discretionary programs other than defense. That's a lot of money. Over time, the federal interest cost is going to get to be a serious problem. And it really worries tax and budget experts of both parties.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Christine Romans joining us live from New York. Christine, I'm not ready for Wednesday's deadline. You know, I've got work to do on this thing, receipts to find. What should I be thinking of doing here?
ROMANS: Tony, you should be done by now. I'm sorry to tell you, man.
HARRIS: You know I'm a procrastinator. You know me well enough to know that.
ROMANS: Form 4868.
HARRIS: 4868?
ROMANS: Yes.
HARRIS: Extension?
ROMANS: That's the form you need, yes.
HARRIS: OK.
ROMANS: And do it fast.
HARRIS: And do it quickly.
ROMANS: Next commercial break.
HARRIS: Get it done.
Tax Freedom Day, what is it and really what does it mean?
ROMANS: Oh, well, apparently, it's controversial, too, by the way.
HARRIS: Yes.
ROMANS: OK. So the Tax Foundation came out and said that today is Tax Freedom Day. That means up until today, you likely were paying taxes, and then today is the day you are free, and the money you earn for the rest of the year actually belongs to you.
They point out that you pay more in taxes than you do in food, lodging and clothing in this country. But the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities just sent me an e-mail saying, hold on, hold on. A lot of families already had Tax Freedom Day a long time ago, so they say that's misleading.
So who knew that Tax Freedom Day was so controversial, Tony? But apparently taxes in this country are controversial. I tell you, they are.
HARRIS: Yes. Absolutely. And I've got to get mine done. I have been charged by Christine to get it done in the break.
Christine, good to see you. I'm on the job. ROMANS: OK.
HARRIS: So you've added up all the tax you owe, but you're broke. You can't pay. Now what?
Personal Finance Expert Gerri Willis talks us through that. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Countdown to the most dreaded day of the year, Tax Day. What do you do if you owe and can't pay?
CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joining us now from New York.
Gerri, good to see you.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi there, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, good to see you.
What do we do? Walk us through this, Gerri.
WILLIS: You've got to file your taxes. Whether you can pay or not, late filing, not filing at all, Tony, can increase your tax bill by 25 percent or more once you add in all those penalties, the fees. And consider this -- there's a $350 billion gap between what Americans owe and what they actually pay.
Now listen to this, though. This year, the IRS has taken special steps to work with taxpayers who are struggling. This is what the IRS commissioner had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS SHULMAN, IRS: I think there's going to be people who filled out their tax return, realize that they owe money and they just don't have that money. The piece of advice I'd give them is, send in the tax return even if you can't pay. Put a partial payment in. Or if you really can't pay at all, send it in anyway. Pick up the phone and call us, and we'll work through that issue with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: All right. So what is that phone number? 800-TAX-1040.
HARRIS: Nice.
All right. So what kind of help, Gerri, is the IRS actually offering here?
WILLIS: All right. Well, let's break down just what exactly this nicer, gentler IRS is going to implement this year. Check it out. First off, they will postpone some collections. IRS employees will have greater authority to suspend collection actions in certain hardship cases. They may allow skipped payments or reduced payments.
Hey, back taxes could take a backseat to refinancing. So if you've got a lien against your home for back taxes, they may forgive that for a little while so you can get a new loan, save yourself from losing your house.
So, bottom line here, if you are in trouble, though, you can't get help unless you call an IRS agent. That phone number, 800-TAX- 1040 -- Tony.
HARRIS: And what tax filing advice do you have for people who lost their job last year?
WILLIS: Yes, this is a tough situation -- 2.6 million Americans lost their jobs last year. Here's what you should keep in mind.
You may still have to file. The IRS requires anybody who received a W-2 from their employer and made at least $8,950 -- that's if you're single and under 65 years old -- or made at least $400 if you're self-employed, you've got to file that tax return. And you must pay tax on unemployment benefits. It's next filing season that your first $2,400 in unemployment benefits is untaxable.
HARRIS: I see.
WILLIS: And people forget to report freelance income. Got to do it if you made over 600 bucks. Check that out. Make sure you're doing the right thing there. You're still responsible for reporting it as taxable income.
And Tony, you can deduct some of those job search expenses.
HARRIS: Oh, you can?
WILLIS: Yes -- travel, mailing your resume, cell phone charges. But not the brand-new suit, the shoes, the briefcase. Forget about that.
HARRIS: Nice. All right, Gerri. Great tips, as always. Great advice.
Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: It is crunch time for your taxes this week. Find out where your money really goes and why. "Your Taxes: The Real Deal," a special three-day event, every newscast around the clock, only on CNN.
Check out our special report -- we remind you to do this every day -- "America's Money Crisis." Again, that's at CNNMoney.com.
Pirates are vowing retaliation against three comrades -- after three comrades who took an American ship captain hostage were killed. The ordeal lasted for days, but it was the quick thinking of the crew on board that never let the pirates take control of the ship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bravest man I've ever met right here. Right here. This man is a hero, a national hero, right here. Everybody on the ship owes their life to this man right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANE MURPHY, SECOND-IN-COMMAND, MAERSK ALABAMA: We never had to fight to take our ship back. We never surrendered our ship. We fought to save the captain's shipmates that were still aboard. But we never gave up. That's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Strong stuff. Emotional stuff. Shane Murphy, the Maersk Alabama's second in command.
And the captain of that ship, Richard Phillips, now safe with the U.S. Navy. He was freed by snipers aboard the USS Bainbridge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE ADMIRAL BILL GORTNEY, CHAIR, U.S. NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND (via telephone): I want to make one thing perfectly clear. That the on-scene commander determined that the captain was in imminent danger. If he was not in imminent danger, they were not to take this sort of action. They were supposed to let the negotiation process work it out. The on-scene commander took it as the captain was in imminent danger and then made that decision. And he had the authority to make that decision, and he had seconds to make that decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: He had seconds to make that decision. The daring decision led to three dead pirates, one captured. The brotherhood of pirates, if you will, now vowing revenge.
Live to our David McKenzie in Mombasa, Kenya.
David, let's talk through this. How might the pirates retaliate?
MCKENZIE: They said they say, Tony, what they said to local journalists that told CNN is that they would retaliate by killing or harming French and U.S. hostages that they might take if they capture another boat. That's directly how they are warning they will act. Certainly, the actions of the French and American Navy will ratchet up the tension in this cat-and-mouse game of piracy, Tony. But the issue is here, will they, in fact, harm hostages which are essentially their meal ticket? Up till now they've been capturing hostages, keeping them for some time and then getting ransom. So this is a business, after all. It's not really a terrorist threat, but a criminal threat - Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, David, I'm wondering. We've seen some changes in tactics from these pirates. I'm wondering after this rescue if we might see additional changes in the tactics used by these pirates in the future?
MCKENZIE: Well, that might very well be possible. It's a very good question, Tony, because what's happened in the past is every time the U.S. Navy and other navies in the coalition have made some sort of tactic change, the pirates then find a way to get around it. They basically were taking the Gulf of Aden and focusing on that point, so the pirates just moved down the coast of Somalia and far offshore. So we might see some kind of change in tactics. It's hard to predict what that might be.
But certainly, what most security analysts say is two issues work in the pirates' favor. One is that navies might not want to go on land to take on these pirates because of the "Black Hawk Down" incident of the earlier '90s. The other is the issue that they might harm hostages if they take on a ship that is full of hostages and full of pirates.
HARRIS: Hey, David, one other point here. At the top of the hour, we talked about a congressman, Congressman Payne, under attack really in Mogadishu. We have some video we want to share with folks of his meeting earlier with Somalia's prime minister.
Are you getting any new, additional information on the attack at the airport?
MCKENZIE: No. At this stage what we're hearing is that the congressman might have been on his plane. He said he was in the vicinity of the airport. He's just finished a meeting with the prime minister of the transitional government.
There were mortar attack and a small arms attack on that airport. At this stage, Tony, it's unclear whether they were attacking the congressman, if it had any relation to piracy. It certainly would be questionable considering Mogadishu, the coalition in control there have often fought against the pirates.
So it's unclear exactly what happened, but Somalia is an incredibly dangerous place. And some might question the safety of a U.S. official going to Somalia. But certainly, I'm sure they have safety precautions in place. But it would seem the Congressman is OK.
HARRIS: David, we'll continue to work that story. Maybe - we're working to get the congressman on the phone with us when he arrives in Nairobi, Kenya. David McKenzie in Mombasa, Kenya. David, thank you.
The area around where the Maersk Alabama was attacked is crucial to the shipping industry, but as CNN's Josh Levs tells us, it is extremely difficult to patrol.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A big part of the challenge to fighting piracy in this region is how big and expansive the waters are off Somalia's east coast. Let me show you how big that area is.
Here's Somalia along here. Now, it's in this area east of the country that this incident took place. And there have been a lot of piracy incidents in here. Military officials say it's very difficult to patrol this whole area because it's so big.
It's a little bit different up here. This is the Gulf of Aden and it's more compressed. They say they've had a little more success fighting pirates in this area. But over here, it's so difficult to get a ship to another ship that's in trouble.
In fact, we have some geography to show you. We're going to zoom over to the United States. I'm going to show you what a military official said to help you understand this.
Take a look here. Draw a box from Houston over to Chicago, then over to New York, then all the way down to Jacksonville and back over here. This entire area is what we're talking about when we're looking at that east coast of Somalia. It's a huge region. You can imagine how difficult it would be to patrol this entire area. Factor that size into the water. That is the challenge that we're talking about.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right.
We are awaiting remarks from President Obama. He is highlighting the 2,000th -- better go slowly on that -- road project paid for by the stimulus. We will have live coverage of the president's remarks from the Department of Transportation as soon as he gets started.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Wall Street buzzing with talk of a possible GM bankruptcy today. The keyword is a surgical bankruptcy. What does that mean?
Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
Susan, "surgical," I'm hearing these different terms to describe it. Now the new one, the new term of art is "surgical." What does that mean?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm not a doctor, Tony - Dr. Harris - nor do I play one on TV.
But by surgical bankruptcy, we're not talking about blood and guts. We're talking about something clean and precise as opposed to long and messy.
HARRIS: I see.
LISOVICZ: And that's very important. Because long and messy can further complicate GM's situation, obviously.
According to "The New York Times," the Treasury Department has directed GM to prepare for this surgical bankruptcy. The idea has already been floated about the good/bad GM. So the good GM would be bundled into one portion. That would include its good performing brands, like Chevy and Cadillac, as well as Chinese operations. The bad would be the underperformers like Hummer and Saab and Saturn as well as its health care liabilities. Which is a very complicated issue and a very onerous one.
Also, in the meantime, to further complicate things, GM continues to try to reach some sort of agreement with its bondholders and its union. Deadline is June 1st. If no deal is struck before then, we'll be hearing more about the surgical bankruptcy, perhaps -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, how much money, bottom line this thing, is a bankruptcy going to cost GM and we the people?
LISOVICZ: Us. Yes because GM has already been the beneficiary of $14 billion in federal taxpayer money. Essentially, in these very cheap loans.
In any case, well, the good/bad, the good GM bankruptcy, estimates are $5 billion to $7 billion additional funds. Bad bankruptcy would be, yes, very bad. Estimates are up to $70 billion, perhaps more in liquidating factories, dealing with this health care liabilities.
And that uncertainty continues to weigh on GM's already vastly suppressed stock price. GM shares trading under $2.00, down 15 percent.
The Dow right now coming off of five weeks of gain, down 95 points. Nasdaq is down 18. So a pullback. Not surprising, but GM not helping things.
HARRIS: No, certainly not. Susan, thank you. See you next hour.
Thailand under a state of emergency. iReporters in the area are sending us pictures.
Here's one from Sergey Lyzhin, he lives in Bangkok. He says he was going to his office when he saw these protesters blocking intersections. More of your iReports in just a couple minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And very quickly, we are awaiting remarks by President Obama any minute now. He is highlighting the 2,000 road project paid for by the stimulus. We will have live coverage, of course, of the president's remarks from the Department of Transportation as soon as the president gets started. We understand he has arrived in the building.
Chaos in the capital of Thailand. Thousands of protesters stormed the streets of Bangkok to find a state of emergency declaration. iReporters are in the middle of all of it. Let's take that trip right now to CNN.com's iReporter Desk and check in with Katie Hawkins-Gaar, who is for Tyson Wheatley.
Katie, good to see you again.
KATIE HAWKINS-GAAR, CNN.COM PRODUCER: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Difficult times again for Thailand.
HAWKINS-GAAR: Right. Definitely. And several iReporters in the midst of the riots and the violence have sent in some amazing photos and videos. So I'd like to show one to you right now.
This is from James Haneson (ph). He captured some excellent footage for us. You can see here there's a bus on fire in the background. And several demonstrators watching. Now, James is from California. He's visiting Thailand for the new year's festival which started today. And he said that the juxtaposition between the festival and scenes like this has been pretty bizarre. And, actually, Tony, just a few blocks from where this is captured he said that children were on the street playing and enjoying the holiday.
HARRIS: Boy. And in moments, you get a scene like this.
HAWKINS-GAAR: Right, right. It's fascinating.
So he said, though, that people have been extremely friendly to him and he hasn't felt like he's been in any immediate danger. Which is important to know, because we want our iReporters to stay safe when they're documenting things.
HARRIS: Well, and that's very interesting because - that he feels safe right now. Remember the last time tensions flared, there was a situation at the airport where people couldn't get out to get home for days. And at least initially he's reporting that he feels safe right now.
HAWKINS-GAAR: Right. Definitely.
HARRIS: OK. All right. Katie, good to see you. Thank you.
HAWKINS-GAAR: Good to see you.
HARRIS: Once again, we are awaiting remarks from President Obama. We can get a better shot than that one. Live pictures from the Department of Transportation. OK. The president highlighting the 2,000 road project paid for by the stimulus.
We'll be back with the president's comments in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Want to take you in the room now. As you see, President Obama and Vice President Biden is there as well to make remarks from the Department of Transportation this morning, focusing on the infrastructure and transportation projects under way due to the recovery act, AKA the stimulus plan.
The transportation secretary there, Ray LaHood, will introduce the vice president. The vice president will make some remarks and then introduce the president. We are going to bypass that and bring you the remarks from the president.
And, as we do that let's swing over to Rob Marciano in the Severe Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Flooding, flooding, flooding. Here are the pictures to prove it. In north Florida, officials keeping an eye on the Santa Fe River as that water moves downstream. Two weeks of flooding has caused lots of damage in 11 counties. Governor Charlie Crist asking for federal aid. Officials also warning residents to be wary of what could be lurking in those high waters.
With that, we're going to get back to Rob. And Rob, Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, is still speaking. He is going to introduce Vice President Biden, who will get us the president. So it looks like we've got some time, so just kind of walk through all of this.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: And looking ahead to the next hour, a new kind of heroin, cheaper than beer, is creating an addiction crisis among U.S. teens with deadly results. We will have a conversation with a Drug Enforcement Agency official on the real danger - oh, let's get to the president right now at the Department of Transportation.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just came from the Easter egg roll, and it was a spectacular, spectacular outing. All the kids were out there having fun, and it reminds us of why we do the work we do.
Before I discuss the purpose of my visit to the Department of Transportation today, I want to take a moment to say how pleased I am about the rescue of Captain Phillips and his safe return to the USS Boxer this weekend.
(APPLAUSE)
His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this came as a welcome relief to his family and -- and his crew. I had a chance to talk to his wife yesterday. And as she put it, she couldn't imagine a better Easter than seeing his -- his safe return.
And I am very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies that worked tirelessly to resolve this situation. I share our nation's admiration for Captain Phillips' courage, and leadership, and selfless concern for his crew.
And I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of privacy in that region. And to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes.
Now, as we work to ensure America's safety out on the seas, I want to discuss what we're doing to restore economic security here at home, to revitalize our nation's infrastructure and create good jobs across America.
It has been nearly three months since I first took office, and I think it's fair to say that we've been a little busy.
(LAUGHTER)
Faced with an extraordinary economic crisis, we've responded with extraordinary action, action that's both unprecedented in scale and unprecedented in its speed.
We developed plans to stabilize our housing market, to unfreeze our credit markets, and to ensure the survival of our auto industry in this new century. We passed a budget that cuts our deficit in half while making investments to spur long-term growth and lasting prosperity.
And because we know that people are hurting right now and we need to create jobs and get money into people's pockets right now, we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the most sweeping economic recovery plan in history, a plan to save or create 3.5 million jobs putting Americans back to work doing the work America needs done and to give a tax cut to 95 percent of working Americans.
Today, I think it's safe to say that this plan is beginning to work. We see it in the clean energy companies rehiring workers, and police departments canceling planned layoffs, and health care clinics planning to expand to care for more folks in need.
We see it in the 120 million families who are already taking home larger paychecks because of our "Making Work Pay" tax cut.
And we see it particularly in the work of this department, in the plans underway to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges, modernize our airports and shipyards, develop high-speed rail networks, and restore aging public transit systems.
All told, we are making the largest new investment in America's infrastructure since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System back in the 1950s. But what is most remarkable about this effort and what I'm here to talk about today isn't just the size of our investment or the number of projects we're investing in. It's how quickly, efficiently and responsibly those investments have been made.
Today, because these projects are getting approved more quickly than we thought, thanks to, in large part, the outstanding work of the TIGER team and folks here at the Department of Transportation, and because these projects are costing less than we thought, we can utter a sentence rarely heard in recent years: This government effort is coming in ahead of schedule and under budget.
(APPLAUSE)
Think about it. We passed the recovery plan less than two months ago. Two weeks later, I came here to DOT to announce that we would be investing $28 billion to rebuild and repair our highways, roads and bridges. Work on the very first project -- resurfacing Route 650 in Silver Springs, Maryland, began that very same day.
People who had been out of a job found themselves being called back to work, and some of the crews are here today. And we want to thank them. And we're proud of them, because they're -- they're making the roads safer and some of your commutes a little bit better.
And at the same time, they're doing what they've always done: working really hard to support their families and living out the American dream.
So we appreciate you guys. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, about a week later, we had approved 500 more projects. Two weeks after that, we had approved another 1,000 projects. And today, I'm proud to announce that we have approved the 2,000th project, a project to widen an interstate and rebuild an overpass in Portage, Michigan, improving safety, reducing congestion, and boosting local\ businesses.
This project will start this summer, creating an estimated 900 jobs right away. And it will go until 2011, creating nearly twice that many jobs all together before it's finished.
So I want to acknowledge Governor Granholm, both for her leadership on this project and for her tireless work to strengthen Michigan's economy.
And I'm pleased that Joe Biden, who's overseeing our recovery efforts, will be attending the groundbreaking for this project in June.
Now, some may have thought it would take months to get to this point. But in part because of the hard work and commitment of the people in this department, we approved these 2,000 projects in just 41 days. So, taken together, these projects will reduce the congestion that costs us nearly $80 billion a year. It will save some of the 14,000 people who lose their lives each year because of bad roads and driving conditions. It will create good jobs that pay well and can't be shipped overseas.
By the end of next year, our investments in highway projects alone will create or save 150,000 jobs. I want to repeat that: 150,000 jobs, most of them in the private sector.
I'm pleased that work on some of these projects has already started and that many more will be under way by this summer. But I want to be very clear that, while we're doing this with speed, we're also doing it with care.
We've acted quickly because our economy losing hundreds of thousands of jobs each month means we don't have a minute to waste. And we've acted with care because we don't have a single taxpayer dollar to waste, either.
And that's why I -- I appointed a proven and aggressive inspector general to root out waste and fraud. That's why we created a Web site called recovery.gov, so you can see exactly where your tax dollars are going. And soon you'll be able to click on the transportation section and track the progress of every project under way.
And that's why I'm pleased to hear that, in state after state across America, competition for these projects is so fierce and contractors are doing such a good job cutting costs that projects are consistently coming in under budget.
The final bid for one road project in Connecticut was $8.4 million less than the state budgeted for. Another one in Louisiana was $4.7 million less. A project at BWI Airport will be completed for $8 million less than expected.
Bids for projects in North Carolina have been 19 percent under budget. Colorado is reporting bids up to 30 percent less than they expected. And the officials in California have seen bids that are close to half as much as they had projected.
And because these projects are proceeding so efficiently, we now have more recovery dollars to go around. And that means we can fund more projects, revitalize more of our infrastructure, put more people back to work, and ensure that taxpayers get more value for their dollars.
Now, I have no illusion about how much work lies ahead and how hard it will be. The road to recovery is long. We will undoubtedly make some mistakes. We'll face some setbacks along the way. There will be some projects that don't work the way we want them to.
But it is now clear that we're heading in the right direction. It's now clear that, day by day, project by project, we are making progress. We're doing what we've always done in this country. As President Johnson said more than 40 years ago when he signed the legislation creating this department, the Department of Transportation, America's history is a history of her transportation, of railroads that pushed frontiers and waterways and highways that opened up markets, airplanes that connected us to one another and to the world.
Throughout our history, there have been times when a generation of Americans seized the chance to remake the face of this nation. And this is one of those times. And that's what we're doing today: building a 21st-century infrastructure that will create jobs, spur growth, and sustain an economy that creates shared and lasting prosperity.
So thank you to the folks here at DOT. You're doing an outstanding job.
Thanks to Ray LaHood for being a terrific leader of the department.
Thank you to Joe Biden for helping to drive this thing home.
And thanks to all the workers who are standing behind us. We don't want to keep them too long. They've already got their hard hats.
(LAUGHTER)
They are going to go straight into their cars, and they're going to go -- go back to work.
So thank you, everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
