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President Obama Goes to Mexico; New York's Governor to Introduce Bill Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage; President Obama Remarks on Transportation, High-Speed Rail; Addiction Recovery Can be a Continuing Process, Not Just a Decision; Health News for Aching Feet
Aired April 16, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Show of support in a drug war. President Obama leaving shortly for Mexico. The mission? Stop drugs moving north and guns running south.
Stocking up, lock, stock and barrel. Apparent mixed messages from the Obama administration leads to a run on guns.
And popularity contest. Ashton Kutcher takes on CNN in a Twitter battle, but the real winner will be people in Africa needing mosquito nets to stay alive.
It is Thursday, April 16th. Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We have CNN crews working very hard to bring all of our news to you today. In fact, Suzanne Malveaux is in Mexico City this morning, awaiting the arrival of the president, of course.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is awaiting more chapters in this interesting pirate saga that we've been talking about. In fact, some of the crew members are back home this morning. And CNN's Gerri Willis has some of the newest clues as to where the economy might be heading.
We will bring all of it to you, of course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All right. Good morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Also this morning, is high-speed rail about to jump on the fast track? At any moment, we're going to be hearing from President Obama. His plan, $8 billion for faster passenger trains. Supporters say millions of people would benefit even if they never buy a ticket. We will be joining the president as soon as he begins to speak.
Also this morning, President Obama embarks on his first official trip to Latin America. First stop? Mexico. He'll meet with his Mexican counterpart to discuss immigration, trade and the drug violence that's spilling across the border. Let's go ahead and check in now with CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, in Mexico City.
Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, when President Obama comes here to Mexico City, obviously, the main issue is going to be the drug issue, the drug war, as well as the violence there. It was just yesterday ahead of this trip we saw the Homeland Security secretary essentially appoint a border czar, if you will.
It's a new position to deal with the violence that has spilled over into the U.S./Mexican border. It is one of the issues, Heidi, that is going to be top of his agenda in this very brief trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Obama's goal to forge a new relationship with Latin America.
OBAMA: We are ready to turn the page and write a new chapter in this story.
MALVEAUX: As a candidate, he slammed President Bush for neglecting the region.
OBAMA: We need to be full partners with those countries, show them the respect that they deserve. That's how all of us are going to move forward.
MALVEAUX: Now he says it's time to reengage our southern neighbors. His first stop Mexico to show support for its president, Felipe Calderon, who's taken on his country's violent drug cartels.
FELIPE CALDERON, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO: We need to stop the flow of guns and weapons towards Mexico.
MALVEAUX: Here, Mr. Obama will reiterate what his attorney general and secretaries of state and homeland security have said visiting this side of the border. The U.S. shares the responsibility and blame for the deadly flow of drugs and weapons across the U.S./Mexico border.
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Our demand for drugs is what motivates these drug gangs.
MALVEAUX: Immigration reform which collapsed under President Bush will be another hot button issue. Friday, Mr. Obama heads to the twin island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago for the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
There he'll be one of 34 world leaders addressing the summit's official agenda which includes the global economic crisis -- the environment, energy, democracy and security. But many political analysts say Mr. Obama's most important task will be to reconcile a bruised and neglected relationship with the western hemisphere.
PETER DESHAZO, DIRECTOR OF AMERICAS PROGRAM, CSIS: That's the key -- the key factor there, a desire to work with the United States just as the United States is going to demonstrate its desire to cooperate with the countries in the region.
MALVEAUX: Aides say the president's approach will be similar to the one he used in Europe last week. To listen and learn, as well as lead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Heidi, White House aides say they don't expect this trip to produce any big breakthroughs but what they certainly are hoping for is to really establish a new kind of tone between the United States and Latin America. Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. We'll be watching closely.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux for us, coming to us from Mexico City. Thank you, Suzanne.
CNN's Karl Penhaul has spent several weeks tracking the drug gangs in Mexico. Next half hour he takes us to what's become known as Mexico's most dangerous city. Make sure you stick around for that.
Lots of waves, smiles and cheers as the crew of the Maersk Alabama returned home just after midnight. The 19 men survived a hijacking attempt last week by Somali pirates. Now, they are waiting for their skipper Captain Richard Phillips. He was held hostage, as you know, by some of the pirates for five days.
Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has been following this story from the get-go.
So Chris, any crew members talking just yet?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're up and around, Heidi. You know they were at a breakfast just a few minutes ago. They got in pretty late last night, about 1:00 in the morning. So they didn't get a whole lot of sleep. You can take a look. You can see some of the crew members making their way to breakfast just about an hour ago or so.
This followed an incredible celebration as they were able to finally reunite with their family and friends. Some harrowing moments on board the Alabama as the pirates boarded. They were firing at the crew. One of the crew members sounded the alarm just seconds before one of the pirates put a gun to his face so you can understand why the crew was just...
COLLINS: Sure.
LAWRENCE: ... so incredibly relieved to be back with their family.
COLLINS: Well, Chris, what about the captain? I mean, we've all heard the story now that he was actually involved in another pirate attack that had a very different outcome.
LAWRENCE: Yes. Captain Rich Phillips. Yes. We heard from a senior defense official that he got to Mombasa. He got back to Mombasa about 3:00 in the morning which was about two hours after his former crew arrived back here in the United States.
He was aboard the USS Bainbridge when it had to avert to help another American freighter that had been attacked by pirates. But again, he is now in Mombasa and there is a charter flight waiting for him to take him back here to the United States to be reunited with his family.
COLLINS: All right. And a very, very smooth flight we hope that that will be, of course. CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence.
Chris, thank you.
We are also keeping an eye on your wallet and where the economy is headed. Just minutes ago new numbers could offer new clues.
CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is joining us now from New York.
So Gerri, let's start with this week's jobless claims. What's the news?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, we actually had good news there. You know initial jobless claims are claims for people looking for unemployment benefits who were newly unemployed. It's an important number. The good news here in the last week, we had 53,000 fewer people making those claims. Of course, there is some other news in this report which offsets that. The number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose to six million. That is the highest since 1967. So a glimmer in the housing market there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: On the housing side, though, the news was not so good. In fact, we got some pretty bad news. Building permits for March down 9 percent. Housing starts down 10.8 percent.
Now both of these numbers for the month of March, if you'll recall, February, we had some good news on those scores.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: Those numbers were much more positive. People began to say hey, maybe we're seeing the end of this housing depression. Now people aren't so sure. They are taking a serious look at those numbers. I should tell you, though, that the building permits number can be very volatile. So you know, you can't look at it month-to-month and expect it to be, you know, completely stable because it doesn't do that.
COLLINS: Sure, sure. OK. Understood. Some earnings reports, though, came out this morning. One bank is doing pretty well?
WILLIS: Yes, JPMorgan surprised Wall Street with some earnings for the first quarter. Really looking there. 2.1 billion. The earnings per share were some 40 cents per share. Wall Street has been expecting 32 cents a share. Obviously, this is better than expected but down 10 percent from a year ago.
You know we've been getting some good bank earnings numbers, starting to see some glimmer there at the end of the rope for those companies. I should tell you JPMorgan Chase's CEO, Jamie Dimon, in his comments in the press release about the earnings said, you know, we are trying to help the economy by continuing to make loans.
So one of the things that's interesting here, sort of the merging of the political and the economic news.
COLLINS: Yes.
WILLIS: You know, that CEO saying hey, we're doing our bit for the country, but some good news for -- nonetheless, from JPMorgan. Of course, we'll continue to get earnings releases for many, many days here.
COLLINS: Yes, indeed, we will. All right, our personal finance editor Gerri Willis for us this morning.
Thank you, Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Tax protests from Topeka to Boston and back again. Thousands of angry Americans send a message to the government. Is this merely the first wave of outrage?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Finally a quiet day on the East Coast but another storm heading to the west. Winter storm warnings and big snow for Denver.
Weather is coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Rob Marciano is standing by now in the Severe Weather Center to talk a little bit more about some crummy weather in the plain states.
(WEATHER REPORT) COLLINS: Tax day 2009 is over. But this year some American workers sent an angry message to the government. Thousands of people rallied in tax protests yesterday. Is this the start of a bigger movement?
We get a closer look from Candy Crowley, CNN's senior political correspondent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): April 15th is not the best time to ask Americans whether they think taxes are too high, but it's a perfect day for the president to remind them they're a little lower.
OBAMA: We passed a broad and sweeping cut for 95 percent of American workers.
CROWLEY: He's talking about a reduction withholding that comes out to an average of $10 to $13 a paycheck. While the president talked up his tax policy, protesters across the country gathered for tea parties meant to echo the Boston Tea Party Tax Revolt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean there are taxes that continually are being added to your paycheck, my paycheck, our cell phone bills, everything that we touch has a tax on it. You know, it's just getting worse and worse and worse.
CROWLEY: In some places, they showed up by the thousands gathering in cities like Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Oklahoma City and Washington D.C.
LAURA INGRAHAM, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And regardless of whether the media covers this or not, I think that people are beginning to wake up.
CROWLEY: The message was broader than taxes. It was about the trillions of dollars being spent to bailout banks and stimulate the economy. And about the huge debt being racked up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your children will be here, your grandchildren. I'm 76, I won't get to see the worst of this, but you will.
CROWLEY: Less spending, lower taxes and smaller government is essentially Republican Party orthodoxy. Sponsors and organizers were by and large fiscally and socially conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity, a political group promoting limited government and free markets.
TIM PHILLIPS, AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY: The Republican Party, frankly, is too disorganized and too unsure of itself to pull off stuff like this. This is a grassroots uprising that's telling elected officials in both parties, hey guys, there's too much debt.
CROWLEY (on camera): Most elected national republicans kept a low profile, which doesn't mean they aren't watching. For the GOP, this day was a bit of a testing ground. If this is a growing movement instead of a one-day wonder, it could be just the sort of issue the GOP can wrap itself around to rebuild a party in tatters.
(voice-over): And perhaps there is fertile political ground here. According to the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, more than 60 percent of Americans do approve of the way the president is handling taxes. But, a recent Gallup poll found that 46 percent of Americans still think taxes are too high, 48 percent think they're just about right. Though, on tax day, those numbers may be a little different.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Clearly a lot of protesters think the government has overreached by taxing too much and spending too much. Let's get another viewpoint on the impact of the anti-tax protest.
CNN senior political analyst David Gergen weighs in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: First, I must confess I did not take these very seriously but they do seem to have gained traction in the last couple of weeks. And they have -- I think they are giving expression to what is a ground swell of vocal minority who are increasingly alienated and oppose to what the president is putting forward. The agenda he's advancing.
I don't think this is mostly about taxes. I think it's about the general direction of bigger deficits that may lead to more taxes and more government. And, you know, the Republican Party has not found its voice, but there is, clearly, in the country a minority who are increasingly opposed, and I think that this is what this day represents.
Could it grow bigger? Of course, it's -- it is going to grow bigger because one day, you know what? The Obama administration is probably going to have to propose higher taxes. It's the only way you can close these deficits.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Speaking of taxes, we now know what our president and vice president are paying the IRS. The White House released their tax returns yesterday. It shows President Obama and the first lady with an income of about $2.7 million last year. Most of that coming from the sale of the president's books.
The Obamas has reported paying more than $900,000 in federal and state income taxes and donating more than $172,000 to charity. The White House says Vice President Biden and his wife earned more than $269,000 last year. They paid about $58,000 in taxes and donated almost $1,900 to charity. Just when you think you've beat it, it comes back and threatens your life. The addicts, our word, relapse. We track down one author who's battling the demons again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Nic Sheff thought he had beat it. Kicking his addiction and then writing a book about his drug abuse but, like many addicts, Nick found relapse is a constant threat.
Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked to Nick for Sanjay's upcoming special on addiction.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the most amazing things about this documentary was being able to follow some of the people along for so many months. Almost a year in the case of Nick Sheff.
When we first met him, he was in the middle of a book tour. He had just written a book about his own recovery. But I think the most important story of Nick Shaft is demonstrating just how powerful a disease addiction can be. And what he demonstrated for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Nic Sheff loved drugs. Crack, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, and his favorite, crystal methamphetamine.
NIC SHEFF, RECOVERING ADDICT: When I did crystal meth for the first time it was like - yes. It was like the answer to my problems. It was like I felt strong and confident.
GUPTA: After five rehabs, Nic finally kicked his addiction and wrote a popular book called "Tweak." It's about the toll drugs took on his life.
SHEFF: I cooked up a bunch of heroin and go to pick out a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator.
GUPTA: His recovery looked like a success to everyone, including Nic thought he had beaten his disease. Then he dropped off the radar.
(on camera): We had heard that he relapsed. Finally, we tracked him down at this sober living home in Santa Monica, California.
Hi, Nic.
SHEFF: Hello.
GUPTA (voice-over): In August, he admitted to taking prescription drugs and smoking pot.
(on camera): I was surprised to find you here. SHEFF: Absolutely. Man, I think I was doing -- well, I was doing real well, you know, externally. It's just so crazy how I went from zero to 60, you know, in a day and a half or something.
GUPTA (voice-over): The peril of relapse is common among addicts.
Dr. Kevin Clark is medical director at the addiction treatment center, Hazelden.
DR. KEVIN CLARK, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, HAZELDEN: Relapse is certainly sometimes a part of the disease process. Our figures are about 53 to 56 percent of patients remain abstinence for a year.
GUPTA: Nic who has been diagnosed with bipolar said a split with his girlfriend in an episode of manic behavior precipitated his return to drugs. He relapsed again in October taking Vicodin pills. Now he said he's been sober since the beginning of December.
And speaking so publicly about his addiction and his relapses, Nic hoped to continue his healing.
SHEFF: Internally, you know, the gift that I've given myself of being able to be honest is maybe saved my life.
GUPTA: He's optimistic about the journey of recovery that still lies ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: There's no question these relapses, as we were filming the documentary, sort of took us by surprise. But when we talked to Nic more specifically about it, he says he has a continued compulsion to use is. That's how he describes is. And while he thinks he is always going to be an addict, he thinks he can be someone who no longer uses drugs as if that makes sense.
Still be an addict, have the compulsions but not use drugs. The experts that we talked to say, look, the risk of relapse is almost a part of recovery and, in fact, that risk of relapse occurs highest within the first year and starts to trail off after that.
So they were not as surprised by Nic. And keep in mind that his drug of choice was methamphetamine and there is no medication that can help with the recovery process with methamphetamine, not as of yet.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
COLLINS: A mother, a writer, a student, all addicts. Could their brains hold the key to their addiction? Dr. Sanjay Gupta follows them on the journey to recovery and relapse. "ADDICTION," CNN Saturday and Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern.
It was once a tourist Mecca. Now one of Mexico's largest cities is known more these days for its drug wars. It's an exclusive trip to Juarez you won't want to miss. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to let you know what's happening right now. We are looking at transportation secretary Ray LaHood. Standing next to him, Vice President Joe Biden. And on the other side, President Barack Obama all speaking today about transportation in America, specifically going to be talking about traveling with the system of high-speed rail.
An $8 million plan that the president is going to be discussing very shortly here. We'll bring that to you just as soon as he comes to the microphone.
Meanwhile, for the third time in a week, a major bank says it earned billions of dollars in the last quarter, but will it be enough to lift the market?
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a preview of the trading day.
Hey, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.
And we had a late-session rally yesterday on signs that some bulls discern as perhaps indications that the worst of the recession may, emphasize may, may be behind us. Last week it was Wells Fargo. Monday it was Goldman Sachs. Today it's JPMorgan Chase. JP earning more than $2 billion in the first three months of the year. JPMorgan benefiting from a jump in mortgage refinancing and deposits, as well as low interest rates.
But rising unemployment is boosting default and delinquency rates on credit card and other consumer loans. Obviously, one of the ramifications of the recession. And both problems are certainly hurting one of the nation's biggest mall operators.
There we have the opening bell.
General Gross properties filing for bankruptcy protection. The company owns 200 malls, including high-profile places like Watertower Place in Chicago, Daniel Hall in Boston, south street seaport here in New York. And Cumberland Mall by you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Shoppers aren't shopping, Heidi. Get out there. Malls are seeing their vacancy rates skyrocketing. Everybody needs to do their part.
Today's economic reports are mixed. New jobless claims took a huge drop last week but still remain at a high level above 600,000 and continuing claims top six million, another record high. The latest company to cut jobs is Harley Davidson, up to 400. Ticker symbol, HOG.
Heidi, you knew that. I know you do.
COLLINS: I did know that. We've talked about it before.
LISOVICZ: Just want to say it.
COLLINS: All right.
LISOVICZ: And we have modest gains at the open. Can I just mention, quickly?
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Rosetta Stone, the language software specials rang the opening bell.
COLLINS: I was going to ask you about it. Yes.
LISOVICZ: It's a rare initial public offering. But even more rare, Heidi, it's the first IPO in about a year to price above its expected range.
COLLINS: Wow.
LISOVICZ: And that is a true sign of optimism. In a place that we haven't seen it very frequently.
COLLINS: I'm still working diligently on my French and Swedish.
LISOVICZ: Well, they have some software they'd love to sell you.
COLLINS: I've got it!
LISOVICZ: I'm talking to the CEO in the next hour so I'll put in a special request.
COLLINS: OK. "Swedish for Dummies" is good for me.
All right. Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much for that.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: We'll check back with you later on.
President Obama is about to leave for his first trip south of the border since taking office. He's set to meet with Mexico's President Felipe Calderon this afternoon. On the table -- trade, immigration and Mexico's deadly drug war.
The City of Juarez has seen its share of the violence. Mexico's fourth largest city is located just across the border from El Paso, Texas. These days it's known more for its gangs and gun battles.
CNN's Karl Penhaul brings us an extraordinary and exclusive look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The police radio crackles. Shots are being fired downtown. A city cop asks these transvestite prostitutes if they heard. Six shots, they say, a few blocks away.
It's midnight in Juarez, Mexico's most dangerous city. The gunmen seem to have faded away, so the patrol heads up into gangland, the hillside slums that ring Juarez.
"We're arresting gang members before they get together, because then there will be killings," he says.
Police say there are 1,000 gangs in the city. They go by names like the Skulls, the Sharks, the Aztecs and the Artist Assassins. They peddle cocaine, crack and heroin, and fight gun battles for turf.
The gangs, too, have become a recruiting ground for narco- traffickers, looking to hire hit men. "Organized crime reports from these gangs. They come and choose the most dangerous members," the captain says.
Captain Pinedo and his men on the anti-gang patrol know the labyrinth of alleyways by heart. They pull suspected gang members out of vehicles, even sniffing their fingers to see if they've been using drugs.
"A lot of them don't have any I.D., and they looks like gang bangers," he says.
For the last year Juarez's best-selling newspaper has been filled with gory photos of drug war hits. As the Sinaloa cartel battles for the Juarez mob's trafficking routes. Bodies hanging from a bridge, other victims stuffed into cooking pots, another murdered and his face covered with a pig mask.
Police say many of the victims have been young gang members recruited as cartel foot soldiers.
We head back into our Juarez neighborhood, this time without the police, to try and discover why young men have been lured by the drug mobs.
This small gang calls itself Below 13. None of its members seem to know why. The few who say they work, earn less than $50 a week in assembly plants. The cartel war now raging, it offers a chance of quick money.
"Some of the gang members here have joined organized crime groups and some are in prison because they were busted for selling drugs," this young man tells me. He knows working for the cartels can mean a short life expectancy.
"Of course it's easy money, because you can earn serious cash, but it's dangerous, too. Like they say, it's easy money until they kill you," he says. Sixteen hundred people died in drug cartel killings last year in Juarez, but in this neighborhood, there's little sense the war will end.
"Thank God we're alive. We're going to show all the hit men that Juarez is number one," he boasts.
Fighting talk that bodes of more untimely deaths.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Juarez, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is back on the national scene. She is scheduled to speak tonight to a sold-out right to life fund-raising dinner in Evansville, Indiana. The Republican vice presidential candidate, Palin drew large crowds in the state. GOP national Chairman Michael Steele will give the keynote address at the dinner.
The hot button issue of gay marriage is on the front burner in New York now. Governor David Paterson plans to introduce a bill today to legalize same-sex marriages. The measured died in 2007, and still faces strong opposition. Gays and lesbians can already marry across the border in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and later this year in Vermont.
The right to bear arms. Is it coming under fire from the Obama White House? Many Americans aren't taking chances. They are rushing to buy guns now.
And you put a lot of miles on your feet. Injury and aging can also impact your mobility, but there are ways to help those aching feet. CNN's Judy Fortin explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Vincent Wall (ph) spends a lot of time on the treadmill, but this sweat on the machine has less to do with his waistline and more to do with his feet. Last winter, Wall was bounding up the stairs when his Achilles tendon snapped.
VINCENT WALL, PATIENT: I heard like a rip, and when I went to put weight on it, I couldn't stand on it.
FORTIN: After surgery, Wall's physical therapist recommended he get into rehab quickly to stretch out those tendons and muscles to keep him strong.
STEVEN PETTINEO, DIRECTOR, PHYSICAL THERAPY, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY: We know that in our 30s, you know, we start to lose strength in our body at a very young age and that progresses, they say, about eight percent a year.
FORTIN: And as you get older, muscles and tendons begin to shrink, making them tight which is tough on your feet.
PETTINEO: When you have tightness in one area of the body, no matter where it is, you're normally going to make up for that loss of motion somewhere else, and that's especially true in the foot.
FORTIN: That means starting in your 30s you need to stretch, especially in your calves and feet. It can help you avoid a lot of overuse injuries.
PETTINEO: Certain things like tendinitis of the Achilles or tendinitis, which is more of a degenerative process of the tendon. You can get, you know, mid-foot pain or pain in your toes all because there is certain flexibility issues.
FORTIN: By the time you reach your 40s, your feet have taken a real pounding. Deterioration of bones and muscles may cause the arches in our feet to become lax and lose support, making it tough to walk. And with age, especially in women, can come osteoarthritis.
PETTINEO: You start to see degenerative changes in the joint space themselves. The way we try and combat those from a therapy standpoint as weight-bearing exercise.
FORTIN: Doctors recommend at any age, make sure you get a good fitting shoot.
PETTINEO: Shoe wear is definitely important and probably even more specific to whatever task it is that you're doing.
FORTIN: If you run, don't wear tennis shoes. Standing on your feet? Watch the size of the heel. The wrong footwear can cause shin splints and joint problems that could give you a lifetime of pain.
As for Vincent Wall's Achilles tendon, it seems back to normal. Although rehab isn't the most exciting place to be, he knows it's the healthiest place for his foot. Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quickly take you to President Barack Obama now making remarks on transportation in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I have worked on this extensively. I also want to acknowledge Jim Oberstar and Rob Andrews, two of our finest members of Congress, but people who understand that investing in our infrastructure, investing in our transportation system pays enormous dividends over the long term. So I'm grateful to them for being here.
(APPLAUSE)
I've been speaking a lot lately about what we're doing to break free of our economic crisis, to put people back to work and move this nation from recession to recovery. And one area in which we can make investments with impact both immediate and lasting is in America's infrastructure. And that's why the recovery and reinvestment plan we passed not two months ago included the most sweeping investment in our infrastructure since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s.
And these efforts will save money by untangling gridlock, and saving lives by improving our roads, and save or create 150,000 jobs, mostly in the private sector, by the end of next year.
Already it's put Americans back to work. And so far, we're ahead of schedule, we're under budget, and adhering to the highest standards of transparency and accountability. But if we want to move from recovery to prosperity, then we have to do a little bit more. We also have to build a new foundation for our future growth.
Today, our aging system of highways and byways, air routes and rail lines is hindering that growth. Our highways are clogged with traffic, costing us $80 billion a year in lost productivity and wasted fuel. Our airports are choked with increased loads. Some of you flew down here, and you know what that was about. We're at the mercy of fluctuating gas prices, all too often. We pump too many greenhouse gases into the air.
What we need, then, is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century, a system that reduces travel times and increases mobility, a system that reduces congestion and boosts productivity, a system that reduces destructive emissions and creates jobs.
What we're talking about is a vision for high-speed rail in America. Imagine boarding a train in the center of a city -- no racing to an airport and across a terminal, no delays, no sitting on the tarmac, no lost luggage, no taking off your shoes.
(LAUGHTER)
Imagine whisking through towns at speeds over 100 miles an hour, walking only a few steps to public transportation, and ending up just blocks from your destination. Imagine what a great project that would be to rebuild America.
Now, all of you know this is not some fanciful, pie-in-the-sky vision of the future. It is now. It is happening right now. It's been happening for decades. The problem is, it has been happening elsewhere, not here.
In France, high-speed rail has pulled regions from isolation, ignited growth, remade quiet towns into thriving tourist destinations. In Spain, a high-speed line between Madrid and Seville is so successful that more people travel between those cities by rail than by car and airplane combined.
China, where service began just two years ago, may have more miles of high-speed rail service than any other country just five years from now. And Japan, the nation that unveiled the first high- speed rail system, is already at work building the next: a line that will connect Tokyo with Osaka at speeds of over 300 miles per hour.
So it is being done. It is just not being done here. There is no reason why we can't do this. This is America. There is no reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else beyond our borders.
Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper, and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already overburdened aviation system. And everybody stands to benefit.
And that is why today, with the help of Secretary LaHood and Vice President Biden -- America's number one rail fan, I have been told -- I'm announcing my administration's efforts to transform travel in America within a historic investment in high-speed rail.
And our strategy has two parts: Improving our existing rail lines to make current train service faster -- so Rahm can, you know, shave a few hours over the course of a week -- but also identifying potential corridors for the creation of world-class, high-speed rail. And to make this happen, we've already dedicated $8 billion of Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to this initiative, and I've requested another $5 billion over the next five years.
The Department of Transportation expects to begin awarding funds to ready projects before the end of this summer, well ahead of schedule. And like all funding decisions under the Recovery Act, money will be distributed based on merit -- not on politics, not as favors, not for any other consideration; purely on merit.
Now, this plan is realistic. In the first round of funding, we'll focus on projects that can create jobs and benefits in the near term. We're not talking about starting from scratch. We're talking about using existing infrastructure to increase speeds on some routes from 70 miles an hour to over 100 miles per hour. So you're taking existing rail lines -- you're upgrading them.
And many corridors merit even faster service, but this is the first step that is quickly achievable. And it will create jobs improving tracks, crossings, and signal systems.
The next step is investing in high-speed rail that unleashes the economic potential of all of our regions by shrinking distances within our regions. There are at least 10 major corridors in the United States of 100 to 600 miles in length with a potential for successful high-speed rail systems. And these areas have explored its potential impact on their long-term growth and competitiveness, and they have already presented sound plans.
I want to be clear, no decision about where to allocate funds has yet been made. And any region can step up, present a plan, and be considered. The high-speed rail corridors we've identified so far would connect areas like the cities of the Pacific Northwest; southern and central Florida; the Gulf Coast to the Southeast, to our nation's capital; the breadth of Pennsylvania and New York to the cities of New England; and something close to my heart: a central hub network that draws the cities of our industrial heartland closer to Chicago and one another.
Or California, where voters have already chosen to move forward with their own high-speed rail system; a system of new stations and 220 mile-per-hour trains that links big cities to inland towns, that alleviates crippling congestion on highways and at airports, and that makes travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles possible in two and a half hours.
And by making investments across the country, we'll lay a new foundation for our economic competitiveness and contribute to smart urban and rural growth. We'll create highly skilled construction and operating jobs that can't be outsourced, and generate demand for technology that gives a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs the opportunity to step up and lead the way in the 21st century.
We'll move to cleaner energy and a cleaner environment. We'll reduce our need for foreign oil by millions of barrels a year and eliminate more than 6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually, equal to removing 1 million cars from our roads.
Now, I know that this vision has its critics. There's those who say high-speed rail is a fantasy. But its success around the world says otherwise. I know Americans love their cars, and nobody's talking about replacing the automobile and our highways as critical parts of our transportation system. We are upgrading those in the recovery package as well. But this is something that can be done, has been done, and can provide us enormous benefits.
And there are those who argue that if an investment doesn't directly benefit the people of their district, then it shouldn't be made.
Jim, you know some of those arguments.
But if we follow that rationale, we'd have no infrastructure at all.
There are those who say, well, this investment's too small. But this is just a first step. We know that this is going to be a long- term project, but us getting started now, us moving the process forward, getting people to imagine what's possible, and putting resources behind it so that people can start seeing examples of this around the country, that's going to spur all kinds of activity.
Now, finally, there are those who say, at a time of crisis we shouldn't be pursuing such a strategy, we got too many other things to do.
But our history teaches us a different lesson. As Secretary LaHood just mentioned, President Lincoln was committed to a nation connected from east to west even at the same time he was trying to hold north and south together.
He was in the middle of a civil war. While fighting raged on one side of the continent, tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life came together on the other. Dreamers and risk-takers willing to invest in America. College-educated engineers and supervisors who learned leadership in war. American workers and immigrants from all over the world, Confederates and Yankees, joined on the same side.
Eventually, those two sets of tracks met and with one final blow of a hammer, backed by years of hard work and decades of dreams, the way was laid for a nationwide economy. A telegraph operator sent out a simple message to a waiting nation. It just said, Done. A newspaper proclaimed, We are the youngest of peoples, but we are teaching the world to march forward.
In retrospect, America's march forward seems inevitable, but time and again it's only made possible by generations that are willing to work and sacrifice and invest in plans to make tomorrow better than today.
That's the vision we can't afford to lose sight of, that's the challenge that's fallen to this generation.
And with this strategy for America's transportation future, and our efforts across all fronts to lay a new foundation for our lasting prosperity, that is the challenge we will meet.
Make no little plans. It's what Daniel Burnham said in Chicago. I believe that about America. Make no little plans. So let's get to work.
Thank you, everybody.
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COLLINS: President Barack Obama making comments about transportation in America, but specifically announcing this $8 billion plan for high-speed rail. It's going to be $8 billion right now, and then $5 billion more over the next five years, to do two things -- improving existing rail lines, and then, identify corridors where they could possibly build high-speed rail.
We'll be back in just a moment right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Just a few minutes from now, President Barack Obama leaves the White House for his first official trip to Latin America. First stop, Mexico City and a meeting with Mexico's president. And then tomorrow, President Obama travels to Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas.
