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Taliban on the Move; Troops Following Out of Iraq, Into Afghanistan; Torture Allegations; Woman Paralyzed During Flight; Fewer Emissions, Higher Bills; Car Sales Boom in Germany; Pittsboro Printing Their Own Money
Aired April 22, 2009 - 11:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Alarming developments in Pakistan. Right now one of America's most important allies in the region is under threat from Taliban militants. They have taken over a region just 60 miles outside of Islamabad. At the Pentagon, there are gnawing questions about what it could mean for U.S. troops next door in Afghanistan. And moments ago Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the situation threatens the security of the entire world.
We have reports from around the globe. Ivan Watson is in the Pakistani capital. Jill Dougherty is in Washington and Frederik Pleitgen is on the ground with U.S. troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Let's begin with Ivan Watson in Islamabad.
And Ivan, you know, we're not talking about a uniformed army on the march here taking this land. How is the Taliban making this land grab happen?
Ivan, can you hear me?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right. These are irregular fighters and what they did, Tony, is they basically advanced down from the Swat Valley, which the Pakistani government basically ceded to the Taliban after more than a year of fighting.
I can hear you fine, sir.
If you can hear me all right, it is not a regular advance by an army. What you have is irregular fighters moving down probably in pickup trucks from the Swat Valley which the Pakistani government handed over to the Taliban effectively as of last week. (AUDIO GAP) the district of Buner. They were traveling around in pickup trucks, establishing locations there, setting up checkpoints, establishing an FM radio broadcast, as well, to preach what they say is supposed to be the imposition of Sharia, Islamic law, in that area. But it is an ominous move, and the Pakistani government says it is a violation of a peace agreement that it signed with the Taliban last week -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. CNN's Ivan Watson for us.
Ivan, appreciate it. Thank you.
I want to bring in our foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty. And Jill, I don't think it's possible to overstate the importance of Pakistan and the stability of Pakistan, and obviously the secretary of state is speaking to this issue.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. And, you know, those comments by Hillary Clinton -- and we will hear them in just a minute -- are really the starkest warning that we have heard so far. Very overt from this administration about what is going on in Pakistan and what the threat is coming from that region.
Let's listen to Hillary Clinton as she says that this is a mortal danger to the United States and to the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I do want to tell Pakistan, which I think poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country, and the world. And I want to take this occasion in this public forum to state unequivocally that not only do the Pakistani government officials, but the Pakistani people and the Pakistani Diaspora, many of whom are extremely successful Americans here in academia, business, the professions, and so much else, need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents, to the Taliban, to al Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate.
I think that we cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances now within hours of Islamabad that are being made by a loosely-confederated group of terrorists and others who are seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state, which is, as we all know, a nuclear-armed state. And I don't hear that kind of outrage or concern coming from enough people that would reverberate back within the highest echelons of the civilian and military leadership of Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: OK. So you heard it right there. She's saying existential threat.
What does that mean? It means that the fear on the part of the United States is that Pakistan could become a failed state, that they could be, in essence, digging their own graves by having this policy of ceding those areas to the Taliban, to al Qaeda, to any other terrorist group. And the scenario that the United States is worried about is, if Pakistan falls apart, you heard what Secretary Clinton said, it is a nuclear-armed country.
What happens if those nukes came under control of a terrorist organization? That could be a long shot, Tony, but it is a serious threat.
And then, finally, quickly, this all raises a lot of issues about the policy of the United States in Afghanistan, because not so long ago, just a few weeks ago, we were talking about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and why these two were tied together. So this is a very, very important not only issue, but the statement that she made today.
HARRIS: So important, that we just need to think about what she said there and how stark those words actually are. And maybe we will run that portion of the secretary's comments a little later in this hour.
Jill Dougherty for us.
Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.
Out of one war zone and into another, U.S. troops are on the move from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Our Frederik Pleitgen is traveling with them and is on the ground in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
And Fred, you're with troops who are on a very specific and, I should add, very important mission. Tell us about that.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. And their skills are so crucial to the mission here in Afghanistan, that the U.S. military has decided to airlift this entire battalion out of Iraq and place it here into Afghanistan.
It's the 4th Engineering Battalion. They were stationed at Camp Victory in Iraq only a couple of days ago and are now making the move here to Afghanistan.
What these soldiers do is route clearance. They clear roads of roadside bombs and also of landmines. And, of course, as you know, here in Afghanistan, there's a large saturation of landmines, and also it's a very dangerous territory here. A lot of Taliban activity, especially down here in Kandahar.
And so as I said, the mission that they have is so crucial here to what's going on in Afghanistan, that the entire battalion is being airlifted out of Iraq here into Afghanistan. We are able to get on one of those flights traveling from Iraq, here into Kandahar, and certainly that was an amazing logistical experience that we had here.
Fifty planes are needed to get all of the equipment and all of the soldiers from Iraq here into this new battlefield. You're talking about very heavy armored vehicles, mine-resistant vehicles. Most of them weigh well over 40,000 pounds. And you're seeing very heavy C-17 cargo planes airlift all of that equipment, all those soldiers here into Afghanistan, where then they will play this very, very crucial role, and one that's been quite neglected here over the past couple of years -- Tony.
HARRIS: All right.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen for us in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Fred, good to see you. Thank you.
And turning now to the explosive issue of torture. A Senate report just out is adding to the controversy. The report says under the Bush administration, intelligence and military officials began preparing to conduct harsh interrogations long before they were given legal authority to do so. The report also says officials were warned by legal experts that the techniques could backfire and might violate international law.
Live now to CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.
And Dana, the Senate Armed Services Committee report concludes that abuse of interrogation tactics was -- quoting here -- "systematic inside the Bush administration." So what does Chairman Carl Levin want to do about that?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and that's actually the conclusion of the chairman, of Carl Levin. And he also says, Tony, that the senior officials inside the Bush administration bear responsibility for what he calls creating the legal and operational framework for the abuses.
So, to answer your question, what he is saying that he wants is for the attorney general, Eric Holder, to appoint what he calls a distinguished individual or individuals, somebody either inside or outside the Justice Department. He says maybe some retired judges to look into the vast amount of information that not just this report, but other reports have come up with in terms of interrogation methods by the Bush administration.
And he also says that he really believes that as a result of that, that the attorney general will be able to decide whether or not essentially to prosecute. That obviously, as you well know, has been a point of contention and contradiction, I think, inside the Obama administration.
HARRIS: The Obama administration. We're going to get to that in just a moment, but let's talk about Congress here. I mean, because Congress has oversight power.
What is this committee doing?
BASH: Well, you know, the Senate Intelligence Committee under the chairmanship of Dianne Feinstein, they have been looking into these methods for quite a while. And in fact, she thinks she will have a report by the end of the year.
However, because of all of the controversy, and right now the release of those memos last week, there is a stepped-up feeling among Democrats who are in Congress that they need to do something more quickly. So, for example, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, he's been calling for an independent commission for a while. Well, today, he said if that doesn't happen, if he can't get Republicans to agree to it, he's going to press on with hearings of his own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: I'm not one of these who feel we should just turn the page if we haven't read the page. And this is something that we ought to know exactly what happened. Who made the decision that if something comes out of the White House, you can be above the law? Who made the decision that at the presidential level, we should decide certain people don't have to follow the law, certain people are above the law?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, there's a very interesting dynamic here though, Tony. This has become quite a partisan issue here on Capitol Hill.
Even Republicans who generally work with Democrats, like Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and John McCain, who has argued so many times against torture tactics, they both say, look, it is the wrong thing to do to look back, the probe is the wrong idea. An investigation, even prosecution, is the wrong idea. They want to move forward.
HARRIS: Oh boy. You want to talk about a hot potato, this is it right here.
Our Senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
HARRIS: President Obama now seems open to the possibility of prosecuting those responsible for okaying the alleged torture methods.
Live now to our White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano.
And Elaine, I'm going to ask you the question again that I asked you last hour. Is the White House even admitting that this new position is a new position for this president? In effect, a reversal?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, they're not acknowledging that, really. And I have to tell you, just a short time ago you were just talking about lawmakers.
We saw walking into the West Wing -- I'm not sure if we have video of it -- we saw the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin, walking into the West Wing lobby. Not sure exactly who he's meeting with. We know that the president, of course, is traveling to Iowa today. But certainly, obviously, his report is simply fueling or adding fuel to the debate over these interrogation tactics.
Now, the question does remain why, in fact, there was this change, though the administration, again, not necessarily acknowledging there's a change. And we heard Dana elaborate about the momentum, if you will, on Capitol Hill.
The White House has said that there's not necessarily pressure, or that they're not necessarily looking at things at MoveOn.org, for instance, which is circulating a petition to Attorney General Eric Holder to hold some Bush officials accountable. That, in fact, Robert Gibbs said yesterday, look, it's not as though the president is paying attention necessarily to what MoveOne.org is doing. But the fact remains, pressure is mounting.
The momentum is building, and it's not just coming from groups like MoveOn.org. It's coming from players on Capitol Hill. Obviously, the president wanted to outline the parameters for any kind of investigation or commission if it does, in fact, get to that point.
So we're waiting to hear -- Robert Gibbs is supposed to gaggle on Air Force One en route to Iowa. We'll see what else he has to say on this topic.
HARRIS: You may not be paying attention to MoveOn.org but you do listen to senators like Dianne Feinstein, Carl Levin and Patrick Leahy.
All right. At the White House for us, Elaine Quijano.
Elaine, appreciate it. Thank you.
Vice President Cheney says the Obama administration isn't playing fair on memos it has released regarding interrogation tactics. This morning, the secretary of state has weighed in with her own thoughts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: To be sure, the controversy over torture is intensifying. A memo from President Obama's intelligence director says the harsh Bush-era methods revealed important information that helped the U.S. deal with the threat of terrorism. But he says it is not known if the information could have been obtained through other means.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney defends the interrogation tactics.
Our Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Vice President Dick Cheney says the Obama administration's been selective in releasing documents on enhanced interrogation.
Cheney tells Fox News...
RICHARD CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because they put out the legal memos -- the memos that the CIA got from the office of the legal counsel. But they didn't put out the memos that show the success of the efforts. And there are reports that show specifically what we gained as a result of this activity.
TODD: Cheney is referring to CIA memos and says he wants some of those declassified. The White House did not respond to our repeated attempts to answer Cheney's charge directly. The press secretary said only this.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: And we've had an at least two year policy disagreement with the vice president of the United States of America. That policy disagreement is whether or not you can uphold the values on which this country was founded at the same time that you protect the citizens that live in that country.
TODD: One memo from Bush lawyers released by the Obama team does mention intelligence gains saying interrogations of Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah with enhanced techniques identified Khalid Sheikh Muhammad as the mastermind of 9/11.
Zubaydah's waterboarding was described to CNN by a retired CIA agent two years ago.
JOHN KIRIAKOU, RETIRED CIA AGENT: With Abu Zubaydah, they worked very well. And we -- we were able to corroborate the information that he provided after the waterboarding. And it turned out to be accurate.
TODD: President Obama is adamant that the techniques don't make America safer. A former Army lawyer who's now a human rights advocate agrees.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES P. CULLEN (RET.), HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST: And when a person goes without sleep for weeks and days on end, you're really looking at measures not designed to elicit actionable, reliable intelligence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton got dragged into the fuss over terror interrogations and the possibility some Bush officials could be prosecuted.
Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher put her on the hot seat at a House hearing today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DANA ROHRABACHER (R), CALIFORNIA: Are you in favor of releasing the documents that Dick Cheney has been requesting be released?
CLINTON: Well, it won't surprise you that I don't consider him a particularly reliable source of information.
ROHRABACHER: Madame Secretary, I asked you a specific question. Are you -- Dick Cheney has asked for specific documents to be unclassified. We're not asking of your opinion of Dick Cheney. About those documents, you want to maintain your credibility with us, what is your position on the release of those documents?
CLINTON: Well, Congressman, I believe that we ought to get to the bottom of this entire matter. I think it's in the best interests of our country, and that is what the president believes and that is why he has taken the actions he did.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: The congressman went on to ask if Clinton would recommend the release of the documents Cheney wants public. Cheney says the memos show interrogation tactics used by the Bush administration were successful. Secretary Clinton did not answer the congressman.
A prominent executive at mortgage giant Freddie Mac was found dead at his Virginia home this morning. Forty-one-year-old David Kellermann served as a senior vice president and acting chief financial officer. A source tells CNN Kellermann apparently hanged himself at his home in Vienna, in suburban Washington.
Freddie Mac played a big role in the mortgage meltdown and financial collapse that followed. The company is under investigation by two U.S. attorneys' offices, and the SEC has subpoenaed various documents. It is not clear if the company's business troubles played any role in Kellermann's suicide.
You can follow late developments on the David Kellermann story and get financial news 24/7 when you log on to CNNMoney.com.
It is Earth Day. What is going on around the world to mark the occasion?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: People all over the world doing all kinds of environmental activities scheduled for today in honor of Earth Day, from the Philippines to California, to your iReports. And we are getting lots of videos.
Our Josh Levs is keeping track of all of it for us.
And Josh, share, share, share, sir.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, environmental activities rock, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes, they are.
LEVS: No, check this out. I'll tell you, people all over the world, they're saying that in some fashion, a billion people might find a way to get involved doing something environmental. That means lots of video for us.
I want to show you some interesting ones.
HARRIS: Nice.
LEVS: We're going to start off here. Let's bring in the sound, too.
This comes to us from the Philippines today, and what they've done there is, this is an area right near Manila, and they went into this river that was -- and this is sad -- once upon a time, this river that they're going into here was a major source of drinking water in that area. Now it's filled with so much waste, they can't even touch it. It's complete waste at this point.
So they went in there today and they had this sort of ceremonial beginning to cleaning it up. And they said, hey, let's take some actions on this. It's important that we try to do some cleaning up in this area.
Now I'm going to take you to this one, which is really interesting, too. Check this out.
This is from the Galapagos. A group of scientists got together in honor of Earth Day. They're taking video of some creatures there, and they're saying, Tony, that there's a lot we can learn from the way that these creatures have adapted to the climate, because humans are going to be facing the challenge of adapting to the climate too.
HARRIS: That's right.
LEVS: And one more thing I want to show you over here, which is from our iReporter. This is Wyland (ph), who's an artist, who is planning to put together a massive mural.
Let's listen to him, what he has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While I'm physically standing on the roof, this big sea of white, the roof of the Long Beach Sports Arena, in my mind's eye I'm hovering above several thousand feet above the roof, seeing that image in my mind. So it's kind of like an out of body experience. So while I'm physically painting like this, I can still see the entire roof and the Earth in my mind's eye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: He is going to be painting the entire Earth on the roof of the Long Beach Arena, but we can't all do that. We can't all go to the Galapagos or the Philippines.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wouldn't that be great if we all could though?
LEVS: But the stuff we can do.
She's going to tell us. Jacqui Jeras here.
You're going to tell us things we can do if we can't get to the Galapagos or Long Beach Arena.
JERAS: Yes.
You know, you might think little things don't make much of an impact, but if we all do it, we could be saving, I mean, millions and billions in terms of gallons of water and in terms of electricity, and things that we output that ultimately harms the environment.
So we put together a little list here of a couple of things. And Josh, my first question to you is, when you brush your teeth, do you turn off the water or do you let it run while you're brushing the whole time?
LEVS: Run, and my wife yells at me all the time.
JERAS: Run? You can save a lot of water by turning that off.
LEVS: OK. You win.
JERAS: Fixing leaky faucets, one day alone with one leaky faucet will burn 20 gallons of water. So that's 20 gallons in one day.
LEVS: Leaking like a drip?
JERAS: Yes, like a drip.
LEVS: Twenty gallons?
JERAS: Just dripping. Twenty gallons in one day. So fix your faucets. All it takes is a little wrench and just a little tweak on there.
Of course, recycling. A lot of us do that, but, you know, every now and then, if you happen to be out, you just kind of toss that plastic water bottle into the regular trash instead of recycling. So, of course, the more recycling you do, the better off you're going to be there.
LEVS: Good idea to turn a new leaf on that front.
JERAS: And something that I recently did, because I just planted a new garden, I bought a rain barrel. But you can actually make them really affordably for maybe like $20.
You hook it up to your down spout, right, where all the rain comes out of your roof, and it collects in there. And then you can use that water to water your plants around or water your vegetable garden. And that will save quite a bit of money as well.
LEVS: So you know the weather. We get plenty of rain down here. So that barrel probably gets pretty full all the time.
JERAS: My barrel is so full. Well, you know, we've been in a drought in the Atlanta area for years and years and years. And a lot of folks have watering restrictions. So this is one way that you can save the water and still go ahead and keep your plants going.
LEVS: This is great stuff.
And Tony and Jacqui, you guys will both be happy to hear we're going to post all about this at the new CNN NEWSROOM blog, which we're very excited for, right? You can just go to CNN NEWSROOM blog when you're at CNN.com.
You can't miss it. It's our new blog, and it's all about Tony -- well...
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Oh boy. A half a page if it's all about me.
All right, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: You know, the planet has its defenders. In New York, they're called the environmental police. Real police officers on patrol coming down on those who violate the rules.
Richard Roth is on the beat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Officer Matthew Nichols is on a mission.
OFC. MATTHEW NICHOLS, NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE: This is where it starts, in the fields and on the streets.
ROTH: On this day, a surprise visit to a market in Brooklyn's Chinatown.
NICHOLS: Go ahead.
ROTH: He's looking for illegal fish and marine life for sale.
NICHOLS: Where did the rainbow trout come from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rainbow trout from the market.
NICHOLS: OK. Do you have tags for that?
ROTH: Nichols and his colleague, Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick, are two of only 20 environmental officers patrolling New York City.
LT. JOHN FITZPATRICK, NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE: It's funny, because when I tell people what I do for a living, the first response usually is, "You're with the environmental police? There is no environment in New York City."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is, right here. Look at that.
ROTH: Ah, but there is. You never know when a humpback whale may lose its way.
Earlier this month, one ended up in New York Harbor. The eco police got a call to help.
OFC. JAMIE POWERS, NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICE: Right now, our goal is just to keep the whale safe, keep all the commercial and the recreational -- any vessels away from the whale right now.
ROTH: The humpback safely made its way back to sea. Back on land, Officer Nichols deals with spouting trucks that may have lost their environmental way. Their foul air can lead to asthma and other breathing problems.
NICHOLS: Sir, you got your license and registration on you? I issued you a summons. Just get your truck fixed. There's obviously something wrong with your engine.
ROTH: While emissions inspections may seem tedious, Nichols and the other officers feel their work is important in the grand scheme of things.
NICHOLS: I do feel like I'm saving the planet. It is a large picture, and to take piece by piece -- and every little bit counts, and that's what I feel like we're doing out here every day.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: We're just hearing that the president has made more comments on the release of the CIA memos, the interrogation memos. We will get you the latest comments from the president in just a moment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Let's see if we can do this with the pictures of the president as he arrived just moments ago in Newton, Iowa. He is visiting a wind plant there and he's going to be talking about alternative energy, of course.
And as we leave this picture up, we can share with you the most recent comments from Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, who was on Air Force One with the president in some off-camera remarks, answering questions from reporters on the subject of torture. Robert Gibbs saying what was said yesterday was -- by the president -- was exactly what the president has said for weeks and months. He released the memos because there was no legal justification for continuing to keep them classified. The president believes the release of the memos should be a moment to reflect, not a moment of retribution.
And then a question from reporter, are all reports suggesting the president left the door open to possible prosecution a surprising -- that that statement was a surprising announcement, are all suggestions wrong? And Robert Gibbs' response to that is, yes. Suggesting that this is some kind of c-change (ph) or a reversal for the president, that that is simply wrong.
OK. We will continue to flesh (ph) this out more and bring you more as we get it here in the NEWSROOM. Information flowing in fast and furiously at this moment.
You know, there are some alarming developments in Pakistan that we are also following this hour. Right now one of America's most important allies in the region is under threat from Taliban militants. They have taken over a region just 60 miles outside of Islamabad. At the Pentagon, there are questions about what it could mean for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. And a short while ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the situation is a threat to U.S. security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I do want to talk about Pakistan, which I think poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world. And I want to take this occasion, in this public forum, to state unequivocally that not only do the Pakistani government officials, but the Pakistani people and the Pakistani Diaspora (ph), many of whom are extremely successful Americans here in academia, business, the professions and so much else, need to speak out forcefully against a policy that is ceding more and more territory to the insurgents, to the Taliban, to al Qaeda, to the allies that are in this terrorist syndicate.
I think that we cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances now within hours of Islamabad that are being made by a loosely confederated group of terrorists and others who are seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state, which is, as we all know, a nuclear armed state. And I don't hear that kind of outrage or concern coming from enough people that would reverberate back within the highest echelons of the civilian and military leadership of Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: All right. Once again, want to take you to -- at least make you aware of our great site here, cnnmoney.com, where you can get the latest financial news and, of course, all the analysis that you need. You see there the lead headline, the banner story there, "Freddie Mac's CFO found dead." That's a story we've been following for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And let's pull out from there and take a look at the markets right now. Just past three hours into the trading day. The Dow certainly off session highs, but still in positive territory. The Dow up 13 points. The Nasdaq, at last glance, up 22 points. We will continue to follow these numbers throughout the day for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Foreclosure filing have hit a record. Between January and March of this year, a staggering 804,000 homes received at least one foreclosure notice. RealtyTrac has just put out its list of the 26 cities in the worst shape and they're all in California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. The top three cities, Las Vegas, Merced, California, and the Cape Coral/Fort Myers area of Florida.
Well, Florida's St. Lucie County is also in trouble because of a housing boom that's turned into a foreclosure nightmare. The has just declaration an economic state of emergency. The declaration authorizes up to $30 million for new construction projects. The county's unemployment rate now at 12.8 percent. Banks owed money by Chrysler aren't very happy with the rescue deal the government is pushing. Can Chrysler really be saved?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: An airliner runs into some turbulence and a woman is left partially paralyzed. How did it happen? Our Ed Lavandera looks into it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Severe storms barreled through Houston last Friday night forcing flight delays. On the tarmac that night was Continental Flight 511, 104 passengers and five crew members waiting out the storms on their way to south Texas.
After a three-hour delay, the flight finally took off. But when it landed in the town of McAllen, ambulances were waiting to transport two injured passengers and one injured crew member. The most seriously injured passenger is an unidentified 47-year-old woman who is currently paralyzed and in intensive care. Her attorney says the woman struck her head in the bathroom ceiling when the plane suddenly dropped in the turbulent skies.
RAMON GARCIA, PASSENGER'S ATTORNEY: We have a lady who is -- got off her seat, went to the bathroom. While either in the bathroom or coming out of the bathroom is when this situation occurred.
LAVANDERA: Continental Airlines says it's focus is on helping the passenger's family. A spokeswoman says the seat belt light was illuminated during the turbulence, but it's not clear if the passenger was already out of her seat when the light came on or if she ignored the light and got up to go to the bathroom. The passenger's attorney says the woman was stretched out on the plane's floor for the remainder of the flight until paramedics could start treating her.
LAVANDERA (on camera): The passenger is a mother of three children. But beyond that, very little is known about her. Her attorney says she doesn't want her name released publicly. The FAA says it's turning over crucial flight information over to the NTSB for further investigation.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Pretty straightforward question for you. Are you willing to do what it takes to make this Earth Day a success?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: On this Earth Day ask yourself, are you willing to pay higher electric bills to help clean up the planet? CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.
Hi, Poppy. A pretty provocative question there. POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think, Tony, the answer would be yes for most people since it's Earth Day today. But in the long run, it's a big question for us.
HARRIS: Yes. How about tomorrow? Yes.
HARLOW: We could all be paying more down the road. This is if the energy bill that's now moving through Congress becomes law. The head of the EPA, also the secretaries of energy and transportation on Capitol Hill right now testifying in front of Congress.
There are some pictures from a little earlier today. They're talking to a congressional committee on the American Clean Energy and Securities Act of 2009. That bill put forth earlier this year calls for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020 and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. That, of course, would be through a cap and trade system.
Right there you're looking at the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson.
Now essentially in terms of this cap and trade system, businesses would pay more, Tony, of course, when they exceed the limits that are set. They would save when they come in lower than the emission limits that are set. But the big question is, of course, the cost to consumers, right?
HARRIS: I see. Yes, absolutely. So you just mentioned it. It's the big concern that those companies will, you know, pass increased costs on to you and me. So how much more could we be paying in electric bills here, Poppy?
HARLOW: Well, it's interesting. There's a lot of concern about that. A new report that came out yesterday from the EPA, it shows the average American household would pay an extra $98 to $140 a year. So not a significant boost. But to be clear, those calculations assume that we get a lump sum government rebate, every household does, through the billions that would be raised through a cap and trade system. If that does not happen, then it could cost all of us a lot more.
I spoke with the head of the EPA, Lisa Jackson, on Friday, talking to her about cap and trade, it's effect on consumers and business. Take a listen to her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA JACKSON, EPA ADMINISTRATOR: Cap and trade uses the economy in our favor because it prices emissions and slowly allows private investment to bring about the kind of energy innovation that will actually, in the long run, lower energy costs and break our dependence on foreign oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: All right. So essentially she's saying we might incur greater cost in terms of our energy bills at first. Down the road, though, prices will fall even below where they are right now. Of course, she says, I'll leave you with this on Earth Day, since it is the cheapest kilowatt of energy, Tony, right, is the one you never use. So that is key, conservation.
HARRIS: There you go.
Poppy, good to see you. Thank you.
HARLOW: Sure.
HARRIS: So, stop the presses. In this economy, communities are getting creative by printing their own kind of currency. Who's doing it and why one economist says not so fast.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Car sales in Germany soaring, up 40 percent just last month. A new government incentive plan is behind the boom. Adrian Finnegan has a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADRIAN FINNEGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Germany they call it the scrapping bonus and it's been a big success. Car owners can get 2,500 Euros -- $3,300 -- towards the price of a new car for scrapping their old one, as long as it's more than nine years ago. As a result, new car sales are up dramatically, bucking the global trend.
There are similar schemes throughout Europe, but Britain, like other countries, is lagging behind. The U.K. motor industry wants Finance Minister Alistair Darling to announce one in his budget this week.
PAUL EVERITT, CEO, SMMT: We are in a set of circumstances that unless we see some urgent action to stimulate demand and start to restore confidence in the marketplace, then the long-term prospects for the industry begin to be undermined. Now what we've seen in the course of the last really nine months is both a significant hold off from consumers because of concerns about the future, but also a reluctance, obviously, to part with their monies.
FINNEGAN: At the sharp end of any such scheme will be people like recycling veteran Allen Lee. He's ridden the ups and downs of the scrap metal markets most of his life and hopes that the government will help boost his business, as well as the carmakers.
FINNEGAN, (on camera): So, Allen, you're fully licensed?
ALLEN LEE: Yes, fully licensed (INAUDIBLE).
FINNEGAN: What does that mean?
LEE: We are actually an all price trading facility.
FINNEGAN: Right.
LEE: And we're end-of-life vehicle directive.
FINNEGAN: OK.
LEE: Everything is done right to government standards.
FINNEGAN: All right. So it might not look pretty, but there's a lot of money invested here.
LEE: Oh, yes.
FINNEGAN: Particularly under the floor.
LEE: Oh, yes, drains, tanks, stops any pollutant going out in the yard, which is what's, you know, (INAUDIBLE).
FINNEGAN: So how much is one of these worth to you once it's scrapped?
LEE: Between 80 and 100 pound a ton presently (ph).
FINNEGAN: How long is going to take to turn one of these into a box of metal?
LEE: About two-and-a-half minutes.
FINNEGAN: You going to show us?
LEE: Yes, it's nothing (ph).
FINNEGAN: OK.
FINNEGAN (voice-over): It was once someone's pride and joy. Soon it will be nothing but a lump of crushed metal. And once Allen's done his bit, it's loaded onto a container and shipped to a plant where it's melted down and recycled. There are skeptics who point out that the government program is very expense. And when the funds run out, new car sales will plummet. Still, people we talked to from the British motor industry hope that the government will soon make Allen much busier and that more of this will turn into sales of more of these.
Adrian Finnegan, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So we have seen the job lines before, but check this out. A fast food joint in Mesa, Arizona, yesterday. Hundreds of people applying for about 60 positions at a new in-n-out burger joint location. Right, right. Starting pay, $10 an hour. Employees also get free food. All right. That helps a bit, I suppose.
You know, with the economy the way it is, in some communities, well, those communities are taking a page from the Great Depression, drawing on an idea that keeps things local. CNN's Brooke Baldwin has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the wake of the economic downturn, local communities have taken note. Not this kind of note. Rather, their own note. By printing local currency. In Pittsboro, North Carolina, they call it the "Plenty."
MELISSA FREY, PLENTY CURRENCY COOPERATIVE: We're all struggling, right. And so the idea is to build ourselves back up. And the Plenty allows us to do that.
BALDWIN: Melissa Fry is behind this new push in Pittsboro to relaunch the Plenty, a once defunct local currency that come May 12th will be backed by this bank.
FREY: You can take nine federal dollars, go into Capital Bank and exchange it for 10 Plenties. So you're actually essentially getting a 10 percent discount on your local purchases by doing that.
BALDWIN: The point, spend locally. The perks, get a discount. Already a handful of businesses accept the Plenty, including Chatham Marketplace.
BALDWIN (on camera): Bread, wine, meat.
MARY DEMARE, CHATHAM MARKETPLACE: Yes.
BALDWIN: You can buy it all with the Plenty.
DEMARE: Absolutely. Everything we sell in the store, you can buy with the Plenty.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Mary Demare says much of the motivation is psychological.
DEMARE: You can spend locally all you want with U.S. currency. But once you turn them into Plenties, you're saying, you know, I'm keeping this money right here.
BALDWIN: That's a message reminiscent of the Great Depression. Banks were closing, cash was short, so local governments issued script to keep commerce flowing. Currently, about a dozen communities use local currency. One of the oldest is Ithaca Hours, which went into circulation in 1991. The largest system is in southern Massachusetts, where about 350 businesses accept Berkshares. And in Detroit, three business owners are now accepting the Cheer.
BALDWIN (on camera): This concept of community currency is perfectly legal, according to the federal government, just as long as this doesn't resemble this. You still pay taxes to Uncle Sam just the same. But one economist says this idea doesn't add up.
EDWARD VAN WESEP, ASST. PROFESSOR, UNC-CHAPEL HILL: If people want to stimulate the local economy by spending locally, they can do it with dollars just as well as anything else.
BALDWIN (voice over): Edward van Wesep is an assistant finance professor at the University of North Carolina.
VAN WESEP: The idea of keeping money in the community doesn't actually make a lot of sense. You don't want to keep money in the community. You want to trade with other communities. That's what makes everybody wealthy.
BALDWIN: Perhaps in Pittsboro, and elsewhere, it's less about getting rich and more about a commitment to the community.
DEMARE: It does, yes, look a little silly to people who come from outside our area, but it's money.
BALDWIN (on camera): And it works.
DEMARE: And it works.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Pittsboro, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Brooke is there. Brooke is here with us.
Brooke, here's my question for you. Did I hear you mention in the piece that this currency, the Plenty, was once thought of as defunct?
BALDWIN: Right.
HARRIS: Right. So what makes folks there in Pittsboro believe that it's going to work this time around.
BALDWIN: They're hopeful. The issue really the word is the bank. The bank right now, Capital Bank, the branch there in Pittsboro, really they're hoping will legitimize the process. It started -- they started using the plenty in the early 2000s. The problem was, you get a lot of this stuff but you can't take it back to the bank. Therefore, you're out a lot of real money. And now what they're saying is, because you can go to the bank -- let's say a business starts taking too much Plenty -- are you with me?
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Yes.
BALDWIN: So the business takes too much Plenty, they want to get their real federal tender back, they can do so.
HARRIS: I see.
BALDWIN: So it's legitimate. Not every city does that. But Pittsboro and the Berkshares in Massachusetts.
HARRIS: A real life example here. You walk into the marketplace wherever you are, with your Plenties, and I can keep this one. It's my Plenties.
BALDWIN: Yes, you can. HARRIS: That's right, I can keep the Plenty.
All right, with a Plenty in hand and essentially what you're getting is a discount, right?
BALDWIN: Ten percent.
HARRIS: Of how much, 10 percent?
BALDWIN: Ten percent.
HARRIS: What's in it for the businesses?
BALDWIN: It's a good question because when you do the simple math, obviously, it's a great deal for you and me if we went to the marketplace, Chatham Marketplace.
HARRIS: Right.
BALDWIN: But the businesses, if they go and they take their plenty and they go to the Capital Bank, they want to get real money, they're out 10 percent. The hope is that this entire concept will help incentivize the customer, therefore getting the customer into the Chatham Marketplace, into the local cafe. Even the biodiesel locally you can all buy in Plenty. They're hoping they'll spend more money, therefore there will be more profits in the end.
HARRIS: You may need to print more Plenty, correct?
BALDWIN: They may need to print more Plenty. And so far there's no max. They're hoping also more businesses get in on this. So far, it's just six.
HARRIS: So I'll need plenty more.
BALDWIN: You'll need plenty more Plenty. Did you like that?
HARRIS: That was good.
Brooke, thank you.
BALDWIN: Thanks.
HARRIS: Let's get to Jacqui Jeras in the severe weather center.
Jacqui, have some Plenty for you as well over here.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Time to move on. We are pushing forward with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips.
