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New Push for Mideast Peace; Suicide Stand-Down: Fort Campbell Holds Prevention Program; Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on CNN.com; Deadly Earthquake in Honduras
Aired May 28, 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 Thursday, May 28th, and here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines today in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Jewish settlers in a no man's land, caught between Israel, the Palestinians and Washington. A White House meeting today looks for solutions.
Maryland high school students on a study trip to China end up in quarantine. Fears of swine flu, but so far everyone is flu free.
American and South Korean troops raise their alert level on the peninsula. The move prompted by hostile actions from the region in North Korea.
Good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Powering ahead with his promise to revive Middle East peace talks, President Obama today meets with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. And they are jumping into the lightning rod issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Obama administration is clear: Israel must halt all building on Palestinian land. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly spelling out the president's position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: With respect to settlements, the president was very clear when Prime Minister Netanyahu was here. He wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions. We think it is in the best interests of the effort that we are engaged in that settlement expansion cease.
That is our position. That is what we have communicated very clearly not only to the Israelis, but to the Palestinians and the others. And we intend to press that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So the battle line here is no exceptions, even for natural growth.
Is this the most divisive demand from the Obama administration?
Let's get right to our Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.
Paula, let's start with a little bit of 101 here. What is natural growth?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we've never had an exact description from any Israeli officials on what that would be. What we would assume it would be is if somebody has a baby, if somebody marries, if they need to actually build another house, then that is natural growth. But the fact is, that is still building on the settlements. This will still mean that a settlement will grow outwards, which means there is less territory for a future Palestinian state.
Now, what we're seeing here is the facts on the ground have not changed over the past years now. This is only the rhetoric that has changed.
We're seeing very clear statements from President Obama and also from Secretary of State Clinton there saying there will be no increases in settlements. But we're also seeing very clear statements from the Israeli side, saying they need this natural growth.
So, basically, we're seeing what we've seen all along, but the rhetoric is much stronger. And both sides are dealing with this head on, very early on in their terms, which is significant -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Paula, is the no exceptions on settlements, this demand, as much of a game-changer in the U.S.-Israeli dynamic as it appears at first read?
HANCOCKS: Not necessarily, no. We've heard this before. And we certainly heard it from the Palestinians, constantly saying the settlements have to stop growing.
If you consider there's almost half a million settlers within the West Bank in east Jerusalem, alongside the Palestinians that live there, and each time a new settlement is built that is territory that the Palestinians need for their future state, which the U.S. wants, which the international wants, and which Israel in the past has said they want, as well, this two-state solution.
Some people I've spoken to in the West Bank say that if this continues as it is going at the moment, the settlements keep springing up, then their state is going to look something like a Swiss cheese, because these settlements are right in the middle of the West Bank. And this is just not viable, to have a continual strip of land that the Palestinians can call their own.
HARRIS: Got you.
All right. Paula Hancocks for us in Jerusalem.
Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
So, clearly, the road to Mideast peace goes straight through Israeli settlements.
Live now to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
And Suzanne, why is this administration taking on the issue of settlements in this way? No more settlement activity on Palestinian territory, and that includes natural growth.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really is a line, if you will, that they're drawing in the sand here, because so many different parts of the community, as well as those who have been involved in the negotiations, believe that that is the only way that you're going to satisfy the Palestinians. That it's the only way that you really are going to bring them together.
You know that they're split, Gaza, as well as the West Bank, that there has got to be some sort of effort on the Israelis' part to basically stop the expansion of those settlements. We've heard it from President Obama. We've heard it from the secretary of state. We're also going to hear it from the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
And Tony, the one thing that they are going to try to do today desperately is try to bolster Abass' credibility back at home. This is somebody who really -- the Palestinian community very much split. Hamas, as you know, controlling Gaza.
This is somebody whose term was up back in January, his four-year term. The law says perhaps he can continue until next January. But he faces a host of problems.
And so what you're going to see President Obama do is simply sit by him, stand by him, try to make him more of a player here, a real active player in this dialogue, to give him some heft when he goes back home, because that really is going to be the main issue here, and whether or not they can push that. It doesn't matter if Abbas says I want those settlements to stop, it's got to be President Obama and it's got to be a stronger Abbas. That is the feeling here at the White House.
HARRIS: Yes. And Suzanne, weave in another element here. The president will be leaving soon for the Middle East, and he will also be giving some real consideration to a Saudi peace proposal.
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly, one of the things that is so important about the trip that is coming out is that the first stop is going to be Saudi Arabia. He's going to be meeting with King Abdullah there, and there is a plan that's basically been in existence for the last seven years or so. It's been on the table.
There are some Arab countries that are very much in support of it. The Palestinians, as well. It is a more comprehensive plan, at least some -- at least some people view it that way. But one of the demands is that the Israelis give back a portion of the land that was seized 40 years ago back to t he Palestinians.
It's not something that the Israelis have said they are willing to do, but that would be in exchange for normalizing relations with many of the Arab nations, many of the Arab nations there on board here. That's going to be a very difficult sell. So, what you're going to see President Obama do is really try to work with the Saudis in crafting something that is more acceptable to the Israelis.
You're also going to be seeing, Tony, he's going to be traveling to Egypt. That is where he's going to make a major policy speech when it comes to laying out the U.S. policy in the Middle East. This is what was billed as the speech to the Muslim world. It was supposed to happen the first 100 days, slipped a little bit. But this is really supposed to set the table here for those Israeli and Palestinian talks -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, this president promised to be fully engaged in this process, and so he is.
Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us.
Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A three-day suicide stand-down at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne. Eleven soldiers there have taken their lives this year, the most at any U.S. base in 2009.
Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence is at Fort Campbell.
And Chris, first of all, help me understand this terminology. What does suicide stand-down mean here?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not a few days off, Tony. What it is, is telling these soldiers you're not going to have an excuse not to get this training. You're going to push almost all of your normal workload off the table for three days and just focus on this, preventing suicides.
That means commanders are going to have to update their list of at- risk soldiers. That means they're going to pound into every soldier's head the people and the places that they can go to when they want to get help.
And they're trying to really grind this in. Every soldier has now been assigned a battle buddy, someone he's responsible for, someone he trusts, that he can go to for help.
You know, when you look at it, so far this year, a Fort Campbell soldier is more likely to kill himself than die in battle. About three soldiers from this base have been killed in Afghanistan, 11 have committed suicide.
HARRIS: Boy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. STEPHEN TOWNSEND, U.S. ARMY: Suicide in Fort Campbell's bad and it's got to stop now. No matter how tough your problems look right now, they'll be better tomorrow, believe it. Trust me, you don't have to believe it, just trust me, they'll be better tomorrow. Don't take away your tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: You know, the thing about this base is it's home to the 101st Airborne, heavily deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. A lot of soldiers here have done multiple deployments. You know, the Pentagon is ultimately trying to get a lot of these soldiers more time at home, which they see as the key to really reducing this rate.
The thing is, I've been told that will not and cannot happen for about 18 months, until we're completely out of Iraq. And senior officials have told me they're basically holding their breath until then -- Tony.
HARRIS: Chris Lawrence, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for us.
Chris, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, his state has -- boy -- real issues. It's in the middle of a financial crisis. Draconian cuts may be necessary, and a battle over same-sex marriage.
You know, the man could probably use a hug. The best we could offer the California governor was an extended conversation with CNN viewers, hosted by CNN.com's Nicole Lapin.
Nicole is with us now.
And Nicole, boy, you were really buzzing about this interview this morning. You seemed to indicate that he was really up board (ph) and really expansive in his conversation with you and the viewers.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he got frank because we had 30 minutes, actually, and this was a conversation that was generated by questions from the iReport.com community and from Digg.com.
So, we started by asking him the most timely thing, about Proposition 8, something he personally voted against.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: When it comes to my personal opinion, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I, at the same time, believe very strongly that I should not -- we should not enforce my opinion on other people.
So, you know, but I think that this is, of course, not over. I believe very strongly that, you know, we'll be back with the initiative process that we have here in California. And I've heard that they could do federal court, so there will be many decisions that will be made in the future. But we respect the court's opinion, and so we're going to move forward based on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: So, while he will uphold the court's decision, he does tell me that he sees a day when gay marriage is legal.
We also talked about the future of the Republican Party, Tony. He is a Republican, but like gay marriage and other issue, he doesn't share all of the typical Republican views.
So I asked him about the future of the GOP and, frankly, what he thought of Rush Limbaugh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: They say that Rush Limbaugh is 800-pound gorilla in the Republican Party, but I think that's mean-spirited to say that, because I think he's down to 650 pounds. So I think one should be fair to him about this whole thing.
No, I think that in all seriousness, I think that the Republican Party, if they listen to the voters, they're going to be fine, they're going to come back again. There's no two ways about it.
I think the key thing is to keep that large tent and to have, you know, the right wing, which has a very, very strong place in the Republican Party, but we also need to create a center of the Republican Party. And I think the bigger our attendance, the better it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: So, Tony, his term ends in January of 2011. There was a little speculation about him running for the Senate, so I really pressed him on that, and he said for the first time, flat out, no.
It seems like he really missed acting, though. He said he might consider doing that again.
You can see the entire 30 minutes on CNN.com.
I'm also pulling (ph) a little bit for your blog.
HARRIS: Oh, you are?
LAPIN: CNN.com/newsroom.
HARRIS: Nice. And then you go there and you click on my...
LAPIN: You just have to click it. You take that mouse -- it's that thing that's right by your computer...
HARRIS: You're killing me.
LAPIN: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, I'm glad you told me.
LAPIN: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Because I don't know. Thank you, Nicole.
Small moves for a big company. GM goes back to bondholders with a second request as American and European workers hold their breath.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, yesterday we told you about a new survey that shows most economists believe the recession could end this year, possibly as early as this summer. Today, new reports show just why economists are so optimistic.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
HARRIS: Toys "R" Us is expanding. It is buying one of the nation's oldest toy retailers. You can find the complete story. Just log on to CNNMoney.com.
If the analysts are right, lawyers are putting the finishing touches on General Motors' bankruptcy paperwork. A filing could happen any time, but more likely tomorrow or Monday.
This new development today, however, GM bondholders have accepted a sweetened debt for stock deal. That should make bankruptcy maybe even quicker.
CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi is watching for any other news at GM headquarters in Detroit. He weighed in on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The inevitable is the government-sanctioned bankruptcy protection that they'll go into. Monday is the deadline, it could happen sooner than that if there's no likelihood that anything will change.
That means that General Motors will have to become a smaller company, that means more people will lose their jobs. And that means that General Motors will have to try and recraft itself as a competive company.
In the end, there is likely to be a company called General Motors, and it will still make cars. It will probably one day be a strong company again. But it will never been the company that it was, the company that for 77 years, was the number one automaker in the entire world. And for some time, the biggest company in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, GM is racing now to sell its European brands before any bankruptcy filing. Those name plates include Opel, Saab, and Vauxhall. Are you familiar with Vauxhall? But all night negotiations in Berlin ended in frustration.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live now from the London bureau.
And Fred, why did these talks hit a brick wall?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what happened basically is that there was dispute over money, as there is in so many cases these days. What is happening right now is that, as you said, GM is trying to sell off its European operations, and it's looking for potential bidders for those European operations.
Now, there are two. One of them is Fiat, as you know. The other is a Canadian car part supplier called Magna.
However, it doesn't look as though a deal with those two are going to be reached very soon. So what the German government said is that it wants to provide bridge financing to keep the European wing of General Motors out of bankruptcy for the next couple of months.
Now, what happened, apparently, in those talks is that GM America then asked for more money than the German government was willing to put up. And that is why those talks failed.
You know, a lot of people don't know this, Tony, but General Motors employed more than 50,000 people here in Europe. So this is a substantial car-making operation that we're talking about here -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Frederik, I know you're following developments for us out of the London bureau.
Frederik Pleitgen for us.
Fred, thanks.
The auto slump leads one of the country's largest auto suppliers to file for bankruptcy protection. Michigan-based Visteon employs 31,000 people worldwide. The company is a former division of Ford and remains Ford's top supplier. Visteon will rely heavily on Ford for financing while it restructures in Chapter 11.
And tomorrow night, a special presentation from our CNN Money team. CNN's Ali Velshi and Christine Romans explore the wreck that left U.S. carmakers in critical condition. "How the Wheels Came Off: The Rise and Fall of the American Auto Industry," Only on CNN, Friday night, at 8:00 Eastern Time.
The tough economy taking a toll not only on your wallet, but on human rights around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, a new report out today finds the worldwide economic crisis is fueling human rights problems.
Our Josh Levs joins us now. He's following the story for us. What do you have for us, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's from Amnesty, Tony. It's not shocking, but it's rough to hear what's going on. Let me show you.
First of all, Amnesty's Web site breaks it down for you. It shows you a lot of what's going on. It's amnesty.org.
But what I want to do is show you this headline that I saw. It was one of our main stories today at CNN.com. It's about the economic troubles and the fact that they're having on rights abuses in so many countries that we talk about.
I want to go to some video right here from Myanmar, because what this does -- for me, this is one of the most powerful examples. We still have this. It's from a year ago.
You know, and remember, the problems they had from weather, but a lot of people don't realize it's one of the many countries where food supplies were already going down. Some of it having to do with the government allowing land to steadily disappear that used to grow rice.
So, this is one of the examples that they point to. And they said there's so much poverty going on, there's so many troubles going on, sometimes that can fuel conflict, which then causes even more problems.
And Tony, at CNN, we spoke with the head of Amnesty today. She spoke with our Zain Verjee on CNN International.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRENE KHAN, SECRETARY GENERAL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: By the economic crisis the poor have gotten poorer. But the economic crisis has also led to social protests, and governments are cracking down on it. So, there are new human rights problems coming up. And the economic crisis means the governments have taken their eye off the ball on human rights.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Who is the worst offender this year?
KHAN: Well, it's difficult to say who is the worst, but what we know, that those who are leading the economic recovery, the G-20, have -- there's really serious -- governments with serious problems in that group.
VERJEE: Like who?
KHAN: Well, we have Saudi Arabia. We have China. We have Russia. There is no unified vision of human rights at the top table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And Tony, I'm keeping an eye out for any government responses to what's out there today, but a lot of this is factual in that economic crises do fuel poverty inside countries. More and more people are then struggling. And the governments themselves often talk about this.
So, a lot of it non-controversial in that sense. But we will keep an eye on this and see what kind of reactions there are.
HARRIS: Yes. And intuitively, that feels like it would be true.
LEVS: Of course, yes.
HARRIS: Josh, you have another international story for us. Love this about an American family helping young people in China.
LEVS: Yes, this brings us over to "Impact Your World." And I'm glad to kind of balance it out with what's ultimately a feel-good story.
This is really a beautiful -- you know, it comes from this belief that every child deserves love; right? Well, that belief helped bring this wonderful little girl to an American family in China. And as a result of that, they created an organization.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is The Bright Connection, a nonprofit center for children who are developmentally disabled. Here, every day is filled with hard, heartfelt work.
Some children have cerebral palsy. Others have autism or Down Syndrome. But they all have a home where they are loved and challenged thanks to the American couple who opened this place, John and Maggie Davis.
JOHN DAVIS, BRIGHT CONNECTION: They may always require personal assistance.
MAGGIE DAVIS, BRIGHT CONNECTION: But they deserve to be gotten up every morning and achieve something during that day.
CHANG: Hope is what gave the Davises this idea in the first place. They had come to China to start a hotel business when an abandoned baby girl came into their lives.
M. DAVIS: She was wrapped in clean blanket and she was laid under a tree. We just immediately fell in love with her. I mean, she was so helpless.
CHANG: Eventually, the Chinese government allowed the Davises to adopt Chon Jie-ae (ph), who was severely disabled. After spending years raising her, the Davises realized they could use their skills to help other special needs children.
Five years later, they have 21 children and 17 staff. The center is so full, they've had to turn children away. But they're working towards expanding so they can reach as many as they can.
Emily Chang, Hainan, China. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And Tony, this report is one of many. You can see it, "Impact Your World."
I want to show everyone this quickly, because you hear stories like this, you want to reach out and help some people. You can learn more about Bright Connection, the group we heard just there, at CNN.com/impact.
Also, at any given time, you can see, we're looking at all sorts of stories, whether it's international or domestic. It's getting a lot of traffic, and we hook you up to literally hundreds of organizations to help people all over the country and right here in the United States. CNN.com/impact, always a good site to check out when you want to reach out and help.
HARRIS: Josh, that's good stuff. Thank you.
(INSERT 1100)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, May 28th, and here are the faces of the stories driving the headlines today in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Jewish settlers in a no man's land, caught between Israel, the Palestinians and Washington. A White House meeting today looks for solutions.
Maryland high school students on a study trip to China end up in quarantine. Fears of swine flu, but so far everyone is flu free.
American and South Korean troops raise their alert level on the peninsula. The move prompted by hostile actions from the region in North Korea. Good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Powering ahead with his promise to revive Middle East peace talks, President Obama today meets with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. And they are jumping into the lightning rod issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The Obama administration is clear: Israel must halt all building on Palestinian land. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly spelling out the president's position.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: With respect to settlements, the president was very clear when Prime Minister Netanyahu was here. He wants to see a stop to settlements. Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions. We think it is in the best interests of the effort that we are engaged in that settlement expansion cease.
That is our position. That is what we have communicated very clearly not only to the Israelis, but to the Palestinians and the others. And we intend to press that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So the battle line here is no exceptions, even for natural growth.
Is this the most divisive demand from the Obama administration?
Let's get right to our Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.
Paula, let's start with a little bit of 101 here. What is natural growth?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we've never had an exact description from any Israeli officials on what that would be. What we would assume it would be is if somebody has a baby, if somebody marries, if they need to actually build another house, then that is natural growth. But the fact is, that is still building on the settlements. This will still mean that a settlement will grow outwards, which means there is less territory for a future Palestinian state.
Now, what we're seeing here is the facts on the ground have not changed over the past years now. This is only the rhetoric that has changed.
We're seeing very clear statements from President Obama and also from Secretary of State Clinton there saying there will be no increases in settlements. But we're also seeing very clear statements from the Israeli side, saying they need this natural growth.
So, basically, we're seeing what we've seen all along, but the rhetoric is much stronger. And both sides are dealing with this head on, very early on in their terms, which is significant -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, Paula, is the no exceptions on settlements, this demand, as much of a game-changer in the U.S.-Israeli dynamic as it appears at first read?
HANCOCKS: Not necessarily, no. We've heard this before. And we certainly heard it from the Palestinians, constantly saying the settlements have to stop growing.
If you consider there's almost half a million settlers within the West Bank in east Jerusalem, alongside the Palestinians that live there, and each time a new settlement is built that is territory that the Palestinians need for their future state, which the U.S. wants, which the international wants, and which Israel in the past has said they want, as well, this two-state solution.
Some people I've spoken to in the West Bank say that if this continues as it is going at the moment, the settlements keep springing up, then their state is going to look something like a Swiss cheese, because these settlements are right in the middle of the West Bank. And this is just not viable, to have a continual strip of land that the Palestinians can call their own.
HARRIS: Got you.
All right. Paula Hancocks for us in Jerusalem.
Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.
So, clearly, the road to Mideast peace goes straight through Israeli settlements.
Live now to our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
And Suzanne, why is this administration taking on the issue of settlements in this way? No more settlement activity on Palestinian territory, and that includes natural growth.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really is a line, if you will, that they're drawing in the sand here, because so many different parts of the community, as well as those who have been involved in the negotiations, believe that that is the only way that you're going to satisfy the Palestinians. That it's the only way that you really are going to bring them together.
You know that they're split, Gaza, as well as the West Bank, that there has got to be some sort of effort on the Israelis' part to basically stop the expansion of those settlements. We've heard it from President Obama. We've heard it from the secretary of state. We're also going to hear it from the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.
And Tony, the one thing that they are going to try to do today desperately is try to bolster Abass' credibility back at home. This is somebody who really -- the Palestinian community very much split. Hamas, as you know, controlling Gaza. This is somebody whose term was up back in January, his four-year term. The law says perhaps he can continue until next January. But he faces a host of problems.
And so what you're going to see President Obama do is simply sit by him, stand by him, try to make him more of a player here, a real active player in this dialogue, to give him some heft when he goes back home, because that really is going to be the main issue here, and whether or not they can push that. It doesn't matter if Abbas says I want those settlements to stop, it's got to be President Obama and it's got to be a stronger Abbas. That is the feeling here at the White House.
HARRIS: Yes. And Suzanne, weave in another element here. The president will be leaving soon for the Middle East, and he will also be giving some real consideration to a Saudi peace proposal.
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly, one of the things that is so important about the trip that is coming out is that the first stop is going to be Saudi Arabia. He's going to be meeting with King Abdullah there, and there is a plan that's basically been in existence for the last seven years or so. It's been on the table.
There are some Arab countries that are very much in support of it. The Palestinians, as well. It is a more comprehensive plan, at least some -- at least some people view it that way. But one of the demands is that the Israelis give back a portion of the land that was seized 40 years ago back to t he Palestinians.
It's not something that the Israelis have said they are willing to do, but that would be in exchange for normalizing relations with many of the Arab nations, many of the Arab nations there on board here. That's going to be a very difficult sell. So, what you're going to see President Obama do is really try to work with the Saudis in crafting something that is more acceptable to the Israelis.
You're also going to be seeing, Tony, he's going to be traveling to Egypt. That is where he's going to make a major policy speech when it comes to laying out the U.S. policy in the Middle East. This is what was billed as the speech to the Muslim world. It was supposed to happen the first 100 days, slipped a little bit. But this is really supposed to set the table here for those Israeli and Palestinian talks -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, this president promised to be fully engaged in this process, and so he is.
Our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us.
Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: A three-day suicide stand-down at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, home of the 101st Airborne. Eleven soldiers there have taken their lives this year, the most at any U.S. base in 2009.
Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence is at Fort Campbell.
And Chris, first of all, help me understand this terminology. What does suicide stand-down mean here?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not a few days off, Tony. What it is, is telling these soldiers you're not going to have an excuse not to get this training. You're going to push almost all of your normal workload off the table for three days and just focus on this, preventing suicides.
That means commanders are going to have to update their list of at-risk soldiers. That means they're going to pound into every soldier's head the people and the places that they can go to when they want to get help.
And they're trying to really grind this in. Every soldier has now been assigned a battle buddy, someone he's responsible for, someone he trusts, that he can go to for help.
You know, when you look at it, so far this year, a Fort Campbell soldier is more likely to kill himself than die in battle. About three soldiers from this base have been killed in Afghanistan, 11 have committed suicide.
HARRIS: Boy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. STEPHEN TOWNSEND, U.S. ARMY: Suicide in Fort Campbell's bad and it's got to stop now. No matter how tough your problems look right now, they'll be better tomorrow, believe it. Trust me, you don't have to believe it, just trust me, they'll be better tomorrow. Don't take away your tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: You know, the thing about this base is it's home to the 101st Airborne, heavily deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. A lot of soldiers here have done multiple deployments. You know, the Pentagon is ultimately trying to get a lot of these soldiers more time at home, which they see as the key to really reducing this rate.
The thing is, I've been told that will not and cannot happen for about 18 months, until we're completely out of Iraq. And senior officials have told me they're basically holding their breath until then -- Tony.
HARRIS: Chris Lawrence, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for us.
Chris, appreciate it. Thank you.
You know, his state has -- boy -- real issues. It's in the middle of a financial crisis. Draconian cuts may be necessary, and a battle over same-sex marriage. You know, the man could probably use a hug. The best we could offer the California governor was an extended conversation with CNN viewers, hosted by CNN.com's Nicole Lapin.
Nicole is with us now.
And Nicole, boy, you were really buzzing about this interview this morning. You seemed to indicate that he was really up board (ph) and really expansive in his conversation with you and the viewers.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he got frank because we had 30 minutes, actually, and this was a conversation that was generated by questions from the iReport.com community and from Digg.com.
So, we started by asking him the most timely thing, about Proposition 8, something he personally voted against.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: When it comes to my personal opinion, I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I, at the same time, believe very strongly that I should not -- we should not enforce my opinion on other people.
So, you know, but I think that this is, of course, not over. I believe very strongly that, you know, we'll be back with the initiative process that we have here in California. And I've heard that they could do federal court, so there will be many decisions that will be made in the future. But we respect the court's opinion, and so we're going to move forward based on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: So, while he will uphold the court's decision, he does tell me that he sees a day when gay marriage is legal.
We also talked about the future of the Republican Party, Tony. He is a Republican, but like gay marriage and other issue, he doesn't share all of the typical Republican views.
So I asked him about the future of the GOP and, frankly, what he thought of Rush Limbaugh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: They say that Rush Limbaugh is 800-pound gorilla in the Republican Party, but I think that's mean-spirited to say that, because I think he's down to 650 pounds. So I think one should be fair to him about this whole thing.
No, I think that in all seriousness, I think that the Republican Party, if they listen to the voters, they're going to be fine, they're going to come back again. There's no two ways about it.
I think the key thing is to keep that large tent and to have, you know, the right wing, which has a very, very strong place in the Republican Party, but we also need to create a center of the Republican Party. And I think the bigger our attendance, the better it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAPIN: So, Tony, his term ends in January of 2011. There was a little speculation about him running for the Senate, so I really pressed him on that, and he said for the first time, flat out, no.
It seems like he really missed acting, though. He said he might consider doing that again.
You can see the entire 30 minutes on CNN.com.
I'm also pulling (ph) a little bit for your blog.
HARRIS: Oh, you are?
LAPIN: CNN.com/newsroom.
HARRIS: Nice. And then you go there and you click on my...
LAPIN: You just have to click it. You take that mouse -- it's that thing that's right by your computer...
HARRIS: You're killing me.
LAPIN: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, I'm glad you told me.
LAPIN: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Because I don't know. Thank you, Nicole.
Small moves for a big company. GM goes back to bondholders with a second request as American and European workers hold their breath.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, yesterday we told you about a new survey that shows most economists believe the recession could end this year, possibly as early as this summer. Today, new reports show just why economists are so optimistic.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
HARRIS: Toys "R" Us is expanding. It is buying one of the nation's oldest toy retailers. You can find the complete story. Just log on to CNNMoney.com.
If the analysts are right, lawyers are putting the finishing touches on General Motors' bankruptcy paperwork. A filing could happen any time, but more likely tomorrow or Monday. This new development today, however, GM bondholders have accepted a sweetened debt for stock deal. That should make bankruptcy maybe even quicker.
CNN's Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi is watching for any other news at GM headquarters in Detroit. He weighed in on "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The inevitable is the government-sanctioned bankruptcy protection that they'll go into. Monday is the deadline, it could happen sooner than that if there's no likelihood that anything will change.
That means that General Motors will have to become a smaller company, that means more people will lose their jobs. And that means that General Motors will have to try and recraft itself as a competitive company.
In the end, there is likely to be a company called General Motors, and it will still make cars. It will probably one day be a strong company again. But it will never been the company that it was, the company that for 77 years, was the number one automaker in the entire world. And for some time, the biggest company in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, GM is racing now to sell its European brands before any bankruptcy filing. Those name plates include Opel, Saab, and Vauxhall. Are you familiar with Vauxhall? But all night negotiations in Berlin ended in frustration.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live now from the London bureau.
And Fred, why did these talks hit a brick wall?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, what happened basically is that there was dispute over money, as there is in so many cases these days. What is happening right now is that, as you said, GM is trying to sell off its European operations, and it's looking for potential bidders for those European operations.
Now, there are two. One of them is Fiat, as you know. The other is a Canadian car part supplier called Magna.
However, it doesn't look as though a deal with those two are going to be reached very soon. So what the German government said is that it wants to provide bridge financing to keep the European wing of General Motors out of bankruptcy for the next couple of months.
Now, what happened, apparently, in those talks is that GM America then asked for more money than the German government was willing to put up. And that is why those talks failed.
You know, a lot of people don't know this, Tony, but General Motors employed more than 50,000 people here in Europe. So this is a substantial car-making operation that we're talking about here -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Frederik, I know you're following developments for us out of the London bureau.
Frederik Pleitgen for us.
Fred, thanks.
The auto slump leads one of the country's largest auto suppliers to file for bankruptcy protection. Michigan-based Visteon employs 31,000 people worldwide. The company is a former division of Ford and remains Ford's top supplier. Visteon will rely heavily on Ford for financing while it restructures in Chapter 11.
And tomorrow night, a special presentation from our CNN Money team. CNN's Ali Velshi and Christine Romans explore the wreck that left U.S. carmakers in critical condition. "How the Wheels Came Off: The Rise and Fall of the American Auto Industry," Only on CNN, Friday night, at 8:00 Eastern Time.
The tough economy taking a toll not only on your wallet, but on human rights around the world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, a new report out today finds the worldwide economic crisis is fueling human rights problems.
Our Josh Levs joins us now. He's following the story for us.
What do you have for us, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's from Amnesty, Tony. It's not shocking, but it's rough to hear what's going on. Let me show you.
First of all, Amnesty's Web site breaks it down for you. It shows you a lot of what's going on. It's amnesty.org.
But what I want to do is show you this headline that I saw. It was one of our main stories today at CNN.com. It's about the economic troubles and the fact that they're having on rights abuses in so many countries that we talk about.
I want to go to some video right here from Myanmar, because what this does -- for me, this is one of the most powerful examples. We still have this. It's from a year ago.
You know, and remember, the problems they had from weather, but a lot of people don't realize it's one of the many countries where food supplies were already going down. Some of it having to do with the government allowing land to steadily disappear that used to grow rice.
So, this is one of the examples that they point to. And they said there's so much poverty going on, there's so many troubles going on, sometimes that can fuel conflict, which then causes even more problems.
And Tony, at CNN, we spoke with the head of Amnesty today. She spoke with our Zain Verjee on CNN International.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IRENE KHAN, SECRETARY GENERAL, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: By the economic crisis the poor have gotten poorer. But the economic crisis has also led to social protests, and governments are cracking down on it. So, there are new human rights problems coming up. And the economic crisis means the governments have taken their eye off the ball on human rights.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Who is the worst offender this year?
KHAN: Well, it's difficult to say who is the worst, but what we know, that those who are leading the economic recovery, the G-20, have -- there's really serious -- governments with serious problems in that group.
VERJEE: Like who?
KHAN: Well, we have Saudi Arabia. We have China. We have Russia. There is no unified vision of human rights at the top table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And Tony, I'm keeping an eye out for any government responses to what's out there today, but a lot of this is factual in that economic crises do fuel poverty inside countries. More and more people are then struggling. And the governments themselves often talk about this.
So, a lot of it non-controversial in that sense. But we will keep an eye on this and see what kind of reactions there are.
HARRIS: Yes. And intuitively, that feels like it would be true.
LEVS: Of course, yes.
HARRIS: Josh, you have another international story for us. Love this about an American family helping young people in China.
LEVS: Yes, this brings us over to "Impact Your World." And I'm glad to kind of balance it out with what's ultimately a feel-good story.
This is really a beautiful -- you know, it comes from this belief that every child deserves love; right? Well, that belief helped bring this wonderful little girl to an American family in China. And as a result of that, they created an organization.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is The Bright Connection, a nonprofit center for children who are developmentally disabled. Here, every day is filled with hard, heartfelt work.
Some children have cerebral palsy. Others have autism or Down Syndrome. But they all have a home where they are loved and challenged thanks to the American couple who opened this place, John and Maggie Davis.
JOHN DAVIS, BRIGHT CONNECTION: They may always require personal assistance.
MAGGIE DAVIS, BRIGHT CONNECTION: But they deserve to be gotten up every morning and achieve something during that day.
CHANG: Hope is what gave the Davises this idea in the first place. They had come to China to start a hotel business when an abandoned baby girl came into their lives.
M. DAVIS: She was wrapped in clean blanket and she was laid under a tree. We just immediately fell in love with her. I mean, she was so helpless.
CHANG: Eventually, the Chinese government allowed the Davises to adopt Chon Jie-ae (ph), who was severely disabled. After spending years raising her, the Davises realized they could use their skills to help other special needs children.
Five years later, they have 21 children and 17 staff. The center is so full, they've had to turn children away. But they're working towards expanding so they can reach as many as they can.
Emily Chang, Hainan, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And Tony, this report is one of many. You can see it, "Impact Your World."
I want to show everyone this quickly, because you hear stories like this, you want to reach out and help some people. You can learn more about Bright Connection, the group we heard just there, at CNN.com/impact.
Also, at any given time, you can see, we're looking at all sorts of stories, whether it's international or domestic. It's getting a lot of traffic, and we hook you up to literally hundreds of organizations to help people all over the country and right here in the United States. CNN.com/impact, always a good site to check out when you want to reach out and help.
HARRIS: Josh, that's good stuff. Thank you.
LEVS: Thank you.
HARRIS: North Korea: Is the government just posturing for its people? Or is it making a legitimate threat?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. CNN just confirming another blast in Pakistan in the last few hours. A huge bomb blast has hit near a hospital in a northwestern Pakistani town. Police are saying this is the fourth such attack in the region today. In an earlier attack, police say at least five people were killed, 74 wounded.
Today's blasts follow a bomb and gun attack in Lahore. The Taliban took responsibility for those attacks today and vowed more attacks. At least 27 people lost their lives in Lahore's bloodshed.
And the apparent Taliban targets? A police station and Pakistani intelligence offices.
U.S. and South Korean troops are on a heightened state of alert this morning. The alert level is the highest since the North's 2006 nuclear test and means more reconnaissance over North Korea and more troops along the Demilitarized Zone.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says North Korea is ignoring the international community with its nuclear activities and saber rattling. North Korea threatened military action yesterday after South Korea joined a U.S.-led effort to limit the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and CNN's Tom Foreman spoke with Wolf Blitzer and assessed the North Korean threat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If it comes down to military action on the Korean peninsula or beyond, that's a nightmare scenario for the whole world.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, let's take a look at what Barbara was talking about a minute ago.
The area we're talking about is right in here, underneath the "k" here on North Korea. And this is a digital globe satellite image of the very facility you're talking about. Remember that big cooling tower that was blown up last year? That's right there. The remains of it right there. Here is one of the nuclear facilities over here we're talking about. There's another one just over here across the water in this area down in here. So that's exactly what you're talking about, Barbara.
But let's talk now about something different, which is the power. I'm going to take this map and throw it away. Let's look at the Korean military.
Barbara, give us the read on this, 1.1 million troops, that's a lot of people. BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: It's a lot of boots on the ground, but the question is the quality of those troops. They do very little training, North Korea is a malnourished country of people. They have very restricted capability. Sure, they have 1,000 missiles or more, a lot of ballistic missiles. They can threaten the world, they could fire those missiles, there's no question about it. But are they reliable? Do they train? Do they have all of the same kinds of military readiness that western forces do? That's a question.
No doubt they can cause a lot of havoc, they can be a massive threat. But still, they're somewhat within their area of operation.
FOREMAN: We know, Wolf, that this is a very, very big military force by numbers compared to others. Look at this. China up here with more than 2 million, the United States 1.4 million, something like this. Here's India down here. Look at this. North Korea, the fourth largest military on the planet. That's quite a claim for a different place.
But, if we go beyond this and look at really the possible battlefield that we'd be dealing with here, we move it aside, Barbara, walk us through this. North Korea up here, South Korea down here. What are we worried about?
STARR: Well, you know, what you're obviously worried about is ground forces coming across the DMZ; artillery fire, missile fire. Seoul, of course, is so close. You're talking about the possibility of an attack on Seoul happening within minutes.
FOREMAN: They could strike this far very, very quickly.
STARR: Absolutely. That's the nightmare scenario.
So what does the U.S. do about it? What does South Korea do about it? The U.S. has troops there; South Korea increasingly capable of looking after itself. But the U.S. has a reserve force, if you will. There are a number of Navy ships offshore, there are satellites that keep watch for any early warning.
FOREMAN: Seventy-four hundred troops afloat, roughly.
STARR: Navy...
FOREMAN: Neighboring countries - What? - 34,000 in Japan?
STARR: It's a regional defense these days. And the U.S. has a significant air capability in the region. Dozens of fighter jets, bombers, and all of that.
But an awful lot tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan these days. So, nobody wants to see war, heaven forbid, break out here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy! Let's get a little bit more North Korean analysis now. Mike Chinoy is a former senior Asia correspondent for CNN. He has written a book on the North Korean nuclear crisis. He talked about this latest saber rattling last night with our John King on "AC 360."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE CHINOY, SENIOR FELLOW, PACIFIC COUNSEL: It's important to bear in mind, the North Koreans aren't suicidal and their political style over many years has been in which these threats are as much political theater as they are meaningful military posturing.
You have to keep in mind what's going on inside North Korea right now. There's a political transition process underway. The leader, Kim Jong-il, had a stroke last August, he's trying to set things out so that his youngest son will succeed him. And I think a lot of this muscle flexing is designed both to send an internal signal to the North Korean people that the regime is strong and powerful to rally people around this leadership as there is a transition and to signal to the rest of the world leave us alone as we do this and don't think that you can pressure this.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Kim Jong-il has the world's attention, what are the world's response? What are the options?
CHINOY: Well, it's a very tough situation. Because all of the research I did for my book, "Meltdown," made very clear that when the North Koreans are subject to pressure and coercion and sanctions, the effect is often the opposite of what's intended. They dig in, they get tougher, they get more provocative. They have a play book from missile test to nuclear test, to restarting their nuclear reactor. And they're just going through it step by step.
So, the challenge is going to be to simultaneously be tough and signal the North can't coerce the United States back to the bargaining table. But ultimately, the best chance of sorting this out is to have some way of ultimately talking to them. But it's going to be very tricky given the complicated internal politics in North Korea, with an uncertain leadership situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, a lot of smart analysis there right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM." This is where you find it.
You're planning your summer vacation. Where to stay? Where to eat? And how much to spend? How about this, put a few extra bucks in your pocket to fill up that SUV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SINGING)
HARRIS: You can drive my car, but you better fill it up when you're done. Look, the price of filling up just keeps going up. AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is up 40 cents over the past month. It was $2.05 a gallon a month ago, it is up to $2.45 today. No, you can't drive my car because I don't trust you to fill it up.
So, why are gas prices rising? Troy, I don't know what's wrong with me. And how high are they likely to go? With us from Washington, to talk in depth about this, AAA spokesman Troy Green. He oversees government relations, publicity.
And Troy, look, I don't want to give you a hard time here because you know, you're my brother from another mother there in Baltimore, but, Troy, we are about 12 cents higher now than the Department of Energy's peak projection for this summer.
Look, how soon before the national average is $3 a gallon?
TROY GREEN, AAA SPOKESMAN: Well, Tony, let me say this, and hopefully you'll let me drive your car once I tell you this part.
HARRIS: I trust you to fill it up.
GREEN: I would be surprised if we saw $3 a gallon for self-serve regular this summer.
HARRIS: Oh, full stop. Tell me why.
GREEN: And I'd be shocked if we saw $4 a gallon. That's because we're in a major global recession. Right now, gasoline demand, oil demand is way down compared to this time last year.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
GREEN: But the reason why we've seen the price of gasoline jump, as you said, 40 cents in about a month, it's all supply driven.
The OPEC ministers, the OPEC countries, as well as even some of the non-OPEC oil-producing companies decided back in November, to pretty much turn off the spigot when it comes to oil productions. So, we're really not seeing the OPEC countries and the oil-producing countries produce as much oil.
And our refineries here domestically in the United States, are only operating at about 80 to 82 percent at capacity. So we're really not seeing as much supply out there and that's because they're trying to match it up with demand.
HARRIS: But, let me -- so demand is down and they're trying to match supply with demand.
That's what you're saying here?
GREEN: Yes, sir. That's exactly what's going on right now.
So, you have to really understand that refiners last year really, they were selling -- they were actually producing gasoline at a loss because we really did not see the demand. HARRIS: Got you. Well, Troy -- but does that equation explain why the price of a barrel of oil is at the highest level since November?
GREEN: No. The explanation for that is investors right now are really trying to gauge when we will come out of this recession. And we're seeing mixed signs.
Depending upon the indicator, if you're looking at the various home reports, whether how many homes -- existing homes are being sold. How many foreclosures. You're looking at consumer confidence. So we've seen mixed signals, some positive, some negative, as to whether or not we will be coming out of this recession pretty soon.
HARRIS: Now -- all right. So, let me wrap this up. So, how about this for a rationale?
Oil and gas prices are going up because the marketplace believes the worst of the economy is behind us. And, Troy, commodities speculators are jumping back in.
GREEN: Right. You are seeing more people looking to invest in oil and other commodities, as you mentioned, because they think that we have reached the bottom in terms of this domestic and global recession.
HARRIS: You know what? We're brilliant. I'm done. We're brilliant. We're done.
Troy, appreciate it. Thank you.
GREEN: Thank you, tony.
HARRIS: Save this interview, everybody. And we're going to put it on the web site. Done. They're jumping back in. You know what happened last year? We ended up at $4 plus for a gallon of gas. A lot of it driven by speculators.
Still to come in the news room, a school field trip that ends with the students in quarantine?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Yes, we'll figure it out, Elizabeth.
We are tracking a developing story involving a group of high school students from Maryland, quarantined in China. Their trip interrupted by concerns about the H1N1virus and the spread of swine flu.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with some additional information.
Elizabeth, what are you hearing here?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of Maryland kids who are hanging out in the hotel room or hotel rooms in China.
Here's what happened. There was a flight late last week from San Francisco to Hong Kong. There was a 53-year-old man on this flight who was then found to have H1N1. Well, the Chinese government tracked down this group of Maryland teenagers because they were also on the flight. Some of these children, about eight of them, or teenagers I should say, were within four rows of the infected man.
So, the Chinese government has told these kids to stay in a hotel. We understand that they are not there. Some of them are in rooms alone, or maybe with two people and they sort of yell to each other from room to room. I mean, they're being fed and everything.
HARRIS: Right, right, right.
COHEN: But certainly not how they expected to spend their educational trip to China.
HARRIS: I believe we've got a little bit of sound here we're going to toss to from the headmaster of the school --
COHEN: OK.
HARRIS: -- about what the kids are doing and how they're spending their time and how they're using a cord attached to tin cans to talk to one another.
Let's have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL KENNEDY, HEADMASTER: They're being fed three meals a day and they can holler from room to room to each other.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So, what Elizabeth, has been the reaction from the Chinese government to all of this?
COHEN: I mean, the Chinese government has been very strict. I mean, hundreds of people had found themselves in this situation. Canadians, Mexicans, Americans, travel to China, and then ended up being stuck in these quarantine hotels they're being called.
Now, the thinking by many people about why the Chinese is being so strict is because of SARS. China was pretty much blamed for the SARS epidemic years ago and they want to make sure that this time, nobody blames them for anything and that they keep this virus as contained as possible.
HARRIS: I suppose on a certain level that makes sense.
All right, Elizabeth. Appreciate it. Thanks for the update.
COHEN: Thanks. HARRIS: We are looking ahead to the next hour of CNN "NEWSROOM." The growing cost of money. Banks are piling on the fees for all kinds of things. We will ask CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis to put on the gloves and tell us what we can do to fight the higher charges.
Katrina, Rita, Ike -- you remember those hurricanes. You would think that with 35 million people living in coastal areas threatened by most hurricanes, those folks would be ready, right? Wrong. We will take you to Miami, for a live report from our John Zarrella.
And the President's pick for the high court. Conservatives are pouring over Sonia Sotomayor's casual remarks, her speeches to law students. We will hear what Sotomayor could face as she prepares for her Senate confirmation battle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Reynolds, are you with me on this? I've got something for you. Boy, if you think -- because you've got small children as I recall, right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely.
HARRIS: How about this? If you think your child can throw a tantrum, check out the play at the plate. And did you see it there?
WOLF: I did see it.
HARRIS: This is the Chicago Cubs/Pittsburgh Pirates game. Close call at the plate. The runner was called safe. And there you see it. Cubs' picture Carlos Zambrano going off. The big baby going off. He's bumped the umpire, right?
WOLF: Yes, he went coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. There's no question about it. He doesn't like the call, he goes nuts. But, I mean, the guy is six-foot something. He's a millionaire pitcher. He's a great one. He's got a -- just a blazing fastball. Great, great power. But, a little bit of a temper.
HARRIS: You know, there's a questionable moment there. Did the umpire move into Zambrano, bringing about the bump or was it all on Zambrano? Now, he has to own up to this madness. But --
WOLF: Well, what did the Gatorade cooler have to do? Did the Gatorade cooler fall down? What's the issue there?
HARRIS: OK. So, for all of us who have had bad days, we don't necessarily approve of that behavior but we understand, Reynolds.
WOLF: Absolutely. And you know, on this day we're not only talking baseball but we're talking tropical systems. The first named storm of the 2009 Atlantic season. We're talking about this storm, which may become may become Ana.
Unlike -- actually very similar to a Zambrano curve ball, this storm expected to curve its way away from the Eastern seaboard. We're going to put this in motion. As we do so, the storm expected to actually strengthen, becoming a tropical storm. It would be Ana. Ana would be the storm's name if it does indeed strengthen to a minimal tropical storm we as get into Thursday, Friday, then it moves on into deeper water, cooler water, too. And then looses a bit of strength.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: You know, San Francisco's got a pretty bad history when it comes to earthquakes. And speaking of earthquakes, we had one this morning, just north of Honduras. We've got some video to share with you, Tony.
Take a look at it. It was actually a 7.1 quake, an aftershock following soon after -- a 4.8 magnitude. There was a tsunami warning, earlier today. It was canceled shortly thereafter, about two hours after the first quake struck. There has been one report of a fatality, but other than that conditions are again, kind of shaky to say the very least.
It does happen occasionally down there. This was certainly a scary time this morning, for a lot of people. And we're certainly keeping our thoughts and prayers with the family who lost their loved ones.
HARRIS: A 7.1 magnitude?
WOLF: Yes, it's a shaker.
HARRIS: Yes, that it.
Reynolds, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.
WOLF: You bet.
