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GM Sputters Into Bankruptcy Court; Ford Ups Production in Wake of GM's and Chrysler's Troubles; Search Continues for Air France Flight 447; Questions Over Sotomayor's Past Comments Continues; Suspect in Kansas Abortion Doctor's Killing Could Appear in Court Soon

Aired June 01, 2009 - 09:59   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get you updated now on this breaking news story that we've been following all morning long. An Air France flight vanished over the Atlantic Ocean -- 228 people were on board that flight that left Rio de Janerio and had been scheduled to land in Paris about five hours ago.

A top Air France executive says the flight was experiencing electrical problems before it vanished. The airline has set up a crisis center now at Charles De Gaulle Airport. Our Jim Bittermann is there, and we'll be hearing from him in just a few short minutes.

Meanwhile, General Motors, an American institution at the cross roads. This morning the nation's largest car maker filed for bankruptcy and officially embarks on a new beginning. It faces daunting challenges though and tough decisions. At least 11 plants will close. More than 20,000 workers will lose their jobs.

And you, the taxpayer, are now the majority owner of the new GM. So what happens next? CNN crews are in place to break it all down for you. Maggie lake ahs the view from within the fallen empire. She's at a dealership in New Jersey and Stephanie Elam is covering the nuts and bolts of the filing. What does it mean and are there any surprises in all of this?

Stephanie, new information, in fact, out from GM in just the last hour. What can you tell us about what that news is?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. They're telling us which plants, Heidi, they're planning on closing. And it's a pretty long list on how they're going to do that. But this is something that we did expect to hear, these changes that GM is going to be making and their plan to get it done. Let's take a look at the basis of what is happening here.

We're going to see the government getting the 60 percent stake in GM. This is what's going to happen. They'll also get $8.8 billion in debt and preferred stock. Also we know $30 billion more, just a little bit more than that, will be going to GM. It will be taxpayer money that's on top of the $19.4 billion that GM has already received. And then those job cuts. 20,000 additional job cuts. But that's just talking about GM specifically. That's not even mentioning the people who are going to be affected. Auto parts makers, dealers. So thousands more people will be affected by this news here. And also more plant and dealership closures. We do know they expect to close about a dozen plants by the end of 2010. But it will have a trickle down effect as far as it spreads out. We should also mention that the Canadian government and the government of Ontario will be helping here as well, lending $9.5 billion and then getting 12 percent equity stake in the new GM. So they still have some battles here.

But the whole idea is that they should be able to get through this process, do 60 to 90 days is what the Obama administration is hoping for. But we probably won't see their stock trading again for somewhere between 6 to 12 months is what the estimate is at this point, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Stephanie Elam for us, following the story very closely. Appreciate that, Stephanie. Thanks.

GM's bankruptcy comes after some of its biggest bondholders swapped the debt for stake in the new company. But smaller bondholders say they feel robbed. On CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, we heard from one of those investors. She says her $70,000 investment may now only be worth only a couple hundred bucks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBRA JUNE, GM BONDHOLDER: I'm in shock. When I bought into GM I thought, you know, it's a safe thing. I bought six years ago. I always thought it was safe. Even when the government came in, I was so excited. I said they're going to take over. But Obama's task force, since these people came in, they didn't negotiate. We had no say. The private investor had no say in the matter. They dealt with the big corporations. Obama's for the people, he said. How can he be for the people? How can he do this?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Debra June is a schoolteacher. She says many of her questions have gone unanswered. Her best guess is her $70,000 in bonds will become a mere 140 shares of stock in the new GM.

Another big loser in the restructuring, dealerships. Thousands of them could close by the end of next year. CNN's Maggie Lake is at a dealership in Plainfield, New Jersey, for us this morning. So, Maggie, how do things look there?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Heidi, there's a real mix of emotions here this morning. Clearly heartbreak for those who have lost so much. Those who are going to be losing their jobs. Some of the plant workers, employees, and also dealerships. We're still waiting to hear. We already know of over 1,000 are going to be closed down. They've been notified. But there are going to be thousands more that are going to be closed. And we're waiting to hear on that. But believe it or not, there's also a little bit of relief here.

And I'm going to walk over here with David Perez. He is the owner of this GM dealership. And David, I thought for sure that I was going to come here today and find you devastated. But, in fact, you are relieved about this news.

DAVID PEREZ, OWNER, GREEN BROOK GMC: I am relieved. We've had a black cloud for months and months hanging over us saying GM is going to go bankrupt. So now that it's finally here and they can restructure themselves a leaner and more profitable company we're greatly relieved, we're excited about the future.

LAKE: Now, are you confident that GM can get in and out of bankruptcy quickly?

PEREZ: Well, I'm totally confident in the leadership of GM. I just have complete belief in it. And I know the product is better than it's ever been. And I think it will be relatively quick.

LAKE: Now how are your customers reacting? We've been hearing a lot about will they stick by GM through this time? Do they have concerns about whether the cars will be serviced and warranties? We know the government is standing behind it but is that a drag?

PEREZ: Well, we just had the biggest week last week since the last eight months ago when we hit the brick wall last year. So our business is actually picking up right now. The product is better than ever. The incentives to buy are better than ever. So, right now it seems like the customers are supporting us through this.

LAKE: Now, David, you actually don't know whether this dealership is going to remain open or not, do you?

PEREZ: Well, I don't know. But I believe strongly that we will survive this. That's all we can count on is what we can control. And we can control our efforts and our attitudes. So we're going to be the best we can be during this time.

LAKE: Focus on the work. Now, you also talked to other dealers around there. Are you concerned that some that may get notices that they're closing, if they're upset about it that they'll try to fight that within the bankruptcy process and that it'll slow things down? Are you hearing anything about that?

PEREZ: I'm really not. But I'm heartbroken for the dealers that have gotten letters or that think they're going to get a letter. Because it takes a lot to become a dealer these days. So, you know, we believe in what they're doing. And I'm sad if they got the letter. But hopefully good things will come out of it for them.

LAKE: So, Heidi, as you can hear, you know, everyone knew it was coming. There's a lot of sorrow but also a lot of hope. This is what GM wants. They want an army of dealers who are confident in the product, who believe that they can recapture some of the magic that they used to have. Of course, a lot of question marks remain about that bankruptcy process. Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, that's true. All right, Maggie Lake, we sure do appreciate that. Plainfield, New Jersey this morning.

Well, it's not just the dealerships that could take a hit. The factories could, too, of course. At the half hour we're going to visit Tennessee where the fate of a city is tangled up with GM's plan. Let's stick around for that.

Meanwhile, we will have live coverage of President Obama's remarks later this morning as well. He's scheduled to speak at 11:55 Eastern, 8:55 Pacific. And you can see that live right here on CNN.

COLLINS: Back to our other major story of the day now. The disappearance of Air France flight 447. The plane was in route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it hit turbulence and had electrical problems. CNN senior international correspondent Jim Bittermann is joining us now live from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.

Jim, good morning to you, what have you learned.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. In fact, not a whole lot of additional information coming out just now. A crisis center has been set up at the Charles de Gaulle Airport to welcome the families that came out here waiting for their relatives only to find that this plane has disappeared. No one has yet confirmed that it's crashed. But everything tends to be looking in that direction.

The director general of Air France, in fact, said it looks like we're heading for a major catastrophe here. He held a news conference a short while ago. He described some of the last contacts there were with this plane about 3:30 or so Paris time, which would put it in the evening hours in New York time. In fact, the plane disappeared from radar. This is kind of normal going across the Atlantic because there are areas of the South Atlantic where there is no radar coverage.

COLLINS: Right.

BITTERMANN: So it disappeared. But the pilots are supposed to check in. The pilot did not check in. And then ran into an area of turbulence and then the last - actual last communication from the plane was an automated message transmitted automatically by the plane suggesting that there was a catastrophic electrical failure on board the plane. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jim Bittermann for us there at Charles de Gaulle Airport where you've heard him say a crisis center has been set up there. We'll continue to follow that story very closely and bring you any developments just as soon as we get them here.

A 51-year-old man has been charged with murder in the church shooting death of Dr. George Tiller. Tiller was one of the few U.S. physicians who still performed late-term abortion. CNN's Ted Rowlands is joining us live from Wichita, Kansas with some very latest from there. Ted, good morning once again.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. This attack happened during a church service where Dr. Tiller was serving as the usher. Basically, according to authorities he was at the front of the church sort of welcoming people in. And the service had actually started when he was attacked. His wife, in fact, was singing in the choir at the time of the attack.

Police say that the gunman came into the church and fired just one shot. We don't know where Dr. Tiller was hit with that shot. But he was pronounced dead at the scene after paramedics arrived. There were a few witnesses in that foyer area of the church and that enabled them to get a look, not only at the suspect but at his car. And that it turned out to be the breaker in this case. They were able to get not only the make and model of the car but also the license plate number.

And the suspect was picked up about four hours later near Kansas City. When he was picked up, no firearms were found in the car. He was arrested without incident according to police. And he's expected to be making his first court appearance as early as this afternoon in the courthouse behind me here in Wichita.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Ted Rowlands following the story for us this morning from Wichita, Kansas. Thanks so much, Ted.

President Obama has condemned the killing in a statement. He said, "I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.

And the attorney general's office is pledging more support for abortion providers. Attorney General Eric Holder has ordered U.S. marshals to increase security around abortion clinics and doctors across the country. He released a statement condemning the killings, calling it an abhorrent act of violence.

A quick break now, we're back in just a moment right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The issue of race has spilled into the debate over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. At the heart of the matter a comment she made that has gotten a lot of attention. As CNN's Jim Acosta tells it, the bipartisan bickering could alienate Republicans from Hispanic voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA (voice-over): So far, it's not a case in court but it's a case of questionable semantics that has gotten Judge Sonia Sotomayor in the most trouble with Republicans. On her now infamous quote, "I would hope that a nice Latin woman, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

One top GOP senator says he wants more than just an explanation.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think she should apologize. But I don't believe any American wants a judge on the bench that's going to use empathy or their background to punish someone.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, HOST, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist. And now he's appointed one...

ACOSTA: But Democrats are also crying foul, calling conservative reaction to the pick over the top, noting how Rush Limbaugh compared Sotomayor to David Duke.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: She's been called the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan by Rush Limbaugh. She's been called a bigot by other Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich. I want to give her an opportunity to answer these kinds of people.

ACOSTA: The Ranking republican overseeing Sotomayor's nomination tried to turn down the heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should not demagogue race. It's an important issue in our culture and our country. We need to handle it with the respect it deserves.

ACOSTA: GOP leaders have focused on Sotomayor's appellate court decision against a group of mostly white firefighters claiming discrimination. But legal expert says her full record on race is much less controversial. The respected "Scotus" blog found in 96 race- related cases decided by Judge Sotomayor in the Court of Appeals, she and her fellow judges ruled against discrimination roughly 78 times and in favor of such claims in just 10 cases.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to thoroughly examine her record. I don't know how long that's going to take.

ACOSTA: The trick for Republicans is to carry out the review without putting themselves on trial.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: If they line up uniformly and hostility to the first Hispanic woman to be nominated to the court, they risk paying a terrible price with the biggest and fastest growing minority in the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Jim Acosta joining us now live from Washington with more on this. So, what is next for Sonia Sotomayor?

ACOSTA: Well, Heidi, she is expected to be up on Capitol Hill tomorrow to meet with some key senators, including Senate Majority leader Harry Reid. She is also expected to meet at some point with the minority leader, Mitch McConnell who yesterday on "State of the Union" right here on CNN said that he's not going to be the speech police when it comes to policing comments being made by Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, which is a sign, at least, for the moment that GOP leaders are not going to stand in the way if the rhetoric gets testy during this nomination process. At the moment they are not ruling out a filibuster. Some GOP senators pointing out that President Obama as a senator once supported the filibuster of Samuel Alito before he was confirmed to the high court. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jim Acosta for us with the very latest on pending judge, I should say, Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Thanks so much, Jim.

ACOSTA: You bet.

COLLINS: I want to get back to the breaking news story that we've been following all morning long. Air France flight 447 still waiting to learn more information about what may have happened here. Our Richard Quest actually is joining us now. A little bit more on the flight and the timeline, right, Richard?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. We're getting quite a lot of information now about sort of what's happened over the previous 12 hours or so. and beyond. You'll know, of course, about the story from the French side of it, of what Air France has said, the way in which the aircraft reported that it had hit turbulent -- that there was severe turbulence after it crossed out of Brazil heading up towards the South Atlantic.

You'll also know, of course, that these automatic message was sent from the plane about significant electric problems. That's a bit like when your car tells you something's wrong. And in this case it was telling Paris, the headquarters of Air France. But now we're just reading from the press release from the Brazilian Air Force, the highlights as given to me.

We know what time the plane left Brazil. We know it went out over the ocean. It left radar contact. And then there is this gap of about half an hour when it didn't check in. It failed to check in at 2:30 in the morning, universal time over the Atlantic. What happened then, Heidi, is not clear. Because it was several hours later, three hours later, before the Brazilian Air Force began searching for the plane. So in that time frame, they knew the plane hadn't checked in, but obviously they didn't know where it was.

COLLINS: Yes. No question about it. There certainly is some gaps over the Atlantic by way of communications as well. So obviously we'll learn a lot more. Go ahead, Richard.

QUEST: Well, just to put this into context, this would be entirely normal. I don't think many people realize, Heidi, that once you go oceanic, there is no radar. Planes basically tell each other where they are, what flight level they're at, what speed they're traveling at, and what time they expect to be at the next place. And providing everybody stays in that same distance, that's how you cross the Atlantic. Whether it's the north Atlantic, Europe to America, the south Atlantic, Africa to southern and Latin America. So that's the way it runs.

We do know at the time of all of this the plane was flying at 35,000 feet. And at a speed of 453 knots. That, of course, again is coming direct from the Brazilian Air Force from their press release.

COLLINS: Right. And also important to point out here, Richard, obviously a lot of regulations and requirements in place to make sure that planes have the correct systems...

QUEST: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: And when you're talking about two engines versus four in order to get over the Atlantic, they all have to meet those requirements as well.

QUEST: You notice, ETOPS, extended operations over water. It's the limit by which - extended operations. And you have ETOPS 120 and ETOPS 180 and a variety of different types. It's what the regulators allow an aircraft, the distance from the nearest landing point if you like. The A-330, which is in - I mean, the United States it's in service with U.S. Airways. It's in service with Delta through Northwest Airlines. It's got an exceptional safety record. There have only been two fatal incidents that I can find with the A-330.

So before anybody's off to the races on this one about the plane, speculation is silly. And it's counterproductive. But it's certainly the 330. Let me answer the question that people always ask at this point. If I had to fly to you today on an A-330, would I do so? My answer to you, Heidi, was provide the tickets. I'll be on the plane.

COLLINS: All right. We'd love to have you. All right. Richard Quest, thanks so much. We are following this very closely and trying to get more information. We, of course, will let everybody know just as soon as that aircraft is located. Hopefully that will be the case very, very soon. Richard, thank you.

Hurricane season begins officially today for the Atlantic coast. And if you live in an area where one of those storms could hit, the advice from FEMA, be prepared and plan early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Any time we're in hurricane season, if you live in a state, that's hurricanes, you get ready and get a plan. What the forecast won't tell us is will the hurricane make landfall and will it hit your community? So the plan is always going to be get ready for hurricane season. Get a plan. And don't wait for a storm to threaten your community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Extra water, nonperishable foods and medicine are among the items residents are encouraged to keep in case a hurricane hits. Rob Marciano joining us now from the hurricane center with more.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You forgot one thing.

COLLINS: What's that?

MARCIANO: Keep your cable box tuned to CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

COLLINS: Yes, I guess I thought that was a given. But I appreciate the reminder.

MARCIANO: You have to constantly remind people.

COLLINS: OK.

MARCIANO: Hi, Heidi. It's the start of hurricane season. We'll get you cranking here with the wide view of the Atlantic Ocean. Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic, North Atlantic. Not a whole lot going on out here. We typically don't see it out here this time of year because the waters are still on the cool side. Where we do typically see it is in this general area and through the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. So that's just the area of concern in the month of June right now. We don't have much cooking but these are the areas of origins, typically and these are the typical tracks if something were to develop in the month of June.

Again, that can happen -- it has happened in the past. We'll wait for it to happen in the future. Good news this year is that the forecast for a little bit more tranquil weather. Nine to 14 named storms. Official forecasts from NOAA, hurricanes four to seven. One to three of those could be major hurricanes. But it's important to note that it only takes one storm to devastate a community.

Talk to the folks who live in Miami. Hurricane Andrew that came late in the season, they got hammered. This is Tampa, also an area that's I guess a lot of hurricane prone area. Tampa Bay. You're looking at the bay right here. Boy, that water could pile up in a hurry. And if that area were to get hit, it would be hurting for sure. By the way, the NOAA planes, hurricane hunters the P3 are based out of Tampa.

2009 hurricane storm names or storm names, Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, and very sophisticated H name. It's not Heidi this year, it's Henri.

COLLINS: Henri.

MARCIANO: Yes. To kind of a the hat to our French friends. There are a couple of French islands in the Caribbean. So, we have some French. We have some Spanish and of course, we have some lush names as well.

COLLINS: All right. Very good, Rob. Thanks so much. We'll check back later on.

Some racy photos ended his time with the Catholic church. But now a popular priest has found his way back to the altar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The popular priest caught having an affair is back at the pulpit. But not in a Catholic church. Alberto Cutie gave his first Episcopalian sermon in Miami yesterday. The man some call Father Oprah left the Catholic church after romantic photos came out showing him with a woman he later admitted seeing for two years. Cutie asked his new church to welcome him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. ALBERTO CUTIE, FORMER CATHOLIC PRIEST: Remember, church is about community. Church is about forgiveness. Church is about acceptance. Church is about living in the spirit of God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Cutie also left his radio show on relationship advice.

Working out a plan to make sure you and your family have the health care that you need. Senator Edward Kennedy is meeting with Democrats from his health committee to start talking about how to extend health care to all.

The Senate Finance Committee will also meet to work on that same issue. And health industry groups are expected to deliver specific plans to the White House today, backing up their recent pledge to curb their own costs by $2 trillion over 10 years.

Detroit, not the only city that could take a serious hit from GM. We're going to Tennessee where GM's bankruptcy is also threatening small-town America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The once mighty General Motors sputters into bankruptcy court. Will the car maker emerge a stronger and leaner company? Here's a quick rundown of what we know.

Taxpayers now own 60 percent of the new company. The government will shell out $30 billion on top of the $19.4 billion it's already funneled into the company. GM is expected to come out of bankruptcy in 60 to 90 days. The goal is a stronger and leaner GM. It will have a smaller work force. Fewer dealers and fewer factories as well. Earlier today, the Dow Jones industrial average announced it will drop GM from its index. That happens one week from today and will end Dow's 83-year run among the Dow's elite.

So, GM has so many brands, you might be driving one without even knowing it. They include Buick, Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Pontiac and Saab. The future is up in the air right now for Saturn, Hummer and Saab. GM will phase out Pontiac all together by next year.

So, we are covering the GM bankruptcy from all angles, as you would imagine. Poppy Harlow is looking at where GM went wrong and some mistakes that made it to the road. Jill Dougherty is at the White House this morning, where President Obama will make remarks on GM just before noon. And Sean Callebs is at the nation's first Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

So, Sean, we just heard that plant is going into standby capacity. What does that mean? SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we're going to get pretty familiar with those two words, standby capacity. What it basically means, this plant is going to be operating until the end of the year. At that point, it's basically going to shut down and hope the economy gets better in the near future and perhaps fire back up in some capacity.

You see the Saturn sign behind me. It's kind of interesting because this plant here in Spring Hill stopped make the Saturn two years ago. It's been making the Chevy Traverse over the past couple of years. It is a bitter pill for the 3,000 employees here to have to swallow. They're going to lose about 2,500 jobs, there will still be a stamping plant operating here.

Some of the employees could move on and make the Traverse in Lansing. But a lot of these people who came here from all over the country when Saturn opened up the plant here could be facing losing their jobs. We had a chance to speak with the UAW leadership here a short while ago. They're trying to put a positive spin on this and say they're going to try and fight to get this new, small car GM is making. So, perhaps that could be the silver lining down the road. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIFF GOFF, LOCAL UAW 1853: We are one of three plants that will be announced as standby -- a standby plant. Right now, the Fritz Henderson Jeep General Motors plan is based off of $10 million annual sales a year here in the U.S. We believe, and the Obama task force obviously believes, and our international union believes, that this will move to 11 to $12 million. It may not get back to the $16 -- $17 million unit sales annually. But if it were to spike and go back to $11 million, $12 million, then GM would capture some of that. You would look for increased capacity. And if all the plants were closed and sold, you would have nowhere to go.

So, at that point, that decision was made by General Motors to go ahead and take three plants. Lake Orion (ph); Janesville, Wisconsin; and Spring Hill manufacturing, and place those plants in a standby position. And one of those plants would receive this new, small car of 160,000 units annually.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: OK. Quickly, Heidi, also depending on the amount of time they have with GM, the employees there -- if they lose their jobs they could be paid 100 percent of their salary for a whole year. Then 50 percent of their salary for the next half year after that. So even if they lose their jobs, Heidi, they're still going to make some money for a while.

COLLINS: Yes. Wow. All right. Sean Callebs in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Thank you, Sean.

Over its history, GM has made its share of bad products. Some were poorly built, some badly executed. And others suffered from pretty lousy timing. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has the breakdown from New York this morning.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Some people will argue this bankruptcy filing for GM has been a long time coming. Let's look back at some of the biggest misses for this company. It's all in our full coverage right there. You see it on CNNmoney.com.

Take a look there. You might remember this car from the 1970s. The Chevy Vega. All right, remember that one, Heidi?

COLLINS: I don't remember it.

HARLOW: You're not old enough, Heidi. A lot of people do because following the Arab oil embargo, American automakers did their hardest really to show they could compete with the smaller cars rolling out from Asia. Chevy's Vega didn't consume a lot of gas but was pretty lightweight and apparently burned through motor oil very quickly. It got a reputation for being a badly built car. A former GM executive said it literally fell apart eight miles into a test run. Underlined the idea that Detroit couldn't build very well small cars, Heidi. It was a big problem back in the '70s.

COLLINS: Yes, I was going to say paint it red, and I think Starsky and Hutch drove that thing. I'm not sure. What about some missed opportunities, too?

HARLOW: Anyone who's seen that documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car," they know this one. Detroit introducing through GM that electric car. You see it there. The EV1 back in 1996. It just lost money, though, for General Motors. The battery pack alone cost $35,000.

After three years on the road, GM took them back. They scrapped them. People couldn't get them anymore. Now GM's former CEO Rick Wagoner said that was his biggest mistake, killing the EV1. GM trying to make it up by releasing the Chevy Volt. That electric hybrid due out next year.

COLLINS: Yes. What about the Hummer? What was the story there?

HARLOW: I mean, come on. You either love it or you hate it. And it made a lot of money for General Motors until last summer when gas prices soared. Hummer sales just tanked. This symbolizes our overreliance (ph) for these really big gas guzzlers. Some get only ten miles per gallon. Now on the chopping block. GM trying to find a buyer for the brand if it can. Full coverage on CNNmoney.com. Our Peter Valdez (INAUDIBLE) - this is all his story, Heidi. Many more details of GM's junk heaps on the site. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, very good. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

President Obama's comments about GM's bankruptcy happening in just over an hour. CNN's Jill Dougherty joining us from the White House with more. So, Jill, the government says they're going to take this hands-off approach to running the company. Seems a little bit like an oxymoron at this point. JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is what they want to do. Again, they don't want to be running an auto company. So, essentially what they're saying is hands off. The only thing they really would get involved with would be the selection of the board of directors.

But you'd have to say in a political sense, there are all sorts of questions. What kind of cars would they make? The government, the Obama administration would like them to make more fuel-efficient cars. Could there be pressure in that direction? What about executive compensation? A very hot issue.

And where should they be made? Some have said it would be more economically feasible to make cars in places like China. And as soon as you have tax dollars involved, of course, Heidi, you're going to -- you can see the congressmen up there and congresswomen saying, "Wait a minute, those are our tax dollars at work. What are you doing?"

COLLINS: Yes.

DOUGHERTY: That's the reality. But I think we're going to hear from the President very shortly. And what we expect that he would say would be essentially three points. The government, President Obama would say, is a reluctant shareholder. They don't want to be running an auto company. They want to make it profitable as soon as they can and get out. No. 2, hands off management. We just talked about that. And then the last thing, make the new GM profitable so that the taxpayers can get their money back.

COLLINS: All right. We are going to be watching all of this. Very interesting. Didn't realize they were talking about helping to choose the board of directors as well.

All right, the announcement we're waiting to hear from President Barack Obama, he's going to make his remarks a little later today. 11:55 Eastern, 8:55 Pacific. You can see that live right here on CNN.

We want to know what you think. Will 60 to 90 days of bankruptcy be enough to transform GM into a healthy, competitive car company? Go to my blog. Let us know what you think. CNN.com/newsroom. Then just click on my name.

As General Motors goes into bankruptcy protection and Chrysler gets set to come out of bankruptcy, the third member of the Big Three remains free of government intervention. Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with more on what some of are calling a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for, of course, we're talking about Ford.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Heidi. That's the way business works, unfortunately. It can be a crisis for some and an opportunity for others. We're seeing that loud and clear with Ford.

There used to be three publicly traded companies. Right now, technically there are two. And soon there will be one. That is Ford. It is the only of the Big Three to not accept some cash from Uncle Sam. And right now -- its shares trade behind me -- are up 32 cents. It's up about 5 percent right now. As I mentioned, it stands unique among Detroit's big three, Heidi.

COLLINS: What are they doing specifically, if anything, to take advantage of this pretty unique position they're in right now?

LISOVICZ: That's right. That's exactly what it calls it. It's upping production. It wants to take advantage of this opportunity to increase market shares. So Ford is going to up production in this quarter, the second quarter, by 10,000 units. In the third quarter, it will up it by even more, by 45,000 units, which is unusual because the third quarter, those are the summer months, is typically when you see shutdowns.

But Ford is going to ramp up production of trucks and crossover SUVs. Well, they fell off a cliff not too long ago because of record fuel prices, but guess what? Even though fuel has been rising, and rapidly over the past month, still nothing compared to what we saw a year ago. So, Ford is trying to take advantage of the opportunity. You can't be sympathetic. It's eat or be eaten basically in this kind of environment.

COLLINS: Yes. That's exactly what it sounds like "Hey, quickly, give us an idea what the big board looks like right now." I think I saw triple digits, yes?

LISOVICZ: You are seeing triple digits right now. Better than expected economic reports. Construction, manufacturing. You saw global rallies as well. Right now, the Dow is up 196 points. The NASDAQ is up 42. GM shares are traded, but the New York -- a very fluid situation. GM will be suspended at the end of this -- at the end of trading today. GM shares are traded well below a dollar, as you know. It will also be replaced in the Dow 30 by Cisco, the big technology company.

COLLINS: Yes, understood. All right, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.

Where is Air France Flight 447 and the 228 people on board? Five hours after the flight was supposed to land, the search is on.

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COLLINS: Let's get the very latest on a breaking news story we've been following all morning long right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. The disappearance of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean. Controllers lost contact with the plane after its departure from Rio de Janeiro.

The flight with 228 people on board had been scheduled to land in Paris about five hours ago now. A crisis center has been set up at Charles de Gaulle airport. The carrier's CEO says the plane hit some type of turbulence and had electrical problems before vanishing. We also have this video just in now of relatives arriving at the airport in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's Air Force has been searching for the plane. Let's go over to CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano right now to talk a little bit more about Air France's plane, the flight path here. A lot of people might not be familiar with where this was trying to go or have never taken an overseas flight like this.

MARCIANO: Certainly one that goes from South America to Europe. You wouldn't think about the flight path being the way it is. Because you don't spend a whole lot of time actually over the ocean -- as much as you would think, actually. Because South America kind of juts out to the east here. Then Africa kind of juts out to the west.

This is the flight path -- or the most direct path, I should say -- that this plane likely would have taken. This is the area -- the archipelago -- they are searching off of. This area of cloudiness right through here is the intertropical convergence zone. It's basically a band of thunderstorms that fires up on a daily basis around the globe where trade winds meet up and create the thunderstorm activity. Generally speaking, it's always there. A lot of activity here.

Also a little bit of activity back through just off the coast of Brazil. Those are the two areas where they would have run into the turbulence and the thunderstorms with lightning that they were talking about there. So as far as the flight time, when they were talking about losing contact, about three, four hours, that would be just about when it was getting off the coast of Brazil and into the open waters of the Atlantic. So, that's issue number one.

Then here's another picture of the satellite picture, the intertropical convergence zone. Thunderstorms flaring up. Then the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa would be probably the next point of contact as far as any sort of land via radio or radar would be concerned, the Canary Islands and over to France.

A fairly wide expanse of water is the Atlantic, Heidi. But when you talk about how much of that flight was actually over water, at least planned to be over water, it would have been close to land for most of the flight. That's what we have for you here. Of course, a lot of unanswered questions still to be answered.

COLLINS: Absolutely. All right. We're watching all of that, staying very close to that story. Rob Marciano, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: OK.

COLLINS: A suspect in the killing of an abortion provider could appear in court this afternoon. Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed while serving as an usher at his Wichita church yesterday. A vigil was held for him last night. Tiller was one of the few physicians who still performed late-term abortions. And he survived a 1993 shooting outside his clinic. A member of Tiller's church had this comment after the killing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICKEY COHLMIA, CHURCH ATTENDEE: Heart wrenching that something in our community could happen as easily as this in his church. You know, I mean, how does all that scar everybody in his church, plus our church, plus everybody in this community?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A 51-year-old man was arrested shortly after the killing and has been charged with first-degree murder.

George Tiller was one of just a handful of doctors in the United States who still performed late-term abortions. That is when the pregnancy is terminated in the second trimester. Under Kansas law, late-term abortion can be performed on a viable fetus if two doctors agree the pregnancy is threatening the life of the mother.

Living on the streets. The only place you can call home is inside a place called The Cave. We take you inside this hidden world.

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COLLINS: An underworld discovered by city workers in Los Angeles. A lot of homeless people have found shelter there. But not for much longer as deputies work to relocate them. Kara Finnstrom takes us inside the place known as The Cave.

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KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beneath the noisy freeways of Los Angeles, Caltrans workers shine a bright light on a cave-like underworld.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's about 35 to 40 people living in here.

FINNSTROM: A homeless encampment about half the size of a football field with clearings up to 20 feet high. The stench is urine. A syringe pokes up from the floor. The workers armed with masks, rubber gloves and huge garbage bags clear a filthy hazard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spiderman toys, bedding, umbrellas, ski boots, whatever -- it was in here.

FINNSTROM: But what Pearl Mib (ph) sees...

PEARL MIB (ph), RESIDENT OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT: They collected everything.

FINNSTROM: ... is the destruction of a home.

MIB: There is a girl that lived in here, brothers that lived in here. There is two elderly gentlemen that lived in here. They all had their own sectioned rooms. They had a couch in here. They had a carpet in here. They had a home.

FINNSTROM: Mib (ph) says she's lived on the streets just outside for more than five years. She'd crawl into the cave to escape the cold, to bathe in water warmed by a burning fire. MIB: You don't have to worry about being out there, you don't have to worry about somebody stumbling over you, trying to hurt you. You got walls. You got a roof.

FINNSTROM: And in hidden catacombs, 15 to 20 feet off the ground, sheriff deputies found bassinets and baby bottles. They believe children may have been tucked deep inside, away from rats, away from sprawling spider webs. She says she never saw children here.

MIB: We're not hurting nobody. All this stuff is just here. I don't know why you guys just keep taking things from us. We're not even recognized. We're just swept under the carpet like a piece of trash.

FINNSTROM: County officials stress they're helping the homeless who did live here find safer shelters. Everyone admits welding this cave shut is a sorely insufficient fix for a much greater problem. Cal Tran's workers have cleared and sealed the cave before only to have the homeless find a way back in.

MIB: Close your eyes. What do you hear? You hear the ocean. Forever.

FINNSTROM: Mib (ph) says that muffling drone of cars calls her back.

MIB: It's quiet. You don't have to hear anybody yelling. Nothing.

FINNSTROM: Cal Tran's officials say the massiveness of this makeshift shelter was extraordinary. Not unusual to find homeless encampments hidden along the state's freeways and bridges. Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

COLLINS: Quickly want to give you a look at the Big Board right now because are hovering just below -- positive by 200 points or so. Dow Jones industrial average resting at 8698. Showing you once again the new look just began today from the NYSE. Dow has changed both on the point percentage terms and, obviously you can see, the numbers where it rests. That's what you'll be seeing from now on when we look at the Big Board. Back here in a moment.

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COLLINS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates had a message for North Korea this weekend. The U.S. will not be bullied or intimidated. The communist nation defied United Nations sanctions and went ahead with a nuclear test last week, causing concern for the international community.

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ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We will not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Gates offered no specifics on how the U.S. might respond if North Korea moves against key American allies in Asia. The United Nations Security Council is considering resolutions to further condemn the move.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins. The nation's largest car maker files for bankruptcy and officially embarks on a new beginning. Our team coverage continues in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.