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U.S. Navy Now Helping In Air France Search; Newspaper Study Finds At Least One Pilot Had Failed Skills Tests Multiple Times in Eight of Nine Regional Airline Accidents Over Last Decade; Hip-Hop Caucus Gets to Sit in With Nancy Pelosi; Oil Prices on the Rise Again; Two American Students Meet Their Idol

Aired June 08, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're pushing forward on a world of issues sure to come up at the White House briefing about 15 minutes from now. Keep an ear out for carefully worded outrage over North Korea's sentencing of two young Americans to 12 years of prison labor. We're going to listen in when press secretary Robert Gibbs steps to the mike.

And that prison term was the max. And since it was handed down by North Korea's highest court, there's no appeal. Not legally, anyway. Diplomatically, politically, some see a different story.

Here's the back story. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were captured in March, allegedly on the North Korean side of that country's border with China. They were on assignment for Al Gore's Current TV, but Pyongyang says they committed, quote, "a grave crime against the Korean nation." Here's the latest word from the U.S. State Department.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IAN KELLY, SPOKESMAN, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: We're very, very concerned about this sentence, and I know that Secretary Clinton is very engaged, and we plan to explore all possible channels, as we have all along. We call on the North Korean authorities to release the two young ladies, allow them to be reunited with their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson says that Ling and Lee are chips in a high-stakes poker game. He should know. As a former U.N. ambassador and Cabinet member, he's helped free other Americans held in North Korea and sees reason for hope in this case. Richardson spoke on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: When I was over there twice before, you couldn't do anything until their courts had handed out their verdicts and their sentences, so now is a critical period.

Another piece of good news is their rhetoric of the North Koreans on the two women has been muted. It hasn't been on the standoff nuclear issues, the testing, but that is good news that they've allowed the Swedish ambassador in three times to see them. They've allowed the two women to call their families. There is not a charge of espionage, so I see some positive hopeful signs for getting them out.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: So, what do you think is going on here? Are they being made an example of or is North Korea trying to use them as a bargaining chip?

RICHARDSON: North Korea is always very, very alert to how the international community views them and they like to be unpredictable. They are using them as bargaining chips. It's a high stakes poker game that they're playing. But, they're also realistic in wanting to resolve any kind of standoff on the humanitarian issue. I believe that has been consistent in their behavior in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, it goes without saying that journalists' families are sick with worry. Over the weekend we heard from Laura Ling's sister, Lisa, who is also a TV journalist. She spoke with reporters after a commencement address in San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, LAURA LING'S SISTER: This story that my sister went to do wasn't one that we were that concerned about, because they had no intention when they left the United States to cross into North Korea. My sister is an amazing journalist and she's very passionate about what she does. I mean, she is a good person who wanted to tell a story, and this unfortunate event has happened and we just hope that she's OK and that she'll be returned home to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: On the military front, the Japanese coast guard says that North Korea is warning fishing boats to steer clear of North Korea's east coast. That's a strong indication that more missile tests are in the works.

Speaking of boats, the Obama administration is reaching out to allies, including China, about a virtual blockade of ships believed to be carrying North Korea nukes or weapons.

One hundred days, give or take, 150,000 jobs. President Obama is taking stock of the economic stimulus that he signed into law in February and he doesn't entirely like what he sees. He's pressing his cabinet to pick up the pace in putting Americans back to work. He says 150,000 jobs saved or created thus far is just a down payment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: know that there's some who, despite all evidence to the contrary, still don't believe in the necessity and promise of this recovery act, and I would suggest to them that they talk to the companies who, because of this plan, scrapped the idea of laying off employees and in fact, decided to hire employees.

Tell that to the Americans who receive that unexpected call saying come back to work. Tell it to the Americans poised to benefit from critical investments this plan makes in our long-term growth and prosperity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The president says that his administration is now fast-tracking stimulus money. And the $787 billion package will save and create 600,000 jobs over the next hundred days. But, Drew Griffin from our Special Investigations Unit found that some of these jobs might be more like illusions -- Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I kind of feel for the president here because it is so hard to determine what is going on in this economy and especially when you get to the point, Kyra, where you're saying look-it, if we didn't do this, some of these other jobs would have been gone. He's not saying we're really creating jobs, he's saying at this point we're saving jobs.

Remember, a lot of this stimulus money really went to unemployment benefits, went to tax cuts for some people, went to help schools, as he says, save teachers' jobs. These are jobs that would have been axed.

But, as we have gone around the country looking at the other part, the stimulus part, the spending and the transportation we're just not seeing the jobs that are actually being created. Maybe some work being created like here in Missouri, where a small bridge in the middle of literally the middle of Missouri, some would say the middle of nowhere, created about three dozen workers on that site, but Kyra, none of them that we found out were really unemployed. Some, their jobs were being threatened. It's hard to say that those were jobs created. Those were just workers who actually got this job and are now working there now temporarily.

PHILLIPS: And also, Drew, isn't it, I mean, you were saying, too, that you were finding out that a lot of these jobs aren't long- term jobs, either, right? They were just temporary to get these projects completed.

GRIFFIN: Yes, listen, the president wanted to get that money out as quickly as possible. Now, he's wanting to get signs on the roads where the money is to show people that this is your money at work. But, in Mississippi, we talked to a mayor, Mayor Xavier Bishop. His town really needs sewers and sidewalks, but because the stimulus money had to go out so quickly, all he could do was pave a few roads or apply for paving a few roads. He says really, this initial part of the stimulus is more for show.

PHILLIPS: And you know, when you say...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Sounds like what you're telling me is what qualifies is, what can you do to show me a guy with an orange vest and a broom tomorrow?

MAYOR XAVIER BISHOP (D), MOSS POINT, MISSISSIPPI : Exactly.

GRIFFIN: Whether he's sweeping the right street or not.

BISHOP: I fear that a certain amount of this stimulus package, and I hesitate to say how much, albeit I would certainly say a small amount, has to do with appearances and certainly given the appearance that people are being put back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And Kyra, what we're seeing across the country, as we look at these specific stimulus projects, is a difference between work created and jobs created. And when you talk to an economist like we did about job creation, these small, swiftly produced street jobs are really not going to make a long-term job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SYKUTA, UNIV OF MISSOURI ENCOMIAST: There's been a lot of research done on the Great Depression and public works projects of that era. Most of that research now, the general consensus among economic historians is that it didn't work, that there were a lot of people employed but it didn't create net long-term growth in the economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Now, the White House has been arguing, look, we had to do something, we had to stimulate the economy, we need to at least put some people to work temporarily, but I think the frustration you're seeing from the president is these people are not showing up in that job creation figure just yet, if they are even out there -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well Drew, something else that draws a little bit of a concern, and you mentioned it just a second ago about had to get the money out there quickly. Well, you know what happens when that happens, then you lose a lot of oversight and a lot of this money's wasted and you don't really know where it's going.

GRIFFIN: Yes, and I think the last point is extremely accurate. Listen, all this money went to the states. The states then in their Transportation Departments decided where to send the money. They had to send the money out in 120 days. That's very quick for a project, so they had to be shovel-ready. I must tell you, a lot of these shovel-ready projects have been projects just sitting around on a table for years due to lack of funding and lack of interest, really.

So you know, states said well, we'll deal with that later, we have a higher priority. So, you get these projects out there in these rural areas or other areas where maybe there isn't quite so much oversight, and it can foster waste and it can also foster what the president alluded to is misuse and I think it's just a little early to tell whether or not this is working, whether it's not working, whether the money is being spent well or the money isn't being spent well.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's definitely going to keep you employed. You'll have follow-up No. 3, four, five, six, et cetera, right Drew?

GRIFFIN: That's exactly right. And I want to point out one other thing, Kyra. Recovery.org. That -- or.gov, Recovery.gov was the site that was supposed to keep track of all of this. Even that is not up and running up to snuff yet. They said really, the first reporting on that won't be done until October, although they are trying to speed that up.

PHILLIPS: All right, investigative reporter, Drew Griffin. Drew, thanks.

President Obama has his sights set on another polarizing domestic issue: health care reform. After months of insisting that he would leave the details of constructing a new plan up to Congress, he's decided to take charge of a major push to have a health care reform bill drafted by fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The status quo is broken. We cannot continue this way. If we do nothing, everyone's health care will be put in jeopardy.

REP ROY BLUNT (R), MISSOURI: Activating the grassroots effort from the campaign is one way to keep your campaign effort alive, it's not a particularly effective way to create a bipartisan solution to an important problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the president thinks capping tax deductions for high income Americans may be the best way to lower the cost of expanding national health care. It's estimated about 45 million Americans are still uninsured.

Well, an unfunny thing happened to Sonia Sotomayor today on her way to Capitol Hill. The Supreme Court nominee actually broke her ankle at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Didn't just fracture it, but she broke it. A White House spokesperson says she's not badly hurt and expects to keep her full schedule of meetings with senators who will be voting on her nomination.

The judge is being escorted by her home state senator and judiciary committee member, Charles Schumer. The Senate's top republican says it's way too early to know if his party will try to block a vote on Sotomayor's confirmation.

War is hell, any combat vet will tell you that. But when a soldier is murdered far from a war zone, it's tough for loved ones to come to terms with it at all. That's playing out in Conway, Arkansas as the family of Private William Long gathered today for his funeral.

You'll recall that he was gunned down last week outside the Army- Navy recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Private Long was there to tell others about why he signed up for the military. The alleged shooter is a Muslim convert once jailed in Yemen. He pleaded not guilty.

Governor Mike Beebe told the 200 people there that packed in the Harlem Park Baptist Church, "Shock, I guess is the best way to say it, when one is killed at home, targeted because he had a uniform on."

And the man charged in that abortion provider's murder is warning of more violence now. Dr. George Tiller's funeral was held Saturday in Wichita. His children remembered him as a loving father with a sense of humor.

Tiller was shot to death while serving as an usher in his church last week. Scott Roeder facing charges in Tiller's death called the "Associated Press" from jail yesterday. He says there are many other similar events planned around the country and when asked if he were referring to another shooting, he refused to elaborate.

Now, in Mexico, several more children have died from their injuries, bringing the toll in that horrific daycare fire to at least 44, now. Just a few minutes ago, an update from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez, that fire apparently sparked by an electrical problem. It started in a warehouse that was rented by the state government next to the daycare center. The center had only two doors, one of them padlocked shut, the windows, too high for the children to reach. Thirty-three children are still hospitalized, all of the victims under the age of five.

And New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin quarantined in China today after possible exposure to the H1N1 virus. An aide says that the mayor was seated on a plane next to a passenger who showed signs of the swine flu. The mayor, his wife and a members of his security detail have all been quarantined in a Shanghai hotel, but do not have symptoms at this point.

Nagin is in China on a business recruiting trip.

Well, it has the makings of a Hollywood movie. A down on his luck rancher struggling just to get by, then his luck turns around big-time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, as we reported just a few minutes ago, we got word that the nominee being looked at to sit on the highest court, Sonia Sotomayor, apparently has broken her ankle. It happened not quite sure how it happened or where it happened, but she has been meeting with a number of senators, as you know, working her way up to the confirmation process. Got to be tough having to handle such a hectic schedule. Didn't do so well, she broke her ankle apparently at LaGuardia airport, now has a cast on, but she's a trouper. She's sticking through all the interviews and still working her way through the confirmation process.

Well, the deal between bankrupt Chrysler and its knight in shining Italian armor could face Supreme Court intervention. Government lawyers have asked the court to let Chrysler sell most of its assets to Fiat, ASAP, and deny a group's objection to the deal. An appeals court approved the sale last week and gave opponents until 4:00 Eastern today to get the Supreme Court to step in. Investors from three Indiana state funds want more money for their share of Chrysler's secured debt.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is like the rock star of the corporate world right now, but when he unexpectedly went on medical leave back in January, Wall Street and Silicon Valley had serious questions and many went unanswered. Now there's talk that Jobs is -- well, that he's on the way back. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more. Susan, how significant would his return be?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's one of the most influential people on the planet, there's no question about it. When you think about the popularity and success of Apple products and that he has been a key figure. There's no question that your personal life is fair game when it's your health, as invasive as it may seem. He is the master, Steve jobs, at orchestrating media events and the event that's taking place at this very moment is the Worldwide Developers Conference. That's something that makes us salivate, right? You and me, Kyra, right? We want to know about all the latest gadgets and things.

Well, that is file tape of him. He is not there as we speak, but the whole event is to discuss software updates, new products, iPhones, and yes, there have been rumors that he may appear because he is supposed to be coming back from his six-month medical leave.

The "Wall Street Journal" says jobs has been in headquarters, he's been in H.Q. a few times and we're hoping that we get some word on that.

But I will say this, he is a unique figure at Apple, but Apple shares are up nearly 70 percent since Jobs left and that is just one sign that the company can survive without him, even if he does return as expected. The COO, Tim Cook, is expected to continue to run day- to-day operations -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, any big product announcements coming out of the event?

LISOVICZ: Well, Kyra, I am sure that while you have been working, you have been on the Web looking at the Apple Store, right? Trying to -- the tech geek that you are.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You know that's not true. That's why you're making that point.

LISOVICZ: I know that's not true because I know and love you so well and because I'm in the same camp, girl. The Apple Store is down, which is the universal signal that new products are about to be announced and they have been. Apple introduced two smaller and cheaper MacBooks with 3.06 gigahertz. You know what that means, like a really fast processor.

PHILLIPS: I do know that. Keep helping me out.

LISOVICZ: Retails for 1,699, 1,199. There is a lot of talk about the new iPhone, so much talk on the blogs that we actually have a diagram of a new iPhone. This is completely theoretical with a color code that would illustrate by the particular colors as to the likelihood of whether these new applications would be on it. Green, very likely to occur. Purple, somewhat likely. Orange, unlikely. In any case, the very likely stuff includes a July 17 release, price point of between $200 and $300, more processing power, improved memory, stuff like that. Just go read the blogs -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. I'll try and stay up with it.

LISOVICZ: In your spare time between commercial breaks.

PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. Figure out all of the technical stuff. Hey, what do you think about a single 23-year-old cowboy?

LISOVICZ: Well, I know a 91-year-old single cowboy, that's my Uncle Lenny who I introduced to you on Friday. I like cowboys.

PHILLIPS: Well, and I know you do. But this one might be a little too young. He's 23, very rich now thanks to winning a record $232 million Powerball jackpot. But, this young South Dakota rancher hasn't always walked around with pockets full of money. We're getting a clearer picture now of Neil Wanless who came from a poor family and who one of the only white kids in mostly Native-American school. And who recently had his mobile home repossessed. Listen to his story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a big deal for South Dakota.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are purportedly, reportedly one of the poorest counties in the United States.

JOSH LARSON, LOCAL RESIDENT: It couldn't have happened to better people. They're just a great family. They've really needed the money over the years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did lose their home, his parents. It was repossessed and they have been living in a camper trailer out there at the place.

JOE PRUE, LOCAL RESIDENT: There's a sign out there that says the lands that God built. For awhile you start thinking, gee, where was God when everything was coming apart. Now maybe God turned around and helped them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neil's a real hard worker. He always worked hard. He really had a lot of athletic ability, but he always just worked his butt off.

STEVE PLANK, HIGH SCHOOL TEAMMATE: He's crazy, that's all I knew. He's a pretty wild kid. Fun to be on the bus and hang out with.

SHAWN ULMER, SOLD WINNING TICKET: Kind of a cowboy type, you know? He's like a rancher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just cowboyed out all day. I mean just everything -- we're all natives around here I mean, he just stood out in the crowd with his cowboy hat and jeans and everything, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would make him one of the most eligible bachelors in the area, wouldn't it?

ULMER: Yes, it would. Wonder if he likes older women.

(LAUGHTER)

PLANK: Yes, he was really smart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was like, top of our class. Really, really smart. I was always over there trying to copy off of him. Neil, give me the answer, Neil.

PLANK: Need help with homework, that's where you went. He'd be willing to help you out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was on the team, man. That was the main thing, come on, Neil, give us that answer, man.

PRUE: Us, we're happy for them. You know, a lot of people would be envious and go ask for money and all that stuff. We're happy. The majority of the people on this reservation are happy that someone from around here got something bigger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: He sure did. Wanless says that he bought his winning ticket in a town called "Winner." Not making this up. And he says that he will not squander his winnings. He plans to help those who helped his family during hard times.

Well, we see twisters all the time, but Colorado?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Folks in the Denver area wiping their brows today and for good reason. They're cleaning up after at least five tornadoes battered the area yesterday. Damage was pretty extensive, as you can see in these pictures. One twister actually slammed into a mall in a Denver suburb, overturning cars and benches. One man taking pictures actually suffered serious injuries.

One of our iReporters was right in the thick of the storms. Lucky for Mark Sapp he wasn't hurt taking these pictures of one of the twisters. He says this one basically started in his backyard.

There's no respite from nasty weather, today. Big chunk of the nation could see more tornadoes, thunderstorms, even hail, right Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, Kyra. All the way really from Michigan through Chicago and then down into St. Louis, that would be the large area, the slight risk area, something like this, all the way possibly into Indianapolis.

But, I'm now beginning to see the first real firing, there's one right there, there's another one you will see right there. Those are the storms, right there and there, those are the ones that are going to be with us and now in the heat of the day they have more potential than the showers that we saw earlier today.

The storms yesterday were way back out into parts of Colorado. That's where this energy now has kind of shifted off to the east and it is centered over Chicago proper.

Another piece of energy I would like to show you here, talk about hurricane season, here it is -- this is not a hurricane, just kind of a wave -- with not a lot of area for development here. That's a warm water, that would be Cuba up here, there's Port-au-Prince, there's Haiti, and there's Panama, Costa Rica and it's a pretty good flare-up, but because there's some wind across the upper part of the atmosphere, here, the wind taking the storms and blowing the tops off and breaking that storm apart. So, not any real potential, not at least at this point of that thing developing yet.

LaGuardia, San Francisco, Philadelphia and now Santa Ana, there's John Wayne, picking up 30-minute delays. LaGuardia, I don't think we will see big-time delays anywhere across the country today, except maybe Midway and O'Hare as those storms approach the airport, and they may have to put down ground stops, not allowing planes to leave for Chicago because you don't want to have too many planes in the air burning fuel while the airport's closed because of a thunderstorm. So, we'll keep that up to date for you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Some American vets have waited more than 60 years to hear a top commander say these three words: Slave labor camp. We brought you this story of the World War II Nazi camp survivors on Friday. Today, we're pushing forward with a new development in their story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The U.S. Navy now helping search for Air France 447, sending two high-tech devices called pinger locators that can find emergency beacons deep in the ocean. It's hoped they can track down the voice recorders and therefore some answers to this mystery. CNN's Karl Penhaul has more on the recovery at sea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Brazilian Air Force and Navy is clarifying today that the number of bodies so far recovered from the Atlantic Ocean is 16. Yesterday they had said that 17 bodies had been recovered from that doomed Air France flight. That was due to confusion over the number of bodies a French navy vessel had recovered.

In addition to that, today the Brazilian authorities have released a new set of photographs showing the extent of the search effort in those photos. We can see Brazilian Navy divers and Brazilian marines recovering a part of what Air France is saying is a tail section of that doomed Flight 447. In addition to that, French authorities say that the U.S. Navy is on the way to the search area to help the French and the Brazilians with the search effort.

We are also told that a French nuclear submarine is en route to the area, and that should arrive on Thursday to help in the search for those all-important black boxes. But the task is a mammoth one. The search area is at least 200,000 square kilometers, we're told by Brazilian authorities. That's equivalent to the U.S. state of Nebraska or the size of Great Britain.

Authorities also tell us in that area that the depth of water is up to 8,000 meters, around 20,000 feet. That depth is sometimes impossible for even the most sophisticated submarines to operate in. It will represent a huge challenge, authorities say, to recover the black boxes.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Recife, Brazil.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Airlines worldwide are looking at a crisis they have never seen before. The International Air Transport Association says the industry could lose up to $9 billion this year. That's about twice as much money as researchers estimated three months ago. The association CEO says it will take drastic overhauling by partners, governments and the industry to get back on track.

Here's a revelation about regional airline pilots. "USA Today" looked at government records and found in eight of nine regional airline accidents over the past ten years, at least one pilot had failed skills tests two or more times. These are the check rides that pilots take on the job to prove their skills are up to speed. Major airline pilots have failed more than once in just one of ten serious accidents over the period. Earlier I had a chance to talk with the former inspector general from the U.S. Department of Transportation about the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: The airline was questioned again and again, why don't you do more for safety, you can do so much more. The answer almost every time was because it's not required by the FAA, and the FAA has also testified they don't like to put additional requirements on the airlines because they like to work in partnership. They want airlines to do it voluntarily, and it just doesn't happen. It's time for that to change. The new FAA administrator needs to make this job one. PHILLIPS: Let me ask you, as a former inspector general, do you remember some of the same concerns back when you were inspector general, same concerns that you are actually seeing right now? Are you sitting back thinking gosh, you know, why isn't something being done?

SCHIAVO: That's right. In fact, I call these deja vu disasters. We were working so hard in the 90s for one level of safety. In 1995, one of the things we worked for was one level of safety. It was a big initiative that came on board, and everyone had to meet these standards. We didn't have commuter airlines anymore. All were under the same laws.

We have gone clear back to the condition that has existed before 1995, and indeed, I even wrote a book about it. It was so abysmal how little policing the FAA really does. We were at a break point now. Fifty-three percent of the flights in the United States of America or domestic traffic are flown by regionals. We're all at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We asked you for your tweets on this latest airline safety revelation. Vicnoho says, "The airline industry is all about profit and has always been irresponsible and the experience, horrendous. It's time for reform." Valharris says, "Michael Moore reported on the dismal pay that regional airline pilots get years ago in Stupid White Men." Journalproject asks, "Is it really possible these pilots failed the necessary tests and are still able to fly these flights that put innocent people at risk? And Torema wants to know, "How do we make our airline regulators representatives of the public, not the regulated?"

Thanks, guys. Keep your tweets coming at @kyracnn.

Pushing forward now on history's all-time greatest water landing. Scientists analyzing feathers from the geese that brought down U.S. Air Flight 1549 conclude that they were, in fact, Canada geese, as everybody thought. But they were migratory Canada geese from Canada, not Canada geese that hung around full-time in New York.

That's not all. There were at least three of them, two females and a male. So what? Well, so these tidbits are coming out ahead of a three-day NTSB hearing on Flight 1549's amazing touchdown in the Hudson river. As you know, all 155 people on board that aircraft got out safely.

What is up and up and up with gas prices? This is deja vu all over again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Looking at the numbers on Wall Street, Dow Industrials down 88 points as we continue to track the numbers there on Wall Street. Meanwhile, green the block, save the hood. That's the chorus from The Hip-Hop Caucus, a grassroots group that wants to rock Capitol Hill. CNN'S Brianna Keilar kind of went on a different type of assignment and brings us this story from the top.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hip-hop meets politics in Young Jeezy's hit song and on Capitol Hill.

REV. LENNOX YEARWOOD, PRESIDENT, HIP-HOP CAUCUS: You are at the table. You are on the menu. There is no in between.

KEILAR: Reverend Lennox Yearwood heads up the nonprofit Hip-Hop Caucus, an advocacy group for young people of color in poor urban communities. This day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given him a seat at her table.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Thank you very much.

KEILAR: The Rev, as he's called, is pushing the Hip-Hop Caucus's top issue, green the block, creating new green jobs while saving the environment.

YEARWOOD: We can have people who are in urban communities, they can get back to work. They can now start retrofitting homes and weatherizing roofs and putting up solar panels.

KEILAR: The caucus also registers young voters, trying to engage them in the political process with a little help from high profile recording artists like Jay-Z, T.I. and Keisha Cole. He says it's working.

YEARWOOD: They ask me, "What's a filibuster, rev? What's going on? Who is Nancy Pelosi? Why does Biden talk so much?"

KEILAR: Rev wants to build on that political curiosity, borne of an historic election. He knows young voters can be fickle, but believes this time they will stick around.

YEARWOOD: There's no stopping us now. Hip-hop, can't stop, won't stop.

KEILAR: That's really the challenge. Rev Yearwood will tell you getting the youth vote out can be difficult enough and in the past, keeping young urban voters interested after an election has been next to impossible. Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.

PHILLIPS: Amazing moment. Pretty amazing moment for American vets who survived the Nazi death camp. We told you their heart- wrenching story on Friday. For the first time ever, the U.S. Army on Saturday officially recognized the 350 GIs held as slaves in a subcamp of the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp. They were beaten, starved and forced to dig tunnels where the Nazis had hidden a V-2 rocket factory. CNN spoke to the officer who bestowed that honor in the meeting with the survivors that are still alive. We'll have that story coming up in just a little bit.

Meanwhile, taking you back to New York, Poppy Harlow working on oil prices for us right now. Apparently they doubled.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: They have doubled, yes. Since February, we saw oil $35 in February. It hit $70 a barrel last week. Year to date. Take a look at these numbers. Oil prices just surging. Lot of people wonder are we going to go back to where we were last summer. We will bring in an oil trader live from the NIMEX (ph), where they trade this crude everyday.

Tim Jennings joining us. Talk to us about what's going on. What's the biggest driver of these oil prices right now? Folks are really concerned.

TIM JENNINGS, OIL TRADER, VANTAGE TRADING: I think traders are looking at the economy to see if there's any sign that the band will pick up. I think that's the big driver right now. They're looking for any kind of sign in the driving season, more people will be buying gas or globally, if China increases production industrially, if there will be any demand or increase. I think traders are looking at that. That's why the prices have risen to where they are right now.

HARLOW: A lot of people see these rising oil prices, they feel the pain at the pump, 41straight days of gas prices going up. Tim, what do you say to folks who argue this is last summer replaying itself, speculators driving the market, and it's hitting us most where it hurts in the midst of a deep recession? What do you say to them?

JENNINGS: The market is made up of a number of different participants and speculators are one part. People involved in the industry or another part -- I think traders look at supplies we have now, they seem to be adequate. There is almost a 20-year high in terms of oil in storage right now. I think traders in the business are looking for these prices to go a little lower. But that's the unique thing about our market. Whoever has the upper hand at any given time can kind of influence the prices.

HARLOW: Finally, let's wrap on this, how high do you see oil going this summer and in the next year, Tim?

JENNINGS: Well, Goldman Sachs came out last week and said they saw oil trading up to $85 by the end of the year. I think that's a bit too much. I think we have plenty of supply around, and once traders look at the fundamentals, maybe this market could move a little lower, back down to the mid-50s.

HARLOW: All right. Tim, thank you. Kyra, you hear what he said? Oil's not going to top $85. That's good news for us, right?

PHILLIPS: That is good news. We need that right now. Thanks, Poppy Harlow.

I want to get back to telling you about that amazing moment for American vets who survived a Nazi death camp. We told you about their heart-wrenching story on Friday. For the first time ever, the U.S. army on Saturday officially recognized the 350 GIs held as slaves in a subcamp of the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp. They were beaten, starved and forced to dig tunnels where the Nazis had hidden a V-2 rocket factory. CNN spoke to the officer who bestowed that honor in a meeting with those survivors that are still alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GEN. VINCENT BOLES, U.S. ARMY: The conditions that you read about that they were under, it wasn't a prison camp. It was a slave labor camp, as you characterized it. They didn't go there to just be put out of the war, which is what normally is supposed to happen. You just take prisoners of war off the battlefield so they're not able to fight. These men were abused and put under some of the most horrific conditions. It's humbling to be in their presence. They're looking around, they're thanking me for coming, and I'm thanking them because I get to bask in the character of these great heroes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off-camera): How does it make you feel that the government, I know you had no part of it, but the fact that the government did commute their commanders' sentences?

BOLES: I don't know enough about that to comment other than I know that it caused a great deal of pain for these men and I know that. But I don't know enough to comment on the facts and circumstances of that. I wasn't there at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (off-camera): If you think about it in modern times, though, any soldiers in Afghanistan or Iraq were taken to a slave labor camp, I think we would all hope that they would face full American justice.

BOLES: I think full justice is the right word. What the documents were designed to do was misunderstood. That's a burden on the Army as much as anything else. What the intent of the documents was was for those who had been POWs not to talk about escapes, people who would assist them, people who would help them. Our inability to explain that correctly was therefore misunderstood by them, and we didn't explain it correctly, and it was construed as a secrecy document which they could never talk about. That was not our intent at all. We screwed that up.

It takes a very special person to be a soldier, and it takes a great person to be a good soldier. You were good soldiers. You were there for your nation. I think that's the most important thing to do that, and never forget. Because we are losing this greatest generation, you know, too fast and we want to make sure that we remember because there are lessons they can still teach us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: On Friday, we were honored to interview one of the Berga survivors. Here is a picture of Morton Brooks just days before he shipped out to serve in World War II. He's now 83 years old, and he shared his story of spending 100 days in the Berga slave labor camp with me on Friday. We salute him and the other Berga survivors. We are proud of their service and the recognition that they finally got from the Army this weekend.

They were supposed to graduate like other high school seniors but suddenly, the ceremony was canceled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As always, Team Sanchez working on the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Rick, what have you got going?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: When your son dies in a war that you think is unnecessary, and you protest the U.S. government for it, I think most people would probably at least understand your point of view. But when you continue protesting even after that administration is out of power, and you show up at the former president's neighborhood, and neighbors there say they don't want you there, it becomes a story of a different dimension. Cindy Sheehan is going to be protesting today, in about an hour and a half, in the Dallas neighborhood where former President George Bush lives. We are covering that for you.

There's another controversy. This one's not in Dallas. It's in Memphis. Here's what's going on. Five different Burger Kings have put up signs that say "global warming is baloney." Take a look at that sign right there. This is not a small church. This is not Joe's Bar and Grill. This is not another lounge somewhere, stories we do from time to time. This is one of the biggest international food chains in the world.

So how are they dealing with this? And does this say something about that particular franchisee knowing his audience, maybe not somebody else's audience, but his audience, and where is this thing going to end up? Both of those stories we find interesting enough to share with you and drill down on, and we will, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Rick. Thanks.

Stephen Colbert doing his part for the troops in Iraq. Check out his camouflage suit as the host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" visited yesterday with soldiers at Camp Victory in Baghdad. To show his solidarity, he even sat down for a military issue haircut. His barber, you got it, General Ray Odierno, top U.S. commander in Iraq. The show airs tonight on Comedy Central.

Hard labor in North Korea. The struggle to save two U.S. journalists sentenced to 12 years behind bars. We're following it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: For a bunch of American teenagers, it was a journey like no other. When they reached their destination, they met the man of their dreams. A freedom fighter icon. CNN's Robin Kernel (ph) has the story from Johannesburg, South Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROBIN KERNEL (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the Bronx in New York, a journey begins for Jasmine and Allen.

JASMINE SUAREZ, AMERICAN STUDENT: One of the things that my friends were talking about was that I should bring Nelson Mandela a Yankee hat, a gift from New York.

ALAN SALAMA, AMERICAN STUDENT: Honored and really cool. I really don't know what I'm going to ask him yet, if we can ask him anything.

KERNEL: They filmed their trip for us. A long, epic quest to meet Nelson Mandela in South Africa. A once in a lifetime prize that nearly 20 American teenagers won in a school essay competition. In Africa, with New York so far away, they danced with the South African kids, finding they all have a common bond.

SUAREZ: It's all very good to see how this work will be good to stand (ph) applies to Nelson Mandela's life, the work of teamwork, self-motivation, motivation as a community. It was nice to see how those contributions also related to Nelson Mandela's life.

We're at the Apartheid Museum.

SALAMA: You feel bad about it?

SUAREZ: Yes, it's very sad.

KERNEL: They taste ever so slightly the bitterness of segregation during a visit to the Apartheid Museum. At the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, they wait to meet their hero.

KERNEL (on camera): Do you think Mandela is still relevant to kids?

SUAREZ: I think he's still relevant because he wants us to keep the journey, because the journey hasn't ended yet.

KERNEL: His journey?

SUAREZ: His journey hasn't ended yet. Even though people are free politically, mentally we aren't free. There is still a lot of resentments towards races, stuff like that. I think he wants us to continue living up to his expectations.

KERNEL: Then finally, they meet the old man they traveled so far to see.

SALAMA: I want to be a doctor, like a neurologist.

NELSON MANDELA, SOUTH AFRICA FREEDOM FIGHTER: A doctor?

SALAMA: Yes.

KERNEL: So what was it like?

SUAREZ: It was a very beautiful, amazing experience. It was very lovely.

SALAMA: Touching.

KERNEL: And you? SALAMA: I felt, like, really inspired.

SUAREZ: I just started crying because it was so amazing. Like even though I didn't know him and he didn't know me, I knew like there was genuinely, he cared and our hands still smell like Nelson Mandela.

KERNEL: What does Nelson Mandela smell like?

SALAMA: Lotion.

SUAREZ: Candles and incense, something like that. He smells wise.

KERNEL: Robin Kernel, CNN, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Denied their graduations, senior high school students in Centersburg, Ohio just took charge. District administrators canceled their graduation on Saturday because of alleged cheating. So on Friday, students wearing caps and gowns gathered outside the high school to protest. Parents and students held their own graduation ceremony on Saturday. We wish them luck.

That does it for us. See you back here tomorrow. Rick Sanchez picks it up from here.