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Bomb Plot Suspect Talks; President Obama Holds Q&A With Senate Democrats; New Complaints With Toyota;
Aired February 03, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Time for your top-of-the-hour reset.
I'm Don Lemon, in today for Tony Harris, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is 12:00 in Washington, where top U.S. intelligence officials are warning al Qaeda is planning something, and apparently they're planning it soon.
Still in Washington, the transportation secretary says you should park your recalled Toyota until it is fixed.
And across the nation, parents are asking plenty of questions today after a landmark autism study is debunked.
So let's get started right away.
New information on a thwarted terror attack that could turn into a national security victory for the United States.
Senior U.S. officials say the Christmas Day bomb suspect suddenly is quite talkative.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is in Washington.
Jeanne, what are you hearing? They are hoping to get some information that they can use from this suspect.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And they appear to be getting some, but today there is a hearing on Capitol Hill, the House Intelligence Committee, and some sparks have flown over this revelation that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is now cooperating with investigators.
You'll remember he clammed up on Christmas Day after being read his rights. Republicans were highly critical, saying further interrogation could have yielded additional intelligence.
So, last night, the Obama administration, pushed back, revealing that Abdulmutallab is now talking and providing that valuable information. But now Republicans are questioning that move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PETE HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: I do find it an interesting strategy that we hastily call a briefing to let America and our friends and our enemies in the Middle East know that he's now singing like a canary. Someone will someday have to explain that to me from an intelligence standpoint, why that -- why we would communicate that. And if we believe it's so important to communicate that, I'm assuming we invited Al-Jazeera to be there last night to get the information quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Now, senior administration officials say that FBI agents went to Nigeria, the suspect's home country, and convinced two members of his family to come to the U.S. and meet with Abdulmutallab. The family members persuaded him to cooperate. Law enforcement officials say he is providing useful, current and actionable intelligence, information about his training overseas and who he met with and worked with. Officials say every lead is being followed up -- Don.
LEMON: This is just one topic though that that committee talked about. What else is being said about the threat picture overall, Jeanne?
MESERVE: Yes, this is the second day of hearings about the intelligence picture. And at yesterday's hearing, top guns from all the agencies were asked about the likelihood of another attempted terrorist attack in the next three to six months.
The director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, said an attempted attack in that time frame is certain. CIA Director Leon Panetta, FBI Director Robert Mueller and others all concurred. Panetta also voiced concern about al Qaeda's ability to adapt and innovate.
Also of note, Don, yesterday, and again today, Blair began his presentation by talking about the nation's vulnerability to cyberattacks, saying malicious cyberactivity is occurring on an unprecedented scale with extraordinary sophistication.
Back to you.
LEMON: All right.
Jeanne Meserve, our homeland security correspondent.
Thank you, Jeanne.
Three U.S. soldiers were killed today in Pakistan. A roadside bomb hit their convoy near a girl's school in the volatile northwest frontier province. Now, they're the first known U.S. military fatalities in that lawless tribal region near the Afghan border.
The American troops were there to train Pakistani forces. Authorities say three schoolgirls and a Pakistani soldier were also killed in the attack. Another not-as-bad-as-expected report on jobs today. Not as bad as expected report.
Payroll processor ADP says the private sector cut 22,000 jobs in January. Now, analysts had predicted that losses would hit 30,000. ADP's jobs report for January is the best in two years.
New advice for Toyota owners. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says if you own one of the recalled Toyotas, you should not be driving it. Toyota is about to start installing reinforcing rods on millions of recalled vehicles. The company says that will fix the acceleration problem.
LaHood spoke before a House committee today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to a Toyota dealer, because they believe they have the fix for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: President Obama tells fellow Democrats we've got to finish the job on health care, financial reform and other issues. The president wrapped up a Q&A session with Democrats last hour, just days after he went before Republican lawmakers.
And our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is standing by with some highlights.
Hello, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hey, Don.
Obviously, there are different audiences that the president was trying to hit. He was in from of his own party, Democrats, but clearly there was a message to Republicans as well.
To the Democrats, he acknowledged that, look, there is a lot of anguish, there's a lot of anger, that these are tough times to be Democrats. And he also answered the questions to many of those who are in some tough re-election battles themselves this year. But he also gently admonished them, and he said, look, you know, it's perhaps your natural instinct not to fight here, to keep your heads under during crises, but don't be spooked by all this and don't give up on health care reform.
Now, to the Republicans, it was definitely, Don, a double message here, as we've heard before. On the one hand, saying, yes, I'd like to work with you, bipartisanship, this type of thing. But at the same time, blaming Republicans for being on the sidelines and acting like hypocrites.
Here is how the president put it...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I told them, I want to work together, when we can, and I meant it. I believe that's the best way to get things done for the American people. But I also made it clear that we'll call them out when they say they want to work with us, and we extend a hand and get a fist in return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, the president obviously trying to use some tough language against Republicans. Obviously trying to buck up, to bolster, some of those Democrats, particularly those in the audience who asked questions who are facing those tough re-election races, that they should move forward on their agenda.
He reminded them that, look, you might not be the supermajority in the Senate, but you certainly are still the majority. We can still get things done, that he still believes in bipartisanship, Don.
We have found the truly bipartisan one in the administration here. I want to point you out here.
We had a winter wonderland this morning here at the White House. This is our bipartisan little snowman here. Some are calling him -- our crew calling him Snowbama. But you can see he's got his little ear piece, "CNN Equals Politics." He's ready to go.
I don't know what it says about the fact that he's starting to melt, Don, but perhaps there is some bipartisanship here, you know, in the city. We found at least one of them. And should also...
LEMON: That's because...
MALVEAUX: Go ahead.
LEMON: I was just going to say, being bipartisan, you take a lot of heat. That's why he's melting.
MALVEAUX: Oh, hey, that's a good one. And he's melting as we speak.
I want to mention one other thing. Robert Gibbs said today -- which is that next Tuesday is going to be that first meeting that the president talked about when he said he's going to bring Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate together to the White House on a monthly basis. That's going to happen next Tuesday.
LEMON: Yes.
MALVEAUX: So, we'll see how all this goes. We'll see if they'll melt as well.
LEMON: Well, you know, and it's interesting how the people who asked questions were picked. And I'm glad you are saying that, because we're wondering, wow, there's, like, all of these speeches before the question. Like, are they going to answer a question? (CROSSTALK)
MALVEAUX: Right. Well, they really need the president's help, and they also need to show, that, look, they can stand up to him as well, you know, for their constituents back home. So, there was a bit of showmanship there, as we saw.
LEMON: It was more for the constituents and for people back home than anything else. And I'm sure they do care, but we know what's going on.
Thank you, Suzanne Malveaux. And glad you have the bipartisan guy next to you. Try to keep him cool, right?
MALVEAUX: Yes, keep him out here for a little bit longer. OK.
LEMON: Thank you.
A major study that is linking autism to vaccines, well, it has been withdrawn. What does that mean, and how are parents reacting to that? We'll get some answers.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is time right now for our "Random Moment of the Day."
President Barack Obama may be all about change, but when it comes to board games, he's running a deficit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences, as if waste doesn't matter, as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So, we know it, it's kind of -- you know, people say that all the time, but Monopoly money?
Come on, Mr. President. That is so five years ago, or so 2009, however you want to say it.
You know, the new 75th anniversary edition of Monopoly doesn't have paper money. A player swipes a debit card. And by the way, Monopoly isn't so square at all. The new board is round.
Game-changer? That's our "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Want to update you on some developing news here. The situation at Toyota takes another wrong turn. Customers are also finding potentially fatal flaws with the 2010 Prius. Our Kyung Lah explains from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest complaint with Toyota involve the model viewed as Toyota's future, the Prius. Toyota Motor Corporation telling CNN that it has received "dozens of notifications" from dealers in North America and Japan about the 2010 Prius, the latest generation of the popular hybrid. But these newly- public complaints involve the brake, not the accelerator, and a model not involved in the automaker's current massive global recall.
Toyota says the complaints center around when the car is on a bumpy road or frozen surface. Drivers have complained that they don't get the full braking feel as expected.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak tells CNN that there is something wrong with his new Prius, though it's not the brake.
STEVE WOZNIAK, APPLE CO-FOUNDER: So the car will start to accelerate in cruise control, and you can hit the brake to stop it, you know. And maybe it's scary for the first time for a couple seconds, but once you know about it, it's not like I think it's life- threatening.
LAH: Japan's government also says it's received 14 complaints about brake problems with the Prius beginning in July of last year. In that case, the brakes failed at a red light and the car rear-ended another vehicle. Two people had minor injuries.
These new complaints about the Prius come at a tough time for Toyota's management, facing questions about the quality of its cars. Investigators in the U.S. are looking into whether the problem with the gas pedals of certain models may actually be a problem with the cars' electronics.
Toyota's head of quality control denies that. "For the electronic control unit, we could not come across any case where we found that there was a malfunction in this control system." He also stressed that even as Toyota competes with cheaper carmakers from China, Korea and India, it is building safe cars.
"The basic performance of the car -- drive, turn and stop, that quality is essential and can never be compromised."
(on camera): None of the reports of the 2010 Prius involve any deaths, but this is yet another ding into Toyota's reputation. The automaker is preparing to announce its earnings forecast for the final quarter, which is expected to show just how big a price tag all these recalls and the bad publicity will cost Toyota.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Let's talk about something that's causing a lot of consternation here.
A prominent medical journal retracts a study linking vaccines to autism. But is that enough to erase more than a decade of fears?
We turn now to our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. And also joining me now by skype from Kentucky is Kim Stagliano. You see her right there. She has three children, all diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
So we will get to her in just a moment. But first, we want to start with Elizabeth.
Bring us up to speed on this retraction and what it means.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Here's what happened.
In 1998, a researcher named Andrew Wakefield published a study that showed that there could be a link between autism and childhood vaccines. Well, as you can imagine, a lot of parents really freaked out about this. So that's what happened in '98.
And then in 2010, "The Lancet," which is the folks who published that study in the first place, they retracted it. They basically said that it wasn't done properly and they retracted it.
So this is what they said: "It has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al are incorrect. Therefore, we fully retract this paper from the published record."
And this was the study that kind of started it all. This was the study that got people saying, oh, my goodness, should I vaccinate my child? I mean, you can imagine how parents felt when they read about that kind of a study.
LEMON: They were talking about the children, how he got some of the information from children, you know, giving them incentives, he called it afterwards, after a birthday party or some party at his home. This is very odd.
So, I have been seeing some of the interviews and listening -- reading something about it. Have we heard here at CNN from Dr. Wakefield at all?
COHEN: We have. We got a statement from Dr. Wakefield, and I'd like to read part of it.
Dr. Wakefield says, "The allegations against me and my colleagues are both unfounded and unjust. Research into that possible connection between autism and vaccines is still going on."
Now, I think it's interesting that he talks about the allegations between him and his colleagues. He did have many, more than a dozen, co-authors. Most of those co-authors disavowed that paper a long time ago.
LEMON: OK. So, listen, a retraction like this, and usually the journal "Lancet" is pretty...
COHEN: Oh, it's solid, solid, solid.
LEMON: ... solid.
COHEN: One of the most respected medical journals in the world.
LEMON: That makes you wonder, number one, what does it do for their reputation? People are going to say, oh, can I trust that again?
So how often does it happen? Is it rare for a retraction like this?
COHEN: Oh, this is really rare. I mean, I've hardly ever seen this. And we consulted some doctors to ask them if they had ever seen it, and they're, like, no, this is extremely rare and only done when people are really, really worried. I mean, this was a study there has been debate and criticism for many, many years before "The Lancet" actually took it back.
LEMON: OK. Hey, listen, Elizabeth, stick around a little bit, because she has been waiting patiently. I want to bring in Kim Stagliano.
Again, she's a mom, and three of her children, all three of her children, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.
Thank you for joining us.
So, when you heard about the retraction here, what did you think, Kim?
KIM STAGLIANO, CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS: Well, as you said, I have three children with autism, and I'm heavily invested in this story.
I'd like to point out to Elizabeth, please, that Dr. Wakefield did not produce a study. It was a case series with a dozen children and it was a paper.
So, to say it was a study is in and of itself inaccurate. And what Dr. Wakefield said in that paper was, "We have not shown an association between the syndrome," -- meaning autism -- "and MMR." That was not his goal, and it was never proven or shown in that paper that autism was caused by that MMR vaccine.
LEMON: So, listen, you know, Elizabeth, do you want to respond to that?
COHEN: Yes, I think people would differ with what she has to say. I think that people would say that this study gave a strong suggestion that there was link between childhood vaccines and autism.
No paper ever definitively shows anything, but this study was -- I mean, I had people thrusting this study in my hands over the years, saying, "Read this, read this, it shows that vaccines cause autism." That was the way that many people saw it.
Nothing ever definitively shows anything, but case reports showing a link, it has been touted as evidence showing that there is a link.
LEMON: So, Kim, listen, there's a lot to work out with all of this, because I've been sitting here for a while and we have been seeing people saying, oh, after my child got the vaccine, or whatever, got vaccinated, my child's behavior changed, and what have you. So you can see the relation here and why people think that. We can get in to the nuances of that.
So, you say, though, that there is a difference in the manifestation of autism in your daughters, especially with the third child, who was not fully vaccinated. So do you still think that...
STAGLIANO: That's correct.
LEMON: Do you still think there's a link there, or are you saying there's no link here, you believe?
STAGLIANO: Oh, I certainly think that there's a link for thousands of families between what happened to their children prior to vaccination.
Believe the parents. Trust the parents. They know what's going on with their kids.
There are studies going on, as Dr. Wakefield pointed out. There are cases in vaccine court right now that have been won by the families where there was proven causation between a resultant autism diagnosis following an adverse reaction to a vaccination. So, it's not impossible.
And where the fear comes in for families -- your lead-in of the Toyota story really hit me very closely to home. How would you feel if you were told by the federal government that in order to drive your children to school, tomorrow, you have to do it in a 2010 Toyota Prius? You'd be very nervous.
Now, Priuses aren't driving off the road and crashing at an alarming rate. There may be a handful of them that have a problem. Would you want to put your child into that car and drive her to school tomorrow, and know that if you weren't in that car, you wouldn't be allowed to go to school perhaps?
That's how people feel in the newly-pregnant, soon-to-have-a-baby world. It's not the autism community.
We raised the questions. We have the guns pointed at our heads by the pharmaceutical industry, the government, because nobody wants vaccines to be culpable. Nobody, including me. I would like to protect my children against every disease possible. I can promise you that.
LEMON: Yes. STAGLIANO: But there are instances where there are problems. And to slam the door on families and slam the door on science -- that's really the bottom line.
Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the NIH, said it very clearly. The science is not complete, and we must not fear the science.
Take my family. I am a perfect example of the potential for a vaccinated/unvaccinated study. Take us. Study us.
LEMON: Yes.
STAGLIANO: That's what families want, more science. Not fear and not a door slammed in faces.
LEMON: Kim Stagliano, thank you very much. And we know why you're very passionate about this. You have three children who were affected, and we really thank you for coming on and being so transparent and open.
STAGLIANO: You're very welcome.
LEMON: And we'll get you back on.
STAGLIANO: Thank you.
LEMON: I really like hearing from the parents.
Thank you so much.
STAGLIANO: Thank you for inviting me.
LEMON: Yes, absolutely.
Elizabeth Cohen, you can see why she is so passionate about it, as are many parents who are dealing with similar situations.
COHEN: Oh, sure. Absolutely.
LEMON: We're going to continue to follow this story right here on CNN. You better believe it.
So, what does this all mean for doctors trying to find a treatment or a cure for autism? We'll ask a doctor at Vanderbilt Medical School in just a bit. There you see him right there.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following this story very closely for you, looking closely at fallout from the bombshell retraction of a study linking autism to vaccines. Britain's prestigious medical journal "The Lancet" announced the move just yesterday. Joining me now live from Nashville, his name is Dr. William Schaffner. He's the chairman of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University's Medical Center.
Good to see you, sir.
So, Dr. Schaffner, you say that, scientifically, that the story of the supposed link between vaccines and autism is over.
Why do you say that?
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, CHAIR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY DEPT. OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE: Well, Don, I think it is over now. The retraction, as Elizabeth said, of a journal article by "The Lancet" is just huge, very, very rare.
There have been now about 20 studies that have looked at this whole question of vaccines and autism. Different investigators, different populations doing it, each in their own way, and they have all denied this link.
The important thing is for Ms. Stagliano and other parents, we need to focus our attention on research to find out the real causes of autism, early diagnosis, and also much better treatments for autistic children.
LEMON: But, Doctor, you heard her. She's concerned that people will not look at this. And she thinks that there is a possible link, studied, refuted or not, and that scientists should continue to investigate in this part of the story, in this part of the treatment.
SCHAFFNER: Sure, Don. I think science has an open mind.
Most of the autism research today is looking at genetic predispositions, as well as a whole array of environmental factors that can interact with the genetics. Vaccines, I think, largely now, for the vast majority of scientists, have been looked at very, very carefully. And they're now out of the picture.
We need to focus on other issues. That's where we need to put our research.
LEMON: Other issues in what areas? What's the most promising?
SCHAFFNER: As I said, a whole array of genetic predispositions, as well as other environmental factors, whether they are chemicals in the environment, things in our food, perhaps. Could they interact with the genetics?
LEMON: OK. What about in this -- and I don't know if you heard about this, as reported in The Associated Press, that a new pill is currently being studied to treat Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that may cause some forms of autism. Do you know anything about that, Doctor?
SCHAFFNER: I don't know anything specifically about that. But there are a lot of people now who are, once again, focused on trying to find out what the real causes of autism are.
LEMON: OK. So what do you say to parents and family members of autistic children? What do you think they should focus on now?
Because, again, theses people are very passionate about it. Many people believe that when they gave their child a vaccine, that's when the child started exhibiting, you know, behaviors that are, you know, close to autism?
SCHAFFNER: Yes. And we know why that is, and that's because autism usually manifests itself largely in the second year in life, and that's when the vaccines are given. Right?
LEMON: And that's when you get the vaccines.
SCHAFFNER: So, you're going to have that coincidence. We just like to reassure them, have them talk to their doctors, their family doctors and pediatricians, who care for them all the time, and they will provide reassurance in this regard.
LEMON: Dr. William Schaffner, thank you so much, from Vanderbilt University. We appreciate it.
SCHAFFNER: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: If you're drowning in debt, should you pay your credit card bill or keep your house payment up to date? You might be surprised to hear what most people are doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, for many Americans, the stack of bills growing. There's the mortgage, utilities, and, of course, the credit cards. So, which do you tackle first?
Christine Romans joins us now from New York.
Christine, good to see you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
LEMON: The conventional wisdom these days may not be what you might think.
ROMANS: Well, look, the conventional wisdom, the rule of thumb, has always been pay the mortgage first. This is your biggest asset, this is your home, this is the American dream of homeownership. That is the most important secured debt to pay. But new data from TransUnion shows some surprising changes in the way Americans are triaging, I guess, their household bills to try to maintain their cash flow at the end of every month.
What they are finding, Don, is that more and more American families are paying the credit card bills first and letting the mortgage become delinquent, 30 days late. The number or the percentage of Americans who are late on the mortgage, but they're staying current on their credit cards, 6.6 percent. That's versus only 4.3 percent in 2008. And that's a flip.
That's a flip of what they call the payment hierarchy. Usually, it's the mortgage you pay first.
Here's why -- you can't put gas in the car by paying the mortgage. You can't put food on the table by paying the mortgage. You can't buy your kid a new pair of shoes by paying the mortgage.
But you can, if you make sure you pay the minimum on y our credit card so you still have access to that revolving credit, and that's what we're finding here. As this great recession is over, or may be over, climbing out of it, at least, we are seeing that the American family has really been devastated. And you can see that in how they are paying their bills.
It might also show, frankly, Don, that there are millions of people who are living in their home as they're going through the foreclosure process and they really believe truly in their hearts that they're going to lose their house in the end. They've got to make sure they keep up on their credit cards so they have access to cash.
LEMON: Yes, so, listen, it's not exactly cash, but at least, as you said, you can put food on your table. And some people are wondering, you know, we've been doing those stories about people who say it's a better investment just to walk away from your home and take the hit to your credit because it's no longer an asset.
ROMANS: Look, every situation is different and I would be very hesitant to give broad advice about that. There's a fantastic piece in "The New York Times" today about walking away. A lot of people have what we call negative equity.
The Treasury Department says most people with negative equity stay in their home. That means you're paying a mortgage that is much, much bigger than that house is worth and has been worth for a long, long time. That's very, very -- it's very, very daunting. Most people stay in those homes, but some are looking at that and saying, should I just walk away and rent? And that is the -- those are the kind of hard decisions families are starting to make right now.
And we're still going to -- I mean we are still in the midst of this consumer purge, Don. It's going to last for months, if not years. We'll be hearing a lot interesting stories like this.
LEMON: Christine Romans, these are certainly interesting times.
ROMANS: Yes, indeed.
LEMON: Thank you very much.
Also an interesting time for the weather. And we want to turn now to our meteorologist, Chad Myers, who is in the CNN Severe Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Thank you, Chad.
Hey, Chad, remember the old days when you had to write a letter or make a phone call, leave it on a voice mail if you wanted to get someone at a TV station and make a comment or something?
MYERS: Oh, sure.
LEMON: You remember that? Yes. Not anymore in these times.
MYERS: Plenty of bad comments (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. Well, no, it's instant right now because our stimulus team, actually, Chad, has found something really interesting and it came from one of our viewers. A viewer question. We're going to talk about it. There's our stimulus desk right there. Back in a moment. Wonder what it is?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So, listen, this one is the single biggest contract from the entire $862 billion stimulus. And it's all about cleaning up nuclear waste right here in the United States. Josh Levs managing the stimulus desk today.
Josh, what are we talking -- are we talking -- is this the Simi Valley, California, one? Is this...
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, actually, but that is another interesting one.
LEMON: Yes.
LEVS: But we have one that's actually the biggest. Let me first show you the viewer question that we got via Twitter. We can show you from the computer right here. A very interesting one sent to me on my Twitter page. And it says, "hazardous material waste site clean-up is a wonderful expenditure. How many are receiving money?" That's from Rita Nalet (ph).
Well, in looking into that, we found out about the single largest project. The single contract from the whole stimulus funding. Let's zoom into it. We've got a map for you here that's going to take us all the way into this, which is the Savannah River site, at Aiken, South Carolina. They got $1.4 billion to clean up this site, which was constructed in the early 1950s originally to produce some of the basic materials used in the fabrication of nuclear weapons. So that's one.
And then we also have another project funded by the stimulus. This one we'll zoom into now. It's all the way on the other side of the country. It's the Hanford site. This is, if we can go to that map, this is $2 billion project at the Hanford Site, which is a huge nuclear waste facility. And one of our reporters, our all platform journalists, Patrick Oppmann, actually went inside. He's joining us right now at the stimulus desk. So, Patrick Oppmann, tell us about this. You were inside this massive nuclear waste facility. What was it like and what are they doing now?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be an incredible cleanup. Thousands of buildings need to be knocked down. Millions of gallons of radioactive waste. The stimulus plan is going to start that work earlier than they had hoped to initially do it. It's putting people to work, but it's basically making a dent in this area that's half the size of Rhode Island. So it's still going to take years to clean up, many billions of dollars more. Doing part of the project now. Getting people to work now. But a lot of work still left to be done.
LEVS: This is the single largest nuclear waste facility in our entire hemisphere.
OPPMANN: During the Cold War, this is where the atomic plutonium was coming from and it left a very polluted area that it's still -- this could take years to clean up and fix.
LEVS: Yes. Before we let you go here, you went inside. What is it like to be inside a massive nuclear waste facility? Were you afraid? Could you touch things?
OPPMANN: I couldn't touch things. They were great to let me in. Not a lot of reporters are allowed in this area. They suited me all up. They told me that if I touched anything -- because we were in the glove box room where plutonium was enriched -- and if I touched the wall and touched my camera, there was a possibility that the camera was going to stay behind. Luckily that didn't happen.
LEVS: I think you said there was a woman who touched her hair and people freaked out.
OPPMANN: Yes, one of the people who was supposed to be minding (ph) me actually touched the side, then touched her hair and she almost got a haircut but luckily they wanded (ph) her down.
LEVS: Almost got a hair shaving.
OPPMANN: Almost got a very extreme haircut.
LEVS: Wow.
OPPMANN: So luckily they wanded her down, as they did throughout this experience, throughout this shoot, and no radioactivity in her hair. So I got to keep my camera. She got to keep her hair.
LEVS: Well, Patrick Oppmann, thank you very much.
And, quickly, let's just show you these graphics, because we want to show you how many jobs were created by each of these programs. We have the Hanford site. Now this thing, 1,400 full-time jobs. And we also have the one we showed you, Savannah River Clean-up, they're saying 3,007 full-time jobs there. And if you want to send us your questions, you can contact me at any of my pages there. You've got cnn.com/josh, FaceBook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.
So, Don, you can see billions of dollars being spent right now to clean up some of these major nuclear waste facilities right here in our country.
LEMON: Yes, interesting. I saw that one last week worked on a little bit. They also want to reduce production there a little bit or reduce the size of that facility to try to cut costs. So that's all part of it.
Josh, great job over there at the stimulus desk. Thank you. We will check back, sir.
LEVS: You got it.
LEMON: You know, we have been looking for answers in the case of those Americans being held in Haiti for trying to take children out of the country. Our search took us to their church in Idaho. We're going to show you what we found.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A lot of what you need to know right now because these are our top stories.
CIA Director Leon Panetta says al Qaeda is deploying operatives to the U.S. to carry out new attacks from inside the country and they'll be so-called clean recruits who haven't left a trail of terrorist contacts. Panetta and other top intelligence officials told Congress al Qaeda is certain to attempt an attack in the next three to six months.
President Barack Obama rips into Republicans. In a speech to Senate Democrats, he claimed GOP lawmakers are throwing up politically motivated opposition on almost every issue. He said when Democrats extend a hand, they get a fist in return. Republicans argue the president doesn't accept any of their ideas.
We're learning more about the 10 Americans who tried to take a busload of Haitian children to the Dominican Republic. Now interpreters who worked with the group say the missionaries thought -- they thought they were doing everything by the book, working with a man they thought was a Haitian policeman. The 10 are still being held without charges there.
The Idaho church where the Haiti missionaries are from is defending their actions. The pastor says the church's goal is to help those in need. But some question whether the Haiti mission was really misguided. CNN's Dan Simon went to the church in search of some answers for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's a 500-member church seemingly in the middle of nowhere. But church leaders, like Pastor Clint Henry, say its members have traveled around the globe performing good deeds.
REV. CLINT HENRY, CENTRAL VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH: Our faith calls us to reach out to people in need. And we saw an opportunity to do this. And that -- you know, the love of Christ is what compels us to do things like this.
SIMON: Of course he's talking about the trip to Haiti. Members were stopped with a busload of Haitian children at the border with the Dominican Republic. They said they planned to build an orphanage in the neighboring country.
(on camera): The idea came from two church members who established an organization called the New Life Children's Refuge. This is their mission statement right here. It says the group would rescue Haitian orphans abandoned on the streets and from makeshift hospitals. They would then take those children to the Dominican Republic. The church fully backed their efforts.
(voice-over): But since being detained, questions have arisen about whether this organization had any business starting an orphanage at all.
(on camera): The U.S. government says New Life is not on its list of international adoption agencies and does not have non-profit status. So what was the church thinking? We came here to find out.
There's a perception emerging that this is a group of inexperienced people who were totally unqualified to run an orphanage.
HENRY: I believe that the kind of knowledge that it takes to begin, you know, an organization that works that way was in place. The kind of employees that it takes to successfully run an orphanage, those were going to be hired.
SIMON (voice-over): Tom Difilipo was a world expert on adoption. He's blunt about the group's efforts.
TOM DIFILIPO, JOINT COUNCIL ON INTL. CHILDREN'S SERVICES: Well the first impression was that it was something was obviously illegal and almost bewildering as to how a group could attempt to bring children across a border with no documentation.
HENRY: My understanding that they thought they had what they need. When they came to the border crossing, they fully expected that they would be able to go across. And then they were told that they were just missing one document.
SIMON: Most important, he says, their hearts were in the right place. Sean Lankford's wife and daughter were part of the mission.
SEAN LANKFORD, WIFE AND DAUGHTER JAILED IN HAITI: I know their character. I know that they didn't -- that they were going there to help the kids. That was their -- purely their heart. I know that they didn't do anything intentionally wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, we were trusting God. We know...
SIMON: Now he and the others here are relying on their faith to see things through.
Dan Simon, CNN, Meridian, Idaho.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Very interesting.
Here's a question, can peer pressure help you save on your energy bills? We've got answers in today's "Energy Fix."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. So more than a million Americans are getting a little extra information along with their monthly electric bill. It's a report that tells you how your energy consumption stacks up against that of your neighbors. The goal? A little peer pressure to help you save money. Stephanie Elam is in New York with today's "Energy Fix."
I don't know if I want my neighbor knowing that much about how -- you know, what I do in my home or whatever.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.
LEMON: But why is the utility company trying to get me to, you know, to one-up my neighbor?
ELAM: To out-share everybody on the block. I know, that's true, Don, that's the first question. Well, the idea here is pretty simple. The utility companies, they show you that your neighbors are spending less money to power their homes than you are. And the idea being they're hoping that you will make some changes to spend less too.
Now a company called O Power provides the reports to customers of about 25 utility companies across the country. Here's an example of what part of it would look like. By the way, when we say neighbors, O Power means a sampling of about 100 people in your area. It doesn't actually call out individuals and say like the Smiths are using this much. It doesn't do that.
The gentle peer pressure actually appears to be working. O Power says, since 2007, it helped people save over $8 million on energy bills, offsetting over 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide.
We spoke to National Grid, which started sending reports to about 50,000 of its customers in Massachusetts last October. It says customers are already saving about 1 percent on their bills and that's just from some simple behavioral changes, like turning off lights or doing laundry at night instead of during the day. National Grid will start sending reports to about 50,000 more customers in the Boston area this week and it has regulatory approval to expand to upstate New York as well -- Don. LEMON: It seems like the utility companies, Stephanie, would be going more, more, more, because they get, you know, they make money. So, listen, here's my question then. So what is in it for the utility company to expand this program so rapidly? I mean they have to buy the reports from O Power. That's the name of it, O Power, right?
ELAM: Right.
LEMON: And customers use less energy based on that information in the reports. But why would the power company want to do this?
ELAM: Right. Exactly. What's in it for the power company.
LEMON: Right.
ELAM: We asked National Grid that very question. Simply put, the utility companies are losing revenue on the deal, but the company says helping customers reduce their usage is the right thing to do. It's good for the environment and it's the best dollar-for-dollar investment they can make as a utility company. Still, it's exploring ways to make up for the lost revenues without raising rates. One idea is to take part in a regional cap-and-trade system. Obviously we'll be keeping our eyes on this one, Don.
LEMON: All right. I'll have to think about that one. All right.
ELAM: I know.
LEMON: Thank you, Stephanie. Appreciate it.
ELAM: Sure.
LEMON: So, Las Vegas pulling up the welcome mat when it comes to President Obama? We're going to tell you why.
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LEMON: OK. So, listen up. This is a really interesting story, because the mayor of sin city, we're talking about Vegas, is in no mood to forgive President Obama's latest remarks about Las Vegas during a town hall meeting on Tuesday. The president mentioned Vegas while urging Americans to act responsibly during these difficult financial times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: When times are tough, you tighten your belts. You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Mayor Oscar Goodman says he's tired of the president bashing his city. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR OSCAR GOODMAN (I), LAS VEGAS: He's got a problem with us. I don't know what it is. He's not our friend. I don't know about Nevada, but Las Vegas he's sure not our friend. I've got to tell you this, and everybody says I shouldn't say it, but I've got to tell you the way it is, this president is a real slow learner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You may remember last year the president said corporations shouldn't use taxpayer bailout money for trips to Vegas.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The conservative tea party movement kicks off its first convention tomorrow in Nashville, but trouble may be brewing over the future direction of that movement. The CNN story now from Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: Kill the bill. Kill the bill.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Take reception- raging conservatives and independents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Barack Obama is anti-American.
ACOSTA: Add a Democrat to the White House.
ACOSTA (on camera): Do you think having the president dressed up as a grim reaper is a little over the top?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I do not.
ACOSTA: You think it's appropriate?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's nothing disrespectful about this.
ACOSTA (voice-over): And you get the Tea Party. There's more brewing in this rebellion against bailouts and big government than just Scott Brown's Tea Party-infused upset in the Massachusetts Senate race.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a major victory in what I would call the second American revolution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on up, guys.
ACOSTA: Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, founders of the Tea Party Patriots, want this movement to blow the lid off Capitol Hill in this year's elections. They plan to back candidates who stand for Tea Party principles. And it doesn't matter if it's Republicans or Democrats standing in the way.
JENNY BETH MARTIN, COFOUNDER, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: I think if it had been John McCain, the same thing would have happened. I truly believe that.
ACOSTA (on camera): Really?
MARTIN: I really do.
MARK MECKLER, COFOUNDER, TEA PARTY PATRIOTS: I do, too.
ACOSTA (voice-over): In one year, the Tea Party has gone viral, from dozens, to now hundreds of loosely linked groups around the country. But Meckler and Martin don't tell them what to do. That's not the Tea Party way.
MECKLER: It's all bottom-up. I mean the real deal is that there are millions of leaders out there leading this movement.
ACOSTA (on camera): There may be leaders in the Tea Party movement, but nobody's in charge. In fact, rival groups from Washington, D.C., to Sacramento, California, are battling over who will carry the Tea Party banner. And that fight has some Tea Partiers feeling hungover.
What do you think is happening to the Tea Party?
JIM NAT (ph), SACRAMENTO TEA PARTY ACTIVIST: Well, I don't think the Tea Party knows what's happening to the Tea Party.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Sacramento Tea Party activist Jim Nat fears the movement is about to be hijacked by one of the established parties.
NAT: I don't think there's any question that the GOP has their tentacles into the Tea Party.
ACOSTA: Nat points to the Tea Party Express. The conservative bus tour that cris-crossed the country last year. It's run right inside a Republican political consulting firm. To the right, Sal Ruso (ph) runs the firm. To the left, Joe Wierzbicki runs the Tea Party Express. Their offices are side-by-side.
ACOSTA (on camera): Do you think a lot of those Tea Party activists know that the Tea Party Express is based in an office that's run by Republican political consultants?
JOE WIERZBICKI, TEA PARTY EXPRESS: I think what you'll find is, at Tea Party rallies, a lot those people who are mad at the Republican Party, many of them are Republicans themselves. Us included, you know?
ACOSTA: You're Republicans?
WIERZBICKI: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: And that's why we at the Tea Party Express endorse Scott Brown.
ACOSTA (voice-over): After spending $350,000 to air pro-Scott Brown campaign ads, these Republican consultants argue the Tea Party's home is the GOP.
WIERZBICKI: The people who formed this movement need a major political party.
ACOSTA: The movement's future is on the agenda at the Tea Party's first convention set for this week. But even with Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin headlining the convention, it's being boycotted by some Tea Party activists, scoffing at the $550
