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Brake Pedal Issues Fuel Toyota Woes; AIG Draws Ire with Bonuses

Aired February 03, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

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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 admission fee.

MECKLER: It wasn't the kind of grassroots organization that we are, so we declined to participate.

ACOSTA: Despite all that infighting, it's clear the tea party is on a roll. Where it rolls is anybody's guess.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon, thank you for watching. Time now for the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Ali Velshi, take it away, sir.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Don. Good to see you again.

I am Ali Velshi, and I'll be with you for the next two hours, today and every weekday, every Monday to Friday. I'm going to take every important issue we cover and break it down for you. I'll try and give you a level of detail that will help you make important decisions about your voting, your spending, your safety and security.

And your safety and security are in clear focus for us right now. There's more news from Toyota.

First it was floor mats. Then it was accelerators, gas pedals. Now, reports of problems with Toyota's brake pedals. And the latest advice from the transportation secretary of the United States is likely fueling driver fears.

(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) VELSHI: We're going to hear a lot more about that. Since then, the transport secretary has come out and said, maybe you don't have to stop driving it immediately, but you do need to contact your Toyota dealer. We're getting -- we'll get you that in just a moment.

But it is adding to the confusion around this issue. Toyota stock took quite a jump, the wrong way, when Ray LaHood first made those comments. It's starting to recover a little bit. But let's talk about how serious this issue actually is.

Let's go to Buffalo, where Lauren Fix, auto analyst, joins us now with her take on what's going on.

Lauren, this just continues to get more and more complicated. You heard what Ray LaHood said. He's since backed away from that just a little bit. But why is this so confusing, and what should Toyota drivers do?

LAUREN FIX, EDITOR IN CHIEF, CARZEN.COM: Well, I think the first thing, it is confusing. When you put out a huge statement like that, stop driving your car, I happened to be at the gym when that was announced and people were literally freaking out. They were on the treadmill, thinking "I can't drive my car. How am I going to get home?"

So when you make a statement like that, I think that's a huge impact on consumers who have a huge loyalty to Toyota.

But to those of us, now that he's backed off on this, for those of us that have these cars, and they're concerned, anyone who's driving a car that unintentionally accelerates, you have to know what to do. And I'm kind of disappointed that no one's put out some standard rules. As an ASE-certified technician and also as an engineer, I tell people, the first thing you want to do is put your car in neutral. Hit the four ways so people around you can communicate with you. Pull over to the side of the road. Stop the car and call the dealer and get them to flatbed it in.

VELSHI: All right. So the bottom line is everybody with a Toyota, despite the mixed messages you're getting, should be calling your Toyota dealer and making an arrangement, first of all, and finding out what they tell you to do.

But there is a fix for this? Or there is not? Because we're hearing -- we're hearing mixed messages about that, too.

FIX: Well, that's a good question. When you're dealing with something drive-by wire, and it's a electronic contact and moisture getting on those contacts, I've heard stories about this since 2004 and people complaining. It's concerning when you assume that the fixes they're making is the correct fix in production cars and cars in the dealerships, and the local dealers will do anything they can to create goodwill with their customers.

The first thing I would do is just call the dealer. Assume that this is the correct fix. Otherwise they wouldn't let it go through. And according to NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety, Ray LaHood's team says they believe this is the fix, unless something changes in the next 24 hours.

VELSHI: Right. And the change that we're hearing about now is increasing reports of brake problems in Toyota Priuses. There's been no comment on that from Toyota. No recall issued on that. So, we're watching that very closely.

The issue here that's confusing, Lauren, as well, is that who's in charge of this? Was Toyota on top of this? Were they actually forced by Ray LaHood's group to actually do something they weren't prepared to do? Who are you supposed to believe if you're a consumer at this point?

FIX: You know, that's a really phenomenal question, because we -- if you go back and you look at NHTSA's Web site and some of the articles that have been posted in all the national magazines and newspapers, you will find that they did know about this in 2004.

It sounds like it's a design error. I've worked in quality control departments, and anything could have happened, that it missed quality control, it was designed improperly. Either way, whatever is out there has to be fixed. The brake problem with the Prius is very serious.

I mean, there's so much here, I think that Toyota was trying to repair it on their own, repair it -- keep their reputation, keep everything on the down-low, contact consumers. But as consumers -- I have dealt -- I think that they were pressured by NHTSA to take care of this problem, because they had no options. There's too many complaints. There were 19 deaths. There are thousands of accidents. When this happens, this waves a big red flag. NHTSA always gets involved to protect the consumer, and Ray LaHood is doing the same thing.

And I think they did pressure Toyota, and I think they waited a little too long. But now Jim Lentz and his whole team are pushing very hard to try and make good now for what they have may have been a little slow on reaction.

VELSHI: All right. Jim Lentz is from Toyota, USA. NHTSA is National Highway Traffic Safety Association.

The -- what are you thinking? How do you feel about Ray LaHood coming out and saying people should just stop driving their cars? Now it seems he's saying what you are saying: know what to do if your car gets stuck and contact Toyota. Are we -- are we getting into this realm of irresponsibility, or is Ray LaHood, as transport secretary, doing the right thing by going further than Toyota seems prepared to go?

FIX: I think initially he may have reacted like many people would, "Oh, my God, I'm going to stop driving my car." But having a way to help people, people that are paying anywhere between, you know, $15,000 and up to $50,000 or more for a car, you're telling someone you can't drive that car, you're asking for a class-action lawsuit. So in order to soften this blow, the better thing is to educate consumers on what they need to do. And I think Ray LaHood's second statement was better than his first one.

I think the impact to Toyota is going to be tremendous. It's going to hurt them. They will do everything they can from a dealer level, from a manufacturer level to help their customers. Because they can't afford to destroy their brand equity.

VELSHI: All right. We're going to continue this covering conversation with you, Lauren. We've also got our Poppy Harlow on the way. She's actually just spoken to a dealer. There's some very interesting news you need to know from the dealerships. We've also got Richard Quest here, who's going to discuss what the impact of this has been, both on the stock and on Toyota sales internationally and whether or not we can expect more recalls to be announced from Toyota.

Stay with us. Our conversation about Toyota and what you need to do continues in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: We're following developments at Toyota. Let's first go to that -- that statement that kicked off today's frenzy: the drop in Toyota stock, and some panic around the country. This is Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAHOOD: They believe they found the fix. It's not up to NHTSA to tell them that they have found it. It's up to us to tell them if we think that their solution is not correct, and now we're -- we'll be doing investigations and studying the electronic part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: That was a little more detail on what he said about people who have Toyotas. He said they should stop driving Toyotas right now and get in touch with the dealer.

Now, subsequently, we got this comment from a Toyota spokesperson, Olivia Alair. She said, "The DOT is advising owners of recalled vehicles to contact their local dealerships to arrange for fixes as soon as possible." That sounds a little different from what Ray LaHood said in that hearing, where he said people who drive Toyotas should simply stop driving those Toyotas.

This is complicated, because a lot of people drive these cars. They depend on them for work or for their livelihood.

We are getting new comments from Ray LaHood. We're waiting to get them here. As soon as we do, we'll turn it around.

Meanwhile, I've been talking to auto analyst Lauren Fix. She's with us via Skype from Buffalo, and CNN's Richard Quest joins us from London. Richard, as soon as Ray LaHood made these comments, the transportation secretary of the United States saying stop driving any Toyotas that are on the recall list, Toyota stock started to take a dive. As I last checked, it was starting to come back a little bit, but it was a 6 percent drop or something.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, 5 or 6 percent off on a stock that is now down some 20 percent, Ali, since this crisis began.

I suspect that this comment by Ray LaHood, saying, "Stop driving your Toyotas, take them to a dealership," was one of those off-the- cuff comments designed to actually, you know, entice people to sort of do some action. And, of course, it's had a disproportionate effect, hence the reason why, you're right, we're now getting a recall, if you like, on those very comments.

Across the world, it's a similar situation. Here in the U.K., this is the press release this evening from Toyota in the U.K. About 180,000 vehicles that have been affected for Toyota are now trying to put back or trying to repair.

This is the quote I wanted to read for you, from the head, the manager/director of Toyota, U.K. He says, "We want to rebuild the trust with our customers by working through this issue."

The key word there, as you and I know, as any business correspondent knows, it's "rebuild." They've got to recognize, as it seems they do now, that their reputation is in tatters.

VELSHI: Let's ask Lauren about this. Lauren, many people -- let me ask you, Peter Valdes Dapena, our auto writer, will be on the show with us in a little while, made the comment that a lot of Toyota drivers won't tell you that they're the flashiest or sexiest car, but it is reliable. The brand is trustworthy.

This is something that has really given that company quite a hit. Is it going to be easy for them to rebuild from this damage?

FIX: I think it's going to take a little bit of work to rebuild, as they were saying in the quote, the trust.

Consumers bought these cars because they were reliable. In fact, many of them strayed from U.S.-built cars that were actually equally as good in order to transition from Toyota, because their friends, families, and relatives either worked on the production line or also had Toyotas.

So when you had one or two people in a family that said, "You know, my car was recalled and I was treated fairly," you can rebuild that trust. If not, it's going to be very difficult...

VELSHI: Yes.

FIX: ... to rebuild that. If someone strays to another brand, the family may follow.

VELSHI: Richard?

QUEST: You know, we've got to look at the areas where we've seen this happen before. And of course, we all think of Tylenol. We all think of Perrier and the benzene in the fizzy water. We can think of -- we can think of toys from China that have been defective.

But a car, an automobile, that you put your family in, your children into, that you drive, and that you risk your own life in, I think that's sort of slightly different, particularly since it is, as you and I know, Ali, it is most people's largest single capital expenditure after their home where they live.

And I think that those are factors that Toyota has played on in the past: reliability, respectability, good solidness.

VELSHI: Yes.

QUEST: And that's come home to bite them.

One thing that's absolutely crucial in all of this. I've spoken to a dozen experts in PR, branding, in this whole area, and they all say that you can recover, providing you're honest, you're truthful, and you're perceived not to have hidden anything.

VELSHI: Yes.

QUEST: If those three things are missing, then you might as well put up the shutters and go home now.

VELSHI: Richard, good to talk to you.

Lauren Fix, thanks very much. And Lauren, specifically, thanks for the details on what auto owners have to do if they have a Toyota. Good to talk to both of you.

We'll continue our coverage of Toyota, what you need to do if you have one, and what the government is suggesting that you do.

Now, if you were wondering where all your money at AIG went, a lot of it went toward paying out bonuses to its financial products division. Yes, that very division that actually started the whole mess. Christine Romans, my host from "YOUR $$$$$$$," will be with us in just a moment to talk about a new bunch of money that just went out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Every Saturday and Sunday I host "YOUR $$$$$" on CNN with Christine Romans. She joins me now to have a conversation about AIG.

But before we do that, Christine, you were listening to the conversation, and you've been dealing with a lot of the Toyota news today. I want to get your thoughts on this. This thing has, from the first time you and I talked about this, really started to snowball out of control for Toyota, culminating in the treasury -- the transportation secretary of the U.S. telling people, and then backtracking, that they shouldn't drive their Toyotas.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: And it's almost exactly symbolic of the confusion that people feel right now. I mean, for two weeks now there's been this confusion about what are you supposed to do? Take the car in? Don't take the car in? Will it be fixed right away? Do I have to wait to get it fixed right away? Is it safe to drive? Is it not safe to drive?

And I think that the idea of the transportation secretary saying, "Don't drive this car," then saying, "No, wait, you can drive the car. If you think there's a problem with the Toyota, then take it to the dealer."

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: It's exactly the same questions we've had. No answers, really, yet on what to do.

VELSHI: If I were Toyota I'd be just wanting to control the message. I'd be wanting to get out in front of this thing. It's a bit of a mystery.

Let's just talk for a second about another company that has had some trouble controlling a message in the last year: AIG, perhaps. This is a company that was at the heart of the economic collapse in this country, got over $180 billion from taxpayers, and today, once again, continues to pay out bonuses designed to retain workers. Explain this to us.

ROMANS: These are the -- these are the same bonuses that people went crazy about a year ago. It's the same bonus pool of $435 million. A new big chunk of that goes out. We knew it was coming. This is the bonus pool that keeps on giving, Ali.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: A hundred million dollars more to members of the financial products division. These are folks that today trying to unwind the mess that got AIG into its big troubles.

Now, the company says that the folks here have agreed to take big pay cuts, a $20 million cut less of what they're going to pay, so they're going to give up $20 million in bonuses. One would think they know that there's all this political pressure and public pressure and that they should give some of this money back.

VELSHI: But they seem to know. They seem to have legal advice that says those bonuses are safe. They were legal.

ROMANS: Those bonuses are legal. They are legal, but they were contractually obligated. They were from 2007. They were always meant to be paid out over several years, and it seems as though the Treasury Department, the Obama administration, could not reel that back in.

Now, the pay czar, Ken Feinberg, he has been putting a lot of pressure on behind the scenes. He's been cutting salaries, cutting bonuses elsewhere at AIG, but this $435 million bonus pool just makes people crazy.

And AIG, a spokesperson, told us today, Ali, that they believe, "We believe this allows us to largely put this matter behind us." They point out that 97 percent of the employees that they're dealing with had agreed to take less money than they were legally owed.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: But it's taxpayer money.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: This company would not exist now if it weren't for a huge infusion of taxpayer funds and it makes people a lot of people angry.

VELSHI: You and I talked to a lot of people. I don't think it's behind a lot of Americans just yet, unfortunately. This is their money, and they're hurting.

Christine, great to see you.

And of course, you can see us every Saturday and Sunday, Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3 p.m. Eastern, on "YOUR $$$$$."

Let's have a quick check of the headlines.

President Obama lashed out at Republicans today in a meeting with Senate Democrats. The president blamed the GOP lawmakers for what he calls politically-motivated opposition on nearly every issue. He also urged Democrats to be more aggressive in pushing their agenda.

Three American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in northwest Pakistan today. A senior Pentagon source tells us they were among 70 Special Ops troops on a training mission in a Taliban hotbed near the Afghan border. The blast also killed a Pakistani soldier and three schoolgirls. We'll dig deeper into that this hour with Barbara Starr.

Obama administration officials say they've secretly gained cooperation from family members of the alleged Christmas-Day airline bomber. Two FBI agents flew to Nigeria to meet with the family of Umar Abdulmutallab.

"Fortune" magazine is out with its rankings of the 100 best companies to work for. Our Stephanie Elam is taking a closer look at the list. See if you can guess this next company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This business has it in the bag. What company keeps smiles on employees' faces with an upbeat work environment? We'll tell you after the break.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM (voice-over): What company keeps its employees happy with a fun place to work? Grocery store chain Stew Leonard's.

(COW MOOING)

ELAM: The family-owned business operates four stores in the northeast. The company offers employees a program where moms only work while their kids are in school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very important to me to be with my family and my children, but coming here is also being part of a family.

ELAM: The company rewards employees with a profit-sharing plan and celebrates workers' successes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations.

ELAM: Stew Leonard's is No. 64 on "Fortune" magazine's list of the 100 best companies to work for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Well, there may be a link between the brain chemical serotonin and babies who die of SIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now to tell us about this new study.

Elizabeth, welcome.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this new study is so interesting for us parents, because we're always so terrified of SIDS.

VELSHI: Right.

COHEN: And you know when you have a baby you need to be scared. And people have always asked why? Why does one baby die of SIDS when others don't?

And so what this finds is that babies who died of SIDS, they actually did autopsies on them. And they found they had low levels of serotonin. Serotonin is a brain chemical involved in depression. It's also involved in sleep...

VELSHI: Right.

COHEN: ... for babies. So normally serotonin would tell a baby, "Hey, you're not getting enough oxygen. Wake up" or turn your head, or do something.

VELSHI: Right. COHEN: But here -- oh, and here I want to know this is how you are supposed to put your baby to bed, on their back. That's the best position. But when babies don't have enough serotonin, they somehow don't wake up, or they don't tell themselves, "Hey, move around and find some oxygen."

VELSHI: So it's a lack of serotonin?

COHEN: It's a lack of serotonin. Exactly.

VELSHI: Any idea now? Obviously, the attention now needs to focus on why there might be this lack of serotonin.

COHEN: Right. And what they found is that there's an enzyme that you need to make serotonin, and these babies didn't have enough of that enzyme. Maybe for genetic reasons; maybe because they were ill in some way. They don't know.

VELSHI: Well, what do you do about this if you're a parent? Is there a way to check that your baby might be lacking this enzyme?

COHEN: You know, I am sad to say that for us parents, it doesn't mean anything at this moment. You can't test a baby for serotonin. They did this on autopsies. So for our babies, it doesn't help. Maybe for our grandchildren it will help.

VELSHI: OK.

COHEN: Maybe in years to come, they'll figure out a way to test, and then you would know to be extra vigilant with your baby.

VELSHI: So your best case, if you are concerned, as you should be, about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is to ensure how your baby is placed when your baby goes to sleep?

COHEN: Exactly. Put your baby to sleep on his or her back. Don't over bundle your baby. Just keep them in an outfit. They don't need, you know, 16 layers. Also, no loose bedding, because babies can roll over that and then their faces end up in the bedding, and that's not a good thing.

VELSHI: All right, Elizabeth, thanks very much for that.

All right. When we come back, we're going to take a look at some severe weather. Chad Myers is taking a look at it. You know what? Let's not even bother going back. Why don't we just do that right now?

Chad, you over there?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back, dude, where you been?

VELSHI: I'm making my way to you. You know, I'm new here, right, so I'm not entirely sure what the most direct route from that set that I was on over to where weather is, but I am here. In fact, here we go.

MYERS: "I'm new." How long you going to use that one, dude?

VELSHI: Till I -- till I stop getting lost. But good to see you, my friend.

MYERS: Good to see you. Welcome back.

VELSHI: All right. I'm back. I'm safe.

MYERS: I wore a striped shirt and striped tie...

VELSHI: Nice.

MYERS: ... all week this week.

VELSHI: And I wasn't here.

MYERS: And then you didn't show up. And now I don't wear my striped shirt, and here you are.

VELSHI: I'm back in the game.

MYERS: I'm trying to...

VELSHI: Last night you were here. You know why you were off for a few days, because the last time you were here you warned us about some really bad weather in California and it came to pass, and we thought, "You know what? Chad is scaring the world."

MYERS: And now what's scaring the world is this storm is going to be in D.C., Philadelphia, or maybe Baltimore Thursday night and Friday night. I don't know where yet, because it's still too far out here, still in Texas. But somewhere Friday night and Saturday, there's going to be a foot of snow from either New York City or down -- probably not quite as far south as Richmond, Virginia.

VELSHI: Right.

MYERS: South of there, an ice storm along 85, maybe 95, but probably more like 85 and 81 that may completely stop those interstates. This is -- it's still that time of year. You remember what the groundhog said? Six more weeks of winter? At least there's one more week?

VELSHI: Have we fact-checked this groundhog yet?

MYERS: Yes. Do you know that? Did you hear about this?

VELSHI: I heard somebody was doing that.

MYERS: OK. So here we go: 39 percent of the time the groundhog is correct.

VELSHI: OK. MYERS: So, he said more winter. So, probably not, because 61 percent of the time -- percent of the time he's wrong. So, I'm going with spring.

VELSHI: Let's go with that. But this thing you said is going to hit the eastern seaboard, Philly, New York area. Around when do we start seeing possible traffic problems and weather problems?

MYERS: Friday night, Saturday.

VELSHI: All right.

MYERS: Friday night, Saturday. And I would say more Saturday anywhere from the I-95 corridor all the way down even here to Richmond...

VELSHI: Wow.

MYERS: ... and even into northern -- northern North Carolina and maybe South Carolina. Asheville could get a little bit of ice, but most of the ice is north of there.

VELSHI: All right. So for those people who make those long weekend drives this part of the country, be careful.

MYERS: Pay attention.

VELSHI: We'll be checking on it as -- as the week goes on.

MYERS: All right.

VELSHI: Thanks so much, Chad.

MYERS: Welcome back.

VELSHI: All right. When we come back, we're going to visit Haiti. We're going to find out what the update is in Haiti. Karl Penhaul, as you know, he's been there since day one. We're going to find out what's happening today. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Obviously one of the biggest issues in Haiti, the children, the orphaned children. This was a problem before the earthquake and it continues to be one.

Let's go to Karl Penhaul, he's in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with the latest developments in the case against ten Americans who were trying to take a busload of Haitian children to the Dominican Republic. Karl?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): We've been doing a lot of digging on this, Ali, trying to figure out what the real intentions obviously of the ten American Baptists were. And yes, we have now talked to three Haitian interpreters who were working with the Americans most of last week, and they have told us that on two occasions, the Americans held unauthorized meetings with a Haitian policeman. The Haitian policeman, according to the interpreters, offered to facilitate getting the children, the Haitian babies, across the border into the Dominican Republic even though the Americans had no passports or any official exit permit from the Haitian government.

Now, when I asked one of the interpreters if he believed this was a question of a corrupt cop trying to help the Americans, he said, he did not know. But he did say that that policeman worked at the embassy of the Dominican Republic. When I asked him if he saw any money changing hands, if the Americans may have paid for any help from this policeman, again, the interpreter said he did not know.

But then after that, there were two meetings, one on Tuesday, one on Thursday, and then the bus made it its way to the border with the Dominican Republic. At that stage, Haitian police stopped that bus. When they did, the -- one of the interpreters who was on the bus said the team leader, Laura Styles, one of the American Baptists, put a call in to a man (AUDIO GAP)

And the bus tried to continue its journey. That didn't work out. Now, I talked to the Americans last night about this. I put the allegations to them. They said, yes, they do know a Haitian policeman that worked for the Dominican embassy, and yes, they do know a Dominican that is not a policeman, but a Coast Guard, they say there was no wrongdoing on their part and simply say that god put those men in their way, Ali.

VELSHI: OK. Then, just to make a complicated story a little more complicated, Karl, there was some discussion about a clergyman, the head of Haiti's social welfare agency, said that there was a clergyman involved, knocking on people's doors, asking if they wanted to give their children away.

PENHAUL: Well, this is all the whole problem here. We're talking about 33 Haitian babies and children, and almost all those children were not orphans, nor were they abandoned children. They had one or both parents or being cared for by immediate relatives.

(AUDIO GAP) ... who is now looking after those kids. When I put that to the Americans, they said that they thought those people, those children, were orphans. This is not supposed to be the case.

What the interpreters have also told me is that the Americans initially imposed an age requirement. They told the interpreters to tell parents and guardians that they were looking only for children, aged between zero and 10 years old. There was a 12-year-old aboard the bus, but that we understand from one of the interpreters was done as a personal favor to one of them who had a 12-year-old half brother who they wanted to send in to the Dominican Republic. Ali?

VELSHI: Karl Penhaul, thank you very much for joining us for that update. We'll, of course, continue to go to Karl and others who remain in Haiti to tell us what is going on as the rebuilding effort continues. When we come back, we'll go over to Josh Levs. You've all seen him hard at work at the Stimulus Desk. That is the Stimulus Desk. That project is not over. We continue to delve into agencies and companies that got money from the government, your tax dollars. Find out what's going on with it. We'll visit in with Josh when we come back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right, all last week we showed you our Stimulus Desk hard at work, making phone calls to find out where your tax dollars have gone as part of "The Stimulus Project" here at CNN. "The Stimulus Project" continues with Josh Levs, who is hard at work with the Stimulus Desk getting to the bottom of even more stories.

This, by the way, is the chart we have populated. Every time we look in to a story, you get a yellow dot and every time we concluded the research in to the story, it becomes a green dot. These are the projects we're looking at.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And look at how many more we have. When we left last Friday, there wasn't half of these, it keeps growing and growing all week. And we'll keep digging in to it. Looking at your tax dollars, the $862 billion plan.

And now we're going to talk about the first lady. Michelle Obama, you know, because she had a meeting just yesterday. She's working on the new anti-childhood obesity initiative. We have some video of her meeting. We are looking in to what happened with the tax dollars with that initiative. Because in the past, she has talked But first, let's look at a little clip of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: As a parent, this is an issue that I care deeply about, and I've spoken about on a very personal level. But I've learned that there are many parents around this country who are struggling with this issue, who are concerned about it, and are looking for ways to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Certainly a problem a lot of people care about. So check out this figure. Look at this, $373 million in stimulus funding. It's available to communities, towns, cities, all over the country for these kind of programs. Helping anti-obesity programs. We'll highlight a couple here.

We'll zoom in first to my hometown. I never get to talk about Albany, New York, we'll go to SUNY...

VELSHI: You're from Albany?

LEVS: I'm from Albany.

VELSHI: Wow. LEVS: Yes, I know. Well, see, he's a real New Yorker. To those people, I'm not.

Looking at SUNY, Albany here. They have an interesting project here. We have a screen for you about it. They got a pile of funding to support one of the programs. We can show you this. They got basically over $1 million, $1.1 million, to work on this. It has four full-time employees and they'll hire a fifth. This is for researchers to collaborate with parents of kids who are enrolled in Head Start and community-based groups.

We're also going to go to another place. We'll zoom over to Washington University, St. Louis. This is interesting. They have a project going on there where for parents and kids together. They're getting together, the parents and the kids, and families were where there is some overweight, obesity problems and here's the screen on that one.

We're tracking your millions all over the place. Everything we got for you. $2.3 million for that project, creating eight full-time jobs.

And Ali, just before you and I went on the air, I wanted to pull up the latest statistics on childhood obesity, just how bad it is. Our medical unit got me this. Check this out. The CDC saying kids 12 to 19, 17 percent of our nation's children in that age group are now obese. It's a huge problem for the country and one example here where some public money is going to fund this program.

VELSHI: Right. We know many, many studies that talk about the fact if you can eliminate obesity or at least try to reduce the numbers, the benefit to the health system in general would so be great, because it's such a great cause of heart disease and diabetes.

LEVS: And even economically -- you want to look purely economically, if you get people more healthy and active, they will be greater economic drivers for the country, so you can see the argument towards this. Again, what deserves and doesn't deserve stimulus...

VELSHI: Right. That's not our business. We're just doing the research.

LEVS: We've got the numbers.

VELSHI: Excellent work. Thank you very much.

Let's look at some of today's top stories.

Drive your Toyota, don't drive your Toyota. Conflicting messages today from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He says he misspoke when he told owners to stop driving their recalled cars. He now says get your Toyota in for a fix ASAP. We'll stay on the story all afternoon.

Also in D.C., President Obama is rallying Senate Democrats trying to tell them to finish the job on health care and financial regulatory reform. He spoke at a strategic meeting saying even though the Senate supermajority is gone, quote, "the answer is not to do nothing."

In Los Angeles, the charges could come soon in the half year investigation into the Michael Jackson death. A lawyer for the pop star's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, says his client is ready to surrender. Jackson died suddenly last June after he was given several sedatives.

Alright. Three American soldiers killed by a roadside bomb, and not in Afghanistan or Iraq, but in Pakistan. We'll break it down with Barbara Starr and a report from the Pentagon when we come back.

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VELSHI: Two active wars being fought by the United States, it's often overlooked that many Americans are in danger, even in Pakistan. Three American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in northwest Pakistan. Let's go to Reza Sayah, who has a look at this.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ali, it's very rare for U.S. soldiers to be killed by militants on Pakistani soil, but it happened on Wednesday. You can be sure, the Pakistani Taliban is going to describe this as a major victory against the U.S. soldiers here in this region.

Let's go ahead and tell you what happened. According to the Pakistani army, a convoy traveling in northwest Pakistan was hit by a powerful roadside bomb. Among those killed, three American soldiers, according to a senior Pentagon official. They were members of the U.S. special forces, usually the cream of the crop, when it comes to the U.S. military.

And now remember, the U.S. military is not here in Pakistan engaged in combat. But they are here, about 70 troops, training Pakistani security forces, and that's what U.S. officials say those individuals were doing. Two other U.S. soldiers were injured. One Pakistani soldier killed and three schoolgirls, also killed.

And that's another part of the story that should not be overshadowed, the fact that this blast took place right next to a girls' school. Among those injured, according to a hospital official, 80 schoolgirls.

The last time U.S. military personnel were killed in Pakistan, September 2008, when a powerful suicide truck bomb blew up in front of the Marriott Hotel here in Islamabad. Pakistani military officials say it's too early to tell if these U.S. soldiers on Wednesday were targeted, if, indeed, they were, that certainly shows a remarkable degree of coordination on the part of the militants. Ali?

VELSHI: All right, Reza, thanks for the background on this story.

Let's go to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is joining us now to talk a little more about this. Barbara, when you're watching TV, I'm sure this is what happens with a lot of our viewers. They are used to hearing about U.S. troops who are killed in combat on that side of the world, but the reality that's not the role that the U.S. has in Pakistan, so there's something unusual and unique about this.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, there really is, Ali. As Reza said, there are about 70 U.S. troops in Pakistan, and they are in a non-combat role. Absolutely right.

They are conducting training of Pakistani military forces and paramilitary forces. They're trying to teach them how to up their game, if you will, in going after the Taliban in al Qaeda. It's the real sort of focus of U.S. military strategy in Pakistan, which is so fundamental to the war on terror. Get the Pakistanis more capable of conducting operations on their own.

These troops who were killed today and the other U.S. troops, they conduct training, but they're also trying to teach the Pakistani military forces how to live, work, and operate in these rugged areas with these villagers.

So, a school had been rebuilt. A girls' school. They apparently, by all accounts, had gone there with Pakistani forces. Maybe to do a little training. Maybe to show them, you know, how to work with the local population, and this attack happened. The key question is, did the insurgents know that U.S. forces were going to be there? Were U.S. forces actually being targeted, or was this something where they just happened to be in the wrong place?

VELSHI: And what's the thinking at the Pentagon about whether this sort of thing becomes a danger for U.S. troops? Does that mean we need more U.S. troops there? Does it mean they're engaged in a responsibility that perhaps the United States should be rethinking? what does this incident make them think at the Pentagon?

STARR: Well, I have to tell you, senior military officials are already making it very clear that the U.S. will stick with its training mission in Pakistan as long as that government wants the U.S. to be there.

Now, to be clear, the Pakistanis have already said they don't want any more U.S. troops. They want to keep it small. They want to keep it very low-key. So, don't expect there to be more than these 70 or so troops that move in and out of Pakistan. Security generally is provided by the Pakistani forces. There will be a at this, make sure that everything is being done appropriately. I think U.S. you, they know they're never perfectly safe...

VELSHI: Sure.

STARR: ... anywhere in the world, but it's the mission they've been given to try and help the forces in this very troubled part of the world, Ali.

VELSHI: Barbara, good to talk to you. Thank you for being with us. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon.

All right, it's Black History Month, and one of the things that this reception has really made clear is that African-Americans have been hit very heavily by this. Is it disproportionate or is it the way it's always been? I'll discuss that when I come back.

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VELSHI: Pretty much everybody in country wants to get back to work and it is Black History Month, and the state of jobs in the recession is particularly rough for African-Americans. They would like to get the work 50 percent more than everybody else, because their unemployment rate is 50 percent higher than everyone else's.

Let's talk to Ryan Mack of Optimum Capital Management, joining me, I believe, from Detroit. And Alfred Edmond joining us from New York. He's with BlackEnterprise.com. Ryan, you're from Detroit. This is your hometown. And so, you are looking at a city that has a higher unemployment rate in the country, and now that we are talking about African-Americans, their struggle in places like Detroit is greater. Forget the past for a second, but what does black America have to do to get back to work as the recession winds up?

RYAN MACK, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, last night we were out here with "Money" magazine and Donna Rosotta, as a matter of fact. And we were working with some youth, young adults, aging out of the financial foster care system. And essentially one of the things we were teaching them is financial literacy, teaching them about entrepreneurship, starting their own businesses, teaching them about how to create and manage wealth and teaching them how to manage their wealth more effectively.

And at the end of the day, this is where it is. We are in Black History Month. Madame CJ Walker said it best. She said, "I got my start by making my own start." So a lot of the times, we might not be able to see a lot of the opportunities. But we can't focus on obstacles, but we have to look at the opportunities to move ourselves forward.

VELSHI: Now, for the three of us who have had many conversations over the last couple of years, and Ryan is very steadfast with the idea that while he supports things that the government does to help people, ultimately, personal responsibility may be the biggest road out of financial despair. So what is your view of what African- Americans can do to catch up in the recession?

ALFRED EDMOND, BLACKENTERPRISE.COM: Well, personal responsibility and initiative, I agree with Ryan, is a necessity in all economic times, good and bad times. And certainly that is what Black Enterprise has always espoused, and for African-Americans in particular, even so-called good economic times they have the take initiative to take advantage of the opportunities. So, I don't dispute that.

But however, we held an economic forum on the day after the State of the Union address in Washington last week. We had Jared Bernstein and Hilda Solis and trade representative Ron Kirk and others from the Obama administration, because we want to address some of the things to be done in the short run. There's no way to get around the issue of unemployment in the black community without a serious investment in job training and education resources being invested to accelerate the level of preparedness of African-Americans looking for jobs in this economy.

VELSHI: Well, let's show the viewers something here. Let's talk about the jobless rate in America. We have discussed this a lot. The unemployment rate is 10 percent, and whites have an unemployment rate of 9 percent, so little less than the general population. African- Americans more than 50 percent higher, 16.2 percent. Hispanic and Latinos at 12.9 percent.

So how, Ryan, do you tackle that? Alfred mentioned retraining. What is it exactly that you do to get that 16.2 percent, because it would a major improvement if the unemployment rate for blacks is just as same the rest as the country and not 60 percent higher.

MACK: Well, he definitely had a great point that the government has to make sure they play their role in make sure that they are funding a lot of job training initiatives. However on the other side, there are things that the individuals can do to get active and involved in the job training...

VELSHI: Such as?

MACK: ... a lot of community colleges have free and low-cost training mechanisms. Not-for-profit organizations are out there giving certifications and training. Just about three weeks ago I was an MC at an organization that were training hard-to-employ individuals, most of them black, that were just coming out of prison and essentially giving them over 17 certifications in the field of construction. Over 1.8 million jobs in construction have been lost, so we can start filling these jobs

And with the stimulus money coming in, there is a lot of things in green jobs and green training that are there, but they don't have labor to do so. You can get a lot of free training from the not-for- profits or the local politicians offices or local churches a lot of times have certifications and training courses that you can participate in. So we have to be diligent to make sure we are going out to get the training done effectively.

VELSHI: Alfred, real quick from you, your solution for people who are looking for a which out of this?

EDMOND: Well, I think we've heard it all. African-Americans have to take the initiative and job training and education is critical to solution. The other thing is, one of the ironies of these types of economic environments, the particularly black community is that it is a fertile environment for entrepreneurship, whether they are forced to do it or do it out of choice.

We are getting a lot of early buzz for the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference held in Atlanta in May, and we are expecting a lot of new and aspiring entrepreneurs to be here at the conference in higher proportions than in previous years.

VELSHI: When you do that, you and I will talk, and we'll do something about it here at CNN?

EDMOND: No doubt.

VELSHI: All right. Very good. Alfred, good to see you. Ryan, good to see you. Alfred Edmond is with blackenterprise.com. Senior vice president Ryan Mack is with Optimum Capital Management, joining us from Detroit.

And when we come back, we're going to look into the work of U.S. forces. Women who trained to identify and defuse female suicide bombers.

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