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Power Plant Explosion; Snowstorm in the Mid-Atlantic States; Saints' First Super Bowl
Aired February 08, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: She weighs all of 94 pounds, but no one dares question her toughness especially not on the wrestling mat. That is because this 12-year-old girl is teaching a lesson to the boys who face her and the adults who doubt her. We'll get the details here from reporter Drew Stewart of CNN South Carolina affiliate, WIS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW STEWART, WIS REPORTER (voice-over): In the beginning, only guys were allowed on the wrestling mat. But 12-year-old Genesis Patterson took her place among the organized chaos and her mother was pleased.
However, the ones who aren't pleased are the guys she beats on a routine basis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want her to tear those boys apart, you know. I mean, she's just - she's strong. She's quick. She's got technique.
GENESIS PATTERSON, 12-YEAR-OLD WRESTLER: Well, they usually think they're going to beat me most of the time. But afterwards, they probably don't.
STEWART: Genesis was dragged into the sport after her siblings began taking lessons.
PATTERSON: Well, at first I didn't know wrestling was a sport. I didn't even know it existed. So I was shocked.
STEWART: But it was no shock to the trainer when it turned out Genesis was the one with the talent. She even has a signature move called cheeseburger.
PATTERSON: It's (INAUDIBLE) three quarters. That's like my signature move now.
STEWART: Her wrestling coach Kyle Kimrey was a little skeptical when he saw the 94-pound Genesis show up at practice, but quickly realized this little athlete could be the start of something big time.
KYLE KIMREY, IRMO WRESTLING COACH: Well, if you see her wrestle, you're excited that she's wrestling for you. She's pretty good. She's pretty strong, too.
STEWART: For the time being, she's sticking with wrestling. But Genesis hopes that strength built by wrestling will lead to a beginning in another sport.
PATTERSON: Gymnastics. And try to do Olympics from that.
STEWART: And if that happens, all of her wrestling opponents will be pleased.
From Lexington, South Carolina, Drew Stewart.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Now with those top stories for your Monday morning.
A power plant under construction in Connecticut now in ruins. Check out this mess after this massive natural gas explosion that happened yesterday. State and federal investigators are on their way there today. Search crews also have not finished just going through all this rubble. But right now we know five people are dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's horrible, man. We got some people up there, they got little kids at home. We lost them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: More than two dozen others have been injured. Some say they were tossed 40 feet just by the sheer blast alone. It happened when workers purged a natural gas line.
Space Shuttle Endeavour is a go. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, one, booster ignition, and lift off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: And they had lift off early this morning. With that, Endeavour headed on up to the International Space Station. It will be up there for two weeks. Enjoy the show, because, folks, this is the last scheduled night launch for the shuttles. There are only four more shuttle missions scheduled after this one. Endeavour will be going up there one more time.
And did you watch the game? Call them the super Saints. Listen -- the party still going strong as you can imagine down along Bourbon Street and all over New Orleans this morning. The Saints, your Super Bowl champions. They beat the Colts for their first title in the team's 44-year history.
It doesn't look like we're going anywhere any time soon. Those are words straight from the CNN iReporter from his home, looking a little bit more like the Arctic circle than suburban Maryland. Take a look with me. A winter storm of historic proportions leaving record breaking amounts of snow throughout those mid-Atlantic states, toppling trees.
Good luck digging out that car. Hundreds of thousands of people still without power. They're telling us it could be days before electricity flips back on. Meanwhile, people living there are doing what they can just to try to dig out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yesterday, when we were shoveling, we were afraid that trees were going to be falling on us and stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people over here had their branch come through their front window in the middle of the night and broke it. Our friends down at the other end of the street where I live, they have a beautiful cherry tree, and now it's in the middle of the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: It will also be some time before air travel resumes. Some airports in the region, they are reopening. Expect delays, cancellations because of the backlog, cleaning off the tarmac there, tough job for that guy. Of course, those cancellations and delays causing a ripple effect for air travelers nationwide, though we have heard here at least Reagan National is open officially now. But flights are resuming on a limited basis. Call ahead just to check your flight.
And to make matters worse, another winter storm is headed eastward. Rob Marciano watching this thing, talking timing, snow amounts. Rob, how much? I guess -- what? -- D.C. and general vicinity is seeing between two feet - or rather we'll check in with Reynolds. Sorry, Rob.
We're going to go to Reynolds first, here. Reynolds is out in old town Alexandria. Reynolds, I know you've been flipping and sliding. I guess your camera guys was on the snow and the ice. I hope he's all right. Show me what the roads look like.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, for right now we're on firm ground. The roads are kind of a hodgepodge, really. Some places are better than others. You know, as you mentioned, we're outside of Alexandria, right out Gadsby's Tavern where in 1792, the father of our country, the first president George Washington likely champed on a burger with his wooden teeth, enjoyed some fries and maybe an adult beverage or several.
And I tell you many people this morning are waking up feeling like they're back in the 1700s. Because many, tens of thousands are without power, with many people got water pipes that are broken, without water this morning. So they truly feel they've gone back in time. And all because of this. This snow. Tons of snow that fell in the area and a lot of it, of course, starting to melt a little bit. And then of course, it congealed overnight. A lot of it is now like big pieces that you have to try to get out of the way, out of the road. And the thing is you're going to see a lot of this really form on the road and it's really big clumps of snow and even some ice.
Take a look at this. This has been the real issue and also one of the big problems we've had with some of our guys this morning working out and about. It's not the snow, but it's this nasty stuff you see right down here. It all just sticks to the surface. It's awfully hard to see and when you step on it, you know it because likely you're going, you know, fanny over tea kettle. It happens on a time or two.
Let me tell you something else that we're seeing, a lot of cars that are free and the road ways actually pretty passable in a few spots. Cars have been coming through here. But still, I tell you, all the states, a lot of the officials say in Virginia, Maryland, the surrounding area, telling people if you don't have to get on the roads, by all means, don't do it. You don't need to do that kind of stuff on a day like today.
Wait for the situation to get better. The problem is though the situation may get worse. Because in the forecast, looming farther on to the west we do see another system that's going to be coming through that, yes, has the likely potential of bringing more of this snow, which means potentially more problems.
The person that's going to talk more about that is coming up in just a second. In fact, he's coming up now. He's my friend. He's my buddy, Rob Marciano. Rob, what can we expect next?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More of what you have in your hands. And probably more of Reynolds Wolf lying down in the roadway to illustrate just how slick the roads are. Thanks, Reynolds. Good job out there.
You notice the sunshine behind him and the blue sky, that is good news. High pressure in control at least for a day, day and a half. But then the next thing coming in is going to bring more in the way of snow. These are the white highlighted counties is where we have a winter storm watch that's posted. And that means we expect to see wintry conditions here in the next 36 hours. I don't think New York has been included in that just yet because while the storm hasn't moved quite far enough along. But six to 12 inches potentially on top of what's already there.
One, two pieces of energy kind of convening and coming together and getting itself towards the mid-Atlantic states. And as it does so, it's going to target the same folks. But in the meantime it's also going to hit places like Chicago, places like Memphis, already done that, and in through parts of the central plains.
Temperatures, 26 degrees right now in Washington. Slowly trying to creep above the freezing mark. May do that for a brief amount of time. But I don't think it's going to be enough to melt away more than maybe an inch or two of snow. And here comes the next batch about to roll across the Mississippi River.
So not quite as much, Brook, snow as this last storm. But I think it'll be just as strong as far as the intensity and the winds are concerned. Blizzard conditions are likely going to occur along the Jersey shoreline again. And New York City does get into the act with this (INAUDIBLE) unusually active winter weather pattern certainly for the mid-Atlantic and pretty much everyone east of the Mississippi. We'll talk more, of course, as the morning rolls along.
BALDWIN: Yes, wasn't too long ago D.C. saw, like, 16 inches. But I guess today is the day. If you're going to get out or get in, do it now. Let me let you know if you're trying to get through Reagan, Washington's Reagan National has just now opened. About eight minutes ago. Opened at 10:00 this morning Eastern. Limited flights, we're told. Limited flights. Call ahead to your air carrier. We have a reporter standing by there live. We'll check in with her at the bottom of the hour.
Meantime, repairs for a lot of those Toyotas are under way. But the company's troubles not quite over yet. The carmaker, the largest automaker in the world, by the way, may be preparing to announce yet another recall. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joining me from New York. Poppy, we've been talking floor mat issues...
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes.
BALDWIN: ... sticky accelerators, now problems with the Prius. What is the deal?
HARLOW: We are on to the brakes in the Prius. And this is something, Brooke, we've been hearing about since last week. We want to give you the latest if you're a Prius owner. Here's what you need to know. You may hear from Toyota early this week according to a number of different news reports that they may issue a recall for the 2010 hybrid Prius. The company not confirming that at this point.
Of course, it's pretty late at night in Japan. So we likely won't hear anything from Toyota on that today here in the U.S. but they have said that the solution for the problem with the Prius brakes is near. So they're working on that. One of the dealers here in New York that I just spoke to who sells a lot of Toyotas, he said, we're still selling Prius. I sold one over the weekend. And we're waiting for a final word from the company.
So not even the dealers, Brooke, have heard yet from Toyota what they're going to do about the Prius. However, I should say on the recall issue that Toyota's dealing with in terms of eight of its affected models.
Let's take a look at live pictures right now. That's a Toyota plant. The largest in North America. It is in Georgetown, Kentucky, where they resumed work this morning producing those eight models. Mainly Camrys at this plant. But of course, these fixes, Brooke, as you could guess include the fix to the accelerator pedal that was the entire issue with the first recall.
The only recall so far of those Toyota vehicles. A live picture. As work started about 6:30 a.m. Eastern this morning. Trying to get that company back on track. Brooke.
BALDWIN: So let's see those fixes and mechanics aside, Poppy, I mean, a lot of people have been saying this has been Toyota's biggest PR nightmare. Just in terms of damage control, what is the company doing to try to turn things around?
HARLOW: That's a great question. The head of U.S. sales Jim Lentz came out on our air last week and he talked about the problems. He's also going to be on digg.com this morning. You can get your questions in to him by 11:00 a.m., Brooke. He's going to answer your questions right there. Got a question on Toyota? Ask the man who's in charge of it in the U.S. there on digg.com. We're following this story all day. Brooke.
BALDWIN: Good deal. Poppy Harlow, CNNMoney.com. Thank you.
HARLOW: You got it.
BALDWIN: And offensive in Afghanistan. That NATO doesn't mind telling the Taliban about. And trouble with the TSA. Putting your air safety in the hands of a convicted felon. But first, let's get a quick check on big board up in New York.
The Dow has been down for a couple of weeks now in the red, sitting at 9,982. You can always get your latest numbers. Just go to cnnmoney.com. CNN NEWSROOM rolls on right after this.
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BALDWIN: Time too to check the CNN news pulse, some of the top stories you're clicking on at CNN.com.
Let me take a sneak peek and let you know. The number one story, I guess you got whiskey on your mind this morning. There's a 100- year-old whiskey on ice that's belonging to this Antarctic explorer. It's found on ice. A whole lot of clicks on that.
Second most popular, the analysis of the national tea party, you know, the first convention held over the weekend. And if I click on it I can show you that video. This is kind of cool. Also a lot of people clicking on that story out of Connecticut from yesterday, that big blast, five people died, two dozen injured.
And finally, if you watched the Super Bowl, a whole lot of buzz on those commercials. You can always check the latest most popular stories, just go to newspulse.CNN.com. Just a reminder that page is updated every 15 minutes.
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BALDWIN: In Afghanistan, NATO forces are about to launch their largest offensive since this war began. So why are we telling you this? Well, that's because the Allied troops want the Taliban to know they're coming.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is joining me this morning in London to explain the talk strategy. Nic, whatever happened just to the element of surprise? Why are they coming out and saying we're on our way?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the element of surprise has gone out of the window for several reasons. One is the Taliban have a pretty good way of knowing when an operation is dawning, especially something of this size. Because the shaping operation that's going on right now, the moving in of troops sort of in a perimeter area to seal off the area of the operation, that becomes very clear to them.
As well, since General Stanley McChrystal took over command of NATO troops last summer, he's made it a priority to try and minimize Afghan casualties. And that means letting the people in these villages know that a big operation is coming, leaflets were dropped over the weekend to tell them, get out of the area if you can, if you want to. And the other notion here is that some of the Taliban fighters may, knowing a big operation is coming, choose to put down their weapons and not to fight. That's also part of the message now.
The government, President Hamid Karzai, offering to sort of negotiate and talk to, if you will, Taliban who will put down their weapons. A lot of work. You can bet in this time of advance warning for the Taliban where they say - they're laying in IED and all those (INAUDIBLE) drones flying overhead getting a good picture of exactly what the Taliban is doing on the ground right now. Brooke.
BALDWIN: We keep talking so much about just the sheer size of this particular offensive being the largest since the war began. But are there any other factors here that differentiate this offensive from prior offensives?
ROBERTSON: Well, I think the size and scale is important. Because often in the past, you know, sealing off the area, stopping the Taliban escaping has been a problem. We saw that farther north in Helmand, in the area of Musakawa (ph). It's been a problem in other operations. So that will be significant and different.
But what has been the problem throughout these operations, whichever scale, to sort of secure, hold and build, it's the securing of the operation you can do. But it's the holding and building, bringing in the civilian force behind to convince the population that the forces are there to help. That's always been the tough part in these operations. And it looks as if it's going to be similarly a difficult process with this operation as well, Brooke.
BALDWIN: All right. Well, here is hoping those 80,000 to 100,000 civilians who live in this town are getting out before this massive offensive takes place. Nic Robertson for us in London. Nic, thank you.
The TSA here breaking the rules. In fact, breaking their own rules. Ordering one airport to issue a security badge to a convicted felon. CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is on the security desk in Washington this morning. Jeanne, what airport did this?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This Richmond International Airport in Richmond, Virginia. It's a story where you have aviation security and double standards and second chances all colliding. Here's the basics of the story.
Back in 2002, a screener was hired for the Richmond International Airport. The TSA gave him a security badge. More recently, he applied for the highest level security badge. The airport didn't check his records. The airport discovered there was a felony in his records. Committed within the last 10 years. And under their TSA approved security plan, that disqualified him from getting the highest level security badge.
However, the TSA said give it to him anyway. The reason being that this felony and armed robbery was committed when the screener was 17. He admitted his guild back when he was 18. The TSA gave us this statement. "With respect to juveniles, both the United States government and Virginia do not view juvenile offender adjudications as convictions under federal or state law. Therefore, a TSA employee with a Virginia juvenile offender adjudication for one of the disqualifying crimes would not automatically be prohibited from employment."
However, the local congressman, Eric Cantor, has weighed in on this, too. He's flabbergasted by what the TSA is doing. He says "these actions by TSA defy common sense. This is a matter of national security and our citizens deserve better." This in a letter he wrote to the head of the TSA. Cantor says that this decision to give this man the highest level screening badge undermines our security.
The CEO and president of the Richmond Airport has weighed in, too. He told me he was blown away by this decision. Is this the kind of job, screening, that we should be giving to someone who has committed a felony in his past? Brooke, back to you.
BALDWIN: I think this story kind of begs the question, a, might there be other convicted felons that are working in the same position. And b, what kind of access to the airport would the screener have?
MESERVE: Well, apparently there could be. We don't know for a fact that or any other people with felony convictions but there are 28 disqualifying crimes, if you committed any of them within the last 10 years, you're not supposed to get these high level security passes, which would give you access to, for instance, the air field, the air ramp and also the baggage area of the airport.
So it's a question we don't have an answer to but you know what, Brooke, we'll ask.
BALDWIN: Yes, I'm sure you will. Jeanne Meserve, thank you.
Checking some top stories now, a court hearing is expected today for some of the 20 Americans, those Baptist missionaries held in Haiti. But it's still unknown who's representing them. You see, their attorney resigned over the weekend. That's what he told CNN. He places a lot of the blame for the incident on the group's leader. These missionaries are accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children, trying to take them into the Dominican Republic. These people could face life in prison.
It's not over yet for the folks waking up in the mid-Atlantic area. Thousands still without power from the weekend's snowstorm. Guess what? There's more on the way, apparently. We have much more on the forecast, how the airports are dealing with those delays at the bottom of the hour.
President Obama says he is not giving up on health care. Tomorrow he will be welcoming Senate and House leaders to the White House for talks. They will be discussing health care, the jobs bill and the same group of leaders will be back at the end of the month to concentrate only on a health care compromise. The White House says that meeting will be broadcast live.
And parents, you heard about this new study? Older moms, not just older dads here, older moms need to worry about autism. Find out why.
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BALDWIN: All right, ladies. Here's some more bad news for women who want to have babies later in life. This new study is showing that their children have a higher risk of autism.
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining me now to explain this study. A bunch of us off camera kind of buzzing about this story.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I imagine people were actually freaking out.
BALDWIN: Kind of freaking out. What's the deal?
COHEN: Well, the deal is we should not freak out. But first, I do have to explain what the results are of this study. So this is a study, a really well done study done by the University of California with millions and millions of kids worth of data.
Sow hat they found is a 40-year-old mom has a 51 percent higher chance of having a kid who later - having a baby who later develops autism compared to that 25-year-old mom. So when you look at those numbers, you can understand why that looks scary.
BALDWIN: And when you look at those numbers, my question is why? Why is that?
COHEN: Well, there's two sort of camps here about why this would be. One is a biological camp and it says as we age our DNA changes, not in a good way and we pass those changes on to our babies. Or that for example the longer we're on this earth the more you're going to inhale chemicals and other icky things that you will pass those on to your baby as well. That's sort of one camp.
The other camp says this has nothing to do with our bodies, per se. What it is that more older moms tend to be more educated moms, moms who go to college or graduate school tend to have babies later in life. And there have been lots of studies that show that better educated people are more likely to be aggressive about getting that autism diagnosis for their kid. They've heard of autism. They have a pediatrician. They have the money to pay that pediatrician. And they've heard of autism and they want to make sure that their kid gets that diagnosis if that's what they truly have. Poorer moms don't always have the time, the money, the education to know to do that.
BALDWIN: Right. You're older, you're more aware, you have more access to money.
COHEN: Right.
BALDWIN: Is that why older moms shouldn't be freaked out then?
COHEN: Exactly. As an older mom, someone who had children in her 40s, I think it's important not to freak out. I mean, it is true that as we age there are all sorts of - you know, it's harder to conceive, et cetera, et cetera. But this isn't a reason why you would say, oh, boy, I better have those kids when I'm 25.
BALDWIN: OK.
COHEN: You know what I mean? I mean there are plenty of 25- year-olds who have kids who later develop autism.
BALDWIN: Right.
COHEN: So I think it's really important to remember that you want to have kids when it's right for you and not because of some statistic.
BALDWIN: Because of some study.
COHEN: Right. Let's say you're not married at age 30. What are you going to do, just go out and have a kid because you're worried about the study? That would be crazy.
BALDWIN: Right. OK. We're aware.
COHEN: Yes.
BALDWIN: Thank you for educating us. Elizabeth Cohen.
COHEN: OK.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
So, the president over the weekend jokingly referred to it as snow-maggedon. But the mid-Atlantic storm is no laughing matter for a lot of you without power, who are trying to travel this Monday. And now, guess what? A second snowstorm is on the way. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It's almost carnival time in Brazil. The samba queen at the center of its national controversy down there because there she is. She is seven years old. This is Julia Lira. She's been chosen to lead one of the samba school's performances next week. That means staying up late and wearing a costume with not a lot of fabric and dancing a dance a lot of people consider pretty suggestive. But those are her parents. And they're saying, hey it's OK.
But a family judge is deciding whether or not they should block her participation. And that brings us to today's blog question. We've been asking you whether you think this seven-year-old should be allowed to lead the samba carnival. Just go to cnn.com/kyra. Post your thoughts. I'll read them live on CNN in just 20 minutes.
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BALDWIN: Here's a heads up if you're waking up in California. Mandatory evacuation orders being lifted in the southern part of the state. That is where all those mudslides collapsed walls and caved in roofs. There he is. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger touring the area yesterday. At least 43 homes were damaged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Behind that main door, there's a glass door that's holding all this pressure. If that breaks, then I'm going to walk away.
It's a battle. It's an emotional time for my family. With all the odds against you, with all the economy fighting, and last night I'm saying, now what?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Governor Schwarzenegger himself offering to help with that clean-up.
And on the other coast, no mud. At least not yet. Just a whole lot of snow. Crews in the mid-Atlantic region just really working to clear those roads. Look at all those plows, the salt, the sanding trucks all along the tarmacs trying to get people out.
Our own correspondents are out and about as well. Just to bring you the latest. Sarah Lee standing by for us at Reagan National, where it's opening, at least in a limited way. But also, Rob Marciano watching the next snowstorm targeting the mid-Atlantic. Yes, I said next. Rob, how long do we have at, say, Reagan Airport before those tarmacs get covered again?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Our correspondent Sarah Lee is live from that airport with the latest. Hello, Sarah. SARAH LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, because of your forecast, there were a lot of passengers who'd been cooling their heels now headed out to the airport, scrambling to get out of dodge before that snow does hit.
Taking a look at the board here, you can see that some of the canceled indicators here are moving to on time. These boards are changing. Because 10:00, they reopened this airport.
But if we take a look outside, you can see that there's still no aircraft here at this ramp. But there is a luggage cart that's starting to move there. We're seeing a lot of passengers with boarding passes in their hands, very happy to be considering the possibility of finally getting out of D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
Last night in Baltimore, they started limited service. Out at Dulles, they've had two runways open now. More flights in and out of there. But again, as of 10:00 this morning here at Reagan National Airport, they did start limited service. But they're trying to get as many people out of here as they can, because on an average, they have about 700 flights that run in and out of Reagan each day. And they've been backlogged since this storm.
Now with Rob's prediction, they have more snow coming on the way. So, they are really trying to move passengers out of here as quickly as they can. Brooke?
BALDWIN: I guess the biggest takeaway if you're headed out of Reagan, call ahead of time and see if your flight actually is leaving.
Sarah Lee, thank you.
Big news, we think, out of L.A. today. Michael Jackson's doctor, the clock runs down. The legal problems add up. We'll tell you about the charges that are about to be filed.
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BALDWIN: All right. You know that song. While new developments in Michael Jackson's death, we have a new investigation, new development in the investigation into Michael Jackson's death. Minutes ago, we confirmed that Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, is prepared to surrender this afternoon. Then he's expected to be arraigned in the pop star's death.
I want to get the latest on this developing story right now from our own CNN's Ted Rowlands, live outside of an L.A. courthouse. Ted, I know we were hearing today is the day. What are you expecting?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. We're hearing today's the day. Of course, last Wednesday we heard that was the day and Thursday and Friday. Today is the day, apparently, according to Dr. Murray's attorneys. They are going to be coming to this courthouse near the Los Angeles Airport at 1:30 Pacific time to surrender Dr. Murray after a long back-and-forth. You can see outside the courthouse here, the media has been camped out. We're also understanding that Michael Jackson fans now are going to come out here as well today to add to the circus-like atmosphere. The district attorney's office last Friday said after not commenting for a good week that they will file charges today.
We do expect those charges against Conrad Murray to be involuntary manslaughter charges. So, what'll happen today basically is they'll file with the clerk of court here in this courthouse today. There'll be a little bit of a time lapse. And then at 1:30 Pacific time we're expecting Murray to show up with his legal team and get processed inside this courthouse.
What Murray's legal team had hoped from the beginning was that you wouldn't see that shot of Conrad Murray in handcuffs being dragged away. They're hoping that by coming here to the courthouse, he'll just be processed inside the courthouse, a judge will deal with him, he'll be bailed out, and then afterwards his attorneys will answer some questions about the charges.
But, you know, who knows what's going to really happen here, brooke. We'll have to watch out. We've got cameras around the courthouse -- and we have for the last four days, expecting this surrender which hasn't happened. It's just been a bizarre back-and- forth behind the scenes. All orchestrating this surrender. It's such a high-profile case, of course, there's interest worldwide on this.
And it's just -- the authorities really wanted to do it right. They said safety was a concern. But also a lot of internal politics, apparently.
Today, right now, we think, is the day, though, we'll finally see what the district attorney is going to charge Michael Jackson with (sic) after a six-month investigation.
BALDWIN: Yes, I guess there's no surprise with all those live trucks and the media presence covering this thing, and we appreciate you camping out the last few days. My question is, any reaction? Have you been hearing anything from Michael Jackson's family about all of this?
ROWLANDS: They have been withholding official comment until they see the charges. Privately, they're saying they would like a little bit stronger charge than involuntary manslaughter. Joe Jackson did send out a message on his Web site to Michael Jackson's fans, urging them if they do come to the courthouse to be peaceful. But that's about it so far from the family. I suspect starting tonight after these charges are filed, we'll get some reaction.
BALDWIN: Again, you were hoping for this -- we're thinking this is going to happen 1:30 p.m. your time.
ROWLANDS: We should know the charges in the next hour or so when the courthouse opens and they file with the clerk here. Then we expect Murray to show up here at 1:30 Pacific time.
BALDWIN: Got it. Ted Rowlands, have a feeling we'll be seeing you all day long on CNN. Thank you for standing out there.
ROWLANDS: Yeah.
BALDWIN: Our other top stories now for you.
This hour in Phoenix, the Iraqi immigrant accused of killing his daughter reportedly was becoming, quote, unquote "too Westernized" for him, he will be getting a better idea of the justice system. (INAUDIBLE) has a pretrial conference this morning relating to the murder charge he now faces.
Remember this? he's accused of running over his daughter in the middle of a parking lot. It happened last October. She died days later from her injuries.
No problems for NASA launching the space shuttle Endeavour early this morning. There she goes. Six-person crew lifting off just after 4:00 a.m. Eastern. NASA scrubbed Sunday's scheduled launch because of the lower cloud cover. Endeavour, by the way, on this two-week mission up to the International Space Station where it will be delivering another connecting nodule. Basically another room to the expanding facility.
U.S. military officials are surprisingly glib about this major battle looming in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Taliban stronghold there. It's called Operation Mustaraq (ph) which means together in Dari (ph). We are told U.S. and Afghan forces will fight side-by-side in large numbers since this coalition is striking, as I said, really at the heart of the Taliban stronghold in Helmand. This town of Marjah. Afghan president Hamid Karzai says he's welcoming the new mission and stresses the safety of Afghan civilians.
She is a teeny star on a very large stage. So, why are people so outraged over this? We'll head to Brazil where a national debate is now boiling over.
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BALDWIN: We are on Dow watch again. The blue-chip average dipping below 10,000 again this morning, still under that 10,000 mark right now. Stephanie Elam has been watching those numbers for us out of New York. Stephanie, whew! Not looking good.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. It's not our friend today, Brooke, that's for sure. Shaping up to be another tough day on Wall Street. Maybe just a tough week. The Dow has dropped four weeks in a row. The last time we saw a losing streak like that was, well, in July.
There are a few things at work here today. One is debt overseas. Investors are worried that some of the European countries, mainly Greece, are drowning in debt. And the concern is that could spark another credit crunch in Europe. Those issues could spread.
There are also still a lot of questions about new rules President Obama proposed to restrict some trading at big U.S. banks. Those fears among other things have fueled the Dow's nearly 6 percent fall over the past month. Without any economic reports to go on today, those fears are still having an impact.
Let's go ahead and take a quick look here. See, the Dow is off 35 points now, 9976. It's off about a third of a percent. NASDAQ lower by about half a point. So, we actually did see some green for the NASDAQ. But it's right at the flat line at 2140. We'll keep your eyes on it, Brooke. Back to you.
BALDWIN: All right, Stephanie. Thank you.
Big business story we've been watching possibly affecting some of these numbers, this Toyota story. We talked about the two recalls. Now problems with the Prius brakes.
We want to take you live inside. This is one of these assembly plants. This is a live look inside a plant in Georgetown, Kentucky. This plant, by the way, is huge. Something like 7.5 million square feet. The size of more than 150 football fields.
Why are we showing you these pictures? Remember, Toyota had shuttered, I think, it was a has dozen plants in North America because they were stopping production on some of these cars because of one of these recalls. They're putting these Camrys together. Basically, they have finally reopened them this morning. This one opening at 6:30 a.m. Eastern time as Toyota has finally announced that fix for the sticky accelerator.
And CNN's Iran Desk. Let's take a live look. Our team gathering all the latest details on the new concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
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BALDWIN: There are some new concerns today regarding Iran and its nuclear enrichment program. Tehran says it's stepping up its enrichment of uranium. It's a process that could be crucial to creating nuclear weapons.
The U.S. has condemned this move. But let's go straight to someone who knows a little bit more about this. CNN's Ivan Watson joins me live from the Iran desk. And Ivan, a lot of people don't really understand what's going on. We're hearing they're enriching uranium to 20 percent. What does that mean? What should I be worried about?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's highly enriched uranium. It's called that. The reason this is rather interesting, the timing, is because Western governments have been trying to negotiate with Iran for some time now to do a fuel swap. To basically provide Iran with 20 percent enriched uranium, the talks have been going on for months and months and months.
And on Sunday the Iranian president just came out and said, "You know what? We're going to do it ourselves." And that really has exasperated Western governments as well as their European allies. Today, the French foreign minister, he said the only thing to do now is to apply sanctions because negotiations are impossible. On Sunday, the German defense minister, he just called this whole negotiating process with the Iran a farce. Brooke?
BALDWIN: Also, Ivan, this week significant because it's the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
WATSON: Absolutely. We're covering it here from the Iran Desk because the government crackdown has been so strict there, almost all foreign journalists barred from operating there. So, many Iranian journalists arrested that a prominent human rights organization has called it the world's biggest prison for journalists.
Now, what we've seen is the government of Iran coming out hard, saying opposition protests will not be tolerated this week on the 31st anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic republic. What we saw was the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, he gave an address to air force commanders today. And he basically said the enemies of Iran, of the Islamic revolution -- and in that he's basically including the domestic opposition, people who accused the government of rigging presidential elections last summer. He's accusing them of using such employs as human rights or democracy to find fault with Iran. He's calling them counterrevolutionaries.
We've seen thousands of opposition activists, leaders, people who helped create the Islamic republic in Iran thrown in prison. In fact, a former deputy foreign minister, he just got six years in prison just this weekend for plotting to overthrow the government. And last week, as another warning to the opposition not to come out into the streets during these state-sponsored celebrations, they executed two opposition activists accusing them of being enemies of God. Brooke?
BALDWIN: All right. Ivan Watson, good to see you back from Haiti. Now wearing a new hat, covering the Iran desk. Ivan, thank you.
Still ahead here, a queen and her court.
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BALDWIN: But beneath the music, a chorus of complaints. We'll tell you why this little girl, seven years old, has ignited a national debate in Brazil.
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BALDWIN: She is the Samba queen. And a star of the saucy carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro. But beneath the make-up and glitter, really, is just a seven-year-old girl and this national debate over whether she is too young. We'll get the details now from CNN's Rafael Romo.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): Like any other girl her age, Julia Lira likes playing with her friends and siblings. What makes seven-year-old Julia different is the costumes she likes to wear.
And she definitely stands out when she starts dancing. Especially in front of a large audience. Julia says she likes the rhythm of samba, but seems completely unaware that she's at the center of a national controversy in brazil.
MONICA LIRA, MOTHER OF JULIA LIRA (via translator): My daughter has always loved to dance. She has always danced at home. But I never imagined she would get to this level. She was very well accepted at the samba school, and also by the community.
ROMO: Julia was named drums court queen for a performance in the upcoming carnival celebrations. That role is normally given to scantily clad models whose job is to engage the drummers by incorporating sensual moves into their dancing. But Julia's father says the only thing that will be on display is her dancing talent.
MARCO LIRA, JULIA LIRA'S FATHER (via translator): My daughter is seven years old. I ask you, who in the world would have their daughters participate in a parade if they knew that she would be seen as something sensual?
ROMO: Sexual exploitation of children is still a problem in Brazil, and many here say allowing the girl to dance during carnival sends the wrong message.
JOICE HURTADO, SAMBA SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVE: I think there is no sense to a thing like that. Because she's just a girl, a little girl. She likes to dance. And the parents, they think there is no problem -- there is any problem with that. They will be with her all the time.
ROMO (on camera): The case is now in the hands of a family court here in Rio. The judge is asking questions about the girl's role in the parade, the costume she will be wearing and also how late into the night she will be performing.
(voice-over): We waited until midnight for an interview with the girl and her parents. Then she performed for a crowd of more than 6,000 at 3:00 in the morning at the samba club managed by her father and under the watchful eye of her mother, who happens to be a police officer. The judge is expected to rule on the matter in the next few days.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Rio de Janerio.
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BALDWIN: How about that? So, that brings us to today's blog question. We asked you whether you think the seven-year-old girl should be able to lead the samba at carnival. And here's what you had to say.
Colleen says, "The girl is too young to be displayed to publicly and provocatively. It's as inappropriate as the children's beauty pageants in the U.S." Wendy says, "It is called exploitation. A child can dress up and dance any way she wants to at home in front of her family. For a carnival, is a different matter entirely."
Randy writes and says, "Why should it be a problem for her kid to dance in her culture's traditional style when American kids the same age get dolled up and paraded around at beauty pageants all the time?"
Howard, last one, "This is brazil's national dance. Let the poor girl alone. Just because we as Americans don't approve, it is not our place to judge other cultures because they're different from ours."
Thank you, all of you, for writing in. Remember, we always want to hear from you. All you have to do is logon to CNN.com/kyra to share your comments.
And with that, I'm going to hand things over to my man, Tony Harris.
