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Digging Out From the Blizzard; New Afghan Offensive; Scrambling for Shelter in Haiti

Aired February 08, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Brooke, good to see you. Thank you. It is Monday morning, February 8th. And here are the faces of the stories behind today's headlines. Nicole Pozen, Toyota driver and crash victim, a terrifying ride in a Tundra pickup truck. She couldn't stop.

Charles Jonas, earthquake survivor rebuilding his home in Haiti with scraps from the rubble.

And Julia Lira. Boy, you got to see this piece again. Folks are talking about it all over the country. Carnival samba queen. Rio chooses a 7-year-old for a job usually held by nearly naked women. And the world gasps.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, after some of the heaviest snow in years, the Mid-Atlantic states are digging out. The snow is two to three feet in some areas. Dulles Airport got 32 inches, shattering the old snowfall record.

And guess what? The region is about to get hit again. Are you kidding me?

CNN Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in Alexandria, Virginia.

Reynolds, look, how would you like to be a street crew member today? You haven't done away with the mess from the last snow, and here comes another blast.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I know, man. It's hard to believe.

We're coming to you from a place that certainly has had plenty of snowfall. Many of the places here in Alexandria, Virginia, well over 20 inches of snowfall. But obviously the sun is out. And from where I stand at this point, right here at the corner of Cameron (ph) and North Royal Street (ph). it's kind of like a little snow-free oasis for the time being.

Now, on the other side of that camera you've got Tony. And Tony -- not Tony, but Tony Aroni (ph). What we're going to do is I'm going to hop over this, where you see the snow all stacked up. We've got two Tonys we're dealing with today, and plenty of snow. And I'll tell you, you've seen a lot of cars going that have been going out and about. And the cars on many of the roads, things are still slippery, but they are passable.

However, officials in Virginia and Maryland are telling people if you can avoid the roadways, by all means, do so. But still, if you want to get out, some people do have that option.

However, Tony, for other people, well, it's just trouble trying to find their car. I mean, take a look at this one, for example.

Well, you know, from this vantage point we kind of think it's a car. It appears to have a couple of wheels. I'm guessing that might be a wheel. This might be a gas tank. There appears to be a bumper down here.

It's a mess. And with more snow in the forecast, it certainly is going to be a tough time for people to be digging their cars out. Hopefully they'll get to it today, because they could see another six to 12 inches of snowfall through this region once again.

Now, this car certainly not alone. If you take a gander up the street here, you can see a few others just like it. And the reason why you see the snow piled on -- and it's not just from the stuff falling from the sky -- but when the plows come right through these streets, they'll clean the streets, but to the detriment of the cars that happen to park along the sides. So it's going to be a big issue for a lot of folks.

In terms of the roadway travel, we've been talking about how that's still treacherous. When it comes to Metro travel in D.C., underground railroads doing fine. Above-ground railroads, they're not going to be working for Metro. So certainly you've got that cut out for you.

That is the latest we've got for you from Alexandria and some of the surrounding area. Now let's kick it back to you in the studio.

HARRIS: All right, Reynolds. Appreciate it. Thank you.

WOLF: You bet.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right. The morning's other big stories for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Booster ignition and liftoff of Shuttle Endeavour, NASA's final...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. Space Shuttle Endeavour streaked into orbit before dawn today, heading for a Wednesday hookup with the Space Station. Astronauts will attach a new room to the floating science lab. Four shuttle launches remain on NASA's schedule.

Investigators are expected to comb the scene of a deadly blast in Middletown, Connecticut, today. They are looking for what caused an explosion at a power plant that was under construction. At least five were killed yesterday, more than two dozen others injured. The blast was heard as far away as 20 miles.

Toyota's top American executive is online, live this hour. He is answering customers' recall questions at Digg.com. It appears Toyota's next recall will be the 2010 Prius. Toyota dealers say they've been told the company plans to repair the problem with the hybrid's brakes.

New Orleans -- man. Who dat? Still celebrating after last night's history-making Super Bowl win, the Saints put it on the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17. It's their first championship, and the fans couldn't be more excited.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is everything. This is -- collectively, this is the happiest days of our life through the region, Louisiana, the Gulf Coast. Thank you, everybody, for your support. We are truly the happiest place on Earth. Disney World has nothing on New Orleans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now to the war front. U.S., NATO and Afghan forces preparing to launch their biggest offensive since the start of the war. They're zeroing in on heavily-populated Marjah. Residents are fleeing, militants digging in.

Details from CNN's Atia Abawi in Helmand Province.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As President Barack Obama's new troops begin trickling in as a part of a 30,000-force surge, the U.S. coalition and Afghan government are abnormally vocal about the next major battle. NATO and Afghan forces will be fighting side by side in major numbers.

Operation Musharak (ph), a word meaning "together" in Dari, is said to have already begun in its shaping phases ahead of a full- fledged assault. The target, Marjah, the last major Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province. Its fertile land is ripe for farming poppies, and the absence of government keeps the drug trade alive and strong.

GEN. LARRY NICHOLSON, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Where else would we go? It's the only place left in the Marine -- in his brigade area of operations that we're not in.

So I think it's fairly inevitable. And I think there's a certain strength in this Pashtun culture from just trying to lay it out there and saying, hey, you know, we are coming. Deal with it.

ABAWI: Nearly 100,000 people live in Marjah, and the operation is an example of General Stanley McChrystal's strategy to focus on population centers and separate the Taliban from the people, and then try to gain their trust.

NICHOLSON: I really think that the preponderance of force, going big, strong and fast, will reduce the opportunities for civilian casualties. Our guys are well trained. And I think we've demonstrated over the last 10 months, we get it.

ABAWI: The coalition says they are preparing for a bloody battle, boosting its hospital staff. Most casualties are expected to be caused by the number one killer of coalition troops -- improvised explosive devices.

LT. CMDR. GREGG GELLMAN, U.S. NAVY: The way that they're planting them and burying them is butting them deep in the ground so that they just blow straight up.

ABAWI: In Helmand alone, more than 80 percent of casualties among foreign groups are because of IEDs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And for more on this major military offensive, we turn to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.

And Barbara, good morning to you. A couple of questions for you.

Why is the military talking about this operation ahead of time?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really extraordinary, Tony, because we all know that the military always says we don't talk about future operations. They want the element of surprise.

This time, General McChrystal has made a very deliberate decision to let the word go out, because what he hopes, at least, is the Taliban will pack up and leave, his troops can move in, provide security, and that there's no place for the Taliban to come back to. But it's a risky strategy.

HARRIS: Well, let's talk about the risk. What are the risks of talking about an operation that you're planning ahead of time?

STARR: Well, you know, what if the Taliban don't just pack up and leave? As Atia pointed out in her report, they have IEDs, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades. This is also very tough terrain.

This is an area that is interlaced, if you will, with irrigation canals, mud brick walls, a farming area. This is going to be an area where you're not going to see armored vehicles, but you're going to see troops moving on foot, very slowly, trying to gain ground inch by inch in an area that could be laced with those IEDs -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Barbara, when you talk to Pentagon officials, what are they predicting here? Will the Taliban cut and run or fight?

STARR: Well, they point to two cases in the past. When the U.S. Marines moved into Helmand, the Taliban did cut and run. When the British moved in, the Taliban stayed and fought. So nobody can really completely guarantee one way or the other.

The Taliban don't always run away. And when they do, they often leave those IEDs and suicide bombers behind. So there's a lot of concern about how all of this may shake out -- Tony.

HARRIS: Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, for us.

Barbara, appreciate it. Good to see you. Thank you.

And tomorrow marks four weeks since a major earthquake devastated Haiti. CNN reporters are still on the ground bringing you the stories of how people are rebuilding their lives.

And Rob Marciano is back in the CNN Weather Center. A rainmaker in the South could become the next big snowstorm event for the Mid- Atlantic.

We'll check back in with Rob.

But first, let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange for a look at the Big Board.

I think we're pretty much -- well, we were flat. And we're in positive territory now, up about 10 points.

We will check in with Stephanie Elam a little later.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Rebuilding Haiti. Reconstruction continues in the quake-ravaged country, but not without major difficulties. A major priority right now, finding shelter for about a million displaced people.

Here's what we know.

Haitian officials say more than 200,000 people have died. Sanitation and protection from disease is a growing concern. Seven organized settlements having set up for about 42,000 displaced people. About 460,000 remain in about 315 makeshift camps scattered across Port-au-Prince.

Flights landing in Port-au-Prince have dropped dramatically, from about 120 every day to about 80. Humanitarian groups, partnering with local radio stations, are now broadcasting info on food and vaccines. And aid groups are now shifting from building tents to stronger, do- it-yourself housing units.

That housing may not be much to look at, but for thousands of displaced Haitians it is a place to call home.

Charles Jonas is one of the faces of the story today, an earthquake survivor forced to rebuild using pieces pulled from the rubble.

CNN's John Vause has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a hammer and machete, Charles Jonas is building a new home.

"The corrugated iron came from my old house," he says. "The wood I got from around here."

He doesn't know how long he'll live like this with his wife. But with a shortage of tents, he says, he had to do something.

Across Port-au-Prince, it seems there are hundreds of thousands of people just like Charles. Sprawling shantytowns seem to grow larger and more permanent every day. This one is just across from the presidential palace.

Street vendors have set up shop. The women with the buckets are walking pharmacies.

(on camera): So, the people here are building these homes with whatever they can find -- sheets of corrugated iron, pieces of wood. This is actually what's left over from an outdoor billboard.

We asked this lady if we could go inside and have a look at her house. She said yes. So come on in.

Bonjour.

So, inside here, this is all she has left. There's a bed, another bed, a mirror, some pots and pans. And inside this dark, hot, cramped house, she lives with her husband, her sister and her four children.

(voice-over): On the streets, garbage is piling up and a pungent smell is a sharp reminder there's no sanitation. Ideal conditions for the spread of disease, say health workers.

(on camera): Are you going to get these people out of these conditions and soon?

ISAAC BOYD, CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES: As quickly as possible.

VAUSE (voice-over): Isaac Boyd from Catholic Relief Services is planning to move up to 200,000 patients into semi-permanent camps over the next two months. That will be home for up to five years.

BOYD: I haven't seen anything like this really before. And that's saying a lot. I've worked in a lot of different contexts. VAUSE: Thousands of tents are being given out, but that's just a fraction of what's needed. Doctors Medicins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, says these are strong enough to weather a hurricane. Welcomed news for Frank Bifaler (ph).

(on camera): You've been sleeping out in the open for almost a month now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oui. Si.

VAUSE: So when he walked inside for the first time, he took off his shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

VAUSE: John Vause, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And CNN's Anderson Cooper is back in Haiti providing coverage on the rebuilding effort. "AC 360," weeknights at 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right. Shifting tactics in the race to shelter an estimated one million Haitians displaced by the earthquake, we will have more on that in a story coming up a little later.

But still ahead, the next time you get your credit card statement, you need to do this -- you need to take a really good look at it. We're going to tell you about changes that are in the works, and we don't want you to lose any more money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So here we go.

Two weeks from today, new federal credit card rules take full effect.

CNN's Christine Romans shows us what you'll see when you open your bill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Tony, new credit card rules will be an important protection and a shock for millions of Americans who, for the first time, will see clearly in black and white on their statements how expensive it really is to borrow money on credit cards.

Your credit card bill will show exactly how long it will take to pay off your balance if you pay only the minimum. And it will tell you how much you'll have to pay each month to be debt free in three years.

Think of this. A $10,000 credit card debt, about the American average, would take 48 years to pay off if you make only the minimum payment at 18 percent interest and make no new charges. Your statement will now clearly show these figures.

These new rules start February 22nd. From then on, they must give you 45 days' notice before raising rates or slapping you with fees. Most cards cannot raise your interest rate at all for the first year.

No more overdraft fees. You have to tell your credit card company you want them to let you go over your limit and charge you.

And anyone under 21 must either have a cosigner or show they have steady income. But watch out. According to the analysts at Credit.com, your credit card company can still drop you without notice, slash your credit limit, slap on imaginative new fees like inactivity fees and annual fees, and they can still raise your rates after the first year or after you're late.

Bottom line, know the rules. These important protections won't help you much if you don't pay on time -- Tony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. Christine, thank you.

So, you've seen the snow. What about the mud? Heavy rains are soaking the Los Angeles area, and mud is everywhere it is not supposed to be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Your job, your retirement. The economy is depleting the Social Security surplus. And, oh, yes, this impacts you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The Social Security Administration's coffers are shrinking, and fast. The agency could see a cash deficit as early as this year. I think that's a lot earlier than any of us thought.

Stephanie Elam is in New York with details.

And Stephanie, look, this has some major implications. It's the government's largest social program.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No, it's true, Tony.

It's a $700 billion program. And for most retirees, those monthly checks are a major source of income, if not the only source they're really living off of. But most analysts say Social Security could have a negative cash flow this year. That means the agency will be taking in less in payroll taxes than it's spending on benefits. The forecast is based on a report from the Congressional Budget Office, and the last time that's happened was the early 1980s -- Tony.

HARRIS: Wow. All right.

So, Social Security's longevity, really, come on, it's been talked about for decades, and often talked about as an issue for the future.

What sort of sped this whole process up here?

ELAM: Yes, right. We used to talk about something that would happen way out in the distance.

HARRIS: Yes.

ELAM: But there's that little thing that started in December, 2007, and we think may have ended last summer called the recession. And that's really thrown a monkey wrench into things here.

First, Social Security is bringing in fewer tax dollars. Think about it. Its current workers who help to finance Social Security by way of a payroll tax. If you're not working, you don't have people working, you can't tax them. But since so many people have lost their jobs, there's just not that amount of people out there who are feeding into it.

Secondly, the Social Security Administration has been paying out more in benefits. That's because more and more people are retiring.

So, if you think about all those baby boomers who are coming of age, and the amount of monthly checks that are increased over the last year because oil prices were at record levels, one thing I should point out, while there was a cost of living increase last year, there will not be one this year. So, still, though, it's something that we'll be keeping our eyes on.

Today, however, investors doing a bit of a flat-line dance here on the market numbers. Our continuing fears about the global recovery, that's feeding in, although the numbers don't look nearly as bad. Maybe the markets are happy that Tony Harris is back from his vacation.

The Dow off four points, back above 10,000 --10,008. And Nasdaq up seven points, at 21.48 -- Tony.

HARRIS: Well, I'm back, happy and rested. That's a leading indicator of good times to come. Celebrate good times -- come on.

ELAM: That's a good thing. We like it when you're like that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Stephanie, good to see you. ELAM: You too.

HARRIS: All right. The government already pays for the census with our tax dollars, of course. So why does the Census Bureau need stimulus money?

Our Josh Levs has been digging into that.

Josh, what have you found so far?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, you and I really need to talk about this one.

HARRIS: Yes. I'm with you.

LEVS: We need to talk about this, because what we've been doing at The Stimulus Project, right, we've been looking at this $862 billion stimulus that passed last year where all those billions of dollars went. We've been piecing through all sorts of different projects to try to figure out where they go. And this one thing really caught our eye right here, this billion dollars for the Census.

I want everyone to understand how this works. The Census got a billion dollars from the stimulus, but the government already funds the census. They're expecting it to cost $14 billion. And the whole point...

HARRIS: Why, why, why, why, why?

LEVS: Right. Don't you look at that and say, what?

HARRIS: Why?

LEVS: Because the point of the stimulus is supposed to be putting money into sectors that there are done have money, right?

HARRIS: Right.

LEVS: So why would they get a billion when they're already getting government funding? Well, we asked the Census, what is the deal here? And they gave us this, I want to show you this because this should help us understand a little bit. This shows what they're doing with that billion dollars.

Now, $754 million, so three-quarters of it is going to local costs. So basically getting people out there. The rest of it, the remaining 250 is broken up into these programs -- advertising and outreach, partnerships, these agencies that they work with out there to reach communities that might be undercounted, and also follow-up to make sure they get the right information.

The Census, Tony, tells us this -- this is interesting -- this stuff down here, about $250 million, is actually going to do things that the Census would not have done otherwise. So they're beefing up operations beyond what they would have done. More advertising and outreach, more partnerships, more follow-up. But, Tony, this right here, this $754 million, the Census told us is going to go to what would have been funded anyway. So let's just sit on that for a second.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: $754 million of the stimulus going to something that would have happened anyway, they were already going to be funding this.

HARRIS: How is that stimulus then, right?

LEVS: Right. That's the key question here. So what we did was we approached the administration and we said explain this to us. Why three quarters of a billion dollars for something that would have funded anyway? And they got back to us, the Commerce Department said -- well, here's their explanation. They said, by putting stimulus money into it, they got people out working sooner. So they're working sooner, the money's flowing sooner, they're out there doing jobs sooner. But they were going to do it anyway.

HARRIS: Can I jump in here for a second? The idea of stimulus money was to go to projects that would not have otherwise been funded, at least that's my thought in construction on what -- am I wrong here?

LEVS: That's how we understand it. I said to the Census, do you guys have an opinion on this about using three-quarters of a billion dollars for something that's not new work, that would have been done otherwise? They say, if you have that strict view of what the stimulus money is, then yes, it doesn't fit under that view. But then the Commerce Department jumps in and their argument is it got people working sooner.

We just leave it up to all of you to decide what should and should not get stimulus money. This is a really interesting one we found here. Three-quarters of a billion dollars of the Census funding, what would have happened anyway, just sooner.

HARRIS: With that kind of loose definition, I could come up with a couple of reasons to justify some stimulus dollars into my pockets. But anyway, that's a discussion for later.

LEVS: Do we want to know, Tony? Do we want to hear that.

HARRIS: No, no.

Josh, appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

You know, supermodel Beverly Johnson, there she is, describes an ugly childhood scene -- seeing the pool drained after her all-black swim team competed at the white kids' school. It is just one story in a documentary about the struggles and triumphs of famous African- Americans. We're going to talk about it next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: You know, when you hear the term "blacklist," what do you think of? Being shunned, maybe? Or left out? Iconic African- Americans including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sean P. Diddy "Puffy Combs," Tony Morrison and Whoopi Goldberg are turning the negative term into a positive way to tell their experiences in an HBO documentary series called "The Black List."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTRESS: We have to recognize each other's cultures so we know what pisses each other off. I collect "negrobilia." I have the Coon's Chicken Inn (ph) plates and (EXPLETIVE DELETED BY NETWORK), and I put them down for people. And they go -- why, you...? And I say, because I love this image. This image, I can never forget this image and neither should you. You don't know anyone who looks like this, because we shut it away and we say you cannot look at it. People want to know why. We should be able to tell them why.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Whoopi Goldberg is always breaking it down.

Series executive producer Payne Brown and producer/director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders joining me live from New York.

Gentlemen, good to see you both. Thanks for the time today.

Payne, let me start with you. You hear The Black List, it's negative. With that goes with the '50s and the hunt for commies. And your team has put black folks on "The Black List." I know you've been asked the question a number of times, I'll ask it here for everyone who hasn't heard the answer, why did you title the series this way?

PAYNE BROWN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE BLACK LIST": Well, what we wanted to do is take that negative connotation of the black list, and this was clearly the brain child of Elvis Mitchell and Timothy, who's here, and turn it into a positive. There are so many stories that need to be told, so many stories of African-American achievement that you don't hear about, that the notion of pulling together this collection of just extraordinary people clearly intrigued me and my partners. And we were fortunate enough to be able to work with Timothy and Elvis to bring it to HBO.

HARRIS: Timothy, what are your thoughts on that? It's obviously a provocative title.

TIMOTHY GREENFIELD-SANDERS, PRODUCER & DIRECTOR, "THE BLACK LIST": In the very beginning, when I sat down with Elvis Mitchell to do this project, he turned to me and he said, we're going to call it "The Black List" because that's always been such a negative term.

And I think we have turned it into a positive term. That was our goal. And we've now done 50 interviews with leading African-Americans across the country and I think it's become a very positive film and a very positive term. HARRIS: Well, let's do this. Let's listen to this clip from film director Lee Daniels, I believe nominated for an Oscar. I want to get your thoughts on the other side.

Let's have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE DANIELS, DIRECTOR: African-Americans were told that we should be living on this sort of level up here. The Huxtables -- there actually are Huxtables in the world, but they're so minimal in the African-American community. We have an African-American president and we have Oprah, and then we have us. So I try to tell stories about us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Payne, let me come to you with this one.

What's the potential benefit of this work, this series? And for blacks who aren't successful, necessarily, who haven't found their way to even what they consider success who maybe are living in cities with 14 percent, 15 percent African-American unemployment, what can they take from this series?

BROWN: I think what they can take is the possibilities. That these are individuals who have decided to live the lives that they've dreamt about. When Lee Daniels talks about, "and then there's us," he is clearly an extraordinary individual and somebody that I think, you know, African-American young people can look to and aspire to, to know that to dream to be an Oscar-winning director is not something that's out of their reach. When they see Colin Powell or Sean Puffy Combs or Whoopi Goldberg or Susan Rice or just the multitude of folks that we've been fortunate enough to capture. This film and these films, this is Volume 3 of the set, captures the possibilities.

HARRIS: Yes.

Timothy, what is it about the success story of an African- American that is any way different from any other success story you've heard, maybe even your own?

GREENFIELD-SANDERS: You know, I think what's so important about "The Black List" film is that it's a chance to see so many moments of achievement. I think that we don't really look at the black community as one in which there's such a diverse amount of talent. And I think you think of Oprah and you think of the president, of course, but we tried with this film to really show a Dr. Montgomery Rice and a Fay Waddleton all the other people that are tremendously positive in their message.

And you know, it's a very positive film. Most films tend to be -- most documentaries can be very depressing and negative. This is really about achievement and about success and about struggle, and that's what comes through here. HARRIS: Let me pick up on that with you, Timothy. The importance of education -- what did you find that to be in the lives of all of these people you've featured so far?

GREENFIELD-SANDERS: You know, there's no way to minimize education. It's the most important element that's this sort of thread through all of this. And I think it's a good point you bring up, because I think "The Black List" film itself is something that should be in schools. It's the ideal, it's the perfect tool to get out there and to, you know, K through 12, get all the kids to see this film, because it's a really inspiring film and it's easy to digest, it's not too long and it's a wonderful tool for that, I think.

HARRIS: Payne, I imagine you would second that?

BROWN: Absolutely, absolutely. We hope that it is -- we do have the opportunity to put it into schools. You know, the success of the African-American community is one that's defined by their access to education, and I think this -- this film points that out in a number of ways.

HARRIS: Boy, good stuff. Gentlemen, appreciate your time. "The Black List Volume 3" debuts tonight at 8:30 Eastern on HBO.

Timothy, Payne, my thanks to both of you, appreciate it. Thank you.

All right, let's do this, very quickly here, let's get you caught up on our top stories.

A search underway for a cause of a deadly explosion at a power plant under construction in Middletown, Connecticut. At least five people were killed yesterday, more than two dozen others injured. Middletown's mayor says workers were purging a natural gas pipeline when the blast happened.

Endeavour is on its way to the International Space Station. Liftoff taking place very early this morning. Oh, I wanted to hear the sound of that liftoff call? The crew will drop off a new room to the lab and perform several spacewalks over the next two weeks. By the way, there are only four more trips left before the shuttle program ends next year.

And this little girl's samba is causing an up roar in Brazil. The 7-year-old has been picked to lead Carnival next week. The role is usually reserved for mature women, if you get my drift here. Her parents say there is nothing wrong with her dance, but a judge is considering pulling her from the traditionally sexy role. We want you to weigh in, if you would, on our blog. Leave us a comment at CNN.com/tony.

If you also would like, why don't you take -- participate in our quick vote. Should Julia be allowed to lead the samba at Carnival? Let's see where the voting stands right now. Right now -- well, there you go. clean sweep -- 100 percent, yes, let the little girl dance. OK, still an opportunity for you to participate as well. Confusion and anger over Toyota recalls. One woman tells what happened to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICOLE POZEN, ACCIDENT VICTIM: As soon as I touched the accelerator, it just -- it just -- it just jumped. I mean, it just went. It went over the curb, and there was nothing I could do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: More of her story and the latest on the recall right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's do this, let's talk Toyota for a moment here. Here's where things stand today with the company's recalls and the public relations disaster that has followed.

It appears Toyota will announce a recall this week to fix brake software on 2010 Priuses. Toyota dealerships say they've been told the problem will be repaired. Toyota restarted assembly lines at six north American plants today. The factories were shut while gas pedal repairs were made on eight models. And Toyota's is airing a commercial designed to win back customer trust. More than 8 million Toyota cars, trucks and SUVs have been recalled in recent months.

That feeling of terror behind the wheel of a car or truck that seems to accelerate all by itself, few have experienced it. Deborah Feyerick talks with one driver who says she did -- Nicole Pozen, one of our "Faces of the Story" today.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, I'm doing less than 10 miles an hour, and I'm riding the brakes.

POZEN: Yes, you have to.

FEYERICK: So, this is the only way you can, because this is very easy to lose control on this road. You knew that?

POZEN: Oh, yes.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Nicole Pozen knows this winding road like the back of her hand. Her house used to be at the top of the mountain. A year ago, on a rainy afternoon, as Pozen slowly steered her 2007 Toyota Tundra around this hairpin turn, she says the unthinkable happened.

POZEN: As soon as I touched the accelerator, it just -- it just -- it just jumped. I mean, it just went. It went over the curb, and there was nothing I could do. I was too close to the curb to be able to do anything. And I pressed the brakes, I did. I mean, I did everything that I thought I could, and I couldn't get my car to stop. I just remember seeing cactuses, and then, that was it. And then I remember seeing the road.

FEYERICK (on camera): At that point, you're coming down that incline, what are you thinking to yourself?

POZEN: Am I going to die? I was thinking, you know, am I going to survive this? What's going to happen? Am I going to -- am I going to die?

FEYERICK (voice-over): Pozen believes what happens to her is what's happened to many other driver who is say their Toyota vehicle accelerated without warning. Toyota says these incidents are rare and, generally, do not occur suddenly.

(on camera): You're going from 50 to 60 miles in a vehicle that's pretty much out of control to sort of a dead stop.

POZEN: Yes.

FEYERICK: This tree...

POZEN: It just -- it just stopped. I mean, it just stopped.

FEYERICK: When the police came, what did you tell them?

POZEN: I told them -- I told them -- they asked me what happened. I told them the truck -- I told them exactly what happened up there, and I told them the truck just kept going. I said it just kept going. And that's what I kept saying.

FEYERICK: Did the police believe you?

POZEN: No. They thought that I was drunk or on drugs.

FEYERICK (voice-over): The police report says Pozen was not drunk. Missing, however, is Pozen's account of her Toyota truck accelerating wildly.

(on camera): Why didn't they put it in?

POZEN: I have no idea. And I was surprised when I looked at -- well, I wasn't really surprised, but I was when I looked and it said, opinion, it said, driver -- "My opinion was the driver was just driving at unsafe speeds."

Yes, of course, I was, down the cliff.

FEYERICK: Asked to explain that report, police told us they try their best to record driver's comments accurately.

David Wright is part of the class action team that recently asked a judge to widen Toyota's recall, to include all models involving sudden acceleration incidents, not just that models Toyota identified like Pozen's 2007 Tundra.

DAVID WRIGHT, PRODUCT LIABILITY ATTORNEY: When the police come to a scene and they can't reproduce an event right there, too often, it's easy to just say, well, the vehicle was traveling at an unsafe speed with the -- with the implication being it was the driver's fault.

POZEN: Everybody told me that I was crazy.

FEYERICK: Pozen, who has two young sons, suffered serious injuries to her neck and back, and is now on disability and considering legal action. When she heard about Toyota's recall of millions of vehicles, hers included, she felt vindicated.

POZEN: I'm so angry at Toyota because they could have prevented so many things, and it wouldn't have been that hard. I mean, how hard would it have been to look into a problem? They didn't look into it at all. They wrote it off.

FEYERICK (on camera): Pozen says it's not just anger towards Toyota. She also says she feels a sense of outrage that so many people had to experience the same kind of fear she did.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Monrovia, California.

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HARRIS: Here's the deal -- you probably have a lot of the questions what with all the various recalls and vehicles involved. So you can get the answers you need at CNN.com/Toyota.

It is a day that's been more than 40 years in the making.

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UNIDENTIFIED FANS: Who dat? Who dat saying you going to beat them Saints? Who dat? Who dat?

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HARRIS: The Saints are officially super.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, so here's what we're working on for the next hour of NEWSROOM.

A new study finds the older mom, is, the greater her chances of having an autistic baby, and you may be surprised at how old is "old." Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me to explain.

Plus, as Toyota announces even more recalls, we'll look at how the company's top U.S. exec is doing with damage control.

We're all revved up, ready to roll up our sleeves and tackle those stories and more next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: New Orleans -- the city has been waiting five years for a reason to celebrate after the destruction left behind by Hurricane Katrina. Now, they've got three. How about this? Mardi Gras, a new mayor, and their brand new Super Bowl champions.

Our Ed Lavandera takes you there.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Euphoria and pandemonium erupts in New Orleans' French quarter. Even the city that likes to brag it perfected the art of partying has never seen a celebration like this.

This moment is a dream come true for Angie Koehlar, who grew up in New Orleans' French quarter. And caught up in this moment, she told me, when she dies, she wants to be buried in this homemade jacket painted in honor of the Saints which she wore when they won the Super Bowl.

(on camera): Angie, what does this mean to this city?

ANGIE KOEHLAR, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: This is everything. This is, collectively, this is the happiest days of our lives. Through the region -- Louisiana, the Gulf Coast -- thank you, everybody, for your support. We are truly the happiest place on earth. Disney World has nothing on New Orleans.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The magnitude of the Saints' victory is not lost on the team's most popular player, quarterback Drew Brees.

DREW BREES, SAINTS QUARTERBACK: What can I say? We played for so much more than just ourselves. We played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for all the -- the entire Who Dat nation.

LAVANDERA: More than four years after Hurricane Katrina, the theme of New Orleans coming back from the brink of death runs deep through the city.

UNIDENTIFIED FANS: Who dat? Who dat saying you going to beat them Saints? Who dat? Who dat?

LAVANDERA: Overshadowed by the Saints' Super Bowl victory was the election of a new mayor on Saturday. Mitch Landrieu won a decisive victory with more than 60 percent of the vote, becoming the city's first white mayor since his father left office 32 years ago.

MITCH LANDRIEU, MAYOR-ELECT, NEW ORLEANS: The only way to do that is for us to seek, to find, and to secure higher common ground where we come together as one people and do what is necessary to secure our future.

RAY NAGIN, OUTGOING MAYOR, NEW ORLEANS: We're going to party like it's 1999.

LAVANDERA: Just days before the Super Bowl, we caught up with outgoing mayor Ray Nagin, who could only imagine what a Super Bowl party would do to a city already celebrating a rowdy Mardi Gras season.

(on camera): Will you say a little prayer -- prayer for New Orleans?

NAGIN: Well, I think you're going to pray for us after. There's going to be a lot of people in Detox and you know, AA, what have you.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): New Orleans is back, and who knows when this party will end.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

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HARRIS: Boy that is fun.