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Toyota's New Brakes Recall; First Lady Takes on Childhood Obesity; Bipartisan Promise; Snowmageddon's Reprise?; Pulled from the Rubble after Four Weeks

Aired February 09, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Just hang out, anchor up here with you on AMERICAN MORNING, and I also now get to hand this thing over to my regular co-anchor, my dear friend, Betty Nguyen, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: T.J., I feel like I haven't seen you in forever -- well, except for on TV, of course.

HOLMES: It's been a while.

(LAUGHTER)

NGUYEN: Well, you two have a great day. We've got a lot coming up for you.

Good morning, everybody, thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today. And boy, we've got a lot for you. Some new pictures, some amazing pictures of survival. (INAUDIBLE) 27 days after the earthquake hit.

Happening this hour the Dow opens for business below the 10,000 mark. Will bargain hunters or debt warriors rule?

And Super Bowl story that just transcends sports. The Saints come home to New Orleans and a victory parade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: This is the best feel good moment for this country in well over a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: No doubt. But first let's talk about this. A big storm, big bellies, and a big apology. First up, our Reynolds Wolf looking very cold out there in Washington. Why? Because people are bracing themselves for a second round of a wintry smackdown.

Then we're going to take you over to the White House and our Suzanne Malveaux. She is going to be listening in, as we all will, the first lady today launching a campaign against childhood obesity.

And then we're talking Toyota. Yes, another apology today and another recall. This time on its popular Prius models. We'll get to that right now because there are some new safety concerns for Toyota owners.

Overnight in Japan Toyota's president announced that there's a software problem in their new antilock braking systems. The worldwide recall involves 437,000 vehicles, all of them the new hybrid models.

That means the 2010 Toyota Prius and the Lexus HS 250 H. Also included the Sai, which is sold primarily in Japan. This latest announcement in addition to the eight million Toyotas already under recall for gas pedal problems.

The latest recall has led to Toyota's top man, the grandson of the company's founder, issuing his second apology in four days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIO TOYODA, TOYOTA PRESIDENT (Through Translator): As we present the case, we have been inquired about the safety and the quality of the Toyota cars. And we do apologize for the inconvenience and concerns that we have given to the public and customers.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: All right. So today's recall is the latest chapter in a public relations nightmare. Toyota, a name that has become synonymous with quality and safety, is now reeling from public doubts and customer anger.

CNN's Kyung Lah is in Tokyo with the carmaker's new mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This document made it official. The safety recall is on. Toyota filing papers notifying Japan's government of its recall. The affected models, the 2010 Prius and three other hybrids, due to a braking glitch.

Take the right steps to maintain safety, warned Japan's government. Hours later, Toyota's top man announced the recall was global, affecting some 400,000 cars.

Akio Toyoda -- his grandfather founded the company -- made this promise, speaking in English to his customers around the world.

TOYODA: Together we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers.

LAH: The problem, says Toyoda, is with the antilock brakes. Hit ice or uneven surfaces and the brakes appear to fail for a fraction of a second. Toyota says a software fix corrects the problem in 40 minutes hooked up to a dealership computer.

For about two weeks, amid Toyota's recall of more than eight million cars for sticky accelerators and faulty floor mats, the company's president was out of the public eye. Now he's out in front saying he's personally tested the Prius and felt the braking problem himself.

Toyoda says the company is not failure-proof and he was making the Prius recall announcement to send a message to customers in his own words.

"It is about time," says Japan expert Jeffrey Kingston.

JEFF KINGSTON, DIR. OF ASIAN STUDIES AT TEMPLE UNIV., JAPAN: Up until now it's been a total disaster. One can only hope that they'll do better in crisis management from here on. I think that he has shown that he is shaken by events and hopefully he'll be learning from them.

LAH (on camera): While there is a fix for the Prius there is no fix yet for the other recalled hybrids, the Prius plug-in, the Lexus HS 250 H or the Sai, which all have similar braking problems. Sales have been temporarily suspended until there is a remedy.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: All right. So here's a question that many Toyota owners are asking this morning. Am I safe driving a recalled car? It's a question that lawmakers want answered as well. So tomorrow morning the House committee on oversight and government reform is set to hold a hearing on the malfunctioning gas pedals.

Lawmakers say they want to better understand the federal government's response to the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles.

And for all the latest on Toyota's troubles, all you have to do is go to our special Web site. There you'll find a list of recalled vehicles, special advice for owners, and fresh insight from the experts. That address, CNN.com/toyota.

Well, three steps to fighting childhood obesity. First Lady Michelle Obama launches her nationwide campaign today urging parents to change the way that their children eat, the way they exercise, and all of it in an effort to save their children.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins me now live.

And Suzanne, we're watching today. What's in the first lady's plan of action when it comes to childhood obesity?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure. The first lady, first and foremost, is really going to call attention to this big, big problem. The campaign is called the "Let's Move" campaign. And this really is going to be her signature issue, fighting childhood obesity.

Already the first lady's office putting out some pretty startling talking points saying, essentially, that 1 out of 3 children in the United States is either overweight or obese. And so what are they doing? They're trying to work with doctors, with teachers, with athletes, entertainers, all kinds of people to get together and try to provide healthy foods for children whether it's the school lunch program or in a neighborhood grocery store, in the inner city, and also get kids to be more active, to have pediatricians and doctors who are more aware in monitoring the body weight of children, and what makes them healthy, and how they can actually participate in school activities.

These are the kinds of things they say that essentially Americans have lost sight of and it is causing a huge problem for the young people in this country. I had a chance to talk to a Dr. Judith Palfrey. She's with the American Academy of Pediatrics -- Pediatricians and she brought up essentially what she says is a very big problem in this country and that is excess. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JUDITH PALFREY, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: With the advent of all of us being in our cars so frequently, with the availability of so much food, you know, the bigger portions, and thinking of excess and being so busy all the time, it's the excess, the abundance that we have that's actually making us sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So that is kind of ironic when you think about it, the excess. But she says that is the problem here that's making so many kids sick and also the fact that so many kids that just don't do what so many of us used to do as kids and that is just go outside and play, get the kind of exercise they need to burn off those calories.

I had a chance to talk to Tiki Barber, the former NFL player. He's here at the White House. So we'll go ahead and show that in a little bit. But he was saying, look. You know, as part of his training he used to do about 700 pounds when it comes to squats, 350 pounds bench pressing.

NGUYEN: Wow.

MALVEAUX: That's not what any of us are prepared to do. But he says he does yoga now.

NGUYEN: Really?

MALVEAUX: And he's encouraging kids to just get out there and have fun, that that's a part of it.

NGUYEN: Right.

MALVEAUX: And so that's why he's here as well. So it's going to be a really interesting group of people here at the White House with the first lady kicking off this very important campaign.

NGUYEN: No doubt. Put down the cell phone. Put down the games, the video games, and get outside. OK, you know, so later this morning the president, Suzanne, is making good on his promise from the State of the Union speech which is meeting with Democrat and Republican leaders for talks on the economy and health care.

What do you expect to hear out of that meeting?

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly this is just the beginning. This is the kicking off, this monthly -- what they're calling these monthly bipartisan meetings with the leadership of the House and the Senate for both Republicans and Democrats.

The president is obviously going to be listening -- is what the White House is stressing here -- to see if Republicans do in fact have some ideas that they'd like to share and come to the table with. But also really it's just kind of a preview to what we're going to see on February 25th.

That is what is being built as this bipartisan summit, if you will, on health care reform before live television cameras to have both sides talk all this through and see if they could go any further than they did before in the health care reform bill.

Betty, that already is a controversial proposal here because there are some Republicans who've made their views known. They said, look, we're not going to jump in a meeting like this and start where we left off with the bill that we're not happy with. We think you should start over. Scrap the whole thing and start over.

The president and his advisers say that's not going to happen. And so there are some Republicans even reluctant to participate in that kind of meeting. They believe it may be just for the cameras, it's just for show.

So we'll see if today's meeting kind of sets the stage for what we're going to see in a couple of weeks.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. No doubt. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much. We'll be chatting with you later this hour.

And down below 10,000. Yes, that is where the Dow finished yesterday. Dipping below the 10,000 mark for the first time since November. But futures trading is up overnight so it may be a short- lived dip. We'll take you live to Wall Street at the bottom of the hour.

All right, so you thought we were done with the extreme winter weather? Better keep your shovel handy because it ain't over yet. Oh, no. After the weekend blizzard that nailed the northeast, here is round two. Not expected to be a knockout punch, though.

But for a region already reeling, it's not exactly what they want to see. Another near foot of snow may not be a welcomed sight. Let's just say it's not. The storm is expected to intensify to monster status later this afternoon and evening in the northeast and today, well, it's more of a manageable menace for the Midwest and mid south with predictions of only a half foot.

Good news from meteorologist Reynolds Wolf. Live in the thick of the action where he likes to be.

How you holding up out there, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Doing very well. Don't worry about me. I'm more worried about the people living here in the D.C. area and people across the region.

I'm coming to you from Georgetown as a matter of fact. And we happen to be right along beautiful M Street in Georgetown. And this is a snow emergency route, a place that should be clean. This could be in terms of snowfall. But I want to show you something.

Take a look at this. The street -- hi there -- scaring these poor people in the car. Look at this. Got all this muck and stuff on the street. That's the last thing that you need to be dealing with and with the possibility of getting another foot of snow, maybe even more in the forecast, not at all what they want to deal with.

We're going to talk about that coming up in a few moments. See you. Back to you.

NGUYEN: Yes. Stay out of traffic. All right? Appreciate that. See you soon.

In the meantime, though, questions in the death of a long-serving congressman. Did doctors make a fatal mistake when they operated on Congressman Jack Murtha?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

NGUYEN: Well, it's not quite snowmageddon just yet but it is close. The nation's capital is bracing for another round of extreme winter weather. That's on top of the weekend's record snowfall.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the Severe Weather center for us today but first we begin with meteorologist Reynolds Wolf live in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown area.

Are you helping cars that are getting stuck? What's going on out there?

WOLF: Well, we just helped a truck that's been -- or rather van that's been stuck for a while. That's been the case this morning. People are waking up and they're dealing with all this icy mess on a lot of the back streets.

But right over here in Georgetown, we're going to pan over in this direction. You can see this fire truck. It was this fire truck crew that helped move that vehicle that was just stuck. I think you're taking a look here at M Street, which is actually a snow emergency route. So it should be nice and clean but you're going to notice here, got goo, got mess, all kinds of stuff all over the roadways.

The problem we're dealing with, Betty, is that you have more of this on the way. In the forecast, could see anywhere from 10 to maybe 20 inches of snowfall. Last thing you possibly need but it is the forecast today.

Something that is interesting, take a look at the number of the cars we see out here. Shoot, there's even a guy on a bicycle out here making his way around. The problem is, you still have a lot of businesses that are closed down but still people are out and about.

Well, if they are going out and about and you happen to tune in from the area and you're going to -- maybe go to the store or try to go from one point to another here in the district keep in mind that you better make it an early day because you're going to have the second batch of snow that's going to be coming through.

As you mentioned, there are some services that are operating. You can see a lot of trains and trucks coming through. Obviously the fire engines are able to get around also but in terms of mass transit we have seen some buses out and about but in terms of metro, well, I'll tell you, the underground railways are operational but the above ground stuff is going to be working in a few places but it's going to be very limited.

And with the snow coming back in by the afternoon we'd see more of those begin to shut down because as soon as that snow covers that electrified rail, they're going to have to shut down the above ground stuff.

But I'll tell you, skies have been going from clear this morning. Now they're cloudy. A sign that the snow coming on through and, Rob, of course, is going to talk about that coming up in mere moments.

Let's send it back to you guys in the studio.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you so much for that, Reynolds. Let's take you now to Rob Marciano who is in that Severe Weather Center. And it's severe for a reason today. Right, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, the way to wrap up this storm, I think, you know, it's snowmageddon part two but it's a different storm in many ways.

Total snow accumulation, I think, will be about half of what the last storm was. So that means top end accumulations of only 20 inches but it's going to affect probably twice if not more population wise. The number of people affected by this is going to be a large amount for sure.

(WEATHER REPORT) NGUYEN: Really. That long. All right. Then brace yourself. It's coming their way and is going to stay for a little while. All right, Rob, thank you so much for that.

You know, Hollywood Hills, can you believe? For sale. Yes. One group is trying to snatch up some prime real estate and that means a big change is coming for the iconic Hollywood sign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back, everybody. Let's check some top stories for you right now.

A medical mistake may be to blame for a Pennsylvania congressman John Murtha's death. A source tells CNN doctors accidentally nicked Murtha's intestine during routine gallbladder surgery. He died from complications from that surgery.

When he was elected to the House in 1974 he became the first Vietnam vet elected to Congress. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel in 1990. John Murtha was 77 years old.

Dr. Conrad Murray is free this morning after posting bond. He pleaded not guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in connection to Michael Jackson's death. Jackson's father told our Larry King that he wanted a murder charge.

Prosecutors are letting Murray keep his medical license but he has to give up his passport. Murray isn't due back in court until April 5th.

Well, pretty soon you won't be able to see the iconic Hollywood sign. A conservation group wants to cover it up as a fund-raising stunt. They're raising money to buy land around the "H" of the sign to keep developers from building homes on the hill.

Los Angeles police are warning residents not to freak out when the sign gets covered.

And have you heard about this? Just an amazing story of survival. A man pulled from the rubble in Haiti, buried for as many as four weeks. Battered but not broken.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Pulled out alive. I want to show you a man who may have been trapped in the rubble in Haiti for nearly four weeks. He was found when people were clearing out a market place.

CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now live from Port-au-Prince, Haiti with this amazing story of survival.

Sanjay, how did this guy make it and do the doctors actually believe that he's been under that rubble for four weeks?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the doctors really -- what they tell me is they have no reason to doubt what has happened here. Extraordinary, certainly, Betty, as you say, as a doctor, as a reporter. You know, I haven't seen anything like this.

What happened was we got a tip about -- you know, him being pulled out of the rubble earlier in the day yesterday. We know that he was taken to a first aid clinic and eventually to a hospital.

You're looking at some of the images now. They are at that hospital where you see a man who is very malnourished, very dehydrated. His brother told me that he believes his brother lost around 30 pounds over this nearly four-week period. It was almost four weeks to the day when he was pulled out.

Look, I asked the same questions that you're asking, Betty. I talked to the first doctors to treat him and said, you know, how is this possible? What do you think happened?

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MIKE CONNELLY, PROJECT MEDISHARE: He was emaciated. It was obvious that he hadn't had anything to eat or drink for quite some time. He had open wounds that were festering on both of his feet.

GUPTA (on camera): But you believe it? I mean you believe it to be true, this would be -- this would be the longest survivor so far of this earthquake?

CONNELLY: Yes, yes. I mean, there is no reason for me to doubt it. That's what the bystanders related to us. And the patient was so incredibly weak and frail when he came in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: And as you look at some of those images, again, of this man, Betty, one thing to keep in mind is one thing that may really have helped him here is he didn't have one of those significant crush injuries that we've talked so much about where a limb or some part of the body is crushed. That obviously greatly decreased the chance of survival.

He also talked about the fact that he described a person in a white coat coming to him and bringing him water at periodic intervals over the past four weeks. Whether he was hallucinating when he said this or what exactly happened is unclear although it is pretty safe to say that he would have needed water to be able to survive this long.

At the time that we saw him, Betty, he didn't even really fully realize that he had been rescued. He still thought that he was underneath the rubble. That's how confused he was by the entire situation -- Betty.

NGUYEN: That is just absolutely remarkable. Just amazing story of survival, Sanjay. All right. Thank you so much for that. Sanjay Gupta joining us live from Port-au-Prince today.

And you can see more of Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Haiti on "AC 360' at 10:00 tonight. Also tonight an "AC 360" special report, "Stealing Haiti." Anderson looks at the corruption and greed that pushed the country into -- or to the brink and even before the earthquake happened. That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

All right. Back now to the Dow. It's in a bit of a hole. Below 10,000 for the first time since November. Is a rally right around the corner? Well, we're live at the stock exchange.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: OK. So we are back on Dow watch. Yes, the blue chip average closed below the 10,000 mark yesterday and Stephanie Elam is in New York and has all the details on this.

Stephanie, so great to see you. I want to ask you, though, how significant is this and what should we expect from stocks today?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Betty, I know. It's good to see you as well. It's one of those things that we talk about a lot. Dow 10,000 and whether it really has a lot of meaning.

Well, I should tell you, first of all, we are expecting a nice rally at the open. There is hope about the debt problems overseas with European officials set to meet on Thursday, but as you mentioned, we are watching the Dow to see if we can get back above 10,000. It closed below 10,000 yesterday for the first time since early November. Some analysts say 10,000 is really just more of a psychological level than anything else. It doesn't have a huge meaning in the financial world.

The Dow is down 7.5 percent from its recent high, which was reached three weeks ago today. The worry now is that the recent sell- off could lead to a full-blown 10 percent market correction but others say breaking below 10,000 could bring in buyers who are looking for cheap stocks. Either way, one thing is for sure, the Dow first crossed 10,000 in 1999, so basically the blue chips have made no progress in more than ten years. Ouch. I hate to be the one to bear that news, but I have good news right now. The Dow is on the upside by 88 points at 9,996, and we're working back that way. NASDAQ better by 1.3 percent already right out of the gate to 2,153, so looking better there right now.

Now, overall, I do have one thing I have to tell you about. More nickel and diming that's occurring, Betty. American airline is going to start charging eight bucks for a pillow and blanket beginning May 1st. The fee applies to domestic flights that are longer than two hours and select international flights. Jet Blue and US Airways also charge for pillows and blankets, and this is why you really just need to take a little jacket with you and bundle it up and use that to keep you warm. Maybe a little pillow on the side. Get the window seat. I have the whole plan for it, Betty , but, we're charging a -- NGUYEN: Charging for blankets? Really? I heard they were charging for pillows as well some of these airlines. What else are they going to charge you for?

ELAM: Yes, they are.

NGUYEN: Hey, can I get a tissue? That will be $2. Crazy.

ELAM: Yes, that will be $2 for a tissue. You just have to book the seat next to you so that you can take all your (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: Yes, that's true.

(LAUGHING)

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Stephanie.

Preparing for retirement may be getting a little bit easier. Yes, companies could soon get back to matching 401(k) contributions. Something that stopped for many in the economic downturn. CNN's Christine Romans is live in New York this morning.

Hey there, Christine, you have some welcomed news for people trying to save for retirement?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I do, and we all need to be saving for retirement even though we're just trying to repair our balance sheets from the last couple of years, right? Betty, a year ago I sat here and told you the dire news that a victim of the great recession was that many companies were stopping the match for your 401(k). You put a little bit of money in, they put money in too to help you save for retirement, but good news from the same firm that brought us the bad news a year ago.

Hewitt Associates, human resources consulting firm, they say most of the companies, 80 percent of the companies that suspended your 401(k) match in the great recession have now planned to restore the match. But employers at the same time, you know, they're a little concerned about how well we're doing for planning for retirement. That's one of the reasons why they're trying to help out. Are you a worker able to save for retirement? Employers now say 54 percent of them say that their workers are able to save for retirement.

That's a little less confident than they were last year. So, they are trying to make it a little bit easier for you to save more. So, if the match is available again, folks, make sure that you are doing it if you can.

NGUYEN: Yes, but you know, Christine, people generally, they don't save enough. Correct?

ROMANS: Yes. I mean, any way you slice it, any survey you look at, most Americans are not saving enough for retirement. It's even more difficult now, Betty, because for two years -- I mean, people are trying to make house payments. People are trying to make college payments, and sometimes, retirement is the last thing. The same survey from Hewitt Associates found that only 1 in 5 employers are very confident that their employees are saving enough money. So think of that. Only 1 in 5 think their employees are saving enough. That's not a very good share.

NGUYEN: No. But in this economy, my goodness, it's difficult just to make ends meet as you've been saying. So what's coming up on your Romans numeral this morning?

ROMANS: Romans numeral, $25,000, and this is a number that some of you might find surprising especially if you have been socking money away. According to one key survey, more than half of American workers, more than half of American workers have less than $25,000 put away for their retirement in savings and investments. That is not enough to retire on.

Now, even as we get moving forward, Betty, with an economic recovery, we hope, in the months and years ahead, it's going to have to become a focus again of people in their financial planning as they try to plan for the future and trying just plugging the holes not just of the right now, but people are still not saving enough for the future.

NGUYEN: Yes. All right. Save what you can when you can. Christine, thank you so much.

ROMANS: Sure.

NGUYEN: Iran says it is stepping up its uranium enrichment program to 20 percent. That level is the threshold for uranium capable of setting off a nuclear reaction. Now, Iran says it needs the enriched uranium to meet the needs of cancer patients. CNN correspondents in Israel and Britain get reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem. Crippling sanctions are needed against Iran and its intentions to enrich uranium to a higher level. That's according to Israel's Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu says that Iran is racing ahead in its bid to get a nuclear weapon, and it's belittling the efforts of the entire international community. A similar statement from the defense minister Ehud Barak. He says that Iran is fooling the whole world. He is also calling for more determined sanctions. All options are still on the table. That is the official Israeli line. but speaking to the former head of intelligence agency, Mussad Garygatom (ph). He says the only way to stop Iran is with military action.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Here in Britain, the policy towards Iran is pretty much in lock step with that of the United States and other European allies. They want Iran back to the nuclear negotiating table, but unlike the United States, Britain has diplomatic ties with Iran, ties that right now are incredibly strained. What's going on? Iran is accusing Britain of bribing antigovernment protesters to show up to those protests. Britain is saying that they deny it and that Iran is only using these ploys in order to distract from the issue at hand whether or not it intends to negotiate both nuclear program.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: They were the opposition in Iran. Three decades before the green movement that grew from June's disputed presidential elections. CNN's Reza Sayah looked back at a revolution just days before its anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Islamic revolution of 1979 marked the end of Iran's western-backed monarchy under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and the beginning of an Islamic republic. The revolution was the climax of more than a year of demonstrations against what was seen as the Shah's oppressive regime. Despite soaring oil profits in the 1970s, Iran was plagued by crippling inflation, but Shah, who liked to show off his lavish lifestyle, was criticized for ignoring the poor and middle class.

Iranians also condemned the Shah for spurning Islamic traditions in favor of modernization and stronger ties to the west. The opposition movement was led by the Shah's nemesis, Ayatolla Khomeini. Khomeini relentlessly denounced the Shah as a corrupt dictator and Washington's puppet. Audiotapes of his fiery speeches circulated throughout Iran. On February 1st, 1979, Khomeini made his triumphant return from exile. Two weeks after a defeated Shah had left Iran. Ten days later, the military declared itself neutral. On February 11th, the Islamic revolution was official.

What made the revolution unstoppable was the assortment of groups and social classes that opposed the Shah. Not everyone wanted a theocracy but Khomeini managed to crush rival revolutionary factions and established an Islamic public, a self-described democracy where all decisions had to be approved by him, the supreme leader, and clerics who ruled in the name of god.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Family wants a sleep clinic to shut down. Now, their loved one went in for a sleep study one day and was dead the next morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Let's check the top stories right now. The family of a man who died in a sleep study wants the program closed while it's investigated. A 25-year-old Brandon Harris (ph) died last month after entering the Emory Hospital's sleep clinic in Atlanta. The hospital says he suffered sudden cardiac death. Harris was overweight, diabetic, and had high blood pressure. An uncle said someone from Emory showed him a video where the uncle says Harris can be seen signaling for help. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LEWIS, HARRIS' UNCLE: Never was there CPR. Never did anyone give him any oxygen. Never did anyone check his pulse to see that he was even dead. They walked around him in that room as if he was some animal on the floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Harris' family wants that video released. Emory says it cannot release it because it can only be viewed in the lab where there are ongoing studies.

More than 1,000 people in New York and New Jersey have come down with the mumps since August. Now, also those who have gotten sick are orthodox or Hasidic Jews, and their average age is 14. The CDC says the outbreak began at a summer camp and are linking it to an 11-year- old boy. He recently came back from Britain where a mumps outbreak there, sickened 4,000 people.

Checking in. No bags. A deer was caught on camera slipping and sliding around a Florida Hotel. Wow. Then jumped over the counters. Did you see that? The deer finally escaped through a window and went back into the woods. No harm and no charge, but they may need some room service for that one.

Remember, when the most feared childhood punishment was staying inside the house? Times have definitely changed, and so have children's waistlines. We'll look at a new effort to fight childhood obesity.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: They don't call it the severe weather center for nothing. Rob Marciano joins us now with a look at this blizzard that is really bearing down on the East Coast.

What the heck is going on, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I was just looking at the latest computer guidance coming out, and it's now -- we're getting a better handle on this thing as far as what we think is going to happen say from Philadelphia up through Boston which has been a question mark all along. Because this is a different storm for a number of reasons. Let's kind of go over it.

It's a bigger storm in that it's affecting more people from Chicago to D.C. to Boston. Those are -- and every city in between is what's being affected by the storm and will be until Thursday morning. So, we got a lot of real estate to cover here, and generally speaking today, we're talking about the potential of seeing 12 inches of snow in spots mostly from Pittsburgh West and then heavy rain down to the South.

And what we're seeing, the heaviest snow is right now is around Cincinnati, Dayton getting up towards Columbus, Ohio, back through Louisville and less intense but more expanded shots now of Chicago where they're seeing light snow and have been seeing light snow all morning.

Not a ton accumulating but it's starting to pile up now at least on some of the roadways and some of the overpasses there and we are seeing delays and in many cases cancellations at both Midway and Chicago O'Hare.

So if you are traveling through that major hub today, do call ahead. If you're traveling through Detroit, if you're traveling through, say, Cincinnati, another big hub, call ahead and if you're traveling say later in the day or tomorrow through D.C., New York, or Philly, you're going to want to take preemptive action and potentially call and try to get out today, because tomorrow it looks to be a bit of a mess for those airports. Atlanta will be mostly in the form of rain.

And we also have another storm system that's coming to pass out west just a little bit. Mud slides, another threat for mud slides across southern California. I don't want to forget our friends out west. There's your rain maker for today. And the folks who saw the mud slides over the weekend, they've been evacuated again and about 500 homes evacuated in La Canada Flint Ridge and not a good deal out there.

All right, what are we looking now for snow totals, still six to 12 across parts of this area of the Midwest and the Ohio River Valley. There are 20 states right now that are under a winter storm warning.

All right, here's our fine tuned forecast just a little bit here and give you an idea of when we expect the snow to start on the East Coast. So Washington D.C., figure 2:00 p.m. today the snow start to come down. A total accumulation of likely eight to 16 inches by the time it winds down tomorrow night. Philadelphia, starting tonight around 8:00, 10 to 18 inches potentially there.

New York City, starting overnight tonight, figure around 10:00 to 2:00 a.m. beginning to pile up around the rush hour; 10 to 18 inches. I think a good bet in New York City unless this storm completely takes out and makes an early leave from the party and goes out to sea.

And then, I think Boston now gets a little bit interesting. And they'll start a little bit later and they could very well see blizzard conditions as this thing begins to wind out. A classic nor'easter this go-round as opposed to the last storm which was basically just cold -- cold air again, a whole lot of moisture dumped on it.

So affecting a lot more people in some big cities, Betty and Chicago is getting it right now. It'll be expanding towards the east over the next 18 hours. Back to you.

NGUYEN: All right, Rob. We will be watching very closely for that. Thank you so much.

MARCIANO: You bet. NGUYEN: And maybe this is a change you can believe in. Earlier this hour, the first family launched a campaign against childhood obesity. Well, the president signing a memorandum on it. Michelle Obama says the surge in overweight kids has created a public health crisis.

In fact, the percentage of obese children has more than tripled since 1970. The first lady says her goal is to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation. Well, Michelle Obama is calling on parents to take a more active role in their children's health but the campaign also calls for big changes in schools.

Our next guest would have a big hand in such a transformation. That being Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was with the Obamas to launch the initiative and he joins me now live from the North Lawn of the White House.

Secretary Vilsack thanks so much for taking some time out to talk about this today. And I think the person that we want to know about is exactly how are schools are going to play a role in this.

TOM VILSACK, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: Well Betty, the schools have an opportunity every single school day to provide school breakfast and school lunch and the key for us is to make sure that those lunches are as nutritious and high quality as possible which is why we're asking Congress when they reauthorized the Child Nutrition Act to provide resources for fruits and vegetables so we can improve the quality of those meals and also make sure that every youngster who is entitled to receive them does in fact receive them.

NGUYEN: But you know, healthy food is often more expensive, so can schools really afford to revamp its school lunch programs?

VILSACK: Well, I don't think we can afford not to. The cost in terms of academic performance and also health care are astronomical. Youngsters who are overweight or youngsters who are hungry just simply don't learn as well. And the fact is that youngsters who are overweight carry that into adulthood with the onset of chronic diseases.

So it's really an investment in the future of this country and frankly, I think if we do a good job of looking at creative menus we can reduce the costs.

NGUYEN: Does that include school gardens? Because we know that the first lady is a big proponent of gardening. And I just want to know if schools is in fact do create these school gardens on campus will it produce enough food that can be used within the cafeterias?

VILSACK: Absolutely. We've seen examples of that in our travels across the country. Schools are engaged in these gardening projects which are also great learning experiences for the youngsters. An opportunity, also, to hook up with your local grocery store so that the produce can actually be sold and generate revenue for the schools.

There are a multitude of ways in which we need to focus on this and it also provides physical activity. And we want to see as part of this an increase in wellness and physical education. It's a combination of nutrition and more physical activity that's going to get us over the hump in terms of obesity.

NGUYEN: Yes, but it's also a combination of funding as well isn't it? Because it's going to take money to create these programs and schools have lost a lot of programs because of funding? Is this something that schools can afford and what kind of role will Congress play in this?

VILSACK: Well, the president has made this a priority in his budget that was submitted to Congress. We've asked for an additional billion dollars annually to provide resources to improve the quality and access to these meals.

It's a priority for the president and we're certainly hopeful that we can work with Congress to make it a priority for Congress as well. And we've received indications from leadership that they are certainly supportive.

NGUYEN: One last thing, the first lady says that she hopes to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation. Do you really think that's possible?

VILSACK: I do. There is no question when Americans focus their attention on situations like litter and so forth we've made tremendous strides. I think we can make the same commitment in terms of childhood obesity. If we improve nutrition, if we improve physical activity there's no question why we can't be a much fitter nation.

NGUYEN: All right, Secretary Vilsack, thanks so much for spending a little bit of your time with us today. We do appreciate it.

VILSACK: You bet. Thank you.

NGUYEN: And that brings us today to our blog question. And this is where you weigh in, I'm asking you what do you think -- or what do you think it's going to take to win the fight against obesity? And here's what you do, you can go to CNN.com/Betty, or you can go to my Twitter and Facebook pages at CNNBetty or BettyNguyenCNN and tell me what you think and I'll read some of your comments on the air next hour.

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NGUYEN: Well, the good times, they are rolling down in New Orleans. The Super Bowl champion Saints are back in town with trophy in hand. Check it out. Fans lined the road for a mile and a half just to get a glimpse, but the victory is about more than just football.

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JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: These people associated with this football team, you know, they certainly are more fortunate than most anybody in the city financially but they know firsthand the harm that this storm has caused people and they're working very hard to make this a better place.

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NGUYEN: The official victory parade is this afternoon. The parade starts at the Superdome. They'll ride on floats donated by some of the Mardi Gras crews. You definitely want to stay with us for more on the Saints throughout the day, as well as live coverage of the parade at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

In the meantime though, more snow, more stimulus, and less fattening. Yes we are pushing ahead with the stories making headlines and happening right now starting with Reynolds Wolf.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Betty. I'm coming to you from Georgetown outside of Washington, D.C. on M Street. The cars are coming through and some are carrying some snow. Believe or not we have some; it's in the forecast possibly over a foot. That full story is coming up in just a moment.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: $862 billion in the stimulus that passed a year ago. How much has your state gotten and how many jobs has it created in your state in. I'm Josh Levs. We have answers for you, coming up at the top of the hour.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What killed Representative John Murtha? Some suggest a surgery gone wrong. I'll have that at the top of the hour.

NGUYEN: All right. Thanks everyone.

Also ahead, we are going to drill down on the allies new military strategy in Afghanistan.

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